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Post by Illandrasen on Oct 21, 2015 10:39:06 GMT -5
Alright guys I'm going to throw out a little challenge to the Zoidian community. I want us to come up with a zero assembly fully functional joint to be integrated into 3D prints of customs and the like. I had previously shown some concept designs of a fully articulated Zeke model. Playing around with some of the 3D printing software that comes with the 3D printer I have on order I have realized that the size of the parts I require are simply too small to print at 1/72 scale. As you can probably imagine the size of ball joints for the 1/72 scale Zeke would have to very small to function properly.
So the challenge to overcome: With 3D printing we can make stuff that was once not possible. We are able to make functional parts from a single print with no assembly and without restriction of it having to all be separate parts. So essentially what I'm saying is the ball and socket as well as the other joint types that we most often see in our Zoid builds is no longer the best that we can achieve.
Please discuss some possibilities. As soon as Christmas rolls around I'll be able to test print the ideas we come up with. Don't feel like you need any cad software to come up with ideas. Napkin drawings often produce our best work.
Good Luck!
Ill
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Post by Hanyoutai on Oct 21, 2015 21:30:29 GMT -5
This may be a time to take a page from the Kabaya bootleg book. Their figures aren't THAT small but they make good use of pegs in place of ball joints and still retain good posability. Pegs can also be fragile but you have to apply much less pressure during assembly and as long as you're careful with it, I think it could theoretically work. Of course at that size I don't know if it's feasible to have anything but a peg attaching the legs, arms, and head for basic rotation. I don't think full let articulation would be possible, but as an example.  A peg in the back of the foot, attaching to the front of the leg would allow the foot to tilt left or right. This means it could still set flat on the ground (assuming the legs/hips were also articulated.) If you added a second hinge to the blue part behind the toes, it could also rotate forwards-backwards on the hinge. Overall I think it'd be most ideal to drop the 1/72 scale, unless you're going for something extremely basic. A larger scale would be more workable and probably a lot more satisfying once it was completed, thanks to added articulation possibilities. |
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Post by Illandrasen on Oct 21, 2015 23:40:42 GMT -5
Good points. The main reason I would want something in the 1/72 scale would be to display it in a diorama with a zoid. I do have a decent 1/24 scale Zeke I'm working on that will hopefully be on par if not better than done of the hmm zoid in terms of detail.
It's midnight here so I'll check back in the morning with some of my joint designs.
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Post by Snowflake on Oct 22, 2015 10:36:02 GMT -5
Keep materials in mind too. I'm sure things have advanced in 3d printing since the last time I looked, but at that time, one was limited to a very soft and crummy plastic that wouldn't be very good at the whole 'pop a ball joint into a hole, the elasticity will allow it through then hold it in, and there will be just enough friction to let it hold a pose' thing.
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Post by Maethius on Oct 22, 2015 11:31:17 GMT -5
I've only printed a solid 2" robot with decent detail from Shapeways. I used their frosted ultra detail, and it is FRAGILE. So, a warning on that front!
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Post by Illandrasen on Oct 22, 2015 12:03:12 GMT -5
This will be printed on an SLA printer. Specifically the Form 2 by Formlabs. They have a variety of UV curable resins that range from flexible to tough. I really think we can come up with something better that the old pop ball into socket method of making a moving full range joint. Will post some concepts soon.
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Post by Maethius on Oct 23, 2015 10:11:10 GMT -5
Oh, that's great to know! I just got a sample from Formlabs; I was impressed with its weight and strength, but for a sample, it didn't impress me with its level of detail. (I'm inquiring after the cost of a better resolution print at present.)
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Post by SkyKnight on Nov 1, 2015 23:14:08 GMT -5
I have done some 3D prints as well, one with the ABS layer injection, IMO, not what I would use to do an exterior part for a toy, maybe the inside for replacement pins, or structural support.
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Post by Illandrasen on Nov 2, 2015 10:21:57 GMT -5
Yea, FDM 3D printers leave much to be desired as far as quality is concerned. The Form 2 is an SLA based 3D printer that cures resin via laser to create each layer. It doesn't give a perfect finish, but it is certainly an acceptable starting point.
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Post by Tilly on Nov 7, 2015 22:26:29 GMT -5
I like the idea of 1/20-to-1/24, maybe you could say it was to go with the Battle Rover and company? (The scale on that line, like all of Zoids, is a bit wibbly-wobbly.) Then they'd still go with something Zoids!
...there's another possibly interesting thing, character pilots or just alternate pilots for the 1/24 Zoids. Much easier to work out, but probably not as much wide appeal.
(I'd totally want a Rosa one if I could afford it at the time :p.)
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