Full size R2D2 parts

[Ranger]

I’m looking for some one that makes parts for a 1:1 R2D2 .

[Hoffa]

Astromech.net should have them. You’ll have to register and abide by the R2 builders’ rules, pf course. Those designs are owned by Disney and Lucasfilm, after all.

[JEMakes]

I can do it, find the models on Thingiverse, make them or get them some other way, and order it through my hub. The print bed on my printer isn’t huge so I may need to cut the model into pieces and glue them together afterwards.

[Hoffa]

That being said, I’m planning to build an R2 unit once I am done with my BB8s, so I could probably make doubles of the parts. Where are you located? Sending prints is best done locally, after all.

[Xeno]

Don’t use any other files then from Astromech.net, otherwise you run the risk of parts not fitting together,

it’s the best site for all your droid needs

Also choose a material that can be sanded easily, PLA is not good for sanding, ABS is better.

[Hoffa]

I disagree on sanding. PLA sands fantastically and easily, and the powder is nontoxic, unlike ABS.

[Xeno]

PLA will start to get soft when you sand, and you might want to use waterproof sandpaper,

otherwise the PLA will constantly clog your sandpaper and lumps will form and create streaks on your surface.

With ABS (I used as an example) and all other materials that can stand higher temperatures you don’t have that problem, and paint will adhere better.

PLA might be non-toxic, but inhaling the dust from sanding is still toxic, so always wear a mask !

you are confusing particles from the printing process and particles from sanding

[Hoffa]

I don’t believe that I ever said sanding was ever ok without a mask. The residue that it leaves behind can be an issue even after it settles, though. I may have been a bit unclear in my wording, its true, but please assume that I would confuse two fundamentally different concepts, it’s rather rude and off-putting. I will agree that PLA can clog sandpaper, and if you’re going to use, say, an orbital sander, it might get a bit tricky to keep friction low enough not to raise the temperature, but I would argue that it’s still easier in most climates and to most people to use PLA than deal with ABS warpage, especially for large high-detailed parts that need to fit together seamlessly. I will also acknowledge that this ABS vs alternatives fight will probably continue for about as long as the Canon vs Nikon fight amongst photographers.

[Xeno]

I hate ABS too :), but most people understand the material as an example, and there are a lot of better materials that can print great and still have the high temp properties for easy sanding, I use Colorfabb XT, this can be sanded with a orbital sander without problems.

As a fellow R2 Builder (built 6), I know you need to sand everything before priming and painting, and having used a good printing material can make the process a lot more easy

Most printers have a heated bed, and that makes the choice of materials more easy, for lose parts (vents, coinslots, utility arms) you can use all kinds of materials, but if you need to attach parts together ABS still has the advantage to be able to solvent bond parts together for very strong structural parts.

[Hoffa]

Solvent welding and the ability to clean clogged printer parts with solvents are handy, it’s true. Then again, as a eco-hippie person, those same solvents really don’t appeal to me. - But life is about tradeoffs, I guess. I recently spent a good three days having to clean out a rather massive clog of PETG that had managed to envelope most of my print head. - Don’t really want to have to do that again, ever. Made me curse the fact that PETG doesn’t react to almost any solvent out there, especially those that wouldn’t also destroy all the other components.