Yes I have already printed a copy in ABS. I was just looking for something a little more durable for all the small parts. Plus when I printed such a large object the print wants to bow up from the heat in the middle and I havent figured out the hole compensation factors in slis3r yet
do smaller pieces and join them with acetone later. makes them simple to replace when they crater and smaller to print each one
Agree with ish, if you're trying to print that thing as a whole unit split that up into smaller pieces - you can print the details in TPE and attach them later if you want, but its easier to get workable parts if you take smaller bites. Attaching a disc shape at corners can also fight the tendency for ABS warp to pull prints off the bed at the corners. Hole compensation - I just assume I will have to bore out any holes to the required size What printer do you have?
And for parts like the antennas, flag masts, etc... use metal rod. It'll look a LOT more realistic than printed ones.
Ok this is what I have the last photo was just an overview. This is the aft base section notice the dove tails and lack of barrels on guns. This is the forward base section. You can see a countersink hole in the front for mounting to deck. These parts all have snap locking features so when assembled they don't come apart the top section on this one in black will be printed in ASB and will be removable. Not much here left a hollow center core for receiver. The top of this one has a cover not shown for camera. I have done this in both metal and ASB. The ASB was better but the support material took away from finished copy. Printing the next one with a PAV suport material. Here it is all together.
This was a test print. thats when I desided to take off the guns.please notice how the ends curl up.this might work better if I rotate it 90°. I'm still going to try the PET/PTU first. It boast a more even print. That is if I can get it to print lol.
I'm not sure weather its a heatbed isue or what but whenit gets about 10mm high thats when it starts curling up. I've tried to slow down my prints speed up my prints. lowered the temp.but that makes it come out stringy and doesnt bond. ABS seams to act like welding metal if you put to much heat it will draw up. I guess it's just a learning curve that I must overcome
That's pretty typical ABS warp pattern right there for a large object without a heated enclosure. Basically as the upper layers cool they contract and pull on the lower layers. the corners are where there is the least amount of adhesion and so they're what gives. You can fight this problem by adding a wider base to the print that you could then cut off, by cutting your model into smaller pieces to print, or by enclosing and heating your build chamber. Reducing print temp isn't really much of an option as you reduce layer adhesion and after a point can't effectively extrude the filament. As opposed to laying down filament slower, you might actually try hotter and faster, so you retain more heat in the upper layers. Try to enclose your build space as best you can if it isn't already, and when the part is done, keep the heated bed on for a while as the part cools (this will help keep the lower layer sticking to the bed while the upper layers cool), and lastly, don't pull a large print off the bed until it has cooled completely through - once you've broken the bond to the bed there is nothing to stop it from warping. What printer are you using?
Yeah, putting an enclosure around my printer really helped with consistent results, and adding a brim (10mm for big parts) dramatically lowered the curling. I have my PSU dumping its waste heat into the printing area, between that and the heat from the heated bed, it's a nice warm area.
The color you're printing in matters, too. I've had less luck with darker colors than with plain, grey, or brass-colored. The green, blue, and black I'm not so fond of.
This is the secondary Aft guns 155mm. The print came out stringy on the top piece. I think it was because I doubled the print speed from 30 mm/s to 60 mm/s. I also went from 0.2 mm layer to 0.3 mm layer not for sure witch has the greatest impact on the print.
If you increase layer thickness (and speed!) you need to be at a higher temp on the hotend usually in order to properly melt the filament fast enough. Caveat: I haven't experimented with any of the PTE family, just ABS, PLA, HIPS and PET-G (miserable failure for me).
The biggest factor in working with these softer materials is the retract. Long runs seem to clog the orface because the filament swells from spring tention. I'm also using a spring tention system (a modified MK8). when I get it down I will post my settings.
