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1/16 scale Boxer reconnaissance vehicle


GMK

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Happy new year for 2022. Let’s hope for a happier & more prosperous year for everyone than 2021. 
 

2022 has so far presented opportunities to overcome (self-inflicted) adversity on the modelling front. Huzzah!

 

Modern 3D printers now include features to account for power outages & running out of filament. But any interruption to a print is a risk. 
 

Having cunningly & inadvertently switched the printer off while preparing for a filament change, I turned it back on. This the option presented:

 

ZHFxHha.jpg

 

Managed to resist pressing resume more than once…and also managed to successfully press the correct button!

 

Having started a 900 gram print with ~400 grams of filament, the filament runout was inevitable. 
 

W0wEFmg.jpg

 

Having loaded a 1kg spool of filament, I hit the go button for the rest of the print. 
 

Here’s the current piece at around the 28%/87 hour mark. Wall thickness is 2mm, infill is set at 15%. Due to some complex shapes around the running gear, I chose not to attempt hollowing out the shape before slicing. I will be for the front of the drive module. 
 

GXhP8H1.jpg
 

Two biggest differences between “solid” & “hollow” shapes are how they’re filled in. Solids use infill - seen here as the crosshatched pattern - of varying percentages chosen prior to slicing. 
 

Hollow shapes use support structures, which use less filament and print at a faster rate. The step to hollow out a shape is generally made during the design phase. Sometimes the decision between the two comes down to processing power of the computer being used!

 

eta: Here’s some context for the print. The combined mission module/rear drive module is upside down on the print bed. Instead of the standard kit turret/hull interface of two tabs at 12 & 6 o’clock, I’ve stolen/borrowed the idea of a pop-in turret from a 1/72 Stryker Dragoon kit. 

 

ShYEE19.jpg
 

mjYds1E.jpg

 

Anyway, thanks for the continuing interest & comments. 

Edited by GMK
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On 1/3/2022 at 3:02 AM, MARU5137 said:

Just gets more and more Inspirational. 

Your details  are very precise. 

you have  an eye for  everything  in minute detail...Good !!

:thumbsup:

Incredible  workmanship.

 

:bow:  :bow:

Too kind, @MARU5137 , thank you!

 

While the 3D printer hums away, preparation for the real world model has commenced. 
 

I’ve upcycled the Bushmaster’s build baseboard, a 15mm thick chunk of MDF, with four M10 nuts & bolts in drilled and countersunk holes. 
 

eLLzk0V.jpg

 

Also visible are some aftermarket tyres, a 30cm/1ft steel rule, & the alignment peg (front left) that’ll connect the front & rear hulls. 
 

This is a large vehicle, especially in 1:16!

 

Thanks for looking in. 

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Great work so far! I just went back and looked at all of this from the beginning, and it is very fascinating to watch it all progress and come together. If you dont mind me asking (and maybe you already covered this) but what program are you using to design the CAD in?

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32 minutes ago, Out2gtcha said:

Great work so far! I just went back and looked at all of this from the beginning, and it is very fascinating to watch it all progress and come together. If you dont mind me asking (and maybe you already covered this) but what program are you using to design the CAD in?

Thank you! It’s definitely been a bit of a journey. 
 

I’m using Fusion360 for the design. Like any program, it has its foibles, but I’m enjoying the learning process. 
 

Here’s the design as of this morning. 
KlZO8kl.jpg
 

Bringing the front half of the hull/drive module up to print ready standard. Always a bit tedious. The back half of the vehicle is 44% printed, with almost seven continuous days of printing elapsed. 
 

Cheers. 

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Progress on getting the front half of the Boxer ready to print is ongoing, as is the print of the back end (~70% complete).

 

md4H3pG.jpg

 

Adding recesses for the front towing eyes, as well as some scribed/swept details gets us very nearly there. 
 

miHAKes.jpg

 

Here’s an in-progress print pic that gives an indication of the print progress, as at 69% completion/260 hours elapsed. 
 

XO5xuMH.jpg
 

The grid lines on the print bed are 50mm x 50mm/2” x 2”. This is not a small model!

 

As always, thanks for checking in. 

Edited by GMK
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The front of the drive module design is mature enough to create a .stl file to get an idea of what the print will entail. 
 

Here’s the model, with all of the appliqué & suspension elements stripped off. 
 

ewIVKSY.jpg

 

You can see the recesses for the M10 bolts that’ll support the model when assembled. 

 

Z9Dy6ay.jpg

 

In this view, the recess for the alignment tab is visible close to the bottom edge of the rear face. 
 

w3PJ9a9.jpg

 

With a 90% draft, I imported the model into the slicer to generate the .gcode. 
 

0HEpsMv.jpg

 

This’ll take ~272 hours/~11 days to print with 2mm thick walls & 15% infill. It’ll also take 80% of a 1kg roll of filament, or cost about $20 in materials. 
 

All going well, this part will start printing this week, meaning that the core of the model will be printed before the end of January. Then the real work begins!

 

Cheers. 

 

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4 minutes ago, dodgem37 said:

Good show.  With how rough this prints, maybe it would have been better to print/scratch the details separately, then glue them on.  Not a criticism.  Just an observation.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

Thanks Mark. It’s actually a lot smoother than it looks, thankfully. 
 

The appliqué armour will be printed on the resin printer, and will cover most of what you can see here. 

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5 minutes ago, Uncarina said:

I had no real idea just how massive this beast is until I saw your printing photos. Epic!

 

Cheers,  Tom


Thanks Tom, you’re not wrong!

 

Here's a pic that shows just how large the 1:1 vehicle is (on the left) compared to the M1 Abrams (second from the right).

 

FpanOvL.jpg
 

Kinda wish that the “large scale” for military was 1:24 rather than 1:16. Would make things more manageable. 

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5 hours ago, MARU5137 said:

GMK,

Fascinating work.

:wow:

 

Very inspirational and informative build.

:bow:

 


Thanks, @MARU5137 , glad you’re enjoying it. 

 

3 hours ago, BiggTim said:

Just catching up on this - really fantastic work! Fusion 360 or Rhino?


Cheers @BiggTim, thanks for the feedback. I’m using Fusion360 for the design, Luban for the slicing, & Snapmaker to print the larger components. 
 

The print of the back end of the vehicle weighs 950 grams/2 pounds! Cost of 1.75mm filament is $25 a kilogram/2.2 pounds, so the current bill of materials cost is $23.75.

 

The front end is currently 13% printed.

 

fnSCaha.jpg

 

As can be seen from the screenshot in the slicing software, its dimensions are 181 x 115 x 249mm/7.1” x  4.5” x 9.8 “. 
 

Thanks for checking in. 

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This week on the Block 1 Boxer CRV was more printing in the background, plus ongoing design work to get parts to production standard. 
 

Here are some more images of the rear drive module + mission module print, this time on inch square grids. 
 

RjSshrX.jpg
 

The commander’s independent sight is visible bottom left, with a 1:87 version of the prototype front centre. 

 

A view of the right side of the big print. 
 

2rFvynm.jpg
 

The addition of a “filament run out” feature on the printer removes the stress & wastage associated with having to have exactly enough filament on the roll at the start of the print. 

As anticipated, the printer ran out of filament in the first third of the print. 

 

bPX4W9I.jpg

 

No stress, reload the printer head with new filament and hit go. 
 

In regards to wastage, here’s the unused lengths of 1kg/2.2 pounds of filament. 
 

wlmGw03.jpg
 

Those squares are 10mm x 10mm. 
 

The details of the roof of the Block 1 mission module differ from that of the prototype/hand finished Risk Mitigation Activity trucks. References are thin on the ground. 
 

The RMA one is bottom left of this collage, with the very German green that is like neon in the Australian bush. 
 

aWAlfEn.jpg
 

Lots of work to do!

 

Thanks for checking in. 

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