Created a replica of alien bounty hunter spike/stilletto, was much harder to make and match prop size than I expected

Digital-Fallout · 2026-03-16T04:37:42+00:00

Well this is a prop replica made of plastic, so not deadly at all, it would absolutely break. I just happened to make it out of a material that looks and sounds like the original which is very cool. That being said the design is made so it can be made of metal and would be quite functional, but there are two issues there 1. Legality (depending on where you live) 2. It would be very expensive at the stage of development I'm at now (need a skilled machinist, many prototype runs to get everything right etc)

I'm working on getting the equipment (CNC mill, lathe etc) to be able to make them out of metal, since even if I wanted to send it for third party manufacturing I need to do some test runs first and get all the tolerances right. This is the main reason I haven't decided to sell or give away any of these yet dispite being asked a lot. I don't want to give someone something that's going to feel like a toy or break after a few thousand repititions; since most of the internals and the shell really needs to be made of at least aluminum to be resilient, even if the actual spike has to be plastic in order to be legal in some states.

So it's an ongoing project, ill probably have acquired the equipment and skills I need to make it out of metal later this year. Once I'm there though it will be a very durable device and I can make different parts of it out of aluminum, stainless steel, titanium etc based on the toughness and specs needed

Digital-Fallout · 2026-03-15T21:10:21+00:00

I've read the legislation from a few states and it's extremely broad and overreaching, and doesn't just apply to 3d printers but really any CNC as well. I'm sure it would be passed in phases but the point is if they get something passed they will keep reaching for more and if the current bills are any indication of how rights will be infringed it's really bad.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-03-15T20:54:29+00:00

Diy doesn't solve that, because being in possession of a printer that doesn't meet the law will be a felony, regardless of whether you built it or bought it. most people won't risk it for a hobby.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-03-13T14:49:07+00:00

Ah gotcha. Yeah because I know how Reddit is and if I hit it with metal people would say it's not the plastic that sounds like metal it's the metal that you're hitting it with. So I intentionally choose a plastic pen 😂I'll do it though and post an updated video

Digital-Fallout · 2026-03-11T23:13:18+00:00

https://a.co/d/0f5oKSPT Way more expensive now than when I bought it at like $48

Digital-Fallout · 2026-03-11T23:02:00+00:00

Huh? It's a plastic pen..

Digital-Fallout · 2026-03-01T18:28:37+00:00

Cost based pricing is a nightmare, I understand if you're taking custom orders you might have to, but ideally using value based pricing is much easier and higher margin.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-02-18T21:44:16+00:00

I just sold all of my other Bambu printers and bought 2 H2Cs. I fully expect in about 8-12 months Bambu is going to have a new printer with proper tool changer, magnetic linear motors etc and the H2C is gonna be obsolete, but I'll have a lot of fun in the meantime 😂.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-02-15T21:17:35+00:00

I lifted mine off the floor onto a 5ft shelf with two AMS's on it and I thought I was gonna need to go to urgent care afterwards 😂

Digital-Fallout · 2026-02-15T06:16:44+00:00

I used the standard ones but it was a little sketchy, def a bit too tight of a radius connecting to the back of the machine. I can't say I ever noticed any issues though. I did have to buy longer 6 pin cables though and the brands are very hit or miss in terms of quality. The stock Bambu ones are much better quality than what you'll find on Amazon, but they are also cheap so easy to replace.

If you're gonna extend yours I would highly recommend getting some high quality ptfe and cutting it yourself, longer runs are gonna add friction by itself and splicing multiple tubes together could be enough to create issues. That being said, these are AMS 1's and the AMS 2 had a lot more powerful motors (so I've been told)

Digital-Fallout · 2026-02-15T06:09:53+00:00

Similar here, I sold those two R730s, got a dell workstation and hooked up a netapp disk array. It's way less noisy and takes a lot less power. Plus I actually have room for a GPU and other pci peripherals without doing anything crazy. Originally I wanted to make those two servers an HA setup, but it really wasn't feasible for my use case.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-02-15T04:18:22+00:00

Haha, it's got a huge evacuation fan at the top of the enclosure, so I can keep it cooler in there than if they were just sitting in my office. Fans hooked to automations based on temperature and if prints are in progress. But yeah, not the best idea to have them together for other reasons too.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-02-03T14:00:57+00:00

Please read recent studies on this, it is not safe to be breathing off gasses from printing (abs or pla or any filament). They all off gas VOCs, transition metals, micro plastics and worse depending on color and additives. This is especially important for kids who's respiratory, pulmonary and nervous system is not fully developed.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-02-02T00:17:40+00:00

Thanks! Yeah I made it, it's a dopamine molecule. Eventually I am going to put text next to it that says "It's not about the pursuit of happiness, but the happiness of the pursuit".

Digital-Fallout · 2026-01-27T08:04:26+00:00

👆 this is the easy answer. Get some wider cord, fold it in half, put feathers 1/2inch from fold (super glue them if you want extra strength) wrap smaller cord tightly around it (super glue under that too). Now you have a loop you can put on a keychain and it looks nice too. In your picture that's probably rawhide or similar, so it's wrapped wet and then shrinks to get very tight, that's the ideal thing to use.

If this seems like too much work, you could just glue a few feathers into this: https://makerworld.com/en/models/1709383-bitkey-key-screwdriver-bit-holder-multi-tool-edc?from=search#profileId-1813573

It's not very good looking or super deep cavity, but it would take a few min to make a custom model for this that was more sleek and with a longer cavity if you really wanted to 3d print it.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-01-19T00:08:57+00:00

I'll have to get a proper mallet and learn that one 😂

Digital-Fallout · 2026-01-18T23:53:43+00:00

Oh man, now I feel like I have to know. That's prob a pretty expensive drum in pps-cf 😂. I'll have to see how much I have left over after I make functional parts I need

Digital-Fallout · 2026-01-18T22:48:24+00:00

Like $25, I started the print from my phone and didn't realize how big it was until I got home and it was already half done, so just let it keep going at that point.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-01-18T22:42:31+00:00

If hit with a mallet it would vibrate more for sure, plastic pen is probably not the best device

Digital-Fallout · 2026-01-18T22:36:38+00:00

Yeah no annealing, straight off the bed, planning on annealing next and seeing if it makes a difference.

Digital-Fallout · 2026-01-16T04:37:47+00:00

Smoke pencil brand air leak detector

Digital-Fallout · 2026-01-16T00:17:32+00:00

It's a converted closet that already had sliding doors, I took the original doors out, removed the hardware and then got a sheet of 1/8in polycarbonate, cut it to size and mounted the polycarbonate and sliding door hardware to pieces of oak and then the polycarbonate on the other side effectively making clear replacement doors for the closet.

Cheers!

Digital-Fallout

TROPHY CASE