User avatar
By Superego669
#4905725
hi there,

I was thinking to buy a 3d printer and make a proton pack by my own, but I dont know if make it in PLA o ABS, or buy or not the printer lol. I was thinking to made it in ABS for a 'bath of acetone' for a clean surface finish.

anybody made something like this here? any recomendation in % for print or material.

thanks
User avatar
By DarkSpectre
#4905729
PLA is cheaper and easier to work with and won't kill you with fumes. There have been several 3d printed packs recently. You can see alot of them on the various GB fan pages on Facebook. Bear in mind that printing a whole pack will take a long time, a decent sized printer and a lot of filament.
GBDRE760 liked this
By GBDRE760
#4905740
PLA is alot cheaper. Sometimes I use PETG for certain things that I may want to be stronger like a gun box. PETG is supposed to be like ABS without the fumes but the problem is PETG is a VERY VERY stringy filament. For things that you want more detail in PLA is also very great for. I am still printing a pack that I started in February. I am using the Creality CR-10 which has a pretty nice sized print bed on it and you can find it at a decent price at Gear Best.
NotSabbat liked this
By xandman
#4905742
a word of advice buddy, get a printer with a large print bed (bigger than 8X8) I got a Monoprice and there are a few GB parts I still have to farm out to a friend because they are just to big to print on my bed.
User avatar
By Superego669
#4905767
GBDRE760 wrote:PLA is alot cheaper. Sometimes I use PETG for certain things that I may want to be stronger like a gun box. PETG is supposed to be like ABS without the fumes but the problem is PETG is a VERY VERY stringy filament. For things that you want more detail in PLA is also very great for. I am still printing a pack that I started in February. I am using the Creality CR-10 which has a pretty nice sized print bed on it and you can find it at a decent price at Gear Best.
DarkSpectre wrote: May 23rd, 2018, 2:20 pm PLA is cheaper and easier to work with and won't kill you with fumes. There have been several 3d printed packs recently. You can see alot of them on the various GB fan pages on Facebook. Bear in mind that printing a whole pack will take a long time, a decent sized printer and a lot of filament.
I didn't know about the fumes of ABS, but really can take a lot of time? I want to try with an Anet A8, its a cheap price printer. I dont know, but I will wait to June 8 if theres any surprise.

thanks guys!
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By Superego669
#4905768
xandman wrote: May 23rd, 2018, 8:32 pm a word of advice buddy, get a printer with a large print bed (bigger than 8X8) I got a Monoprice and there are a few GB parts I still have to farm out to a friend because they are just to big to print on my bed.
I have all pieces cutted and ready to print! I took a pronton pack from thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1128019) I cut all biggest pieace like the cyclotron and sync-gen

I cutted in tinkercad.com
User avatar
By DarkSpectre
#4905805
xandman wrote: May 23rd, 2018, 8:32 pm a word of advice buddy, get a printer with a large print bed (bigger than 8X8) I got a Monoprice and there are a few GB parts I still have to farm out to a friend because they are just to big to print on my bed.
I learned to used mesh mixer to slice some of the bigger files in half. Because I have the monoprice mini. That way I was able to make the more accurate parts for the reboot pack I built.
User avatar
By NotSabbat
#4905816
Ill chime in as well, since this is my recent obsession. I am currently working on my 3rd and 4th printed pack. I built my first one on a PrintrBot with a 6"x6" bed...It was....not the best way to do it, but it got done. My second pack was built using a Creality CR-10 with a 12"x12" bed, which was MUCH easier. So, yes, get a bigger bed if you can.

I estimate that it takes around 300 hours to print and about 5 rolls of filament to print a complete pack.

My first pack was made using PLA; Specifically I used inland PLA. PLA is cheaper and pretty forgiving to print with, but its gets flexible at around 50C or about 122F. This means it could warp and get ruined if left in a hot car by mistake...this has happened to a few prop builders I follow on Youtube and it is HEART...BREAKING to see. For some reference Inland PLA costs around $15 a roll.

After I had some more experience with printing I started using PETG. PETG can be a pain to get dialed in, but it prints great once you get your settings down and doesn't give off fumes like ABS. The real advantage is that it doesn't get flexible until around 75C or 167F, so its way less likely to warp if it gets left in a hot car. Its also a bit stronger than PLA.
User avatar
By NotSabbat
#4905845
Superego669 wrote: May 23rd, 2018, 12:19 pm hi there,

I was thinking to buy a 3d printer and make a proton pack by my own, but I dont know if make it in PLA o ABS, or buy or not the printer lol. I was thinking to made it in ABS for a 'bath of acetone' for a clean surface finish.

anybody made something like this here? any recommendation in % for print or material.

thanks
Also; I realize I didn't really answer the OP questions. I haven't used Acetone to smooth. When I smooth out my prints I use Bondo glazing and spot putty, sand it really good, prime it, sand it real good, etc till I get a good finish. There are a few videos on youtube you can watch.
I prefer PETG as material for reasons I already listed.
As far as infill percentages, your going to have to do some experimentation to see what works for you, but I tend to use 1.5mm walls with a 20% infill. You can probably go with a lower infill and be OK if you want something lightweight, but Im ok with it being a little heavier. I also print the gun mount at around 80% because I want that to be extra strong. FYI, my fully printed pack came out at about 12 pounds without electronics.

Timewire; I think the closest thing to an "ideal" printer would be something with a 12" bed or possibly bigger, but if its a good printer and your ok with gluing multiple pieces together then go with what works for your budget.


Generally speaking I think you should only buy a printer to make a proton pack if you want to get into 3d printing. Unless you buy a really good one, every printer will require basic maintenance and troubleshooting. If you just want to print a pack, you are more than likely going to be better served by just buying some quality kits.
By Madness
#4929556
Superego669 wrote: May 24th, 2018, 11:12 am
xandman wrote: May 23rd, 2018, 8:32 pm a word of advice buddy, get a printer with a large print bed (bigger than 8X8) I got a Monoprice and there are a few GB parts I still have to farm out to a friend because they are just to big to print on my bed.
I have all pieces cutted and ready to print! I took a pronton pack from thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1128019) I cut all biggest pieace like the cyclotron and sync-gen

I cutted in tinkercad.com
What did you use as your mother board and any pics of your finished pack.
User avatar
By ImperialWalker
#4951866
My biggest issue is that I don't know enough about the accuracy of the pack to know which 3D files are accurate. I've been considering starting some prints, but I don't want to waste hundreds of hours on an inaccurate pack. So if anyone who is well versed in the accuracy can suggest a really well done 3D model, I would really appreciate it.
User avatar
By jonogunn
#4951888
ImperialWalker wrote:My biggest issue is that I don't know enough about the accuracy of the pack to know which 3D files are accurate. I've been considering starting some prints, but I don't want to waste hundreds of hours on an inaccurate pack. So if anyone who is well versed in the accuracy can suggest a really well done 3D model, I would really appreciate it.
Word around here is that quentin machiel’s mk 2.1 is the most accurate and best build

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4621554
User avatar
By Fienen
#4951896
jonogunn wrote: July 18th, 2021, 7:16 pm Word around here is that quentin machiel’s mk 2.1 is the most accurate and best build

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4621554
I'm building one right now. My build thread has all the details. Happy to answer questions.

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