3D Printed Nose Badge

[anduril3019]

Well, here goes, I'll take a stab at the first post. I'm working on a long term Locost build dubbed the Fauxtus 7. I'm a long way from completion, but thought it would be fun to take a little diversion from fabrication and work on a hood badge. Full disclosure, I did the 2D design, a friend did the 3D modelling and some of the prints, other prints were made using an online service. 

 

The goal was to try and come up with something that could work as an old-school enameled badge. Mainly, that meant making sure all the elements were completely bordered and isolated so they could be paint filled.

 

The 2D design was extruded, then the foreground and background intersected with a sphere to get the domed shape but keep all the lines parallel in the Z axis.

 

The model was printed by an FDM and an SLA printer (I don't know any detail about the printers). The line work ended up being too fine for the FDM to hold the detail, and even though the resin printer reproduced all the detail, I'd make some of the line work thicker next time.

 

Using the resin prints, we painted some directly and also made a silicone mold and cast a few using metal filled epoxy, with varying results. Again, as with the initial prints, the silicone had trouble with the fine line detail and began to deteriorate after several castings.

 

I also sent the model to craftcloud3d.com and tried a few different materials including a bronze filled PLA. With this material and the metal filled epoxy, you can get something approaching a polished metallic surface.

 

The red and blue version is the bronze filled PLA print painted with Testors model paints in candy colors which are a little transparent and let some of the "metal" show through. Top surface was wet sanded and finished with fine scotch bright.

 

Next I may try completely filling the recesses with clear resin then sanding it flush and polishing to get a completely smooth top surface.

 

Overall diameter is 2.5"

 

There you go!

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by anduril3019
Nomenclature!

[JohnCh]

It would never have occurred to me to go down that route, but it looks great.  How was your experience with craftcloud?

 

Thanks,

John

[anduril3019]

Craftcloud was great. A wide selection of materials and processes and pretty fast turnaround. It's a crowd sourced service, so once you set all your parameters for materials, finishes, quantity, etc., you're given a choice of vendors. I've printed the same model with several different vendors to test consistency between them, and have been happy with the results. I've also done another project through them where I needed 1000 prints of something, and was also happy with the results.

 

One glitch I had was that the first time I uploaded a model, it said my file was corrupt. My friend who built it couldn't find a problem with the file. It turned out that Craftcloud wasn't interpreting the scale, so the solution was just to click through the warnings and manually enter the overall dimensions, which then sets the scale in Craftcloud.

[JohnCh]

Thanks, I'll keep them in mind if I need to print a file beyond the capabilities of my printer or if I want to try the part as an SLA print.

[MV8]

For other printed parts, I wonder about the binder/matrix of these materials when printing parts that go in a harsh environment. Things like temp range, resistance to oil, moisture, UV, and shelf life of the printed part (many plastics eventually crumble after a decade or so). Obviously appropriate powders are available. Just interested in the binder. I've done zero research.

[anduril3019]

I wonder about durability also. I'm obviously not worried about mechanical failure on this part, but curious to see how it holds up to UV.

[JohnCh]

There is a slew of filament types, each with different strength, impact resistance, UV, thermal, and chemical resistance properties.  There are even differences between brands for the same filament type.  To further complicate matters, some filaments require more specialized printers that can handle the high temperatures required to melt that filament or can heat the bed or the enclosure to specific temperatures or maintain more stable temperatures.  Some filaments are also a lot more finicky to print than others, requiring more experience to produce a quality print.

 

This page has an overview of the more common options that might prove interesting.  https://www.3dsourced.com/guides/3d-printer-filament/

[IamScotticus]

This is really cool.

Don't get the meaning of the eye...it looks kinda Mason-ish

[anduril3019]

Yeah, I know what you mean, but don't think too deeply about it.  Basically as I was drawing, I ended up with an empty space there and was trying different things to fill it. My sketches slowly morphed into the all-seeing eyeball. I thought it was fun and a little silly so I went with it. Maybe it's searching the road ahead, warding of danger, and leading toward adventure... (or not)