I don't think articulated items on such scale can be easily printed. But hey, I've never operated a 3D printer (missed a few opportunities for couple reasons) so my opinions should hold weight on this.
If you can design it, you can print it. The trouble is that even the best printing materials will never be nearly as durable as injection molded plastic. I have a 3d printed mp human figure the same size as MP10's Spike and it's fragile as hell.
I mean, you can absolutely print something this small, but I don't know that home printing solutions could do it justice. SLA printing would have the resolution but shatter. You would need ABS for it to be sturdy enough which would mean FDM printing but it would be hard to avoid obvious layer lines. Frankly the only way to get both the strength and resolution right now for semi-affordable prices is printing services like Shapeways with the ultra detail option
This whole discussion was perfect timing because Im trying to make a 3D printed transformer but I dont know much about the different plastics.
Does PLA have better restitution than ABS? My main issue is not making it feel brittle (brittle like if Ironhide shot it with liquid nitrogen) as most 3D printed figures are more fragile than injection molded.
PLA is more brittle than ABS. While not impossible to print, I wouldn't bother trying to print this thing in any material. If you print at .1mm or lower on a well tuned printer the resolution should look ok, but forget about the joints being usable. A tiny immobile statue - maybe.
It depends on how you're printing it. I've done successful ball-joints with PLA, but I hollow out the parts (a la Hasbro) and set the infill to 90. You need enough material in the ball joint to prevent it from snapping. Of course, you could always just run a pin through it to strengthen the joint the same way Hasbro ran a pin through the weapon handles. I try to keep the joint tolerances between .2 and .5 mm. Your best bet, though, is Shapeways for something this scale. I've got some Titanmaster-size Powermasters that I'm working on currently, and the joints are 4 mm approximately, so not something FDM can really do well.
How much would you estimate Shapeways would charge for a deluxe class sized print? This thread has been alot of help thanks to everyone who has posted on it.
Oof. About 50 to 60 depending. Sometimes 70. I'd recommend printing only what you need to (i.e. joints) via Shapeways, and save the rest for home printing. It saves a lot in terms of cost.
Is shapeways the only one that lets you order prints or are there others? I might have to think smaller scale. I dont have access to a 3D printer so I was planning on ordering the whole thing and testing it using computer software.
Are you planning on designing this figure completely yourself or have you found a frame because prototyping joints may add to the cost significantly. It might also come to the point where buying a home 3D printer is cheaper if you’re planning to make this a hobby as it took me a lot of trial and error to get some semi-decent joints
I am planning on modifying a frame. (hopefully that will negate some prototyping cost). And Im kind of on a low budget so a personal 3D printer isnt really an option right now.
For now, I'm selling my figures through Shapeways because I can't afford to produce them myself, but I'd recommend considering looking into some mass production companies.
Bumping this, because Shapeways is definitely an option. I just got my Hydra and Buster printed that way...
