Season 18-20 Console Room

[d33j r093r5]

So, I guess I've pretty much decided to go ahead with this. That may have been obvious to everyone else reading this thread, but it wasn't to me. I get bored easily and so need to constantly be working on something or other, keep myself and my mind occupied. With my http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=6249 build winding down, and having already done the design leg-work for this console room, I just kind of "started" and now I guess I need to see it through to the end. Obsessed fan, or glutton for punishment...? I'm not going any further with that thought in case I don't like the answer...  

This version of the console room is one of the smaller the Beeb had for the show; not the smallest, but close. Hence it will be the smallest one I've made as well. And that simplifies things a little in terms of the design. For starters, scaled to 1/13th all the individual panels (barring the main-door wall) fit on my printer bed without having to be chopped into smaller pieces. That makes all the lines and joins that much cleaner and easier...

Having said THAT, the larger, 3-Roundel walls, scanner and rear-door walls all come out to a width of 145.19mm. The width of my printer bed is 145mm. Technically. The reality is the software generally allows 145, but the useable width with the glass panel on top is about 146mm. The XY axes limit switches even allow a bit more if I wanted to put a still larger panel on the bed. Suffice to say, it might be a tight squeeze. More on that in a moment.  Also, the columns separating the different wall panels are fairly small in terms of width, and so there may have been a problem with making the dowel-joins. Fortunately, there was JUST enough room for them without having to stagger them down the height. Like, to within a mm! There were a few compromises, but only on the one-off wall segments, so no deal-breakers!  

Getting back to those "ooh, that's a bit close" wall segments, I decided to test it out and make sure I wasn't going to run into dramas come final-print time. I had to disassemble the print-head assembly a few days ago because of a blocked nozzle     they are a pain in the proverbial. I was having some very un-clean prints, and filler not printing properly, leading to very flimsy structures coming off the print-bed. It didn't twig that the problem might be a clogged nozzle, I just thought I was having filament issues. Until it ACTUALLY stopped printing and I had to clean it all out did I realise that was the problem... If you were following my Time Monster console room build, yo may recall that some of my later wall-prints were beginning to show the honeycomb structure infill underneath the surface layers, and I couldn't work out why it was doing that. Slowly clogging nozzle, I now know! Lesson learned. But I digress...

Here's how the test print went...





... looking good. But, obviously, it's the outside perimeter we need to worry about. Sadly, I neglected to properly charge the camera battery sufficiently and it died before the moment of truth. Or something along those lines. In any case, I didn't need to print the whole wall, just enough to test and make sure it could get to all the edges, so I stopped it after the first few layers. And the result...






TA-DAHHH!   This is good, it means that I don't need to alter anything, or make those untidy splits in the walls. I MAY need to re-level the bed as THIS has started to occur on the edge of the print:





You probably can't see it that well, but there is some very messy, rough "gapping" along one edge of the print, on the side that adheres to the bed. This usually happens when when your print-bed isn't quite level and the filament is extruding at a distance too high above the surface. It's not too severe however, and doesn't affect the overall print quality, so I might leave it until after. It's also on the side you won't see, and it's only one edge. I worked for an engineering company and there was an often used adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". It's not broken yet, so...

On my previous prints I have just used a plain white for the walls. In my http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=5689 build it doesn't look quite right, as the walls were meant to be a slight grey colour if they were to properly reflect the console room. As was the console itself. It was my first major project in 3D printing, and everything was a bit more simple. It looked great at the time though. For the Time Monster console room I also used a plain white for the walls, but since those walls actually are white, it looks great! I want to go for a more realistic colouring of this console room as well, so I need a few varying shades of grey and silver for the walls and the console. I've ordered a some colours from my standard supplier, but had to go looking for a very pale shade of grey for the walls, as it is one of those colours that seems hard to get, much like the Time Monster console colour. I found one which might be suitable and have ordered 1 spool of it to see if it will work. Surprisingly, the supplier was local (Australian). Usually I have to go much further afield to source filament colours. I suppose at some point one of them was bound to be local; law of averages and all that...

Part of the console IS still white though (much of the underside) and I did have enough white left to print those bits out. So I did!...







... and since I also have plenty of black, decided to print the panelling as well...





The panels fit pretty well in the gaps I left for them in the console plinth, and held fairly well without any adhesion. However, to be sure, I used my trusty blu-tack...



... and, as usual, I'm happy with the result...  









... and now... it's back to waiting...    

D.

[d33j r093r5]

It's been a relatively uneventful fortnight, TARDIS modelling wise. Until the last 2-3 days or so anyway. Up until then, all I've done is make some adjustments to the model, namely I opened out the layout a little, and increased the size of the roundels slightly:



... a much earlier screen grab I posted back in August. I hadn't modelled the controls or widened the plinth at that point. Bits to notice are the angles of the walls and the size of the roundels




... same angle screen grab of the updated room. The walls are not so closed in here, and the roundels are subtly larger. These may seem like small alterations, but they just seem to give the room the space and scope it seemed to be lacking.


A whole bunch of filament arrived within the last week. I ordered more white, some shades of grey, and some silver and gold, which I'm keen to try out!

I talked a bit about this in my last update, but it was a bit rushed so I'm going to fill in a bot more detail now...

Typically, I've leaned towards printing the walls in white, as it's an "obvious" colour for the walls. Anyone who's spent any time examining the console rooms in the late 70's and early 80's knows that it's actually a very light shade of grey. I printed my 80's console room with white walls. It looked good, until I started to get the hang of this printing and modelling thing. The Time Monster console room actually DID have white walls, so lucky win there. For this one, I wanted to get the realism a bit better, which is why I ordered the various shades of grey. The console has a lot of grey/silver on the surface for one thing, but also, what shade of grey are the walls?

Picking colours (ACTUAL colours, not lighter or darker tones of black and white) is fairly simple. You can be off by a little bit with the colour, and it will still be fine. No one except you will really pick it, unless you have VERY acutely tuned colour receptors in your eyes, or you're particularly picky. Greys on the other hand; hmmmm, yeah, a semi-shade lighter or darker makes all the difference.

And it makes it harder still when picking filaments. All the colours have special names. Deep red, sky blue, translucent fluoro-green, sunflower yellow, making them easy to choose, if (again) we can't rely on our eyes. Grey just seems to be called grey. Light grey, dark grey, grey. Which is a pain, because "light grey" may not be light enough! "Grey" might be too light. And photos of the filament don't help, as lighting on those instances impacts how it looks...  

I ordered a couple of greys from my usual supplier (who is CHEAP), and went looking for a lighter grey for the walls as I had a sneaking suspicion that they just wouldn't cut the mustard. After a lot of searching, I found a local supplier (c'est la vie) that had what LOOKED to be a light grey that would do the job. It was expensive though, about 4 times the price for a spool of that compared with my local supplier. It was for the walls and, if it was the right shade, I'd need a lot of it, 3 or 4 spools at a rough estimate. I wasn't prepared to pay that, unless it turned out to be the right shade, but how to know? I bit the bullet, took a chance and ordered a spool, to see if it was right...

All the filament I ordered arrived within a day of each other. The ordinary grey from my regular supplier was a slight shade of grey darker than the light grey I ordered locally...



This is the light grey from the local supplier. I was keen to try it, so I popped it on and started to print one of the 3 roundel walls. as you can see from the spool, it's quite full. The problem with a spool like that is the filament can jump off the reel before you want it to, and you end up with a mess. When it's doing that during a print, it can get caught and not feed properly, or not at all, ruining the print. Which it did, but fortunately only during the first layer. I thought it was too light anyway, so decided to try printing with the regular grey from my regular supplier. Kind of win-win, because it would mean I could get the bulk of the filament required a lot more cheaply.

The print didn't turn out very well; it curled and warped and had a LOT of artefacts hanging off it. I also ended up with a blocked nozzle (AAAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHH!!!!)...





... and, I realise it was too dark. You probably can't tell from the photo (I can't), which goes back to the problems I was having in picking the right shade, but it is. And you can see how an d where it warped.

I took my printer head to bits, cleaned it all out. I also took the glass off the printer bed for good measure and gave that a thorough cleaning too. Glass has great thermal properties for printing on, especially when you have a heated print bed. It spreads the heat very evenly over the surface, leading to a more consistent hold, and hence, print. It had a large build up of gunk on it from previous prints, dust, residue, and hairspray (which is used as a type of glue for prints with ABS) and that will interfere with the heat transfer. Anyway, after all that and re-assembly, I went back to the light grey and tried again...





... BEAUTIFUL! No warping or curling, completely flat AND it looks the right shade. Here are the 2 prints next to each other so you can see what I mean:



... a lot easier to tell when side by side. Upside, I had found the right shade of grey (yay!). Downside, it was going to cost a packet (urk!). However, printing of the wall components is the most time-consuming, the largest section taking between 10-12 hours to print, so I can space out the cost a bit. I have enough filament to be going on with for some wall sections, and other components besides, so I don;t have to spend all at once. So, onward...

I turned my hand next to the first of 3 of the thick columns:















...!!!!! I can't believe how well this printed. It's as close to a perfect print as you're likely to see. And once connected to the first wall section...







Feeling rather enthused by this, I pressed on...







... coming along VERY nicely...









... a bit of warping has started to creep in. I notice that warping, if it occurs, usually tends to happen on very large, flat sections, with the vertical either being 90 degrees or less to the print-bed. Anything greater than 90 degrees, like the columns, prints dead flat. Not sure why, but my guess is that it has to do with heat dissipation rate to surface area and volume ratios. I'll test that out at some pint... or point, even. Maybe after a pint. Or two. Typo I'm not inclined to correct...  

Anyway, the warping is on the rear, and does not affect the builds end result, so this doesn't need re-printing...






... you may also notice the grey "floor" underneath the walls. The TARDIS floor matches the walls, but I don't own any grey surfaces that would do the job, and 3D printing a floor would be a huge waste of time, money, resources and effort for something that wouldn't look or work right anyway. So, my solution is to 2D print them! It was a lot easier to select the right shade of grey with Photoshop and print a 2 or 3 test pages to get it right than with filament selecting! Anyway, once the main console room walls are finished, I'll print off a bunch of these pages, crop them as needs-be and they'll serve as my TARDIS floor!

That brings us up to date. Currently the printer is engaged in producing the 2nd thin column. My plan is to ge the main wall sections out of the way before moving on to the buttressing. Also, to see how far I can push this spool. It will give me a better idea of how much more I actually need which, judging by how things are going, may be considerably less than I originally anticipated. Here's hoping.

Talk to y'alll again soon...!

D.

[galacticprobe]

This is truly amazing, D! I seriously wish I had the talent that some of your guys have (off the top of my head, Marc's and Rob's rendering skills, Oblivion's replicating skills, your 3-D printing skills, several other members whose names escape me at the moment but have amazing machine-working skills... just to name a few).

You always leave us wanting and waiting to see what's coming next!

Dino.

[d33j r093r5]

Thanks Dino, I will do my best to not disappoint. With regard to my skills, they're not hard to pick up really. I think a couple of months playing around with some parametric 3D modelling software would do the trick. Then it's just a question of owning a 3D printer. But I do appreciate the sentiment. 

[omarvance]

Hey D, I sent you a private message but not sure it went through. Hit me up!

[d33j r093r5]

Hi all, I know it's been a while - quite a long while actually - but it's been a busy few months. Lots of things completely un-Doctor Who related have been happening! Quite shocking I know, but rest assured, it's all pretty positive stuff that I'm fairly excited about, and it's going to a busy and exciting year. However, I would NEVER allow any of that to permanently get in the way of model building. So I'm back on board. More or less. Still busy, so times between posts may be longer than was previously usual for me, but I will attempt to keep them reasonably regular... Anyway, on with the show...

I left you last at a partially completed console room. The build hasn't moved much further than that. A couple of reasons for that. The first is what I have already outlined. The second was that MY 3D PRINTER WAS BROKEN!!!    The extruders and build platform are heated, and have wires connecting to heat sensors on the main-board to regulate the temperature. The wiring gets frazzled after a while, and the extruder sensor doesn't know what temperature it's at, or how to regulate it. Temperature control is critical for a smooth, clean print, and there's a very small window for optimal printing. In addition, the thermocouples were also a bit the worse for wear. Anyway, long story short, the whole print head needed to be replaced, and a replacement needs to come from OS. It being Christmas, I couldn't get it quickly. It also being Christmas, my order went walk-about, and it took a while to sort through paperwork and order-tracking to find out where it had got to. However, I now have the replacement head, and intend to install it with the utmost expedition!

Here's where I got to with the print:



... everything to date...





... the scanner wall, which you wouldn't have seen before... well, not from ME anyway...





... the butressing to the roundel walls, also new...


... that was late November / early December, just before the printer head went cactus!  

Here is the new print head, which I should have installed and be printing from next update:






... good, good. Talk to y'all soon.  

D.

[galacticprobe]

Welcome back, D! Sorry to hear about your printer problems. At least you managed to get that bit sorted. And what you managed to get printed before the old print head went west looks absolutely fabulous!

And of course we want to see more of your handiwork, but remember; we never rush anyone. Post when you can; there is no time table for when updates "need" to be posted. That would be presumptuous on our part, and we're not like that.

Dino.

[d33j r093r5]

Hi Dino, thanks for that. It has been a busy few months. I've also updated the http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=6249.0 thread, and the http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=5689 thread as well. I'd waited long enough methinks...  

[d33j r093r5]

ah, ok... I see you've made it over to the Time Monster thread already... you don't miss much! 

[galacticprobe]

Yeah... I try not to. When you're stuck at home 90 percent of the time like I am, you've got to do something to keep your mine occupied. With my back the way it is, I'm also limited with what I can do physically, so I look for mental stimulation wherever I can find it - which may be why my wife says I'm mental.

Been reading a lot of books as well (love those Terry Pratchetts!), and I've recently started on The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes - again: read it decades ago so I thought I would run through it again. And when I need a break from that, you'll probably find me here. 'Doctor Who' is one of my life's pleasures since finding it back in the early '70s, so I figure it's time in my life to start indulging in some of those pleasures, and help people while I'm at it.

Dino.

[d33j r093r5]

Much like you, I've been stuck at home for close to 90% of the time for the last few years... all that's changing a bit now, which is part of the reason for fewer and fewer updates (and why there will be fewer in future as well), but it's been one of the reasons why I've been so engaged in making TARDISes - so I don't go mental!! 

And a Pratchett fan!  ... I read his final work in either November or December  but funnily enough, it inspired me to go back and read some of the earlier Discworlds over the last few weeks, while I've been waiting for my printer parts to arrive. Currently re-reading Monstrous Regiment, and have just finished re-reading Raising Steam. I re-read all the Vimes/Watch stories, followed by the Lipwig books... anyway, I'm going back to school come March, so I will have limited time to continue with the TARDIS modelling. But I'll try and post as often as possible, if only to keep your wife from calling you mental...   

D.

[galacticprobe]

...one of the reasons why I've been so engaged in making TARDISes - so I don't go mental!!  

Erm... I hate to break it to you this way, but... the simple fact that you (like me) are a member here and building TARDISes (or in my case, hoping to one day actually get the build off the ground), means that you're already mental - like me!

And a Pratchett fan!   ...

You've never noticed all of those posts when I commented on my "stanky old wizzard eyes" that I'd put the double Z in "WIZZARD"? (I only know one person who's done that: some guy I resemble in that Hogswatch greeting I posted in the Birthday thread, named Rincewind.) Terry Pratchett is one author that will be sorely missed for many years to come - like Douglas Adams. (And how I wish they would have tapped Pratchett to write at least one 'Doctor Who' episode!) I've still got loads of his books to read yet, but it takes about a month to recover from laughing before I can even think about tackling another. (And if I'd known about his works sooner, The Evil One's name could well have been Magrat instead of Nyssa!)

...I'm going back to school come March, so I will have limited time to continue with the TARDIS modelling. But I'll try and post as often as possible, if only to keep your wife from calling you mental...    

Good luck with your schooling, D. And please do poke in from time to time, even for a quick "How's everyone doing?". (Remember, we never rush anyone when it comes to posting Updates, but we do like to know that members are still here and doing fine.)

As for the wife calling me "mental"... well... too late for that! She started when we were dating, back in '78! (And besides, the entire US Coast Guard thought I was mental, which is probably how I got away with so much; but then, all electronics techs (ETs) were thought of as being mental. )

And now that we've derailed your thread enough <adjusting Drift Compensators> Back on topic!

Dino.

[d33j r093r5]

Ok... so... it's been almost 2 months since I put in an appearance here. Apologies all, life is suddenly hectic and complicated, mostly because of uni... I don't have a great deal of free time anymore as a result, I'll need to try and keep these updates short and sweet. Yeah, good luck with that, I've never been good at using only 2 words where 10 will do, I seem to get a kick out of being long-winded, at least when I'm typing... aaaaanyway...

I also didn't have a chance to actually repair my printer until about a week ago, so up until then, nothing's been happening, at least on the TARDIS front. But since then, it's been all systems go! And it doesn't really interfere with my studies; the models are already made and the files created. All I need to do is set the printer going and then leave it for 'x' hours and get on with other things!...

So, where I left off: obviously, if you follow this thread, you will have seen the most recent images of a partially completed control room and console. This is where it's at now:













... not QUITE finished, but getting there. There may be another break in production again, as I'm rapidly running out of the grey I'm using for the walls, and I don't think I'll finish before I do. I COULD always move onto console components or roundels; I have the files and I have the colours... however, the break wouldn't be anymore than a few days, and I'm reluctant to start the next section without finishing with the walls first... we'll see.

I have actually taken quite a few more photos in terms of production than you can see here, but I haven't the time to upload or post about them at the moment. I'll get to it soon: as soon as this lot of exams are over...!  

D.

[galacticprobe]

Good luck with the exams, D. And what you've done on the console room replica so far is amazing! Like I tell others, we never rush people for their Updates, and your uni stuff comes above all. So just get to those Updates when you are able to, and know we'll still be here looking over what you've done so far (and doing so with wide eyes!).

Dino.

[mobius]

this is AMAZING! holy freeow. ok now I want a 3d printer. completely brilliant work. I tip my floppy hat.