Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version - Complete!

Felgacarb

Felgacarb

Sr Member
In the process of creating a good set of reference drawings for my STIII tricorder build, I made a complete CAD model of it. And then, I went ahead and detailed the inside mechanical parts, just for good measure. And then I became attached to the dang model.

After thinning the walls out rather a lot, (To reduce the required material & cost) I let Shapeways produce a version of it for me.

Once again, here is the prop as seen in the movie-

tsfshd0700.jpg


tsfshd0692.jpg


Here is what my model looks like:

v5-stiii-tric-02.jpg


v5-stiii-tric-05.jpg


v5-stiii-tric-06.jpg


v5-stiii-tric-04.jpg


One of the goals was to have room for the full electronics, even though I haven't designed a circuit board for this yet.


So, here comes ST III Tricorder build number 2! (I did want to have two for costuming purposes, after all...)

The parts arrived today:

01-3Dprinttric3.jpg


Packed well, as they always seem to be from Shapeways.

I had them done in the black version of the nylon material. (That way, the parts that will rub or slide when I open it will not require lots of paint on them.)

01-3Dprinttric4.jpg


The details came out looking really good- slightly better than I could do with my kydex build-

01-3Dprinttric6.jpg


The next steps will be to apply a bit of spot putty and a whole lot of primer, to get the slightly rough & porous surface ready for paint...

Stay tuned!
 
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Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

Very nice! It's good to see someone producing a prop this way.

What did Shapeways charge for it?
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

You're looking at about $240 worth of plastic there. If I had gotten it all in the 'white, strong & flexible' material (instead of the black) it would have been just over $200. Hopefully, the costs will continue to come down over time...
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

Jeez. The parts look amazing, but that's Rodd.com-level money right there.

Cool model, though.
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

Fantastic results. Yes, 3d printing is still expensive (it would be double that cost for the smooth plastics...) but on the other hand, you can do just about anything with it. You can do just ONE copy of a prop without the need to create special tooling or make a mess (which in itself can end up costing a bit). Now, I consider myself a fair hand at scratch building but I certainly don't miss the resin fogfrom all the grinding.

Looking forward to seeing the end result!
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

Nice :)
Shapeways makes very good 3D Printing.
The Problem for me is the shipping to Germany ...
When i order for 200$ there, the German Tax and Toll would be about 100 bucks.
When you order 3 samples, for this price and throw 2 pieces away ....

Hat to find a good 3d Prototyper here in Germany ... Or maybe Build my own Printer :)
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

Spiffy! And your custom STII comm for the field jacket is great as well.

I've ordered many parts made from the Shapeways material you have there and while durable can be a bit tough to prep for painting. The plastic reminds me of the plastic they use for gallon milk bottles when sanding. The material burrs up and looked ragged. I find I get the most sucess if the first thing to do is primer it and then sand.

More recently I have parts made on a SLA machine. It's tough and the resin they use falls away in a powder when sanding grow lines. If you have ever worked with a super primo quality resin kit then it's like that except that it has all the symmetry, crispyness, and has a manufactured look as it is manufactured.
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

Err... Shapeways are in Holland, so you should not be paying neither tax nor tolls! (EU) Shipping is also very reasonable within Europe. (It would cost me four times as much to send the same package...)

mikepiko said:
Nice :)
Shapeways makes very good 3D Printing.
The Problem for me is the shipping to Germany ...
When i order for 200$ there, the German Tax and Toll would be about 100 bucks.
When you order 3 samples, for this price and throw 2 pieces away ....

Hat to find a good 3d Prototyper here in Germany ... Or maybe Build my own Printer :)
Click to expand...
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

mikepiko said:
Nice :)
Shapeways makes very good 3D Printing.
The Problem for me is the shipping to Germany ...
When i order for 200$ there, the German Tax and Toll would be about 100 bucks.
...
Click to expand...

How did you calculate that sum? I never paid more than 24% to import any items IIRC, including VAT. Is there something special about 3D prints that makes them that more expensive in taxes?
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

TheSt.LouisKid said:
The material burrs up and looked ragged. I find I get the most sucess if the first thing to do is primer it and sand.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the trick is to seal it first. Using a thicker filler-primer will give you great results. It should actually hold paint better than SLI printed parts. (Though I DO love that smoothstuff...)
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

Great job! Excellent detail. I love Shapeways because of the ability to do intricate parts easily.

Are you going to make molds of these parts and cast duplicates of them? That's the only way I can justify the price of 3D printing, myself, is if I use the 3D printed parts as a master and cast duplicates in inexpensive resin.
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

joatrash said:
Err... Shapeways are in Holland,QUOTE]

They also have a location out of New York City as of about 9 months ago. Parts I ordered originally came out of Holland. Later orders came out of NYC but I preferred Holland as they had far better communication(NYC has none) and were far more timely...but one doesn't get a choice in locations.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

DaddyfromNaboo said:
How did you calculate that sum? I never paid more than 24% to import any items IIRC, including VAT. Is there something special about 3D prints that makes them that more expensive in taxes?
Click to expand...

I´ve calculated a Shapeway Order lately, posted the Details to the Customs Office, and got the Info that the Import would cost me additional 75 EUR for Tax and Import. Since it i search for a Company in the EU or Germany to build me those 3D Parts.

But as i read here, I try to Contact shapeways in Holland, that would be Taxfree within the EU :)
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

Shapeways has always been in Holland, until recently as TheSt.LouisKid pointed out.

@gregwarner: The nylon plastic at Shapeways is not suitable for molding without a lot of prepwork (which is some ways is good since it cuts down the risk of recasting).


mikepiko said:
I´ve calculated a Shapeway Order lately, posted the Details to the Customs Office, and got the Info that the Import would cost me additional 75 EUR for Tax and Import. Since it i search for a Company in the EU or Germany to build me those 3D Parts.

But as i read here, I try to Contact shapeways in Holland, that would be Taxfree within the EU :)
Click to expand...
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

joatrash said:
@gregwarner: The nylon plastic at Shapeways is not suitable for molding without a lot of prepwork (which is some ways is good since it cuts down the risk of recasting).
Click to expand...

What kind of prepwork do you recommend? My plan was to 3D print some prototypes through Shapeways and make silicon molds of them for resin casting. I bought some sealant from a silicon mold kit that is supposed to not stick to the silicon. Is there something else I would need to do besides this?
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

You need to completely seal the entire surface and fill in the pores. If you really want to mold it, get it printed in one of the "detail" plastics. The porous nature of the nylon "safe flexible" materials can make the silicone seep into the object and you will never get it out of the mold! Note that I haven't tried casting the stuff... I'm going by what Shapeways themselves recommend (which is NOT to try to mold the safe flexibles). Logically, it should be moldable IF you seal the pores, but I haven't tried it.

gregwarner said:
What kind of prepwork do you recommend? My plan was to 3D print some prototypes through Shapeways and make silicon molds of them for resin casting. I bought some sealant from a silicon mold kit that is supposed to not stick to the silicon. Is there something else I would need to do besides this?
Click to expand...
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

I've applied about 7 coats of (black) primer- then masked it off, and did a coat of my Tamiya Gun Metal, then clear, then more gun metal-

02-3D-printtric24.jpg


02-3D-printtric27.jpg


02-3D-printtric29.jpg


I did 'skin' the worst areas with spot putty. These were only the angled surfaces, the top and back of the sensor head, where the lines really stuck out. The rest of the flat surfaces and detail areas are only primer.

I haven't done a PCB for this- (At least not yet) but I did have a fake one printed out of plastic. I had to open up all the holes a little bit for the leads to fit through, but that was very easy. Here are some shots of it going together-

02-3D-printtric23.jpg


Testing the LED that will light up the viewscreen-

02-3D-printtric10.jpg


02-3D-printtric1.jpg


02-3D-printtric19.jpg


02-3D-printtric23.jpg


02-3D-printtric40.jpg


I'm using all the authentic LED blocks and the bar graph display, although I haven't wired them up. (It could be done point-to-point, but it would be a mess, and might not fit in the tiny space inside the sensor head. With a simple PCB circuit, it should fit.)

02-3D-printtric39.jpg


The switch and the screen LED went together exactly as in the model. The overall PCB assembly, though, fits in a bit tight.

More detail painting to do...
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

I have been following both your tricorder builds and have found them to be inspirational. The SFS tric has been on my scratch build list for a while now.

I have a few extra Grayhill push buttons that I can send your way if you want. PM me your info and I can have them in the mail Monday or Tuesday.

P1080153.jpg


-John
 
Re: Star Trek III Tricorder - 3D Print Version

That would be so cool!

That would also mean I would have to do more work on this thing...

But the coolness of getting it more accurate clearly trumps that! PM incoming...
 
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