General The MachineCraft Dental Expander Project – Glenross Replicas

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Hey TDH – It’s that time again


We’re very excited to announce a product we’ve been working on behind the scenes for a while – The MachineCraft Dental Expander.

The Glenross Dental Expander is a piece we’ve been asked to make for a long time, and a part that no one has ever been able to do with the degree of accuracy we’re looking to achieve.


Dimension Origins:

Last summer we picked up an Optical Comparator for R&D and QA work. This allows us to measure things that we couldn’t before with extreme precision, including very small parts like an original Glenross Dental Expander. The real trick, however, was actually tracking down an Expander to start measuring. After a little persuasion, we got one in hand and got to work.


The found part we're working from:

IMG_1736.jpg


Pulling Measurements from the Optical Comparator:

IMG_1964.jpgIMG_1962.jpg


Higher-Resolution shot of a penny on the comparator. (You can pick up some pretty incredible details with the right lighting).

IMG_1283.jpg




Modeling Work:

Models were created in Fusion 360 using coordinates pulled from the optical comparator. This can be very tedious work but the final result is extremely accurate. Here are some preliminary renders.

ExpanderRen1.PNG


ExpanderRen2.PNG



After countless hours and hours of iterations, going cross-eyed, etc. - We now have a base model that we’re more than comfortable with taking into the prototype stage. If our V3 Gauntlet Rocket taught us anything, we’ll probably dial in the model another 4-5 times before entering production. We'll get some better renders up of these models as we close in on production. Which leads us to...




Production Goals:

Here are the goals of this project (and why it is going to be worth the wait).

Accurate Dimensions – All dimensions pulled from an actual Glenross Dental Expander using an array of tools, including an extremely accurate Optical Comparator.

Accurate Materials – A few different materials need to be used to make these accurately. More details on that in a later update.

Accurate Manufacturing – We are only interested in manufacturing these correctly. Simply machining these parts out of brass is quick, but sadly it is not accurate. There are some other tricks involved that are seen on the real found parts, we’ll share more about what those are when we’re closer to release.

Accurate Appearance – If you can quickly spot a replica next to a found part, it isn’t a very good replica.




Availability:

Since this isn’t a sales thread and we’re early in the process, we are not going to try and pluck a price out of thin air, but pricing will be… very competitive. As we get further into the process we’ll share more. What we can say is we have the right people involved with this project and firmly believe these will be worth the wait.

These will only enter production once they meet our standards. Our goal - Pending smooth prototyping - is to begin production in Spring.

If you want to be one of the first ones to get your hands on one when we start production, post below in this thread, and sign up for our interest list here: MachineCraft Dental Expander - Interest List



Happy to answer any relevant questions - Cheers!,

Dakota
MachineCraft Replicas
 
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I'm interested!

Definitely interested!

Sign me up

Hello! So interested.

Also interested!

sign me up!

Sign me up man!.

Definitely interested!

Interested.

Interested as well for Vader reveal sets and sizing!


Thanks all! Please make sure you sign up on the interest list link ( MachineCraft Dental Expander - Interest List ) as well so that I can drop you an email as soon as we're ready to begin taking orders.
 
Definitely interested. Are you going to do both sizes? On the Vader reveal helmet there are two sizes. Also curious to know which size this one is.

View attachment 220731

The one used on Boba's gauntlets is the Large Expander. We're going to start with the Large Expander since it is used on both costumes. If there is enough interest and purchases from the Vader community, we'll definitely consider trying to tackle the Small Expander (It will be pretty easy to tell the Fett and Vader orders apart because of how many are needed to complete a Vader reveal). I don't really have a presence in the Vader community, so I would say if the Vader folks want to see that happen it would go a long way to spread the word. :)
 
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