Big Mac's ODST Build

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Eyyy exciting! I've only done one armour print so far (a helmet meant for display) but I'd say no less than four walls (with a 0.4mm nozzle), but five would be better, if you can afford the time/material. Of course, that's really only in case you drop it/hit something, not for proper protection. I usually keep infill at 5-10%, because wall thickness actually matters more than infill - though you could even bump it up to 20%.
 
So, I am having issues with my prints.
I have replaced the nozzle, and this filament has been through a dry box.
Any Idea what I am getting wrong?
 

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So, I am having issues with my prints.
I have replaced the nozzle, and this filament has been through a dry box.
Any Idea what I am getting wrong?
PETG can be a really tricky material to print in. Doesn't look like there's moisture there, but do you hear popping as it's coming out of the nozzle (even though you dried it)? Is your cooling fan off? And what speed are you printing at?
 
It seems that my printer decided that it hated me this week, and especially hated THAT particular spool of PETG. After considerable tweaking of the print bed, the extruder, a nozzle swap (I go through nozzles like copy paper.), and just saying "Screw it" and trying another spool of PETG, the base layers seem to be ok so far.
That particular spool gave the mediocre results. it just didn't want to adhere to anything, not even itself.
Here's hoping it's just one bad spool, because I have about 5kg of it (unopened) for this project so far...
 
I've had that happen too... not with PETG but with PLA+. Same brand, same material, different spool. Completely different results. The first one gave some of the best prints my printer has ever made, while the next one can't stick to the bed nor itself to save its life. Sometimes it just be like that :/
 
So, goofing around and burning one of my older spools (mostly to get rid of it) I learned some things:

1. I am going to need to put more thought into the Armor side of things before I get going when it comes to scaling.
As such I picked up the Armorsmith software, and have been playing with that.
2. 40% infill is absolute overkill. I'm going to do the helmet in 30%, but everything else is just getting 20.
3. Stock speeds are garbage on large prints. Does anyone have a CR-10 Smart profile they swear by?

In other news, I DO have the helmet scaling figured out.
Would a vertical print or horizontal the best approach for this?
I am looking for what will give me the better quality with less post processing...
 

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I would print something like that horizontal, helps make less support. The quality for that piece will be similar for both orientations though. If anything, I try to make the layers that will be visible near a large smooth spot in the helmet so it can be easily sanded. If there are layer lines in small detailed areas, getting in there with sandpaper can be tricky. Like I said though, either way should be fine.
 
So, goofing around and burning one of my older spools (mostly to get rid of it) I learned some things:

1. I am going to need to put more thought into the Armor side of things before I get going when it comes to scaling.
As such I picked up the Armorsmith software, and have been playing with that.
2. 40% infill is absolute overkill. I'm going to do the helmet in 30%, but everything else is just getting 20.
3. Stock speeds are garbage on large prints. Does anyone have a CR-10 Smart profile they swear by?

In other news, I DO have the helmet scaling figured out.
Would a vertical print or horizontal the best approach for this?
I am looking for what will give me the better quality with less post processing...
Welcome to the 405th!

What kind of print times are you looking at? For half of a full scale helmet 3 to 4ish days is what my ODST would have been, I printed it in one go so it was 8 days. As far as infill goes anything above 25% to 30% infill you might as well add another set of walls and lower the infill back down to the 15% to 25% range.

If your printers Y axis move back and forth printing vertically with a brim works well. Just make sure that you the longest side length moves with the Y axis.

As far as scaling goes if you scale up the helmet to much it might look strange with armor. A good way to keep the helmet size down but still be able to get your head in is to have a back plate cut out of the model and print it separately.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask and best of luck with your build!
 
So, I balked a bit and realized that I am going to have to do a LOT more math in scaling the armor bits.
Since college physics is simultaneously kicking my head in, I have shifted to the happy fun gun:
The M90 CAWS shotgun.

Here are pics of the back half of the pump assembly.
 

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XD been there with the curiosity I get so impatient with sanding sometimes, Lookin good tho!!
I hit the top because there are a pair of side plates, and bolts that are supposed to go in those holes.
I am going to keep the imperfections in the bondo job as they look like old shrapnel spalling.

It's SUPER premature, but I am trying to figure out my color scheme.
Because hell is getting a paint color you like, and hitting a point where you can't find it anywhere...
 
I hit the top because there are a pair of side plates, and bolts that are supposed to go in those holes.
I am going to keep the imperfections in the bondo job as they look like old shrapnel spalling.

It's SUPER premature, but I am trying to figure out my color scheme.
Because hell is getting a paint color you like, and hitting a point where you can't find it anywhere...
Ya thats the worst feeling or u buy one can and go back and its out xD
 
Ya thats the worst feeling or u buy one can and go back and its out xD
Oh boy the nightmares, Im facing this in my area now with one of my primary colors. I could have waited but decided to pay a premium on getting it on line.

Also great idea using the imperfections as "weathering". That chest plate is looking nice!
 
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