About This File
Hello all, I hope some of you find this useful, and no one finds it frustrating...
These are the STL files I designed and used to print Duma. You can read all the details here:
I used this project to gain experience both with CAD and 3D printing. Both of which I had no experience with before starting. I started at the top and worked my way down, and you can see how my skills developed a bit as progress was made. There are places where things don't quite match the plans, most notably the NSD dome grooves are missing. I didn't have the skills at the time I did the dome to make that happen. One other thing to note, that you might not notice is the eye stalk is slightly shorter than the plans. This was done intentionally to fit a lamp rod down the center to reinforce it. Straight up 3D printed stalk was not strong enough by itself. Likewise the gun and plunger have lamp rods through them too, but I used long enough rods that they could be trimmed to fit. I took artistic license here and there, for the most part it follows the plans.
If you are thinking of attempting this project you need to know a few things. First, again, I had little to no CAD or 3D printing experience before starting this project. There are probably better models in the downloads section for various parts, but I drew them up myself anyway in an effort to gain experience. So this is the WHOLE thing, designed to fit together. If you substitute someone else's dome, or eye, or whatever, don't expect it to fit without some additional work on your part. Even if you stick strictly to these STL files, not everything is perfect. Read through Duma's diary 5 or 6 times to see where I struggled, and needed to make modifications post print, to make it all work. I think the only file in the bundle that isn't what I used is the Cowl, and there all I did was remove the name from the ID indent, because you probably don't want your Dalek to be named Duma. That said, this project took over 2 years, spanning 2 computers. I did my best to assemble the STL files into one place before uploading them, but be prepared for me to have made a mistake and included one or two files that don't work, or there may be something missing. If someone comes across this, I should be reachable through the forum to figure it out. Second, for the neck and dome you'll need a variety of M3 nuts and bolts. There are many, and I don't recall all the sizes, so have a variety on hand. The skirt and base are held together with a variety of M5 nuts and bolts. Currently the neck is glued and screwed, everything else is just screwed. Eventually it will be glued, but for the moment it seems to hold together pretty well with just nuts and bolts. In the beginning I was printing the parts with threads in the part. Which works ok, but isn't super robust. Eventually I learned how to embed nuts in the parts, so the lower parts don't have that. Third, the dome was designed with animatronics in mind. So there are motor mounts for the eye, and rotation. The motors are described in the build diary, but if you can't get hold of the same part, you will likely need to make some significant modifications. I haven't included anything for motorization in the shoulder or base, so it is currently a static prop. Eventually I'll work out those details. If you get to it before me I'd be happy to bundle your efforts in here. Lastly, I had no CAD or 3D printing experience when I started, so don't judge me .
P.S. Someday I plan to update the files to include "what I would do if I had it to do over again." But don't hold your breath.
What's New in Version 1.0.2 See changelog
Released
Thanks to @Warren for finding that the spur gear to attach to the dome rotation motor was missing. It is now included in the Dome\Mounts folder with the motor mount. Side note, the motor mount is designed for this motor:
https://www.servocity.com/165-rpm-hd-premium-planetary-gear-motor-w-encoder/
There is also a cheaper version without an encoder. If you don't plan to use the encoder, go with this:
https://www.servocity.com/165-rpm-hd-premium-planetary-gear-motor/
Which is not the motor currently in Duma. The motor currently in Duma is a bit slow. I intended to upgrade it to the link above but haven't gotten around to it. So, if you get to this before I do, please let me know how it goes. This motor is "faster" but also smaller than the one now in Duma. It may be that you'll need two motors. Eventually I'll get around to testing this, and I'll post about it in Dumas' build diary.
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.