What Star Wars fan does not what a full size R2-D2?
If you are an astromech builder please let me know. I would love to check out / link to your project.
Resources
Mr Baddeley Astromech 3D Printing
Astromech Forum
Parts
Zortax M200 3D Printer
Zortrax ABS Filament
Hatchbox ABS Filament
Misc Clamps
E6000 Adhesive
Marcduino – Controls the animatronics of an R2 dome
XBee WiFi Module S6B w/ RP-SMA Connector for Marcduino
Things to Figure Out
Lazy Susan – 450mm (Granite Earth ?)
Leg Bearings –
Dome Lighting – Teeces Dome Lights
Dome Sound – Sparkfun MP3 Trigger WIG-13720
Dome Servos – 16x SG90S
Dome Motor – Geared 12V Motor with 200RPM (Pittman motor style).
Drive Motor Controller – Sabertooth controller with 2x 32A motors
Drive Motors – 2x E-Scooter motors with 150W at 24V
Body Servos Utility Arms – 4x MG996R
Body Servos Panel and Doors – 6x SG90S
Much more coming soon…
Printer Settings
Zortrax sales, and recommends using, their own line of filament, however in order to save cost I decided to use another brand. After some trial and error I was able to get Hatchbox ABS to print without any issues.
Nozzle diameter: 0.4 mm
Layer: 0.14 mm
Infill: 10% - 50% depending on the part
Fan speed: 10%
Surface layers Top: 7
Surface layers Bottom: 4
Smart bridges: Yes
First layer Density: 100%
First layer Print speed: 100%
First layer Flow ratio: 100%
First layer gap: 0.23 mm
Raft Enabled: Yes
Raft layers: 6
Platform-raft gap: 0.20 mm
Extruder flow ratio: +0%
Top layer infill (%): 100
Bottom layer infill (%): 100
Extrusion temp.: 235
Platform temp.: 80
Retraction speed: 36
Retraction distance: 0.8
Gap XY: 0.31
I also made and used ABS juice, ran auto calibration after every print, and clean / checked the printer very often.
Building Blog
August 19, 2019
August 29, 2019

Sept 3rd, 2019
Started to mock up the dome and check fitting. Needs some work.

Sept 5th, 2019
More printing….
Sept 7th, 2019
Ordered a Marcduino controller. Still need to get all the other bits (IE Power, Wireless, MP3 Trigger, etc.)
May 7th, 2020
A lot more printing… Mocking up main body.

May 26th, 2020
More body mock up and started to smooth out the dome.
June 10th, 2020
Ordered the XBee WiFi Module S6B w/ RP-SMA Connector adapter for the Marcduino.
June 15th, 2020
Starting to glue the base and dome rings. Primed dome (still needs more work) A lot of parts still left to print…
June 20th, 2020
Gluing together the first ring. Started printing the data port and utility arm.
June 28th, 2020
Printing the left leg and gluing the second ring.
July 12th, 2020
Main body assembly and test fitting. Starting to look like R2 🙂
Lookin good!
Thank you. Waiting on some more filament to come in and I will post more updates.
Did you ever figure out which Lazy Susan to get? It’s not very clear. I have one on order that should show up sometime today but I just realized it might not fit since I went by the FAQ which states 18″ (450mm) Susan although 18″ is 457mm but to complicate matters, I just printed my lower ring and the inside diameter measures about 448mm 🙂
I am starting this project backup. Funny you sent this today, I was just look for a Lazy-Susan last night. I think this Lazy-Susan might work: https://www.graniteearth.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=PAY-Lazy-Susan-R2-Builder , however I have not purchased it yet… so I can not say for sure.