3D Print Vs. ABS Armor and Painting your Armor

[Major Space Cadet]

Hello team,

What is your take on 3D printed armor versus ABS?  I never had a 3D one made and don't really know too much about them or the process of how they are made.  How durable is 3D material as compared to ABS especially with trooping in one?

For those of you who paint your armor from scratch, do you spray paint them yourself using local paints from Home Depot, etc.  or do you take them to an automobile paint shop to get them all done?

Thanks.

[24076]

Although I haven't printed any armor, ABS is much better than PLA when you need some durable printed parts. The downside to it, is that it usually is more expensive due to the set up required to keep it warm during the printing process. I would think if the kit maker used thicker walls (2-3mm) you could use some fine sand paper to smooth it out for the primer.

[MrPoopie]

I've printed both (ABS and PLA) and made ABS armor. Here's what I've learned making armors and printing.

ABS - Easy to work with and most kits come in this form. It can just be cut with normal lexan scissors and cleaned up fairly easily with minimal sanding on the cut edges. The downfalls are that the lines will never be as sharp or precise as something that's 3D printed since they're pulling ABS from a mold in a vacuum it will inevitably have softer, less defined edges. This doesn't mean it can't look good though.

PLA (3D print) - fairly cheap to print with and very easy to work with on the 3D printer itself. Finish work is where this takes more time. PLA is notoriously difficult to sand completely smooth and takes a lot of work to get it to the point where you don't see print lines. You also need to make sure that most parts are at least 2-3mm thick for strength. You can however make parts stronger if you coat the insides (and outside if desired) in resin. The resin will fill most of the small cracks and print lines and leave you with a smooth paintable surface. You can also use several layers of primer filler to fill small imperfections but it will never fill as much as resin. And small pits or cuts can be filled with bondo or other filler material. If you resin the outside of your parts though you will lose a little bit of definition. 3D parts can look incredibly defined and sharp if done properly. Most of the time you'll want to print armor parts at 0.1-0.2mm layers with a 0.2-0.4 nozzle. Print time will be pretty long but you'll get a very smooth surface to start with before finish work. One downfall to PLA is if it doesn't have a protective resin or other surface covering layer is that it's susceptible to shrinking and warping in direct sunlight. The glass point of PLA is much lower that ABS and other plastics so it warps sooner, especially with darker PLA colors.

ABS (3D print) - Roughly the same cost  as PLA. ABS can be more of a pain to work with when 3D print as bed adhesion is more of a problem and higher printing temps can cause issues with some printers. Once it's completed though ABS is very easy to sand and finish to get smooth. You'll still want roughly the same thickness as PLA when printing armor, just for the sake of strength and resilience. You shouldn't need to coat anything in resin though unless you really want a super smooth surface. Just make sure the resins you use won't melt ABS. However ABS can be smoothed with a vapor bath but this takes little bit of knowhow. Follow the same basic layer height and nozzle size as PLA.

Nylon (3D print) - If you're feeling up to it you can always print with Nylon or other specialty filaments such as Carbon Fiber infused nylon or flexible filaments such as TPU. Just a word of warning though, these filaments are very difficult to work with and take extra knowledge but can yield amazing results.

As for finish work you can use normal spray paint with any 3D filaments just make sure you take your time and prime and sand between painting layers for best results. You can also take your parts to an auto body painting shop and have a professional take care of it for even better results.

Here are a few parts I've recently finished painting after much finish work. These were printed in PLA, resin coated backsides and plenty of primer filler and multiple layers of paint and sanding. There are some small imperfections but I'm pretty happy with the results anyway.

 

 

[MrPoopie]

I forgot to mention a couple things.

If you've never made armor or have never printed large 3D parts and assembled armor I would suggest going the ABS kit route. making armor even from a kit can be daunting enough without having to figure out the 3D printing aspect. It will also help you understand how armor goes together better. 3D printing is a pretty big undertaking unless you have experience with it already.

If however you like a challenge and enjoy making all your own parts then it's definitely something to look into. It can be very rewarding but it also takes a great deal of time and patience.

[watch out for that tree]

What about molding and casting pla parts. I know pla isn't the best choice for finished armor for a lot of reasons, but I can print and assemble my hard pieces for pretty cheap. Would the mold and slush cast for a set of armor be too expensive to be viable? I would assume resin armor would be light, durable and easy to finish compared to pla. I know this wouldn't be easy but a few symmetrical parts could be cast twice to save some work.

I want to start my first build with these files. Any tips appreciated. 

[MrPoopie]

1 minute ago, watch out for that tree said:

What about molding and casting pla parts. I know pla isn't the best choice for finished armor for a lot of reasons, but I can print and assemble my hard pieces for pretty cheap. Would the mold and slush cast for a set of armor be too expensive to be viable? I would assume resin armor would be light, durable and easy to finish compared to pla. I know this wouldn't be easy but a few symmetrical parts could be cast twice to save some work.

I want to start my first build with these files. Any tips appreciated. 

Molding and casting in resin would be much easier to finish and more durable for sure. I'm not sure about the cost though unless you already had most of the equipment and knowhow to get it done. Building armor from scratch isn't really about trying to accomplish something for a lower cost but wanting to build it yourself. It's more a sense of satisfaction and understanding the small details of your armor. Kits are pretty cheap and easily acquired but building all or most of your armor means you get to get every little detail right as well as making something that is perfectly fit and custom to your body size and form.

 

All this being said, I say if you've got the time and knowledge, go for it and share your results with everyone.

[watch out for that tree]

5 hours ago, MrPoopie said:

Molding and casting in resin would be much easier to finish and more durable for sure. I'm not sure about the cost though unless you already had most of the equipment and knowhow to get it done. Building armor from scratch isn't really about trying to accomplish something for a lower cost but wanting to build it yourself. It's more a sense of satisfaction and understanding the small details of your armor. Kits are pretty cheap and easily acquired but building all or most of your armor means you get to get every little detail right as well as making something that is perfectly fit and custom to your body size and form.

 

All this being said, I say if you've got the time and knowledge, go for it and share your results with everyone.

I kind of want the project. I have no experience with casting like that but it seems doable with practice. And like you said the fit and detail would be up to the quality of my work.

It really isn't about the money, more using my 3d printer for a big project. But I was wondering if anybody could give me an idea of the magnitude of molding materials necessary for a full build.  I just don't really have any reference to base estimates on.

What are your thoughts on an accessory kit like this? I know that the last step in what I'm planning to do but just wanted your opinion. 

[MrPoopie]

1 minute ago, watch out for that tree said:

I kind of want the project. I have no experience with casting like that but it seems doable with practice. And like you said the fit and detail would be up to the quality of my work.

It really isn't about the money, more using my 3d printer for a big project. But I was wondering if anybody could give me an idea of the magnitude of molding materials necessary for a full build.  I just don't really have any reference to base estimates on.

What are your thoughts on an accessory kit like this? I know that the last step in what I'm planning to do but just wanted your opinion. 

That's pretty awesome actually. I really appreciate someone who wants to build their own armor and wants the bigger project. 

My first big build with my 3D printer was my Samurai armor and I learned a huge amount by doing that. I also took on a different project of making boot soles and printing 3D molds for that. Learning how to mold and proper materials has been a pretty big undertaking for me. 

As for the shoretrooper, greater minds will have to chime in about that as I have very little experience with that armor. 

[watch out for that tree]

I assembled a scout trooper helmet off my printer and learned a lot that cold make the whole process easier on the next attempt. My main problem is how inaccurate the file I used is. Its primed and sanded but it might end up a neon color with leds as a spoof party costume opposed to a cosplay. Which is why this shoretrooper build excites me. I have no idea what trooping actually involves but I have seen 501st at events and dreamed about joining. A trooper costume just seems better with friends to help cause shenanigans.