MB.326 plane and support

Hello,

I am working on a support for my 1/144 scale MB.326 plane:



The circular part in the middle of the support I plan to use for inserting a chip with a squadron badge picture (which I plan to print in full color sandstone).

I have a few doubts regarding how to model this support though.

1) I want to have a ball joint so the plane can be posed at different angles and I want to print it in WSF. Is it possible to print this kind of joint as a single part? I don´t want the coupling to be too loose, it should have some grip or else the plane might fall to one side. I saw that the minimum gap for printing mechanical parts without the risk of fusing them is .6mm. Would that work? Or I would be better off printing the two parts separately and assembling them afterwards?
And this is what I am planing for the joint:


2) Can I have all the parts separated but in a single stl file? Do I need to create sprues to hold the parts together or can I have them floating in space? In that case, would shapeways guys be able to rearrange them if necessary?
The MB.326 is already available in my store but currently I offer the body and the canopy as two separate parts. I think it would be easier if I could just have customers ordering one model that includes both parts.

The same with the nozzles for the F-15 I have created. I am currently selling individual nozzles, but I would like to offer a pair instead.
You can see them in my shop: <a href="https://www.shapeways.com/shops/smallscaleshop" target="_blank"></a>

Any advice would be really appreciated,

Thanks and regards,
Luis

I've never tried printing in situ ball joints, but if you need them to have friction to keep them in place, then you're better off leaving no clearance at all and printing them as separate parts.

For pieces this size, you shouldn't need a sprue; the main reason for them in 3D printing is to help keep small pieces together and make it easier for the production guys to keep track of and handle them.

I do personally tend to try to arrange multipiece files so they're as tightly packed as I can; I don't think they can rearrange the pieces separately in the file, but they can arrange the boundaries of the files they're printing to make best use of the printer space they have.

As an aside, I'm a little skeptical that that ball joint would work properly; I have a feeling that if the opening is wide enough to let the ball in, then it won't be narrow enough to keep it in; WSF has a bit of flex, but not quite that much. A slot cut across the socket up to the widest point should help free it up to flex, though. Something like this:



Failing that, I generally use a design like this:





Hope that's of some help.

Andy

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I liked your ideas for the ball joint. So, I modified mine accordingly:



I think it should work now as separate parts.
I also arranged the parts in a single file and put some sprues to hold them together:



I will probably order them in a couple of weeks. I will let you know how it works out.

Thanks again,
Luis

Like it. I do love the way you've designed your stand with the silhouette of the plane too, that's a nice touch.

Good luck with the print!

Andy

I received it today. The ball joint works like a charm. Thanks a lot for the input:





It is now available in my shop for ordering. I have used the same principle to create supports for my other planes as well:





I am very happy with the results.

Thanks again and regards from Brazil,
Luis