Lighting Up 3D Printed Cosplay

Our April Hacker of the Month is an incredible cosplayer from Cambridge, Massachusetts who goes by the identify of Spoon Makes; Alina Granville.

As a younger lady rising up, Alina was given the Spoon moniker in grade faculty when mysteriously, a spoon flew out of her lunch field a lot to the amazement of her friends. As she grew older and started to create issues, particularly cosplay and props, she added the Makes because the second portion herself.

Alina’s first introduction to 3D printing was for an structure class venture again in 2009. She was capable of print one part of her design on a powder-based, Z-Corp printer. After this, she continued to dabble in 3D printing for architectural design, broadening her efforts on Stratasys printers as nicely, however she actually didn’t begin getting critical about 3D printing cosplay till 2016.

“On the time, the prop I used to be making had a really sophisticated formed tail that wanted to be glued to a vacuum, so I printed my solely PLA prop ever on an Ultimaker2. The opposite half of the prop was carved from XPS foam sitting on my kitchen flooring. My house isn’t large enough for tons of hand constructing and the mess it generates, so 3D printing appeared like the way in which to go sooner or later.”

At the moment, she prints with a customized Core-XY printer with a construct measurement of about 310x410x350mm – roughly based mostly on the D-Bot construct, it makes use of linear rails as an alternative of wheels and a direct drive BondTech v6.

“It is design was pushed based mostly off my printing preferences and my want for producing props and cosplays. On the time I used to be on the lookout for a method to 3D print some outsized clear versatile boots for my Torbjorn construct, so my fiance and I constructed it final spring/summer season to make the boots… it is our first private printer! We may have purchased one thing off the shelf, however nothing actually suited my wants in an inexpensive worth vary and it turned out to be an incredible expertise and never too sophisticated. The method taught me how printers labored and since I understand how every thing goes collectively it’s method simpler to troubleshoot or make adjustments. I additionally often borrow a Flashforge Creator Professional; it is nothing fancy however it reliably will get the job carried out. Occasionally, elements might be printed on a Markforged with nylon if a component must be a mechanically purposeful.”

Alina likes to make use of ABS primarily due to its energy and skill to be welded. Final yr her focus turned to clear shade ABS, which was good for her Torbjorn cosplay as a result of there are few different supplies which are structural, translucent, inexpensive and light-weight. She began to print with nylon for her cosplay, however she stories that the ending choices are extra restricted than ABS, and far more technically difficult for printing giant cosplay objects. Due to her affinity for translucent ABS, her preliminary prop was a glowing sword for a Saber Alter cosplay. She additionally used translucent ABS and TPU primarily for her Torbjorn cosplay with numerous ending methods for the completely different parts:

“Since I exploit ABS my ending methods differ from most cosplayers that use PLA, in comparison with them I exploit loads fewer putties, fillers, and primers. My foremost post-processing technique includes a mixture of sanding and bushing on acetone to easy and refine the prints. I’ve tried passive vapor sharpening, however it did not work that nicely for cosplay; there are points becoming bigger elements within the contained vapor, the vapor would not evenly distribute on all faces, it takes a very long time to dry, and it simply blurs all of the element. Whereas labor intensive, brushing on acetone and permitting it to evaporate works nicely for me with out eroding the main points and the sanding mud appears to assist easy the print (additionally as a plus the acetone appears to bond the layers collectively higher). I am going to normally end with 1-2 layers of sandable/filler/auto primer earlier than paint, nevertheless, I had wonderful outcomes skipping primer on my Torbjorn construct. I steer clear of utilizing an excessive amount of primer, it erases particulars and too thick layers are straightforward to chip. For becoming a member of items collectively I additionally use an acetone ABS juice, it is my go to. I do know lots of people like to make use of a thicker slurry, however I work with a skinny consistency – it dries quick and would not get gummy; the bottom line is to use sufficient layers of the skinny juice to soak/soften the elements earlier than urgent them collectively. To repair gaps, cracks, and seams I’ve began utilizing a 3D printing pen, adopted by the brushed on acetone to weld it to the half, then sand it stage with the print. I am going to nonetheless use the filling putties if crucial or to be faster, however there isn’t any have to waste as a lot materials slathering it everywhere in the print to sand it off. For elements with glowing bits I discovered it’s best to steer clear of putties and sanding layers of primer. Even opaque filaments can have mild bleed so something with uneven layers might be seen below the paint. Ending TPU, then again, is a completely completely different beast, which I have not discovered any wonderful constant resolution but, proper now I have been utilizing a soldering iron and completely different versatile coatings and paint. One other enjoyable method I exploit on some items is dye! It is a great way to paint translucent items if you do not have an airbrush.”

Alina’s cosplay characters to date have been picked from some wonderful sources, lots of which come from Blizzard Leisure; Nova from StarCraft/Heroes of the Storm, in addition to Mei and Torbjorn from Overwatch. She has additionally accomplished a cosplay for Saber Alter, an anime tackle the legend of King Arthur.

“In cosplay, there are such a lot of completely different methods and supplies individuals are utilizing. The principle cause I concentrate on printing is that it’s comparatively compact. Residence residing is reasonably tight, there isn’t any storage or yard, there isn’t any devoted messy area, there aren’t any further tables for giant molds to treatment. Printing, then again, takes up loads much less area, simpler to retailer filament spools than different supplies, is, for probably the most half, an additive course of (versus carving foam with a knife or Dremel which make an enormous mess), and as a plus produces light-weight, extremely clear and detailed outcomes.”

As to why 3D printing is such a big a part of her course of for producing cosplay props?

“By way of cosplay, it permits me to provide a clear product with excessive accuracy and element. The ultimate product is sturdy and might stand up to the excessive stress touring, sitting in sizzling automobiles (do not strive that with PLA!), and the trials of conference accidents (had a prop take a 5’+ fall onto tough concrete and all of the epoxy joints broke however the print was solely flippantly scuffed up), all whereas being comparatively light-weight. There are many different supplies utilized in cosplay like EVA and XPS foam, worbla, and thibra, and casting resins…however I see 3D printing as a center floor between all of them when it comes to worth, weight, energy, and ease of use.”

“I additionally say the printer is like an additional set of palms. It is virtually like I can double my work time since I can spend the time modeling, then whereas it is printing I can work on different issues! Nevertheless, I personally do not feel 3D printing quickens the cosplaying course of considerably if something focusing solely on printing is slower than working by hand (because of lengthy print occasions and coping with print striations). Most individuals are utilizing private printers for printing very small and detailed issues, however cosplay is giant and detailed. I am prone to spend further time perfecting my fashions from references after I’m working in CAD, then if I used to be strictly working by hand the place I is perhaps extra forgiving if it is not as correct. However in the long run that pays off and might have some very skilled outcomes! If you happen to’re good about it and work with a number of supplies, 3D printing can actually velocity issues up should you use it to print detailed tedious elements and use easy flat inventory to make the remaining. Working by way of CAD and 3D printing might be actually useful at occasions for mockups, it is easy and fast to print off smaller variations of fashions to simply wrap your head round advanced designs or print small sections to test match or joints. That is one thing cosplayers have to do extra usually as 3D printing might be unforgiving with errors. Relying on the ‘anatomy’ of the print, you may’t simply minimize a mannequin shorter or warmth it into form to make it work like different supplies.”

3D printing has allowed Alina to provide wonderful cosplay on a decent finances – one thing cosplayers are infamous for. She stories that with out the entry and low-cost availability of translucent ABS filament, her Torbjorn costume wouldn’t have been potential.

Among the finest issues about utilizing 3D printing in making her wonderful cosplays is the success of the costumes and props and the overwhelmingly optimistic suggestions she has acquired – it retains her coming again to do it repeatedly!

What cosplay is up subsequent for Alina? If her FaceBook web page is any indication, it seems like she might be going for the latest character to hitch the Overwatch line-up, a feminine engineer named Brigitte, who occurs to be the daughter of Torbjorn!

For the long run, Alina is engaged on doing a little fee items, in addition to beginning a line of how-to movies on her manufacturing and ending methods for her wildly profitable cosplay designs. We are able to’t wait to see what she goals up and creates subsequent, and we look ahead to following up along with her sooner or later – good luck Alina!

Need to be our subsequent Hacker of the Month? Electronic mail [email protected], and inform us about your 3D printed creations – you possibly can be featured in our subsequent publication. Hacker of the Month wins 3 free spools of PRO Collection PLA or ABS filament to additional their pursuit of 3D printing greatness!

Hero picture courtesy of John Jiao