[James Bruton] is busy working on his latest project, a “scrap metal sculpture”-inspired Alien Xenomorph suit. However, he wanted to get a boost in height as well as a digitigrade stance. To that end, [James] 3D-printed a pair of customized stilts. Each stilt consisted of a lifter with several parts laminated together using acetone. He bolted an old pair of shoes onto the stilts, adding straps across the toes to keep the shoes from lifting up.
While the stilts worked very well, [James] wanted to add soles to them to give him some traction as he walked – falling while in a Xenomorph costume composed of sharp plastic sounds painful enough! He decided to hybrid print the soles using ABS and Ninjaflex. The ABS part of the sole was then acetone-welded to the bottom of the stilts.
[James] hopes to add some claws for effect, so long as they don’t impede his walking too much. He has already completed a good amount of the 3D-printed suit. We know the finished project is going to be amazing: [James] has created everything from Daleks to Iron Man!
[via Adafruit]
Oh this is just an excuse to wear heels, he has nice legs though.
Just kidding, keep up the good work!
From what I understand they are hi heels for man right?
High heels were originally worn by men.
it takes a real man to wear tights
3D printed high heels… what could go wrong…
Or, done correctly, what could go right?
http://www.visualnews.com/2012/07/the-future-of-footwear-fashionably-printed-heels/
“acetone-welded”
As a plumber I see this as a safety issue. When cementing plastic parts together (or “welding” as it is described here), a primer of some sort (acetone, in this case) should be used to prepare the plastic surfaces being joined but then should be followed up with some kind of cement that contains a filler material. When joining PVC pipes, the mating surfaces are first brushed with PVC primer, then coated with PVC cement. Only then are they joined, and once the cement cures you end up with a solid joint or “weld”. If nothing else, the cement serves to fill any voids, making a much stronger joint.
I would never trust those to support the weight of an adult.
Friction welding ABS might’ve been a better choice. Or…just…strong glue :)
Yeah, it probably won’t hold water pressure, but for costume work, it’s probably quite fine. Correct me if I’m wrong, but PVC is not as soluble in acetone as ABS is, so the bonding force with ABS would probably be much stronger than just using acetone on PVC.
You can use acetone directly to “Weld” ABS. However the proper way to do it is to disolve some ABS in acetone and use the resulting goop as glue. It really does form an exceedingly strong bond with ABS.
ON a unrelated note. You would not want to stand on my 3d printed high heel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I5G9jtvxsk
so… this is the Xenomorph from Alien3 onwards then?
shame. would have preferred the Alien/Aliens versions…
Ok I get that he’s into 3D printing and all but why the heck didn’t make those simple stilts out of plywood or something? The rest of the suit is all curves and intricate small parts but the stilts are like two hours with a drill and a figure saw, max.
Right tools for the job man…
http://www.psfk.com/2010/04/become-a-fantasy-creature-with-weta-legs.html
Worst HAD post ever.
Hey JJ,
Where are *your* HaD posts and projects?
Oh wait, just another whinger. Sad really.
Disclaimer: I know James, and his projects and ability are nothing short of awesome. If he posted 1/10 of some of the stuff he’s built over the years, many of these pathetic “not a hack” and “Can’t you just buy that?” commentators would be put to real shame. Keep it up lad, and ignore this waste of comment space.
Turns out you can just buy these! They’re called “wedges”.
Digilegs work a little better and are not to difficult to make out of steel and a few hours of welding/drilling and cutting.
https://www.digilegs.com/digilegs/digilegs.html. but for what you have on hand and not needing to learn how to balance on a smaller foot print good job.
There was an old style of jump training shoes that were basically this. The modern version is basically just a platform on your tow, but the older style had a full platform like this.
toe