3D Printing ANH armor (Feedback please!)

[Neb Sgird[TK]]

Me and a buddy of mine have access to a 3D printer and are thinking of using it for our build. We would potentially do all the body plates (the chest and back plates might be too big) and maybe the helmet. The hard part, of course, is mapping it all out in CAD.

 

So the question is: has anyone else tried this? If so, with success?

 

Any input would be great!

[T-Jay[TK]]

Hi Ben,

 

I am not familiar with the type of plastics, comming out of a 3D printer, but do you think these parts would still be flexible enough to be worn without breaking?

 

If the armor isn't flexible, you can hardly troop in it as it will break.

 

Just a thought...

Edited March 23, 2015 by T-Jay

[Bone[501st]]

Access, or do you own one?

And you have unlimited acces to the plastic chords needed, like "for free"?

 

Otherwise you will rapidly go down the drain, money- and timewise ...

Depending on the Printer, printing out a handplate can take several hours.

 

Plus, you need to break down the bigger parts into printable chunks and glue them together afterwards.

And sand them. And polish them. And then you still don't have a wearable costume, but a buck to form plastic over or to take a Silicone mould.

 

Not worth the Trouble.

If you do it nevertheless, you are my hero.

[GeorgePBurdell[501st]]

In my personal experience 3D printing, you would only be able to print small sections of each part then glue them together. Most 3D printers will also leave a really bad surface texture so you'd have to either used them as vacuum forming molds OR chemically treat them (if it's ABS printed that is). I'd probably only recommend it for printing blaster parts (especially if it's free for you)

[TK7379[501st]]

Ben,

 

I would check first to see how large the build plate is. This will be a big deciding factor if it's worth it. The bucket is easy enough to break up but you probably want to do the faceplate in one piece. I'd say it's doable with a fine print setting to get quality but even using ABS filament you'll need to do some finishing. An acetone vapor bath will help smooth a lot of the surfaces. Curious to see how your project goes here

 

John

[Elumusic[TK]]

We built a 24"x24"x30" tall printer.  And we attempted the same.  First of all, the only way you are going to be able to ever do this is with an endless supply of filament.  It is going to take so much filament to do this for the larger pieces, back and chest plate.   We successfully produced a portion of a Boba Fett helmet in pieces and glued it together and are now making a mold from it.  The other problem is it has to be thicker than the HIPS or ABS and then it get's heavy.  All kinds of problems associated with using a 3d printer to make armor.  In my opinion it will never be feasible.  Not to mention a 3D printer does not print smooth, no matter the setting.