turner3d
Well-Known Member
A static version is available on CGTrader which includes the STEP files so it can be edited - Star Trek TOS Communicator | 3D Print Model .
TOS Communicator Build
- Thread starter turner3d
- Start date
WinstonWolf359
Master Member
Will that be an option when it comes time for your small run, or is that run going to be only build ups with the full electronics package?
turner3d
Well-Known Member
That's a good question. I had originally completely dismissed the idea of producing static models because the amount of hands-on hours required to produce one was so high that I would have had to charge way too much for them. Now that I have a resin printer, the antennas come out of the curing station pretty much ready for paint. I'll have to give that some more thought!
The Wand Company’s in trouble now!Wow man. This is an incredible build. After you've gone into production and if its a success, you're next project definitely has to be a tricorder!
Without taking anything away from the meticulous engineering you’ve poured into this, I’m wondering if the commercially available brass antennas will fit into your build? I’m suppose if the dimensions are off slightly, one could buy the ‘sheet’ brass antenna stock and fabricate accordingly.
turner3d
Well-Known Member
If it's even possible, it would require significant modification. There are several issues:
- The antenna's hinge pin / hole is about 5x larger than the original to allow for greater durability in the 3d-printed version
- Not only is the hinge pin much larger, it has more of a stop plate than a pin, and a surface on the shell which distributes the load when it's flipped open. I'm not sure what concentrating the force onto the normal 1/16" stop pin would do to the shell
- The sound and other behaviors are triggered by a magnetic reed switch which is tripped by a neodymium magnet embedded in one of the antenna's hinge wheels. It would not only require milling a 6mm flat-bottomed hole in one of the brass hinge wheels, but I'm honestly not certain as to how that would affect the magnet's ability to trigger the reed switch.
- The only seller of metal antennas I know of at the moment is John Paul Trek on eBay, and frankly, I'm not too keen on bolstering his business, considering the counterfeit-prop scandal he was involved in.
There are guys who strive to get their communicators as accurate to the original set pieces as possible - brass antennas, Kydex shells, stopwatch, t-jets, all of it. That is a difficult and cool pursuit, but this is not that. I set out not to replicate the screen-used prop, but the experience of holding one in your hand as if it was the real thing.
Hinge Pin / Stop Plate cross section:
Magnet / Reed Switch:
finalfrontier
Well-Known Member
You MUST produce a kit! This thing is awesome turner3d!
turner3d
Well-Known Member
If I can get all of this stuff to work out like I think it will, I will absolutely produce a kit. I am in the process of prototyping, designing, and testing for the purpose of making finished communicators available for sale. The biggest factor that will influence the price is the amount of time I need to spend on each one, and I am not at all opposed to make it less expensive by not spending time on finishing/assembly and bundling up and shipping out the raw 3d-printed pieces, circuit boards, microcontroller, magnet, switches, SD card, speaker, battery, all of it. There would be painting and wiring involved, but a kit could be significantly less expensive than a fully-assembled communicator.
Also of note, everything will be serviceable. The whole thing will come apart by simply removing a couple of screws, and the ATtiny85 microcontroller will be mounted in a socket so that it can be pulled and reprogrammed. Also, the SD card can be removed and loaded with different audio files if desired.
I will also be making a downloadable kit with a parts list and instructions for those who have a 3d printer, and the microcontroller software will be freely available in case hacker types would like to play with it.
finalfrontier
Well-Known Member
Well that sounds fantastic, I hope the stars align to make this happen and at an affordable price.
turner3d
Well-Known Member
I spent a good part of the weekend learning KiCad for creating PCB files for production. It's not the easiest thing to use, but it'll definitely be worth the effort as long as I can actually implement a stepper motor and make it silent. The motors are supposed to be delivered tomorrow, so I'll know soon whether or not all of this was a waste of time.
KiCad PCB editor
KiCad 3d Preview
Communicator with top shell hidden
KiCad PCB editor
KiCad 3d Preview
Communicator with top shell hidden
finalfrontier
Well-Known Member
Wow! Good luck. What a lot of design work, great job.
Simonized
Well-Known Member
Finished you say? .... TAKE MY MONEY!!!
TOS Communicator Build
Again, this is fantastic work! I know you've already worked your plans a million times, but would it be possible to have a version of the back that is featureless (no screws/no button) for those that might want a static build? A static version is available on CGTrader which includes the STEP...
www.therpf.com
turner3d
Well-Known Member
The stepper motors came in yesterday, and the news is a mixed bag. The good news: I can get it to run dead silent. The bad news is that the microstepping doesn't provide anything even close to a liner transition between physical steps. This is my first experience with stepper motors, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. I have learned that microstepping is meant primarily for noise reduction, and not for super accurate angular increments.
Next up: driving the moire from the edge as I'd originally planned. The motor will be able to spin 13x faster than it is here, which is still very quiet and should smooth it out a lot. I already have a bunch of 3mm x 8mm x 4 mm carbon steel ball bearings, so it shouldn't be too tough to get it running smooth & sturdy
Next up: driving the moire from the edge as I'd originally planned. The motor will be able to spin 13x faster than it is here, which is still very quiet and should smooth it out a lot. I already have a bunch of 3mm x 8mm x 4 mm carbon steel ball bearings, so it shouldn't be too tough to get it running smooth & sturdy
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turner3d
Well-Known Member
Take 2: I moved the motor out to the edge of the platter driving it with an internal ring-gear configuration, and it worked great! I honestly don't know how durable it will be, considering that the gear's teeth are printed in Elegoo ABS-like resin v3, but it's at least running at a steady and silent 2RPM now.
Good news!
Is there a certain material that’s spec’d for printing gears/ high-stress parts that you might use in later on?
turner3d
Well-Known Member
I honestly don't know yet since I'm a complete noob at resin printing - that's an area for more research. The good news is that it doesn't have to be able to handle much stress at all. The moire platter is mounted on a 8mm carbon steel ball bearing, and all this motor is having to do is to spin it from a point of maximum leverage. Most of what it will have to do is survive the friction of the little gear rolling over it, and I'll probably give it a good slathering of vaseline to minimize thatGood news!
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