Rage's first build!!! The MK IV and Halo 3 Assault Rifle

[Asgardianhammer]

Since you are tackling TPU in your prints I might suggest moving to PETG for rigid components.

Also for smoothing prints you can thin down bondo spot putty with acetone and brush it down, then sand.

 

[RageGoblin]

Since you are tackling TPU in your prints I might suggest moving to PETG for rigid components.

Also for smoothing prints you can thin down bondo spot putty with acetone and brush it down, then sand.

Is this for the TPU or the hard component? Also, will it look funky after sanding and painting if I switch mid suit to PETG?

 

[Asgardianhammer]

Hard Component. No it wont look funky. if anything it will hold up to heat better than PLA+. You may get more stringing with PETG but it prints at a higher temp around 245/80 (nozzle/bed)

 

[MooseCast89]

Slowing the print speed and keeping the temperature and moisture VERY controlled helped so much with the stringing. I also used rubber cement on the inside seams.

I will have to make sure I purchase a filament drier then before I print those parts. Thank you for sharing.

 

[RageGoblin]

Welp.....my suit building has come to a stop for anything that requires a respirator for the next couple of weeks. I went to the dermatologist and they had to freeze a pre-cancerous place off my left cheekbone area causing me to not be able to wear any type of mask (Including my CPAP) for at least a week. I will continue to scale, print, and glue my parts together in the interim, but won't be able to plastic weld, sand, paint, or bondo until this heals, and I can wear my mask for longer periods.

As of right now, I have printed and glued: both feet, both shins, and I'm almost done gluing both thighs.
Still to print in TPU are: the abdominal section (looks like a strapless one piece swimsuit rn in Armorsmith, will be cut into sections for ease of donning and doffing), both biceps, and the neck cowls.
Still to print with PLA/PETG are: cod/waist/butt pieces (will be fused to abdominal piece to cover clasps), chest and back pieces, and both arms/hands

When my husband comes home this weekend, we're going to build a pvc armor stand so I can see it coming along.

 

[MooseCast89]

Sorry to hear that, glad you got it taken care of though. let us know how the stand turns out, I want to build one as well. never got over the full suit of knight armor my friends dad had in his office when I was a kid.

 

[RageGoblin]

Sorry to hear that, glad you got it taken care of though. let us know how the stand turns out, I want to build one as well. never got over the full suit of knight armor my friends dad had in his office when I was a kid.

We're going to attempt one that looks like the on Frankly Built has on YouTube, if that helps. There's a video where he talks about his stand and how it's made.

 

[OrangeCrush]

Slowing the print speed and keeping the temperature and moisture VERY controlled helped so much with the stringing. I also used rubber cement on the inside seams.

I am using some TPU in our builds. I expected some machine specific tuning, but the moisture aspect caught me surprise.
Moist & Moisture. I read somewhere that people think "Moist" is like one of the Ickiest and unpleasant words.
When it comes to TPU, It is all about the Moisture.

I'm doing our arm collars out of TPU, a total of 12 parts
After half a dozen failures, dialing in settings I got frustrated
I finally read the Overture instructions , which say to dry it for 7+ hours at 70c, even when new out of the vacuumed sealed bag.
I didn't even know I could manually set the dryer temp to 70c. It doesn't have a default that high. FWIW: I had been doing 2 hours at the 50c PETG setting. And, making things worse, this was during 4 days of cold (65-75 degrees with 55%+ Humidity) wet rainy weather here in Atlanta.

7 Hours later + 4 hours to print, and I produced my first near perfect TPU part
12 parts at 4 hours each with 5-6 hours drying between each one.... OK, check, they will be done by Dragon Con!
I can't wait to see everyone there!
Now, How do I get these shoes/boots to work?

 

[RageGoblin]

I am using some TPU in our builds. I expected some machine specific tuning, but the moisture aspect caught me surprise.
Moist & Moisture. I read somewhere that people think "Moist" is like one of the Ickiest and unpleasant words.
When it comes to TPU, It is all about the Moisture.

I'm doing our arm collars out of TPU, a total of 12 parts
After half a dozen failures, dialing in settings I got frustrated
I finally read the Overture instructions , which say to dry it for 7+ hours at 70c, even when new out of the vacuumed sealed bag.
I didn't even know I could manually set the dryer temp to 70c. It doesn't have a default that high. FWIW: I had been doing 2 hours at the 50c PETG setting. And, making things worse, this was during 4 days of cold (65-75 degrees with 55%+ Humidity) wet rainy weather here in Atlanta.

7 Hours later + 4 hours to print, and I produced my first near perfect TPU part
12 parts at 4 hours each with 5-6 hours drying between each one.... OK, check, they will be done by Dragon Con!
I can't wait to see everyone there!
Now, How do I get these shoes/boots to work?

This was really interesting. I wasn't aware of Overture telling you to pre-dry it at 70c. I've been running my dry box at 60c for days. I leave the TPU in the dry box and have the filament pulling from the hole in the top while it's being used.
When I'm done with using the TPU for the prints, I unload the printer and wind it back into the box until I'm ready to use it next.
I'll have to try the 70c drying right out of the bag and see if I get a better result.

 

[MooseCast89]

bookmarking this for myself for future reference thank you.

 

[Scrap Yard]

Looking great!

 

[RageGoblin]

Looking great!

Thank you so much! It still seems a little overwhelming with everything left to do, especially since I have zero experience wiring things.

 

[Scrap Yard]

Thank you so much! It still seems a little overwhelming with everything left to do, especially since I have zero experience wiring things.

You got this! Good luck!

 

[RageGoblin]

Both thigh pieces are printed and assembled. Now to sand, prime, paint, and rig.
Question: how the heck do y'all walk with these things on!?
I drew an arrow to the inner thigh parts that keep clanking together. I have to waddle to not hit them.
I'm tempted to just cut them off and fill the hole over.

 

[MooseCast89]

Both thigh pieces are printed and assembled. Now to sand, prime, paint, and rig.
Question: how the heck do y'all walk with these things on!?
I drew an arrow to the inner thigh parts that keep clanking together. I have to waddle to not hit them.
I'm tempted to just cut them off and fill the hole over.

I would also be tempted to do just that, you might loose a few point on accuracy but for the life of me I don't know who would design armor in the first place in those spots.