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Made in us
Purposeful Hammerhead Pilot





Anacoco, Louisiana

Not only are we getting a sweet tank, but we're getting STL files too?!

   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

*Subtle emits a gleeful binaric screeching so harsh it makes your teeth itch*


∙ I’m sorry daddy had to force you into tracks that are a bit too small, my darling.

∙ But look at how nicely they suit you.

∙ I can hardly believe how you’ve grown from an inspiration in my mind into something actually real.

*Subtle glances up with a questioning expression*

What? Yes, I sometimes talk to my models in an endearing fashion. And when they look this good they’re deserving of some flattering words. *Subtle glances over* Aren’t you, darling?

However, despite how good the APC looks this is still just a proof-of-concept prototype used to test all sorts of things and work out any kinks in this design and hopefully future designs. It broke about eight times when I was assembling it (you might notice a crack here or there) and there are various minor fit issues primarily because the tolerances are too tight in a few key places and there is some minor warping. While the lower cost resin printers available today are absolutely amazing there’s still a certain amount of minor distortion that creeps up in places due to the lower cost printing resin and the pull/tension/suction forces that happen during the process. The accuracy is still very good (I think the images attest to that) but now I’ve discovered that some parts need a tiny bit more space to accommodate the assembly of the model without a lot of sanding beyond what’s normally required to clean up due to the printing process.

I want to reprint the hatches to improve them (and not break them this time) but beyond that, this is a very successful first step. Several bottles of printing resin are on order and the next round of prints should make sure I’ve got a lock on designing this scale of model for the printers on the market today. It’s still more effort and cost than a kit out of a box but that’s the expense of creating something more exclusive and unique like this. Stay tuned for the next round of test prints that I’m confident will work out the majority of the issues I ran into while building this and when it’s ready to release into the wild I’ll also explain further what’s going to be happening with the studio over the coming weeks, months, and years.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in us
Purposeful Hammerhead Pilot





Anacoco, Louisiana

Goddamn, what settings do you print on? Those parts are so damned smooth!
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Thanks! Yeah, I've got a bit of a thing for trying to figure out how to get the best possible results with a given tool, material, or process. Note, due to the nature of the printing resin it's very forgiving when I photograph it, hiding some of the worst surface issues that are all but inevitable with 3D printing. But, even those 'bad' spots are very subtle and reasonable given the high resolution of the prints.

In this case, the simple answer is that I'm printing at a layer thickness of 20 microns (0.02mm), which is my preferred height to minimize any noticeable layers, and the printer has an XY resolution of 51 microns (0.051mm). However, there is more to it than just that, as large flat surfaces provide a unique challenge. There was a YouTube video (How to Angle your Resin Prints for the Smoothest Surface Possible) that I watched several months back that does a better job of visually explaining how it works, but it all comes down to some trigonometry.

arctan(Layer Height/XY resolution) in degrees; plug this into Google with the correct number that suits your printing situation, so in my case: arctan(0.020/0.051) in degrees = 21.412969, which I round to 21.41 degrees. Note that if the Layer Height and XY Resolution are exactly the same, then the prefect angle is 45 degrees. However, if the specs list the printer as having a 50 micron XY resolution make sure it's not actually 51 microns (like my Mars 2P) as that seems to be very standard in many printers these days.

So, any flat surface printed at 21.41 degrees to the build plate will print as smooth as it can possibly be if I'm using a layer height of 20 microns. The mixed blessing of this is anything flat facing away from the build plate will print super smooth, but at that low angle, anything facing towards the build plate will be slightly distorted even if you used the required forest of equally spaced supports to hold the parts securely so they print with the desired precision. That's the price you need to pay and since we're only interested in the outside of the model it's an obvious choice to design the parts to sacrifice the inside to get the high-quality outside surface.

This is something I'll be getting into more as the studio moves forward. I don't just want to make models, chop them up, and send them out into the wild for people to do their best with. I'm working to really understand the process and create designs that are intended to avoid printing pitfalls and produce the best possible results. It's something the studio will be showcasing in the demonstration models it produces and I'm glad it's already showing in this early prototype.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in us
Omnipotent Lord of Change





Albany, NY

That print looks great and I'm excited as well to hear that you're considering STLs for us printer havers <3

KOW BATREPS: BLOODFIRE
INSTAGRAM: @boss_salvage 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Oh, I'm not considering, it's what's going to happen. With the convergence of 3D printing technology, the state of the world, and where the studio is as it attempts to grow, it has become a logical way forward. After watching the 3D printing industry for over ten years the leap it made in the last two years finally convinced me that it's starting to hit the right price-to-performance level to make it attractive to a large enough audience that needs catering to. Your 3D printer is only as good as the STL 3D models you can put in it so I think I can help with that. This won't be replacing the efforts to get the casting part of the studio up and running but is intended to create the foundation that it can be built on.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in gb
Crushing Black Templar Crusader Pilot






London

Gorgeous little prototype there, and watching your tinkering from afar is like being inside a radical tech priest's experimental manufacturom!

Thanks for sharin



Relapse wrote:
Baron, don't forget to talk about the SEALs and Marines you habitually beat up on 2 and 3 at a time, as you PM'd me about.
nareik wrote:
Perhaps it is a lube issue, seems obvious now.
 
   
Made in us
Been Around the Block




I really hope there'll be STLs for the older trim kits and accessories! But yes, very exciting news~!


 
   
Made in us
Purposeful Hammerhead Pilot





Anacoco, Louisiana

Any updated on if you're going to be putting the STLs for the Rhino armor/trim up for sale? I got a couple of vindicators and I'd like to be able to edit some hazard stripes on so I don't have to freehand them!
   
Made in ca
Waaagh! Warbiker





How do I buy any bits or anything? Very interested in many bits several pages back.
   
 
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