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.

We built a generic version of the docking ring…

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…

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

A little pew pew on the laser cutter…

And I have plates that can be glued on!

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.