1:6 Darth Vader 3D Laser Scan & Print Project

[Too Much Garlic]

Kinda thought RS Props scanning their stuff would be as interesting to others as it was for me. Hmm...

I am downloading an update to my printer and will hopefully do a test print calibration this week. I know all the things I did wrong the last time, so hopefully I'll do better this time. Crossing my fingers I'll get it dialed in quickly and actually be fresh enough to do it soon.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Test calibration prints prepared. Hope with the new knowledge this will go better than last time where I demolished the print in order to get it off the print plate... and lost all energy for the rest of the day.

Man... I really wish I can dial this in so it will become the glorious experience I see everybody else have with resin 3D printing.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

First test print was much easier to pry off, but I broke it in the process. I tried with bottom burn time of 10 seconds. Now I lowered it to 9.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Btw: wanted to mention that DynamicMenace who will do the RS Prop Masters' Stormtrooper statues usually works in 1:4 and 1:3 scale, but in a video he said he'd consider any scale if there was enough interest, so if people, like me, would love to get 1:6 scale versions, now is the time to make your wish known.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

9 seconds burn time on the first three layers was too much. But I was able to almost get the whole print off without breaking it... though... it broke in several pieces. Though, I was able to determine that the 3 seconds normal layer burn time was over-exposed, so I lowered the burn times to 8 seconds for the bottom layers and 2.8 seconds pr layer for the rest.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Got it off in almost 1 piece. Some corners did snap off. I may keep it at 8 when I do my regular printing, as I don't care about not damaging supports - would rather risk damage to those than the print peeling off the print plate during printing. Will try a bottom layer burn time of 7 for the next one.

Normal layer burn time looked pretty good, but will try a 2.6 seconds burn time for the next one to see how it looks.

I'm getting close.

These calibrations may not work for others. I'm dialing it in for some water washable resin.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

2.6 seconds normal burn time was too low. So it seems my settings are 7 second bottom layer burn time (or 8 to be sure) and 2.8 seconds normal layer burn time. Testing these settings on an ESB chest box.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Dialed in the settings to 7 seconds bottom burn time (or 8 to be sure), and 2,8 seconds normal layer burn time to get the best result.

Printed an ESB Vader chest box as a test at 0.05mm layer height and it turned out really well. I used that layer height to save time for the test, but I can go down to 0.02mm when I really start printing. I printed it at a 50° angle, but may just print it laying flat as it may give the best result.

Sorry for the fussy picture... I couldn't get a sharp image as I can't hold my hands steady enough for it to keep the focus. The white specs are simply because I didn't clean it properly before curing.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Well, found some things that weren't accurate to the reference, so started fixing it on the RotJ Box.

There is apparently a small sphere detail I had missed on the top silver greeblie between the two colored lenses, + the red lenses at the coin slots appeared a lot more tapered, yet with sharper corners and cut straight down at the same length at the sides - no taper there, so I tried to recreate that.

When I was done with that I decided to go back and check whether it was the same on the ESB. From the reference I could find it appeared so. Much more tapered at the front and with sharper corners, however, this one also had a taper at the sides, unlike the RotJ, so I incorporated that. When working on it I found some bad geometry behind the coin slots that may have been the reason why the 3D print slicer reported errors with the model. These errors are not visible from the outside and the other 3D software didn't pick it up. But, I fixed it and from what I can tell the red lenses were the only difference between my model and the reference that I could find.

If anyone can spot any other differences I would love to hear it.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Was shown some better reference for the RotJ box and did a whole lot of reworking.

Old one on the left and new one on the right.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Tried the same settings with a RotJ box. The wonkiness at the top is due to me hollowing out the back and didn't account for potential warpage. However, the print is great and heating it with an air dryer softens it and I can push it back into position. I'll try a 0.02mm layer height hopefully tomorrow - this will take 4+ hours with the 0.05mm layer height only taking a little less than 2 - to check out if there is a difference in quality that will be worth the added time.

Also caught some errors in the model that I fixed.

 

[agonistes86]

Tried the same settings with a RotJ box. The wonkiness at the top is due to me hollowing out the back and didn't account for potential warpage. However, the print is great and heating it with an air dryer softens it and I can push it back into position. I'll try a 0.02mm layer height hopefully tomorrow - this will take 4+ hours with the 0.05mm layer height only taking a little less than 2 - to check out if there is a difference in quality that will be worth the added time.

Also caught some errors in the model that I fixed.

View attachment 650300

That looks great! Very happy for you that it's starting to work out.
I never really realized that the buttons were not actually 4 separate pieces until seeing your renders.
How do you think about the text under the coin slots? The 3D print looks great in terms of detail and quality, but screen accurate should be painted/a decal without texture, right?

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Thanks. And yes, screen accurate would be a decal. I do not have the capability of doing that. However, I can easily create a blank version where the text isn't part of the print for people who want that.

Currently printing the 0.02mm layer height RotJ box to check the difference in quality with the 0.05mm one I posted about above.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

The 0.05mm layer height less than 2 hour print vs the 0.02mm layer height 5 and a half hour print.

I'll let you be the judge. Do you feel the extra time and slightly sharper detail is worth it? I know how I feel after seeing the comparison.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Doing some more tests with the 0.05mm setting. Dennys Wang on Youtube suggests anti-aliasing to get rid of voxel lines, so I'm testing 2 types of that - one sharp and one blurred, as Dennys Wang suggests the latter with anti-aliasing 2, blur 2, but he's using another slicer than me, as Lychee doesn't have the exact same kinds of settings. I may try it in Chitubox with his exact recommendations later to see if I can get even better results.

Got the Anti-Aliasing Soft 2 back and that is NOT better.
Currently printing Anti-Aliasing Sharp 2 to see how that fares.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Got it done. It is about on par with the version without anti-aliasing. There are some smoother areas, but it has some issues with edges, so the benefit is lost.

I'll stick with normal without anti-aliasing. At least when using Lychee slicer.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Sadly, I had just gotten started, but it was halted by health issues. Not related to 3D printing, so I'll get back to that as soon as I'm over this current issue. Though... with what the doctor said... I'd need to undergo a lot more tests... so things may take a while. Sorry guys. But at least I no longer hate resin 3D printing like I did before. Now I just want to get back to working with it because I finally got it working.

Hopefully I can get back to it in about 2-3 weeks. Maybe earlier, but no promises.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Well, we may now know what has caused the health issues. Not the best news, though... but at least now I know what the cause may be.

Will see if I can get things up and running again sometime next week. No promises though

 

[prvtnoclass]

Dude, i pray it's not serious.

 

[krieg-der-sterne]

Well, we may now know what has caused the health issues. Not the best news, though... but at least now I know what the cause may be.

Will see if I can get things up and running again sometime next week. No promises though

Dude,hang in there. Get healthy,the most important thing in life,believe me,I know it! Actually just came to check what you work on,nice job so far! Take your time,and get well