Best TPE 3D printer for doll heads under $5000

Dollpimp2018 · Post by **Dollpimp2018** » Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:24 pm

NewAirHH wrote:
LDF wrote:You know something? I completely forgot about the SLA type of 3D printer.

1 word of caution: the stuff is toxic in its uncured form!

1282295.jpg
A SLA printer will definitely do the job, but your investment would be about as much as an extended family of Realdolls, so you'll want to prototype you design scaled down on a modest 3D printer and when it's ready, send off your full-scaled final design to Shapeways or CADBlue or someone else who has one of the big 3D Systems machines, and specify an elastomer as material.

That sounds like a good idea

r363b · Post by **r363b** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:15 pm

Y

LDF wrote:
Dollpimp2018 wrote:I am looking into buying a 3D printer to print my own doll heads. I want to spend under $5000. The problem I have is that there are lots of printers and some of the best cannot print TPE, the ones I have seen printing TPE on YouTube don’t do a great job, you can see the layers up close. Colouring a printed head will be another monster. So I am here asking for advice. Do any of you have experience printing doll heads? Or have you seen someone do it? Which printer can do the job?
3D printers can print TPE, but the TPE's shore hardness is well above the 00 range of the fleshlite type of TPE used in sex toys (like our dolls).

IMHO: the current batch of 3D print heads isn't up to the task. You would literally have to install your own print head to print TPE or silicone for you own doll heads.

What a 3D printer might be able to do well enough is make a mold for you to use in casting your doll head. But, then you'd have to find a way to cast silicone or TPE.

Here's a source of TPE pellets:

http://www.gainshine-tpe.com/virtual-sk ... rials.html

You're going to have to make your own auger-extruder print head, feeder, and hopper. Yes it's possible. No, I don't recommend working with TPE without mitigating the risks. It's too toxic when heated.

Let's put it this way: a Bowen extruder won't work.

Is 3D printing process used by the TPE doll manufacturers? I thought dolls are injection molded under pressure and with metal molds.
Has anyone found videos of the factory's doll making process?

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:50 pm

Yes, TPE dolls for retail sale are made from injected liquid TPE.

The whole "making a doll from home" thing is... well, IF you have the time and money for a one off doll.

Considering making a silicone doll may require about 10K+ investment in tools and material and a month of time to pull your first doll from the mold it's probably best to just buy a doll unless you really have a radical design you want to make. Add workshop space, plus shop set up, plus knowing how to actually make a doll.

I would not attempt to make a TPE doll from home. But the OP did state they were just interested in making heads.

I'm interested in making silicone dolls, but I already have most the tools and have been researching the process since I joined TDF.

LDF · Post by **LDF** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 1:07 pm

"Is 3D printing process used by the TPE doll manufacturers? I thought dolls are injection molded under pressure and with metal molds.
Has anyone found videos of the factory's doll making process?"

Here you go:

3D printing your own sex doll components is "the future".

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 1:50 pm

Looks like a fiberglass mold w/ some type of thermal inner face.

LDF · Post by **LDF** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 2:07 pm

It's basically the same technology they're using today that was used to make mannequins.

The molds are essentially identical. The material is processed in the same type of extruder, and it comes out the same injector arm into the mold (not under pressure though).

Someone thinks they're pouring molting TPE directly into molds (w/ pails) nowadays. I wouldn't be surprised given working conditions in these places. However, the last time I saw an image of a mold being filled at Jinsan, there was an extruder with an injector arm doing the job.

Dollpimp2018 · Post by **Dollpimp2018** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 8:51 pm

Is 3D printing process used by the TPE doll manufacturers? I thought dolls are injection molded under pressure and with metal molds.
Has anyone found videos of the factory's doll making process?

I read in the doll4ever website that they 3D print their doll heads. I don't know what they mean by that, but the future of printing with flexible materials is coming, this is why I thought it was possible to do it at home:

LDF · Post by **LDF** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 9:23 pm

IMHO:

There are some folks w/ setups out there who can do all sorts of amazing things.

I have a 3D printer w/ TPE filament. Its (the TPE) shore hardness is well above the fleshlight stuff used to make sex toys.

It is possible to 3D print UV curable silicone. But, that takes a special setup that is uncommon.

So, we can't do it ourselves to date.

Perhaps one day soon.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 10:12 pm

Dollpimp2018 wrote:I read in the doll4ever website that they 3D print their doll heads. I don't know what they mean by that, but the future of printing with flexible materials is coming, this is why I thought it was possible to do it at home:

Hi Dollpimp,

They may be 3d printing a master used for molding, but they aren't printing finished TPE heads.
The TPE/TPU used in 3d printing is not the super soft stuff they use for molding the finished product.
For filament printers the TPE material needs to be stiff enough to support itself during the printing process. It's about the same hardness as the rubber sole on your tennis shoes and it's very tricky material to print with. Colors are also very limited.

If you really want to get into 3d printing you can get a printer like the one I have for less than 2K that will be perfectly capable of printing a full size head.
I think it's even on sale right now...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N ... yes&sts=ps
Here's my Zoya head in my Up Box+ printer for scale...

: IMG_4603.JPG (499.93 KiB) Viewed 2676 times

Forget messing with TPE, either printed or molded, and forget sending something to a place like Shapeways.
It would end up being hideously expensive and won't be anything like what you are expecting.
With your own printer at least you can have fun experimenting fairly cheaply until you get what you want.

Printing a mold is possible, but not an easy task especially if you are a novice. Working with a positive shape is much easier than a negative shape.
You may want to experiment at a reduced scale at first as you will probably go through many iterations before you get something that works.

You'll need to design a skull with the attachment for your doll which will need to be suspended inside the mold.
Perhaps you only mold the face and attach it to a printed head/skull. That way you don't have to print a whole head for every face you come up with.
If you want the head to be usable for oral you'll need to design an orifice which will add another level of complexity to things.
Lots of things to think about.

Hey, and if things don't work out with the head, you can always use it to print out a Turbo Tampon!

viewtopic.php?p=1221053#p1221053
Or maybe try your hand at a My Size Barbie mod?
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=69416

Fun stuff!

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:11 pm

I imagine they pump the TPE into the body mold in about 2 minutes max. There's much more time involved in prepping the mold w/t skeleton and removing the doll from the mold.

I think it will be a long time before anyone can print a soft TPE doll. The extruder head will also have to manipulate around the skeleton. You would almost need a printer that could orient and operate around a complete sphere.

LDF · Post by **LDF** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:08 am

rubherkitty wrote:I imagine they pump the TPE into the body mold in about 2 minutes max. There's much more time involved in prepping the mold w/t skeleton and removing the doll from the mold. I think it will be a long time before anyone can print a soft TPE doll. The extruder head will also have to manipulate around the skeleton. You would almost need a printer that could orient and operate around a complete sphere.

Let's just back up a second...

We already can print in soft silicone type materials. However, the type of print head and flesh colored UV curable silicone takes some doing and isn't something you can easily pickup on Amazon. You need your own 'shop'.

Just because we're currently using platinum/tin Silicone and TPE doesn't mean there isn't some other material that might fit the bill. We know the basic principles of how/why TPE gets its properties.

One day, 3D printers will be able to print an entire doll, skeleton and all, in one session. They're already selling multi filament/material 3D printers.

So, don't give up hope. Just hope you'll live long enough to see it happen.

Just thinking outside the box:

https://holdenslatex.com/puppet-making-latex/

https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui ... turing.pdf

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:52 am

I can agree anything is possible in the future.
Even solid +/- silicone and TPE dolls may become old hat when robotic dolls are developed having artificial skin & muscle core. Someday they will be so complex they will have to be assembled from 1000's of parts.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:08 pm

LDF wrote:One day, 3D printers will be able to print an entire doll, skeleton and all, in one session. They're already selling multi filament/material 3D printers.

So, don't give up hope. Just hope you'll live long enough to see it happen.

Yes, I'm 62 and it kind of makes me sad to think about it sometimes that I won't be around for that much longer.
I really would like to see how this all plays out!

I'm not sure what good this serves the OP in his decision making, but as long as we are in fantasy land the only technology I know of available today that comes close to the dream is Polyjet.
The Objet 1000 Plus can print with up to 14 different materials in one print. The softest materials (Agilus 30 and TangoPlus FLX930) are around shore A30.
http://www.stratasys.com/materials/search/tango
http://www.stratasys.com/materials/search/agilus30
https://youtu.be/7r9EKQzA7ZE

So you could theoretically print the skull and skin in one go with this system.
But even this beast of a machine is limited to about a 19" tall part, and even though it's faster than FDM it's still an extremely slow process, especially with the fine resolution required to get a smooth part.
Of course as you can imagine, this is all going to be extremely expensive for the average person just wanting to try out some ideas.
These systems are mostly used by large companies with big budgets for prototyping products before they go into production, or for medical research, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpTzjCfGSnM

Dollpimp2018 · Post by **Dollpimp2018** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:49 pm

MannequinFan wrote:
LDF wrote:One day, 3D printers will be able to print an entire doll, skeleton and all, in one session. They're already selling multi filament/material 3D printers.

So, don't give up hope. Just hope you'll live long enough to see it happen.
Yes, I'm 62 and it kind of makes me sad to think about it sometimes that I won't be around for that much longer.
I really would like to see how this all plays out!

I'm not sure what good this serves the OP in his decision making, but as long as we are in fantasy land the only technology I know of available today that comes close to the dream is Polyjet.
The Objet 1000 Plus can print with up to 14 different materials in one print. The softest materials (Agilus 30 and TangoPlus FLX930) are around shore A30.
http://www.stratasys.com/materials/search/tango
http://www.stratasys.com/materials/search/agilus30
https://youtu.be/7r9EKQzA7ZE

So you could theoretically print the skull and skin in one go with this system.
But even this beast of a machine is limited to about a 19" tall part, and even though it's faster than FDM it's still an extremely slow process, especially with the fine resolution required to get a smooth part.
Of course as you can imagine, this is all going to be extremely expensive for the average person just wanting to try out some ideas.
These systems are mostly used by large companies with big budgets for prototyping products before they go into production, or for medical research, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpTzjCfGSnM

You made me go look at the price, the one in the video is 100K, and they have a new model that is 250K... like wow!!! that's super expensive :drinking:

maybe in 50 years or so, they will be under 5k and within my budget

LDF · Post by **LDF** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 6:54 pm

Well Dollpimp 2018, that didn't stop me from learning CAD and getting an entry level 3D printer.

My thing isn't really doing doll heads or bodies at this time. Right now, I'm interested in a 3D-printed, pneumatic, 2-axis, robotic actuator (an air powered robotic joint).

In my vision of how we get from here to Love Androids, we first have to lick some fundamental problems.

So, the end result will be that I will have a robot frame based on this typical doll skeleton: