The Y-Wing "Green Leader" Project - NOW OPEN SOURCE!

An alternative material to ABS for the mounting block (where strength is an issue) is Polymax PLA from Polymaker. It doesn't have the same brittleness problems of regular PLA and prints at a much lower temperature than ABS. It does still benefit from a heated build plate though.

Another alternative for the mounting block is to print is at Shapeways in their White Strong and Flexible material, which is laser sintered nylon. Really strong. The price for that is running about $55.

Unfortunately having the nacelle cores for the armature printed at Shapeways in the WSF material runs about $200/ pair. I'm going to take a look at the part and see if it can't be redesigned the be cheaper to print.
 
Last edited:
DaveG said:
An alternative material to ABS for the mounting block (where strength is an issue) is Polymax PLA from Polymaker. It doesn't have the same brittleness problems of regular PLA and prints at a much lower temperature than ABS. It does still benefit from a heated build plate though.

Another alternative for the mounting block is to print is at Shapeways in their White Strong and Flexible material, which is laser sintered nylon. Really strong. The price for that is running about $55.

Unfortunately having the nacelle cores for the armature printed at Shapeways in the WSF material runs about $200/ pair. I'm going to take a look at the part and see if it can't be redesigned the be cheaper to print.
Click to expand...

Mate you need to be commended for what you are doing and going the extra distance to redesign so we can print cheaper. Also this is going to get me to learn about 3D printing that I thought I never would do.
 
UPDATED FILES!!!

I've posted alternative files for the Mounting Block and Nacelle Core that will be cheaper to print at Shapeways using their White Strong and Flexible material, for anyone going that route.

On the redesigned Mounting Block v2, the main change has been to eliminate the part of the block with the rear mounting point, leaving only the bottom mount. The rear mount will be convenient to have for standing the model nose up when painting but otherwise isn't all that necessary. I would imagine most would be using the bottom mount for display. The rear mounting block also helps align the fuselage shells but they should still register fine without it. This change reduces the price fro $55 to $33 at Shapeways.

For the Nacelle Core v2 there are two big changes. The first was to thin the walls from 1/8" to 3/32" thick reducing the amount of material needed to print. The second change was to redesign the part with a slot for the wing Tee plate and spar on both sides so the same part works for both the port and starboard engines. These changes have reduced the price of printing from $100 to $86 each. Not as big a savings but this is a big hollow part and a lot of the cost is based on the amount of space it takes up in the printer.

The files are located here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0BwDa06cjX-frWHowUDNKbXVfSmc

ANOTHER UDATE -

I've replaced the Armature Bill of Materials with a BOM spreadsheet for the entire model. As the project progresses this file will be updated with new parts. The intent is to also include the individual kit part nernies so people can use it as a check list for what they have. The file is located in the top level folder.
 
Last edited:
This is brilliant a diy Y-wing.

It's worth trying Colorfabbs NGEN filament as a substitute for ABS. It has a high glass point of 85 degrees but will print at 225 degrees at 40-50mm/s. It does need a heated bed at 80 degrees to keep parts stuck and flat though. It's nearly as tough as ABS, bit more flex with thin parts, but very strong even with a small amount of infill. I printed a part for my printer and tapped it to accept threaded rod. Also if you wet sand it you can get the surface like glass.

If anyone in the UK wants parts printed I would be willing to help.

Jon
 
AND YET ANOTHER UPDATE!

I am working on an even cheaper alternative for the 3D printed Nacelle Cores. Stay tuned...
 
I've worked another option for the armature Nacelle Cores that will be less expensive than having the 3D printed cores printed at a service bureau like shapeways. These cores are comprised of a laser cut acrylic assembly.

IMG_1638.jpg IMG_1639.jpg IMG_1640.jpg

The 3D printed cores are still the best way to go but I know the price can be a bit much, and these will not be easy to print on consumer machines. Structurally, the acrylic cores will work just as well, it just won't be as easy to trim the Saturn shells as it will be with the 3D printed cores as a guide.

I will be offering the parts for the laser cut cores along with the other armature parts, just as soon as i've worked out the costs.
 
Last edited:
Sweet! You, sir, have reached Legendary status! I haven't paid for my armature parts. Should I wait to do so once you have worked out the price?
 
DaveG said:
So I've had a couple of inquiries asking if I might do other Star Wars models like the X-Wing or AT-AT... I must say, I've always wanted to build a Snowspeeder...:D
Click to expand...

AT-AT
AT-ST
Snowspeeder
Cloud Car
ISD Devastator
B-Wing

I could carry on and list every SW Vehicle, but judging by what I've seen thus far I think that any Vehicle you do will make a lot of people happy.
 
Hi Dave,

Looking at the nacelle parts with a few mods so less support or bridging is needed they would be much easier and reliable to print on home printers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Open Source Studio Scale TIE Fighter Thread
Replies
6
Views
761
mbraz
M
moffeaton
Cantwell Y-Wing
Replies
9
Views
1,134
publiusr
P
Carter C
Gold 5 "Triangles" Y-Wing (Based on the files created by Dave G)
Replies
5
Views
605
dtssyst
dtssyst
D
Y-Wing plastruct size and length
Replies
4
Views
711
moonbus
moonbus
moffeaton
Gold Leader Hero auction
2
Replies
33
Views
3,202
Captain Dunsel
Captain Dunsel
Back
Top