Designing a Reprap for printing digital sculptures

So I'm new to the reprap project, and I was looking to build a system specifically for printing digital sculptures that I have modeled in a 3D package such as Maya or 3DS Max.

This would obvioulsy need to have as little "artifacting" (imperfections) as possible in the end product and print those details very well, as well as have a smooth finish. (by smooth finish, I just mean consistant, without Striation. It doesn't need to feel like it's glass or anything, although, smoother the better)

So here lies the questions.
Is this possible (at a relatively similar cost to currently marketed Prusa machines)?
Which plastic would be best for this?
What size filament would be best?
Any ideas for a 3d printer specifically for this purpose?
Any systems that are currently being built that could handle tasks like this?

I appreciate the feedback and input!

ilion

Sounds like the finish you are looking for is currently not achievable with the reprap printers.

Perhaps you can look at this although I don't know if he has released any build plans anywhere yet.

That's great! Thanks for the link.

The look is certainly achievable with reprap although it would require some dipping in say conformal coating. The technique that guy uses is also adaptable to reprap.

I think he uses a projector to cure the liquid, right? With a reprap, you would simply need to dip some kind of curing wand into the bottom of the fluidfilled container and print as you would with filament, only you would not see the results until you drain the remaining liquid out b

... with a projector you cure a complete slice in some seconds, then process the next ... with an UV-diodelaser as RepRap-toolhead you can do the same, but then you have to process the slice pixelwize, so you'll need much more time - i'll estimate some ten minutes per slice for the same accuracy as with the projector!

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Viktor
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Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

A bit with the same idea than ilion
Really new here, basically I would like to print that kind of things "printing digital sculptures that I have modeled in a 3D package such as Maya or 3DS Max". and was wondering if printers like Ultimachine or Orca would work for this.
I believe I won't get what expensive laser printer do but was wondering if buying one of these could do the job....
or if someone can help on finding the best quality in terms of details and precision...
thanks !

I think one of the best processes for digital sculpture is a powderbed, but I may be biased.

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Random Precision

thanks. I didn't know these

Anybody here use reprap to print little sculptures ? or that kind of stuff ?

Just look at www.thingiverse.com there are loads of 'little sculptures' being shared and printed there every day. And a whole load of other useful, and not so useful, things!

Getting back to the topic, there is a way to obtain really glassy smooth finshes on some printed objects. With PLA at least, you can blow it on the low setting with a hot air gun, and the surface will flatten as surface tension forces pull the plastic in. I've done it two different ways. With the heat gun, you get some control, but distrubution of heat can be uneven, and warp things slightly. I also tried in an oven, but somehow, the melting was more rapid and penetrating, so the part really started to lose structure in a major way. In the end though, the finish was like glass.

Supposedly an acetone vapor bath can smooth out abs.

[blog.erikdebruijn.nl]

If you are talking sculptures, why not use a car body filler, that works with PLA
and I guess it is used on cars to get a glossy finish of the varnish of the car..
I guess with some experimentation it could give a good base for a colour at least!

Smooth and glittery..

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Cheapest PLA on the net Supply3DPLA.com

Ironically, I actually started a topic quite soon after this looking for artists using RepRap as I'm researching some articles for the International Sculpture Center website on the subject of RP sculpture and specifically artists using this sort of tech. Not found many yet, but if any do reveal themselves I'll let you know what setup they're using.

Conversely, have you got any renderings of the sort of things you're looking to print?

Kind regards,

John

was just wondering if right now a reprap machine would be able to print something like an alien head like the Giger version for example in a good quality ???
lot of things on www.thingiverse.com for sure but I believe there might be a lot of better printed things out there and not the usual downloadable stuff...

ludov6 Wrote:
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> was just wondering if right now a reprap machine would be able to print something like an alien
> head like the Giger version for example in a good quality ???
> lot of things on www.thingiverse.com for sure but I believe there might be a lot of better printed
> things out there and not the usual downloadable stuff...

If you're just looking for 3d models there are 100s of websites. Here's a link to a few:
[www.hongkiat.com]

However, most are built for 3d applications like 3dMax. So you'll have to convert them to a format that can be printed, and take into consideration how overhangs in the model will be supported, simplifying detail etc.

Andrew Diehl Wrote:
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> Supposedly an acetone vapor bath can smooth out
> abs.
>
> [blog.erikdebruijn.nl]-
> am,-yes....html


Perfect! This is something I am looking to utilize. Thanks for the link, and I will be researching this a bit while I try to figure out whether I want to attempt this with a Reprap or wait for some other DIY technology to surface (such as the projector listed in the link form ageinghippy)

If you want to produce art (no need for strength) I suggest looking into ACTUAL 3d printers. They bind together powder with ink. This approach has several artsie advantages like support for overhangs, smooth surface finish, and a full range of colors.
[www.makerbot.com]
[www.architecture.yale.edu]
[en.wikipedia.org]

I think I may have solved your surface finish problems. See this post

[forums.reprap.org]