WIP- Fully 3D Printed ODST Build

[CMYKey]

I'm no stranger to 3D printing, yet I'm still amazed by it every time. One of these days I'll get a printer of my own. In the meantime, I'll just have to sit here and be jealous of awesome projects like this. Keep it up!

 

[Crumpus]

I'm no stranger to 3D printing, yet I'm still amazed by it every time. One of these days I'll get a printer of my own. In the meantime, I'll just have to sit here and be jealous of awesome projects like this. Keep it up!

They still aren’t super cheap, but here’s the exact one I use Anet A8 Desktop 3D Printer only $124 USD! When I got the Anet A8 it was about $200, but it’s served me faithfully for over two years and has never had a problem that I couldn’t fix. I printed all of my stuff on this printer and as long as you make sure to tighten the screws and level the bed it works beautifully. I’d recommend any maker have one if they’re on a budget honestly. See below post.

 

[Cpl Shepard]

Really impressive, the strength you'll have on some of these parts will really show through when you go to a con. Lots of us have had to repair all manner of cracks before just from moving around, with 3d printed parts you won't have to worry so much about wear and tear. Nice job!

 

[Crumpus]

Alright I'm leaving my last post up so that my enthusiasm can be documented. Do not buy the Anet A8 without making significant modifications. Friday morning I woke up and went to check a print job that I had started the day before. Even with a fast printer, jobs for this sort of project can take between 12-24 hours. Walking out to my workshop I saw that it was on fire. I (stupidly) ran in and grabbed the fire extinguisher to try and put it out, and somehow managed to as it hadn't yet spread too far. I then called the fire dept who sent one old dude with no PPE to come spray all of my equipment (burnt or otherwise) down with water. Guess nobody was there because of the virus but whatever. It was pretty obvious that the printer had started the fire, but not immediately obvious how. looking at the burnt pile of slag on the floor it seemed to have either started on the power supply or the motherboard. Anet's explanation boiled down to "Yeah they tend to catch on fire when they get old sorry bud," which isn't great but I appreciate the honesty. That being said, if you google "Anet A8 fire" you will come up with many, many results of how unsafe the base design is. There are alterations that you can make the improve the safety, but honestly you would just be off buying a printer that doesn't burst into flames when it gets old. I lost pretty much all of my tools, several armor components, my printer, and most of my materials in the fire, so sadly this project is discontinued for now as I no longer have the funds or the equipment to work on it. I'm sorry all, but thank you for staying with me up to this point, and keep a fire extinguisher close by. Also don't run into burning workshops that was just dumb.

 

[CMYKey]

Alright I'm leaving my last post up so that my enthusiasm can be documented. Do not buy the Anet A8 without making significant modifications. Friday morning I woke up and went to check a print job that I had started the day before. Even with a fast printer, jobs for this sort of project can take between 12-24 hours. Walking out to my workshop I saw that it was on fire. I (stupidly) ran in and grabbed the fire extinguisher to try and put it out, and somehow managed to as it hadn't yet spread too far. I then called the fire dept who sent one old dude with no PPE to come spray all of my equipment (burnt or otherwise) down with water. Guess nobody was there because of the virus but whatever. It was pretty obvious that the printer had started the fire, but not immediately obvious how. looking at the burnt pile of slag on the floor it seemed to have either started on the power supply or the motherboard. Anet's explanation boiled down to "Yeah they tend to catch on fire when they get old sorry bud," which isn't great but I appreciate the honesty. That being said, if you google "Anet A8 fire" you will come up with many, many results of how unsafe the base design is. There are alterations that you can make the improve the safety, but honestly you would just be off buying a printer that doesn't burst into flames when it gets old. I lost pretty much all of my tools, several armor components, my printer, and most of my materials in the fire, so sadly this project is discontinued for now as I no longer have the funds or the equipment to work on it. I'm sorry all, but thank you for staying with me up to this point, and keep a fire extinguisher close by. Also don't run into burning workshops that was just dumb.

Jesus, that's terrifying. Sad to hear about the destruction of the build, but I'm far happier to hear you're okay... that could've been a lot worse. Pretty insane (and irresponsible!) that they're clearly aware of the problem and haven't issued any kind of recall. Lawsuit anyone?

 

[Crumpus]

Because I would hate to misrepresent them, here is their exact response. My original email had pictures of the fire damage and the remains of the printer, and was asking if my printer was defective and letting them know that their product may be unsafe. At least I'm their friend though.

 

[CosmicCrusaderX]

that looks really good! Did you say you used primer filler on the pieces?

Edit: just saw the other posts. Im sorry to hear about the fire!

 

[Crumpus]

that looks really good! Did you say you used primer filler on the pieces?

I did! I think that it specifically said “sandable filler” I think what did a really great job was the spot putty that I bought though. It didn’t survive the fire, but I wanna say that even though I used it on the whole suit there was still 1/4 of the tube left, a pretty good amount! I’ve messed with bondo before and think that the tube is a better amount for me to work with. Plus no mixing, which is nice.

 

[CosmicCrusaderX]

I did! I think that it specifically said “sandable filler” I think what did a really great job was the spot putty that I bought though. It didn’t survive the fire, but I wanna say that even though I used it on the whole suit there was still 1/4 of the tube left, a pretty good amount! I’ve messed with bondo before and think that the tube is a better amount for me to work with. Plus no mixing, which is nice.

Hmmm do your remember what settings you had the printer set too? I have been kicking around getting a printer. Another member said to use the filler but it looked like it left a lot of ridges even after applying it. did you find cover the entire surface or just on the seams?

 

[Crumpus]

Hmmm do your remember what settings you had the printer set too? I have been kicking around getting a printer. Another member said to use the filler but it looked like it left a lot of ridges even after applying it. did you find cover the entire surface or just on the seams?

I used 0.2mm layer heights for pretty much everything, 195 C, 15% infill, 3 perimeters (4 for the chestplate). I covered everything in the spray filler and smoothed over the seams and rougher areas with the spot putty. I will say though: dread it, run from it, you’ll still have to sand the living crap out of whatever you print. I hate sanding, but as I said earlier in the thread, it’s actual black magic- the more you sand it the better it looks. You could print at a smaller layer height, but that would turn a 24 hour print into like a 36 hour print. In my experience, the longer something is printing, the more likely it is to fail. I’m sure this is not always the case with higher quality printers, but that experience combined with me being impatient led to some pretty high layer heights. Message me if you have any questions about 3D printing though! I’ve been operating a few different ones for 3 years and would say that I have a decent amount of experience with them I recommend them to any maker, it’s just so handy.

 

[Nob1e Actua1]

i am planing on 3D printing my helmet how do you plan on protecting the print from possible drops?

 

[Crumpus]

i am planing on 3D printing my helmet how do you plan on protecting the print from possible drops?

I guess rule number 1 is not to drop it, but on mine I reinforce the inside with fiberglass and resin. For the outside I’m planning on seeing how protective a coat of poly on the outside will be. The sad truth is that pretty much all the filler material is brittle and will chip if you drop it. Maybe the poly will protect it better but only time will tell.