Permission To Come Aboard?

Apologies if its not standard protocol for new recruits to post on arrival however, it seems to be an around the board practice used on several other forums Im a part of so to play it safe here we are. I grew up gaming with my older siblings and now find myself to be "The Old Gamer" at the table. I took a break for several years due to becoming a dad but now with my kids grown I find that they enjoy gaming as well.

The Reason I find myself wanting to join up here is because I have a strong passion for design and fabricating work. I currently work as a CNC Machinist for a large medical company. I have also worked on things as simple as the pulley wheels that now are a part of the elevator systems in the Freedom Tower to things as advanced as Drones, next gen red dot technology (weapons sighting systems) and robotics vision systems being used in space. What systems Im not at liberty to say. What I can say is that its been a wild ride getting to where I am now.

I do not yet have a 3d printer however, I will be purchasing one sometime in the coming spring. I haven't worked with any of the software I've seen listed here thats currently in use so Ill use my time between now and purchase to become familiar with it

Looking forward to working with all of you and hopefully getting to know you better

~Die? Didn't you know? Spartans never die~

Welcome aboard!

We have some members here who are fantastic at 3D printing so you should feel right at home.


"I don't know what's weirder, that you're fighting a stuffed animal, or that you seem to be losing" - Suzie

Very much appreciated. I've been scoping out the files I have access to and I would agree there is a lot of talent here. I do a 36 hour run from Thursday to Friday evening every week so I'm going to get the software together tomorrow and see if it compares to anything I already have experience with. Truly looking forward to starting on this new journey

if you have any questions about 3d printing feel free to ask

Welcome to the 405th! You should check out the tutorial posts (the stuck ones) in the assorted categories (pepakura for ex.) to get yourself situated.

Welcome! Excited to see some of the stuff you'll make with a background like that.

If there is one thing I have learned over the years of fabrication work and machining, the biggest asset one can have in this kind of undertaking is patience. An ounce of patience is worth more than years of experience when it comes to fab work. Time will give you the knowledge for sure but patience will see that you take the time to do things right. I apologize for not replying to you all sooner. The past few days have been very hectic with the kids and I've been spending a lot of my time going through checking out the several useful pinned posts as well as a lot of videos on the subject matter. Trust me if I hit a snag Ill be picking someones brain to figure out what I'm missing lol. Now if it were only possible for me to purchase a 6 axis cnc machine I would love to try to make some of these in solid works and machine them out of air craft aluminum. Stuff is crazy light weight and takes a beating

So I do have a few questions I wanted to ask

Are there any specific 3d printers I should stay away from when I go to pick one up and what do you all recommend?

and second has anyone attempted a HUD Display system for the helmets yet? I've experienced some really awesome ones with motorcycle helmets that have killer 360 deg view capability that could come in handy at a con so your not tripping over the knee high younglings

Ill pop in here .......

#1 I use a FF dreamer . its managed to "survive " 3 Full HALO armor sets and also tons of other props....... Ive shoved over 150#s of ABS from the day I got it ... I * just * managed to bust the right extruder .. I suspect its not a failed thermocouple but a busted wire. those heads take a TON of flex. . you work on CNCs you know what I mean. Wires in robotics are just a massive headache . and unless you spend $$$$ with proper flex cables and E chain to manage them they are gonna break.


Ive used a Prusa i3 and a TAZ5 and also a rostoc while back in College ..
My self I have owned a Wood printr bot Jr that got me in to this messs .
Franky If you are DIY. prusa is the king..... its just got soo many users that its kinks are all sorted out . its 8 cubed area is good and its price is fair.
Be warned its not a ABS printer. It CAN with upgrades but its best left to do PLA and other non heated bed materials .

Infact the reason I picked the FFdreamer was that its enclosed so it really does a good job with ABS.
and as you know ABS can be smoothed with acetone . PLA is smoothed via sanding or fillers in the gaps.

what is your budget. and do you want to dedacate s PC to it.


most pritnters unless you upgrade them are just a COM port that has a onboard FTDI to USB chip. they take in G code On the fly.
If your PC has a update or hiccups or gos to sleep . you can kiss your print goodby...... YEs you can shove the G code on a SD and thats a workaround.
the FF dreamer has a ARM based proc not a PIC. its a iteration more smart and it presents its self as a USB machine and it stores the G gcode on the printer side .
just a handy tidbit.
granted you can tweak a raspberry Pi to act as a print server and just keep it with the printer and that kinda does the same thing.
In some ways a Real time controll lets you tinker more. but for produciton ( what I do) I dont care . I want a tormach not a toy





this is on my hit list https://www.raise3d.com/pages/raise3d-n2-plus
the thought of a full firearm prop on one Print run is sooooo tempting . or a entire thigh


however IF tevo gets some good reviews this thing looks sick and I love how its machened Al not just plastic. with currency converion its around a grand and thats a TON less then what the TAZ is . and the TAZ is a mega prusa IMO.

https://tevo3dprinterstore.com/products/coming-soon

#2 .I work for a major aerospace company who makes ..............Ill leave it at that

Thanks for you time and input on this.

#1 Currently I have a few grand to get started with so I'm not to worried about sticker shock.

#2 I would prefer to be able to work with ABS and PLA as I hear both have their positive and negative aspects which is true for anything.

I had originally looked at the Makerbot line and then learned that apparently they are not all they are cracked up to be and I do not feel like dropping 5-7 grand on a machine that I can do the same thing with a machine that is running 1-2 grand. That's just bad business no matter how you hash it lol.

#3 not concerned about computer systems I have several, oddly enough Im the jock that turned computer nerd. I played football and several fighting sports through out school and now find myself studying for my bachelors in software engineering in an accelerated program. I decided to take some time off after my youngest son was born to assist anywhere I could but will be starting back hopefully this coming fall

I will definitely be taking a look into the links you provided as I haven't really heard to much of any of these systems. I have some experience in robotics not nearly as much as I do in machining mind you but enough to be dangerous, that's a story best left for another time and as far as the second part of your answer I can only imagine how fun it is working permanently in aerospace design and engineering. I did some things for Lockheed Martin once that were out of this world. About the only thing of interest I've been involved in lately here has been mobile diagnostic imaging that allows doctors to connect ultrasound equipment to portable computers/tablets or even high grade cellular to get real time medical images without having to lug a massive medical unit into hard to reach areas

the FF Dreamer is 1100 USD. Its a very good buy for what you get. WiFi. 2 Extruders that are based on the E3D hot end. ( cartrage heater )
its 9,6,6 buld area is fair.... the software is very good. but its limited . however you can allwas side load the G code from a SD card .

It uses a Fullsize USB jack ( whoever thought Micro USB was OK for a machine tool is a total goof ) . the SD slot for the same reason is a full size . not uSD .
again robust! .

its def not a tinker machine..more plug and play produciton . EG like a strasys .... It does use off the rack NEMA steppers and parts ect. so its not like the makerbot a locked down device.

My only gripe is the teflon liners in the the hot end die every few months . but I just got a 5 foot chunk from mc master and at 1.5 inch per liner thats gona last a LONG time . 20 bucks shipped for a lifetiem of liners.

if you can muster 2200 . the TAZ6 is the king of the big toys. about 12 inch cubed..One of the most well loved larger formats on the markket and like the prusa its got tons of support .

but as you can guess feed rate is more of a issue then build area..... many small parts are not that much more time then a big one. and If I large print fails its more of a loss.
with that getting 2 machines might be a option. or get one and plan for a second .


if you are very bold . geta dreamer and then build up a rostok so you have a nice long machne for firearms and other long stuff.


Its easy to mod the delta rostok to 24 inch Z and that makes it Very usefull

The only current problem that I see is that the TAZ6 is currently not available in the US so perhaps by the time that Im ready for purchase that may change. I do like the way the dreamer is laid out and I can see where having an enclosed system would be beneficial for more than just maintaining heat. I have a feeling I will more than likely be going with flash forge unless something better hits the market between now and spring. Your input on this has been very helpful and much appreciated. I will more than likely be doing several small parts VS one large part anyhow that way if I dont like the way something comes out I can just adjust and reprint that single section of the puzzle vs possibly having to redo an entire pc (Such as a helmet)

3D printing, sweet! Can't wait to see some of your work with yours, maybe? Welcome!

I too am a recruit like yourself, and I cant wait to see what you come up with seeing as how you're a machinist by trade not just at heart...

peterthethinker said:

the FF Dreamer is 1100 USD. Its a very good buy for what you get. WiFi. 2 Extruders that are based on the E3D hot end. ( cartrage heater )
its 9,6,6 buld area is fair.... the software is very good. but its limited . however you can allwas side load the G code from a SD card .

It uses a Fullsize USB jack ( whoever thought Micro USB was OK for a machine tool is a total goof ) . the SD slot for the same reason is a full size . not uSD .
again robust! .

its def not a tinker machine..more plug and play produciton . EG like a strasys .... It does use off the rack NEMA steppers and parts ect. so its not like the makerbot a locked down device.

My only gripe is the teflon liners in the the hot end die every few months . but I just got a 5 foot chunk from mc master and at 1.5 inch per liner thats gona last a LONG time . 20 bucks shipped for a lifetiem of liners.

if you can muster 2200 . the TAZ6 is the king of the big toys. about 12 inch cubed..One of the most well loved larger formats on the markket and like the prusa its got tons of support .

but as you can guess feed rate is more of a issue then build area..... many small parts are not that much more time then a big one. and If I large print fails its more of a loss.
with that getting 2 machines might be a option. or get one and plan for a second .


if you are very bold . geta dreamer and then build up a rostok so you have a nice long machne for firearms and other long stuff.


Its easy to mod the delta rostok to 24 inch Z and that makes it Very usefull

Click to expand...

I have a "build it yourself" makers tool works Mendel max 2, that is still not finished... I am going to get on that so I can start playing with it. I have some experience in CNC machining as well, and we use Solidworks here at work so its a pretty powerful tool!
what do you recommend using for a slicer program? I feel as though that will be the challenging part for printing.

thanks for any knowledge you share

Well as it stands right now this will be my maiden voyage in 3d printing. This thread is the start of that journey here at the 405th and I'm already enjoying the new knowledge I've acquired already. I cant stress enough the importance of scanning over the new recruits sections and stickys as there is a wealth of knowledge there already. I'm already running on windows 10 so I'm going to have a look into the built in 3d slicer I've been reading about there. I've also downloaded Makehuman and meshmixer and have been getting familiar with the controls. I can tell you coming from a machining background it is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. A blessing in the sense that I quickly adapt to programs (which is also due to my schooling) and a curse because I am used to working with tight tolerances on my work pieces such as microns and angstroms (for those who don't know what an angstrom unit of measure is for, in the trade we use it for plating with metals such as gold and silver. It is the unit of measure used to measure distances between cells in a human hair!) I already know that my perfectionism is going to cause me some headaches along the way but I am sure the end prize will be that much sweeter.I have been machining now for 5+ years and Ive done literally almost every venue from oil and gas fields, elevator pulleys, DoD Contracts, Aerospace, Sound Tech, Electromagnetics and now I work in the medical field which has been the most challenging yet due to FDA regs it really keeps you on your toes and keeps you performing at your peak.

I really have no advice to give on 3D printing itself just yet as I'm still green when it comes to that. What I will suggest is spend some time scanning through the threads here and reading the stickys for new members. Watch any of the videos provided. If this is truly your passion and what you want to do then take what you can find here and continue searching for more and never give up. Most important of all though is to never forget where you came from, where you started. No matter how far you go with your designs remember the moment when you first stepped foot on the field and hold on to that through out your entire journey and always give credit to those who helped you along the way. Remember to help those just starting out as you were supported in your beginning. No One Left Behind!

Well said sir!

I would love to bend your ear about ideas I have had in the past. I have a jet lathe at home for simple projects, I wish I could get a nice Bridgeport or something with a little cnc functionality to tinker with.

one of these days I will, just not for a while lol

where about do you live Invictuss?

Private Jenkins said:

Well said sir!

I would love to bend your ear about ideas I have had in the past. I have a jet lathe at home for simple projects, I wish I could get a nice Bridgeport or something with a little cnc functionality to tinker with.

one of these days I will, just not for a while lol

where about do you live Invictuss?

Click to expand...

Currently Im living in central Pennsylvania out in the mountains, just south of Penn State main campus. Your more than welcome to bend my ear anytime you like where CNC and machining are involved I worked on everything from Bullard Vertical Turret lathes from around 1915-1920s era, all the way up to 5 axis dual head cnc cells with live tooling functionality. Honestly if your looking into it for something of this nature you may be able to get away with using a build it yourself setup designed more toward wood work as it would save you a ton of money and still get you nearly the exact same functionality as a bridgeport. I am in no way saying dont get a bridgeport as I really want one for myself as well. if you ever find yourself sitting on a nice size chunk of a change you could also take a look into Haas mini mill (by nice chunk of change im talking about $30k for a good used one lol)

You guys said if I had any questions to ask to fire away so here is my next along the design line. I know in Solidworks I can pair parts together to see how they mate to one another and it got me thinking. Now this has probably already been done and I may have missed the post somewhere but here goes

Is there anything within the programs listed here that we use that allows us to create a mating of parts? Examples would be tongue and grove, tab and hole/pin etc. it seems to me that if we are printing these parts out from sliced solid files it would make not only piecing them back together much easier in an alignment aspect but would also lend some rigidity and stabilization to the build project as well.

What are your thoughts on this? has it been done yet?

Ive thought of it . and the noble i made has guide pins for the chest.

peterthethinker said:

Ive thought of it . and the noble i made has guide pins for the chest.

Click to expand...

Now did you manually add those in or was that something you were able to use built in parameters in a program? If so may I inquire as to what?