Here's the album: http://imgur.com/a/EXPgw
Preface:
I am an applications engineer at a 3D printing company. I have a full lab of machines as well as a finishing room full of paint, tape, Bondo, brushes, towels etc. Doing something like this can be done in your own home but I'm lucky to have all the space and tools available already.
Design:
The part was designed in Magics Pro by my friend Chris by hand. The Lambda on the shield is a little acute for my taste, but I'm happy with it. All the dents and divots were built into the actual file so they were printed that way. We completed the pre-processing in a proprietary program. To make it as strong and light as possible, I did a sparse-dense infill and 5 contours at .020 with a 0 contour air gap. There is very little stepping, but this was alleviated through finishing with an acetone dip and a lot of sanding. There are some still visible, but I don't think it detracts from the final product at all. All said it weighs just under 8 lbs.
Building:
The part was built on a production-level printer in two pieces that had dovetail joints used to join the halves. The joint runs from the top to the bottom of the part. Total machine time: ~160 hours. Material used is standard ABS material, about 180 cubic inches total.
Finishing:
I used a palm sander and a lot of bondo to help seal the joint. The joint was built in a dovetail to help lock it in. I used standard super glue to bond it plus a layer of hot-air welding to really seal the joint in good. I can explain this technique in detail if you'd like, but it's basically soldering but with a hot air gun and ABS filament. This took the better part of a work day (around other projects of course) and I used standard Bondo and sandpaper.
Painting:
Rust-Oleum brand Hammered Bronze was used as the base coat. I did two on this piece, with a very light dusting of a shiny gold to help shimmer it a bit. Once that was done I did a black or "dirt" wash using black acrylic paint mixed with water. There are tons of tutorials on this on the YouTubes, but basically you mix it together, wipe it on the piece, wipe it off, and repeat for effect. Along edges and pits I let the paint sit for about a minute before wiping it out. Edging was done using a dry-brush technique. Essentially you spray paint a brush and then lightly feather where the roughed up surfaces would be. Finished with matte clear coat and dried over night.
Hope you enjoy. Questions, comments, complaints welcome.
Preface:
I am an applications engineer at a 3D printing company. I have a full lab of machines as well as a finishing room full of paint, tape, Bondo, brushes, towels etc. Doing something like this can be done in your own home but I'm lucky to have all the space and tools available already.
Design:
The part was designed in Magics Pro by my friend Chris by hand. The Lambda on the shield is a little acute for my taste, but I'm happy with it. All the dents and divots were built into the actual file so they were printed that way. We completed the pre-processing in a proprietary program. To make it as strong and light as possible, I did a sparse-dense infill and 5 contours at .020 with a 0 contour air gap. There is very little stepping, but this was alleviated through finishing with an acetone dip and a lot of sanding. There are some still visible, but I don't think it detracts from the final product at all. All said it weighs just under 8 lbs.
Building:
The part was built on a production-level printer in two pieces that had dovetail joints used to join the halves. The joint runs from the top to the bottom of the part. Total machine time: ~160 hours. Material used is standard ABS material, about 180 cubic inches total.
Finishing:
I used a palm sander and a lot of bondo to help seal the joint. The joint was built in a dovetail to help lock it in. I used standard super glue to bond it plus a layer of hot-air welding to really seal the joint in good. I can explain this technique in detail if you'd like, but it's basically soldering but with a hot air gun and ABS filament. This took the better part of a work day (around other projects of course) and I used standard Bondo and sandpaper.
Painting:
Rust-Oleum brand Hammered Bronze was used as the base coat. I did two on this piece, with a very light dusting of a shiny gold to help shimmer it a bit. Once that was done I did a black or "dirt" wash using black acrylic paint mixed with water. There are tons of tutorials on this on the YouTubes, but basically you mix it together, wipe it on the piece, wipe it off, and repeat for effect. Along edges and pits I let the paint sit for about a minute before wiping it out. Edging was done using a dry-brush technique. Essentially you spray paint a brush and then lightly feather where the roughed up surfaces would be. Finished with matte clear coat and dried over night.
Hope you enjoy. Questions, comments, complaints welcome.
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