Millennium Falcon parts for 3d Printing
- Thread starter maruska
- Start date
maruska
Sr Member
I use a combination of different programs; mainly Fusion360, but also Alias, Maya, Blender and Solidworks.
Fusion is pretty new on the market, but it's free, and very comparable to Solidworks for the type of work I do.
The Entex part was created in all the above...
; )
Vacformedhero
Sr Member
maruska you are a god, absolutely epic, are we free to use these files to print out ? Also without manipulation do these print out the same scale as he original part ?
maruska
Sr Member
Yes - the files are 1:1 with the original. Feel free to use them - post what you've done! ; )
maruska
Sr Member
This is a quick motion control test I threw together. Yes, the gun barrels are Bic pens, but it was just a proof of concept.
The targeting is being calculated in Unity (yay quaternion math!). Unity maintains a virtual target that the barrels try to point toward which, in-turn, calculates the values of each of the servos. The servo values are passed to an Arduio and then to the servos themselves.
I'd like to try to come-up with a way to get this all to run on the Arduino, but the spherical calculations are tricky and result in gimbal lock conditions quite easily...
https://vimeo.com/140881412
Oh, and here is a version of the quad gun that won't be made from Bic pens...
Cheers,
J.
The targeting is being calculated in Unity (yay quaternion math!). Unity maintains a virtual target that the barrels try to point toward which, in-turn, calculates the values of each of the servos. The servo values are passed to an Arduio and then to the servos themselves.
I'd like to try to come-up with a way to get this all to run on the Arduino, but the spherical calculations are tricky and result in gimbal lock conditions quite easily...
https://vimeo.com/140881412
Oh, and here is a version of the quad gun that won't be made from Bic pens...
Cheers,
J.
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Vacformedhero
Sr Member
if you ever get to a stage of selling this set up , I would be interested ,
excellent engineering
as soon as I have print outs I'll share........if your ever in Ireland let me know ill look after you.
maruska
Sr Member
Sure! Once (or if) I ever get this working on just a standalone microprocessor, I'll share the code. It's kind of a convoluted set-up at the moment - but it was a quick way to visualize what's going on with the two motions of the servos.
I'll also need to hunt down some smaller servos - this is them placed in a ANH 5' scale gun. The mini in the barrel mount is pretty hidden (in blue), but the main yoke servo would stick out of the turret deck pretty bad...
1:1 with the 5' foot or the 32" or 1:1 with the original kit part the piece was taken from?
maruska
Sr Member
The 5-footer.
The Entex Rotary was from the ANH model. The 32" ESB Falcon used the Porsche transmission.
I'll be printing it half scale though to fit my smaller model.
Vacformedhero
Sr Member
SGluedMyFingers
Well-Known Member
Holy Crap that's some cool stuff. But WAY above my head.
Wondering: Could you (or someone else) open a Shapeways store and upload these in scales for use on say the MPC Falcon? You might as well make a few pennies off those who don't have/want a printer.
Wondering: Could you (or someone else) open a Shapeways store and upload these in scales for use on say the MPC Falcon? You might as well make a few pennies off those who don't have/want a printer.
maruska
Sr Member
Thanks!
Yeah, I don't plan on selling any of the files or parts. They have been released under a Creative Commons non-profit license, so no one should be selling them either. You're more than welcome to use Shapeways to make your own parts, though!
SGluedMyFingers
Well-Known Member
That's incredibly generous. I just don't know anything about using 3D files and don't know how I could ensure that they would be the size that I need. I suppose maybe I need to learn. Or maybe down the road as you get more parts together I can get someone to help me out a little. It is awesome to consider the possibilities that these renders offer. Really cool stuff, dude.
With all that in mind, do you plan to do a render for the Leopard 1A1 grille that sits on each side of the engine deck and the McLaren parts?
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/...Partmaps/MF003_15_engine_deck_zps101340d1.jpg
Parts #6 and #1 and other small things like that? Or are you just going for the major parts?
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Vacformedhero
Sr Member
I do not have a 3D printer either, and shapeways shipping costs bug me for shipping to Ireland , so I tracked down a local 3D printer here in Dublin via 3D hubs, they are experimenting with the parts to print them out at high resolution and as clean as possible, I'll share as soon as I get them .
https://www.3dhubs.com
I'm not targeting you at all but I hear this all the time... "I don't know anything about computers" or something similiar. I'm 48 years old and personal computers have been around now for at least 40 years. This is the 21st century and there are still people who are saying that same line. There's no excuse anymore to NOT know at least something about computers. Everything is being done on computers these days, banking, bill paying, the car your drive, even the shows you watch on TV are now all on the computer. And whenever I hear someone say that they don't know anything about computers or what ever, it really gets my goat. When I was growing up, the only resource we had for learning something new was a 30 book set of leather bound Encyclopedia Britannica's that cost my parents a year's salary. Now, everything you want to know can be found just by typing the question (or even speaking these days) into the Google search bar. I do alot of computer repair and can understand some of these elderly folks that refuse to learn something new, but I keep telling them, just ask Google... you'd be amazed at what you'd learn. I've got a 85 year old customer that has discovered the internet for the first time because no one ever told him about it and he's opened up a whole new world of information. And what he told me describes it best... "If I had this resource of information back when I was running my company in the 70s, I would have been a very rich man!" So do yourself a favor, do a Google search... watch a Youtube tutorial... You're never too old to learn how to do something new and you never know what you might discover!
I think the key is knowing WHAT you want to learn. In this particular case it's creating a 3D object for printing. First you gotta know what kinda programs you can use for creating a 3D part. Just off the top of my head there is Google Sketchup, Blender, Maya, Solidworks, 123Easy. Cinema4D, 3D Studio, and the list goes on and on. Some of these programs are free (I know Sketchup and Blender are) but ALL of them have a large group of users who are more then willing to show you how to use the programs. That's where YouTube comes in handy. If you do a YouTube search for a program tutorial, you'll find hundreds of videos done by people who know how to use the program that you can watch (for FREE) to learn how to use that particular program. Some are better then others (some people really don't know how to teach) but in any event, the information you want to know is out there just waiting for you to soak it up like a big ol sponge and learn. Once you've got the object, you want it printed... there are so many different ways that can be done anymore it's rediculous... from Shapeways to 3DHub, you can get it done, or if you're brave enough, get your own 3D printer and start experimenting. You'd be amazed at just what you can do if you put your mind to it.
In this new internet driven, ADHD riddled, instant gratification, Short Attention Span, selfishly lazy society have we become so complacent and lazy that we forgot how fun it can be to do things for ourselves? Personally I exhaust all avenues of personal learning and talent before I even begin to think of other options or asking for help. These days it seems like such a cop out to just say "I really don't know much about computers" and play the pity card to get someone else to do something that I could have easily done myself if I just applied myself a bit more. So my first instinct anymore is to smack the person who said that magical phrase upside the head and say "Get out there and do it yourself ya bum!" but no, how would they learn from that other then saying that phrase generates a headache. But still, give it a try, find out more about the process, ask questions, learn something new, and you might actually surprise yourself! No truer words were ever spoken "Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day... teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime!"
maruska
Sr Member
Ha. I don't know what my plan is, I'm making it up as I go!
Generally, I'll be modeling parts that are either:
A. Sculptural and/or hard to scratch build.
B. Super rare/out of production/stupid expensive.
C. Not available at another scale.
That's my general rule. Add to that, I like to have the parts either in-hand, or, as with the Rotary parts, a good 3D scan to work from.
I think, that all can be interpreted as 'signature parts', more or less.
As for having a printer or knowing 3D, that's been addressed pretty well here.
While I'm happy to donate my efforts (because I'm doing it for myself anyway), I also know this method and these tools are new and of a particular nature and represent somewhat of a barrier to entry.
Ideally, I would get 'paid' with others contributing to the cause by either helping document parts, or providing loaner kits for me to document. I've only had a couple people step up to that, but plenty asking for more. I'll keep chugging along regardless.
maruska
Sr Member
Ha! This was great!
As a self-taught 40-something-something, this summed up my thoughts exactly!
maruska
Sr Member
Awesome.
Yeah, I toss around "Shapeways" somewhat generically.
You are much better off finding a bureau you can work with to get the most out of the printer. Shapeways often puts minimum feature restrictions on files that are way bigger than the capability of the printers, but err on the side of a more reliable print.
I'd rather have small features that fail, but tried, than neutering a part and not having the option to even attempt higher fidelity...
SGluedMyFingers
Well-Known Member
I said I didn't know anything about 3D files not computers. That was quickly followed by "I suppose maybe I need to learn". "Maybe... I can get someone to help me out a little" is part of the learning process and in that most of your second paragraph was quite helpful and I appreciate that. The rest of your post is knee-jerk, presumptuous, speculative, judgmental, ranting drivel. Unnecessary and not helpful. My time and money is limited. Who can fault anyone for looking to save time and money? Thanks but whatever, dude.
Again, maybe I should look further into 3D printing. I was actually looking at a book at the library just last week because I have been following some of this tech lately. Honestly it did not look very helpful and I'm certainly not looking for a degree in CAD. What I saw in that book actually, in a way, prompted me to approach this thread as I did. The choice is mine to look to pay others for their hard earned time, experience and knowledge or to look into it further myself, hopefully with a little positive help from others. But I don't need someone to tell me who they think I am or how they think I should or should not approach a given situation. I'm a round adult peg. Please don't jam me into your square hole. Please don't do that to anyone. It doesn't move anything forward. The most valid points can be easily invalidated by mere poor presentation.
I'm following all this with interest, maruska. Thanks for what info you have offered. I apologize if my inquiries were bothersome. Just curious. And really just trying to get some parts for a model.
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