I can use some advice

[Reddemon159]

I've built some pep Helmets over the years. Using resin, bondo, smooth cast, EVA foam ect. And I want to build a full suit of Halo Spartan armor. But I don't want to spend days cutting out pep armor. I've saved up plenty for either a 3D printer or a Silhouette Cameo something rather.

I'm leaning toward 3d printer due to set up and just simple printing chunks. The Cameo or Cricut have so many hoops to jump through and tedious processes. Just to print one page. But can also be more expensive depending on what materials to use.

What are your experiences? Any recommendations? Advice would be much appreciated.

 

[TurboCharizard]

I've built some pep Helmets over the years. Using resin, bondo, smooth cast, EVA foam ect. And I want to build a full suit of Halo Spartan armor. But I don't want to spend days cutting out pep armor. I've saved up plenty for either a 3D printer or a Silhouette Cameo something rather.

I'm leaning toward 3d printer due to set up and just simple printing chunks. The Cameo or Cricut have so many hoops to jump through and tedious processes. Just to print one page. But can also be more expensive depending on what materials to use.

What are your experiences? Any recommendations? Advice would be much appreciated.

Both of these machines have very different uses in costuming but from having both at home I have a bit of experience with each.

The 3D printer will undoubtedly be more work to make it mechanically sound and get it printing consistently well if you're looking at the same ballpark cost as a Cricut machine. Then you'll also need to factor in the filament, replacement parts, adhesives, smoothing equipment and other miscellaneous costs of printing armour which will push the price higher than a Cricut.

The Cricut would be awesome if you're taking on a pep build which would require a bit less setup overall in the computer side of things. Exporting pep files as a vector isn't too difficult using a combination of Armorsmith and Inkscape or a similar set of programs. I've never had to do much maintenance on the Cricut aside from switching out blades. Not saying it's more reliable, just it's cheaper/easier to get replacement parts usually.

My bias is towards a 3D printer because reasons but the Cricut would be a good choice if you want to make a pep build, make decals or prepare painting stencils/masks.

 

[slimjm]

I recommend a 3D printer if you want to avoid dealing with bondo and resins/epoxy on future projects, but like TurboCharizard said, you're going to have challenges with a 3D printer that costs the same as a Cricut. If you do other intricate papercrafting or enjoy gluing up your pep, then a Cricut is better. If you want a more costly, but technically more efficient tool for building complete parts, you should get the 3D printer.

I think your budget will have the most impact on your decision.

 

[TurboCharizard]

I recommend a 3D printer if you want to avoid dealing with bondo and resins/epoxy on future projects, but like TurboCharizard said, you're going to have challenges with a 3D printer that costs the same as a Cricut. If you do other intricate papercrafting or enjoy gluing up your pep, then a Cricut is better. If you want a more costly, but technically more efficient tool for building complete parts, you should get the 3D printer.

I think your budget will have the most impact on your decision.

I definitely use even more Bondo and epoxys now that I have a printer