MEN IN BLACK — SERIES 4 DEATOMIZER — FINISHED W/ VIDEO!!!

Rusty85

Sr Member
Hello all! Ever since I saw Men in Black back in 97', I've always wanted a replica of the Deatomizer. Sadly, no replicas were ever released of this gun to this day so I took it upon myself to get going on a replica of one. RPF member Skylu3Design was a pleasure and worked with me over the last couple of weeks to whip up a 3D model of the gun, which consists of 35 individual pieces. He designed it immaculately to be able to be assembled and disassembled using the screws just like the real gun, and a working pump and trigger. There's also plenty of room on the inside for lights. Unfortunately reference photos are very scarce, but I feel that the end result was well worth it. I'm going to be ordering the parts from Shapeways and plan to post some updated pictures when they arrive. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos! The bottom was before some final changes were made.

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Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

I know it's probably crazy expensive, but have you gotten any initial estimates on machining costs?

Sean
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

Well, after speaking to SkyLu3D he said that 3D files can't really be converted over to CAD files for machining. I know that to 3D print all the parts it was about $550 dollars, with 2/3 of that cost being the two halves of the main body. I plan to get the 3D print vac-metalized after sanding it all down : D
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

Well, after speaking to SkyLu3D he said that 3D files can't really be converted over to CAD files for machining. I know that to 3D print all the parts it was about $550 dollars, with 2/3 of that cost being the two halves of the main body. I plan to get the 3D print vac-metalized after sanding it all down : D

Nice to see more stuff from Men in Black!

Some thoughts and tips:

  • There are mills/lathes that can work with mesh geometry (what most 3d printers use) but they are not that common. It would also run you several thousand dollars to do something this size.
  • Sh*peways used to have a strict no-weapon policy, so unless that's changed, they might cancel your order.
  • If you got a $550 quote for something that big at Sh*peways, I'm guessing it was the "safe flexible" nylon plastic? I used to work with that stuff and it's really rather horrible to work with compared to other materials- porous with a rough surface that basically cannot be sanded. If you can, get it printed in PLA or one of the new polyester blends. PLA is tough, but can be sanded and you can use plexiglass glue to "weld" parts together. Find someone on the RPF with a newer Makerbot, Ultimaker or other quality FDM printer that will print it for you instead. (I would offer to do it, but I don't know if I could meet that cost level without seeing the file. There are folks in the junkyard that offer printing services as well.) Since you're probably going to paint it silver, you need as smooth a surface as possible, so make sure that whomever prints it for you doesn't do thicker layers than 100 microns.
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

I'm surprised the 3d software doesn't have the ability to save the file as .dxf That's quite a limitation

In a worse case scenario on the sanding you can always have it printed then mold It and cast it in urethane and then it will be easy to sand.
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

Thanks for the tips JoaTrashfx! I had been thinking about the cost of having it machined, and as much as I would love to do that you're right in that the price would be astronomical. Unfortunately the only printing option that Shapeways would give me for the main body halves was the Strong and Flexible material. There's another thread here on an Iron Man suit build in which the gentleman printed his parts in it and was able to smooth them out perfectly, so I'm optimistic. Aside from that, I'd rather go Glen's route and just mold the print and smooth out the casts rather than use the 3D print directly. Do you know if the S&F material has any issues with molding from the porous surface?
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

I'm surprised the 3d software doesn't have the ability to save the file as .dxf That's quite a limitation

In a worse case scenario on the sanding you can always have it printed then mold It and cast it in urethane and then it will be easy to sand.

It's not the export that's the issue really, but how the modeling is done. Models for mills/lathes are done in curves/splines/solid shapes whereas models for printers are made up of polygons. You can easily convert from curves to polygons but not the other way around.

Thanks for the tips JoaTrashfx! I had been thinking about the cost of having it machined, and as much as I would love to do that you're right in that the price would be astronomical. Unfortunately the only printing option that Shapeways would give me for the main body halves was the Strong and Flexible material. There's another thread here on an Iron Man suit build in which the gentleman printed his parts in it and was able to smooth them out perfectly, so I'm optimistic. Aside from that, I'd rather go Glen's route and just mold the print and smooth out the casts rather than use the 3D print directly. Do you know if the S&F material has any issues with molding from the porous surface?

Oh, you can absolutely get it smooth as glass. I've made several props from it, including Robocop Auto-9 kits, working Batman belt buckles and other things. It's just an awful hassle compared to other stuff. First, it's extremely porous, so it sucks up a LOT of spray filler-primer (which is what you need to use, unless you want to coat it with Xtacy 3d printing resin). I've also heard of people coating it with superglue to make it "sandable" but painting on superglue is rather noxious to the senses. The nylon is extremely foor at deflecting sandpaper and even a saw; you can't really say though it until the friction builds up and it starts to melt!

You could mold it of course, but you need to be extra careful so that the pores don't "grip" your silicone, so it'll have to be sealed first.

If you're REALLY adamant on using WSF, contact a company in the UK called "3d print UK". They have the same material and are much cheaper than Sh*peways. (Or at least they were several years ago when I last used the stuff. They were also super friendly.) They charge by volume instead of material use, so you can print thicker (or even solid) parts for a fraction of the cost. And again, double-check Sh*peways printing rules, because they used to be really strict on anything gun-related. (I used to have to disguise parts and break them down so that they would be unrecognizable for them to go through. They once even refused to print a 7" long miniature Vera rifle from Firefly because the maximum size for anything weapon-like was about 4".

But I still strongly suggest you ask someone here to do them for you in PLA. There are several folks that can help, maybe even for less $. As someone who's worked quite a lot with both, once I got my own machine and started making things in PLA I swore to never use SF nylon again. There is ONE area where the nylon is better- durability. The nylon is darn-near bullet-proof. PLA is stronger than resin, especially in thin layers, but for pure strength the nylon has it beat.
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

Thanks for the tip on the UK place, I'll have to check that out for sure. I don't know why I never used PLA before, I thought I read too many negatives at the time and that sort of ruined my thoughts on it. I should give it a chance though if it's easily sanded compared the strong and flexible. I was looking at Shapeways policies on weapons and although it is a weapon, there isn't anywhere for a magazine and I believe that was part of the criteria for them rejecting those. At any rate, it hasn't gone into production yet (I had ordered it at the start of the day) so I'll be sure and post a photo of all these parts when and if everything goes according to the plan.
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

Shapeways ended up cancelling the print. Honestly I'm glad they did because I wasn't too thrilled about the Strong and Flexible material in the first place. All of the parts are being printed by a member here in ABS. I've been told they should be completed by tomorrow so I should have some photos soon!
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

The prints are completed and sanding has begun by fellow member Futurescape3D. The clear parts are resin and the rest are printed in ABS. The main gun body requires some cleanup so once it has been relieved of the remnants of the printing process I will post a couple more photos!

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Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

Thanks man! I'm giddy waiting to see how it looks with all the pieces assembled. I'm going to avoid tapping any screw holes on the original but I'm sure it'll hold together long enough for a picture. There were quite a few parts missing from these photos but I have a feeling it's going to look awesome once put together!
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

The prints are completed and sanding has begun by fellow member Futurescape3D. The clear parts are resin and the rest are printed in ABS. The main gun body requires some cleanup so once it has been relieved of the remnants of the printing process I will post a couple more photos!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d...1519556988056821_1594256674_o_zps6xt0a2sy.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d..._1519556971390156_345416957_o_zpsymbffwhg.jpg

That looks great Pat, by the time you are finished your place is going to look like an MIB armoury ;)
 
Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer

I got a picture of the cleaned up body today from Futurescape3D and it looks great! I should have all of the parts in hand in a few days and I'll do a fitting to see how everything looks put together and post some photos!

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Re: Men in Black- Series 4 Deatomizer Update 4/13/17

Thanks buddy, same here! The sooner it's molded the sooner I can get it to be plated! haha
 
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