Printed DNA30 Bottom Feeder

[jakematic]

These shape way bottom feeders are pretty sexy but how much is it to buy all the individual parts?

Depends on materials.
All in, about $175 for the basic materials [no metals, no polishes, just parts]

This assumes you aren't paying beaucoup dollars in shipping and sourcing for the non-ShapeWays stuff.

Someone correct me if that math is wrong please.

 

[Nautilusfan]

BSF
All I did was spray it with Minwax Poly per my previous post.

There's this weird sparkle to it that sucked me in.
It's about $6 more to get it dyed - it's originally made in WSF then dyed to a very thin level by SW.
Am planning to order some more in WSF and spray paint them, but for $3 extra bucks...... SW can dye them for me

I've been sacrificing parts and trying all this so everyone can get an idea of finishes.
For the record, I highly recommend sealing them. Period. End of story.

When a new part comes in I open the zip top bag carefully to let it acclimate.
Then I use nitrile gloves to handle until it's sprayed.

These things are very porous but beautiful, so I try to keep my grubby paws off them (HT to Rossum) until they are sealed.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post - the new variety of metal rings and buttons are coming in



Semi-gloss poly on the left, 'raw' print on the right

I really like the look. So much classier looking than the "raw" print

 

[Cool_Breeze]

These shape way bottom feeders are pretty sexy but how much is it to buy all the individual parts?

Parts Kit from Co-op +/- $25 to $30 (shipped)
Evolve DNA 30 ~$50 (shipping?)
Shapeways Basic Parts...beginning at $90
Pair of batteries (if needed) ~$22 +/- Shipping
Bottom Feeding Atty (if needed) ...hmm...$20 and up if you self-modify...Budget ~$50 (modded Magma)

 

[mackman]

I'd estimate $200 not including you bf atty + knowing that you build it yourself=Priceless.
The feel of these in your hand is just amazingly ergonomically correct.

 

[rogue007]

Gdeal I have both oven and air cure mixtures.... When buying CeraKote you have the choice to order either air cure or oven cure.

CeraKote is great and so is Duracoat. I ordered a couple extra buttons from shape ways and I am going to hit them with Duracoat and see if does anything to them. Both CeraKote and Duracoat have oils in them and has been known to leech into and out of plastics.

The only items I'm really painting is both the body sections, ring and the final button I'm going to use (maybe).

I ordered a colored body (green) and I know it's dyed but not wanting any of the dye to come off or discolor during clear-coating.

 

[rogue007]

Also Gdeal, since you grated my request for the internals to be in the Metallic Plastic (alumide).... I was wondering if it's possible to do one more thing for me?

The trim ring: was wondering if you can release a version with no over-hang?.... Something that looks almost exactly like the Dibi. If you do, can you do the finishes in alloys?.....

I know most here can't do it but I have a milling machine and if it needs to be final machined to fit flat, I can do it. I could make the part but the kind of curve would require me to have a CNC, which I do not. Also maybe short buttons in alloys as well.

Just experimenting!.... I honestly would like a trim ring with no over-hang in SS and a Button in SS as well. (I'll probably just make a SS button ;-) )

 

[bapgood]

I will warn again about Duracoat.......I have tried duracoat several times, with various prep techniques and it just doesn't seem stick to the plastic very good. It wears off rather quickly starting at the most contacted locations like corners.

Cerakote however I can do basically zero prep and it just flat out sticks!!!

I haven't used the Cerakote air cure colors, one because I have an oven and two because the color selection is limited.

 

[gdeal]

Also Gdeal, since you grated my request for the internals to be in the Metallic Plastic (alumide).... I was wondering if it's possible to do one more thing for me?

The trim ring: was wondering if you can release a version with no over-hang?.... Something that looks almost exactly like the Dibi. If you do, can you do the finishes in alloys?.....

I know most here can't do it but I have a milling machine and if it needs to be final machined to fit flat, I can do it. I could make the part but the kind of curve would require me to have a CNC, which I do not. Also maybe short buttons in alloys as well.

Just experimenting!.... I honestly would like a trim ring with no over-hang in SS and a Button in SS as well. (I'll probably just make a SS button ;-) )

Something like this?

In theory, it can work. But it may be tricky in the final finish to get perfectly smooth and seamless interfaces. While shapeways tolerances are pretty good, the parts are printed separately and I can tell you that I can notice print offsets especially when using metal parts with plastic parts. They are slight and the ring overhang eliminates them. (If you see some of the other comments, the metal ring with overhang on a plastic body likely will require some fitting with a dremel on the inside lip)

So this version would require you to do a complete dry run assembly and work the surfaces and interfaces completely smooth. You would also need to surface seal the device while ensuring that the smoothness is maintained. This can add a whole other layer of complexity if you are trying to smooth plastic and metal at the same time. Its all doable, but I would think that this would be a more advanced modding project. But it would look awesome.

 

[Aal_]

BSF
All I did was spray it with Minwax Poly per my previous post.

There's this weird sparkle to it that sucked me in.
It's about $6 more to get it dyed - it's originally made in WSF then dyed to a very thin level by SW.
Am planning to order some more in WSF and spray paint them, but for $3 extra bucks...... SW can dye them for me

I've been sacrificing parts and trying all this so everyone can get an idea of finishes.
For the record, I highly recommend sealing them. Period. End of story.

When a new part comes in I open the zip top bag carefully to let it acclimate.
Then I use nitrile gloves to handle until it's sprayed.

These things are very porous but beautiful, so I try to keep my grubby paws off them (HT to Rossum) until they are sealed.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post - the new variety of metal rings and buttons are coming in



Semi-gloss poly on the left, 'raw' print on the right

Jake buddy few questions please. When you say died by SW, is it the same to get it directly in black as in black strong and flexible?

When you say seal them do you mean just the initial paint?

Does this apply to all colors or just the white?

Does it make a difference between WSF and polished white?

Thanks.

 

[jakematic]

Jake buddy few questions please. When you say died by SW, is it the same to get it directly in black as in black strong and flexible?

They were ordered as Black Strong & Flexible

When you say seal them do you mean just the initial paint?

I meant spraying with polyurethane when I said seal.
Nothing other than poly has been applied to the recent pictures I posted.

Does this apply to all colors or just the white?

Every color except Detail Black and Metallic Gray (previously Alumide) are printed in White Strong & Flexible and then dyed before shipping

Does it make a difference between WSF and polished white?

Any polished color is going to have a smoother surface but are dyed as above.

 

[Aal_]

They were ordered as Black Strong & Flexible




I meant spraying with polyurethane when I said seal.
Nothing other than poly has been applied to the recent pictures I posted.




Every color except Detail Black and Metallic Gray (previously Alumide) are printed in White Strong & Flexible and then dyed before shipping




Any polished color is going to have a smoother surface but are dyed as above.

Can I seal it ( I am buying a white ) and after that apply color few weeks later? (Does it stick after sealing or better to apply color first?)

When I mentioned Polished, I meant does it need also sealing and does it collect dirt while using it same as the grainy one?

 

[jakematic]

Can I seal it ( I am buying a white ) and after that apply color few weeks later? (Does it stick after sealing or better to apply color first?)

I would think so, with a light coat of polyurethane or something else that is paintable.
Rust-Oleum and Krylon make paints specifically for plastic, but not sure what brands are available in Greece.
You could always go to a home improvement store and ask them what is good to paint plastic with I suppose.

I'm no expert in paints though... my info comes from a woodworking background.
Was very happy my pieces didn't melt into a puddle when I did them

When I mentioned Polished, I meant does it need also sealing and does it collect dirt while using it same as the grainy one?

If it were mine I would seal it.

 

[Cool_Breeze]

Is there room for / need for an Printed Bottom Feeder Assembly Thread?

 

[jakematic]

Rings, left to right

• premium silver
• stainless steel
• raw brass
• raw bronze
• polished bronze

Buttons, left to right

• stainless steel
• raw bronze
• polished bronze

 

[Rossum]

Do all your rings fit the bodies? I got some steel (nickel and "black") this summer that didn't fit without taking a grinder to them. I got a polished brass one at the same time that fit just fine.

 

[jakematic]

Do all your rings fit the bodies?

The premium silver and raw bronze appear to be the best fits, with silver almost perfect.
All of the others appear to be too short in the longer axis.

The polished bronze was too narrow in the shorter axis on another body.
Between the variances of the bodies and the metals, I think most will require a little fine tuning.

My tests were done on raw bodies without internals... that will likely also affect the fitment.
Any build up in thickness from sealers or paints may need to be taken into account.

From the ShapeWays materials pages:

Plastics
strong & flexible: ± 0.15 mm, then ± 0.15 % of longest axis
metallic (alumide): ± 0.15 mm, then ± 0.15 % of longest axis

Some detail is lost during polishing
The polishing media can take off up to 0.1mm of the surface. For small details, this can rub away the sharp corners of your details and make them less crisp


Metals
silver: ± 0.125 mm
platinum: ± 0.125 mm
gold: ± 0.125 mm
bronze: ± 0.125 mm
brass: ± 0.125 mm
steel: ± 1% of any dimension (and one layer thickness of 0.1mm) These limitations are an outcome of the combined printing and infusion process. A 25mm dimension is accurate to ± 0.35mm, while a 250mm dimension is accurate to ± 2.6mm.

Remember! Polishing is a subtractive process in which material is removed to create a shiny surface.

 

[Rossum]

All of the others appear to be too short in the longer axis.

That was my problem with the steel ones this summer as well. They were a tight fit on the shorter axis, but impossibly so on the longer axis. I started grinding at them with a Dremel a while back and got one side to the point where it would fit on a black body, but not an alumide body. One of these days, I may get back to grinding at them some more, and will probably eventually get them to the point where they fit. This is why I've reverted to plastic in my most recent order. It fits.

Edit/PS: The polished brass I got fits fine too, but it's kinda pricey.

 

[jakematic]

Edit/PS: The polished brass I got fits fine too, but it's kinda pricey.

Heh yeah... the premium silver was double the price of that one.

My advice to the folks here would be only pay the premium for, and then adjust the metals to fit, if you really want a specific look.

$4-ish dollar polished plastic rings look great too


Edit
And polished metals add at least a week to any ShapeWays order in my experience.
That's on top of the week the metals themselves add.
Those pictured below took exactly 14 days from order to arrival.

 

[Steamer861]

Quick Question for jakematic does the coating affect the fitment? Do the ring top section and button still fit together fine after the coating?

 

[jakematic]

Quick Question for jakematic does the coating affect the fitment? Do the ring top section and button still fit together fine after the coating?

It does a little bit - the thicker it is applied, and the thicker the paint/poly is, the tighter all of the fitment will be.
The picture I posted yesterday of the semi-gloss with polished bronze was slightly tighter than the raw print fit.

The gloss one will have to be sanded and/or filed for the ring and button to fit.
In theory you could mask these areas, but I think that would be rather difficult to do accurately and maintain a clean finish.