I am making LC Scale Kits & Accessories for mud! (2 Viewers)

[SharpeCat]

My goal for tuning this week is to reduce ringing from wobbles, like shown in first 2 photos.

Also I want to improve snap fitment of all parts, so I am tuning for more precise flow/filament distribution. The goal is to make my squares more square.

These are some of the tuning prints so far. Jade/Papa Smurf is being tuned for carbon fiber chassis for the 45, and so far so good. Just need to work on ringing on X axis and back to work; very happy with Y axis; that's just the blinds reflecting off the last photo btw. It actually is very smooth/does not have those wavy lines.

Today I am tuning for interior, wheels and lights.

 

[SharpeCat]

Hey Mud, I'm sorta getting my ass kicked over here, but it's okay we will get through this. Real quick, I am finalizing electronics orders and will have a full list soon for you guys. Servos, transmitters, receivers, motor ESCs, lipo battery and chargers are coming.

Tuning is a full time job and I'm pretty adamant about it, because I aim to keep quality at the top of my priority list. When print quality degrades, plans change.

This is where I'm taking 1 step back, in preparation for moving two steps forward.

1 step back: I am tuning the boys (soon some girls too), 1 printer at a time for specific jobs, and setting it up to only do that job and to it well. Nobody needs to try and be a jack of all trades, and a master of none.

So 1 at a time they will leave the floor and onto my desk, and 1 at a time they will get tuned and equipped for the right job, before finally moving onto my green tables in the garage to begin fulfilling their true purpose.

And 1 at a time I will replace the platforms the printers are on, with new homes for the FJ fleet.

Two steps forward:

1. I am handing off assembly to you guys for the time being, and only assembling a few to familiarize myself in case you guys need help. When the boys are tuned, aka I have time, I will begin portioning out both kits for everyone. The only kits I will build are for the mud museum, a collection of 1-of models/replicas of LCs owned and maintained by mudders. I want one for the museum, and one for the original owner; then sell a few to recover costs for both, and to help feed the boys and girls.

And since I dont see myself having a bulk assembly process up soon, I want to know if anyone has a lot of extra time and wants to assemble extras for me; I will give you a cut of everyone sold, and you can even set the price if you want. I have not gotten that far/have more pressing things to tend to. I aim to begin selling next year after refining them this year.

2. With the free time from not having to do assembly, for everyone, I will focus on making us mods, upgrades, accessories, new models, and etc. This is in addition to the current work of keeping the boys happy, so they can continue on making happy little parts.
- I can also focus on improving the process; I need to begin researching using 3d-printed molds for big parts like hoods, and so we can eventually have real carbon fiber. This is often done nowadays using molds you can print, and thusp saving significant costs in making molds.molded quality is another level.

Check the stream occasionally for updates as I will be there if not sleeping, and almost always working on this.

Also leaving this here so I don't lose it.



Now imagine a little garage for your little cruiser. And then picture it where last photo is/a whole line of them where the printers currently are.

This way I can keep them safe during builds, which can sometimes take a whole week for a fleet, assuming no distractions.

 

[SharpeCat]

First one finally done until linear rails and hotend upgrades in 30 days. This one is setup to make 1 set of 45 chassis every 12 hours. These will go straight from plate to ship box, so I don't lose track of all the small parts, and to protect them in between print and ship.

The rest should go quicker, as I had to learn a lot of tuning techniques for the first time for this one.

 

[SharpeCat]

#2 is for TPU Seats. TPU is flexible so the seats will have a squish to them, to mimic leather.

#3 and 4 going on my desk now, tuning for 45 Wooden Flatbeds for #3 using wood PLA, and white hardtops and bezels for 40s for #4 using whatever I have in white; maybe the glow in the dark white.

 

[mrboatman]

Amazing work. Your doing a great job

 

[SharpeCat]

Amazing work. Your doing a great job

Thanks boss, and i appreciate the patience from everyone. Learning a lot with this project, and hoping the end result will be worth it!

Today i am cleaning up the living room and moving printers into garage where they will stay. After that i will use the little printer platforms to begin portioning out parts for everyone. I need to do this to know what parts i need to prioritize first, so that i don't continue to end up with too many of some parts, and sometimes none of another. We need a good balance of all parts in order to have complete kits.

Hoping after today, we will have a much better idea of what parts we need to tune for and prioritize in the que. Am live now and will be for the next 12 hours or so.

 

[SharpeCat]

Moved the entire sidewinder line into the garage.

I cut a 48x96 in half and made a 24x96 shelf for the mini Cruisers; Not the flattest piece of wood but it will do. The 48x96 was donated by my dad and I printed the brackets, so it didn't cost me anything I didn't already have!

Also will paint it green/waiting on primer to dry.

I'm about to hit it with the nail lamp (UV) so I can get all 3 coats done (1 more primer 2 more green) tonight.

This will be home to the cruisers until they head your way.

 

[The Jade Bean]

Strictly out of curiousity…

Are you going to have heating issues with consistency being in a garage?

Also why green everything? Your fav color or an actual necessary color? I don’t personally care, I’m just curious. Lol

 

[SharpeCat]

Strictly out of curiousity…

Are you going to have heating issues with consistency being in a garage?

Also why green everything? Your fav color or an actual necessary color? I don’t personally care, I’m just curious. Lol

Its green for easy cropping of videos/photos, i just haven't gotten around to properly lighting the area for it. I have a bunch of green paint, and the color is growing on me. The green filament that i have a lot of is also Chromakey green.

As far as temperature consistency issues, that's a good point and if needed, i can always move them back. I do have 3 extra rooms upstairs so indoor space isn't an issue, but furniture/space to get them off the floor is, for now (babysitting brothers dog) is. I can always put them on the floor upstairs as well, and close off a couple rooms.

With that said, As long as it isn't on the extreme hot or cold side, PLA(the bulk of what we use is PLA and PETG) should do just fine. It has a very forgiving range of temp it can print at, and the carbon fiber PLA is even more forgiving. As long as the temperature changes aren't too sudden, we should be okay. There is a chance that the garage is actually more consistent as well, due to less door opening events and AC cutting on / off.

If it is too hot for PLA, then it becomes better for almost everything else. With NC weather, the only risky part is the humidity; i normally lose power when it rains anyways and cannot escape humidity even indoors. To deal with that, i will get filament dryer boxes that will allow me to print even in humid conditions; as well as improve quality everywhere else. Controlling your filament (like moisture) is just as important and when budget allows, i will either get a bunch of filament dryer boxes or learn to make my own. Also, Battery backups so i dont lose prints/keep the dryers going when i lose power.

For now, while i am sorta winging it, i do sorta have a plan. Since i am making a PLA kit as well as a PETG KIT, with both having a large amount of carbon fiber or polycarbonate as well, i have a lot of flexibility and can adapt to the season. So i can use the garage for PETG, ABS and things that thrive in a hot garage in the summer, and use the Garage for PLA during the cool months where it will thrive with the garage doors open/drafts.

By wintertime, i am hoping to have everything but PLA enclosed and control the climate so it won't matter the surroundings; even for indoors it helps a lot. PLA likes open air so we don't enclose it.

Will keep a close eye and be adapt if needed. Now i am curious as well.

 

[The Jade Bean]

Very logical and I follow. It’s a lot of work and you seem to be doing well. Keep up the good work.

 

[SharpeCat]

Better, but still lots of work to do.

I made little versions of the honeycomb brackets to add support to the front.

I am going to build more shelves this week; A lot more shelves. Going to use the shelves as practice and to tune for the big batch of petg coming up.

 

[SharpeCat]

Working on finalizing this order for everything we need to complete first 6 kits/so I can send out full bashers. Just waiting on Aliexpress and Paypal verification process/i have customer service helping me (it isnt accepting the same card, maybe im buying too fast for a new-ish aliexpress account). I have called paypal 4 times and they tell me its on aliexpress end. Should be figured out within the next 1-2 days, according to aliexpress customer support.

Also put my VR headset up for sale, as i do not have time to learn design in VR at the moment. I got my first bid at $500! Still only halfway to my goal but a lot can happen with 8 days remaining on auction. Knowing ebay, 2/3rds of the action is in last few minutes. The wise buyers make precisely one bid w/the highest theyre willing to go, at the very last second; to ensure best chance. I will use money from this to fund dryer boxes for the printers, and that will 100% improve consistency/quality of prints moving forward.

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I'll end up listing more things i can live without, so that i can commit more to making these better. As i was browsing aliexpress for essential parts, i saw many things that i want to add to our builds down the road. Some of the obvious things are winches and headlights/light bars, but also things like disc brakes. That's not counting upgrades to current parts, like more powerful motors for the next batch.

Over next 3-4 weeks, while we wait on printer upgrades and rest of electronics to come in the mail to fully complete first 6 kits, i will be working on wrapping up first 6, as well as preparing for upgrades/tuning for second 6. With filament dryers, new hotends and linear rails coming in for all the sidewinders, it's not only going to make my life much easier when i am trying to stay on top of print quality, but also improve the quality on multiple fronts; better part cooling, smoother walls, and more consistent/dryer filament. I'll also be happy to get humidity off the back of my mind as one of the things that may ruin my prints.

 

[The Jade Bean]

I bid on eBay at the last second personally.

 

[SharpeCat]

Bumpers anyone? I made enough for everyone to get a normal black, as well as a carbon fiber black.

I made each tester a little altar area (will decorate later), and I will be adding offerings over the week. I figured best way to clean is to ship off a bunch or stuff. That and I really need to get you guys hands on, and start thinking along the lines of this being a group project. Me trying to tackle everything is just delaying things for everyone, as I'm not that talented, especially at assembly. I will do my best to set you guys up for success though.

More offerings coming soon. I am sending off first chunk after I make a packing list, so I know what I need to focus on printing next.

@Hiluxforever since the green clogged some printers, and I am waiting on replacement hotend parts, do you want the carbon fiber edition I've been sneaking in instead?

It's actually my favorite one, if you don't mind the all black shiny carbon fiber speckles; which I like. It goes without saying, this one is more rigid. It's a fine line between a basher and a display version, because it looks good while also able to take a beating. Bro it's even got carbon fiber seats lol.

Before everyone gets all jealous, just remember I can make more. Also remember that petg batch is coming, and I am sending everyone some petg parts with this batch to see for yourself; see that strength is not an issue with petg parts.

 

[SharpeCat]

Driveshaft fitment checks out.

 

[Hiluxforever]

Bumpers anyone? I made enough for everyone to get a normal black, as well as a carbon fiber black.

I made each tester a little altar area (will decorate later), and I will be adding offerings over the week. I figured best way to clean is to ship off a bunch or stuff. That and I really need to get you guys hands on, and start thinking along the lines of this being a group project. Me trying to tackle everything is just delaying things for everyone, as I'm not that talented, especially at assembly. I will do my best to set you guys up for success though.

More offerings coming soon. I am sending off first chunk after I make a packing list, so I know what I need to focus on printing next.

@Hiluxforever since the green clogged some printers, and I am waiting on replacement hotend parts, do you want the carbon fiber edition I've been sneaking in instead?

It's actually my favorite one, if you don't mind the all black shiny carbon fiber speckles; which I like. It goes without saying, this one is more rigid. It's a fine line between a basher and a display version, because it looks good while also able to take a beating. Bro it's even got carbon fiber seats lol.

Before everyone gets all jealous, just remember I can make more. Also remember that petg batch is coming, and I am sending everyone some petg parts with this batch to see for yourself; see that strength is not an issue with petg parts.

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I am good with carbon fiber

 

[SharpeCat]

Hey mud.

Made Progress on portining things and boxing them up. No ziplocs so small stuff are getting saran wrapped. Bigger stuff goes into a box that will go into a bigger box.

Also labeling things so you don't spend a ton of time looking for parts during assembly. I try to keep things grouped; try not to make my mistake and mix everything, which really hurts when making many kits. Numbers refer to build plate numbers, which is also referenced in manual.

I also got some of the boys going, working on squishy seats in white and beige, and working on hinges in carbon fiber petg. I am also babysitting my brothers dog that's teething, so I took this as a chance to tune the nylon PCTPE; making a dog toy with it. If it goes well I can definitely see this stuff getting incorporated into our builds.

 

[SharpeCat]

Also quick update on "altar/offerings" area, for my testers.

I am also making good progress on sorting the little things, that I very much regret piling into one box.

Short term plan is to begin working on assembling one at a time for those who do not have time for assembly, and to work on portioning kits for those who would love to do their own assembly. I'm still not clear as to who is who, other than @The Jade Bean who likes to get hands on. Also, @mrboatman I plan on assembling yours for you to help you with the electronics. For first kit, who would prefer their own assembly/would rather get hands on to speed things along? You will get your kit faster if you do, as I am currently a snail with assembly until I get better.

Also I have enough for 2 carbon fiber kits at least, let me know if someone else wants to snag one. I'm also thinking white seats, dash and door panels in white for the first carbon fiber version. Feel free to offer suggestions!

 

[SharpeCat]

Carbon fiber PETG hinges deserve their own post. You'll appreciate these after snapping a few normal pla hinges; which I am shipping off for comparison but I highly recommend you use these instead.

Got two of the boys working on carbon fiber petg parts, more updates soon.

 

[SharpeCat]

So the Batteries are ship from US, I was expecting everything to be from China for this order. Thats crazy that they use this much packaging for 6 batteries. Is that a law for shipping LIPOs?

At least I now have 3 packing boxes about good size for sending off a kit lol. This will be perfect whrn I order 6 more and get 3 more boxes.

OK after opening the box, I see now that this is just a case of too much packaging. Amazon delivers my LIPos In boxes about same size as battery, now that I think about it.

I got us these:
Amazon product ASIN B076Z778MJ
And these chargers.

And these transmitters and receivers (6 channels).

These servos

And these ESCs (electronic speed controllers).

Everything should be here in about 4 weeks.