i made this guy with this company: http://www.sci-proto.com/
they’re pretty cool, quick communication and super fast turnout. it cost me 200, it’s longer than that t-rex guy, just a tad bit taller than the current line of star wars figures. i figure plastic prototyping is going to get really big now that most 3d artists can sculpt crazy 3d. the material they used is sort of translucent, so the detail doesn’t show up that much. it’s pretty detailed. cheers!
Now that’s a great news! Question - happens so, that I am living quite a bit from Chicago - Mexico to be more specific :lol: . Now, I like to ask you if there is any option of sending that printed stuff with lets say UPS or DHL overseas? Obviously I will cover cost of it. We are not talking huge things - more like small to medium sculptures.
BTW - results are amazing, man! Nice work! I wish to see one day how it works. I was using some huge printers and plotters and always was fun to watch it working 
regards,
Can’t you simply prime the translucent material and paint it with base colors and inks (to bring out the cavities)? I wonder if Pixologic will want to sell the toys on their site. Great promotion you know. 
Oops! I knew I’d get into troubles posting pricing. There are a lot of different processes available through which you can get a 3D model made and it’s important that you compare apples to apples. To name just a few: Polyjet (which is what Objet & the Dimension Printer Hiroshi used are), Sterolithography/SLA (which is what dread_companion had made), Fused Deposition Modeling/FDM, Laminated Object Manufacturing/LOM, starch/paper pulp based & wax jetting printers (ZCorp), and so on & so on. Each process has it’s own unique characteristics and some are better suited for sculptural development than others.
The SLA process claims a Z axis resolution of .001"-.002" but I do not know of any place that actually runs their machines within that calibration (typical SLA resolution is around .004"-.008"). The laser which polymerizes the SLA resin also degrades over time which can effect build quality and resolution immensely depending on it’s age.
Also there are rigid support posts that need to broken from the model after building which requires post finishing to remove both the build lines or grain from the poor resolution and the stubs from the support posts. While the figure dread_companion had made may be longer in one axis than the T-Rex, material consumption is based on volume which I would think the T-Rex head may be slightly larger. I would be happy to post a quote for dread_companion’s piece using our process for comparison.
Regardless, for models that accuracy is not an issue, do not have much detail, or you do not mind doing (or paying for) post finishing, SLA is certainly an option. I don’t want to come off like I’m saying Objet is the only way to go but it absolutely has the finest resolution and highest accuracy of any of the processes currently available and the support material is more like a nest for the model and is not geometrically attached in any way so there is no sacrifice of surface quality from support post removal. In my honest opinion, there really is no match to Objet for reproducing top notch quality & highly detailed pieces.
Our newest Objet machine offers a high quality (standard) & a high speed setting. The high speed setting cuts the resolution from .0006" down to .0012" which is still finer than any other process. For models that do not require the high resolution detail of the standard setting, this setting can offer big cost savings. A single T-Rex head would be around $170 and 5 would be around $125 each. So if economy is your driving factor I still think Objet is the way to go.
And yes, you can prime, paint, and stain both the standard Objet & SLA materials perfectly (the Dimension printer has a wax ingredient which can make painting difficult). On models where you want fine details preserved, priming & painting tends to fill those in. This is another reason I like the Objet material selection better because you have options of material base color and it readily accepts paint without priming first.
Anyone who is in (or visiting) the Chicago area is welcome to come by to view our facility, the process, and our Objet machines. I’m also available to talk in detail about any questions regarding rapid prototyping, the technology, manufacturing, or development in general. Just ask for Josh Harker. I’ve been in the business going on 20 years. You can find all our contact info here-http://www.pardev.com/contact.html.
I hope my long winded posts have been helpful in explaining the process.
Cheers!
Shhark
*Shipping overseas is not a problem.
womball - yes, you could do that (paint my base prototype). But that’s my baby, you see. I don’t want to mess with it! 
What I want to do with my master, is to make a mold off it, and make ‘copies’ that I won’t feel bad if I mess them up. Since I’m a klutz with anything manual (thank the cosmos for digital!), I’m also afraid of doing those molds myself. But I guess at some point I will have to get my hands dirty 
shhark - I sent your company an email thru your contact page starting with ATTN: Josh Harker asking more specific questions.
Actually, the Perfactory and Solid Scape machines offer the best resolutions in terms of x,y & Z. While the Objet has great Z axis res, the other axes are lacking at around 600dpi.
The perfactory has about 0.001 res on all axes. We’ve been using these for prints. But being a SLA like process, well, it seems there is some manual work designing supports, and this has pushed up costs on our next batch of prints…
Luckily, I found something else. I looked at both the Solidscape machines, which can produce ultra-fine but fragile parts, and the Invision HR. Since these things build the support matrix automatically, no expensive manual design work is needed. I ordered a sample part from printapart.com which uses the HR. The HR is only 600x600x800 dpi, but the resolutions looks to be sufficient for our needs, with minimal surface roughness, and should cast nicely. That, and the print only cost $50 with shipping!
The solidscapes are very capable machines, but their parts are more like a hard wax than a durable acrylic plastic.
Thanks for the insight of the other 3D printer technologies. I would like the opportunity to quote your $50 part to see how our pricing compares based on the same part.
I have to say the Perfactory system is very interesting. I spoke with them in depth and am having some parts built to compare with the Objet parts. Their material costs seem to be on par with Objet also. The Perfactory resolution is adjustable similar to the Objet and directly effects build speeds. I’m not sure how to gauge the value of its high X & Y resolutions. As Crusoe said, the res is .001" in all axis. At 600dpi the Objet X & Y axis res translate to .0016".
Even with these higher dpi resolutions available, I wonder at what level you could even utilize it or tell the difference at the scale within any of these machines build envelope. It seems to me the X & Y axis resolutions are less of a factor when comparing processes unless they are under 600 dpi. Beyond that may be superfluous to the quality of the build.
That being said, I think bottom line the Objet & Perfactory systems are both much better options than SLA. I will be checking out the Perfactory myself (thnx Crusoe )! The Solidscape’s build size & materials are too inferior for me to consider it a good option even with it’s resolution. We considered buying the Invision HR but after comparing sample parts it was woefully inaccurate, had poor surface resolution, and the build material was terrible for finishing & painting.
Anyone else have any experience with printing Zbrush models?
Cheers!
Shhark
www.pardev.com
I love this stuff. I came into digital from traditional sculpting and its so great not to have to worry about symmetry manually. I hadnt really thought seriously about trying printing…but, after seeing this stuff, hmmm.
Anyone know something about scanning real life objects into digital?
I have this sculpture I did a few years ago and I would like to convert it to a digital model for preservation purposes. It is impossible to make a mold of unless I cut the original into pieces-and it is made of polymer clay-brittle material.
I know it would cost a fortune to print, but at least if i could get it into a digital file I have some choices.
wicked! 
hi this is my first post…lol
a nice place you guys have here.
im a new player on the 3d modeling block.
i make jewellery based models and small scale sculpture,s
mostly i use rhino for modeling and convert to .stl for growing on a solidscape wax printer/grower.
the wax models are very brittle and break easily but the resulting detail is extreamly fine i then cast the models into metal which is a very nice medum for further finishing.
often this is a one off process with no two models ever the same.
but you can also make moulds and mass produce in the medium of choice.
now i have found z-brush i am excited and frustrated at the same time.
i luv the scope of z-brush compared with rhino/matrix.
i have been exporting obj files of my solids from rhino, into z-brush and then reworking the surfaces with the tools/brushes etc.
i am having trouble now trying to export the new files back into rhino so i can make a workable solid for printing/growing.
the files size becomes huge …far to big for rhino to handel well.
the mesh edges are all messy and i have difficulty trying to make a clean solid for .stl conversion.
in fact a cant at this point even join the mesh parts to my models surface, sure you can place it where you want but i cant cap them or union them together…so untill i figure this out im sort of stuck…heheh.
cant anyone point me towards any relevant info on this matter, i have heard about the cinema4d app but at this point i cant afford another spend on more softs…so i am looking for a workaround …if there is one.
i will try and get together a photo board showing the drawing to print / finished product thats if any of ya are interested…its very small scale mostly under 30x30mm
dude
that’d be awesome! zbrush toys! there’s a lot of sculpts that i’ve seen that are way better than anything i’ve seen on the shelves.
i didnt have any problems importing a 1.5 million polygon model into rhino. what’s the density of the model you are trying to import?
Maybe rhino can’t handle geometry as easy as zbrush, so you’ll need to use lower res versions.
otherwise, I don’t see why you should have a problem.
sure …its not rhino m8 its me…hahah.:lol:
i am a noob with mesh.
i have been strictly a nurbs modler as it is sort of helpfull from the print side.
the mesh style is something i will have to learn more about.
so experiment i will and hope for forward landings…lol
do i take that most use only mesh for models of an organic nature.
i am sure i will sort it all out sooner or later.
its just its sort of hard coming from rhino which feels like a ridgid steel.
compared with the organic style of zbrush which feels more like a mushroom
on acid …but hey im falling luv with it .
this may or may not help you…
-seams: from what I did back in school, anything done in nurbs is usually composed of “pieces” until you somehow stitch them together. If the model you import into zbrush is not fully attached, then the seams will be very noticeable once you subdivide - and zbrush can’t weld verts! You need to have your model one solid piece.
-format: once you create an obj out of your nurbs model then it’s no longer nurbs and it becomes a mesh. I believe nurbs should create very clean topology and it should be all quads. The obj exporter usually has the option to choose between ‘tris’ and ‘quads’. Choose ‘quads’. Anything you do in zbrush works infinetely better as quads. Importing the obj back into rhino will bring a completely different model than your original ‘nurbs’ model - so don’t be alarmed if the model seems ‘jaggy’ - that’s probably because it has no smoothing groups, and every polygon shows up flat.
also don’t forget to bring the density of your model to about 1-2 million before you bring it back into rhino.
just random tips and hopefully you’ll be able to solve ur problem soon. if anything please post your broken model and i can take a look at it if you want.
good luck
mushroom on acid? :eek: luv that!
hey thanks for the offer m8 thats real nice of ya.
i will keep bashing away at it.
i was trying to do it in parts making the model in nurbs then trying to fly in pieces of mesh i had made in z-brush this was not working well at all.
if iwas milling for 3d its not such a prob as the mill just cuts the outside.
but for printing, all the crap left inside me model fecks up the solidscape machine. and it gets stuck.
i am trying to get a contrast of textures from organic to clean nurbs style shapes.
i know this is just my learning curve im sure i will sort it out.
but thanks again for the tips…
i try out and let you know my progress.:rolleyes:
SolidScape 3DPrint
Any european ZBrush User reading this thread as fascinated as I just did?
If you are looking for someone to print your ZBRUSH prototypes in Germany, please send an email to [email protected].
We print on SolidScape BT66 (HiRes Wax Print) and can give you a quote basing on your STL data…
If needed we can cast your prototypes in metal or plastic. We leave the paint job to you…
Regards
Carsten
hey what rez are you printing at for small stuff.
i finished editing the skull model…nice
it took a long time to get all the parts to union together…a lot of nudging.
but hey we got there in the end.
exported the finished skull as an obj into rhino to check and .stl
wax print rez was at 0.196 its set to take about 20 hrs…
yes bro,s im still waiting…and watching the machine yip it dont help much.
got another 4 hrs to go …lol
i will then cast into silver as its real nice to clean up and for smallstuff still quite cheep.
print cost nz 100.00 i think thats about 40 euros.
but the mesh has to be all go…fixing up mesh models is expensive takes a long time.
what are you peeps paying over on the other side?
hey we can do prints for our members here too drop me a pm if ya want.
i planed to have some work thru photo,s of the growth cycle …but bugger it …me camera has crashed. i try for a few images next week.
hey neue your pm link is not working.
hey guy …nice to see ya made it to z brush.
another solidscape printer cool.
have u used the new slc slice format from rhino.
u dont have to union everything together anymore.
yeah bro …true.
i cant believe it either…we are going to have a play with this format soon.
keep in touch guy…us 3d sculpters should stick together.
hope fully be able to help each other out with tech issues…
cheers
Tweezer
[
This thread has been great & I agree that we 3D sculptors need to stick together. To me this is one of the most exciting aspects of ZBrush. Being a classically trained sculptor I believe that that sculpture is best seated in reality and can never completely carry it’s weight through a computer monitor or 2D image, not to mention the practical applications of toy & product development industries.
I spent over 2 weeks putting everything I know about 3D printing into a post to have it moved to the Community forum within an hour. Alot of effort for very limited exposure. Evidentally there is a moderator who thinks that 3D printing is not a relevant topic. Judging by this thread & all the others regarding 3D printing there is an overwhelming interest in information on getting our models built.
Hopefully a few of you can benefit from my effort but you’ll have to dig for it.
Here’s the link for those of you who have been following this thread:
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=57065
CHEERS!
Shhark
www.pardev.com
thank you so much for this thread i been needing this info for awhile
I ran across your article last nite. It’s amazing. I am going to read it through asap. Thank you very much.
Your post, research and efforts deserves a catagory in and of itself.