XXXL Trex Skull Replica - Two-Thirds Scale - Fossil Scan

Description

This Trex skull is based on a detailed 3D scan of the skeleton on display at the Smithsonian. No cartoon looking, perfectly symmetric skull with every tooth here as this is real life. The project consists of 40 separate plates with 55 pieces that need to be assembled, not counting the custom designed stand. This model is scaled to 2/3 the size of the largest Trex skull ever found. Even at this scale it is still over 3 feet long! 

History

After a few years of 3D printing, I wanted to tackle a big projects that required assembling multiple parts. I started looking for a realistic Trex skull and couldn't find something that didn't look fake. I eventually discovered 3D scan data of the Nation's Trex (and stegosaurus) on display at the Smithsonian and after months of working on it off an on was able to extract the skull only, clean things up and break the model up into 55 pieces that would fit on the A1 print bed. This was a painstaking process. I then tweaked the settings for each of the 40 plates, only using supports where absolutely necessary and adjusting the infill %, walls and layer height based on each individual part. I then designed a custom stand which is mostly 3D printed requiring only a few purchased components.

While my 2/3 scale skull hasn't yet been sanded and painted, I included a picture of the final version of my 100% skull which has been sanded and painted. 

Project Details

Friendly reminder I am sharing this for personal use, not for commercial purposes.

The skull itself will take just over 10KG of filament and 280 hours to print using a 0.6mm nozzle. There are 40 separate plates and 55 separate pieces that need to be assembled. I used super glue gel on the mating surfaces and a soldering iron on all the seams. You can cut down the print time if you use Bambu or high speed PLA as I  selected generic PLA in the project files.

I also designed a stand which can be 90% 3D printed. 

The only things you will need to buy are:

• One 10ft ¾" EMT Conduit
• One 5ft ½" EMT Conduit
• 4x #8 x ½" self tapping machine screws 
• Supplies to sand/paint

I've provided the following:

• Multiple 3MF files for the Skull, Stand and Fittings. I could only attach one print profile so you'll find the rest when downloading the STLs.
• Summary of the print settings for each plate (see below in the Documentation section)
• Assembly instructions (see below in the Documentation section)

Assembly Steps:

• Assembly the parts of the Stand, Lower Jaw and Upper Skull with super glue and a soldering iron, following the pictures provided in the Documentation below.
• Put the stand together first and then add the ¾" EMT tubes
• Temporarily add the Tube Adapters and ½" EMT tubes on top
• Measure 23" down from the top of the ½" EMT to know where you will put the Lower Jaw Fittings
• Remove the Tube Adapters and ½" EMT tubes
• Place Lower Jaw Fittings into Assembled Lower Jaw (pay attention to left/right  and top/bottom)
• Slide Lower Jaw and Fittings down onto the ¾" EMT tubes
• Fasten Fittings at the 23" mark while holding the lower jaw in place using #8 x ½" self tapping screws
• Put Tube Adapters and ½" EMT tubes back in place
• Install sleeves into assembled Upper Skull using glue (dry fit first). These eliminate some of the gap where the ½" conduit slides in and also distributes the load carried at the connection to the stand.
• Place Upper Skull onto the stand
• Attach Upper Skull to Lower Jaw in back using wire ties or something more secure (like drilling a hole through both and using a long bolt and nut).

Other Notes:

• You'll notice cylindrical openings on the parts for connectors. I used those on the far heavier full scale model to help hold everything together but that was before I realized I would need a soldering iron for all the seams. They don't seem necessary at this scale so just ignore them.

Donations

If you love this model and want to donate so I can make more models like this one, you can use this link https://paypal.me/XStroXMW?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US