I am attempting a sturdier/more advanced average suit of Spartan Mk 6 armor. (now with thermoelectrical cooling!)

[TrooperApe]

I am looking for any information that anyone is willing to give me on taking some Printed Mk6 to the next level.

By that my primary goals are as follows.

1. Print out a thicker than average halo 3 mark 6 set of armor.
2. reinforce said armor to give extra weight and strong durability.

I've had a bit of experience in 3d modeling as well as 3d printing so I feel rather confident in that area.
After printing the armor I am worried about it breaking, or cracking it. I'm looking for ways to reinforce the armor, both on the exterior and the interior... basically I want to be able to do combat rolls in this thing when I am done.

I am thinking of using resins, wire mesh, glues, foams ect ect


I look forward from hearing from all of you!



+update

*here is a one plan that I am having, on the interior or the 3d printed suit, adding a thin gage steel mesh, and then painting over it with ABS Slurry.
*I also wondering what kind of hard finishing I should paint onto the outer surface of the armor. any suggestions would be helpful
*Got a new printer arriving soon with a 310x310x400mm print area

(simular to this

)



+Update 6/28/2021 due to new information because the 405th community fantastic!

1. The new printer arrives today, should be able to print an entire helmet if it goes well.

-print area is 310x310x400mm,12.2x12.2x15.7 converted into inches-

2. Base plan has been tentatively readjusted. (as it will be many times to follow)
.1a- 3d print out 'shell' of armor with Premium PLA with 100% density infill. with low layer height either .1 or .2
(for higher quality of 3d print require less retouch work when fully printed.)

.1b- Fiberglass the interior of 'shell' at minimum 2x times to insure a strong interior.

.1c- Use an Abs Slurry for further reinforcement.
(I need to run some tests, Abs Slurry vs Fiberglass which has more rigidity vs vibrational absorption and which has more structural integrity)

.1d- use Rustoleum bed liner pro grade on the exterior of the 'shell'
(has the least amount of texture compared to other bed liners I've seen so far.)

.1e- sand and spray paint exterior

3. install a thermoelectrical cooler system within the suit and ventilation exhaust fans for said coolers.
(this is the newest part of the plan!)

4. install lights (now all I need is a way to generate shields hahahahaha)


End of plan 3


also I am thinking of making a starship troopers invasion/traitor set of armor!


Update 7/10/2021

I've gotten the 3d printer working as it should, However.... sadly I've run out of funds for the moment, as soon as I get the spare cash I will continue in buying materials and start making strength tests and working on a cooling system for the suit. (and of course update this post)

1. the Cooling system will utilize Peltier plates, thermal paste for the heat transfer and radiators cooled by fans. and possibly a coolant filled pouch attached to the interior (cool side) of the Peltier plates as well.

 

[MrJamin]

One of the most common ways that I know of reinforcing 3D prints is with fiberglass sheets + resin. Not sure if you would want to do this on both side (inside and out).

Another method I've heard of, but haven't seen is to do an infill with larger gaps and then leave off the top layers of the prints. You could then pour resin into the prints to really strengthen them up.

 

[TrooperApe]

One of the most common ways that I know of reinforcing 3D prints is with fiberglass sheets + resin. Not sure if you would want to do this on both side (inside and out).

Another method I've heard of, but haven't seen is to do an infill with larger gaps and then leave off the top layers of the prints. You could then pour resin into the prints to really strengthen them up.

do you have a suggestion as to what resin would be best? I am not sure if just making a solid print infill would be stronger or that method of filling in with resin.

I have a lot of testing ahead of me.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

I have fiberglassed the inside of my 3d prints just the same as the steps for the Pepakura method. They are very sturdy and I can not see a need for anything more than this nor do I want to imagine how much anything more than that would weigh.

 

[jegatherdomnai]

I agree, though I don't have a 3d printer, I could imagine that it would be very heavy

 

[TrooperApe]

I strength train and bodybuild and do a lot of cardio. the added weight won't be an issue, you know I just want to feel like a real spartan.

(canonically speaking the Spartans suit's should have felt weightless like a second skin I know. )

I think a good few layers of fiberglass and then Abs Slurry will make something quite special. on the interior


any suggestions on what would be a good hard protective layer on the outside?

 

[FalseShepherd]

I strength train and bodybuild and do a lot of cardio. the added weight won't be an issue, you know I just want to feel like a real spartan.

(canonically speaking the Spartans suit's should have felt weightless like a second skin I know. )

I think a good few layers of fiberglass and then Abs Slurry will make something quite special. on the interior


any suggestions on what would be a good hard protective layer on the outside?

I mean you could use bondo to fill print lines and smooth and that would also add some strength. You could look into truck bed liner spray too. Either professionally done like lineX or just from home depot. Idk how strong the store bought ones would be tho or wat kind of texture they might produce.

The other thing I was thinking about was using cerakote to harden the outside.

 

[TrooperApe]

I mean you could use bondo to fill print lines and smooth and that would also add some strength. You could look into truck bed liner spray too. Either professionally done like lineX or just from home depot. Idk how strong the store bought ones would be tho or wat kind of texture they might produce.

The other thing I was thinking about was using cerakote to harden the outside.

Cerakote would be magical, the only problem is curing it at 150f for 2 hours. the temperature threshold would have to be perfect of you could easily melt the PLA/ABS/fiberglass?(I don't know the melting point of fiberglass). that would be quite a challenge indeed!

*edit
the C series Cerakote paint, doesn't require oven curing instead its air curing!

that is perfect! It would be one hell of a hardener!

 

[FalseShepherd]

Cerakote would be magical, the only problem is curing it at 150f for 2 hours. the temperature threshold would have to be perfect of you could easily melt the PLA/ABS/fiberglass?(I don't know the melting point of fiberglass). that would be quite a challenge indeed!

*edit
the C series Cerakote paint, doesn't require oven curing instead its air curing!

that is perfect! It would be one hell of a hardener!

Amazing! I think abs would not melt at that temp in the oven but you never know until you try. I am gonna watch this thread cause I'm super curious about how this is going to go down!

 

[TurboCharizard]

Cerakote would be magical, the only problem is curing it at 150f for 2 hours. the temperature threshold would have to be perfect of you could easily melt the PLA/ABS/fiberglass?(I don't know the melting point of fiberglass). that would be quite a challenge indeed!

*edit
the C series Cerakote paint, doesn't require oven curing instead its air curing!

that is perfect! It would be one hell of a hardener!

You can anneal PLA if you carefully bring parts up to 150°F so if you were cautious about the setup and approach it'd be doable even with a printing material that has a lower transition point.

 

[e0verlord]

Your idea about thermoelectric cooling sounds similar to something I'm going to add to my armor.
I was going to use a water-cooling system using a cheap submersible aquarium/project pump, airline tubing, some peltier plates, and a few water bottles to act as cooling reservoirs.

How are you thinking of hooking up your cooling system?

 

[dheighto]

Your idea about thermoelectric cooling sounds similar to something I'm going to add to my armor.
I was going to use a water-cooling system using a cheap submersible aquarium/project pump, airline tubing, some peltier plates, and a few water bottles to act as cooling reservoirs.

How are you thinking of hooking up your cooling system?

Peltier plates/ thermoelectric cooling are power hogs. I looked into this several yrs ago. You will need a high AH battery to et any reasonable operation time.

 

[e0verlord]

Peltier plates/ thermoelectric cooling are power hogs. I looked into this several yrs ago. You will need a high AH battery to et any reasonable operation time.

My solution to that was a power bank. Some of them can store an immense amount of AmpHours and have multiple ports to plug into.

 

[Coreforge]

You'll need good cooling for the peltier elements too as they get quite hot, and unless you want to get below ambient, simple water cooling (or just some fans if you have vents) would probably be simpler. I'm not going to stop you though.

 

[TrooperApe]

You'll need good cooling for the peltier elements too as they get quite hot, and unless you want to get below ambient, simple water cooling (or just some fans if you have vents) would probably be simpler. I'm not going to stop you though.

its a good thing that the suit has areas on the suit that look like vents!

 

[TrooperApe]

My solution to that was a power bank. Some of them can store an immense amount of AmpHours and have multiple ports to plug into.

I was working on a diagram and some number crunching to figure out how much power I would need, but this is the idea.

the back part of the armor has a lot of room in it, perfect for a powerbank!