Nacho photo booth
- Thread starter nacho
- Start date
I'm having waaaaaaay too much fun.
The white mauler was my prototype, because white filament can be had for less in bulk. If I was going to screw up, I didn't want it to be in a pricey color. The mauler CAD design I bought was well done... but it felt only about 90% finished. Fortunately, someone else had made a build and found/notated most of the problems, so I didn't have to learn everything the hard way. But it made me rethink the entire project up front... which led down a rabbit hole.
I added several custom detail panels to look more like the OG toy, as this model was missing them and looked a bit bare in places. I added some extra vents, again to mimic the original. I added the tow hook and cable... odd that the designer put the cable hardpoints on the armor skirts, but didn't include a cable or tow hook. I rejiggered the cable from the Wolverine to fit, and I made a custom tow hook.
The biggest documented issues were the connectors between the body sections and the design of the wheels/treads. I decided to punt on all of that, combining as many sections of the hull as possible to print it in just two big chunks (bypassing most of the connectors, and I designed my own connectors for the two big chunks) - big printer FTW! And then I modified/adapted the wheel and tread design from the armadillo to fit the Mauler, completely sidestepping the problems in the mauler CAD files.
And after printing the arctic version, I wasn't happy with the cannon movement, as it wouldn't stay elevated. I fixed it with thin rubber inserts to create some friction, but for future versions, I concocted a spring-loaded ratchet system, loosely based on how the armadillo cannons were done.... and that works surprisingly well. It only has 3-4 usable ratchet positions, so I maybe could have gone with finer teeth, but it holds well, so I'm happy.
I just finished the standard FDE Mauler this afternoon, so hopefully I can take some pics soon.
The white mauler was my prototype, because white filament can be had for less in bulk. If I was going to screw up, I didn't want it to be in a pricey color. The mauler CAD design I bought was well done... but it felt only about 90% finished. Fortunately, someone else had made a build and found/notated most of the problems, so I didn't have to learn everything the hard way. But it made me rethink the entire project up front... which led down a rabbit hole.
I added several custom detail panels to look more like the OG toy, as this model was missing them and looked a bit bare in places. I added some extra vents, again to mimic the original. I added the tow hook and cable... odd that the designer put the cable hardpoints on the armor skirts, but didn't include a cable or tow hook. I rejiggered the cable from the Wolverine to fit, and I made a custom tow hook.
The biggest documented issues were the connectors between the body sections and the design of the wheels/treads. I decided to punt on all of that, combining as many sections of the hull as possible to print it in just two big chunks (bypassing most of the connectors, and I designed my own connectors for the two big chunks) - big printer FTW! And then I modified/adapted the wheel and tread design from the armadillo to fit the Mauler, completely sidestepping the problems in the mauler CAD files.
And after printing the arctic version, I wasn't happy with the cannon movement, as it wouldn't stay elevated. I fixed it with thin rubber inserts to create some friction, but for future versions, I concocted a spring-loaded ratchet system, loosely based on how the armadillo cannons were done.... and that works surprisingly well. It only has 3-4 usable ratchet positions, so I maybe could have gone with finer teeth, but it holds well, so I'm happy.
I just finished the standard FDE Mauler this afternoon, so hopefully I can take some pics soon.