It’s only human nature to want to immortalize our favorite pieces of life. Like that movie that you enjoyed watching. And thanks to 3D printing, it is possible to create 3D models of your favorite movies and characters and use them to create your own worlds or build your collection of 3D figurines.
3D Characters
It’s easy to imagine that cartoon or sci-fi characters are the only applications of 3D printing that you can apply. However, it’s possible to create these figurines from even human characters. Look closely and you will find models of different characters from movies.
For example, it’s possible to find Blackadder 3D models of your favorite characters from the Blackadder movie. You can also create these models using 3D printers.
If you are not artistic yourself, you can purchase 3D models to print. But, if you are an artistic person, you can use CAD modeling to develop prototypes that you can use to print figurines from your favorite shows.
Applications of 3D printing
3D printing has been transformative in the film industry, allowing film producers and directors to print real objects and use them as props. These props have been especially popular in the sci-fi and fantasy movies where most of the characters appearing there do not exist in real life.
This form of printing has also been used to develop realistic cosplaying costumes. Look at some of your favorite movies and you might notice a 3D printed costume that a character is wearing. Marvel movies are a good examples of the use of 3D printing in the movie industry and how it has been used to create realistic characters for the screen.
3D Printing Techniques
3D printing comes in many shapes and forms based on the materials, surface finish, speed and cost. Some of the types of 3D printing include:
- Stereolithography (SLA) is a type of industrial 3D printing technique used to produce models with a high level of detail and smooth surface finishes. They are commonly used for the medical industry in the production of anatomical models.
- Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) produces more durable models from real thermoplastic material. The finish however, is not as smooth as that used in SLA.
- Digital Light processing (DLP) is a 3D printing process that uses light to cure liquid resin. It is similar to SLA except that it uses a digital light projector instead of a UV laser. They are faster as they can print the entire build at once instead of smaller parts that require assembly.
- Multi Jet Fusion uses nylon powder to create model. It also uses a laser on the powder. This process is more economic that SLS.
Considerations for 3D printing
Whether you’re printing your favorite Blackadder 3D models or are making figurines of your favorite characters, there are considerations to make when 3D printing. These considerations include:
- The size of the model: the size of the model influences the production time, quantity of materials required and whether you need to make different components of the model separately then assemble them into the complete model
- The resolution or thickness of each layer of the materials used in producing your model. The resolution affects how smooth your surfaces, the amount of detail and the amount of manufacturing time.
- The thickness of your model’s walls will determine the stability and integrity of your models. For models that require higher stability, thicker walls are preferred, even though they take more time to produce.
- The materials to use will depend on the modeling technique you use. When considering the materials, think about what they are creating, the temperatures they’ll be subjected to and chemicals that might be used.
