The 3D Printed Warlord Blog #1
Here we go, the first update on what is looking to be a major undertaking. I found a file set on Thingverse of a Mars Pattern Warlord Titan. The thing is super detailed and the creator specifically says it was not created with any eye towards printing it so parts aren't compromised in their detail, but it also means some of it will be a challenge to print. Some parts are weird shapes and will require sectioning (i.e. cut into multiple parts and glued back together) in order to print them. And there are no tolerances for fitting pieces so there's going to be a lot of sanding and filing to get smooth and tight fits.
My printer is a MakerGear M2 Rev.E Duel Extrusion machine. I have it in a custom enclosure with a plexiglass front, LED lighting, and an air filter. I'm printing everything at 0.14mm layer heights with a 0.35mm nozzle. Most of it is going to be PLA but I've got a spool of PETG sitting around and am burning through that now. PLA has the advantage of being quick and easy to print as well as cheap, but the print quality isn't quite as nice as the PETG. For a project of this scale the time and cost tradeoff are more than worth a compromise in print fidelity. And the compromise is really not a big one, you'd need to hold things up side-by-side to really see where the faults are. Anyways, here it is printing a shin:
Here's everything that I have so far. I have the head, the base of the torso, the pelvis, one foot, and one thigh. Nothing has been fitted or glued yet. The way some of this goes together I'm waiting to have all the major components printed before starting preliminary assembly. The last things to print will be the armor plating, and those are a good ways off.
