Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist – not everyone can be like Tony Stark. And we wouldn’t them to be. But his ingenuity and desire to create and experiment is definitely a part of his personality worth emulating, and Ross Wilkes has done so by 3D printing an entire set of life-size Iron Man armor. Wilkes spent 14 months designing and making the armor and learned 3D printing basics along the way. He told 3D Print:
“Building my own Iron Man suit has been an incredible challenge. Before I could start, I had to learn the basics of 3D printing and was able to pick up the rest along the way. I’m thrilled with what I’ve been able to create using only a 3D printer, and to be able to see the complete suit now is incredible.”
He was inspired after seeing the suit in Iron Man 3 and thought it would be a perfect project for his new Velleman K8200 printer. Many days in the 14 month building period were long ones since Wilkes only used one printer and made 597 different pieces that he had to glue or solder together. At least he didn’t need to paint the finished project. He simply used red, gold, and gray filaments to add the right colors to corresponding parts. He used a whopping 1.8 miles of filament to complete the project. And yes, the armor can be worn.
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