So, I did a thing...

[Darkwind]

Trump's "no taxes on O/T" is paying dividends for me.

Some of you know that I have a 3D printer. Picked it up last Nov. so I could do some modeling of the Enterprise. That project is going well, but the wife thinks we can do a little something/something for pocket money at some of the flea markets and shows.

However, painting these figurines is a royal pain in the ass.

Step in Snapmaker. Specifically, the U1 model, which now has four colors, each color dedicated to a print extruder. For those who aren't into the rabbit hole of 3D printing, the biggest problem with multi-color printing is the waste. Each time a color change is required, the extruder will go to a poop chute, retract the current filament, then insert the next color, then purge the extruder until the old color is completely purged.

Now, the Snapmaker U1 has a dedicated extruder per color, and the printer swaps extruder heads. Cuts 95% of the poop from the print.

So, a week ago, I pulled the trigger on this printer.

Tonight is My first test print.

 

[toobfreak]

Some of you know that I have a 3D printer. Picked it up last Nov. so I could do some modeling of the Enterprise.

OK, I'd like to hear more on this modelling of the Enterprise.

 

[White 6]

Trump's "no taxes on O/T" is paying dividends for me.

Some of you know that I have a 3D printer. Picked it up last Nov. so I could do some modeling of the Enterprise. That project is going well, but the wife thinks we can do a little something/something for pocket money at some of the flea markets and shows.

However, painting these figurines is a royal pain in the ass.

Step in Snapmaker. Specifically, the U1 model, which now has four colors, each color dedicated to a print extruder. For those who aren't into the rabbit hole of 3D printing, the biggest problem with multi-color printing is the waste. Each time a color change is required, the extruder will go to a poop chute, retract the current filament, then insert the next color, then purge the extruder until the old color is completely purged.

Now, the Snapmaker U1 has a dedicated extruder per color, and the printer swaps extruder heads. Cuts 95% of the poop from the print.

So, a week ago, I pulled the trigger on this printer.

Tonight is My first test print.

Pretty cool. Have you ever figured the raw material cost of one bird figurine, like that one, not counting the printer itself? How long did it take the printer to do that?

 

[Darkwind]

OK, I'd like to hear more on this modelling of the Enterprise.

Well, I'm still working out the lighting for the model. I want to use some cool white light LED strips inside the Primary and secondary hulls for the Enterprise A, Refit. I pretty much have everything printed. Now it's just a matter of finding the time to do the tedious work and to get the Aztec pattern ordered. Likely its going to be November before its done.

 

[Darkwind]

Pretty cool. Have you ever figured the raw material cost of one bird figurine, like that one, not counting the printer itself? How long did it take the printer to do that?

That print was 2h 39m.

But that was at least 3, maybe 400 color changes. On My P1S, that would have taken 10 hours easily and cost me about 100g of filament waste.

This print cost Me the waste of calibrating the flows of the filaments. So, nearly zero poop and the only real waste is the Prime Tower. I have an image, but give Me a moment to move it from My phone to my computer.

 

[toobfreak]

Well, I'm still working out the lighting for the model. I want to use some cool white light LED strips inside the Primary and secondary hulls for the Enterprise A, Refit. I pretty much have everything printed. Now it's just a matter of finding the time to do the tedious work and to get the Aztec pattern ordered. Likely its going to be November before its done.

A have a 39" model of the Enterprise. Been trying to get started on it for years. Very detailed. If I build it, I want every button on every bridge console lit. They sell a kit which comes with most all the lights one needs, but I think I'll add just a few more.

 

[Darkwind]

Final product.

 

[Darkwind]

A have a 39" model of the Enterprise. Been trying to get started on it for years. Very detailed. If I build it, I want every button on every bridge console lit. They sell a kit which comes with most all the lights one needs, but I think I'll add just a few more.

I'd love to see it when you finish it.

My last attempt at an arbitrium kind of sucked, so I'm going back to that drawing board.

 

[White 6]

Final product.

Wow! 2h 39m.
So, it is not like you could set it up and start before going to bed and wake up next morning with a tray full of those little dragon figurines ready for the flea market.

Can you 3d scan/copy small objects, or do you have to buy or create each 3d image programming?

 

[Darkwind]

Wow! 2h 39m.
So, it is not like you could set it up and start before going to bed and wake up next morning with a tray full of those little dragon figurines ready for the flea market.

Can you 3d scan/copy small objects, or do you have to buy or create each 3d image programming?

Well, I could populate the entire plate with these little dragons, and I don't think it would add much more than another couple of hours. So, I could get maybe a dozen of them in a 4-hour timeframe.

AS for scanning small objects. They do make a 3D scanner, and if you learn how to use it, you can then print real-world objects you've scanned. I don't own a scanner, though.

If you're into instant gratification, then 3D printing is the wrong occupation. lol

 

[White 6]

Well, I could populate the entire plate with these little dragons, and I don't think it would add much more than another couple of hours. So, I could get maybe a dozen of them in a 4-hour timeframe.

AS for scanning small objects. They do make a 3D scanner, and if you learn how to use it, you can then print real-world objects you've scanned. I don't own a scanner, though.

If you're into instant gratification, then 3D printing is the wrong occupation. lol

Nah, not an instant gratification guy. Just a retired business major, rolling your wife's flea market idea around. Intricate hobbies are cool. Intricate hobbies that can cover their own expenses or maybe even produce ROI, while one enjoys the hobby are even better.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Darkwind]

Nah, not an instant gratification guy. Just a retired business major, rolling your wife's flea market idea around. Intricate hobbies are cool. Intricate hobbies that can cover their own expenses or maybe even produce ROI, while one enjoys the hobby are even better.

Thanks for sharing!

Those were My thoughts as well.

Something to keep me busy in retirement -- though I plan to work part-time just to stay active -- and if I can get it to pay for itself, and a little walking-around money (More like hobbling-along money), so much the better.

 

[toobfreak]

I'd love to see it when you finish it.

I actually have several models in the works, it is just a matter of my time coming full circle back to working on such major commitments! I mean, I'm talking about full scale near-professional studio quality.

I have an Enterprise A I started ages ago that is actually intended to have a full combo incandescent/LED lighting + fiber optic lighting throughout the ship. I spent enormous effort just in the original two-step light-proofing of the interior so that no stray lighting from inside the ship accidentally bleeds through to the exterior.

I also have a movie Klingon warship that is quite impressive, near finished, very unique, that I need to get back to.

Then there are the models of the Enterprise B, C and D that are still in the boxes I'd like to do.

But my main puppy I'd like to do is the original Enterprise as Matt Jeffries envisioned her, I have all the parts, the electrical, the lights, the motors, the decals and special appliques and everything, but it is a major commitment of time and energy, especially to the level I want to take her; it is not just something you can start then walk away from then come back to, it is a steady 1-2 year commitment.

Then when all finished, it deserves a walnut and lexan storage case built to protect and keep it clean.

Plus there are the Jeffries drawings--- other than for the one original Jeffries drawings of the Enterprise surviving to this day in the hands of some collector, I have the only detailed copy of those drawings in existence on a near par with the actual original Jeffries rendering, and I'd like to have that digitized image transfered to a photo-translucent print about 3' by 2' and mounted into a backlit walnut frame for my viewing.

 

[Darkwind]

So, I printed a fantasy Philly Eagles NFL helmet a few months back on My P1S from Bambu Labs, for my grandson. He's a Philly fan. This was before I had the printer dialed in, so it came out a touch rough. I don't have a photo of the one I printed, but I borrowed a photo from another guy to use just as an example of what I mean by Fantasy Helmet.

On the P1S, that was nearly a 4-day print.

I just loaded up the same file, converted for the U1 of course, and sliced it up.

13h 39m to print. This thing is saving Me 3.5 days of time! Wow.

I'll post a pic when it's done, unless it turns out like shit. lol.

I'll have to start calibrating filament for this printer now.

Looking at the image, he clearly needs to dial in his settings. lol

 

[Darkwind]

A have a 39" model of the Enterprise. Been trying to get started on it for years. Very detailed. If I build it, I want every button on every bridge console lit. They sell a kit which comes with most all the lights one needs, but I think I'll add just a few more.

Shoot, I missed this part.

The models I'm working on are 1:350 scale.

A 1:350 scale model of the USS Enterprise-A (refit) typically measures approximately 34 to 35 inches (about 86–89 cm) in length when fully assembled. This large-scale model represents the roughly 305-meter (1,000-foot) ship with high accuracy and detailed features

 

[toobfreak]

Shoot, I missed this part.

The models I'm working on are 1:350 scale.

A 1:350 scale model of the USS Enterprise-A (refit) typically measures approximately 34 to 35 inches (about 86–89 cm) in length when fully assembled. This large-scale model represents the roughly 305-meter (1,000-foot) ship with high accuracy and detailed features

Well, I tried to write a reply hours ago but USMB wouldn't let me attach my photos. Then the site just went down entirely. Now I come back and see it even ate my reply that it didn't save that should have still been in the que, so let me just say that 350 is what I use and I have the Polar Lights version.