It has begun -- First Build x2

[OrangeCrush]

It has been a while.... And a lot of learning. All of my printer issues were fixed mostly with 2 steps. #1, a new nozzle. #2 Reducing print speed.

We are re making 2 suites, Emily and myself. That means a total of 4 legs. To get 4 good legs, I think I have printed the equivalent of probably 8 .35 legs. The good news, I have 2 good right legs and 2 good left legs. Sizing mistakes, (Armosmith is ... complicated), bad print settings, weather (In Jan & Feb, the room with the printer gets really cold over night, then the heat comes on and it warms up quick. I think that caused some of the overnight failures. Right or wrong, I'm blaming the weather.) Then, While sanding, a couple of calf parts fell off the table and cracked when they hit the ground. Apparently 2 wall layers is not enough. Most of the stuff in the bucket is 4 or 5 wall layers. I used TPU for Emily's inner thigh parts.

Anyone ever epoxy TPU with PETG? If it works well, I may reprint my thighs the same way. We may try simple velcro to hold the parts in place. She likes it. We will figure out a way to make it work. FWIW, I'm planning on doing the Butt Plates in TPU. That could be a 40 hour print per part. 40 hours, now that's a commitment.

We finally got some good weather and a clear calendar. The legs got their first coat of primer on. That 2 tone knee in there is a Paint test part. I actually have a lot of "Test" parts. Yea, that's it. They are not failures, they are not wasted spools of filament, They are Test Parts! There, I feel better now... LOL.

Bottom line, We are making progress. That black thing is a forearm. After legs, Arms seem easy. I expect to have 4 good arms by the weekend, so lots more sanding priming, and maybe even some actual paint.

Quick question. How many coats of Primer filler, primer coat, paint, & clear coat do you typically average?
I know, it all depends. Emily was thinking 1 coat of filler primer, and 1 coat of paint. Based on my testing, I expect 2 coats of filler with some areas needing a third. one coat black primer. And 1, likely 2, coats of Paint. Does a layer of clear coat help? Hurt? make a difference?
And...um, does the weathering come before or after the clear coat? ! I know.... More uses for those test parts!!!

Thanks for playing!

 

[SgtSaint]

Its looking really good!

> How many coats of Primer filler, primer coat, paint, & clear coat do you typically average?
More sanding = less need to fill.
Please don't think I'm picking you when I say this: If you're going to invest 200 hours per suit, why not make it 220 hours and finishing sanding? (If we can see the layer lines in your photo then its a fair guess they're even more prominent in person) - All I'm saying is you don't run 90 yards then walk off the field at the 2 yard line without scoring the touchdown first. A few extra hours of prep can turn "okay" into "wow".

> I actually have a lot of "Test" parts. Yea, that's it. They are not failures, they are not wasted spools of filament, They are Test Parts! There, I feel better now... LOL.
Absolutely!

> Anyone ever epoxy TPU with PETG? If it works well, I may reprint my thighs the same way.
Yep: [thread post]

 

[OrangeCrush]

Thanks for the awesome feedback.
I will never feel "picked on" regarding your comments. I believe you want everyone to look great. Or, at least understand where or what can be improved.
All the parts in the bucket have one coat of filler. More to come.
Emily is will come around on the finishing. She spent 2.5 hours sanding the first layer. I expected it would be 1.
I was thinking we could "get away with" a lower quality effort on the inner thighs. But your point is well taken. Saving that one hour isn't worth it. Especially with the action pose!!!!

Regarding the TPU epoxy. Those look awesome.

Since Monday, hand, forearm, biceps & shoulders, Done! 4 sets.
Most of it sanded & the tennis elbow remains under control

 

[OrangeCrush]

Quick update
Emily's armor is printed. All that is left are the Boots. I know, I was supposed to start with those but we didn't know what shoes we would wear.
Both our Legs and arms have multiple coats of primer. The rest of the parts are mostly just taped together. Need to go through some finishing steps before beginning processing the more optically relevant parts.
I still have cod, chest, helmet and boots to print for me. So much stuff to do.
Oh, and sanding. Did I mention I have some sanding to do?

 

[OrangeCrush]

Slicing big parts
Emily is smaller than I am. I was able to print her parts without having to cut / slice anything.
I'm a different story.

Is it better to have as few parts as possible, which means fewer seams. Or .... IDK, what?
I'm leaning towards the yellow line vs the Red dotted line in the middle.
I'm thinking the yellow cut will be supported and guided by the Pectoral plate that fits in there.
The part is the chest main underbody

 

[OrangeCrush]

They say celebrate the little things, so here we go!

How do you attach the hand plate to the glove?
Using a test printed hand plate, I came up with the idea of bending some hot staples so they make a loop hook. I put them on the underside of the hand plate. I used strands of Cat5 networking wire as thread. It worked better than I expected, but probably not the final solution. I was thinking a drop of hot glue to hold the wire bits in place. Maybe a thin layer of EVA foam between the plate and the glove to solidify whole thing. That will depend ultimately on glove selection.
The glove I used is an old yard glove I had lying around and the hand plate is one of my many discarded "Test" parts.
That said, I think this is a workable solution. Reminder: I've never been the arts and crafts type. So yea, Celebrate!

The whole project is coming along. Most of the parts are printed and the rest should be done by the end of the month. The only thing remaining after that are the TPU Butt plates, which will take over a day each.

Legs and arms have 2 rounds of priming and sanding.
It's time to glue, and hot staple...
So, When I hot staple through Epoxy... um.... do you think the smoke is ..... um.... bad? I'm Kidding. I know it's bad and toxic.
On the first one, it caught me off guard.... File that under mistakes you only make once.