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Jun 11, 2020 12:56:43 GMT
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cb11acd
Part of things
Posts: 132
Club RR Member Number: 122
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Jun 11, 2020 13:23:27 GMT
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Accurate scanning would be great for things like original but unobtainable buttons, knobs, speaker grilles, but not at +-5mm. I know there's stuff out there that is very accurate but no idea of price of the setup. The printers discussed above have an accuracy of between 0.4 and 0.1mm so that's would be needed from the scanner. In my mind I see a red laser and mirrors spinning around an object but that might have been an episode of Dr Who. This is the kind of setup that would be able to scan original knobs etc
Very DIY able, loads of online tutorials if you search.
Tollerance of a filament printer (FDM) can be a bit lower in Z, X and Y can be more precise. A bit of filler primer on those parts and you can get pretty good results.
The alernative is go to a website like Materialise or 3D Hubs with your file and it will be cheaper than buying a printer. But wheres the fun in that
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cb11acd
Part of things
Posts: 132
Club RR Member Number: 122
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Jun 11, 2020 13:38:23 GMT
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This is a bit of my past work with 3D printing, to give an idea of whats possible with what processes.
FYI, the main processes are:
FDM - Fused Deposition Modelling - or fillament printer, they usually print with ABS or PLA. PLA is much easier and some blends can be just as strong as ABS. Most consumer printers use this method.
SLS - Selective Laser Sintering - Uses lasers to shoot powdered nylon, sometimes glass filled nylon. HP now have a pretty cool industrial printer that has taken this a step further. one or two consumer printers use this, and they are in the thousands of £.
SLA - Stereolythography - Uses lasers or UV exposure to selectivley cure resin. quite a few consumer units now but its messy, smelly and still quite expensive.
This is a jetpack designed for a fashion show in Detroit. The full size model was printed using SLS and then prepped and painted professionally.
This is the same Jetpack except I printed myself a miniture in SLS as well as a "Business card" akin to an airfix kit. The business card was a bit small and fiddelly to print on an FDM printer (I tried). SLA would have also worked
This is a device designed to read colours printed in SLA (opaque with a transparent printed top bit) and then finished with high fill primer and spray paint (by me)
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Jun 13, 2020 18:34:17 GMT
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Last Edit: Jun 13, 2020 18:34:53 GMT by boom666
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My 2¢ would be try getting it printed by a third party before buying an expensive piece of temperamental kit — ie get it printed by a bureau. I"ve had parts printed for my push-bikes, along with button blanks for my Forester by Shapeways in The Netherlands and they're better quality than you can achieve at home and though not exactly cheap - they are still a lot cheaper than buying a printer, buying filament or photo-reactive goop and spending hours and money getting the thing set up. They post things to you within a week and you can also get things done in metal - even silver and gold along with loads of plastic options. Not a shill. Just my experience.
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Garry
East Midlands
Posts: 1,722
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Jun 14, 2020 10:15:13 GMT
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I've got an Anycubic i3 Mega S, not the newest or flashiest around by any means but I bought it to make things I needed which I couldn't buy anywhere. For that task it ticked the box perfectly for just under £200 at the time. It has a heated bed which was a rare thing a couple of years ago but pretty commonplace now.
If I were buying a new one I'd be looking for something with auto bed leveling, getting things setup is the toughest part of setting up a printer, mercifully its not a frequent job. but can be a headache if you don't immediately figure out the knack.
I design things in Fusion360 and slice in Cura, I think those are the most common programs people use.
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moglite
Part of things
Posts: 815
Club RR Member Number: 144
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Jun 14, 2020 17:16:45 GMT
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I think I'm going to pull the trigger on a Prusa Mini They aren't the cheapest, but seem to be good straight out of the box, without a huge learning/modification curve.
I'll use it for small simple projects around the house/garage. If I need anything bigger or out of fancy materials, I can prototype it home, and then send it out to a bureau. The relatively small size means I don't have to reorganize my house to fit it in.
They are on back-order until September, but that is fine by me, it'll give me time to pick and learn a CAD program.
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1967 Morris Oxford Traveller 1979 Toyota LandCruiser BJ40 1993 Daimler Double Six 2007 Volvo XC70 2.4D
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madmog
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,152
Club RR Member Number: 46
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Jun 14, 2020 21:02:41 GMT
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My 2¢ would be try getting it printed by a third party before buying an expensive piece of temperamental kit — ie get it printed by a bureau. I"ve had parts printed for my push-bikes, along with button blanks for my Forester by Shapeways in The Netherlands and they're better quality than you can achieve at home and though not exactly cheap - they are still a lot cheaper than buying a printer, buying filament or photo-reactive goop and spending hours and money getting the thing set up. They post things to you within a week and you can also get things done in metal - even silver and gold along with loads of plastic options. Not a shill. Just my experience. Can you show a part and say what it cost from the bureau? I've just wasted half a day with my temperamental Ender. Just when I think I've ironed out all the problems something else fails. Are other filament printers more reliable Eg Prusa or is it the nature of the beast?
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Jun 14, 2020 22:11:13 GMT
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Can you show a part and say what it cost from the bureau? I've just wasted half a day with my temperamental Ender. Just when I think I've ironed out all the problems something else fails. Are other filament printers more reliable Eg Prusa or is it the nature of the beast? Things I've had done are installed on other things so a bit hard to take pictures but they're really good - very minimal stepping and incredibly accurate measurements. You can get a quote just by uploading your 3d file (it likes Collada format) and choosing your material. Ultimately you're paying for time in their machines and the handling so it's not mega cheap - but like I say - cheaper than a whole printer and what price can you put on a truly bespoke item you can't get anywhere else?
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cb11acd
Part of things
Posts: 132
Club RR Member Number: 122
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My 2¢ would be try getting it printed by a third party before buying an expensive piece of temperamental kit — ie get it printed by a bureau. I"ve had parts printed for my push-bikes, along with button blanks for my Forester by Shapeways in The Netherlands and they're better quality than you can achieve at home and though not exactly cheap - they are still a lot cheaper than buying a printer, buying filament or photo-reactive goop and spending hours and money getting the thing set up. They post things to you within a week and you can also get things done in metal - even silver and gold along with loads of plastic options. Not a shill. Just my experience. Can you show a part and say what it cost from the bureau? I've just wasted half a day with my temperamental Ender. Just when I think I've ironed out all the problems something else fails. Are other filament printers more reliable Eg Prusa or is it the nature of the beast? Everything I posted above was from a bureau. I can't remember exact costs but I think the jetpack model was around £100.
Think carefully about the material selection through as they all have their specific qualities. The wesite will explain these in detail.
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I'm interested in buying a printer at some point, I drive CAD for a living and have outsourced 3D prints for work but I'd like to make my own parts.
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1966 Ford Cortina GT 2018 Ford Fiesta ST
Full time engineer, part time waffler on Youtube - see Jim_Builds
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My 2¢ would be try getting it printed by a third party before buying an expensive piece of temperamental kit — ie get it printed by a bureau. I"ve had parts printed for my push-bikes, along with button blanks for my Forester by Shapeways in The Netherlands and they're better quality than you can achieve at home and though not exactly cheap - they are still a lot cheaper than buying a printer, buying filament or photo-reactive goop and spending hours and money getting the thing set up. They post things to you within a week and you can also get things done in metal - even silver and gold along with loads of plastic options. Not a shill. Just my experience. For completeness I’m going to add in my experience... So I hit the button on the Ender 5 and watched lots of setup videos while I waited for it to arrive. Construction was a nice calm pleasant experience on the kitchen table...although issue 1 became clear - make sure you have space to put one, as they aren’t the kind of thing you can leave out in the shed! The bed levelling process didn’t seem too bad - it reminded me of doing value clearances I’d downloaded some sample files and slicer program to prepare them - all good. However from that point on it was frustrating failed print after failed print The first few layers laid down ok, but then the nozzle would start to drag on the actual print and just mess up. I tried to be as methodical as possible - gradually changing temperatures, enabling z hop and attempting to reprint between settings.. Unfortunately this was one of those times that being methodical didn’t pay off for me. At the end the nozzle was continually getting clogged and I felt disheartened by the whole thing. ..so I sent it back. I figured I’d leave playing with something temperamental for my bike carbs, I don’t need the stress I think another 5 or so years when the technology is less ‘enthusiast’ I might be tempted to try again.
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madmog
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,152
Club RR Member Number: 46
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Jun 27, 2020 12:25:59 GMT
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I echo sarkie83's comments. I've had an Ender 3 for a while now. It has always suffered from underextrusion - not enough filament coming through. If the part doesn't turn into a birds nest it has the strength and characteristics of a shredded wheat. I've changed the extruder part from standard plastic to metal, changed numerous nozzles, feeder tubes, the hot end but this problem keeps coming back. The upgrade parts aren't expensive but my time is limited. The next step will probably be to upgrade the extruder, tube and hot end into an all-in-one device but this will involve re-basing all sorts of parameters and re-flashing the chip. I can just see that wasting a week of my free time that I could be doing my car.
I got 170 odd visors out and some duct reducers for my car and a few test cats. On average 1 in 3 prints failed . I'd be happy with that it's just the unpredictability.
I'm not sure if this is filament printing in general or just cheap Chinese stuff.
If I find out that XYZ model doesn't have the problems I've been having I'll probably upgrade. It's just been so useful. Eg next thing I can see myself printing is a glovebox insert. Fitting air con behind the glovebox makes it a bit smaller and not a simple oblong. Very easy on the 3d printer and simple cad program. Not so simple in fibreglass.
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Well it’s nice to hear I’m not alone with my experiences if nothing else I went for the pro version as I thought it would give me a better chance of sidestepping some of the common issues. If nothing else, it saved me some time!
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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Jun 28, 2020 21:07:46 GMT
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That's a shame to hear, I was about to pull the trigger on an ender 5 pro - just trying to work out how to fit it in the spare bedroom first! They're not small... Might have to take another look at the flashforge printers - small build area but otherwise look good.
What filament were you using?
The ultimakers I'm used to probably have a 90%+ success rate with prints, primarily with ABS, but even second hand they go for ridiculous money.
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moglite
Part of things
Posts: 815
Club RR Member Number: 144
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Jun 28, 2020 21:34:44 GMT
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I have no practical experience, but was ready to buy an Ender 3/ Ender 3 Pro. But from the reading I've done, they seem to need a lot of upgrades/fiddling, and I don't need the actual printer to be another hobby.
So I'm in the queue for a Prusa Mini. This is quite staggering for me, as I'm very impetuous, and always want stuff now. But the feeling I got, was it would take me until September (when the Mini is shipping) and a similar amount of money. So I might as well wait until September, where I'm hoping the Prusa hype/build quality will give me a decent success rate.
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1967 Morris Oxford Traveller 1979 Toyota LandCruiser BJ40 1993 Daimler Double Six 2007 Volvo XC70 2.4D
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cb11acd
Part of things
Posts: 132
Club RR Member Number: 122
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Printing with ABS is very hit and miss and really needs a heated enclosure to print right.
The newest PLA blends are pretty strong but obviously don't have the same properties as ABS so you can't acetone smooth parts etc. PLA is easy to print but can clog up nozzles quicker.
It is another hobby though really. although I don't spend too much time on mine and its pretty reliable. occasionally levelling the bed. I also find glass beds much better and wouldn't bother with anything else. If you still have issues with adhesion then some hairspray on the glass bed helps.
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Badger
Part of things
Posts: 250
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Just my penny's worth - I bought an Ender 5 Plus back in April, having done a fair bit of research. Unfortunately I had nothing but problems with it - it took a lot of fiddling and effort to get the first few layers down correctly, after which it would print the rest fine. It wouldn't stay "calibrated" - looks like there may have been a weak stepper on it. Sent it back in May, still currently awaiting a replacement.
I've done a fair bit of 3D printing over the years, mostly at work on expensive printers, and this is a lot more labour intensive. With these cheaper printers it's all in the preparation - getting the right temperatures, fiddling with the slicer settings, etc. In theory once you get the right combination it's all gravy, but in reality I think you'll always be fiddling with them as there are so many variables.
Basically it comes down to whether you want a plug-and-play tool to print stuff off (if so go for the most advanced one you can) or something you can spend time tinkering with (go for a kit or build one yourself!). I opted for the midpoint in that scale, and went for the largest build volume I could (I figured it would be most useful for car parts).
I'll figure out whether I regret it when I get my replacement printer!
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Last Edit: Jun 29, 2020 8:49:51 GMT by Badger
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That's a shame to hear, I was about to pull the trigger on an ender 5 pro - just trying to work out how to fit it in the spare bedroom first! They're not small... What filament were you using? Haha, yeah I didn’t think properly where I was going to put it! I was using PLA - it came with a roll of it to get you started...
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madmog
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,152
Club RR Member Number: 46
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Jun 29, 2020 20:21:32 GMT
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Just bear in mind PLA biodegrades. Great for the environment, not so great for something you don't want falling apart in 5 years.
For the ABS fans, give PETg a go. Only downside as far as I can see, you can't paint it. Nothing sticks to it except a glass printer bed. You'll never get it off that. Although more fiddly than PLA, retraction sorts it (a setting on the slicer) out. While I have a lot of issues with my printer, the issues have been the same whether PLA or PETg.
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