Topic: Best filament for a costume helmet?
Hi all! Long time lurker . . . thanks for all of the help in this awesome hobby!
I'm working on a set of Mandalorian armor for my son and I for Halloween. The body armor and gauntlets are pretty simple (just download from Thingiverse and print) but the helmet is a bit more of a challenge.
I found a design http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:338328) and the initial printing at 1/8 size came out looking great. I printed it in PLA because of the lack of warpage and the clean look but I'm afraid that a bucket made of PLA will break the first time that my son drops it. My printer is a modded Davinci with an E3D hotend so I can print ABS but I *KNOW* it will warp to the point of useless ness since the full size item has to be printed in about 30 separate pieces and glued together.
Also - my 3D printer lives in a rather humid environment (underground basement in Virginia) so moisture sensitivity is an issue. I keep all of my filament in a cooler with dessicant but I swear that the end of a 14 hour print looks WAY worse than the beginning due to moisture absorption. Not much I can do about that right now.
So - I need a filament type that has the following characteristics -
1 - printable with a printer that can do PLA or ABS - I don't think I have the skill for polycarb yet :-)
2 - Relatively strong - ABS strong would be fine. PLA is too brittle. I'm not looking for bulletproof (or kid proof!) but something that's tough
3 - Glueable - the helmet is literally 30 pieces or so. Gotta put the puzzle together . . .
4 - non-warping
5 - As non-hydroscopic as possible
6 - Paintable - gotta make it look awesome
Does such a thing exist?
Thanks all!
Disconnector