Akira Bike 3D Printing Model | Assembly + Action

ABOUT THIS 3D MODEL

It's hard to overstate how big of an impact the legendary manga and anime by Katsuhiro Otomo has had upon popular culture worldwide. The 1988 action film AKIRA is widely regarded as a landmark in Japanese animation and a pivotal film for the growth in popularity of manga and anime in the Western world. The global anime hit spurred the cyberpunk genre, greatly influenced the art in the anime world, and set the scene for more big anime franchises! The film’s phenomenal animation, cyberpunk themes, and remarkable soundtrack made AKIRA a household name among the creators of all genres, and 3D artists are no exception.

The blazing-red futuristic motorcycle ridden by the AKIRA hero Shotaro Kaneda has become a well-established iconic feature of the franchise and now, thanks to the mastery of our contributing author, “Akira Bike” was made accessible to all 3D printing enthusiasts. The aesthetically advanced bike for 3D printing boasts outstanding technological and design features that are waiting to be developed for your collection. After all, who wouldn’t want to get down to recreating the cult bike slide scene that will unlikely cease to be used and homaged again and again in animation and pop culture? 

ADAPTATION FOR 3D PRINTING

Akira Bike 3D printing model is an action assembly model and its moderation and adaptation for different types of 3D printers took Gambody team 49 hours in total. In order to preserve the accurate likeness of the motorcycle, the model was divided into many parts that are to be assembled as if a real vehicle. 

Taking into account the willingness of our customers to make their 3D printing projects as true to life as possible, Gambody team worked on the highly-articulated assembly of the vehicle that presupposes active suspension of the Shotaro Kaneda’s Bike. Thus, various special mechanisms were introduced into the model to make sure that the parts comprising the suspensions, as well as the details of the body, are authentic and functional (please, see "Versions' specifications", "Assembly video" and photo preview slider). 

Moreover, the model was divided into as many assembly parts as needed to ensure the cleanest 3D printing result possible and to minimize the amount of material needed to print the generated support, e.g. the motorcycle’s handlebar, kickstand, windshield, pedals, review mirrors, seat, disk covers, etc. come as separate STL files. 

All assembly parts are provided in STL files in recommended positions that were worked out in order to ensure the smoothness of the details’ surfaces after printing and so that the 3D printing beginners won't face difficulties when placing the parts on a build plate. We highly recommend that you watch "Assembly video" in the photo preview section before assembling the Akira Bike. 

The model is saved in STL files, a format supported by most 3D printers. All STL files for 3D printing have been checked in Netfabb and no errors were shown.

The model's scale was calculated from the length of the Akira Bike which is 2947 mm. The 3D printing model's chosen scale is 1:8 for the FFF/FDM version and 1:16 for the DLP/SLA/SLS version.

VERSIONS' SPECIFICATIONS

FFF/FDM 1.0 version features:
- Contains 93 parts;
- A printed model is 158 mm tall, 256 mm wide, 483 mm deep;
- There are many assembly parts that need to be printed multiple times - the number of required copies (x5, x20 etc.) is indicated in the title of the file in “Source files” tab, e.g. file "_16_suspension_back_out_x 2" needs to be printed twice;
- Comes with a platform that has "Akira" written on it in Japanese;
- Also, the assembly kit includes various decorative objects that you can print in any quantity and arrange them on the platform in random order;

Suspension and wheels:
- There is a version with rotating gear bearings in both wheels, and a simplified version for you to choose from. Both are to be identically assembled to the body of the bike;
- Wheel tyres can be printed either with plastic filament or with flexible material;
- Akira Bike features a complex active suspension and a simplified static suspension of the front and rear wheels. Both versions are to be identically assembled to the body of the bike;
- The assembly of the front and rear shock-absorbers requires 2 regular ball pen springs and additional "pins" made out of short pieces of regular 1.75mm filament;
- Rotation of the handlebar steers the front wheel;
- The rear wheel slides inside via a spring;

Handlebar:
- There is a mechanism that lifts the handlebar via 2 joints;
- The headlight can be articulated;
Body:
- The accelerator and brake pedals are articulated;
- There are two variants of bike’s body and wheel covers - with and without decals;
- The kickstand can lock in place, either up or down;
- You can choose to remove the front and rear disk covers to find the highly detailed inner disks;
- The windshield, headlight, tail light, and sidelights are provided separately and can be printed with transparent filament; + the rearview mirrors were separated for convenient painting;
- You can light up the model's headlight, tail light, and sidelights. LED wiring can be easily installed throughout the body of the vehicle, while the battery can be hidden under the handlebar;
- All parts are divided in such a way that you will print them with the smallest number of support structures.

DLP/SLA 1.0 version features:
- Contains 58 parts;
- A printed model is 79 mm tall, 128 mm wide, 242 mm deep;
- Comes with a platform that has "Akira" written on it in Japanese;
- Also, the assembly kit includes various decorative objects that you can print in any quantity and arrange them on the platform in random order;
- The assembly of the version's parts requires additional "pins" made out of short pieces of a regular paper clip;
- Rotating front and rear wheel;
- The headlight can be articulated;
- The accelerator and brake pedals are articulated;
- There are two variants of bike’s body and wheel covers - with and without decals;
- The kickstand can lock in place, either up or down;
- You can choose to remove the front and rear disk covers to find the highly detailed inner disks;
- The windshield, headlight, tail light, and sidelights are provided separately and can be printed with transparent material; + the rearview mirrors were separated for convenient painting;
- You can light up the model's headlight, tail light, and sidelights. LED wiring can be easily installed throughout the body of the vehicle, while the battery can be hidden under the handlebar;
- All parts are divided in such a way to fit the build plates and to ensure that support structures are generated where needed.

DLP/SLA 1.1 version features:
- Contains 53 parts;
- A printed model is 79 mm tall, 128 mm wide, 242 mm deep;
- The updated DLP/SLA version with simplified wheels, suspension, and fixed clearances.

DLP/SLA Pre-supported 1.0 version features:
- Contains 14 parts (STL files from DLP/SLA 1.0 version sliced in groups);
- A printed model stands 79 mm tall, 128 mm wide, 242 mm deep;
- The STL files that this version comprises were pre-supported for bundles with Creality resin 3D printer, hollowed out, and have drain holes where needed.

You can get the model of Akira Bike for 3D Printing immediately after the purchase! Just click the green Buy button in the top-right corner of the model’s page. You can pay with PayPal or your credit card.

Watch the tutorial on how to assemble Akira Bike 3D Printing Model at Gambody YouTube channel.

Also, you may like Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X 3D Printing Models, as well as other Anime 3D Printing Models.

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FAQ: 
Where can I print a model if I have no printer?
How to get started with 3D printing?
How to set up my 3D printer?
How to choose right 3D model print bed positioning? 
How to paint printed figurine?

Below you can find printing recommendations for Cura, Simplify3D and Slic3r software.

Cura printing recommendations:

These are basic settings that were tested in Cura 4.8.0 slicer. 

The test models were printed on Ultimaker 2, Creality Ender 3, Creality CR-10S Pro V2, Anycubic I3 Mega, Anycubic I3 MegaS 3D printers with PLA and PETG filaments.

Disclaimer: The following printing settings are a recommendation, not an obligation. The parameters can vary depending on the peculiarities of your 3D printer, the material you use and especially the particular assembly part at hand. Each part that any model comprises often needs preliminary review and you are free to tweak the settings the way you find suitable.

Note:
- You can scale up the model (downscaling is not recommended!);
- All connectors should be printed at 100% Infill;
- For all parts of locks (“ge_lock” in “Source files”) you need to change "Brim" type to "Skirt" in Build Plate Adhesion section.

Quality
Layer Height: 0.12 mm (you can also set Layer Height at 0.16 or 0.2mm for 0.4mm nozzles)
Initial Layer Height: 0.2 mm (carefully level the print bed and keep your Initial Layer Height the same as the main Layer Height)

Line Width: 0.4 mm
Wall Line Width: 0.4 mm
Outer Wall Line Width: 0.4 mm
Inner Wall(s) Line Width: 0.4 mm
Top/Bottom Line Width: 0.4 mm
Infill Line Width: 0.4 mm
Skirt/Brim Line Width: 0.4 mm
Support Line Width: 0.4 mm

Initial Layer Line Width: 100%

Shell 
Wall Thickness: 0.8 mm
Wall Line Count: 2

Outer Wall Wipe Distance: 0.3 mm
Top Surface Skin Layers: 0

Top/Bottom Thickness: 0.6 mm
Top Thickness: 0.6 mm
Top Layers: 5
Bottom Thickness: 0.6 mm
Bottom Layers: 5
Initial Bottom Layers: 5

Top/Bottom Pattern: Lines
Bottom Pattern Initial Layer: Lines
Top/Bottom Line Directions: [ ]
Outer Wall Inset: 0 mm
Optimize Wall Printing Order: Check

Compensate Wall Overlaps: Check
Compensate Inner Wall Overlaps: Check

Minimum Wall Flow: 0%
Fill Gaps Between Walls: Everywhere
Filter Out Tiny Gaps: Check
Horizontal Expansion: 0 mm
Initial Layer Horizontal Expansion: 0 mm
Hole horizontal expansion: 0

Z Seam Alignment: User Specified
Z Seam Position: Back
Z Seam X: Average length of your printer’s plate (e.g.”150” if your plate is 300mm on the X-axis)
Z Seam Y: A value higher than the length of your plate on the Y-axis (e.g. 700)

Seam Corner Preference: Hide Seam
Extra Skin Wall Count: 1
Skin Overlap Percentage: 10%
Skin Overlap 0.04 mm

Infill 
Infill Density: 20% (for all smaller parts and for all parts of connectors use 100% Infill)
Infill Pattern: Triangles
Connect Infill Lines: Check
Infill Line Directions: [ ]
Infill X Offset: 0 mm
Infill Y Offset: 0 mm
Infill Line Multiplier: 1
Extra Infill Wall Count: 0

Infill Overlap Percentage: 10-20%
Infill Overlap: 0.04 mm

Skin Overlap Percentage: 5%
Skin Overlap: 0.02 mm

Infill Wipe Distance: 0 mm
Infill Layer Thickness: 0.24 mm
Gradual Infill Steps: 0
Infill Before Walls: Check
Minimum Infill Area: 0 mm2

Skin Removal Width: 0.8 mm
Top Skin Removal Width: 0.8 mm
Bottom Skin Removal Width: 0.8 mm

Skin Expand Distance: 0.8
Top Skin Expand Distance: 0.8
Bottom Skin Expand Distance: 0.8

Maximum Skin Angle for Expansion: 90˚
Minimum Skin Width for Expansion: 0.0
Skin Edge Support Thickness: 0
Skin Edge Support Layers: 0

Material 
Initial Layer Flow: 100%
Printing Temperature: See your filament settings
Initial Printing Temperature: Your filament settings
Final Printing Temperature: Your filament settings
Build Plate Temperature: Your filament settings
Build Plate Temperature Initial Layer: Your filament settings + 5°
Flow: 100% (Important! If you face difficulty printing the model, you may need to adjust the Flow parameter. You may research the topic using the Internet or seek assistance at our Customer Support Team at support@gambody.com)

Speed 

You can increase the printing Speed by 20% when you print simple objects. For small/thin parts you need to decrease the Speed by 25% - 50%.

Print Speed: 50 mm/s
    Infill Speed: 50 mm/s
    Wall Speed: 25 mm/s
          Outer Wall Speed:25 mm/s
          Inner Wall Speed: 50 mm/s

Top/Bottom Speed: 25mm/s
Support Speed: 25 mm/s 
          Support Infill Speed: 45 mm/s
          Support Interface Speed: 25 mm/s
                Support Roof Speed: 25 mm/s
                Support Floor Speed: 25 mm/s

Travel Speed: 80 mm/s
Initial Layer Speed: 80 mm/s
Initial Layer Print Speed: 20 mm/s
Initial Layer Travel Speed: 80 mm/s

Skirt/Brim Speed: 20 mm/s
Z  Hop Speed: 5 mm/s
Number of Slower Layers: 2
Enable Acceleration Control: Check

When printing simple objects, you need to set all Acceleration parameters at 500 mm/s. For small/thin parts you need to decrease the Acceleration by 50% - 70%.

Travel 
Enable Retraction: Check
Retraction Distance: 4-8 mm, 1-3 mm for Direct Extruder (This is the most important retraction parameter. You can find your optimal value of Retraction Distance by printing any test object, e.g. bridges, towers etc.)

Retraction Speed: 25mm/s
Retraction Retract Speed: 25 mm/s
Retraction Prime Speed: 25 mm/s

Retraction Extra Prime Amount: 0 mm3 
Retraction Minimum Travel: 1.5 mm
Maximum Retraction Count: 100
Minimum Extrusion Distance Window: 6,5 - 10 mm
Limit Support Retractions: Check
Combing Mode: All
Max Comb Distance With No Retract: 30 mm
Retract Before Outer Wall: Check
Avoid Printed Parts When Travelling: Check
Avoid Supports When Travelling: Check
Travel Avoid Distance: 1 mm
Layer Start X: 0.0 mm
Layer Start Y: 0.0 mm
Z Hop When Retracted: Check
Z Hop Height: 0,3 mm

Cooling 
Enable Print Cooling: Check
Fan Speed: 100%
Regular Fan Speed: 100%
Maximum Fan Speed: 100% 

Regular/Maximum Fan Speed Threshold: 10 s
Initial Fan Speed: 0%
Regular Fan Speed at Height: 0.36 mm
Regular Fan Speed at Layer: 3 

Minimum Layer Time: 10 s
Minimum Speed: 10 mm/s

Support 
Generate Support: Check
Support Structure: Normal (you can try using Tree Support Structure if you have difficulty printing any particular assembly part)
Support Placement: Everywhere 
Support Overhang Angle: 60° (this parameter can range from 30° to 70° depending on the part at hand)
Support Pattern: Zig Zag
Support Wall Line Count: 1 (stronger support that might be more difficult to remove) 0 (less strong support but is easier to remove)

Support Density: 15%
Support Line Distance: 2.6667 mm
Initial layer support line distance: 2.667 mm

Support Z Distance: 0.12 mm
Support Top Distance: 0.12 mm
Support Bottom Distance: 0.12 mm

Support X/Y Distance: 0.8-1 mm
Support Distance Priority: Z overrides X/Y
Support Stair Step Height: 0.3 mm
Support Stair Step Maximum Width: 5.0 mm
Support Stair Step Minimum Slope Angle: 10°
Support Join Distance: 2.0 mm
Support Horizontal Expansion: 0.2 mm
Support Infill Layer Thickness: 0.2 mm
Gradual Support Infill Steps: 0
Minimum Support Area: 2 mm

Enable Support Interface: Check (generates additional “pillow” on the support structure that leads to a more even surface, but can be difficult to remove in hard-to-reach areas)
Enable Support Roof: Check
Enable Support Floor: Check

Support Interface Thickness: 0.8 mm
Support Roof Thickness: 0.8 mm
Support Floor Thickness: 0.8 mm

Support Interface Resolution 0.2 mm
Support Interface Density: 50-100%
        Support Roof Density: 50-100%
Support Roof Line Distance: 0.8 mm
        Support Floor Density: 50-100%
Support Floor line Distance:  0.4mm

Support Interface Pattern: Grid 
Support Roof Pattern: Grid (this parameter should differ from Bottom Pattern Initial Layer in “Shell” section)
Support Floor Pattern: Grid

Minimum Support Interface Area: 10mm
Minimum Support Roof Area: 10 mm
Minimum Support Floor Area: 10 mm

Support Interface Horizontal Expansion: 0.0 mm
Support Roof Horizontal Expansion: 0.0 mm
Support Floor Horizontal Expansion: 0.0 mm

Fan Speed Override: Check
Supported Skin Fan Speed: 100%
Use Towers: Check
Tower Diameter: 4 mm
Minimum Diameter: 3.0 mm
Tower Roof Angle: 65° 

Build Plate Adhesion 
Build Plate Adhesion Type: Skirt/Brim (For unsteady parts, and those parts that may come unstuck use “Brim”. For bigger assembly parts that have large adhesion area and for all parts of locks and claws that you want to come out clean use "Skirt")
Skirt/Brim Minimum Length: 250 mm
Brim Width: 8.0 mm
       Brim Line Count: 10
Brim Only on Outside: Check

Mesh Fixes 
Union Overlapping Volumes: Check
Merged Meshes Overlap: 0.15 mm

Special Modes
Print Sequence: All at Once
Surface Mode: Normal

Experimental
Slicing Tolerance: Middle
Maximum Resolution: 0.01 mm
Flow rate compensation max extrusion offset: 0 mm
Flow rate compensation factor: 100%

Simplify3D printing recommendations:

This model was tested with PLA material.

To avoid printing problems, we recommend the following settings:

Extruder
Nozzle Diameter: 0.4 mm
Extrusion Multiplier: 0.97
Extrusion Width: Auto

Retraction Distance: 5.00 mm
Extra Restart Distance: 0.00 mm
Retraction Vertical Lift: 0.08 mm
Retraction Speed: 5400.0 mm/min

Wipe Distance: 5.00 mm

Layer
Primary Layer Height: 0.2 mm
Top Solid Layers: 8
Bottom Solid Layers: 5
Outline/Perimeter Shells: 2
Outline Direction: Inside-Out

First Layer Height: 90%
First Layer Width: 100%
First Layer Speed: 20%

Additions
Use Skirt/Brim: Check
Skirt Layers: 1
Skirt Offset from Part: 6.00 mm
Skirt Outlines: 5

Infill
Internal Fill Pattern: Fast Honeycomb
External Fill Patern: Rectilinear
Interior Fill Percentage: 10%
Outline Overlap: 22%
Infill Extrusion Width: 100%
Minimum Infill Length: 5.00 mm
Combine Infill Every: 1 layers

External Infill Angle Offsets: 45/-45 deg

Support
Generate Support Material: Check
Support Infill Percentage: 15%
Extra Inflation Distance: 1.00 mm
Support Base Layers: 0
Combine Support Every: 1 layers

Dense Support Layers: 0
Dense Infill Percentage: 70%

Support Type: Normal
Support Pillar Resolution: 5.00 mm
Max Overhang Angle: 60 deg

Horizontal Offset From Part: 0.50 mm
Upper Vertical Separation Layers: 1
Lower Vertical Separation Layers: 1

Support Infill Angles: 45 deg

Temperature
Extruder 1 Temperature: 210
Heated Bed: 60

Cooling
Increase fan speed for layers below: 45.0 sec
  Maximum Cooling fan speed: 50%
Bridging fan speed override: 100%

Speeds
Default Printing Speed: 4800.0 mm/min
Outline Underspeed: 50%
Solid Infill Underspeed: 80%
Support Structure Underspeed: 80%
X/Y Axis Movement Speed: 10800.0 mm/min
Z Axis Movemen Speed: 1002.0 mm/min

Adjust printing speed for layers below: 15.0 sec 
  Allow speed reduction down to: 20%

Other
Unsupported area threshold: 20.0 sq m

Slic3r printing recommendations:

Layer height
  Layer height: 0.1 mm
  First layer height: 90%
Vertical shells
  Perimeters: 2
Horizontal shells
  Soid layers: 
              Top: 8
              Bottom: 5
Quality
  Detect thin walls: Check
  Detect bridging perimeters: Check
Advanced
  Seam position: Random
Infill
  Fill desity: 20%
  Fill pattern: Honeycomb
  Top/bottom fill pattern: Rectilinear
Reducing printing time
  Combine infill every: 1 layers
Advanced
  Solid infill every: 0 layers
  Fill angle: 25 deg
  Solid infill threshold area: 0mm
Skirt
  Loops: 2
  Distance from object: 6 mm
  Skirt height: 1 layers
  Minimum extrusion length: 4 mm
Brim 
  Brim width: 10 mm
Support material
  Generate support material: Check
  Overhang threshold: 45 deg
  Enforce support for the first: 3 layers
Raft
  Raft layers: 0 layers
Options for support material and raft
  Contact Z distance: 0.1 mm
  Pattern: Rectilinear
  Patter spacing: 2 mm
  Pattern angle: 0 deg
  Interface layers: 2 layers
  Interface pattern spacing: 0.2 mm
Speed for print moves
  Perimeters: 60 mm/s
  Small perimeters: 20 mm/s
  External perimeters: 20 mm/s
  Infill: 60 mm/s
  Solid infill: 60 mm/s
  Top solid infill: 30 mm/s
  Support material: 50 mm/s
  Support material interface: 100%
  Bridges: 30 mm/s
  Gap fill: 50 mm/s
Speed for non-print moves
  Travel: 60 mm/s
Modifiers
  First layer speed: 30 mm/s
Acceleration control
  Perimeters: 800 mm/s
  Infill: 1500 mm/s
  Bridge: 1000 mm/s
  First layer: 1000 mm/s
  Default: 1000 mm/s
Autospeed
  Max print speed: 100 mm/s
  Max volumetrix speed: 0 mm/s
Extrusion width
  Default extrusion width: 0.42 mm
  First layer: 0.42 mm
  Perimeters: 0.42 mm
  External perimeters: 0.42 mm
  Infill: 0.42 mm
  Solid infill: 0.42 mm
  Top solid infill: 0.42 mm
  Support material: 0.42 mm
Overlap
  Infill/Perimeters overlap: 20%
Flow
  Bridge flow ratio: 0.95
Other
  XY Size Compensation: 0 mm
  Threds: 8
  Resolution: 0 mm