1:1 Thermal Detonator with Lights / Sound

azheat01

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RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
As I continue to mess with my 3D printer I wanted to take a moment to make another 1:1 Thermal Detonator with lights and sounds. I'm not dropping coin on the Master Replica's one so I thought I would give this another go. I did do a quick one for my son a few months back but I want this one to be cleaner and have a working switch, lights, and sound. I plan on cleaning up the print and making a mold, then a resin copy. I think I can get the copy much smoother than the original print. I didn't design this, found it on Thingiverse.

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This is the sound module I'll be using.

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I found an audio file online and ran it through Audio Director to make a .wav file for the module.

Let's see how it goes.........
 
Here's a video of the audio I loaded onto the module.................


And then I popped it into the shell to see how it sounded. I was thinking about drilling some small holes in the bottom to let the sound out, but after testing it like this I think it will be fine even after putting on the switch. If it becomes too muffled with the switch installed, then maybe I'll add a few holes underneath. I adjusted the volume to the max when I edited the sound. I'm going to rig this so the audio and lights both activate when the switch is pulled back.

 
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Dude! this is awesome!!! I've been wanting one of these for a while so I may try to make my own soon. Where did you get your sound module?
 
Sweeet! Great job! This is a project I've been wanting to do, but the audio portion is a bit daunting for me. Any chance you could detail what audio components you purchased?
 
Dude! this is awesome!!! I've been wanting one of these for a while so I may try to make my own soon. Where did you get your sound module?

Sweeet! Great job! This is a project I've been wanting to do, but the audio portion is a bit daunting for me. Any chance you could detail what audio components you purchased?

Thanks guys, the audio is quite easy since I just purchased the modules, I didn't have to build anything myself (nor could I have, this is above my head!). Here's a link: http://www.electronics123.com/shop/product/usb2mv2-75-second-usb-recording-module-5319 I did clean up the sound a little in Audio Director before loading it to the module.

The only problem is the software they provide to upload sound only works with Windows XP, Vista, and 7. Not sure if they have anything for a macOS. Luckily I have an extra old computer that is running Windows 7 so I can still use these modules. I really hope they upgrade their software to work with later systems........

On another note, I came across another wonderful detonator model and decided I like this version better. I printed it with a layer height of .1mm which gave me a very nice quality print. I took out the mouse sander and used 240+ grit for about 5 minutes and got the pieces to look like this.........

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I'm very pleased with how smooth these parts are, it's a very good starting point. I used a tiny bit of bondo on the edges around center, but that was it.
 
I also meant to show the size comparison between the two detonators. I like the larger size, the first print was a bit too small. It's amazing how different printing at .1mm is compared to .15 or .2. Just a little sanding and it looks completely different. These were both printed from the same spool of PLA. I wish I had taken a picture pre-sanding, but I didn't. At any rate, it made things easier................

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Agree with the second one looking better.
Your off to a great start.
How are gonna mount the switch?
If you end up casting any extras, drop me a pm.
Would love to build myself.
Robert
 
Agree with the second one looking better.
Your off to a great start.
How are gonna mount the switch?
If you end up casting any extras, drop me a pm.
Would love to build myself.
Robert

Thanks. The switch actually has two prongs on the bottom that snap into the holes on top of the detonator (see below), allowing it to slide back and forward. I'll mount a simple wire connection inside so that when the contacts touch when the switch is pulled back, it'll activate the lights and sound. I plan on leaving the main switch piece 3D printed so that the prongs are less likely to break or wear.

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Nice work! When printing on my Makerbot Rep2 I print at the highest setting and use Simplify3D to tweak the layers so that the outer layers are 100% infilled. That makes for a very sturdy prop that can be sanded down. I use 220-400-600-800-1000. Sometimes I go higher if it has to be ultra-smooth. The issue I have with XTC-3D is that it removes detail. Here's a phaser 1 that Shipbrook did that I 3D printed and used nothing but sandpaper and a tiny bit of spot putty to finish.

tJ

phaser1.jpg
 
No, I haven't, I keep hearing mixed reviews about that stuff. Does it work?

In my experience, it does. But it's not the magic item some claim it to be. I used it in my most recent project, and it definitely helped. I used it alongside normal sanding and filling, but what it did really well was smooth over scratches or small imperfection that are left over from sanding or printing. I used 2 coats. One early on in the sanding stage. The second right at the end, before the final smooth wet sand.
 
Huh... Just checked Smooth-On's site, I was under the impression that XTC-3D was an ABS-Only kinda gig... I may have to run to Reynold's AM in the near future...

Can you post the link to the New Model?

Thanks for the links and keep up the amazing work!!!
 
In my experience, it does. But it's not the magic item some claim it to be. I used it in my most recent project, and it definitely helped. I used it alongside normal sanding and filling, but what it did really well was smooth over scratches or small imperfection that are left over from sanding or printing. I used 2 coats. One early on in the sanding stage. The second right at the end, before the final smooth wet sand.

Thanks, I might give it a shot, probably not on this model since I got it pretty smooth printing at .1 mm and some fine sanding. I do have a few spots to touch up, but I'll probably use Bondo since I'm worried about the XTC epoxy getting into the detail lines.
 
Got a little sidetracked on this, been busy..............

I was able to smooth the print more and put a base coat of primer on.

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I also got the first coat of metallic silver on, this is just silver spray paint. I was going to go the route of painting it gloss black, then use Alclad, but decided not to. I was also going to use some Rub n Buff, may still do that. I'm not really concerned with getting a high gloss finish at this point.

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Next I need to start working on the electronics..........
 
Was able to get the lights installed, used 3mm LEDs on the bottom and a 5mm LED on top. I don't have a circuit board operating the LEDs at this point so I just hard wired two yellow steady LEDs and one flashing. I used a simple wire contact connection on the underside of the switch to make this work. All 4 LEDs run off one 9V battery, when the switch is pulled back the contacts meet and the lights activate, when moved forward they disconnect and deactivate. Going to try something similar with the audio. This is a very basic setup but it was also very inexpensive.

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Turned out great!


It looks very similar to the 'run' done here a while back from a member 'Obuliette' (or something)..

The end products were crap though... hers were also not 1:1 in size.. (and again.. were just crap, bad casts, super long waits.. mushy end products, not cured...etc)
 
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