3D printed Daft Punk Thomas Helmet Attempt. WIP.

[Timparty]

Right, Now... Over the years I have tried and failed to make these helmets, but now I have a 3D printer i'm going to try and attempt it again. And with more hope! It'll be my first 3D printed prop I have actually designed myself, so I'm still getting used to the design software.

So far I have only started designing it.
All designs are designed in Autodesk 123D Design.


I found myself almost following Volpin's build process exactly in my design process:












it's not going to be quite as supremely shaped as volpin's but we'll see how we go! From the print process it's a lengthy process to get the build to look good and I want this helmet to be extremely smooth before I make a cast of it. Would be glad for help from anyone along the way!

 

[MMShaggy]

Wish you the best of luck. Looking forward to updates to see how it goes.

 

[NathansPROPS]

Very Creative approach on replicating volpins build. Cant wait to see updates!

 

[Timparty]

It's been a long couple of months getting the design to a stage that I'm happy with. This is by far the most complex thing I've ever tried to design and I've only been using this program for 6 months. Iv'e also had to modify my printer to counteract the cold weather we're having in Adelaide, Australia. But as soon as my printer filament comes this week, I should be all good to start.

Here's what my final design looks like, I'm not 100% satisfied but I know it'll need a lot of filling and sanding once it is printed so i'm not too concerned about the small imperfections.




.

The plan is to print a solid piece and make a mould of it.

Tell me what you guys think!

 

[msleeper]

The plan is to print a solid piece and make a mould of it.

Tell me what you guys think!

That is going to take an ungodly amount of material. Hollow or shell the model (I have success with 6mm thick walls) then print and assemble that. Bonus is that you can actually wear it if you don't plan on molding it.

 

[Timparty]

That is going to take an ungodly amount of material. Hollow or shell the model (I have success with 6mm thick walls) then print and assemble that. Bonus is that you can actually wear it if you don't plan on molding it.

I've had trouble with doing that on Autodesk design. The piece is made up of so many shapes that whenever i tried to split the solid or shell it, it tells me "invalid operation". I never planned to print it solid but I'm very new to the software... Is there another program I can shell the .STL file without losing any definition? Meshmixer seems to make it low poly

 

[msleeper]

I've had trouble with doing that on Autodesk design. The piece is made up of so many shapes that whenever i tried to split the solid or shell it, it tells me "invalid operation". I never planned to print it solid but I'm very new to the software... Is there another program I can shell the .STL file without losing any definition? Meshmixer seems to make it low poly

Meshmixer is probably the best tool actually. Try doing this:

* Use the Select tool to select the entire object.

* With the object selected, go to Edit -> Offset. This will bring up the offset dialog.

* Set the Distance to -6mm. If you set this to a positive value, it will do what I think you are saying and make it low poly, but making the new shell on the exterior. Using a negative value moves the shell inside the original faces of the model.

You can play around with some other values (the Accuracy and Regularity are used to make the shell more or less true to the original, but you probably don't need to do that). Also be sure you have an open/non-manifold face for the neck hole, and that will let Meshmixer create the boundary.

If you need more help let me know.

 

[Timparty]

This process crashes my meshmixer 9 / 10 times unfortunately. However I don't quite understand how to get the neck hole. How do i make the base of the helmet open/non-mainfold?

 

[msleeper]

This process crashes my meshmixer 9 / 10 times unfortunately. However I don't quite understand how to get the neck hole. How do i make the base of the helmet open/non-mainfold?

If your model is really high poly then you'll probably need a system with a lot of RAM to properly process it. You can try dropping the Accuracy and Regularity settings down, those make the interior shell faces less complex.

Can you post a screen of the bottom of your model where the neck would be? You need to draw where the hole should go and simply delete the faces so that there is a gap into the model. Your slicing software will complain that it isn't manifold, but Meshmixer will fill in the "boundary".

 

[Timparty]

If your model is really high poly then you'll probably need a system with a lot of RAM to properly process it. You can try dropping the Accuracy and Regularity settings down, those make the interior shell faces less complex.

It's not even letting me get to any resolution settings, it crashes the moment i click Offset.

Here's the bottom of the helmet though:

 

[Timparty]

I might just cut the piece into printable sized pieces and hollow each individually. I always intended to mold it anyway and at least this way I'll reduce the amount of material used.

 

[Timparty]

First print:


Much satisfaction. The ears were the part I was the most confident with.

 

[Shrubpig]

Any new updates on the helmet?