Echo Lunar Lander Base (4th Gen)

Update - March 25, 2023 - Version 2.1 and v2.2-Complete

Just finished printing mine and I broke more legs on this version than on the old one... Clearly not the improvement I was going for. So, I've made the decision to provide a version that you can print upside down, with the legs attached. This should should minimize the breakage problems and actually shortens the overall print time.

Version 2.1 is the same body used in v2 with some cosmetic changes.

Version 2.2_Complete is the one that incorporates the body and legs into one print. However, I noticed that the landing pads required a lot of supports when printing upside down. So in order to minimize the supports and strengthen the legs, I've changed the pads from a saucer shape, to a conical shape that does not require supports.

You can print v2.2 with support angles of 55 degrees and only the tanks and struts will use supports. This version also has the new cosmetic changes of v2.1.

Update - March 22, 2023

I finally got around to making some updates to this design and it wasn't as complicated as I had imagined. I tried to keep the print really simple so that anyone can print it pretty easily.

This update accomplishes two things that I really wanted to improve from the first design. First, it reduces the amount of wasted material (supports) by about 90%, and secondly it breaks up the model into multiple segments. That was a goal I had from the beginning because the original print was a very long one and if something went wrong, you had to start all over.

In this version 2, there are 6 individual files and a total of 9 pieces that allows you to break up the print as you see fit, replace broken pieces, print in different colors, and even print it on smaller printers.

v2 Printing Instructions
- The body needs very few supports. I set them to print on angles over 85 degrees which is basically just for the tanks on the sides.
- On the legs I used a slightly lower angle (75 degrees) for the supports, and I also increased the infill to 50% since they will be bearing all of the Echo's weight.
- Use the same 75% support-angle for the gangway and ladder.
- The thruster cone does NOT need supports, and neither does the disc, obviously. :)

Assembly Instructions
- Glue the legs onto the four sides of the body with the indentations.
- The gangway has an arrow underneath pointing towards the side that should be glued to the ladder.
- Once those are glued together, they should sit over one of the leg-assemblies (gluing them there is optional).
- The disc and cone don't need to be glued. Once the cone is threaded into the Echo, the disc won't move.

And that's it, enjoy!

P.S. I know there are a few other Echo devices that would look good on this lander, so I will be uploading different-sized discs to match their footprint.

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This my version of a Lunar Lander base-holder for the 4th generation Echo. It is an entirely whimsical endeavor, so it is not to scale and it is not meant to be an accurate representation of the actual NASA Lunar module.

That said, I'm going to call this a work-in-progress because I think it can get better. It will work and print as is, but it uses a lot of filament for supports, and to me, removing the supports is the thing I dislike most about 3D printing. Also, I broke two of the legs in the process.

The thruster cone has a threaded screw on top which screws into the bottom of the Echo. This keeps them both in place. The cone btw does NOT need supports.

Applies only to v1
A note on supports: My printer does a decent job bridging moderate gaps, so I placed 4 support blockers under the main platform and let the printer bridge those gaps... That worked great and saved about 40 grams of material.

I also blocked supports on the legs proper since they are inclined at a steeper angle. The struts are way too gradual though and do require the supports. My hope is to eventually break this up into a few pieces to be printed separately and then just assembled together... Just need to find the time or stop sleeping.

Additionally, I added a small hole on the right front corner for a toothpick flag. I don't want to buy 200 of them, so I'll probably wait until the next 4th of July cookout.