Question: You said above that the maximum size is 6x6x8 inches, but is that just for a large, single object? Can you do exploded models that would be reassembled later, or would it take multiple batches?
Mop: updated my post with some answers, including some pricing info.
on this guy, we broke the bank. Chosen for his awesomeness, we gave Manuel no time to make the appropriate changes one would expect when getting something printed, so his cape, pauldrons, every bit of armor is a discrete part and thus completely solid, which = lots of material used. He weighs in at $124
Swizzle: Absolutely! if you don't mind gluing, then neither do we. However, any ball sockets or other fitted/housed mechanical parts would need to be in the same print.
Can you give an estimate/guesstimate as to how much the owl would've cost had it been fully optimized for this process? If I wanted to print out a bunch of little skinny bits like armor for a character I also printed, but they were all really thin (say, a millimeter or two at the thickest), how might that affect the price? Would it be more efficient to just make the character and armor bits a single solid object so the software can just optimize the whole thing together?
$124? Damn, I thought you were going to say something like $300!
For that price, at that size, it seems like a great deal!
Maximum 6x6x8 inches, you say... does that mean this owl is about as big as you can reasonably go for a single object? If not, what are the dimensions of the owl?
At that price I'd probably want to print something as big as it could possibly go
That looks familiar, I don't suppose that's a Dimension doing the printing? Well, no reason it should be, just curious. ABS plastic is ABS plastic I guess no matter how you slice it
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Swizzle - It's impossible to say for sure without seeing the model. Yes, thin parts seem to take up less material, but a thick part is mostly hollow with a thin shell. It's a trade-off. In order to be done more cheaply, Otus could have been modeled more contiguously, without all the undercuts and inside planes. Right now he's got lots of details that will never be seen - you can pop off his cape and see everything on the back of the armor printed as nicely as the front. But what the price would get down to is impossible to say without an actual model.
Mop - Otus' actual dimensions are 3.41"x 4.54"y 4.01"z, z = up. We can go much bigger, but he's got so much surface area that he'd be more expensive than we wanted our first show pony to be.
and that's an important factor when determining how much material it will eat - surface area can be just as important as volume.
Thanks for the enlightenment, Sectaurs. This is sounding very interesting indeed... I guess I should try and prep a few models and send them in for a quote
Oh, and just for absolute clarity, when you say the owl print "weighs in at $124", does that mean the cost in material to you guys, or the amount you'd charge a client getting that printed?
So how difficult is it going to be to sand all of the tiny details?
I've built a few resin and injection plastic models, and if I had to hazard a guess, I would say somewhere between pain in the ass and impossible. Srsly, that would be no picnic. You might could used some sort of self-leveling primer, though.
I think that is a fantastic idea. I've been wanting to get something made like this but the current prices are just beyond what I'd be willing to pay, in all good conscience.
Oh, and just for absolute clarity, when you say the owl print "weighs in at $124", does that mean the cost in material to you guys, or the amount you'd charge a client getting that printed?
That is the amount a client would pay for the model.
For sanding something like Otus - yeah, it'd be a bit of a pain in the ass. There are special tools for that sort of thing that will help, but there's a lot of nooks and a lot of crannies. Naturally, your larger flatter shapes will take sanding much easier.
For sanding something like Otus - yeah, it'd be a bit of a pain in the ass. There are special tools for that sort of thing that will help, but there's a lot of nooks and a lot of crannies.
These are examples of some files I have for sanding curves and crevices and such:
Hey Sectaurs, best of luck man. We're in the middle of shopping around for a company that can print master models for a wargames company. So far, the most likely one we've found uses the same printer that Games Workshop use which has a 16 micron resolution (that's finer than a human hair). Can you match that level of detail on a miniature roughly 30mm high? I'd love to throw some business to another polycounter, specially at the rates you're charging
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super job guys!
Question: You said above that the maximum size is 6x6x8 inches, but is that just for a large, single object? Can you do exploded models that would be reassembled later, or would it take multiple batches?
Mop: updated my post with some answers, including some pricing info.
on this guy, we broke the bank. Chosen for his awesomeness, we gave Manuel no time to make the appropriate changes one would expect when getting something printed, so his cape, pauldrons, every bit of armor is a discrete part and thus completely solid, which = lots of material used. He weighs in at $124
Swizzle: Absolutely! if you don't mind gluing, then neither do we. However, any ball sockets or other fitted/housed mechanical parts would need to be in the same print.
Can you give an estimate/guesstimate as to how much the owl would've cost had it been fully optimized for this process? If I wanted to print out a bunch of little skinny bits like armor for a character I also printed, but they were all really thin (say, a millimeter or two at the thickest), how might that affect the price? Would it be more efficient to just make the character and armor bits a single solid object so the software can just optimize the whole thing together?
For that price, at that size, it seems like a great deal!
Maximum 6x6x8 inches, you say... does that mean this owl is about as big as you can reasonably go for a single object? If not, what are the dimensions of the owl?
At that price I'd probably want to print something as big as it could possibly go
<shameless promotion> Anyone in the North Carolina Raleigh/Durham/Cary neighborhood interested in larger prints or doing some casting could do worse than to look up the local TechShop </shameless promotion>
Mop - Otus' actual dimensions are 3.41"x 4.54"y 4.01"z, z = up. We can go much bigger, but he's got so much surface area that he'd be more expensive than we wanted our first show pony to be.
and that's an important factor when determining how much material it will eat - surface area can be just as important as volume.
this is awesome, I'm gonna model a 6x6x8 box and get it printed. its gonna be so cool.
Oh, and just for absolute clarity, when you say the owl print "weighs in at $124", does that mean the cost in material to you guys, or the amount you'd charge a client getting that printed?
I've built a few resin and injection plastic models, and if I had to hazard a guess, I would say somewhere between pain in the ass and impossible. Srsly, that would be no picnic. You might could used some sort of self-leveling primer, though.
I'm still psyched to try this out, though!
That is the amount a client would pay for the model.
For sanding something like Otus - yeah, it'd be a bit of a pain in the ass. There are special tools for that sort of thing that will help, but there's a lot of nooks and a lot of crannies. Naturally, your larger flatter shapes will take sanding much easier.
These are examples of some files I have for sanding curves and crevices and such:
http://www.micromark.com/5-PIECE-DIAMOND-RIFFLER-SET-FINE-GRIT,7751.html
http://www.toolplanet.com/product/MIT-10-piece-Curved-Needle-File-Set-MIT-6661?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=1799&cvsfe=2&cvsfp=MIT6661