Helmet Display Case

prusaprinters

Hi all,I'll start with listing all the parts, items and hardware you will need for this build:-5x 350x350x3mm acrylic panels (I got one acrylic mirror panel for the rear).-4x M3 ~20-40mm screws/bolts to attach the stand to the bottom plate.-optional: M3 washers. Depends on how strongly the base plate is printed and how hard you crank the bolts down. These shouldn't be necessary of you just snug screws down gently.-Strong glue (For example thick CA glue or epoxy. Whatever floats your boat).-Textile/PVA/Craft glue. (works fine for the felt parts, but use whatever you want here too).-Silicone adhesive (with an small 80ml tube you can basically assemble two complete frames. Unless you use a lot of silicone. Or if the tube burst… Ask me how I know).-Scissors, razor blade/utility knife/carpet knife.-Clamps and straps to hold things together.-3mm thick felt (~380x380mm square for the base and a ~Ø190mm circle for the top of the stand).  Now let's get started with the build.This is going to be rather long so I have split it up into different segments for each assembly.  The EnclosureYou need to print:-4x "Frame_BottomCorner"-4x "Frame_BottomMiddle"  (These are just trim for the bottom middle edges and serve no structural purpose)-4x "Frame_TopCorner"-8x "Frame_MiddlePart"Items needed:-5x 350x350x3mm Acrylic panels-Silicone adhesive-Clamps and/or strapsI glued the frame together using silicone adhesive. Mainly to avoid getting CA glue on the acrylic which can ruin the look, but also to have way more handling time.Have some straps and/or clamps ready to hold everything together.If you want to spend some extra time (and plenty of masking tape) preparing, you can peel off a bit of the protective film on the acrylic along the edges and add masking tape to the correct depth. This way if you have some silicone squeeze-out it's easier to remove.Note that the inside and outside edges of the printed parts aren't the same height. So if you are masking the acrylic panels you have to make sure to keep track on which way they are facing.I started with gluing all the printed parts to the acrylic panel that would become the top of the case.Simply by adding a thin bead of silicone in the bottom of each printed frame channel and pressing them onto the acrylic panel.The day after when the silicone had set I added the rest of the printed parts and panels in one go.Then clamping/strapping everything together and letting the rest of the silicone set.  The BaseYou need to print:-4x "Base_Plate" (supports needed for a cleaner result)-4x "Base_FeltPlate"-8x "Base_SupportBar"Optional parts to print:-2x "Tool_FeltPlate_Clamp_Corner"-1x "Tool_FeltPlate_Clamp_Straight"(print more or fewer if wanted. I did one edge at a time so this was enough)Items needed:-Strong glue-Textile/PVA/Craft glue.-3mm thick felt-Clamps Base Plate:Glue four of them ("Base_Plate") together (thick CA glue works fine).They connect to each other with dovetails so they do stay together when the glue sets. Just make sure that they are flat and even.When the glue has set, add some glue to the 8 slots underneath and push in the support bars.  Felt Plate:Glue four of them ("Base_FeltPlate") together (CA glue works fine). (Note the little square pegs on the bottom surface. They are there to align with the matching holes on top of the base plate)They connect to each other with dovetails just like the base plates. Just make sure that they are flat and even when the glue sets.The glue is just to hold them together whilst wrapping them in felt, so it's not structuraly important.In fact, since they are so thin and the contact area is so small the glue is bound to crack in some places. When the glue has set it's time to wrap the felt plate in felt:(A 380x380mm square of felt is enough for this. Then you also have some wiggle room if it isn't perfectly centered). I used some textile/PVA/craft glue to attach the felt to the plate. Only glue along the inner step (marked red in the photo as an example) to avoid glue squeeze-out towards the outer edges.I used the optional tools to clamp the felt in place whilst the glue set.I only did one side at a time so that the glue would be properly set before I started stretching the felt along the opposite edge.Trim and make some relief cuts in the corners so that they fold propely when gluing.When the glue has set all around the edges, just trim off any excess felt and glue. Use the inner step as a guide to where it needs to be trimmed (marked as a dotted blue line in the photo as an example).The whole upper surface where the little pegs are needs to have a flat contact with the base plate.When both the base plate and felt plate are done you can put them together and check if the enclosure fits on top.The felt plate should slide just inside the enclosure.If everything fits, then you can glue the whole feltplate onto the base plate. It's not structural so PVA/craft glue should suffice here.The felt plate just needs to stay in place when lifting the enclosure off. It also acts to keep the enclosure from sliding off sideways.I put some of the same textile/PVA/craft glue over the surface with the small square pegs, put it on top of the base plate (making sure the felt plate pegs slot into the holes in the base plate).Then I flipped both of them over together on a flat surface and put some weights on top until the glue set.   The StandYou need to print:-1x "Stand_BottomHalf"-1x "FeltTop_Middle" (supports needed for a cleaner result)-1x "FeltTop_Top" (supports needed for a cleaner result)(If you don't want to wrap the top in felt, skip the "FeltTop_Middle" and "FeltTop_Top". Instead print one "TopHalfSolid")Optional parts to print:-1x "Tool_Stand_FeltTop_ClampBottom"-1x "Tool_Stand_FeltTop_ClampTop"The clamp bottom is just a glorified plate to get a flat even preassure on the felt. Not needed, or use some other flat scrap laying around. The clamp top is just to get a good even grip and preassure on top of the stand where the surface is rounded. It might be wasteful to print these, so it's perhaps better to print the "FeltTop_Top" stronger instead (with more perimeters and higher infill). Just so you don't crush it when clamping down on it. Items needed:-Strong glue (For example thick CA glue or epoxy)-Textile/PVA/Craft glue. (works fine for the felt parts, but use whatever you want here too)-3mm thick felt-Clamps Stand, step 1: Glue the "BottomHalf" together with the "FeltTopMiddle" with some strong glue. I used thick CA.The bottom half has a large peg that slots into and centers the middle part.Just don't add too much glue so that it squeezes out the sides when clamping them together. Stand, step 2 (FeltTop_Top):Note that there is a small line on the bottom surface. It's from this line and inwards towards the hole that the felt and glue needs to be trimmed off in the final step. That inner surface is used to glue the top to the rest of the stand.Cut out a felt circle that's ~Ø190mm.This gives you plenty of excess to grab, pull and trim when wrapping the top in felt.When gluing the felt in place, don't put glue close to the outer edge to avoid squeeze-out. Put the glue closer to the thin line instead.I'm not a feltiologist™ so I have no real good tips for wrapping felt around something round...I just went around and glued the felt on opposite ends with textile/PVA/craft glue. Making relief cuts and trims as I went along to get rid of visible folds and wrinkles.The printable "tools" can help here to get a better grip with clamps.When most of the visible wrinkles in the felt are gone, the glue has set and you are done swearing: trim off excess felt and glue. Stand, step 3:When the glue has set on the "BottomHalf" and "FeltTopMiddle" you can add the wrapped "FeltTop_Top" on the top.Do a dry fit and make sure there are no tufts of felt or leftover glue in the way when adding the top.If everything seems to be fine, add some glue to the inner surface and clamp the top part on the rest of the stand. Let the glue set for all parts and get ready for the finale. Final stepItems needed:-4x M3 20-40mm screws/bolts. (20mm long screws is probably fine, but up to 40mm long ones fit).-4x (optional) M3 washers.-Sharp knife. Go back to the base plate and feel in the middle of the felt where the hole is for the stand.Grab a sharp knife and cut some slits in the felt so that they line up with the screw holes in the baseplate.Don't cut the slits to close to the edge. Grab the stand and check how it fits in the hole. If the felt doesn't deform or stretch enough to get the stand to bottom out, then carefully extend the slits until it does.A little bit of resistance is good since it helps to stretch the felt on the felt plate.When the stand fits into the hole like you want it, then simply screw it into place with the 4x M3 screws/bolts (and optional washers).Congratulations, you are finally done.