Sonic Screwdriver Wand 2 - The FDM Redux
Sonic Screwdriver Wand 2 - The FDM Redux
3D
Published 2020-11-02T05:20:16+00:00
NOTE:
The whole thing was of course glued, sanded, painted, etc. You can get all of the instructions and details over at my instructable which I have published on this very thing:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Sonic-Screwdriver-Wand-2-the-FDM-Redux/
BACKGROUND:
'Twas the year 2014 when a friend of mine asked me to make her something similar to the Sonic Screwdriver Wand made by expert wandmaker Maranda Li aka Praeclarus Wands. The result of that inquiry was my own take on this, which I have documented in its own instructable ( https://www.instructables.com/Sonic-Screwdriver-Wand-Doctor-Who-meets-Harry-Pott/ ). I even made a nice Tardis / Ollivander hybrid box for it to be kept in and again, made an instructable for that ( https://www.instructables.com/TARDIS-inspired-Fitted-Wand-Box/ ). Going further out of my way I designed a huge, A1 blueprint-like poster for the wand which you can grab for free and print for non-commercial purposes if you feel like it ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/cabbitcastle/14480701121/in/album-72157644897470907/ ). Print it, slap it onto your wall, make your own T-Shirt with it, as long as you don't make any money off it and maybe, just maybe send me a picture of it I'm cool with it.
It was supposed to be a one-off project, yet time and time again I had been asked if there was a possibility to make another one. It seems access to woodworking lathes is rather limited, which in hindsight should come as no surprise. I mean if you don't have a lathe yourself, how do you even find someone who does? Plus, using one isn't that straightforward either. Until recently one determined lass managed to bribe, I mean convince me to bring this project back to life. The catch this time is now that I have my very own 3D printer I'll be allowed to make the whole thing 3D printable, though mixed media or complete wood reconstruction is, of course, still possible for anyone who wants to do so. I think that access to 3D printers or 3D printing services ought to be far better than the woodworking lathe supply, so I might actually lay this to rest for good this time.
PROJECT DESIGN:
Generally speaking, when recreating a prop or using it as an inspiration, getting as much high-quality reference material on it as possible is a tremendous help. As I am mostly copying myself / the previous iteration of this project and as I am a data hoarder I still have all the necessary material safely stored on a hard drive. Additionally I have procured some rather decent pictures from a production-used Sonic Screwdriver from Doctor Who episode “The Day of the Doctor” thanks to a tbt Props sale as well as from a high-quality replica by The Celestial Toystore.
Now it was never the intention to make a perfect replica, so my design is still not that accurate in respect to the original prop. I actually know for a fact that there are mistakes. It is, however, more detailed than my previous version with most differences being in the details. The general design can be seen in the sketches I have attached as a PDF here.
I have taken steps to have the wand and grip part seperate (as was done previously) and joined by an 220mm long, 8mm diameter steel rod to give a higher weight to the Sonic Wand, making it feel higher-class than it actually is. As I realise not everyone will want to go down that route I have taken the liberty to design a couple different versions for various types of printing / manufacturing / joining.
Here is a list of the different designs whose STL files are denoted with the given prefix:
- A: One single, solid piece of the wand with grip
- B: Two solid pieces, wand and grip
- C: Four pieces, wand and grip, cut in half for easier printing
- D: Two solid pieces, wand and grip, but with a bore to allow for a 22cm, 8mm diameter rod to be used for connecting the pieces
- E: Four pieces, wand and grip cut in half for easier printing, all with a bore to allow for a 22cm, 8mm diameter rod to be used for connecting the pieces
- M: Moldmaking pieces. Slightly oversized gem / crystal with a 15mm long, 8mm diameter stem for sanding and moldmaking, as well as an endcap for testing the fit of the sanded gem
Note that the gem / crystal is always an extra piece and doesn't count here.
For the separated grip and wand part which uses a seperate rod you need a printer with at least an 18cm wide or high print volume, depending on how you want to print it. Other combinations of the parts are larger.
Of course these measurements are for 100% scale.
Generally to minimize cleanup as much as possible I print with 0.1mm layer height, which is important as I am printing with PLA and there's few convenient ways of finishing prints (such as acetone vapor smoothing for ABS).
To have a bit of material for sanding while maintaining part stability I typically go for 5 shells (and top / bottom layers).
In this case as some of the walls may be a bit thin I went for an infill of 30%.
For the Sonic Screwdriver / Grip part and the moldmaking gem / crystal I have additionally enabled supports and a 5mm brim. The supports are of course for overhanging structures which are hard to avoid and the brim is due to the split Sonic Screwdriver being fairly large and flat. The brim tends to keep parts from lifting up from the print bed.
Most other parts should not necessarily require the usage of supports or a brim.
In all cases it won't use much filament at all, so it should be fine.
| Date published | 02/11/2020 |