Egilman

Ok, another update, now at 50%..... But I did have a problem that I experienced before,.... Along about 47-8%, it started thumping again, very mild, but very perceptible... I was paying attention to this as I think it has something to do with the amount of resin in the vat.... So, when the thump started to be accompanied by a jiggle in the resin in the vat on the thump, I decided it was time to do something.... (the jiggle I'm talking about is like the scene in Jurassic Park, the water in the plastic cup jiggling when the T-Rex takes a step, you know, muffled boom/jiggle, muffled boom/jiggle) Back when I had a complete print failure it sounded like someone was using the vat for a drumhead and I speculated that low resin level in the vat was a contributing factor... Well, the action I took was to fill the vat back up with resin to the vat full line.... Guess what happened? After printing a couple of layers after the refill, the thump/jiggle went away... so my conclusion is that resin level in the the vat has a lot to do with a successful print, especially a large one like this one...... Right now it's running smoothly not a hint of sticking after that short episode and all I did was refill the vat.... The weight of the resin helps to stabilize the FEP film helping layer separation is my analysis... Keep your resin vats full my friends for best results.... EG

Ok 33% done... No jinx yet.... It's slowly turning out, still no sticking issues.... (finners still crossed) {chuckle}

Currently running my third print test, with the new setting.... 23% done..... This is a 200% print, twice as large as the native print.... Should be 8.375" tall and 6" wide, 1/1000 scale... So far no issues and although I might be jinxing this, it currently looking good.... no sticking issues.... (so far) I could probably print it larger, but it would need to be split into separate parts... Maximum size would be 225% enlargement..... I'll take a pic of the actual printer when it get far enough out of the vat to see what it is.... EG

Heart-Attack city brother!!!! {chuckle} and one heck of a mess..... Protect those screens my friends.... you never know...... A $5 screen protector - vs - $180 screen....

Yep. the Klingon Cruiser I was printing separated on one side from it's supports so I cut it off.... When I was taking it down to to clean it I noticed what looked like moisture underneath the resin vat... It was liquid but in cleaning it I found a miniscule spot of cured resin on the screen... So, I've been waiting for the last few days for my screen protectors and spare FEP sheets to arrive.... They did today and are now installed.... (I replaced the FEP on the bottom of the vat just in case it was leaking, I didn't know for sure and sure didn't want to risk the screen) Next step is a calibration print... RERF file just to check this thing.... EG I would recommend a screen protector immediately, and extra FEP films..... I got mine both from Amazon.... I went with this recommendation on the screen protector... Amazon.... Supershields... 4 pack peel n stick, very easy to install and fit perfectly... covers everything including the kapton tape.... And Colorbot FEP films.... Very easy to install...... Advice says that FEP film is a consumable item and should be kept in stock as you will never know when you will need one... The people I've chatted with say they can last as few as five prints to as long 25 prints... One thing for sure, you WILL be replacing them in the near future.... Stay well my friends... EG

I'll bet the designers had the same problem, so they resorted to their best guess as well...

I've been a member of Space Modelers and the Lut Group as well as Space Paper Models, Project Apollo and Nasaspaceflight.com for decades... Experience from those groups (which have many current and former nasa engineers) says not to completely trust anything Nasa puts online..... it may be the best reference out there, but they are not always completely accurate..... Just a word to the wise.... even with that great source still check references... The list of errors in the Dragon Saturn 5 run to three pages, the hard part to accept is the official blueprints for the Saturn 5 have been publicly available for 30 years.... What your seeing in the kit is not uncommon... EG

WE are very patient brother.... We also understand... {chuckle}

It's more than just models brothers, the issue kreeps in with all full size machines... (ships, airplanes, especially large ones) I learned this when cutting 747 wing spars for Boeing 40 years ago.... when you finish one, the overall length is measured from an index point and the outer spars are cut for each end with an adjustment of a few thousandths of an inch longer or shorter then marked for THAT aircraft... The part belongs to no other aircraft..... In the engineering/machining world it is known as building within tolerances, in the machining/assembly world it is understood as cutting to the mating part requirements..... This is the same thing as cutting to the mating part requirements... You adjust the part to fit and the overall assembly to remain in tolerance.... Scratch builders deal with it all the time....

With all the processed materials going into building a home today, and as tight as they are making them, (no air infiltration) CO detectors are a must have.... Some parts of our environment must intercede on our behalf, it's why we put the things there.... Stay safe brother....

AS will I, that is mechanical artwork in it's highest form....

It was definitely an off-white..... Panzer I... Panzer III... Panther... Tiger I.... Now some of those might be postwar interpretation, but they look pretty genuine, (read very close) They are all museum pieces so I would say fairly accurate for the most part....

Neither can I at this point.... Aftermarket? you kidding? https://www.scalemates.com/kits/wingnut-wings-32044-avro-lancaster-bmkiii-dambusters--1167941 Doesn't matter if it's actually needed, the aftermarket philosophy, "if you build it, They will buy it" the truest truism in the business....

Me too if I was still collecting, it has the potential to be another $1K+ kit..... as some get built and they get rarer and rarer... (like the Renwal turbojet)

What they did was sent it in three shipments, the Printer and Wash & Cure was shipped out of Chino CA. and the Resin was shipped out of New Jersey, all in separate packages... The resin will arrive in a few days, they do have a tracking number for the resin shipment but the shipper doesn't send it to you... I got the tracking number by complaining to Anycubic on their website contact form about them not delivering the resin.... I did the same thing and ordered a replacement from amazon as well.... They didn't respond for three days cause of a Chinese holiday they were observing..... The two shipments of resin arrived on the same day.... You would think they would get a clue...... But it was my only complaint.... It will arrive in a couple of days..... Nice setup.....

Well, somebody had to brother.... In todays world if it ain't all sleek and aerodynamic it isn't a spacecraft.... and the original Galactica at 4150 feet is a very impressive bird...... if you dig into the mesh, it shows every turbo laser turret, that's the level of detail on it.... It's worth rebuilding into a proper mesh.... AS far as Starship Troopers go I'm not a big fan of the franchise either... but having a model of the ship, well interesting to see it in 3D.....

tlhIngan voDleH deHqu' vIHoHqang, pagh tlhIngan voDleHba'.

Henry, I've tried them all, they all show, well, most show the same errors even the remixed versions which I didn't know about until I found that it was up on both Thingy and Cults... What they were fixing is the launch ports along the side of the outriggers for the vipers, the alignment of the outriggers and some panels along the sides of the engine section, they weren't really fixing the mesh itself... Mostly cause they didn't have to, the resolution available to FDM printers is four times less than to an SLA printer.... (but then you know that already) My conclusion is to redraw it so it works for an SLA printer, a printer that can take advantage of all that detail..... (maybe I'll repost it as well) {chuckle}

Thanks Neal, Yeah I kinda like them as well, fandom and gamers have blown out the genre though, I prefer the TOS and some of the TNG ships.... I'm not much for the little fighters, I like the battleships and cruisers... And thanks again for your help.....

That took nine and a half hours Craig.... I had to slow down the lifts, at stock settings it would have taken 4 hrs, but it was causing the print to fail... The 200% one I'm currently printing says 18 hrs estimated.... at my current settings....

Last set of pics for test print #2.... Cured and removed from it's supports.... At this point she needs a bit of cleaning and then a primer coat... then we can see the details.... Tell me what you all think.. Until then.... EG

Another success!!! Klingon K'Tinga class battle cruiser... The STL file was at 1/2000, I increased it by 50%...... Images of the washed and not cured print.... I'm printing another, I switched it around to print vertically to maximize the size the printer can print..... If this comes out good, I think I'm good to go..... Many Thanks, Thanks for all the help my friends.... EG PS: finners are still crossed {chuckle}

Both aircraft used the Sperry Ball for the belly turret... here's the info... Sperry 250SH-1 (vintage Sperry pamphlet on the ball turret) Sorry Brother, the B-17's flight manual also specifies the ball turret gunners access was from inside the aircraft after takeoff...

Thanks Henry, The model is the Battlestar Galactica, the original one, at about 3 feet long...... Extremely impressive... Just the nose section almost fills the build volume of the Mono X.... It's in 10 pieces and they report 8 builds.... They also report two revisions by others.... with successful builds, all FDM printed.... If this can be printed SLA, at this size/scale, then there is nothing we build as models that can't be SLA printed on a Mono X... it might have to be rescaled/re-cut to fit a Photon S though... I'm figuring that if I can make this, my Saturn V launch umbilical tower and crawler in 1/72nd scale can be easily printed off the Mono X... That is my dream.... there is only one digital model of it that has the detail I'm going to be printing, several paper models of it at much lower detail levels, and only one 3D print that's not accurate at all... Anyway, I'm seeing where it can be done.... The parts for the process are out there, (I have the structural, mechanical and equipment layout print sets for it) Now it's time for someone to actually do it... it will be over 6' tall when done.... probably take a year to print assemble and finish properly.... I'm gonna need some luck..... It's like hiking the Appalachia trail of model building, long but one heck of an adventure.... EG PS: the Klingon cruiser is printing beautifully, it's about half done, at a 150% size increase, I think I'm gonna flip it around to better fit the build volume and test it again at 200%..... No thumping noises.... I'll report the settings I used here when it's finished... Fingers crossed... {chuckle}

Oh I don't mean to sound like a frustrated artist Brother, it's just the learning curve I've chosen for myself seems to be defeatist at the start like I'm a glutton for punishment or sum such dunderfunk... Especially to outsiders looking in... No worries, by the time I reach the top of the curve, I'll be doing anything I want with it... Keeping the Admiral happy and fulfilling requests is always good policy, {chuckle} Besides, I take this path and report on it here openly, it will probably save a bunch of people the headaches of having to figure out this stuff on their own... EG