3D printer uses

[loose nut]

I successfully had a 2-part collar modeled in CAD, 3D printed including accounting for shrink, and cast in bronze. It made an unavailable part available again. And, it was very satisfying.

I have chosen not to acquire a CAD package/3D printer, though, because although the 3D printer is now affordable the CAD package IMO is not. Also, pre-retirement I worked for companies that sold enormous CAD programs to semiconductor manufacturers, and I have a very limited willingness to learn another huge CAD tool.

metalmagpie

Try Solidedge, they give away a full version to hobbyists and it is a very capable CAD program. You don't have to learn everything just enough to do the modelling and export it as STL files. Minimal learning curve since you have experience.

[The Metal Butcher]

Solidedge is good. I use it at work.

[tom_d]

Probably not, I am a very amateur CAD designer but someone with some experience probably could do so easily. The plastics used in the printing will determine how good of a fit you will get and how much of a press fit is necessary. It may be that no press is needed even if a suitable adhesive were to be used. If the width of the gear isn't critical a mounting flange might give extra adhesive area even.

Maybe an amateur now, but you'll get better with practice.

Is it carved in stone that there must be a press fit holding two pieces together? I wonder what would happen if there were some holes, or other features at the OD of a rim such that the plastic could be printed directly on to the rim, with those features incorporated as some sort of anchoring points. Tossing that out as an idea.

[RMinMN]

Maybe an amateur now, but you'll get better with practice.

Is it carved in stone that there must be a press fit holding two pieces together? I wonder what would happen if there were some holes, or other features at the OD of a rim such that the plastic could be printed directly on to the rim, with those features incorporated as some sort of anchoring points. Tossing that out as an idea.

I think this is an example of mission creep. I think it would take some tweaking of the gcode sent to the printer to make sure the head didn't want to move where the hub was mounted. Then locating the hub in exactly the right spot and securing it to the print bed with something that can withstand the heat and still be able to remove it when the print was completed would complicate it.

[elf]

The main drive timing belt pulley on my rose engine is 3d printed, close fit on an aluminum hub, and secured with machine screws. It's been working flawlessly for more than four years. Spur gears printed in ABS or Nylon don't usually need a metal hub, but there's no reason it can't be done.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[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 !!!

[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]

Will this tide you over for a while?

Yes, but only if you are making a video.

[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.

[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.