Fun with a 3D printer! DD hand frame replacement (or spares)

A short while ago, I got access to a 3D printer. That got me to thinking... what could I make for a DD with this thing? The first thing that popped to mind were replacement hand frames. Most of you have experienced this scenario. You're out on a photo shoot and brought a bunch of different hands with you so that you can vary the poses. You get your DD in the perfect spot, then realize that you wanted fist hands instead of peace hands. Then you realize how big of a pain it is to pull the hand off the frame, do the swap, and then go back to taking pictures. You try to keep hand changes to a minimum, because it's such a pain!

 

Wouldn't it be great to have extra sets of hand frames that you can keep hands on and swap out? Time to break out the CAD software and make some prototypes!

 

Here's what I have so far after several iterations.

 

 

Side by side with the Volks part (from a DDS body)

 

Both parts dismantled

 

Side by side with the original, the frame isn't quite as wide as the original, making it easier to change hands on the piece itself

 

They're even cross compatible!

 

Standard hand mounted to the new piece

 

Fits to the body quite nicely

 

Reimu is my guinea pig for this experiment

 

One unintended design feature is that the hand will actually rotate over the frame, giving an extra dimension of motion

 

That means you can have poses like this

 

The next step is to color match it, hopefully I can get filament that is close to the Volks color.

This is a really good idea and I'm amazed no one has tried it sooner! Making hand changes easier is a really nice thing and the added bonus of more articulation of the hand is even better. Not only does this part give you added mobility and quicker hand swaps, it also gives you a replacement part if the stock Volks part breaks! I don't know about the DD ones but the MDD ones have broken on me before and there's really nothing you can do to repair that little hook piece once it's busted. I tried various things including my epoxy and drilling out both parts and adding a wire inside for added strength but nothing held. Having the ability to buy extra parts in case of broken ones is really nice.

 

I'm guessing you'll be able to make DD2/DDdy and MDD parts like this too correct? I know most people are now getting more and more new bodies like the DDS and DD3 so the part you have will be needed for sure. But those others might also be good to have for those of us who have lots of the older style bodies, especially that darn original MDD one.

 

Good job so far sir! I hope the color matching goes well!

 

 

Billy

Aaaa this is so exciting! I much prefer to change hands at the pegs rather than taking off the vinyl, so I would definitely buy some of these if the skin tone can be matched.

If I can get the color matching done right, I should be able to get MDD hand pieces designed. I'd just need a donor piece to model.

 

I also discovered that switching to the older DD frames isn't difficult, as the hand piece is identical! The only difference is the diameter of the hook piece. Since the two pieces are printed separately, I can make an assortment of hand pieces and hook pieces and assemble them as necessary.

If I can get the color matching done right, I should be able to get MDD hand pieces designed. I'd just need a donor piece to model.

 

Yay! When you come down next week, I'll be happy to lend you a spare MDD hand part to use as the donor. Make sure you remind me!

 

I also discovered that switching to the older DD frames isn't difficult, as the hand piece is identical! The only difference is the diameter of the hook piece. Since the two pieces are printed separately, I can make an assortment of hand pieces and hook pieces and assemble them as necessary.

 

That makes sense. So one ball part where the hook pieces attach and then different hook parts for newer or older models.... sounds like a good setup!

 

 

Billy

Sign me up when you're ready for sales *o*

 

I love how you have the additional hand motions ♡

I'm getting a new roll of materials tomorrow that is supposed to be skin color. The pictures looks like it could be close, but I won't know until I see it. I should have an update this weekend!

Nice! The added rotation is really nice too. You're making me want these for Obitsu50; they're even harder to change hands on than DD, and that side to side rotation you added? That's the only way they naturally go. >.

You're making me want these for Obitsu50; they're even harder to change hands on than DD.

 

You know what? You are totally right about that! I had forgotten ( or mentally blocked out ) how hard it is to swap hands on an Obitsu 40-45-50-60 body! I always have to either use a heat gun to make things easier or just wallow out the holes in the hands with an X-Acto knife. Annoying as all get out but it works.

 

Maybe doing some Obitsu ones would be a good idea too?

 

 

Billy

Totally agreed!

You're making me want these for Obitsu50; they're even harder to change hands on than DD.

 

You know what? You are totally right about that! I had forgotten ( or mentally blocked out ) how hard it is to swap hands on an Obitsu 40-45-50-60 body! I always have to either use a heat gun to make things easier or just wallow out the holes in the hands with an X-Acto knife. Annoying as all get out but it works.

 

Maybe doing some Obitsu ones would be a good idea too?

 

 

Billy

 

Sounds like I'll need to get some samples from you next week.

 

I got the new filament in and the color isn't an exact match. Have some other options to try and alternatives to think about...

Just to give everyone an update, color matching is not going very well. The 2 filaments I've tried aren't great matches for the Volks DD vinyl color, so I'm exploring other options.

 

The filament type I'm using doesn't seem to be very susceptible to bleaching or dyeing, and painting doesn't seem to be a great option either.

 

I haven't given up yet!