3D printer uses

[epicfail48]

I just hope the learning curve isn't to bad.

It isnt horrible, but dont believe anybody who uses adjectives like "easy" to describe it, or tries to tell you youll have perfect prints in an hour or two. Those people are like the career machinists who tell the new hires theyll be taking perfectly finished and tight-tolerance parts off the mill by the end of their first shift. Liars, in other words.

Honestly, learning how to use a 3d printer is very similar to learning how to use a mill. Doesnt take long to make a finished part, but it takes a lot longer to learn how to make a finished part, what parameters you need to tweak for best results, how to identify specific problems and correct them, and this is all after you learn how to set up the machine. It wont take you a lifetime to master of course, but its going to be a few weeks worth of experimenting to try to figure things out. Again, its not horrible in the least, if you know how to weld youve already gone through a learning process thats several orders of magnitude more arduous, but if you go into it expecting an easy, "press a button and get perfect results with no effort required", youll end up rapidly disillusioned with the process

On a less doom and gloom note, meet Benchy, your new best friend: http://www.3dbenchy.com/
Be prepared to use your entire first roll of filament just printing plastic boats, trying to learn what parameters to mess with for best results. Also, check out this guys channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbg...ikmtoLqtpc59Bw
Personally, i dont know of anybody better at explaining the basics of 3d printing for a newcomer, his videos are well worth spending some time in

[thin-woodsman]

just hope the learning curve isn't to bad.

It's about a month of real learning, most of which is learning the effects of various slicer settings (for Cura, see https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-...Print-settings for a list of what is configurable). After that is apparently a lifetime of mods and tweaking. If you're not worried about surface finish, then your big concern is mostly going to be the optimal speed settings for the filament you want to use.

If you already know CAD, then you just have to learn about what works on an extrusion machine (e.g. avoid overhangs and curved surfaces, design for supports or rafts, etc).

[loose nut]

Actually one of the things I want to do is to make patterns for casting. One of my friends has a small home foundry and is very good at casting AL and brass/bronze. I know another guy doing cast iron in his garage. The ability to print out brackets, sprockets and gears for low load limited use projects is another plus.I just hope the learning curve isn't to bad.

[nickel-city-fab]

I have been pondering buying a 3d printer but I can't decide if I have enough need for one. Most people seem to print out figurines, toys etc. as their main use but that isn't anything I would do. Is there a valid shop use for one. I have a few ideas but not enough to warrant one.

One of the earliest users that I heard of, was using it to print out long-obsolete Harley motorcycle parts. The kind that cost a fortune if you can even find them. The 3D prints were then used as patterns to cast actual replacement parts in iron and alloy. They have a mark on them to show that they are not originals. His first product was a set of the raw casting for the "Knuckle head" heads. Castings were $750 ea (back in the 1990's) which is a good deal because an original will set you back a few thousand $$$. There are also repro carburetor castings, tractor parts, etc etc. So yes, it can be lucrative in connection with a foundry and the right customers.

Making otherwise unobtainable parts, at least somewhat obtainable for the restoration crowd.

[thin-woodsman]

does it cut on size with the router? you should be able to get better than .037", however it'll probably never be dead nuts. I generally accept that if I want positive clearance off the build plate, I should go +0.010" on diameters, or print more tightly and hand ream them out with a drill or scraper blade.

That's a good question - whether the accuracy is inherent in the mechanism (ball-screw linear rails, if I recall right) or specific to the print head (extrusion)/slicer. I haven't tried the other fuctions yet, but I did determine that the features of the printed part are being *located* correctly, they are just of inconsistent size. So I'm not worried about the accuracy of the machine. I'm working on a final mod to the print head, then have to permanently wire up the breadboarded ESP32-CAM/DHT11 sensor and I'll be good to go. Should know whether the problems are reduced or fixed in a few days. Kinda excited to see how the inline filament drier works out, actually.

[psomero]

Be forewarned, unbranded/generic filaments can be a bit more of a pain to print with, which can make the initial learning experience harder than it needs to be. I recommend sticking with a good name brand for at least the first few spools, until youre more familiar with the process. Easier to learn when you dont also have to take into account things like compensation for uneven filament diameters. Not saying that what you have wont print of course, i just have horrible memories of trying to learn how to print with an eBay special spool. Had a horrible time of it, switched over to hatchbox, and all of a sudden my prints got way better

THIS

After years of printing and going through hundreds of kilos of filament, with many bad experiences with unreliable prints that wasted my time troubleshooting, hatchbox and esun have been the most reliable "cheap" filaments and are my go-to brands for PLA/PETG. I'm stuck printing with 3.0mm material, so my selection is a bit limited. When I make the change to 1.75, I will give prusament a try, but I have 20+ rolls of PLA i bought at the start of last year during the panic time.

[psomero]

Earlier this year, I purchased a Snapmaker 2 (A350 - the large one). Purportedly a decent 3D printer, and the extra features (laser engraver, underpowered CBC router, everything run via CAN bus) were just an excuse to justify the extra $$$.

I went through about a month of tweaking, calibrating, etc, and the machine is now sitting idle and has been since late April. The reason for this is that I could not get prints produced to exact dimensions (a 1/4" hole, for example, might be 0.213, or the edges of a dovetail might be 0.010 oversized and therefore not fit the qctp), and the answer to this problem is basically 1) use an enclosure, 2) micromanage the hell outta the filament, 3) add fans fans and more fans. I was just working on the enclosure last night, should have it sufficient for 3-d printing tonight (will still need to add shop-vac ports for the CNC, and laser-sheidling for the engraver), then I will be adding an inline filament drier and machining some mods for the print head to take the bowden tube from the drier and to provide mounts for a fan and a dial indicator.

does it cut on size with the router? you should be able to get better than .037", however it'll probably never be dead nuts. I generally accept that if I want positive clearance off the build plate, I should go +0.010" on diameters, or print more tightly and hand ream them out with a drill or scraper blade.

[Dan_the_Chemist]

Will this tide you over for a while?

Yes, but only if you are making a video.

[elf]

A rose engine? You have a rose engine? I wanna see it. Start a new thread !!!

Will this tide you over for a while?

[Dan_the_Chemist]

The main drive timing belt pulley on my rose engine is 3d printed,

A rose engine? You have a rose engine? I wanna see it. Start a new thread !!!

[epicfail48]

Just an update. I put in order for some generic PLA filament ($18 CAN./1 KG spool plus $9 for basic shipping) yesterday at 2PM, from a seller in the Toronto area and was surprised to have it show up at my door 22 hours later. I thought it would come by Canada Post but it was sent by a courier service. 😁 Unfortunately with the current covid shipping mess my printer probably won't show up for a couple of month. Sigh.😢 Well I now have time to study up on how they work.

Be forewarned, unbranded/generic filaments can be a bit more of a pain to print with, which can make the initial learning experience harder than it needs to be. I recommend sticking with a good name brand for at least the first few spools, until youre more familiar with the process. Easier to learn when you dont also have to take into account things like compensation for uneven filament diameters. Not saying that what you have wont print of course, i just have horrible memories of trying to learn how to print with an eBay special spool. Had a horrible time of it, switched over to hatchbox, and all of a sudden my prints got way better

[no704]

You can get the premium student version of solid works by joining EAA for $40/year.
I’m getting ready to try lost pla aluminum casting.

[loose nut]

Just an update. I put in order for some generic PLA filament ($18 CAN./1 KG spool plus $9 for basic shipping) yesterday at 2PM, from a seller in the Toronto area and was surprised to have it show up at my door 22 hours later. I thought it would come by Canada Post but it was sent by a courier service. 😁 Unfortunately with the current covid shipping mess my printer probably won't show up for a couple of month. Sigh.😢 Well I now have time to study up on how they work.

[elf]

The aluminum plate has phasing holes instead of indexing. It allows the rosette pattern to be phased (moved in relation to the workpiece) instead of using a worm and gear. My rose engine is fully stepperized, so it can do indexing by divisions or degrees.

[Baz]

Now that's a good idea Elf - the complex patterns for rose engines do lend themselves to CAD + 3D print, and the dividing index plate even if only used as a pattern for making an aluminium one. Kind of funny though 'cos the CAD plus stepper control of the printer if used as a CNC machine would far outpace the olde worlde rose engine.