kcpstudio

Okay... as I machine these metal parts, I'm noting cycle times and material costs involved. Right now... if I had 25 guys in on the run, you're looking at a little over $300 for all the machined metal parts alone. <br><br> As for the printed plastic masters for the rest of the gun.... those I should be pulling off the printer later today. One I get those cleaned up a little, I'll take some pics.

Ya know what's funny? When you try to post and the forum is having site issues and won't let you.... but a day later... all the posts you tried to upload suddenly appear. LMAO

Ha ha ha.... bingo bro! Lol

The masters and the molds are the killer costs. Once I factor how much material per prop will be, I'll have a lock down on a price.

Part pic number 20 perhaps? Lol I'll let you think about that for a little. Lol

Some of the interlockings i added so when guys glue and screw everything together, it's one solid model. But I only added a few bosses to keep everything lined up. The screen guns were crooked in a lot of ways when the parts were glued. Again, adding a couple extra bosses keeps everything in line and solid. <br><br> I know which part you're referring to. Lol

Okay.... printing is going on. Here are pics of all the plastic masters. According to my printer, I should have all plastic parts done by the 19th. I'm printing in high resolution.... as in .0005" resolution. I'm still machining metal as well. Enjoy!

$1,800 to run the prints on my printer. And that's just the plastic masters. I should have all those done by the 19th according to my software's estimated print times. Still knocking out the metal parts. Had to direct my attention for a little to build another couple hero guns for L's character on Death Note.

Looking like 35 plastic parts (5 in rubber) which would need to be molded. sigh Then you have 11 machined aluminum parts. Then 3 laser cut acrylic parts. One torch. 2 sets of electronics for both LEDs. And a shucks load of fasteners.<br><br> I think that covers most of it.

Thanks guys for the kind words. Yup.... been CADing for a long time. Started with Autocad in DOS. LMAO! Then Solidworks came along and I got in with them early. Been using it ever since. I was using Mastercam for programming but last year I switched over to HSM Works for Solidworks. Kills Mastercam! Love it. Been 3D printing for 17 years. My equipment over the years, with respect to printing, were all 3dSystems SLAs. Now I'm primarily Polyjet (Objet).

Was contacted yesterday by a 501st member. He wanted a blaster for an event he's doing next month. Said he wants one of my blasters. Tells me he can give me tons of PR and sales. I told him I don't even have the masters done yet. A friend (Shawn) is even flying out from CO to help produce all the molds needed for this gun. I offered to machine extra metal parts and 3D print an extra set of masters for him. He asked for a completed gun. I said it would be over 1k for a completed gun given the costs associated with making a second set of masters.... machine setup times to be worked out etc etc. <br><br> He got angry and said.... "It's for a charity event for God's sake".<br><br> First, I do a ton of charity work. I donate at least two expensive guns to my local police athletic league every year for the past 6 years. The last one being a $2,800 shotgun. I donate to another charity dealing with children with cancer. However, the cost associated with doing the masters is what it is. I'm not making a dime. So, needless to say I was a bit thrown back to hear this person throw a charity event in my face because he couldn't get something for nothing. Funny because he wants this so bad but doesn't want to pay to get one before anyone else... even when it's just the actual costs to produce the parts needed.<br><br> i guess the point of posting this is to remind everyone that this is a high end replica of the actual screen used prop. If you put my blaster up against a screen used..... there is no difference. It's exact. There are a ton of machining that will go into each gun. There will be a ton of multi-part molds for each part. There is the costs of the plastic and rubber and all the metal and all the fasteners. It is what it is. I have looked at this project from every angle to figure out how to keep the costs down for you guys. However, at the end of the day, there will be a number that I just can't go under without ending up paying you guys to own one of my props. <br><br> Once I get my masters done and start figuring out mold costs, I will be able to lock down a number for you.

Figured I would upload CAD pics of all the parts which will be machined out of aluminum. There are parts like the scope tube body, scope adjustment knobs, and the front sight cover forming block which only the masters will be machined aluminum. The scope tube body and the scope adjustment knobs on the screen used guns are cast plastic. The adjustment knobs will have steel threads though.... just like the screen guns had.

Metal is here. Programming is done. Cutting chips this weekend.

Thanks Germain and everyone for all your kind words. Much appreciated.

TY... are you curious how accurate my CAD is or a prop you took pictures of?

The aluminum sling ring on the back has a screw that threads into it from inside. It swivels. The placement must be purely something Disney did on their display. But, you can spin that piece. some of the guns production made were glued in place while others were screwed and could spin. Mine will be exact and screwed into place... snug but can spin.

Also, all wipers will be cast black rubber.

As stated in throughout the thread, the prop will be 100% exact to the screen used guns. All parts that were metal I will be cnc machining out of aluminum. All plastic parts, I will be using a two part thermo-set high performance plastic. All grip pads will be cast rubber... including the trigger. All fasteners will be the exact size, lengths, and finish as used on the screen guns. And.... all kits will have the exact flashlight that was used. The torch will already be permanately sealed in the plastic pullout housing and the bezel ring already permanately mounted to the lens bezel of the flashlight. This is exact to the studio setup but I'm doing this on my end as I would like to protect the identity of the make/model of the torch that was used. The front sight cover will be laser cut acrylic thermo formed to final shape... just like the original. <br><br> The only thing I'm doing different is casting the grip pads out of black rubber. However, anyone that wishes plastic as the screen guns had, I will cast them plastic.<br><br> Cheers

The trigger is the same as the upgraded studio props. The trigger is rubber and fits into two slots in the frame. You can squeeze the trigger and it won't break off.

Like I said before, Germain, let me know if you need help. PM me up with any questions you have and I'll help you out. <br><br> Cheers mate!

Well guys.... here it is. CAD is 100% complete and exact to screen used production prop. Tomorrow the metal should be here and I can start programing things on the CAM side and machine parts. I'm also going to start printing the master patterns. I already have all the exact fasteners that were used on the production props. Some of the blasters had various other fasteners used but that was mainly due to repairs etc. Also, the 10% larger guns had additional fasteners. So, I think at this time, we should begin a interest list. Please only hop on this list if you're truly interested. I can't give an exact cost yet as I need to look at my cycle times for the machining, print hours and post processing, material costs.... mold and casting supplies. Keep in mind that these kits will not be makerbot type prints. I'm using my commercial polyjet machine. Enjoy! P.S. Germain.... concentrate on the last pic, you should be able to walk away with insight on some overlooked details. Look closely at the frame. Cheers

I ordered the metal. I have that in my shop tomorrow or the next day. Then I'll start machining.

Today I'll be wrapping up any small detail I'll have left to CAD. Some members have reached out to me regarding the accuracy of my CAD. Fair questions. So, I'll address that here. For those that would be interested in knowing, I have been working on this model on and off for over a month. I created all my measurements using the following tools. For all the basic easy measurements I used Starrett calipers and micrometers. I also used my Creaform scanner for any difficult areas and took that data into Geomagic Design X. So, the CAD is dimensionally spot on. My scanner has an accuracy of about .001 to .002<br><br> So, to give you guys an idea of accuracy, I'll give you the following example. My scanner holds between .001 and .002 accuracy. The thickness of a standard sheet of paper is around .005 LOL <br><br> (Drops mic)<br><br> P.S. Don't ask what the donors were that I'm using.

Thanks Germain! Much appreciated.

Here is the grip pad details. Again, I'll be casting these out of black rubber. Well guys.... I'm almost ready to start a list up for this run. I'll have a cost for you by Friday. Cheers