3D Printing resources

[FuzzyLOgic]

I'm the proud owner of a new 3D printer, and I'd like to start using it on Mego customs. Is anyone aware of downloadable model files for things like heads or accessories that may be available? I'm no artist so creating my own from scratch would likely not yield good results.

If there are files out there, I could probably be talked into printing them for the community...

[Boshek]

I bet you are going to get a lot of people to talk you into it! Including me.

Gosh there is a figure's head that I have wanted shrunken down for a while now; the 6MDM Maskatron with and without mask. I was going to see if Staples could scan and print it. How does one scan it so it could be printed? Could the 13" head be shrunken down to our Mego 8"?

[FuzzyLOgic]

The problem is that scanning a 3D object requires a 3D scanner. The good ones are prohibitively expensive, and the cheap ones are low quality. There is an iPhone app that makes scans but not of small objects very well.

If the scan existed, it's easy enough to change the size. The trick is getting it in a 3D format.

[noelani72]

well, you’ll have to search a great many of my threads here. I was the first to bring 3D printing and 3D scanning to the boards. makerbot Rep2 and NextEngine scanner. I admit, I got quite butthurt after a while with people constantly saying, “I can see the lines”...became a household joke between me and my son (who’s Legend of Link here). But, we got the printer dialed in perfect, 2000 hours and going strong...100micron layers. Looking to buy a new printer than promises 50microns.
I fully envision a digital library of resources here someday, but folks aren’t ready. There’s still this perception that “oh, you have a 3d printer? You poke a button and walk away, you’re cheating and that isn’t art”. Yea, I have had some pretty ****ty things said to me about it...but the positives do outweigh the negatives. We have gigs and gigs worth of data - just look at the stuff the boy and I make. Not everything is a print or a scan, but a nice marriage of the worlds.
Scanning is a total pain in the arse...seriously. I hate it. There have been two decent software updates recently that did make it work much better. I have had a project of a fellow board members’ for about two years probably...I worked my arse off on it....days and days and days of messing with it to ultimately fail. I told him it just was not going to work out and then the updates started coming, so I need to pick it back up again and give it one more try. But seriously, scanning at home is a decade away from being easy....
Next thing about having files for printing available here - 3d printed bodies are cool, but have their own quirks. For example, if you string a thigh into a pelvis, the PLA plastic is super slick...so it is hard to get figures to stand right sometimes. My kid makes his own bodysuits for his 3d printed bodies and they do turn out well, but because of the hours and hours of experience.
The day will come when someone comes here, downloads a custom body, custom head, some accessories, a bodysuit pattern, and a backer card print - walla, weekend custom....but that day is not tomorrow. Give it a few years..