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08-05-2012, 02:22 PM | #1 |
endlesssummerofthedamned
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Midway, PA
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I've read several posts about the use of 'cheaper' plastics for the new Retaliation figures, and after finally tracking down the Joe Trooper, I see what everyone means. But I was wondering if maybe Hasbro has gone a more modern route and started using 3D printing. They seem to have that 'feel' to them, and who could blame them if they did? It seems to me a no-brainer; you can 'sculpt' in a variety of different programs, and they're just as detailed as what can be done by hand. The expensive casting process that has been the standard for decades could be bypassed for something quicker and less costly. And while there would still have to be some assembly line personnel for the more delicate paint applications, it just seems that if Hasbro does or already has taken this direction, that maybe figures in the future will cost less than they do at the moment. I'm just speculating, as my knowledge of both types of production are pedestrian at best.
I've been trying to put something interesting together to try out on Shapeways to see how well they work. My cousin's used it for his job, and the one prototype I saw seemed pretty nice. The applications for custom action figures with something like this could be literally limitless.
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08-05-2012, 02:30 PM | #2 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: New Castle, Delaware
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I'm sure that toy production will probably go to 3D printing in future, but at the moment I'm reasonably sure that at the scale Hasbro wants, injection molding is still more cost effective than 3D Printing, which I really don't think could match traditional manufacturing in scale. Also in interviews some of the GI Joe team employees have talked about sculpting and the necessity of making the steel molds for wave 1 before movie reference art was locked down (hence a lot of the early figures not looking as they do in the movie)
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08-05-2012, 03:06 PM | #3 |
Hisstank.Com General
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While my knowledge is limited about the whole process, as well.
To design a prototype with a 3d imaging program and then "printing" it on a 3d printer at this point , i think , is about equal for time and cost. When compared to the design and sculpt (by hand) process. And production would still be the same. Mass producing on a 3d printer is onlt of the question, at this point. In the long run , having the 3d files of all the character would be good , to modify similar characters would save time and therefore money. |
08-05-2012, 03:45 PM | #4 |
endlesssummerofthedamned
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Midway, PA
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Like I said, my knowledge of both kinds of production are limited, especially from a cost-wise standing, but it does seem that in the very near future 3D will probably be the route most toy manufacturers go. But for the present time, how do sites like Shapeways measure up for custom makers, especially by comparison to traditional casting customizers? Is this a more cost effective way to go?
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08-05-2012, 04:03 PM | #5 |
Cobra Lalalalalalalala!
Join Date: Aug 2009
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I'll clear this up for you. There is no such thing as 3D printing in mass manufacture (of anything).
Hasbro uses a variety of different techniques to create the original sculptures of the figures, this includes sculpting by hand in wax, using 3D scanning programs to replicate weapons or an actor's likeness in some cases, somethings are sculpted digitally in a 3D programs like Z Brush, 3D Max, Maya, etc. and then printed out in 3D, but when it comes to the actual finished product that you hold in your hand, it is always made using injection molded plastics from steel molds. 3D printing is primarily used for rapid prototyping, it is made out of a brittle material, and takes hours to make even tiny pieces. These pieces almost always have some kind of work done to them by sculptors to improve upon the 3D print, or to help tool it to fit the articulation of the buck.
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08-05-2012, 04:27 PM | #6 |
Banned
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It's not 3d printing. The plastic is solid all the way through in these figures. The reason 3d prints are fragile is because the plastic is a series of hardened layers. I have no doubt they are using 3d printing in making some early prototypes but the production is still the same.
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08-05-2012, 04:42 PM | #7 |
ChaplainAsst
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Quote:
3D printing is primarily used for rapid prototyping, it is made out of a brittle material, and takes hours to make even tiny pieces. These pieces almost always have some kind of work done to them by sculptors to improve upon the 3D print, or to help tool it to fit the articulation of the buck.
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08-05-2012, 04:58 PM | #8 |
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Quote:
I remember that the early attempts at using 3D printing for, I believe, SW figures was disaster. They took 3D images of the actors faces but the finished product looked awful. Sculptors have been more successful in capturing the likeness. I do think they use a combination of both to get the best results recently - although I'm not sure why, if this is the case, that female figures always look at least a little bit off.
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08-05-2012, 06:12 PM | #9 |
Mountainlander
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: formerly of Chile
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Quote:
It's not 3d printing. The plastic is solid all the way through in these figures. The reason 3d prints are fragile is because the plastic is a series of hardened layers. I have no doubt they are using 3d printing in making some early prototypes but the production is still the same.
Not all 3D printing works with extrusion and building the model up in layers, those are just the simpler/cheaper ones like you can find on makerbot and the other consumer oriented printers that have popped up. Some systems are considerably more sophisticated. |
08-05-2012, 06:35 PM | #10 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Tonawanda, NY
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3D printing is used extensively for prototyping. It would be far easier to have a sculpter make a physical piece, and after it gets hand-approved, gets scanned and turned into a 3D representation which could then be 3d printed. That piece, once test-fit with other pieces, would then be used for mold-making purposes, leaving the original sculpt relatively un-touched, but still archived for future reference or re-tooling.
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