1st 3D Design, STL to GCode, 1st Printer, 1st Prints

[ThatDirectorGuy]

Overly ambitious and certainly foolhardy I am working on my 1st 3D Design, STL to GCode, 1st Printer, 1st Prints..
My indie film maker attitude has me in this pickle where I have to deliver a working FM Radio contained in a 3D printed Pirate Ship.

The design of the Pirate ship is based off of a model I saw on Thingverse
The STL files were created by a a man on Fiver for my project
I used Kisslicer to convert the files from STL to GCode (Kisslicer is very intuitive)
I have the radio parts from China to solder.
I have to purchase a 3D printer likely the Rostock max v2 due to its build area, price, and the community as deciding factors.

Can you look over the the three files and tell me if they are printable? If you foresee any problems? The TopCase gcode file is very big so the link to it is here in my DropBox
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g12gqp3pcjbkvwl/TopCase.gcode
The other files are attached here;

Battery cover.gcode

Battery Cover

(137.83 KiB) Downloaded 189 times

Bottom case.gcode

Bottom

(3.41 MiB) Downloaded 172 times

I am mostly worried about the TopCase. Any help and advice would be much appreciated!

Much thanks,
ThatDirectorGuy

[McSlappy]

Is there a reason you linked the gcode and not the .stl file? I can tell you that the gcode you sent wont print at all, but that doesn't mean the model is bad, just that the gcode generation has issues.
You really need the gcode generated with settings specific to the machine/filament/nozzle that you're running. Even between Rostock Max's the gcode will differ - the .stl file is the easily transferable part, the gcode is not. I'm confident that there's not a printer on the planet that could print this gcode - it's very chopped up.
If you're worried about someone taking the model you paid for, a few decent renders from differing angles and perhaps some sketch showing how the electronics are supposed to fit inside, would be a much better tool for gauging printability.

[ThatDirectorGuy]

Thank you for the feedback! I linked the GCode thinking that was what goes here. Where do I get all the info I need about the Rostock Max v2 to put into Kisslicer? Here are the STL files, I link the one to my Dropbox because it is to big a file to upload to the forum. I paid for the model but I don't mind sharing because its based on another model.

Battery cover.stl

batteryCover

(53.21 KiB) Downloaded 168 times

Bottom case.stl

bottomCase

(7.22 MiB) Downloaded 169 times

Dimensions

RadioParts

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aidhczu3101jo ... 20case.stl

Thanks feedback and any guidance is welcome!

[McSlappy]

No problems
Gcode is pretty much the very last step in the process and since it's so unique to the machine it's really only used by yourself for storing a print setup for your machine. I think I have only a single gcode file saved.
I'm not sure about Kisslicer settings, some kiss users here on the forum could probably share their settings with you - this would allow you to run the gcode on your model and look at the tool paths...

However, I'm not sure it will be of much help anyway. The pics you posted are great, though - they help a lot!

Here are my concerns:
- Scale. If the dimensions you've got there are accurate, you're going to have some issues with the smaller parts of the model such as the helm - these will be tiny and probably wont reproduce very well unless you've got your machine dialed in nicely.
- Overhangs. Plastic FDM printers (Fused Deposition Modeling) lay down each layer at a time, which is an issue when there's nothing below an object since it really needs to supported as it prints. Support material can be printed no problem, but it will mean you have a lot more finishing to do before it looks good. The less infill the better, and perhaps it might be better to print some of the parts seperately and attach afterwards or even use a different material. For this model I'd be tempted to remove the railing completely and print that part separately upside down. For the rigging I'd be tempted to just glue some lengths of filament in place after the print is complete or just print them flat and attach later. The sails will need support below them as well as within the logo on the main sail where there are overhangs.
- Looking at the top and bottom parts - it's good that they're separate, but you'll still need infill to support the deck on the top and the switch cutaways, the battery compartment would be the same - infill to support it's top layer.
- The top half has the posts which help it connect to the bottom. Because the protrude below the join line, you'd need to have support printed up to the point where the hull starts. Not really a problem, it just means the join line wont be razor straight due to it sitting on infill rather than nice flat glass.
- The deck of the top half will need to have support structure for all of it. Not really a problem but it does mean a lot of cleaning out after the print is done.

Hope this helps. It's an interesting model, I'd be curious to see the product complete.

Do you plan on creating further products and this is your starting point? It's an ambitious I'll give you that! Are you on a tight deadline with this, do you have time to experiment?

[mhackney]

The ship is basically not printable on these machines as shown. However, you could print multiple parts and assemble it. And do you really need that much detail on such a small part? The little sculpted pillars and open rail work, the little port holes, rigging, etc are going to take someone with a lot of experience to produce. Could you:

print a simplified hull as a separate piece
print the masts individually OR use plastic or wood rod for them
print the sails flat and then shape them with a heat gun/hair dryer
use actual thread for the rigging OR glue on plastic filament (that you stretch with heat and pulling to make thinner)

Taking an approach like this will be much easier and you could use different colors if that's important. White sales, brown hull, black masts and rigging...

[ThatDirectorGuy]

Thank you for the feedback! I messaged the guy who is designing it with the following instructions as I really need to keep the print as simple as possible.

1) Remove the railing completely
2) Remove the rigging completely
3) Remove the logo on the main sail
4) Remove the cannons
5) Remove the pointy thing in the front
6) Remove the port holes on the sides
7) Make the sails flat
8) The top half has the posts which help it connect to the bottom. Because the protrude below the join line, you'd need to have support printed up to the point where the hull starts. Not really a problem, it just means the join line wont be razor straight due to it sitting on infill rather than nice flat glass.
9) Does it need infill to support the deck on the top and the switch cutaways, the battery compartment would be the same - infill to support it's top layer?
10) The top half has the posts which help it connect to the bottom. Because the protrude below the join line, you'd need to have support printed up to the point where the hull starts.
11) The deck of the top half will need to have support structure for all of it.

That covers it right?

Thank you both very much for your feedback and help. I am excited to get this done. I have to make 35 of these! Two huge challenges the 3D Printing part and soldering the 35 FM Radio kits together! This will make for a great post on my build, first prints ect..