Legion Rising

[hushrong]

That’s a lot of Ad Mech talk that’s going over my head but boy am I excited to see that rig hooked up!

 

Happy fabricating!

[sarabando]

youre a mad man and i love it

[The Nephilim]

Yessssssssssssssssssssssss. Holy crap, yes!

[Zeller]

What's the percentage of shrinkage, if any, that you have to account for in your 3D designs?

[Subtle Discord]

To the best of my knowledge, UV resin-based 3D printing has very little shrinkage, but that's something I'm going to confirm as I do some test prints. While I've never worked with this type of printer/resin before all of the UV cured 3D prints I've outsourced in the past were very dimensionally accurate. With that said there is a bit of shrinkage during the polyurethane resin casting process but it only noticeably affects objects that have a lot of volume; the larger the item is, the more plastic there is to shrink. however, I also use a high-quality resin that has very little shrinkage at roughly 0.001" to 0.00065" /in; not sure what that converts to in Mertic, but it's never caused enough change to for me to compensate for it.

[The Nephilim]

I'm beyond looking forward to this. Will you just be doing your current works in resin? Will you take commissions in the future once your streamline and work out the inevitable kinks?

[Subtle Discord]

You and me both!

 

For now, this will be only for my own designs. I already have enough backlog 3D models to keep it running for days, and a list as long as my arm of ideas that I want need to make real. Add to that the fact that I'm still just one person and it's just not even close to realistic to put more on m plate.

 

With that said, I have no idea exactly how I want to grow the studio at this point; models and kits are the foundation and will be the core focus going forward, but there are several options open to me for expansion that have potential and I'll need to see how things progress. One of those options is expanding the 3D printing to specialize in small-scale high detail as a service; my research really reinforced that it's more specialized and hard to source then I was expecting so it's something I definitely think has potential. Naturally, it will hinge on a lot of factors that need to be worked out, so time will tell.

 

Right now, I just want the damn thing to finish its first print!  So far it didn't fail, but I have no idea what it looks like yet.

[JeffTibbetts]

So cool! I’m impressed you even have files ready to go.

[Subtle Discord]

*Subtle inspects the first print*

 

Oooooohhh...

 

Oh my...

 

Oh my, yes!

 

*Maniacal laugh!!*

 

Yessssss!

 

*Stops suddenly with a stricken look on his face*

 

I think... I just peed myself a little bit.

 

So cool! I’m impressed you even have files ready to go.

 

The beauty of digital creation; create it once and use it as often as you want after that. All the 3D modeling that's shown in the thread that is complete is ready to print, the files just need to be converted to a 3D format (STL) that the printer accepts. So the models that I was trying to outsource are completely ready, and getting them ready to print on the Solus with the included Contour software is actually quite straightforward, if a little time-consuming.

 

As mentioned, the first test bits are done and while there are a few minor flaws everything that is right about the results completely overshadows any problems. I'm positive that most of the issues have to do with the settings and it will simply take a bit of trial-and-error to get them dialed in correctly. There are also a few places where I can tell that I was trying too hard to add subtle details to the 3D model and they're just too small/delicate to replicate properly. While it will be a bit of work to go and adjust the 3D models the details are so small they won't really change the model/s appearance very much. Going forward I already have a good idea what my best practices will be while creating 3D models to get the results I'm looking for. At the same time, printing at 10 microns might also solve problems such as this, I only used 25 microns from this initial test and even then the results were excellent.

 

I managed to forget to take a picture before I tossed the parts in the UV curing oven. They were noticeably sticky and I had already groped them quite a bit and it was starting to dull the surface and effect edges/corners, so I wanted to get the parts hardened up. As I said, beyond some minor problems that I'm confident will be sorted out with a bit more experience, the surface quality is amazing, even at 25 microns. Update with images to follow shortly...

[The Nephilim]

Are you guys excited? I'm excited!

[Augustus b'Raass]

Awwwww YIIHIIIISSSSSS!

 

Great news, everyone. 

 

Keep on trucking, SD!

[Subtle Discord]

Ok, it’s going to take a bit of practice to zero in on the adjustments I’ll need to make to get the prints exactly where I want them. There are some obvious flaws that I’ll need to sort out (more on that in a second) but there’s also a general lack of sharpness in some of the details that I suspect will get sorted with some focus and/or settings adjustments. But considering some of the horrible failures I was seeing from some people on the manufacturer’s forums, I consider this first test print a complete success; both parts were created with no major failures.

 

The resin smells like something that belongs on a Mechanicus Forge World; a strange metallic tang with an odd musty undertone. Toxic in liquid form, it smells the part.

 

Fresh from the Servitor, I can’t help but think Khorne would be proud since it’s very close to a fresh blood-red colour; almost like creating objects from a congealed red gore and rather fitting for a Dark Forge World if I do say so myself. Note that I printed these at particular angles to help minimize supports and see if there would be any ‘stair stepping’ caused by the unique angles. The supports are attached so delicately that I didn’t even take a picture of the parts clean and with the supports in place; I was too eager to inspect the parts and the supports were so delicate they just broke away. However, this did cause some surface damage so in future I’m going to take more care in removing the supports. I suspect that most of my deformation problems are caused by insufficient supports… (get used to hearing the word ‘supports’ often)

 

Ok, so there’s a bit of warping and that a problem that needs sorting, but look at the surface quality!! I mean, it’s as smooth as GW styrene on 99% of the surfaces.

 

The edge that has the warping was the bottom edge in the print and I suspect that I didn’t add enough extra supports to keep it true so it drifted until the mass became large enough to stabilize. If I’m right, it’s going to be an easy fix. I was expecting that the support placement was going to be key and something that will improve with experience, so this isn’t really surprising. And there’s no way to be frustrated when the surface quality is so good. First I solve the warping issue and then the surface quality is waiting for me when I get it sorted out.

 

I’m purposely showing the bad side of the print of this part that is suffering from a little deformation; again while it’s lacking a bit of sharpness the surface quality is much better than the original prints I had outsourced.

 

I picked these two components as test prints because they were parts that I was particularly disappointed with in my first batch of outsourced 3D prints. The particular issue with this Combi-plasma comes down to some of the details and how small/fine they are (the two small round vents on the side in particular) and how the print process struggled with the details. The original prints were sharper and it did a bit better in some ways, but still not good enough for me; this is a case where I need to adjust how I 3D model and just avoid certain details executed in a certain way at a certain scale.

 

Now the surface issues are a general problem and something this part also suffered with. In the location where the support wax was used in the original prints, there’s an obvious effect; the photographed roughness can be scrubbed off, but it does leave a rough surface. That needs to be dealt with and/or it’s just affecting details that are too small to easily clean up. Also, a general layering can be seen in many parts on flat surfaces that should actually be quite easy to print perfectly smooth. These were the key problems I had to solve and Servitor Solus is pulling its weight; again, while the sharpness is a bit off (and I know I can improve on that) the surface quality is what matters, and it’s amazing! This printer changes everything for me and making my ideas real, seriously…

 

The curve of lenses/optics and thin details are also a challenge for 3D printing and I don’t think it’s hard to see why I wasn’t happy with how this part turned out originally.

 

Again, this is a part as it was originally 3D printed that wasn’t up to the standards I’m aiming for, and being able to pull something like this off had to happen. On this little part Servitor Solus really proved to me that it’s got what it takes to deliver the results I’m after. If I can do this on my first try, I know my results are only going to improve, yup, this little printer has what it takes to get the job done; every curve of this part is smooth beyond what I was expecting. I better get used to the sound this printer makes, I’m going to be listening to it non stop over the coming weeks, months, and years.

 

Oh yeah, and these parts were printed at ‘only’ 25 micron Z (layer) resolution, so I still need to turn it down to 10 micron layers and see how much farther it takes things. It literally increases the build time by x2.5, but if it brings noticeable improvements on fine details it might be worth it with the right components. Much more tinkering and experimenting to do, but this has me so encouraged I can’t wait to get started.

[Brother Casman]

Gods above, this is amazing! I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next, SD.

[JeffTibbetts]

Woah. That's WEIRD looking. I can't wait to see more but you're dead right about the surface quality. I can't wait to see what it looks like when you can dial in the sharpness. 

[TheOneTrueZon]

The 3D Print Train has LEFT THE STATION FOLKS.

 

[Subtle Discord]

After another bout of research, I made some physical adjustments, carefully recalibrated Servitor Solus from scratch, and made a few adjustments to the printing software. After finding a good stress-test model and giving it a go, I do believe I’ve cracked this nut.

 

While there’s a lot of them the supports taper down to a 0.1mm point before attaching to the model so they usually have very little Impact on the surface.

 

This is printed at the intended 10x10x10mm, and it’s doing a good job of pushing Solus to its limits; however, I am still using ‘only’ 25 micron Z resolution so I still have room to push it further. Some of the extremely small details are struggling but I’m not interested in making gaps 0.1mm wide, so that’s fine. Anything that is at the scale I’ll be interested in is turning out cleanly and the surface quality, in general, is better than I was seriously expecting; I was hoping Servitor Solus would be capable but I was trying to be cautiously optimistic. That reservation is all out of the window now, Solus is amazing and I can’t wait to start making amazing things with it.

 

Oh, and if I had any question about the dimensional accuracy, well that’s not going to be an issue either. Yep, nothing wrong with that.

One of these was built with supports, the second was created with no supports and to my surprise, Solus handled all of the overhangs with no problem at all. This is good, letting me create smaller details in designs that don’t necessarily need supports to print correctly. The supports are a necessary evil but it’s always good to minimize them whenever possible. The text is so small I’m amazed it’s even coming out as clearly as it is here. I wouldn’t even want to do lettering or details that small, but it really builds my confidence in Servitor Solus.

 

After seeing the test cube at 1:1 scale I decided to try to double it in size and see how it would turn out.

 

At 20x20x20mm the scale of the details here is a much better representation of the kinds of things I’ll be making. The lettering is clean and defined, the edges are sharp and true, curves are completely smooth, the dimensions are accurate, and the surface quality is as good as ever. Additionally, the parts that are created are very strong, which is a little surprising; the UV resin based 3D prints I’ve worked with in the past was very hard and brittle, but these prints are very tough and not brittle in the slightest. This is unexpected, but naturally not a bad thing in the slightest. Making moulds can be very tough on delicate models, so the tougher they are the better. From here on in I think the biggest problems will arise from issues stemming from support placement. I’ve got proof positive that Solus is up to the task as long as I set things up correctly.

 

*Subtle’s eyes glaze over*

 

I’m actually kinda’… numb. I’ve got the tool sitting here, dialed in and ready to go, and I almost don’t know where to start! Well, next up, let’s see if I can fill the tray with studio components and continue to get these positive results. Anticipation intensifies!

 

P.S. Time to start tossing your model and kits ideas out into the open if you happen to have any. I know I ask this now-and-then and it may seem like they disappear into a vacuum, trust that I plan to comb Legion Rising over the coming weeks and I have been keeping a notebook for a while to jot down all manner of ideas that might cross my mind and/or eyes. I do make use of the input, and now I really have all the parts in place to get things started I think it’s time to stir the pot-o’-ideas, as it were. I’ve got lots of 3D models ready, and many more ideas waiting in the wings, but I want to work on projects that strike a balance between kits I think I ‘need’ to make on a planned schedule and kits I’m more inclined to ‘want’ to make to keep things interesting. Right now I’m interested in food for thought that I can contemplate as I take care of my backlog; again, with so many possibilities I’m not sure where to start.

[Pearson73]

That machine is giving some fantastic results already, I'm incredibly pleased and excited for both you and your business, I figure this is going to be the beginning of a great expansion and I'm very much looking forward to watching it.

 

Edit for idea suggestions - I'm always on the look out for new sonic weapons, there's no alternative for vehicle or dreadnought mounted ones at the minute either.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Pearson73

[Augustus b'Raass]

Great to read one of your technical updates. Always lovr to read them.

 

On ideas: we all need combi plasmas and combi meltas for our deepstriking terminators...

[Quixus]

On ideas: we all need combi plasmas and combi meltas for our deepstriking terminators...

I second that, preferably with exchangeable special weapons.

 

I would also appreciate  a "pre heresy" land raisder kit *cough* MkIIb *cough*, if possible with the option to take the weapons of the other later configurations(LRC, LRR). Speaking of Land Raiders, since the Chaos LR is only available form GW, how about dragon heads for the gun barrels, possibly with similar ornaments for the LRC and LRR weapons.

[sarabando]

 

On ideas: we all need combi plasmas and combi meltas for our deepstriking terminators...

I second that, preferably with exchangeable special weapons.

 

I would also appreciate  a "pre heresy" land raisder kit *cough* MkIIb *cough*, if possible with the option to take the weapons of the other later configurations(LRC, LRR). Speaking of Land Raiders, since the Chaos LR is only available form GW, how about dragon heads for the gun barrels, possibly with similar ornaments for the LRC and LRR weapons.

 

just the sponsons XD thats all id need.

[Quixus]

The sponsons are the highest priority, but the different mounting for the hull mounted weapons would be nice too.

[Khornestar]

I don’t know how feasible this is, but chaos trim upgrade kits for plastic Mk III, Mk IV, Tartaros, and cataphractii kits. Contemptors, leviathans, and Deredeos too, while we’re at it.

 

Similar in style to the vehicle trim kits you made before, but conforms to the contours/specific parts of the above mentioned kits. Arrows, skulls, spikes... that would be a god(s)send, given the state of our current troops box. We’d be able to take good-looking chaotic power armored units for the first time in... ever, other than raptors I s’pose.

 

And like your upgrade kits of the past, GW provides the plastic, i.e. the bulk of the kit, and you have to print less resin initially and less manufacturing casts than if you built the entire kits.

 

 

My personal but unlikely request: power-armored legs to fit the WFB/AoS Khorne skullcrushers kits, with stirrups or little platforms to support the feet to make convincing cavalry legs for juggerlords/Berzerkers riding juggernauts.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Juggernut

[Dragonlover]

I'm gonna second Juggernuts trim kits suggestion, that'd be pretty freaking sweet.

 

Dragonlover

[The Nephilim]

I wouldn't stop with Juggernut's suggestion. If it's possible to get trim kits for mk iv and mk iii armors from BaC and BoP, that would be amazing.

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

Excited! Keep going!