Now we are gradually getting to the parts that are characteristic of a ship - at least as long as the model is not yet painted. The bridge itself got on my nerves a bit, because I had to keep redesigning the structure or somehow adapting it. I don't want to talk about problems here, because they weren't really problems.
First it started with the base. Since the ship's hull has already been printed, no changes were allowed to be made in this area, including the software model, otherwise the new parts would not match the finished parts. Should errors occur here, adjustments to the detriment of the front would have to be decided. Everything that is printed stays that way. Should there be a release as a sales model, most of the work will be due at this transition point between hull and deckhouse, since various errors have occurred here - also at the base.
The crew deck, which was before construction, was mentioned in another post. In the first design there was still talk of a handrail that leads around there. The printed version looked extremely poor, which is why the printing of the corresponding brackets was deleted. Classic model building for railings with wire and soldering iron will be necessary here. Since I was also curious and was dying to finally get started on the deckhouse, the crew deck was practically already printed. The printout adapts only moderately, but that was mainly due to my 3D printer. In the course of printing the deckhouse, I had to realize that my 3D printer was gradually reaching its limits.
By the way - if you are interested in which 3D printer I am currently working with, leave a comment under this post, if there are enough interested parties, I will tackle it. Basically, I'm happy about comments - they help me to continue to write in a way that hits your nerve...
Back on topic - the crew deck was printed and fitted. After I sanded this nice and smooth, it didn't fit 100% into the given shape of the hull. This was because the printer settings made the lower layers a bit too thick. The experienced 3D printer user will come across the problem with the filament flow here. This was also the first time I became aware of this.
Basically, all 3D printers are set to run with 100% filament flow. This means that a certain amount of filament is pushed into the nozzle. This amount goes through the heating process in the nozzle, comes out at the end of the nozzle and is pressed onto the printing plate or the already printed part of the model. Depending on how hot the nozzle is, a certain amount of liquid plastic comes out of the nozzle and runs on the component. With 100% filament flow, the plastic may be pressed out of the nozzle onto the component and swell over the edges. This overflow ensures that the component deviates slightly in the intended dimensions. Sometimes a slight mismatch is all it takes to make components mismatch. The result is that the print settings have to be revised and new test prints have to be made to try them out. For those who are interested, I now work with a lower print temperature and 93% filament flow. It fits much better that way.
So after I adjusted the crew deck, it fitted nicely into its place at the bow of the ship. The crew deck itself took 12 hours to print, so adjusting the deck itself wouldn't have been a huge hassle.
The mighty front of the deckhouse, including the bridge, is directly attached to the crew deck.
At this point, it was difficult to get the right slope angles of the front. I had to look for a lot of pictures on the net. I cannot show them here due to copyright reasons. In the end I had started several attempts to get the right angle of inclination of the front.
In addition to the angle of inclination of the front, there was also a problem with the curvature of the front. If everything were angular and edgy, it probably wouldn't look quite as elegant, but it would be easier to replicate - if you don't have the blueprints. Again, Google was my best friend. Countless pictures from many perspectives were necessary in order to create the most original possible curvature. Then I worked on the cutouts for the windows. To do this, I first had to make a negative mold, which I used to cut out the windows from the curved surface. Then I had to align the windows to match the deck layout and adjust the curvature. This was a very Figelin work, since the window sections had to be turned with the curvature. I had to duplicate the window sections accordingly and arrange them symmetrically on the front and then cut them out of the front.
After the front was finished, a structure had to be created in the background, which of course also makes it a little more stable.
For this I added some vertical struts, which support the front from the back. There is a thicker strut in the middle because the front cannot be printed in one piece because of the bridge and cams. The strut in the middle serves like a connecting flange for good gluing of the parts. I also added a few slots in the strut to later attach cable ties for wiring the bridge lights there. Another small detail on the front are a total of four small connection sockets. These connection sockets are there to attach a subsequent substructure behind the front.
Another BLOG post will follow later on the support structure. The front was finished. However, not for printing. The bridge still needs to be completed here. That follows in my next post. A lot of manual work was required for the bridge. The pressure required a lot of shaking and sweating. But that comes next time. I wish you a nice weekend and look forward to likes and comments.
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