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3D Resin Printer Diary


Brian..

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I've been very quiet on the 3D printing scene. I guess I just ran out of steam. In an attempt to kickstart things I just invested in an Elegoo Mars 3D printer. Very cheap, but it's been getting great reviews. The low price makes it ideal to play with and to see if I can get along with the process. If nothing else, I can make fancy chest plates and weapons for the regular robots. 

 

The downside is that it is a resin printer. The object slowly emerges from a bath of smelly, sticky and toxic resin. It's a chore to clean up and I'm dreading the mess. I'm also concerned that my darling wife will evict me and the machine. There are a couple more disadvantages: resin is much more brittle than PLA, so if you drop one of the prints it may break. (PLA never breaks, despite falling from a great height.) The size of the print bed is small, so it wouldn't be possible to make a Diamond Planet on it. 

 

There is, however, a massive benefit: the quality of the prints is astonishing.  I also  like building small components and assembling them.  So I'm going to give it a go.

 

Here's an example of the quality that can be achieved using a resin printer. For $250 it makes a $3000 Ultimaker look primitive.

 

And yes, I am going to resurrect the Manmos King, but please be patient. I'm getting old! 

 

drag.png 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Super, Brian - glad that you have found something to recharge your batteries, so to speak.
The detail looks amazing!


Have you looked into any set-ups to assist with ventilation? 

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Not so smelly,sticky yes, I use it for my figures, but difference quality with a PLA is really high. A problem may be the supports, that leave some points that need to be removed by sanding. Probably you won't have to use many supports with techincal objects, but really it deserves a try.

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Very cool Brian. Looking forward to updates on your progress. Hoping you find new interest and energy to continue your amazing work. Should you ultimately decide to step away from the craft, know that you are an inspiration to those like me that hope to someday create our own masterpieces and that you have already created an impressive and admirable collection of work. Still though, fingers crossed for more amazing Hayes robots.

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Nope, I am using it especially for toy soldiers and model figures, but it's in my plans, 'doing a big scale robot from a comic, which will be scaled down with a scanner to be printed also as a small version. It will have simple articulations, like a Mattel Ken, as to say.

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1 hour ago, Alain Lapointe said:

Nope, I am using it especially for toy soldiers and model figures, but it's in my plans, 'doing a big scale robot from a comic, which will be scaled down with a scanner to be printed also as a small version. It will have simple articulations, like a Mattel Ken, as to say.

... or - how about some cool vintage-y ramp walkers?  🙂

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7 hours ago, Martian Gil said:

... or - how about some cool vintage-y ramp walkers?  🙂

good idea, just these days I'm trying to make a repro weight for my captain radar... 🙂

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The printer arrives on Sunday. in the meantime I've ordered the essential accessories: resin, gloves, cleaning fluid and a curing UV light. You can't expect sunshine in England. I'm busy printing off the Manmos King boxes so I'll be busy for a while. 

 

I thought I'd set myself a challenge: a relatively small detailed component that really isn't practical using a traditional 3D printer. It's the chest assembly on this fascinating robot:

 

yasutaromitsui.jpg

 

I think this is the only photo of it. It would be nice to have clear valves up top. 

 

 

Chest.jpg

 

 

 

 

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Exciting Brian. Can’t wait to see what comes of your new pursuits. Would still love to get on the list for a Manmos if you find room for the task. But no worries if you’ve already got enough on your plate all things considered. 

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Yes, will do, but I'm still finding if  difficult to concentrate on batch building. Making one is wonderful fun, making ten is a chore. 

 

Meanwhile, here's the CAD file I'm working on. The little holes are 1mm diameter. Desiging parts this small would usually be a waste of time because it just wouldn't print. I wonder how the new technology will handle it. 

 

The resin arrived already, and it doesn't have too much of a smell, thank goodness.

 

 

Japanese Robot Chest Assembly.jpg

 

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So you can print clear pieces with the resin? That is very cool, as I have heard the regular 3D printers can only print clear-ish pieces, they are translucent, but not truly clear--That is very cool!!!

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Great though for the printer Brian - I've been watching some of the Elegoo tutorials and "openings".   
I think this will be great study.

Good luck! 

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I seen that robot on a web search... whomever created this Robot is one amazing man.

Way back then, that's incredible.🤖

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