Articulations for Poseable Figure (v1.0,2020)

Create your own articulated figures for 3D printing

by incorporating these proven & tested articulation parts. 

Dany Sánchez of OpenFigure3D developed these in 2020 for the first OF3D figure, Iron Man MK3, and are also used in Samus from Metroid and The Mandalorian from Star Wars. 

Integrate them with boolean operations or simply exporting combined with body parts such as biceps, shoulders, torsos, heads, etc.

Import them into your preferred 3D software, from Blender to Tinkercad or even your Slicer and start combining them with your own custom parts to articulate figures. 

I invite you study our existing figures to learn from them and see examples of how to use them.

Lastly, please share your new creations and credit OpenFigure3D if you use these parts, as well as respecting and carrying over the same license.

Let's be OPEN and create FIGURES for 3D Printing!

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Printing Tips

Orientation on the print bed matters. Sockets do better when printed horizontally, with layer lines running parallel to the print plate. Use supports and brims this way.

If you print them vertically, perpendicular to the print plate, they will snap in thin points on the layer line. 

Tolerances. I found that the best is to have 0 tolerance between touching parts. This is because it's easier to adjust manually with a knife or sanding until fit is perfect. Sometimes it fits nicely right off the printer. There is wild variation between printers, qualities, filaments, etc. The problem to avoid is making a joint too loose, which makes the figure like a rag doll. If this happens to you, you can:
a) reprint the part,
b) use a tiny piece of paper, plastic bag, or clay/tack between the parts to fill the gap and make it tight,
c) use nail polish 

Fractures. If an articulation breaks, thankfully you just need to reprint that part and not the whole thing.

Only one side is provided because you can mirror identical parts after you create them to save work. If the character is asymmetrical, save the differences for after the mirror, then start differentiating them. 

A ball (sphere) of 7mm diameter fits into the sockets provided. Simply add one to your parts like necks or hips/torsos, ankles, etc. 

Three perimeters recommended.

PETG or other strong materials recommended over PLA. 

Experiment with TPU or flex resin. 

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• Please don't publish these files elsewhere. OpenFigure3D is meant to be OPEN, contact us to be part of it, let's keep it all here.
   

• This is no Bandai, Hot Toys, S.H. Figuarts , Figma, Black Series figure lol. It's 3D printed so it will not be perfect - but hey, it's free and fun!

Photo credits: Dany Sánchez,  theprintsregent