discussion SimonT - M51 Toon conversion

[Neil Merryweather]

Hi Simon, good work with the 3D printer. You'll soon be using it more and more once you get used to it. In industry they are used for making assembly jigs as well, not just finished articles or prototypes, so I can see potential there in our hobby.
Which model do you have? As a full time Ultimaker user I can recommend Cura as a slicing software, and the best advice I can give is to print something everyday,no matter what, so you get used to the foibles of the machine, tweaking the settings etc.
By the way, I would have printed the drum of that sprocket as well, separately. oh you did, you just filled the build lines, sorry
Once you have the CAD data ,having a 3D printer is a bit like designing your own Airfix kit, as you have to figure out the best way to break the part down into bits that will print easily, avoiding the need for support structure wherever possible.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions.
Also, you will find PLA works very well with dichloromethane or other liquid solvent cements.
Here's an example of the type of thing I print at work. It's a bit of London at 1-1000 scale, a jigsaw piece of a larger model as context for one of our designs. This is the future,folks.......
N

 

[SimonT]

Hi Neil,
Afraid mine is only a cheap XYZ mini
Their software is pants.
Have already downloaded Cura but because it doesn’t have XYZ stuff in there it needs setting up as a custom printer and I didn’t have the time or inclination the other day - will need to try and figure out the required settings.

Building the models in CAD is just like real scratch building really - breaking things down into more easily managed chunks

Like the chunk of London - bet the full thing will look impressive when painted up

One annoying thing I have found is that the printing does not seem very accurate - 100mm in cad model does not equal 100mm when printed. This may just be due to my buying a cheap printer of course

 

[Neil Merryweather]

It's definitely worth setting your printer up in Cura. what size nozzle do you have? I assume 0.4mm?as the trace is on the centre of the data and the bead of plastic is 0.4mm wide you are adding 0.2mm each side of it. If you can get a 0.2mm nozzle you will get more accuracy,. If I want two pieces to fit together I allow 0.4mm tolerance.
what are you using to hold the work on the bed? we use DIMA FIX which is excellent. Get the pen rather than the spray. It holds the work when the bed is hot and releases as it cools down.
https://www.3djake.uk/dimafix/adhesive-pen

As for the model of London that will stay white- the focus is on the mass of the scheme and its impact on the surroundings. Most of what we do is monochrome, or diagramatic colours at best. Which is why my job doesn't scratch the model making itch totally.....
happy printing!
N

 

[SimonT]

Cheers Neil

That would make sense and explain why detail not as crisp as I was expecting.

I was under the impression that the 0.1mm resolution applied to everything but I presume that is just layer thickness then.

It appears mine does have a 0.4 nozzle

So not too good for small stuff :disappointed2:

 

[Guest]

John - I know, it is getting to be a bad habit :smiling4: Check this out --> Resin 3D printing

Richard - yes, I think I was being rather hopeful, oh well :smiling5:

Scottie - ta, still going......

Jim - next is drive sprockets, see below


Had a go at a drive sprocket earlier


by chance I found that three of the road wheels sandwiched together (with the flange sanded off the middle one) were just the right size for the sprocket drum so here are three CA'd together and filled



the printed sprockets still need cleaning up before they are CA'd in place but you can get the general idea

Simon. Thanks for that link, that printer is fantastic, the detail on those terms it had produced are unbelievable.
Just think of the bicycle tires and spokes you could do, let alone sprockets. At 3500 $ whats that about £ 2700 , pluss other taxes it would be a worthwhile investment for some young tech savvy person.

 

[SimonT]

A very small amount of progress



spare track link storage added to turret sides


a nice chunky weld seam added to the joint of the new turret bustle

 

[rtfoe]

Progress nonetheless Simon...nice work. :thumb2:

Cheers,
Richard

 

[SimonT]

Thanks Richard

 

[Guest]

Hi Simon I agree with Richard it's still moving forward with some very nice addition, keep it coming.
Cheers Pete :thumb2: .

 

[scottie3158]

Simon,
Looking good fella.

 

[SimonT]

Pete / Scottie - ta

Made some progress on this yesterday


spent a fair bit of time fettling the suspension and wheels

looking a bit ropey at the moment but hopefully will come together in the end

made a start on the dampers for the top of the suspension

outer wheels are attached on top of some punched disk spacers

inner wheels have had printed spacers added - they were actually for the idlers and will need sanding down as they are a little tall


cupola got some periscopes


right side of turret got some grenade launchers


left side of turret got grenade launchers and a loaders hatch


I have also been experimenting with the printer and managed to get around a hundred track links out of it - no idea how many I will require but that should be a good start

 

[SimonT]

not got much more done on this, just added the inner wheels and the oil reservoirs for the dampers

 

[Guest]

Hi Simon I'm glad you're still building this one I like all the additions to the turret, I'm very interested to see how your track links turnout.
You certainly taken toon tank building to the next level, keep up the excellent work.
Pete.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Simon
Quite a bit of progress considering how much your adding. That last photo reminds me of a pair of roller skates
Jim

 

[SimonT]

Pete - yes still plodding onward. The track links are basically the same as the ones stowed on the turret but with end connectors

Jim - think you would find them a bit hard to control but they do have dampers so a nice smooth ride

 

[SimonT]

still chipping away at this one


a few more small bits added to the suspension units


sprockets assembled and rear idler filled

Also started 4No. volute springs

 

[papa 695]

Just caught up Simon, some great work going on.

 

[Guest]

OOH , well you always throw your skill into any build and this is no exception Simon.

 

[scottie3158]

Simon, I always enjoy watching and learning from the things you bring to a build.

 

[Si Benson]

Hey Mr T, some very interesting work going on!
A 3D printer indeed, I can see some real benefits, the suspension is looking awesome :thumb2: