Jump to content
Due to a large amount of spamers, accounts will now have to be approved by the Admins so please be patient. ×
IGNORED

The Last Starfigher Scratch Build


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 150
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Nice paint work! As a Computer Tech I like your use of computer cases for stands.. :)

 

Thanks mate, a good paint job is 90% prep.

I just got another coat over the front and sides, it uses a little over one can per side so I have to have a second can at the ready as it starts to drop pressure. So far I've used 30 cans of paint and will grab another ten from Bunnings tomorrow to finish the job, that's just under $500 for paint alone.

 

mLmRSsw.jpg

 

hSfzWKE.jpg

 

 

I needed to get the cab at the right height and the old PC cases were sitting in the corner of the room, perfect for the job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awesome work on my to build list too....oneday

 

It's got to be the most complex and challenging build I've ever attempted.

 

Front section painted, a quick test fitting/re drilling of the light holes as the paint fills them slightly.

 

0FnwDlg.jpg

 

I couldn't resist chucking the monitor in and powering it up...

 

MHbACzq.jpg

 

I spent 14 hours on it today, tomorrow the sides will get the final coat, the base section will also get it's final coat then I can start putting it together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Kaizen I got the Left stick printed on the weekend at 100% but I wasn't happy with the thickness of the top of the print and the stick was small for my small hands, so I tried printing again at 105% of the original size with more top layers for a better finish, unfortunately one of the sides warped by about 1.5mm on one of the edges so the seam won't be nice. I'm going to run another print of the warped side and see how it goes.

 

Ahh the joys of 3d printing. I'll put the print on again tonight and see how it turn out in the morning.

 

You can see from the photos the hexagon pattern showing through the 100% print but its seam was not too bad, however the 105% one there was a significant warp on one of the sides at the seam. I haven't put these through the acetone vapour yet so they're not yet polished.

 

20190423_192442.thumb.jpg.30a2405a7935761779544c14922da627.jpg20190423_192510.thumb.jpg.7d73b1a11500f90cbbcd61467e24e561.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awesome work mate, yeah 3D printing can be a pain.

I have one of the early ones from Jaycar (no heated bed), I needed to make a potentiometer extension shaft and after 2 hours and 7 attempts I finally ended up with something usable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks @Brad, I'm extremely happy with the finished result, I spent 50 hours over four days, prepping, sanding and painting with at least four coats on each panel but well worth it.

The Dulux Duramax paint is top quality and using the wide fan (red) platinum spay tips meant there was no streaking like you usually get when using pressure packs to paint a large surface.

 

0HTO4Nw.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been using Duramax paint for a fair while now, it's bloody great. I didn't know about the nozzle upgrade packs though! That has been the biggest frustration with the standard nozzle, it has a very narrow fan and is very challenging to get streak free.

 

Bunnings?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah $5/pack from Bunnings but not every store has them.

I used the one tip for the entire job but soaked it in acetone between each use to prevent clogging.

 

Is it worth buying a small compressor and a spray gun at this point? My dad uses one in his workshop and the difference between the rattle cans and the spray gun is pretty big.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it worth buying a small compressor and a spray gun at this point? My dad uses one in his workshop and the difference between the rattle cans and the spray gun is pretty big.

 

One challenge was finding the right enamel that would dry quickly and sand nicely, as well as prime/seal the wood in black so if there's any chips/knocks to the paint, the undercoat/primer wouldn't show through (if using white primer/undercoat).

I did many hours of research and couldn't come up with a suitable solution and having used the Dulux Duramax paint on plenty of builds previously, I knew it would do all of these.

I did want to go the way you suggested initially but had to settle for the spray cans to get a result that I could predict and be happy with.

 

 

There's three pots on the control panel and I wanted one of them to control the volume to the Logitec 5.1 system and the other two will control the flash rate of some of the lights.

The first challenge was that the volume control pot on the Logitec uses a 6 gang pot so I had to desolder it from the PCB and mount it remotely using 13 cables (they all have a common ground).

Because they go through 18mm MDF and the pots are designed to mount on a plate I had some plates laser cut from 3mm perspex, one to mount the pots and the other two to use as spacers ($5 from Al's Plastics).

 

qyDQ5K2.jpg

 

The Logitec volume pot has a very short shaft so I 3D printed a shaft extension (terrible quality print but it works).

 

WlVrp0B.jpg

 

Nothing about this cab build is simple...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awesome work mate, yeah 3D printing can be a pain.

I have one of the early ones from Jaycar (no heated bed), I needed to make a potentiometer extension shaft and after 2 hours and 7 attempts I finally ended up with something usable.

 

Yes it sure can be, the good news is though that plastic is relatively cheap so lots of prototyping to get the nice final product.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The artwork has been organised through @MamePatrol.

 

rOKLG3o.jpg

9H657Oh.jpg

 

 

I've now sorted out and tested the lights mod, I've used a CD4017 (decade counter) and a CD4026 (7 segment display driver) to turn the lights on and off at random intervals.

 

o1o4QwT.jpg

gUCWWop.jpg

 

Both circuits built on a Vero board with pots added to adjust the speed.

 

TzO1ZT3.jpg

 

The chips are only designed to power LED's so I knocked up an incandescent lamp driver PCB with parts that I had on hand.

It also serves the function of switching between having all lights lit at once or randomly flashing.

 

iEYNDEw.jpg

 

When all lights are lit at once they draw just under 10A, the ATX power supply I'm using at the moment is only rated to 10A so that'll get an upgrade.

 

Looks great and I'm pleased with how the random lights board works.

 

 

1BdBJjf.jpg

 

J1pMaP6.jpg

Edited by Kaizen
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well damn this is looking insanely good! The electronics are definitely a bit over my head tough :P 3D Printing ABS without a heated bed is nearly impossible though, even with one id suggest using some ABS slurry or getting a a really good print surface to avoid warp and an enclosure if possible!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The artwork arrived today, awesome job @MamePatrol.

 

SZxNgNE.jpg

 

nJHyBUW.jpg

 

qAO1aPt.jpg

 

qa3RM23.jpg

 

28jk1Bp.jpg

 

 

I should have this completed by the end of the long weekend, one week shy of twelve months from starting the build.

The wiring needs tidying up and a few other little jobs to be completed, I replaced the motherboard with a Core2 Duo Quad/4 gig ram with an ATI HD4350 video card.

I've accrued about 170 hours on the build itself and over 100 hours of research and design.

Edited by Kaizen
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...