3D Printed Captain America Shield

Hello everyone!

Some may know that for a while I've been panning to 3d print my own captain america shield. I was never really satisfied with my proof-of-concept wonderflex shield (found here: http://www.therpf.com/f78/avengers-now-stealth-captain-america-w-magnetic-shield-209989/ ) so I wanted to make one that would look better, but still have all the features I did like from my previous shield.

I'll be using my Printrbot Plus v2.1 for this build. Ive had it for over a year now and believe it is tuned in enough for this job. I plan to use a spool of white PLA filament bought from Printrbot's site.

On to the model!




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I've been working on this 3d model for over 7 months now, dialing in small details and adding features along the way. I am really happy with how it turned out.

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I went with a 26" diameter because it seemed like that was more common in the films. Plus, mocked up, it seems like a good size.
The depth is just under 4" and the blure center measures at ~10"


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Shot of the inside
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Brackets highlighted to show detail

For those familiar with my last shield, you know I like to use a magnet with my shield (look on my other thread for details). I have designed in a spot for a metal plate to be glued into the final shield (highlighted in blue below). I have also embossed a spot for a small nut (also highlighted in blue) to be glued in so that I may add or remove a post as needed to attach to the Captain America suit back bracket.
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The model is all one piece, including the star. Here are some detail shots:
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From the release of TFA, I always had a different opinion on the shape of the shield rings. To make this model my own, I decided to use that shape I had always imagined.
For the outer rings, I pictured them as a "V" shape holding the same curve on the outer edge. The inner rings, I pictured them as an overlapping, "stair stepping" type shape (pictured below):
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Highlighted section show the "stairs"
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Cutaway views


My plan is to cut the model into squares and print each square individually, then glue them all together. My printer has limits of 8x8x8 but just to be safe, I am going to cut the model into 6x6xheight.
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I am so proud of this model. It was something I had put so much work into and was excited to finally bring it into reality. After hunting every little detail down and adding creative details that my mother would be proud of.... Then what happened? They went and changed it.

They went and changed the freaking shield...
AoU - Cap - SHIELD back NEW HANDLES - PS for clarity.jpg

.........Back to the drawing board.... More to come soon...
 

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Depth should be closer to 3", any particular reason you went with 4"?

And the shield itself didn't change. They just added on extra brackets. You just need to model those as add-on pieces :)
 
I'm interested to see how expensive the filament will be compared to getting a machined metal shield

Interested in this aswell. I work for a 3D printing company (my avatar can tell you which ;) ) and the only reason we didn't print it is that we don't think it's really useful when the price of a good looking replica doesn't seem to be that high.
 
Quick update with opinions needed!​

I have started working on the AOU style handles. The overall shape is all thats been done so far but its looking pretty good. I've run into a small snag that could be considered correct either way so I figured I'd ask and see what everyone thinks.
The bracket I designed was originally designed flat, then cut with a curve on the underside. This (unintentionally) made the top/outer face on the handles flat with one another.
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This cut-a-way shows the tops of the handles and how they are flat with one another, and parallel with the back of the shield.



I later realized that the handles (if constructed and attached after the original shield was made) would most likley have been designed and created flat, then attached following the angle of the inner curve of the shield.
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This cut-a-way shows the tops of the handles matching the inner curve of the shield (just angled, the handle itself is still flat).


Which one is correct, I have no clue,,, I am leaning towards the first, "Flat" Design but i'm just not sure which one to chose. If anyone has ideas or comments or can see some pros and cons I may be missing PLEASE help me decide!!

Here's a picture to show the two together:
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I would like to try to start printing this coming week. To those who have asked questions I'll answer them as best I can soon, Thanks everyone!
 

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Alright! Time for some updates!

First off, I Know that I wanted to get this shield done by the AOU release.... But now it's clear that won't be the case... This project will for Sure get done, but it'll be waaaay longer than I thought... That being said, lets jump in.

The modeling of the handles has been completed (for the most part) and will have functional magnetic mounts for the suit.
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For the handles I've decided to go with the "curved" handles (in red) because the "Flat" handles (in blue) reduce the amount of space the rotating handle has to be stored. The colors trace the outer faces of each handle style to show the volume they take up. The blue Flat handle has more of a wedge shape verses the red rectangle.

Here is the final model:
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And here is a comparison shot from the trailer:

Screen cap from TV spot 3 - SHIELD underside full.jpgghsgn.JPG

The handles themselves will swing out as needed and will be spring loaded to stay closed.
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Each handle is designed as an empty box to save on material and designing time. They have "lids" that will glue or fix to the top once the magnet has been sorted out.
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The holes on each side of the box are for elastic.
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Within each side of the handle is a concealed hook to grasp both sides of an elastic cord (shown in blue) stretched from one side of the handle, through the box to the other side of the handle. When the handle is pulled up, the elastic will fight to keep the handle flush with the bracket.

Another feature I've added is the updated star. It doesn't look much different unless you really have an eye for this specific detail. In my earlier model, the star was about .02 inches thick and sat on top of the surface of the inner blue ring. Looking at many images of the shield, I found that it appears the star is flush with the outer curve and has a negative channel around its perimeter. It took me a while (and a new 3D tool), but I finally got it to my liking. What do you think?
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May be a little hard to see but there is now a chamfered edge going towards the star.


Well, that was all about A week and a half ago... Since then I sliced the model according to the grid I showed in an earlier post. Which (for my sanity) has been organized by rows and columns.
Capture14.JPGThis shows how I decided to name each. By this system, the purple square is 'C2'

Speaking of C2... I tried to print that section... Didn't workout as great as I'd hoped...
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Playing around with the orientation, standing on its side was the most efficient way to print this model. But 3 separate times this print has fallen over. With it's estimated print time of 9 hours, I tend to not be awake at the time when it falls over. Then the printer keeps truckin because it doesn't know southing is wrong... huge headache... I am still trying different options and will play with the settings until it comes out right, but for now, the (successful) printing has not yet started... More to come soon! Let me know what you think or if you've got any ideas
 
Depth should be closer to 3", any particular reason you went with 4"?

Mine is closer to 4" (most likely) because that measurement was taken 1) from the out side of the shield to the end of the flat lip on the end, not just the dome itself. and 2) now my star sits flush with the rest of the shield taking off just A bit of height.

I'm interested to see how expensive the filament will be compared to getting a machined metal shield

After looking at the numbers, this will probably be more expensive than I originally thought...But I wanted to 3D print this shield to push the limits of my printer and to show the possibilities of 3D printing to the people I know. I also hope that as I enter the job market, this can be a nice conversation piece and something to make me stand out (y)) I'll be Keeping track of how much fitment is used in each piece so We can get a ballpark estimate of the total material used once it's finished.
Interested in this aswell. I work for a 3D printing company (my avatar can tell you which ;) ) and the only reason we didn't print it is that we don't think it's really useful when the price of a good looking replica doesn't seem to be that high.

Thanks for your interest! I checked out the My Mini Factory and it is awesome! I'll definitely be going on there more in the future.
 
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