by leadingzer0, published
Akiko is a Poser character model adapted to a solid figurine and made printable without added support on an FDM printer, such as the MBI Replicator.
Attribution:
Printable Figurine: Travis Driscoll (aka:leadingzer0)
Poser Character: Akiko by Joe Bushido @ renderosity.com/mod/bcs/akiko-by-joe-bushido/64939
Base Model: Victoria 4.2 by Daz @ http://www.daz3d.com/shop/victoria-4-2-base
Daz's Victoria 4.2 mesh required.
She would make a good benchmark print. There's more detail not realized at a layer height of 0.1mm and as well as a range of overhanging features.
Yes, she is clothed.
Also, she's impossibly awesome.
The .stl for Printable Akiko can be derived using Objaction Mover on the .pcf that I have provided and the .obj of Daz's Victoria 4.2 Base model, which you must have or must acquire.
We have to go round-about this way to avoid violating the copyright on the Victoria 4.2 Base model. I cannot post the raw .stl directly on Thingiverse because it was derived in part from Victoria, and the TOU forbids distributing derivative meshes. But the differences against the Victoria 4.2 .obj (the .pcf) can be distributed. This technique has been in use in the Poser community for quite some time to Daz' satisfaction. Many thanks to Ratteler for pointing this technique out, otherwise the model would have had to be removed from Thingiverse entirely.
EXTRACTING THE MESH akikoC160recons.obj -> .stl:
VICTORIA 4.2: You need the popular "Victoria 4.2 Base" model from Daz. It was free or offered at a steeply discounted price for a long time, and I believe it was also bundled with Daz Studio 3, which was free. Currently, though, it appears to be available for $15 at http://www.daz3d.com/shop/victoria-4-2-base . If someone discovers a more affordable but legitimate price/source, please post.
The specific file within Victoria 4.2 that you'll need is blMilWom_v4b.obj which usually can be found under the relative path from the install Runtime/Geometries/DAZPeople with a size of 7795 Kb with an Md5sum of b39dbf15c1c11af69ec53d05eb999aca.
OBJACTION MOVER: An ancient but functional (Windows) program available at @ http://mystic-nights.com/freebies/details.php?image_id=319 . I've also attached it, since apparently it's allowed.
EXTRACTION AND LOADING:
Launch Objaction Mover
Click on the "Decode" radio button
Enter the location to your blMilWom_v4b.obj into the "Seed File" field
Enter the location of akikoC160recons.pcf in the "Difference File" field.
Click "Convert"
You should find akikoC160recons.obj alongside the .pcf.
In ReplicatorG, click File->Open
In the "Files of Type" pulldown, select "OBJ files (experimental)"
Find akikoC160recons.obj and click open.
Be sure to click Move->Put on platform, since the base is slightly buried by default.
Save out the .stl, compute .gcode and print.
(but also attached)
PRINTING:
A challenging print, but worthwhile. It took me a number of tries before I worked out the issues. If your having issues, post details so I can work with you and revise the model if needed. If it prints great, post so there won't only be complaints in the comments. ^_^
There are two challenges with this, and it's useful to address them separately:
(0.1mm) printing akiko at 0.1mm
(akiko) printing akiko
If you don't have experience printing at sub-default layer heights, I would recommend recomputing the gcode with a default layer height. She still looks great at a lower resolution, and you come into fewer issues.
I printed Akiko on an MBI Replicator in white PLA with a layer height of 0.1mm, using ReplicatorG 34 and Skeinforge 47. No raft or skeinforge supplied internal/external support was used. I used 90% of available build height, so the final print measured 5.25". The resulting un-refinished print is pictured.
I have also successfully printed her with the default layer height of 0.27mm at about 2.5" (~8cm) high without doing anything special. Still, this should be challenging print.
The .stl has included support for the legs which is to be twisted or clipped off after printing. The hilt of the right sword is somewhat fragile, so take care with it. I may revise it.
Skeinforge Settings:
(akiko) Skeinforge v47
(akiko) Craft->Dimension->"restart extra distance (mm)"=0 : With default Skeinforge settings, some details may be omitted. Create a profile for detail prints such as these which has If you see that the leg supports are not attaching or the swords are not printing right, this is your problem.
(0.1mm) Craft->Fill->"solid surface thickness (layers)"=5 : If you have a layer height less than default and the print is breaking midway, you'll want to increase this to 5 or more to add strength on the flat surfaces, specifically the stand that the feet attach to.
(0.1mm) Shells = 1. Adding more shells will increase strength, but will increase the print time and change the cooling. Start with 1 before you try beefing up the print. If there is breakage, it's usually because the head snagged on a curled-up feature rather than that the print is too weak.
Skeinforge will gripe about some shapes when computing the gcode. These are very small features that don't correspond to problem areas in the final print.
Model:
I posed and modeled her so it would be printable with FDM, building in bottom-up support and redundancy. There were many iterations of printing and fixing issues in the model, but some potential problem spots remain:
Known weak points (may revise if too may issues caused):
(0.1mm) where the right foot attaches to the stand
(akiko) where the left hilt attaches to the hand
(0.1mm) the model being pulled over backward by the print head
Overhangs that will likely require touchups after printing:
bottom-most point of handguards of sword
scabbard attach straps, rear, base
tip of nose and chin
crotch
The Face: a lot of people are having trouble printing the face cleanly. In PLA, I was able to get good face prints with aggressive cooling.
PLA instructions:
(0.1mm) Cooling:
If printed in PLA at a sub-default layer height, cooling is vital. I have a small squirrel-cage fan that I've turned on its side so that it blows a plane of air across the nozzle and newly laid filament, from the side of the print. The fan setup is pictured in a comment below.
Signs that your cooling isn't adequate or you need to adjust nozzle temp:
-printhead endpoints accumulate plastic, which curls up into future layer territory, and the printer snags on it later and pulls of the print.
-her facical features are ozzed, leaving her looking like a burn victim.
