DreadPirateRoberts Death Trooper WIP

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Ok so I'm pretty far along with the helmet, and I fully admit this is a pretty long term project for me. I'm solely working on the helmet right now, and I plan to probably do the E-11D next.

I do have some pretty cool ideas for electronics. I've breadboarded them out and they work pretty well. More on that later.

For now I'm not going to have a list, because really the only thing I've figured out is the hard parts (Tom Campbell files). I'm doing a custom audio system.

 

I'll keep this post clean for further expansion, and I'm going to post pictures and stuff in the next post.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Ok so first for the helmet.

For this main section I consider it pretty much done. Let me know if y'all see something amiss.

For colors, I used Rust-Oleum automotive enamel gloss black for the main black, and rust-oleum flat black for the rest.

 

The rest of the helmet is in progress. The main front part (weathered silver) is pretty much done. The weathering isn't perfect, but I like it. 

 

The main thing I need help with is the Neuro-Saav Macromotion (NSM) Monitor. It's where I'm planning to put in electronics.

I haven't painted it yet, and I'm not even quite done sanding/smoothing it. Right now I'm trying to make sure it all fits together before putting a ton of work into it.

 

So, my main issue is as follows. Tom Campbell's files come in two part (plus small parts). When I initially printed it, it didn't really fit. I've been sanding down sections to make it fit better, but right now it still doesn't fit great. I could probably glue it down and that'd solve it, but I'm going to put electronics in there, and I'd like to have access to them in the future.

So here is the outside of it. The red is bondo glazing and spot putty which does a pretty good job smoothing out 3D print lines.

You might be able to see the problem already. That cover is sticking out. Better pictures below:

This is how it sits normally when I put the cover on. I'm able to apply pressure to close it, but it's not great. 

Finally, my last issue, magnets. The magnets in the NSM monitor fit fine. In fact, I didn't glue them and they're very tightly in there.

In the helmet, however, they don't fit. 

I was able to widen to lower hole a bit and I glued the magnet in. The upper hole is very difficult to reach and I haven't been able to widen it much. Any ideas or tools to help me out?

 

I appreciate all the help! 

[DHKnecht]

I had the same issue with my NSM printed from Tom's files.  The cover wouldn't close well and would keep "popping" open slightly.  There was a ton of leftover support structures on the inside that I think was giving it problems, as well as just getting a good tight fit, rather than too big of a fit.  However, after some time, continual sanding of different areas both inside the main part and the cover, I eventually got it to work.  Keep at it and it will eventually fit fine.

As to the magnets, I haven't installed those fully yet.  It did see that the magnet fit fine in the NSM, but I'll have to go back and see how it fits in the helmet.  Once you get yours to work, let us all know how it goes.  Good luck!  

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Thanks for the feedback! 

For the NSM I've been sanding a LOT and it's been getting slowly better. I'll keep at it.

For the magnets, I took a drill and went slow and tried my hardest to widen it and not go down at all. It's very very dangerous if I end up punching through, but so far it's going good. The magnet is slowly fitting better. It's very difficult to fit the drill in though. Any better ideas for widening the hole I'd appreciate. 

[DreadPirateRoberts]

So I have question about the NSM. I'm using Tom Campbell's files, and I programmed/breadboarded my own lighting system.

I've got it all figured out except for the switch to activate the system. I'm trying to keep it as out of the way as possible.

So here's my idea.

I wanted to try to integrate the switch into that black piece there. (there's another piece too, but I'm having to reprint it)

There's a hole under the piece you can see here

The opening is 3mm wide, and the hole is ~15mm deep. I've been trying to find a switch that would fit those dimensions with no luck.

Any other ideas would gladly be appreciated.