docking ring studies

So here’s a fun one!

Got a small section of Andre’s 3D photometric scan of the 5′ Falcon and started using it for the digital reconstruction.

MF_DockingRing.328

We built a generic version of the docking ring…

MF_DockingRing.332

Then I traced the armored plates onto the generic ring using the 3D scan as an underlay to get exact plate lines. The plates were added to the generic model…

MF_DockingRing.331

Next the plates were digitally unrolled from the cone shape to make a flat pattern…


Falcon63_DockingRing_2DProfiles_20140720b

A little pew pew on the laser cutter…

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And I have plates that can be glued on!

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This is still a bit of a proof of concept. The digital method works well. Now I am experimenting with materials. The above photo show 0.5mm ABS – which gets kinda melty. I cut some in Polyester which are crisp and quite nice – but will be tricky to bond and finish, I think. Next I’m going to try clear styrene – which hopefully will allow enough of the laser’s energy to pass through and prevent the heat from building-up. Also switching to a thinner 0.25 mm stock should help as well.