Sherman BARV in 1/35 - 3D printing process & blog

[Dave Ward]

The final parts printed out - took an hour longer than predicted - no idea why!

Quite a lot of stringing, but nothing that causes problems. After a few minutes............................

That's all the bits printed out

I;ll get to putting bits together in a day or so - got a few things on at the moment. I found I didn't have any green primer left, so I've ordered some more, I have several other .tanks/vehicles to spray, hopefully in one session ( Terrapin, Mortar Carrier )
Quite pleased how things have printed, I expected to have at least one failure, but no. I just hope that the fit isn't too bad. Essentially what I have now is a limited run kit. Total cost of the filament is around the £3 mark - the total printing time is going to be around the 40 hr mark.
Dave

[Neil Merryweather]

The final parts printed out - took an hour longer than predicted - no idea why!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1206498[/ATTACH]
Quite a lot of stringing, but nothing that causes problems. After a few minutes............................
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1206499[/ATTACH]
That's all the bits printed out
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1206500[/ATTACH]
I;ll get to putting bits together in a day or so - got a few things on at the moment. I found I didn't have any green primer left, so I've ordered some more, I have several other .tanks/vehicles to spray, hopefully in one session ( Terrapin, Mortar Carrier )
Quite pleased how things have printed, I expected to have at least one failure, but no. I just hope that the fit isn't too bad. Essentially what I have now is a limited run kit. Total cost of the filament is around the £3 mark - the total printing time is going to be around the 40 hr mark.
Dave

How much do your printers cost per hour to run, Dave?
My big one is 300watts so round about 9.3p per hour.
The resin one is 1.85p per hour....

[Dave Ward]

How much do your printers cost per hour to run, Dave?
My big one is 300watts so round about 9.3p per hour.
The resin one is 1.85p per hour....

The Sunlu is 350W, but I guess that's when you're printing fancy stuff, bed at 100C & nozzle at 300C, which I wouldn't fancy doing!
Dave

[Jim R]

That looks to have printed very well. I hope it goes together ok.

[Peter Gillson]

Really interesting. Thanks for posting

[Dave Ward]

Picked this up again. The parts need a good amount of clear up & a certain amount of fettling to get the best fit................

The rotary tool cutters are a really useful accessory, making short work of reducing thicknesses, taking corners off. I did try using a sanding drum, but that heats the PLA up too quickly & melts the surfaces. Cutting tools are the rule, but you end up with a right mess.

I'm using Loctite - minimal on the outside, liberally on the inside, and kicker to really speed up the setting. Still going to need filler, but nothing more than making a limited run kit! There has been a certain amount of warping on some parts, so clampng bits & applying CA is needed. the kicker really helps
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Further assembly - I'd assembled things in the wrong order, and I'm left with a large gap in the top decking.

It's a uniform gap, so I can mostly pack it with plasic card, before finishing it with filler.
In retrospect, I would assemble the top deck first to minimise any gaps - one of the problems with no assembly sequence and using CA, which you can't undo! Reasonably flat surfaces, so I've the best chance to get a good finish
Dave