1. Den of Angels is closing in August 2026. New account registrations are closed. Please see this thread in Den of Angels news for important information: /threads/the-future-of-den-of-angels.893314/
    Dismiss Notice

3D Printing Making joints in Nomad Scuplt ?

Sep 14, 2021

    1. Hey all !

      I've been using nomad sculpt to make a new doll. So far it's a very intuitive program! I love it.

      However, I've had a few issues when making the joints.
      (Just in case, I'm a newbie when it comes to 3d sculpting and printing, so apologies if I use the wrong term.)
      How I usually go about it is making the shape of the limb with one object, and the joints with others. I then use the voxel remesher as a boolean tool to hollow out the joint sockets. After, I slice the limb in half.
      Some notches appear on the edge of the joint, and I remove them by smoothing in down gently and zooming in as far as I can to push them back with the move tool. I also go up in resolution to avoid as many notches as I can and mask the inside of the socket to avoid modifying it.

      I prep the file using Lychee, then print it using an Elegoo mars 2 pro. And that's when the issue arises.
      Even after removing the supports, the parts don't fit together! I have to sand them down quite a bit to make them fit.

      I don't think the printer is an issue, since I've printed other objects, including a simple bjd found on thingiverse, and the joints fit okay.

      Has anyone ran into this issue?
       
      • x 1
    2. Do you feel the parts are sized correctly overall and only the joints don't fit together right?
      If it all seems good but just the joint / connection is a wrong size I would first guess the joint smoothing went wrong somehow.

      I have no experience with the programs you mentioned but it sounds similar to what I do in blender:
      1 Make actual part, like the whole arm
      2 Make ball etc "cutting parts" for joint, such as a bean and string pipes for elbow, use those with boolean to separate parts / joints from actual part
      3 Check how parts look after getting separated, smooth any offending sharp edges with sculpting tool
      4 check fit again with the original "cutting parts" from step 2 - if remember... And boolean again as needed.

      I sometimes smooth too much and joint becomes too deformed to fit, which I only notice after printing because I forget to do step 4...:XD: yeah not very good at this yet.
      Once I printed a leg socket but forget that the socket has to be big enough to insert the leg! It's not enough to have the space for ball, also need a ball shaped and sized PATH to the socket... and also room to turn around:doh It sounds so super obvious but I keep forgetting because too excited to see it printed :sweat
      It sounds like from your description that you do those kinds of checks already though. Maybe someone familiar with the specific programs has better info.
      Do you think it might be the parts don't fit in the 3d model itself, does anything seem to change size or shape in the slicer, or is the problem visible ONLY after printing?
       
    3. Thank you for all the input !
      I realize I didn't check the fit while still in the program ... :doh I gotta find a way to do that !
      That'll help me figure out once and for all where the problem lie

      And If I can't, I think I'll learn blender for the joint making part. I've been meaning to try my hand at it too :dance

      I made so many mistakes while printing too! The first time, it took me 3 full prints to realize why both legs didn't look right on the body... Turns out I kept printing two right legs! X'D

      We just want our doll to come to life quickly :XD:

      Thank you again !:hug:
       
    4. Hi! Love your printer choice, I have one too! :D
      Speaking from the aspect of rigid, sharp edges on mechanical parts (instead of organic things like curves on BJDs) there can be issues of the resin building up and essentially clinging to itself and making a part bigger. I don't know if that is your problem, but it is something I take into account when printing mechanical parts from Fusion360. I have printed 4 BJDs and after the first, I began mitigating the issue by shrinking joints by 2%. This really isn't a good answer, and perhaps you could check your anti-aliasing settings? but it is a quick solution I have used :XD:
       
    5. Yeah, this printer is really nice :D

      Ooh, i didn't about the resin doing this! It maybe be an issue, yeah. Thank you!

      I've thought about shrinking the joints too but hasn't gotten around to do it yet. I kept thinking "there's gonna be a better way to do it!" But if it works, who cares?:XD:I'll try it!

      Thank you again <3
       
      • x 1
    6. I forgot to reply here to talk about the tests I made !
      I both checked the model in-software and shrunk the joints by 2%, and...
      It worked perfectly !! :D

      I don't have a great phone to take pics but here are my dolls

      Thank you so much for all the input!
       
      • x 2
    7. Oh my goodness!! They are both so beautiful!! I love the faceups! Also the body shape is gorgeous :love
       
    8. I've been fussing around with nomad recently so it's super cool to see some dolls sculpted with the program, and OMG are yours adorable!!!!!! :D I absolutely adore the aesthetic.
       
      • x 1
Draft saved Draft deleted