Printing, Assembly & Post Processing
Version 1 (PVC Pipe Version)
Shopping List
PVC Pipe: 1" Diameter x 5 ft Length
Adhesive: I used 5 Minute Epoxy, you could probably use super glue and be fine.
Filler: I personally used Bondo Spot Putty, but you can use your filler of choice!
Paint: I used Grey Filler Primer + Flat Black Spray Paint + Matte Clear Coat
Printing
- You're going to be printing 7 pieces: An upper assembly, the lower assembly, and the "crystal ball" thingy.
- The upper assembly consists of 3 pieces; the Fins Piece 1 (Upper Part), Fins Piece 2 (Lower Part), and a Key to assist with assembly.
- The lower assembly consists of 3 pieces; the Shaft Base Piece 1 (Round Thingy), Shaft Base Piece 2 (Pointy Thingy), and a Key to assist in assembly.
- The "crystal ball" could be printed in FDM or Resin. I've printed it in FDM so far, but plan to print in resin in the future.
Assembly & Post Processing
- Before assembly, you are likely to want to cut the PVC pipe down a few inches to be a more appropriate length. I cut 5" off of my PVC pipe to be 55" total, and it is fairly long but I believe it is close to "movie accurate" at this length."
- Upper Assembly: Using adhesive, connect Fin Piece 1, Fin Piece 2, and Key 1.
- Lower Assembly: Using adhesive, connect Shaft Base Piece 1, Shaft Base Piece 2, and Key 2.
- Use adhesive to join upper and lower assemblies to PVC pipe.
- Fill gaps where printed parts come together, and where assemblies join with the PVC pipe using Bondo Spot Putty (or filler of your choice).
- Round of sanding with 80 grit sandpaper
- Coat of Grey Filler Primer
- Worked up from 80 grit to 1000 grit sandpaper till desired smoothness achieved.
- Couple coats of Flat Black Spray Paint
- Couple coats of Matte Clear Coat to finish!
- For the Crystal Ball, I just printed in white filament and did light sanding where the supports were. I plan to print it in resin in the future, and maybe cast it!
Version 2 (Fully 3D Printed)
Printing
- You're going to be printing 12-13 pieces (depending on desired length): An Upper Assembly (3 Pieces), Lower Assembly (3 Pieces), and the Shaft (5-6 pieces)
- The upper assembly consists of 3 pieces; the Fins Piece 1 (Upper Part), Fins Piece 2 (Lower Part), and a Key to assist with assembly.
- The lower assembly consists of 3 pieces; the Shaft Base Piece 1 (Round Thingy), Shaft Base Piece 2 (Pointy Thingy), and a Key to assist in assembly.
- The Shaft: You need to print 5 copies of Shaft Piece 1 (Length 250 mm). I would print these and all the other pieces first, then you can print either Shaft Piece 2 (207mm) or Shaft Piece 3 (80 mm) to get your desired final length.
- The "crystal ball" could be printed in FDM or Resin. I've printed it in FDM so far, but plan to print in resin in the future.
Assembly & Post Processing
- Upper Assembly: Using adhesive, connect Fin Piece 1, Fin Piece 2, and Key 1.
- Lower Assembly: Using adhesive, connect Shaft Base Piece 1, Shaft Base Piece 2, and Key 2.
- Assemble the shaft pieces together via the printed threads.
- Assemble the Upper Assembly to the shaft via the printed threads
- Assemble the Lower Assembly to the shaft via the printed threads.
- You can follow the post processing steps suggested from version 1, or print it all in black and do minimal post processing!