EZ compression articulation armor for cosplay elbows and knees
byDrCyanideAn EZ to print piece of cosplay armor, suitable for elbows or the backs of knees. This compression articulation joint is inspired by old armors, like those seen here - https://youtu.be/P9gzWttjDz4?t=8
The segments do not touch anywhere visible from the front, with about 1mm of space between the edge of one segment and the body of another when fully compressed. This should give some space for paint, and protect said paint from scratching (hopefully).
SUPPORTS ARE REQUIRED! There's a small peg near the bottom of the articulating piece that needs it, as well as a ledge above that peg. Tree supports that only touch the build plate worked fine for me.
The interior is 100mm wide, which makes scaling it to fit easy. If you need it to fit an arm 125mm wide, scale the width to 125%. It's recommended to ONLY scale the width, as scaling the height will reduce the flexibility of the sections, and scaling the length will make the peg connection less circular.
It's likely that the segments will show gaps between them. If this is a problem for your costume, print out the Segment Spacer, then grab some fabric and hot glue. The segment spacer will align multiple segments so that they don't overlap. You can then glue the inside of the segments to the fabric. Move the spacer a little further down (still overlapping the last one glued) and repeat. If the fabric was laid tight, it should keep the segments from opening up so far that there's a visible gap.