Transformers Matrix of Leadership {REMOVED}

I have no idea what this table of contents thing is, Printables autogenerated it and I can't get rid of it, so please ignore it.

7/3/24

I am sorry to report that due to recent fraudulent activity I have removed the matrix files until the issue is resolved. (Just when I was about to upload the new light-up, split-apart Matrix too…)

I do not know if I will be reuploading The Matrix at all.

You cannot use, sell, market, or profit in any way from the pictures, files, or any other product or service you may receive from my work.

If you see ANYONE selling this, even if you think it might be me, please notify me.

8/11/24

The new photos are of the new and improved Matrix, I am still unsure about if and when I will reupload the files.

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It has come to my attention that some people might miss important pieces of information in the description, leading to wasted filament and confusion, to prevent this, please READ THE ENTIRE DESCRIPTION.

If you print this, please post a make. :)

Someone, somewhere, sometime ago, showed me a 3D printed Matrix on Ebay a while ago, I thought this was cool, and this got me looking into Matrixes on various websites. Eventually, I found this official-looking picture of the matrix, this picture was, in my mind, the best Matrix picture I could find. Now that I had this idea of an amazing looking matrix as seen in the picture, I began searching for 3D models of the matrix, hoping to find one depicting what I saw in the picture. Sadly, I didn't find what I was looking for.

I looked but never found a good 3D model of the matrix, (at least, not one that looked enough like the matrix in the picture) the best ones I found were: 3D Printable Matrix of Leadership for 4 material printers by Parke Bowman (myminifactory.com), and Transformers Autobot Matrix of Leadership by Spradlinb | Download free STL model | Printables.com. However, both of these had their problems, The MyMiniFactory one could only be printed with a 4-material printer (unless you wanted to paint it, which, I didn't), didn't have the darker pieces on the handles like in the picture, and just didn't have some smaller details that I saw in the picture. The Printables version wasn't too bad, but it just didn't look like the picture, even though it had some cool detailing on the handles, it was missing some smaller details or got some details I saw in the picture slightly off.

This is not to say that these Matrixes are bad, they both have really some cool features: the MMF Matrix has many different logos on the back of it and plenty of space for LED's. Also, it just looks absolutely amazing. The Printables Matrix is easily scalable down to 50%, and has a secret cavity in the left handle for wires and such. Also the handles look sick.

However, seeing as how no one could fit the standards I came up with, I decided to do it myself.

When I decided to design a matrix, I went back to the picture I found before. I then gave it a width of 240 mm so I could take my calipers to the picture to get the measurements and started designing.

Designing

Inspired by the matrix I saw on Ebay, I set out to design this so you could insert a cupboard light into it, but it just didn't work out. I couldn't find a way to put a light inside of it without getting obvious seams of parts being attached, so to avoid those, I just didn't design it for lights. (Maybe someday I will, or someone else will remix it so it can hold lights)

The crystal was made in Fusion first (to give me an idea of how it was roughly going to be shaped), then imported into Meshmixer so I could make it look more crystal-like, then re-imported into Fusion where I reduced the poly count and complete the crystal-like texture.

The crystal is meant to be printed and then the bottom half of the crystal inserted into the inner metal piece halfway through the inner metal piece's print. (Right before the solid layers on the inner metal piece)

Some parts or pieces couldn't look exactly like the picture, or weren't shown in the picture, so I had to take some creative liberties. For instance, in the back, I added the Autobot symbol (As this seemed to be the trend with any Matrix I found), and in the top right red lights, I added a third light because the light port looked empty without it.

With the handles, I wanted so badly to have my fingers fit in them, sadly, I couldn't do that without messing up the look of the model, the only way to do this was to scale it up 250% and make the finger holes 25mm, this however, resulted in the Matrix being a staggering 600mm in length, making it unprintable unless I want to spend and egregious amount of filament and money on it.

There are pieces in the fusion file that aren't supposed to be printed (Yet). They are refferred to as “Lines”. I am working on something where they will come in handy.

The Inner Metal Problem

 During testing though, I discovered that the Inner Metal piece, in my experience, WILL NOT print without an artifact forming where the crystal is supposed to be inserted. For this reason, I have created two versions of the inner metal piece, one is less hollow and has less of an artifact, the other version is more solid but has much more of an artifact. In the picture below, there are two test prints (The top one is the hollower inner metal, and the bottom is the more solid inner metal), both are incomplete and pink because they are test models and I had pink filament. As seen in the picture, the more solid inner metal has more of an artifact that the more hollow one.

Any person who sees this will almost immediately say it is a layer shift. It is not. A layer shift shifts the entire layer in one direction, this problem, squished the layer along the X-axis and under extruded sometimes on the Y-axis (I say under extruded because that's all I can reference it to so you can visualize what it looks like, but it is not under extruding).

This problem only occurred when the model has some solid part to it, when I print the piece hollow, no artifact appears. When I first saw this, I thought it was a layer shift too, so I greased up my printer, tightened all the nuts, applied glue to the build plate, and various other things to try and remedy this. I re-sliced the file, sliced the file in another slicer, printed it on another printer, nothing worked. If you know what on earth is happening, feel free to share the solution with me.

The hollower version DOES NOT get rid of the artifact, it simply dampens it on the outside layer and moves the majority of the artifact to the middle piece. (for some reason)

Printing

The crystal is meant to be printed and then the bottom half of the crystal inserted into the inner metal piece halfway through the inner metal piece's print. (Right before the solid layers on the inner metal piece)

The pipe lights can be either printed or you can use 1.75mm dia. filament and insert them into the slots. I printed them because since they were printed in the shape of the slots, it made it easier to glue.

The panels are best printed on the edges, (Refer to the screenshot) if you import it into Prusaslicer, it will help you align it to the edges. I haven't had any bed adhesion problems printing them like this at all. (You also don't need supports if you print them in this orientation, even at .2, which is what I printed them at)

The orientation of the handle pyramids and ridges during assembly DO MATTER, I learned this the hard way when I first assembled it. Make sure that the ridges are curved in accordance with the handles you put them in, if you don't, the result will be a slightly off matrix. Putting the pyramids in the wrong slots doesn't impact the result that much, it just makes them harder to put in.

After printing, you are meant to glue everything together, I used Weld-on 16 (Amazon.com: IPS Weld-On 16 Acrylic Plastic Cement, 5 oz Tube : Industrial & Scientific), but you can use any glue you want (Be wary if you do buy it from this seller though, when I went to use the glue they sent me, I got an expired tube and the bottom burst, and when I went to return it they didn't want to let me. Nevertheless, I did end up gluing the Matrix together with the burst tube of glue). There are notches where the panels are supposed to line up with the inner metal. Everything has a clearance of about 0.15 mm on each side (0.3 mm in all).

It took about 3 days from when I started printing to when I finished  assembling it.

I have uploaded V74, where I have made it possible to print the ridges on the handles in color whereas before, you weren't able to and the handles just printed all in one piece. I will try and update the photos soon to show this.

If you print this, please post a make, leave a like, and comment. I would love to see someone else print this, and, get some feedback maybe.

You cannot sell this, as I am currently doing so, and don't want competition.

Good luck to all downloaders out there, and happy printing.

6/11/24

New version coming out, this new model will be able to house a cabinet light to glow and split apart with the crystal being held in between the two halves like in the old show. I am printing test models right now, but it still might take at least 3 weeks to post the files.

6/22/24

All downloaders, please be aware I am consistently fixing and altering the files to make them better. If you have a problem printing, slicing, and post-processing, feel free to contact me in the comments and I will help you as best as I can.

6/26/24

During testing, I realized that the connecting pieces for the handle ridges and handles was insufficient and just poorly designed. I have since then remodeled the handles to connect better for easier gluing and a more stable hold. To anyone encountering similar issues, I am sorry that I posted these bad handles and I do hope it works out for you. I have uploaded a file with just the handles, as I cannot upload the full Matrix file due to possible imperfections that I have not discovered yet, and the fact that the file is a mess right now due to me altering it so much trying to perfect the split-apart Matrix. I am sorry for the inconvenience and will upload the better Matrix as soon as the file is ready.

7/3/24

I am sorry to report that due to recent fraudulent activity I have removed the matrix files until the issue is resolved. I cannot say much more but I will try to reupload The Matrix as soon as possible. I have uploaded pictures of the new and improved matrix that I will be uploading when the issue is resolved.

If you see ANYONE selling this, even if you think it might be me, please notify me.

WARNING!!! WILL NOT ACTUALLY LIGHT YOUR DARKEST HOUR! ANY ATTEMPTS TO DO SO WILL LIKELY RESULT IN AN UNCONTROLLABLE BURST OF COMICAL LAUGHTER FROM ANY SURROUNDING PEOPLE WHO HAPPEN TO WATCH YOU TRY TO DO SO.