3D Printing a Ghostbusters Neutrino Wand

Now that the PKE Meter is finished I’m starting in on the full proton pack. I found a really good base to start with on Thingiverse.  DancinFool82 did an amazing job on the 3d models for it but I need to make some modifications to meet my needs and make these models printable on my Davinci Mini. I’m just starting in on the base of the Neutrino Wand but I’m really pleased with how it’s coming out.

It’s quite detailed and I need to make sure my son can hold it. The way it is currently cut up on Thingiverse has a number of issues for me. First, he has you printing the main tubes for the handles and they are quite thick. I need to make these smaller for kids hands so I’ve modified the model to use 3/4 inch PVC pipe. In order to modify the gun box I had to fix the base models. There were some missing surfaces that made it hard to edit. Once I was able to fix the issues, and connect the parts, I added the handle mount for the PVC pipe.

I went to print it as one piece and with supports it wanted to use over 60 meters of filament and would take over 18 hours to print. I decided to split the flat side off and make guides to connect the two pieces. This worked out really well. The print for the main base only took 6 hours to print with supports and way less filament. It came out really well.

The base takes up a large portion of my print bed so I needed to come up with a strong connection for the main handle. It too will be 3/4 PVC pipe and I think I have a good design. The main hallow peg will slide in from the inside and be glued. Then a base part will slide over the other side locking it in. The PVC pipe will then slide over the remaining area and be glued in. It should be nice and secure and take whatever my son can throw at it.

Until next time…