Want to 3D print an Iron Man suit

[katrin2000]

So, I am tired of being ripped off by unscrupulous sellers and I've decided to take the plunge and get into 3D printing. My sole purpose, initially, is to do an Iron Man suit. The suit will probably not be worn, simply displayed. So, has anyone here done it themselves? What files did you use? Which printer did you buy? And what material did you print with? I've never done this before, so go easy on me. LOL I would like to print as many parts as I can in one piece. And I assume that I will become addicted to it and probably move on to some Star Wars stuff and more Avengers items. I'll take any advice I can get.

 

[chefhawk]

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[katrin2000]

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Thank you so much. I'll cruise on over.

 

[TazMan2000]

You're going to want to buy the largest FDM printer you can afford. You will need at least a 12"x12" bed. You may be able to do it on something smaller, but you're going to spend more time gluing the pieces together, reinforcing and filling. You're much better off to have a larger bed so that you can start sanding pieces as you allow your printer to print larger pieces, which may take anywhere from hours to tens of hours.

If you've never had a 3D printer before, you may want to print out many smaller items before printing something large, in order to ensure you know your printer and it's limitations, and to ensure that prints have good bed adhesion. There's nothing worse than having your print disbond from your print bed at hour 47 of a 48 hour print.

TazMan2000

 

[katrin2000]

You're going to want to buy the largest FDM printer you can afford. You will need at least a 12"x12" bed. You may be able to do it on something smaller, but you're going to spend more time gluing the pieces together, reinforcing and filling. You're much better off to have a larger bed so that you can start sanding pieces as you allow your printer to print larger pieces, which may take anywhere from hours to tens of hours.

If you've never had a 3D printer before, you may want to print out many smaller items before printing something large, in order to ensure you know your printer and it's limitations, and to ensure that prints have good bed adhesion. There's nothing worse than having your print disbond from your print bed at hour 47 of a 48 hour print.

TazMan2000

This sounds like really good advice. I'm waffling between two printers, one with a 12 x 12 x 18 print area and one with 15 x 15 x 18. I've seen some pictures of horrible printer mishaps and would like to avoid those as much as possible. I don't mind the sanding and prep work for painting. Heck, I restored an old house that required hand sanding of 8 intricate mantles and a lot of fretwork. It seems sanding and painting is what I was born for. LOL But I want to avoid as many seams as I can, as well as joints. They spell weakness.

 

[TazMan2000]

This sounds like really good advice. I'm waffling between two printers, one with a 12 x 12 x 18 print area and one with 15 x 15 x 18. I've seen some pictures of horrible printer mishaps and would like to avoid those as much as possible. I don't mind the sanding and prep work for painting. Heck, I restored an old house that required hand sanding of 8 intricate mantles and a lot of fretwork. It seems sanding and painting is what I was born for. LOL But I want to avoid as many seams as I can, as well as joints. They spell weakness.

Regarding joints...I'm not sure if it's the glue that I use, but I've never had a PLA print that I've glued together fail once the CA glue has cured. (I used the brand Mercury Adhesives). I've dropped large items before and for me, the bonding between the PLA layers tends to split with the CA joint surviving. Even if I make a mistake and have to cut apart the glued joint, it bonds so well, that I have PLA missing on one side.

Usually on parts that I have to segment and fit together, I usually design the parts so that I have locator holes, so that I could use brass pins to ensure the two parts line up correctly. If I can't design the parts with locator holes, I drill them in afterwards. I test fit the parts together with the pins and bend them slightly to ensure I get a perfect fit before gluing. On complex pieces it is critical that you get a proper fit. Making a mistake on one joint may create big problems with other pieces you glue on. The pins hold the pieces in place (somewhat) so you can see potential problems with trying to fit subsequent pieces. I would assume that the pins also add a bit of extra strength to the joint as well.

I have a Creality CR-10S with a bed 12x12x18. While this has been a workhorse for my projects, there are times that a larger bed would have helped me out considerably.

TazMan2000

 

[katrin2000]

Regarding joints...I'm not sure if it's the glue that I use, but I've never had a PLA print that I've glued together fail once the CA glue has cured. (I used the brand Mercury Adhesives). I've dropped large items before and for me, the bonding between the PLA layers tends to split with the CA joint surviving. Even if I make a mistake and have to cut apart the glued joint, it bonds so well, that I have PLA missing on one side.

Usually on parts that I have to segment and fit together, I usually design the parts so that I have locator holes, so that I could use brass pins to ensure the two parts line up correctly. If I can't design the parts with locator holes, I drill them in afterwards. I test fit the parts together with the pins and bend them slightly to ensure I get a perfect fit before gluing. On complex pieces it is critical that you get a proper fit. Making a mistake on one joint may create big problems with other pieces you glue on. The pins hold the pieces in place (somewhat) so you can see potential problems with trying to fit subsequent pieces. I would assume that the pins also add a bit of extra strength to the joint as well.

I have a Creality CR-10S with a bed 12x12x18. While this has been a workhorse for my projects, there are times that a larger bed would have helped me out considerably.

TazMan2000

I am taking notes here. LOL Good to know about the adhesive. I mean, push comes to shove, I could always print another part. I'd just rather...not. The idea of using pins sounds brilliant. I will take that to heart when I begin.

 

[katrin2000]

So, hubby just pushed me over the edge when he realized that he could make his own custom Cubs bobble heads. LOL We have an Anycubic Chiron on the way. I think the Tesseract case will be my first project because the parts are mostly small and simple shapes. If I don't totally mess that up, I'll move on to the small pieces of Iron Man armor. LOL Daughter has also requested a Mandelorian helmet and a Dr. Who #11 sonic screwdriver.

 

[jameswsalsman]

sounds very intriguing. I think my wife and I will purchase one as well, but which model is the best to buy. i want to be able to print full scale armor parts like for example, storm trooper armor, iron man, mandalorian etc. Help in a proper model to buy please.