As quoted from my partner in the project, Yodajammies:

Well, I teased at it a couple months ago, but here it is. The progress thread for the first suit of armor robotically milled on a CNC table, and then molded and cast as per traditional methods.

Huge props go out to Nugget for his phenomenal speed and skill in 3d modeling. This project could have never succeeded without his expertise and knowledge. Minor shoutouts go to Vrogy for his CNC advising at the shop, and general all around snarkiness. (I hear he is milling a marine suit. oh exciting!)

Being a WIP thread, I figure I'll cover the basic process and procedure for anyone looking to explore this method of armor building.

D'con is right around the corner, so I'll be spending an inordinate amount of time in the shop trying to get this done. My hope is that I can pull several full suit casts for trade at the con. (I'm looking at you Adam. I want one of those assualt rifles)

Alright! Lets get started -

First, our own resident modeling virtuoso Nugget builds the 3d file which will get interpreted into G-code for the ShopBot CNC.

Next I take the 3d data and use it to develop G-code that the CNC actually uses to cut the part.


So then we get to the actual milling!

My new favorite shop toy (can you guess what it's cutting?)


For this project I used MDF as my milling material. It can't hold nearly the detail I imagined it could, but it cheap and abundant. Later down the line I may take a page out of Legendary Armor's book and use a high density urethane foam for milling. I've played around with a couple samples of it, and although the stuff is 4-5 times the price of MDF board, the resolution capable of being captured on the first past is fantastic.

So now we have a wooden master which looks a little something like this. The top cut is using a 11% stepover on the finishing path, whereas the bottom is stepping over 20%. You can see how much of a difference this makes to the finish of the final piece.

Now we go about making a "scrap mold" of this piece to produce a plastic copy for clean up. This is the extra step required to achieve the level of detail we can't get by using MDF. After sealing, priming, molding, casting, and doing a bit of clean up, we come to the final, moldable master. (please excuse the crappy cellphone image)



Now we are ready to mold the final piece and start production of these high quality handplates. Take a look at the differences between the preliminary mdf cut and the sanded secondary. It could use a little more TLC, but my production schedule is tight and I need to keep the ball rolling.


And now we come to painting and detailing. The plates first recieve a nice heavy coat of primer. I cannot stress enough how critical primer is to achieving a stellar paintjob on your armor. Next I laid down a coat of brushed steel. I'm going with a Colonial Red in honor of my alma mater - North Carolina State University. Go wolf pack. Yadda yadda yadda. I believe it was Thorisill who introduced the "Condiment Painting" technique here on the boards, and I decided to give it a test run on a pair of plates. I decided to go with a nice Kraft Ranch here, and I the results turned out quite nicely, or at least passable for the first attempt.







Finally, I'm using a basic black acrylic to add some filth to the final piece. Similar to the "panty hose and black spraypaint technique", but I've found that acrylic is a little easier to work with, and to edit in case you make a mistake or change your mind about how you want the final piece to look. I am no painter, and my technique is still fledgling, but I can see the potential for a fairly nice paintjob in this method. By the time I get to the final piece of the suit, I should have it down pat.




Now of course I haven't just finished one measly piece in 3 months. There are many irons in the fire, but I can tease with a couple other parts I have been chipping away at. Here is a prototype arm piece, the preliminary cod (or penis plate as Nugget calls it), and a test cut BR. Enjoy!








If you have any questions or comments feel free to post them here. :)

l2 subdiv model

That was a very well thought out and necessary post!
At OP: I like it!

whoaaa cool.

thnx man.

Wow.

whoa. that's epic! i want that armour! lol..

Please keep us updated on how the project progresses. This s very nice work.

How much to they cost?
:D!

Nice, now all that needs to be done is to make an actualy warthog without the turret. That would PWN riding that thing down the highway lol.

I dont think a Warthog made out of CNC materials would work...

This is indeed a super project.

EDIT: I searched D-con Nugget and it says its canceled...

http://www.duluthcon.com/

This is very sad news. Please verify it, and it's implications on the project
Edited by Ninjadude on Jun 17, 2009 at 04:55 PM

A lot.

Dcon is Dragon Con

I have no idea what Duluthcon is. Obviously not very popular, amirite?

That's good then. Thanks.

+rep for Nugget.

So much win.

CNC Frags?

We've thought about it. We're most likely going to be doing a shotgun as well.

Awesome

Has already been done. I imagine the turret could be removed.

I just wish You could find a metal BR that actully works. And i dont think that will be street legal.

if you guys like this stuff there is a whole website dedicated to real life halo armor and weapons: http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showforum=32

The same reason why people make maps for halo ce

If you ever mass produce them and start selling them to people I totally want one. MC green though.

Wish we could, but because of MS's rules, we can't. :(

Although you can buy, er, excuse me, trade something such as money for a set of armor. :)

Seriously, if you had the warthog, then it would be pretty cool to drive around wearing that armor, and holding the BR and stuff :P

You can give them out for free. ;)

Things like this take time. And nugget told me its "for trade".

ChocolateNugget, find out what you would need to do to sell these without MS having anything to do with it.
If you call it "Haalo" armour, or w/e it takes to eliminate MS from your profits.

Or call it armor of Sparta.

Just get a layer to figure out what would enable MS to claim royalties or C+D. Do something very similar to what they say not to :)

Please get this crap off of halomaps.

if you wanna post this go to 405th

It is halo related though...
E: i would bet he already has a topic at the 405th
Edited by UnevenElefant5 on Jun 20, 2009 at 12:07 AM