32" Starship model

[joesighting]

I wanted to show off my first fabricated model with the STL importer. This is the Starship Voyager it's 32" long and made up of about 14 slices. I found the 3D model here http://www.trekmeshes.ch/ (Model made by Sarod, want to give credit where it's due) It's a really nice 3d mesh. I still have a long way to go, but so far I couldn't be more thrilled.




I'll continue to post progress pics.

Joe

[Dhaffner]

now THAT'S what I'm talking about!
absolutely the single best reason to have this machine and this application! How cool is it that you can carve up your own starship?

Simply awesome job, man.

How many hours carve time?

[Dhaffner]

Hey,
if it wouldn't be too much trouble...it would also help those of us working on our own 3d stuff if you could throw us a quick explanation of your strategy for slicing this one. I'm working on a d7 klingon battlecruiser now and tips would be really appreciated!

[joesighting]

Yeah, I'll work on a screen capture video to show how I did it. It actually wasn't too hard. I did use that healing feature alot. This software is amazing. Once I figured it out, I realized I can slice anything.

I've been working more on the model and have realized I used the wrong foam. I used a 2lb polyiso foam which was cheap, but I will definitely use something more dense next time. It's a little to porous so I'm having to fill it with spackling and putty. I was hoping primer would fill in th texture, but it hasn't been perfect. Rubbing in the putty seems to work pretty well. The details are truly amazing! I got it glued together into 2 main sections using contact cement and started priming and filling. Here's a couple more pics. Calling it a night. More tomorrow. This is the most fun I've had with this machine!

[MCGEE2SKINNER]

Hi
How long of a carve was it?

JIM

[James RS]

Very cool, what did you carve it out of

[joesighting]

I actually tried 3 different foams. Expanded Poly Styrene (white foam), Extruded Poly Styrene (pink foam), and a 2lb dense PolyisoCyanurate (polyiso foam). The white foam was a disaster. Cratered my machine bad. I had to get in there with dental picks to get the foam out of the gear teeth. The pink foam was terribly rough. It just seemed to tear. The polyiso foam carved great, but it's a bit soft. It was only $20 for a 4'x8' so very budget friendly for my experiments. The project ended up on six 37"x14.5" boards carving at about 2.5 hrs a piece. Took me a while to carve them all, but that foam didn't even slow down the machine. I vacuumed it out in between carves, that's it. The foam is too soft though, next time I'll go with something denser. It's just too delicate. It's making it hard to work with.

[liquidguitars]

Thats so cool!

engage..

LG

[TIMCOSBY]

muther%&#@**%@ now i'm gunna have to spend $300. that is just too cool. i bet seven of nine would look good carved.

[ChrisAlb]

Even if I wasn't a HUGE trek fan, that's just super impressive!!! GREAT JOB Joe!!

(And Tim, seven of nine would look good no matter WHAT......LOL)