>>29428 This is some good research, Anon. Thank you. :^)

>>29394 >>29414 >>29422 >>29423 >>29444 The major differences between the doll heads and the tranny masks seem to be: The thickness of the material- doll rubber is much thicker to withstand the action of anon's body when he is "getting" oral, so too difficult for servos to manipulate for facial expressions without shaving down the thickness (from inside). This might make the material susceptible to tearing when trying to stretch it back over the skull. We might need to cut a slit in the rear like the masks to prevent this. On the other hand the additional thickness may allow for seating magnets to engage opposite pole magnets in slots on an animatronic skull, making removal/installation easier. I'm thinking of the scene from Bicentennial Man where Andrew's face is removed and he screams. We briefly see the inner layer of the face studded with 'somethings'. Shave down the area between them? Oral shouldn't be a problem for waifubot using a tranny mask (presumably they are already used for this) as the waifubot will be the one actually moving and "giving head"- less stressful on the face. Doll heads are made to be interchangeable so customers can mix and match them with their preferred body type. They actually screw on. While they don't wobble like a bobble-head doll, there is a gap between the top of the doll's neck and the head where they overlap which annoys some owners. Tranny masks usually have an integral neck and some portion of the shoulders and upper chest (like the Borg queen) so the lower edges of the mask can be hidden by clothing for a more convincing appearance. It depends on the look you want for your waifu. That's about all I can tell without genuine articles to examine.

Toxic products from China (including clothes): https://youtu.be/BxXDHGnOa_E - Don't use Talcum powder for silicone skin - Cloths for dolls or to make a skin-like material could contain poisonous materials - Metal parts could contain high levels of Led or Cadmium - People with children have to be even more careful. - Western chains might check their imports, even if the products are also made in China. Since they could be sued. >>29428 >>29447 Interesting, I'll look into this later.

>>29448 >Toxic products from China (including clothes): https://youtu.be/BxXDHGnOa_E Really glad I don't live in china >Don't use Talcum powder for silicone skin Cornstarch for humans wearing silicone, or wetsuits, etc. I think we want to keep any kind of fine powder away from the works of our waifus.

A reminder that composites are based. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxKlbik4QjM

>>29448 >china

There is a vastly available pretty much free material. Discarded HDPE bottles, jugs, lawn furniture, and pallets. It just winds up thrown in the dump instead of recycled a lot of the time. Could be chopped up, melted down and injection molded. Technically it can be used as a 3D print filament too with some difficulty.

Materials for hair: >>30524 and >>13862

>>30521 Thanks, I'm aware of that. These materials can be shredded and mixed with TPU and a small amount of another plastic which name I forgot, then it can be made into filament. I don't thing this is worth it, until you have many kilos of PLA waste and we find a way to build a cheap shredder using electroplating and maybe pre-heating the plastics to make it soft.

>>30527 It doesnt really have to be shredded that finely from all the videos ive seen on HDPE recycling often they just melt anything as is but in case of large objects they just need broken up for easier handling. At least in case of using it purely as HDPE not mixed with anything else, i know it would need to be more pellet sized to mix otherwise you will get uneven blending.

>>30529 True, but you still need to form it, also while being warm. It's also being used for making things that way because it's has a low melting point, which might be disadvantage in many cases when it comes to make something useful. Especially with motors that create heat. It's also not very strong, just tends to bend and not break, which can be good for security reasons. I always thought it might be interesting to make full body molds for adding the silicone shell. If someone makes a lot of them, then it might be useful to reduce the price of plastics. For normal prototyping work it doesn't really matter, since plastic isn't really that expensive and we don't need that much and other also it's not the right one. Then again, it might be interesting for people in poor countries. You can collect quite some of it over time just by keeping household waste made out of it. If someone would need more, it might be possible to collect it or ask the company collecting it with containers to buy some of it for cheap. Also, please don't do this indoors, however much you may think the dangers of chemicals or fumes are just something activists make up in their minds. 3D printers have a temperature control and only melt small amounts at a time. Trying to melt bigger parts with a less precise device will certainly create even more dangerous fumes.

>>30529 HDPE type IV and type VII plastics are not thermo-reactive: they can be melted down multiple times without emitting many harmful fumes and remain stable (provided you don't burn them). Any other type of HDPE undergo a chemical change upon heating (thermo-reactive) thus their recycling methods are more complex (usually chemical) and ill suited for DIY use. Typically, the type is a number inside the little recycling symbol. I looked into them a little over a decade ago investigating diy vaccu-forming. Gallon milk jugs are the most common source.

>>30532 My thought process was the moderate flex is good for a shell at least but fact it is used for pallets and deck boards it cant be that bad at supporting weight when thick enough. I am seeing different melting points all over but lower ones i can find is 125°C with a max use temp of 120°C which I think means it doesnt become more flexible until that temperature so it doesn't warp till. Different types of plastics release different kind of chemical fumes. TPU releases hydrogen cyanide when heated enough as one example. Im not sure what HDPE produces. Just thinking of ultra cheap materials. here is a thought what about making paper mache and paper mache clay using food safe silicone glue and unbleached paper ? In theory this should create a fire retardant silicone paper structure.

>>30534 I see. I didn't know there were subtypes of HDPE and I can't even find information substantiating this.

>>5154 >>15227 >oogoo I found something interesting. Apparently if you use PEG 3350 (you know like Miralax type laxatives) instead of corn starch it makes it a shape memory polymer. Found it in some random student lesson. I suspect the ratio needs adjusting though. https://www.uakron.edu/polymer/agpa-k12outreach/lesson-plans/making-a-shape-memory-polymer-from-silicone-i-caulk-and-miralax Then when I looked into this a bit I came across a paper describing use of PEG 600 with silicone to create an electroactive polymer. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/45/48/485303/pdf

>>30535 One of the problems with HDPE is in thinner sections it's a little flimsy. A thought, maybe you could make a mesh of basalt fiber or better, rope, which is super strong then melt the plastic around it. An example, https://basalt-fibertec.ch/index.php/en/basalt-products/tubes-ropes I wonder if you could use Mylar as a film to vacuum form HDPE? Mylar they say, will stay together at 200C. SO you have a plaster ot toher mold with a two sheets of mylar on each side, taped to hold air. Dump HDPE into the mold between the Mylar, heat then draw a vacuum on one side of the mold while heating. It will form to the mold.

>>30584 There may be an interesting line of research...on this sort of thing. Shape memory polymers depend on the strength of the dielectric. So do capacitors. So some of the effects of one should change the same in each. There's this guy called Robert Murray-Smith who has a massive YouTube site with all sorts of good stuff. For the longest he concentrated on capacitors, batteries, graphene, that sort of stuff. He has a should not miss set of videos called, The Strange Capacitor - How To Build It and Improve It Return To The Strange Capacitor I suspect very strongly that this effect in PEG comes from it forming a sort of vesicle. Another name for this is a liposome. It's used in drugs delivery and also in liposomal vitamin c. Usually some sort of fat or protein that make something like a cell wall. It would not surprise me if the same stuff Robert is using in capacitors would help actuators. Another thought. If you had two materials with different responses. One large, one small, then if the two were glued together they would curl or curve like an old fashioned bimetal thermostat.

>>30711 Thanks, interesting idea, but this here is a thread about "Materials", but it drifts more and and more into a general about what can be done with certain materials. We have this general thread exactly for that: >>24152 and >>108 for vacuum forming. >>30716 Dielectric actuators are actuators: >>27021

>>30711 I was thinking mainly of it being a bit on thicker side anyway though that is a lot of material. >>30716 I think it comes from the PEG forming long molecular bonds with itself so it creates a scaffolding that holds it's shape under more tension. PEG also can be used as a solvent of sorts which may be related. >>30725 I had included >>30584 here instead of actuator thread because there is other uses for SMP than an actuator and when making it yourself from chemicals it falls into material science. It can be used for a way to repair dents though im not sure if that is an advantage over more rubbery materials that instantly bounce back. Body temperature activated can be a type of actuator with very limited perhaps for a tiny hand to close on your own so i wouldnt consider that an actuator in the same way something that can be actually controlled, rather it could be more accurate to call it reactive material. Though how to make it in chemical synthesis is a whole other thing above my head.

>>30730 Okay, understood. But please keep in mind that this thread is always in danger to drifting towards becoming another R&D general instead of just covering the materials mentioned in other discussions.

This video, about composites, is one of the best quick videos to get a handle on the properties, cost and usage of different types of fibers for composites. He makes a very complicated subject very plain to see the differences. His background is race cars and how the different fibers are used. Specifically good is how he covers cost which I appreciate as most of the time people ignore that. This video while on these specific materials will also give a feel for other materials and their properties. Carbon Fiber vs Kevlar vs Fiberglass - Which one is right for YOU? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHXVf0SaJpA Attempt to upload a graph that shows the properties of a lot of materials and you can see in the video how these different materials in the graph fall in comparison. Fail Here's a link that has a download chart that has bone in it. Useful to determine what other materials might take the place of bone. A good reference is Ashley's charts of various strength-density-etc https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Guillaume_Lamour/publication/314132031/figure/download/fig1/AS:468862996094989@1488797057726/Material-property-charts-for-amyloid-materials-A-Flexural-rigidity-plotted-against-the.png

I ran across what appears to be a super, super useful material for prototyping. I wonder why I've never heard of it? A trade name is ShapeLock. Also called polycaprolactone plastic, Meltable Polymorph, Polyshape Polymorph Hand moldable Plastic, Moldable Plastic Thermoplastic, etc. Anyways here's a quote, "..Unleash your creativity with our premium grade Polymorph Plastic Pellets. This revolutionary material is designed to give life to your wildest ideas. This unique thermoplastic polymer has a low melting point of just 142°F. When immersed in hot water, these pellets become as moldable as clay, allowing you to shape, sculpt, and create to your heart's content. Once cooled, they solidify into a strong, durable material that's similar in strength to nylon. Reheat them, and they return to their malleable state, ready for your next project. Ideal for hobbyists, crafters, inventors, or anyone interested in DIY projects..." So this stuff only uses hot water to get it to flow then hardens to something close to the properties of nylon. Nylon, as noted earlier, is really strong stuff. They use nylon for intake manifolds for cars and all sorts of car parts. I could also see you making rough shapes then use a heat gun to further mold and shape. They say you can mold and melt it over and over like most plastics but the low temperature makes it easy to use and it's supposedly nontoxic. Cost I've seen are roughly $17 US a pound. About the same as 3D printer filament and since it can be reused you could use it to make molds for one part, melt again and make molds for different parts. On ebay I've seen it for .99 for 50gr so roughly $11 a pound. I wonder what it would take to make filament out of it? With it's low temperature it might be easy to make a machine to feed this through a hole and make filament that is reusable. So you could 3D print things and reuse the filament over and over. I suspect with it's very low temp melting point that if extruded in a 3D printer you could make accurate parts because it could be printed very liquid, at low temp. Since the temp is low the amount of heat in the material is also low so it's likely just a cooling fan would solidify it in place fast. Here's a link at Make on this stuff https://makezine.com/article/workshop/the-many-uses-of-shapelock/ Here's another link where I heard of it first and there's a good bit of info on it. BTW this guy has an interesting site. https://dercuano.github.io/notes/polycaprolactone.html

So I find people are suing it as filament. https://hydraraptor.blogspot.com/2008/03/chalk-and-cheese.html

Some wild ass speculation, "...Polycaprolactone (PCL) is na ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) non-toxic polyester thermoplastic.." I've talked about the making of graphene relatively inexpensively here and how it turns plastic into super materials far stronger than steel. Very strong. Bulletproof strong. I wonder if this stuff could be mixed with graphene to make super strong stuff for waifus with low temp processing. Now let's go even further. This is a thermoplastic. Could it be made into a thermoset. Thermosets are not remoldable but are generally stronger and higher temperature. The reason I say this is the above material is a UHMW plastic. So is spectra or dynema which is maybe 100 times stronger than steel per weight. My understanding is the bonds between the very long chains are not so strong but that there are so many of them it makes for a super strong material. It's just like spaghetti. You cook it in water and it slides all around easy but drain the water and let it set up in a pot and it becomes a hard sticky mess. A very good way to visualize how plastics work. Could we not do something similar by reprocessing the above in some way? Some additive that sticks the various strings together? I don't know. I bring this up as it's something to be aware of and maybe you might run across some data that points a way to do this.

Using Shapelock to make motor connectors, knobs and couplings https://www.robotroom.com/Prototype-Plastic-2.html

Thanks for all the great inputs ITT, Grommet! Cheers. :^)

I found a good page. It has a lot of advice on casting various high precision gears and parts. He uses small CNC machines, makes molds with silicon and then cast plastic parts. It has specifics which is good and covers what type materials he uses. His focus is on robots. Guerrilla guide to CNC and resin casting https://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/gcnc/full/ I wonder if you could pour the before mentioned shapelock into these molds. I'm not sure the shapelock plastic liquefies enough to do so. Possibly you could put this in an oven with a sprue filled with shapelock, melt down to run into mold, then when you pull it out add a small vacuum for a bit. Likely that would get all entrained air out.

More materials links. This guy makes bedsheets into waterproof and sturdy tarps with silicon. Could be good for the silicon fetish folk. Recycled Bedsheets Make The Best Waterproof Tarps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_R0gEDZhAI He got the silicon treatment from a guy who does all sorts of material, casting, glue type experiments. He has some interesting stuff. Here's a video of him making low cost pourable silicon for making things or molds that dries in an hour or so. DIY POURABLE SILICONE for mold making. Thin silicone w/Naphtha, fast cure w/cornstarch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_IOqxds130 There is a problem with this, they are banning Naphtha some places. Likely too damn useful for the powers that be, so he has a video with alternatives. Thinning Silicone: NAPHTHA is being BANNED. Now what? What can you use instead? SURPRISING RESULTS!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaUbqgMzMR0 Some are suggesting in the comments that coleman fuel is Naphtha "...look for 'white gas' also called Coleman fuel for stoves and lanterns..." Wikipedia says this is so but that it does have additives in it. Experimentation would be required to see if it functions the same. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman_fuel If you notice casting interest me a lot. I think it's one of the quickest and cheapest ways to make all sorts of intricate structures including waifus.

>>6943 This week I'll be making some galinistan. It's not a country, it's a eutectic alloy of 3 low melting point metals. It's completely safe and non-toxic, and one order of magnitude less conductive than copper. It's going to get injected into silicone channels using the zero-volume air chamber method (http://www.kevincgalloway.com/portfolio/zero-volume-air-chambers/) and used with a teensy LC in a touch-capacitance circuit. This liquid metal can deform with the silicone and has all the benefits of being a conductive material for sensing deformation (change in resistance) and body proximity (change in capacitance). This type of sensor is very common in the literature, and I have high expectations for it in waifubotics.

>>31107 >low melting point plastics therobotstudio YT channel guy made his older robots out of that. There are some workflows pointed out in these videos, which are also linked in the thread for humanoid robot project videos. The downside of it, is of course that it is harder to replicate for mass production, and 50ºC would melt these parts, which isn't much.

>>31224 Made the Galinstan: https://files.catbox.moe/gvmgx0.mp4 Here are examples of what I want to put on the robot: https://www-x-huyuechen-x-com.img.addlink.cn/uploadfile/202208/f939a7684551c04.mp4 http://www.huyuechen.com/index.php?c=category&id=3

>>31271 Wow, that was fast. How did you weigh the different metals? Is there a tutorial on how to make this?

>>31224 That is very cool and that zero volume air chamber idea is really innovative. I started looking up galinstan and found this link, Small robots made of ‘galinstan’ can run faster than a (miniature) leopard https://www.devhardware.com/small-robots-made-of-galinstan-can-run-faster-than-a-miniature-leopard/ This thing is unbelievably fast if you compare body lengths(it's very small), but comparing body lengths a cheetah is 23 BL/sec(body lengths per second) but this thing moves at 70 BL/s. I wonder could this sort of speed translate into larger sizes??? Of so it would be a good way to get a fast actuator. One drawback, gallium is expensive, but if you could prototype it fast it might make up for that in time savings. quick search Gallium Liquid Metal 100 Grams, 99.99% Pure Melting Gallium - 100g for Kids and $69.99

>>31280 >DIY instructions Firstly, Galinstan is a non-toxic and relatively harmless alternative to mercury in thermometers. I'll probably have enough for life with this small amount I made here. I don't think it will ever go bad as long as the plastic vials I have stay closed. Don't buy glass vials in case it freezes and expands. It leaves a black residue on anything, so wear gloves and wash your hands if it gets on you. Obviously, don't drink it or do anything stupid with it. >Composition 68.5% Ga, 21.5% In, 10% Sn To find how much indium and tin for 50g Gallium, use the following formula: indium weight = (((gallium weight - 2 grams)/68.5)*21.5) tin weight = (((gallium weight - 2 grams)/68.5)*10) The subtraction of 2 is to account for the oxidized gallium that won't react with the indium and tin. I accounted for 1 gram in my experiment and had an excess of solid metals left over >Breakdown by price buying metal from amazon Indium 20g x2: 16.94 x2$ Gallium 100g (save 30$ on 2 50g vials): 69.99$ Tin 8oz 99.99% pure: 22.99$ Galinstan 144g: 126.86$ >Galinstan pre-alloyed from the same store Galinistan 25g: 129$ >Uses Conductive, flexible, deformable, it does it all. Can be used for a stretchable touch sensor and a heating coil. What more would you need?

I've been watching a bunch of videos lately about people making their own "geopolymers" which is just a fancy way of saying cement. By changing the recipes by adding different ingredients and changing the ratios the properties change. This might not be the right thread to ask, but I'm sure there is some way software could be used to help simplify the experimentation to reduce the amount of trial and error done testing a large number of different materials that could be added to the mix so I could create a cement that has all the physical properties I'm looking for?

>>31322 "geopolymers" Don't wish to be too annoying but cement is normally portland cement. Produced by heating limestone and clay minerals. Geopolymers are not the same thing at all, other than they both are hard and look like stone. I don't want people to confuse the two as they are very different. Geopolymers, "...They are mainly produced by a chemical reaction between a chemically reactive aluminosilicate powder (e.g. metakaolin or other clay-derived powders, natural pozzolan, or suitable glasses), and an aqueous solution (alkaline or acidic) that causes this powder to react and re-form into a solid monolith..." They are somewhat like polymers, hence the name. I wish I had a good cheap formula for making them. If you know one please link it. They are complicated and I can't think of any software that would help. I would say, according to others and common sense that a good proportion of the pyramids in Egypt are made of geopolymers. The casing and the upper levels, mostly.

>>31326 >Geopolymers are not the same thing at all, other than they both are hard and look like stone. I don't want people to confuse the two as they are very different. The two seem nearly identical to me. Not all cements are Portland cement, so as far as I'm concerned "geopolymer" is just a synonym. Supposedly the cement used by the Romans had volcanic ash and used salt water instead of fresh water, and probably some other differences, which is why it lasts so much longer. https://youtu.be/znQk_yBHre4 https://youtu.be/rUYWiVVuc_w https://youtu.be/sESzPUei3os https://youtu.be/kUBB3wNae1s The recipe in the description of the last video: 1 part salt water (1 cup tap water with 1 tablespoon of salt) 1 part Sodium Silicate (Waterglass) mixed into the above saltwater 1 part Sodium Carbonate white powder mixed in fully 1 part Calcium Carbonate white powder mixed in fully 1 part Crushed powdered limestone mixed in fully And then there's these attempts at recreating Maurice Ward's Starlite for fireproofing, which isn't "geopolymer" in any traditional sense, but an intumescent material made using borax, baking soda, cornstarch, powdered sugar, flour and water: https://youtu.be/aqR4_UoBIzY https://youtu.be/0IbWampaEcM But of course, the more ingredients I could possibly test in a geopolymer the better chance I have of making something with the properties I want, but the harder it would be to determine with brute force trial and error. I figured some kind of genetic algorithm would be the best way of doing it, since I seem to have an ever-growing list of ingredients I want to test. And materials I want to make. >>5154 I thought this sounded familiar. Years ago I saw this modified version of Oogoo that's just food-grade silicone mixed with cornstarch: https://youtu.be/7fwytA5r2Mw

>>31333 "...Not all cements are Portland cement..." Yes you are correct. I made an assumption because so much of what is called "cement" is Portland. Most people are talking about Portland when they say cement. There are magnesium cements, all sorts. The above recipe is not geopolymer. It appears to me to just be binding all this stuff with Sodium Silicate. Not the same. Geopolymers, by the definition of the guy who invented them, Joseph Davidovits, are aluminosilicates. They make chains like plastics. Plastics have normally a carbon backed chain, these are based on aluminium-silicon. Here's Joseph Davidovits site. https://www.geopolymer.org/ https://www.geopolymer.org/archaeology/roman-cement/high-performance-roman-cement-and-concrete-high-durable-buildings/

>>31338 >the guy who invented them Actually, invented the name and reinvented some of the processes to make them, They have been around thousands of years with the recopies lost in time.

Some mentions of metal in the 3D printing thread: >>23931 (low melting point alloys) >>24149 (metal casting at the end of the comment) >>26053 >>31511

Back after a long hiatus, have been kitting out my workshop. I've done extensive research on this topic, probably more than anyone should. I have went to several production plants and I have bought a bunch of machines and either kept them or returned them. The best and cheapest cnc router is the Sainsmart Genmitsu 3030-PROVer MAX Desktop CNC Router. I have one. It's insanely rigid and has ballscrews + linear rails with 0.05mm reproducibility. It's stock 300w motor can cut aluminum, steel can be cut but need to upgrade the spindle. I mean you can cut steel with the stock spindle, but you're basically cutting dust and you'll go through a lot more tooling though it's possible. I talked with sainsmart and they claim to have a Closed-Loop stepper upgrade in the future which would bring the reproducibility down to 0.00mm to 0.01mm but it's not clear when this or if it will happen. I have bought and returned quite a few cnc router machines, 12 in total, they are all basically junk. The 3030PROVer MAX is the only one I actually felt like keeping out of all of them. The 3030PROVer MAX can have a 4th axis and a laser too. The best and cheapest lathes/mills are Sherline lathe and mills. Everything is made in USA and everything is quite high quality. Clickspring on youtube uses a Sherline lathe for small stuff, if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for you. I have a Sherline lathe, and it's an amazing machine for the price. I upgraded all leadscrews into ballscrews and upgraded the motor. Without upgrades, it's able to cut steel and even titanium. Softer metals are obviously no problem. Upgraded stuff gives you more headroom on torque/speeds and no backlash on axis's. These Sherlines can be DRO/CNC upgraded or kitted with DRO and/or CNC from the get go. All DRO/CNC stuff is of high quality, nothing is junk or cheap feeling. I will be buying a Sherline mill soon based on the lathe. I visited the Sherline Production facility and got a guided tour. Their showroom is amazing. All of it's just crazy and they know their stuff. Don't be discouraged by the look of the Sherline stuff, it's far more than capable. In fact a bunch of Sherline stuff is used on the production floor to make Sherline stuff. Sherline has a similar ideology to the reprap 3d printer. Create a machine which can create the machine. Sherline stuff can get expensive quick, if you go CNC and you don't need CNC honestly. CNC stuff is more for batch production of parts, if you're building robot parts, this is completely unnecessary, buy the CNC upgrade stuff later if you must. A manual Sherline lathe and mill plus goodies will cost you $3000, at minimum. Sherline_ap_lathe2 picture will cost you $6400. Sherline_ap_mill3 picture will cost you around $8000. Sherline_8658 pic will cost you around $7600. A Sherline manual mill with DRO installed goes from 1300-3000 USD depending on package. A Sherline manual lathe with DRO installed goes from 900-1700 USD depending on package. I'm telling you all this so you can see why to use a DRO and ignore CNC. :) The stuff littlemachineshop has is fine and quite good. Their littlemachineshop machines are generally SIEG stuff but rebranded and upgraded, significantly upgraded in some cases. However these are generally manual only machines and are more difficult to upgrade to CNC than Sherline. I've been on the SEIG production floor and it's fine, some stuff shouldn't go out the door, but whatever. Nothing at all like Sherline, that's for sure. I have been to a littlemachineshop production area and “working” littlemachineshop showroom and wow they do a lot of work on SEIG stuff before it gets to you, makes sense with the way the SEIG production floor was. I have bought and returned a SEIG machine, it was horrible but I'm pretty sure based on the production floor trip, that wasn't a normal machine. Your mileage may vary. I'd stay away from any cheap Chinese routers/lathes/mills, they are notoriously cheap and not worth the time spending to upgrade them. Trust me, just buy a capable machine outright. Are you building a robotwaifu, or are you building a router/mill/lathe? If a machine is $1000 USD, expect to spend another $1000 USD on tooling and upgrades/extras. If you want all 3 machines, you'll pay about $10,000 or more in total between the machines, upgrades/extras, and tooling for baseline stuff. You can easily spend 10k on a single machine including tooling from Sherline. This isn't a cheap path, but it's by far the best path. Also remember, some stuff that is 3d printable isn't machinable. Look in to aluminum/bass/bronze casting if that's the case.

>>34467 POTD Welcome back, Anon! Glad you've returned. :^) <---> This is remarkable research, Anon. Thank you very much. I'm hoping to start a smol robowaifu kit manufacturing garage-shop operation at some point, ala The Wright Brothers. While the bulk of the physical parts other than actuators/electronics will be variations of the least-expensive stock I can manage that will still get the job done properly... there are simply localised areas inside a robowaifu's body that are going to need very rigid and/or strong parts to be crafted. One example is the lower-back/pelvic bone complex. As the nexus of most of the kinematic forces inside her body, this area needs extra-special attention to be durable for the longhaul. Similar for the shoulders & hips joints. >tl;dr Some places only metal/alloys will do -- notably steels or aluminums. CNC is the answer. All that to say, again, thank you for your researches Anon. I knew I would need some equipment for this at the proper stage, but you've already done a metric boatload of 'footwork' that will save myself & other Anons troubles. <---> Looking very much to seeing what all you accomplish! Cheers, Anon. :^)

Here's something related to parts building I've been thinking about, a lot, lately. Isogrids. Here's a killer link that I ran across talking about these. It's where I first heard of them. This guy made a surfboard out of quarter Isogrids of cardboard and then fiberglassed it. Now I'm not saying make waifus from cardboard. I'm trying to point out the extreme strength of these Isogrids. I read they have in some cases an order of magnitude strength to weight increase. That's 10 times or 10,000 percent better strength to weight. Now this is for traditional Isogrids noted in the last paper I linked. In a ballistic missile case they got, "...built by the Air Force Research Lab on the Combined Experiments program. This grid structure was 61% lighter, 300% stronger, and 1000% stiffer than the aluminum structure it replaced..." That is some serious improvement. But the real winner is this Quarter grid Isostructure that the surf board guy came up with. He says he thought it up but after looking around he found he was not the first. He's very humble because the idea is a killer good one that he stumbled on all by himself. Have a look at this super easy to build, high strength structure here, https://www.sheldrake.net/quarter_isogrid/ The key and big takeaway is this just a bunch of flat pieces with notches cut in them. So you could make this out of whatever flat stock you could get your hands on and have a super strong structure. One thing I noticed is that it's somewhat one dimensional structurally. But there's no reason at all you could not cut slots in three sides so that now you have a structure with slats providing strength in three dimensions made out of nothing but flat pieces with slots cut in them. A good search for stuff they are making of them is "quarter Isogrids" and "Isogrid furniture". They're making all sorts of stuff from them. More traditional Isogrids below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isogrid Grid Stiffened Structures_A survey of fabrication, analysis and design methods https://iccm-central.org/Proceedings/ICCM12proceedings/site/papers/pap357.pdf

The above comment might be suited to be elsewhere. Arrrgh, but it sort of fits.

>>34492 Made a note linking this and a few ideas in the structures thread here, >34493

>>34494 Forgot a sign it's >>34493

I have a Shapoko XXL CNC that I have procrastinated assembling for literally years now. At this point I was thinking of just hiring someone to finish it for me, but having people in my apartment makes me uncomfortable.

I linked this on another thread but it might be good here, This guy here has a huge number of fiberglass videos. It's for boats but fiberglass is fiberglass. It covers a wide range of techniques, coatings, and all sorts of stuff for boats but like I said, it all much the same. https://www.youtube.com/@FishBumpTV/videos

>>37324 Thanks, Grommet. Good thinking!

>>37774 Naicu! Thanks for the efforts at unifying our researches here, OP. I hope that perhaps you'll expand your OP text out in the future as thoughts about it's function ITT (general guidance, specific insights, etc.) occur to you afterwards. Cheers, Anon. Let's all keep moving forward!! :^)