3D-Printed Life-Size R2-D2! (Part #1: The Dome)

This video is an introduction of my life-size 3D-printed R2-D2 project, starting with the dome. The 3D models I'm using are from Mrbaddeley on Thingiverse:
www.thingiverse...

[@johnsaunders6510]

I think this video pushed me over the edge to get a 3D printer.

[@red_bearded_brian]

Impressive...most impressive! For real though, I gasped at that reveal of the finished dome! I've never wanted a 3D printer more than now!

[@rhystheodore4903]

The people walking by was the best part. Shows how much joy little R2 brings to people, and what a rewarding project this is to undertake and completed. I'm taking this on in 2020 and this build series will definitely help! Thank you

[@MeineVideokasetten]

Wow! I like the random passaby's!!! They loved it!

[@therealtiamat]

All this review on your effort is soooooo inspiring for me to go on with my R2....😍😍😍

[@markgreenwood5604]

Very nice work. I was impressed with your method for simulating the lit logic panals.

[@McCoyFromSpace]

I just bought a 3D printer yesterday because of this. I’m so excited!!!

[@M4STERcontrol]

very awesome! I'm making an R2 too, and I never even thought of doing a 3D printed dome. Thanks for posting. I'm subscribing to get more good info now.

[@sithsim7760]

Looks great! Off to watch part 2.

[@brianafortier]

Outstanding! That is sooo cool!!

[@BarendNieuwoudtZA]

Jebus crust my dude, that transition from you painting to the finished dome looked awesome, very well done

[@HarleyLittleHound]

Awesome Job

[@PanzerPicture]

I'm mostly a quit watcher of your videos and even though my channel is more armour themed and sometimes some scalemodeling I really need to congratulate you on this amazing build and video. Only downside of this video is that I want a 3D printer now and they are not cheap.

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

Thanks! Printers are coming down in price all the time, but they do still need some improvements in user-friendliness and reliability before they will become really widespread.

[@itsvoodoo7050]

I got a 3D printer for 190 USD. I'm almost done building it all I need is a cable to connect the z-axis because I accidentally pulled out a wire. If you do want to get one, what is your price range?

[@mikelongo5062]

That is amazing! Well done!

[@cyborgbadger1015]

I'm taking the plunge into 3d printing after watching this, finally.

[@MrOllium]

Amazing project and work 👍 I‘m waiting for my first 3D-Printer and I think this is one of my future projects if I get enough printing skills. 😉

[@TheModShopCO]

Wow this turned out beautifully! Cant wait to see the finished project.

[@pajsarn81]

Wow, that turned out amazing! Great job!

[@kyloren2799]

I think if you went this far in making this I'm sure you can finish him with the electronic lights etc...good job!

[@helidude35]

impressive. great work.

[@able724]

WOW! Very nice!

[@PanCakeFace]

U just earned a new subscriber And this was uploaded on my birthday U r awesome

[@rossbelflower5880]

Dang That looks absolutely amazing

[@HowIDoIt]

Great video! I am in the process of working towards a goal of 3d printing all the helmets and droid heads from the starwars movies. I did a shoretrooper helmet in the winter, and a K2SO head in the summer, with a servo in his neck to make him turn his head which is attached to the neck and then mounted on a base. Your R2 Dome video made me really want to get printing an R2 Dome. Tha KS for the video, even if I didn't see it untill over a year since you posted it.

[@Mandomarc]

Hi what 3d printer did you use? And how hard were they to use? Your dome turned out awesome

[@NolanCreate]

Subscribed, great video and nice work on that dome! Must be hard to tell if at all that its 3D printed. Hope you continue to complete your R2!

[@tausti]

That's awesome!! Great work!

[@dronesvisionsaeriennes]

Amazing your project and very good job...! Philippe

[@Spazer454]

good job man. mine took about the same as well.

[@jeffreypajela1724]

awesome video, this gives me inspiration to want to do R2 myself 😁

[@GregsnBacon]

Did you upload the LED panel models that you designed anywhere? Planning on starting my dome print soon. No worries if not, I can have a go at creating them myself but yours look great

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

They’re on Thingiverse

[@UnlikelyCreators]

This came out beautifully! subscribed

[@macmund]

Wow! You used the cr10? 100% scale?

[@fooman2108]

I realize that his may not be seen by you, an old modelers trick is to use the saw dust you take off the model in the initial finishing stage and mix some with epoxy. No need to color match and will actually improve the strength in those cracks and gaps. I learned to clip (binder clips are great for this, an old sheet (no holes) onto my building board (where I am working) to catch the dust. Shake it gently into a container (I like margarine containers), just scoop some out as you need it (plastic baby spoons work good for this), and add about an equal volume of glue. It should make a thick past (too thick to run down a vertical surface after you apply it) spread it on THINLY (unless you really do enjoy sanding that much) let it set for about twice the normal setting time for your glue (I would give even 5 minute epoxy an hour just to be safe). Alternately, you can use some flour (go easy on it) for the white filler.

[@luke9511]

awesome i saw that guys files aswell and if i ever get a 3d printer i want to do an R5, what size is your print bed?

[@terrystevens9129]

I made one few year's back ,I made mine buy hand great video bro

[@ErectricLandLady]

Excellent well done looks amazing you have made this my first project, thanks.

[@markbloss8955]

Does anyone sell a kit we can buy and build ourselves.

[@gmpnj29]

Very cool

[@brianafortier]

I think I’m going to make one and turn it into a computer case

[@glen_nz]

Are you able to share what the diameter of your dome is, assembled? I'm thinking of taking a hybrid approach to the club's design (3D print the dome as it seems to be the most expensive and hard to get part, wood body and legs, 3D printed detailing).

[@VictorGarciaR]

Hi there, just found your channel. You earned a sub ! I had the same problem (warping) with the PLA. Just reduce the infill and the number of perimeters. When the filament cools down it shrinks. If u use a lot of plastic in the perimeters and/or infill it will warp. Warping happens to all materials, but it is a bigger problem in ABS due to the high temps used o print it

[@xConsoleCapturex]

I'm sure he figured this out by now but for anyone with a 3D printer that experiences that PLA warping he got on most of the parts (or anyone who now wants to get a 3D printer and might run into this issue) the fix for this is to heat up the printer bed more. The PLA plastic warps when it cools unevenly, so increasing the heated bed temp should fix the problem (so long as the print is sticking to the bed). I use 60 decrees C for my bed and it works fine

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

inhooman alean My problem was that my printer didn’t have a heated bed at all

[@ConfusedNDazed]

Amazing!!!

[@TheTurbulator_]

Did you clear coat over the Rub’n’Buff?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

McKay I can’t remember! But I don’t think so.

[@TheTurbulator_]

@@MightyJabbasCollection I guess I'll try a test before I try it on my dome. Thanks for the Videos by the way. By far my favorite KZbin channel.

[@MichaelMoellerTRLInc]

Excellent project, I could offer one very useful suggestion for the remainder of this build, rather than 5min Epoxy I would highly recommend IPS Weld-On #3. It is by far the best way to bond PLA that I have used and it can be used to make a slurry just like acetone for ABS.

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

Thanks Michael! I think I may do that because the epoxy is probably going to be too difficult to use for some of the later parts that require putting lots of thin plates together to build up the legs and other parts. Someone on Thingiverse recommended Weld-On #4 recently as well. It sounds like the difference is mostly the working time? Never used it before so I'm not sure.

[@MichaelMoellerTRLInc]

Yes the working time is the key difference. I prefer the #3 because it works like super glue when joining PLA parts. When used as a slurry it will be good for over a month in an airtight container. I am working on a studio scale star destroyer and weld-on has proven itself the superior solution and I tried most of the main options out there,

[@originaltrilogy1]

Great work, I've gone the other way and 3D printed the body first as I was planning on an aluminium dome, but I might try 3D printing one after seeing how yours turned out. One suggestion, spend a few dollars more on a high quality body filler from an auto paints store instead of using Bondo. It is so much easier to work with, it is worth the few extra bucks.

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

All things considered, it's probably a bit easier to go with aluminum, although i don't think it would be cheaper. I just wanted to try making it entirely 3D printed, and it does sort of make me feel like I've "made it myself" more than if I had bought a ready-made dome. (Of course I realize you still have to do a huge amount of work with an aluminum dome as well). Do you have a specific body filler brand you would recommend?

[@originaltrilogy1]

Evercoat or similar is fantastic.

[@madcowrebel4216]

I would polish those clear parts to get rid of the print lines. Otherwise very nice result!

[@jamestubridy6092]

Great looking dome but when will you do the rest

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I'm working on it. It does take a while though.

[@Tylerthestuntman]

And the one I'm doing is going to move and make sounds and it will be a good bit of fun to build it

[@MichaelBaddeley]

Superb video! Love it. Would you be OK with me adding a link to this on my Thingiverse page?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

Of course!

[@DH-fc2os]

In order to build r2 how many rolls of filament did you use

[@thereviewtube7907]

that looks awesome,i wish i had a 3d printer.....

[@aspectoftherobot5708]

How much PLA did you use for the entire droid?

[@RobotElixir]

Awesome project! Really enjoyed seeing your process, should look amazing when finished! ^_^

[@tomasoscalzo1999]

Nice video

[@redsoxfannn1]

Hi Jabba, could you share the LED and lens files you created for the dome please?

[@spacecadet1975]

Hi Jabba, i have a favour to ask. i am having a go at building my own. im making a video as i go along. i would love to use your shot of the animation showing the dome split into parts. is it ok if use this in my video? i will name check you ofcourse. I have been speaking to Mr baddley to get my files so will be same as yours.. I love it! well done... great video!

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

That would be fine, thanks.

[@StarWarsObsessed]

OMGs! That looks amazing!!!

[@ajc4477]

You can use a chemical called Dichloromethane to glue PLA - it's the equivalent of Acetone for ABS. I've read a lot of terrible things about the health hazards regarding Dichlo but as long as you don't splash it all over yourself it's okay. Dichloromethane is used for removing caffeine from coffee incidentally!

[@vnyack2525]

What printer do you have?

[@icemanfred]

Great Job. thanks for posting the paints. BTW what printer did you use?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

It's the Dremel 3D Idea Builder. It has worked pretty well, all things considered, but I think there are probably better options if you're buying one now.

[@SammyWatsit]

when are you gonna do more of it? its really cool :)

[@divorcethehorse-gettingoff7702]

Which 3D printer did you use? What is its print bed size? I'm looking at buying a printer, but am on a tight budget. So I need to know which printers can pull it off.

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I wouldn't recommend the exact printer that I used here. For someone on a budget, the CR-10 or CR-10S from Creality are still pretty good choices. I have reviewed them on this channel, and they are big enough to print all of the parts without a problem

[@themclaughlinfive]

Do you have a link to the parts you created for the build?

[@marc6340]

AMAZING!

[@adonian]

I joined the astromech website too.... I can't afford doing it the way they do. I only want a static droid. I may get a 3d printer and make one that way. Edit... They sell VERY INEXPENSIVE led's for logic displays.

[@frogpond119]

Your 3d videos are inspiring. Remind me again what printer you purchased and how much it was?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I have the Dremel 3D Idea Builder, which cost a little over $900, but there are a lot of printers that could potentially work for the project. You just need to make sure it has a big enough build volume to be able to print the pieces.

[@TheKrimzonGhost]

What kind of servos would you use to let it keep pace with a human? I was thinking of cheap electric battery powered chainsaws from Home Depot.

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I'm not really the person to ask, but there are a lot of people who build fully mechanized droids. Maybe check out the R2-D2 builders club

[@josephcamden5964]

I'm on his site now and kind of lost, is there a complete set with instructions, files? I can't navigate through right I suppose.

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

Honestly it’s been so long that I don’t really know what the situation is. You’ll probably have to try asking him directly

[@MatthewNelson]

What printer did you use? do you think i could print this with a 8" bed?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

+Matthew Nelson I used the Dremel 3D Idea Builder although there are probably better options available now. I think an 8-inch bed would be tricky since many of the pieces are longer than that if I recall correctly

[@MatthewNelson]

cool thanks for the info.

[@EdwardChew]

Hi bro. the 6 parts dome. do you need to print with support?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I haven't printed the 6-part version, but I wouldn't think it would be necessary to use support.

[@EdwardChew]

just saw this video. dont need to hehee kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIWwaXiQrdyCjpI

[@MrWilliamkrieg]

nice

[@buttermilkbob9276]

5:00 they semed nice

[@frankstendal]

Any chance of a tutorial or demonstration of the Rub n Buff? I have a pack of it and can not get it to come out worth a damn on plastic...

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I'm not an expert by any means -- this was my first time using it. I have heard that you need to rub it a lot to get it to work well. The friction is part of what helps melt the wax I guess. I just used an old cotton sock to apply it. It might also have helped that I had painted and sealed it first. I kind of wonder if the surface you're applying it to needs to be slightly rough.

[@frankstendal]

I'll be doing exactly what you did with it, so I'll probably paint and seal it and try my luck. Thanks for the advice!

[@blammers]

Droids are apparently girl magnets

[@whatukno354]

R2 is a chick magnet.

[@user-zc7tf2ec9w]

can i ask what 3d printer you're using for the dome?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I'm using the Dremel 3D Idea Builder, although it's not necessarily the ideal printer for this project. I think having a heated print bed would be helpful, and my printer doesn't have that. I'll make it work though. You do need to make sure you have a big enough build volume (similar to a MakerBot 2) to be able to print all the pieces.

[@user-zc7tf2ec9w]

thanks.

[@repalmore]

Check out this product for prepping the surface for painting. Have no experience with it so I'm hoping to experiment on you;o)

[@shadowgoldwww]

how is your droid coming along?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

+shadowgoldwww I have one leg printed, sanded and primed, and ready for paint. Most of the parts for the other leg have been printed. But my printer is down for the moment and I'm having some issues getting it repaired. Also the sub-zero weather means that I can't really paint anything so I'm putting the project on hold for a little while

[@kenithson6441]

Hey i was wondering what was the infill and layerthickness you chose for this print. :D Thanks

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I didn't use one setting for everything, since there are lots of different kinds of parts. For the dome parts and dome panels I used a .3 mm layer height because I was going to be sanding them smooth anyway, and it saves a lot of time printing. But of course there's nothing wrong with using a finer layer height if you don't mind spending a lot time printing the parts. And with the more detailed parts -- especially things like the holoprojectors that I can't really sand -- I used .1mm. As for infill, I used 100% for a number of things like the dome panels since they are so thin anyway and will be sanded. Other things I used a lot less, but I did make sure to use 4 or 5 outer perimeters to ensure that they could be sanded without making a hole.

[@kenithson6441]

Alright thanks because im thinking of printing one and there are the infill and layer thinckness and i wasnt sure what to choose. Thanks for replying fast, just earnt a sub.

[@infinityartz64]

how did you know what order to glue the dome parts in. Please reply becouse i need to know to create my own

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I don’t think the order is that important. Just start from the bottom and work your way up

[@infinityartz64]

thanks for replying but i ment in what order the 9 middle parts of the dome should be glued in becouse they all have their unique holes and stuff. Is there any instructions somewhere?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

Infinity Artz Well I don’t really recall there be being any question of the order when I did it but it’s been a while. You can go to the creator’s Patreon page and and questions there if you like. I believe I link it in the description to the video

[@infinityartz64]

ok thanks i will do that

[@infinityartz64]

1:38 i mean how did you what order to put those 9 pieces in

[@Tylerthestuntman]

I'm doing one at the moment but I'm yousing the same persons files but a better one you had those gaps because they are not the correct ones you need to build one from his patron

[@elsalvadorblood]

does anyone know what printer this guy uses great vid my jaw dropped when i saw the finished dome!

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

It’s really the time spent finishing more than the printer. Most decent printers can create these parts, but you do have to take the time to sand, fill and paint them

[@elsalvadorblood]

interesting, thank you so much you got my sub. :)

[@245k-b1m]

how did you get the eye so smooth?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

Mostly just a lot of sanding with different grades of sandpaper, plus several layers of primer, paint, and gloss coat.

[@245k-b1m]

ok thank you

[@EnigmaticPenguin]

Wow, that turned out fantastic. I'd love to get in to 3D printing and give this a go. What model of 3D printer did you use to print panels that size?

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

The designer of the model based it on the "standard" Makerbot 2 size, which is about 24.6cm long X 15.2 cm wide X 15.5 cm high, I believe. My printer is the Dremel Idea Builder, which has a 23 x 15 x 14 build platform, but it was just barely big enough. It does seem like I'll have to get creative with the positioning of items on the build platform when I move onto the body to make them fit. So basically, you need a printer with a largish build volume, but it doesn't have to be huge. I'd definitely try a lot of smaller projects before jumping into something like this though. The things I learned printing and finishing other things definitely came in handy for this.

[@EnigmaticPenguin]

Yeah, this definitely seems like a project to your my way up to. Thank you very much for the information!

[@computerjantje]

are you family of Kermit the frog? your voice resembles Kermit a little

[@m.a.8425]

Would be cool to give some AI.

[@TechCarnivore1]

Great stuff but at 4:50 I cringed, HARD.

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

Are you implying that there's something wrong with pleasuring myself with R2-D2? Wait...

[@chevyguy1422]

t

[@roberthayes6329]

Lazy ass 3d printed. Just NO!