Question for the 3D Printed Armor Wearers

[Kazick]

So I've been on and off working on my H3 ODST build that is/was a mix of 3d prints and foam. Things like the helmet and detail parts 3d printed, with larger parts made of foam. But upon reflection, and seeing other peoples builds that are almost all 3d printed I'm starting to put some thought into going down that route. I'm not happy with my level of skill at foam crafting, and I think I'm better with the printed and bondo and paints than I am the hot glue and knife. And to top it off, when I started I didn't have full access to a 3d printer, but now I do.

My only concerns and questions are, how durable is it?

My thinking on durability is this. I want to be able to go home after work, put the suit on, then get in a car and go to a meet up fully suited up. Local bar has cosplay nights every night and I figured I could suit up there once in a while, and I'd rather not have to lug a suit in a car, then put it on in the parking lot, then take it off to go home. I also have no issues with weight as I have said in the past, I have warn 40+ lbs of steel for multiple days for LARP. I'm just worried that a print might get damaged by sitting on/in it in a car or even in a chair. The last thing I want to do is sit down, lean back, and here plastic cracking.

This could probably be mitigated by thicker infill I assume. But what other things could I do to make it stronger/more durable?

I ask this knowing that a few weeks ago I sent my helmet flying across the room in a VR related accident and it didn't take any damage from the tile floor.

 

[S225]

Still learning from my own prints but so far I'm really impressed with how sturdy PLA is. For example, the thighs I've printed are three .5mm thick wall layers. Now depending on the model you print, you could end up with up to 6 walls in some areas depending on the geometry and how the slicer software works. I pull the thighs on over some thick knee braces to keep them on and when bending my legs, walking and even sitting down on the edge of a seat, I'm pretty confident they won't crack! Other parts likely don't need to be as thick like the helmet or other less stressed areas. My chest piece is 2 walls thick, again at .5mm thickness per wall and parts have taken a few falls while playing dress up and taken no damage.

I'm sure you could reinforce parts with resin, fiberglass, and maybe even scrap PLA melted with a hot knife or soldering iron.

 

[Emp Frosty]

So I've been on and off working on my H3 ODST build that is/was a mix of 3d prints and foam. Things like the helmet and detail parts 3d printed, with larger parts made of foam. But upon reflection, and seeing other peoples builds that are almost all 3d printed I'm starting to put some thought into going down that route. I'm not happy with my level of skill at foam crafting, and I think I'm better with the printed and bondo and paints than I am the hot glue and knife. And to top it off, when I started I didn't have full access to a 3d printer, but now I do.

My only concerns and questions are, how durable is it?

My thinking on durability is this. I want to be able to go home after work, put the suit on, then get in a car and go to a meet up fully suited up. Local bar has cosplay nights every night and I figured I could suit up there once in a while, and I'd rather not have to lug a suit in a car, then put it on in the parking lot, then take it off to go home. I also have no issues with weight as I have said in the past, I have warn 40+ lbs of steel for multiple days for LARP. I'm just worried that a print might get damaged by sitting on/in it in a car or even in a chair. The last thing I want to do is sit down, lean back, and here plastic cracking.

This could probably be mitigated by thicker infill I assume. But what other things could I do to make it stronger/more durable?

I ask this knowing that a few weeks ago I sent my helmet flying across the room in a VR related accident and it didn't take any damage from the tile floor.

"F" for the helmet/VR incident to start as said above you can reinforce your prints by adding more walls and infill or resin and fiberglass. How you glue, weld, or otherwise connect the parts is also going to greatly affect how well they will hold when putting pressure on them.

So far the chest for my current spartan build had a super weak point where the front and back connected so I welded them together using some extra pla+ and a solder. Now its almost like it was printed as one piece in that area making it so I can rest more of my weight on it when I sit.

If you've spent some time lurking around the forums or are already experienced with cosplay you'll probably have seen already (or know) that practicing sitting, resting, or moving in your costume is important so you know what you can and cant do without breaking a piece.

In summary so far I haven't had an issue with stability or toughness of a piece that was 3D printed that I've tested wearing other than a weakly connected stress point that I've already fixed.

 

[Kazick]

"F" for the helmet/VR incident to start as said above you can reinforce your prints by adding more walls and infill or resin and fiberglass. How you glue, weld, or otherwise connect the parts is also going to greatly affect how well they will hold when putting pressure on them.

So far the chest for my current spartan build had a super weak point where the front and back connected so I welded them together using some extra pla+ and a solder. Now its almost like it was printed as one piece in that area making it so I can rest more of my weight on it when I sit.

If you've spent some time lurking around the forums or are already experienced with cosplay you'll probably have seen already (or know) that practicing sitting, resting, or moving in your costume is important so you know what you can and cant do without breaking a piece.

In summary so far I haven't had an issue with stability or toughness of a piece that was 3D printed that I've tested wearing other than a weakly connected stress point that I've already fixed.

Thats one of the things I was worried about. I'm sure I could build it up and getting that feedback reassures me. I posted this, then sat and thought about it the rest of the day at work. At this point I'm pretty sure I'm going to pull that trigger and do a print. I feel like that's a better route for just how I work.

As for wearing armor, I do fantasy/medieval larp and Renfair where I wear 20-40 lbs of armor for anywhere from 4-30 hours. I've slept in my armor in the grass. So I am no stranger to wearing kits to get used to them. (I've walked a mile to Taco Bell in full kit just to get used to the weight and moving in it.)

 

[TurboCharizard]

This could probably be mitigated by thicker infill I assume. But what other things could I do to make it stronger/more durable?

Infill surprisingly isn't going to help you as much as you'd expect. Stronger prints generally come from more perimeters. Keeping a bit of flexibility in the structure will be more beneficial in the long run since a lot of the damage done to armour pieces is over extending and bending in one direction or another as opposed to knocks and punctures.

I like to add an internal fiberglass coating for a strong inner shell as well as a thin resin coat on the outside surface to help add a bit of strength to the overall structure.

 

[Mechace13]

does anyone know a printer i can use for printing a helmet and parts of the armor and it's under $1000

 

[Kazick]

does anyone know a printer i can use for printing a helmet and parts of the armor and it's under $1000

Artillery Sidewinder-X1 - 3D Printer NEW IN BOX V4

Ultra-quiet with a Lattice Glass Heated Bed, Reset Button Filament Run-out Sensor & Power Failure Recovery. Build Volume 300x300x400mm Exclusive Ultra-Quiet Stepper Driver - Dissipates much less heat by maintaining a higher torque compared to other quiet stepper drivers available. Synchronized...

www.friendlyhobbies.com

This is the exact printer I use.

And I was able to print my bucket in "one" go.

Here is a video of it doing it's thing as well.

 

[ddrfr33k]

I'm 3D printing my first cosplay, my Reach loadout from MCC. PLA is very durable, as long as you configure your print settings right. An Ender 3 will work, you'll need to split up the files, but it's very doable and you'll have some great results. I run 8-15% gyroid infill in my prints, which helps keep it sturdy. Realistically, I could probably go down to 5% infill, since I'm running a slightly thicker wall on my prints.

I wouldn't lay down on the floor while wearing my armor, but moving around will be more than fine.

 

[Rock Lobbster]

IF you want durability you're definitely going to want to fiberglass the insides of the prints. I'd advise against driving while suited up just for safety reasons but you could definitely make it easy to take on and off easily.

 

[Kazick]

I'd advise against driving while suited up just for safety reasons but you could definitely make it easy to take on and off easily.

My thing is that I like to go to a local cosplay bar. My thought process was this. Come home from work, suit up, hop in a Uber so I don't have to pay for parking and do that whole drink and drive thing. Jump out of the Uber like Im about to steal Red Teams Flag and have a good night.

Though one of my friends suggested riding my motorcycle fully suited up. I told him sure but only if he pays my medical bills. We then agreed it was a dumb idea.

 

[Newbsters]

An under looked part of a sturdy cosplay is making sure everything fits correctly and you’re using the best material for certain pieces.

For fitment, making sure things aren’t loose and banging around more than it needs to be is gunna extend its lifespan.

Material wise, high stress pieces need to be reinforced but not everything needs to be. On an ODST if you’re doing a lot of sitting the thighs are going to be high stress pieces. So they’ll likely need the most reinforcing. Other pieces like the tasset plates can be lightweight so they aren’t banging into your thigh plates as much. So making them out of foam is probably a better idea.

A good way to reinforce 3D prints is just straight up fiberglass the whole thing. It’ll be heavier but like I said not all pieces need to be reinforced. Know which pieces are high stress comes with experience and it really depends on what you do in your costume.

 

[Mechace13]

Artillery Sidewinder-X1 - 3D Printer NEW IN BOX V4

Ultra-quiet with a Lattice Glass Heated Bed, Reset Button Filament Run-out Sensor & Power Failure Recovery. Build Volume 300x300x400mm Exclusive Ultra-Quiet Stepper Driver - Dissipates much less heat by maintaining a higher torque compared to other quiet stepper drivers available. Synchronized...

www.friendlyhobbies.com

This is the exact printer I use.

And I was able to print my bucket in "one" go.

View attachment 310299

Here is a video of it doing it's thing as well.

was the helmet one piece

 

[marinesniper]

i use pla+ and it works really well, i also use fiberglass resin to reinforce the part so as a just incase. but yeah it is pretty good stuff at a cheap price...

 

[Kazick]

was the helmet one piece

Yes and no. It was sliced in Cura and set to fit as one piece in the printer, and it did fit. But 2 days into the print the printer broke, thermal sensor on the print bed burnt out. We got it repaired and restarted from about where it left off.

For taller, or larger, or more complex parts, I slice them into smaller prints. This way if the print fails at any point I'm not out several hours of printing, just two or three hours. Last week I did two prints, one 38 hours and the other 41 hours of my shoulders for my ODST build. Both I did as one solid part. I'll post them once I get more work done in my build thread.

i use pla+ and it works really well, i also use fiberglass resin to reinforce the part so as a just incase. but yeah it is pretty good stuff at a cheap price...

I'm currently using PLA as well. I'll likely go the fiberglass route once I get to some of the more stressed parts.

 

[Mechace13]

Yes and no. It was sliced in Cura and set to fit as one piece in the printer, and it did fit. But 2 days into the print the printer broke, thermal sensor on the print bed burnt out. We got it repaired and restarted from about where it left off.

For taller, or larger, or more complex parts, I slice them into smaller prints. This way if the print fails at any point I'm not out several hours of printing, just two or three hours. Last week I did two prints, one 38 hours and the other 41 hours of my shoulders for my ODST build. Both I did as one solid part. I'll post them once I get more work done in my build thread.



I'm currently using PLA as well. I'll likely go the fiberglass route once I get to some of the more stressed parts.

is padding something you have to add after its done so your head isnt touching the plastic

 

[Coreforge]

You don't have to add padding, but it's usually not very comfortable without. If you add it though, you have to do it after most steps are done.

 

[FelixMercenary]

Been watching this thread for a hot minute and its helped me realize that 3D printing my armor would likely be the best, and most fun to do, bet. But there is a question that just occurred to me. With fully 3D printed torso pieces, how do you get in and out of it? Is it like with some foam torsos (torsoes?) where you don't permanently attach the rib struts to the back of the torso and thus allow ease of arm insertion? Or is it another method I haven't thought of/ seen.

 

[TurboCharizard]

Been watching this thread for a hot minute and its helped me realize that 3D printing my armor would likely be the best, and most fun to do, bet. But there is a question that just occurred to me. With fully 3D printed torso pieces, how do you get in and out of it? Is it like with some foam torsos (torsoes?) where you don't permanently attach the rib struts to the back of the torso and thus allow ease of arm insertion? Or is it another method I haven't thought of/ seen.

You can go about it a few different ways depending on the accuracy and durability that you're looking for

• The Clamshell Method of two halves (front and back) that clip together with parachute clips or similar.
• A Big Hinge mechanism mounted at the shoulders
• Removable underarms that clip or magnetize into place
• Other more clever methods

Personally I like the Clamshell Method since it allows for a closer fitting neck gasket that you don't have to squeeze your head through.

EDIT: This is all in regards to SPARTAN gear. For ODSTs, Marines and Army Troopers the chest rig is usually somewhat flexible if built with the canon soft parts and rigging arrangements. If you're not a SPARTAN just having strapping setups similar to what we see in the games should limit having to squirmy wormy your way into a torso piece.

 

[Mechace13]

so how does it look right after it's printed and are there add ons for the helmet

 

[Kazick]

is padding something you have to add after its done so your head isnt touching the plastic

I used the straps out of a cheap Home Depot hard hat to lift it off my head. I then lined it with foam to give it some sound dampening.

so how does it look right after it's printed and are there add ons for the helmet

Have a look at my build post. I think I linked it a few replies up. I might make some sort of GoPro housing in the future for reasons.

That’s my fully 3D printed helmet after buddy filler, primer, and paint.