3D printer, anyone made something genuinely useful ?

RichardS said:
His Boss asked him to come up with a project to make something on the 3D printer to show that he could use it the hardware and software before they let him loose on it for real. He asked me a couple of months ago whether I had any ideas .... and I certainly did, and you can see the result. :encouragement:

Richard
Click to expand...

alant said:
What did you buy that demo piece from the MOD for?
Got any receipt?
Click to expand...

Errrr .... that's certainly a doozey of a non-sequiter Alan.

Boss asks Son to come up with a little project to test his abilities. Son shows Boss what his Dad has suggested, Boss OKs it. Son makes it. Son gives it to Dad.

It's not rocket science errr ..... except that what Son is working on might well be rocket science ...... but you get the drift. ;)

Richard
 
Son no2 designs turbine blades for a living, is quite handy with things mechanical and makes scale models of his designs at home to prove concepts. The 3 d printer is his 3rd one, bigger and stiffer framed than earlier ones. Stiffness is very important with 3D printers as any backlash/slop in the printing mechanism ends up with poor results.

The major difficulty in making things you NEED with 3d printing is being able to generate the design files. If it's something rectilinear and easily measured - then it's much simpler. Something that was a casting with compound curved surfaces and threaded voids etc is very difficult to define unless you are talented in 3D CAD.
Some shapes are almost impossible to print.

I considered using one of his cast off printers for some boat parts but canned the idea as I do not know enough CAD, and the prospect of stinking the house out with hot plastic did not go down very well! When 3-D laser scanning gets cheaper - the means of generating shape files might get much simpler for difficult items. I can't see enough demand for that happening any time soon. I'll stick to conventional tools for making things thanks :p
 
pagoda said:
The major difficulty in making things you NEED with 3d printing is being able to generate the design files. If it's something rectilinear and easily measured - then it's much simpler. Something that was a casting with compound curved surfaces and threaded voids etc is very difficult to define unless you are talented in 3D CAD.
Click to expand...

I was just about to say that!

Defining the model requires significant experience and a lot of work. I bet there are more 3d printers gathering dust, than doing anything useful, because the buyers never gave creating the definition a second thought, until they had to do it.
 
RichardS said:
Errrr .... that's certainly a doozey of a non-sequiter Alan.

Boss asks Son to come up with a little project to test his abilities. Son shows Boss what his Dad has suggested, Boss OKs it. Son makes it. Son gives it to Dad.

It's not rocket science errr ..... except that what Son is working on might well be rocket science ...... but you get the drift. ;)

Richard
Click to expand...

Is it the Son's, to "give to Dad" though
 
Noticed Dremal had one in the local DIY store for just under a €1,000, then saw one on another forum for 299. Not heard how he got on yet. Some friends, who design and sell high end lighting stuff (I do the the backplates and mounting stuff) showed me a sample from a prospective supplier. The quality was amazing, if asked to machine the sample, it would have taken many hours to even get near it.
 
Not surprisingly there are some very good 3D printing forums with many passionate members willing to share their experience. Before you spend any serious money, think about the size of parts you want to make, the final applications then go and have a chat with them.
 
alant said:
Its the MOD^s, not his to give.
Click to expand...
Alan
what on earth is the matter with you?
In fact what is the matter with others on here this weekend? Ive been on the receiving end as well! Argue, bicker, peeing contests! For gods sake, get a grip!
Stu
 
alant said:
Its the MOD^s, not his to give.
Click to expand...


Indeed, therefore we have paid for it with our hard earned tax pounds.

This surely amounts to a conspiracy, the MOD "manager" Richards son and Richard himself.

I think you should contact the MOD, the police, your local MP and possibly interpol too.

Disgraceful :livid::mad-new::beaten:
 
I think that's all a bit OTT.

It's more than likely RichardS gizmo has been fitted with a micro tracker by MoD specialists and he is now, unknown to him, taking part in an Army evaluation of the device.
 
Actually I have thought about the possibility of making instrument pods with a 3D printer. They cost quite a lot more than a cheap printer and with a canny CAD design could be viable, though I suppose there will be a limit on size.
 
I bought one of these for work as we develop a lot of parts for industrial machines:

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/velleman-k8200-3d-printer-kit-n82qg

It works well once you get to grips with the correct temperatures and speeds to use. The finished items will not look like Richard's gizmo, the honeycombe layers are visible so no bright shiny finishes. However for making proof-of-concept prototypes it is great.

You will need some form of CAD program to output STL files but I believe you can download free ones.
 
Jungle Jim said:
It works well once you get to grips with the correct temperatures and speeds to use. The finished items will not look like Richard's gizmo, the honeycombe layers are visible so no bright shiny finishes.
Click to expand...
Richard's surface is flat. It may well have had some post print processing as well.
 
Jungle Jim said:
I bought one of these for work as we develop a lot of parts for industrial machines:

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/velleman-k8200-3d-printer-kit-n82qg

It works well once you get to grips with the correct temperatures and speeds to use. The finished items will not look like Richard's gizmo, the honeycombe layers are visible so no bright shiny finishes. However for making proof-of-concept prototypes it is great.

You will need some form of CAD program to output STL files but I believe you can download free ones.
Click to expand...

Since these printers lay down 'plastic' in layers, is there a weak potential shear failure waiting in the wings?
I can understand there may be strength, when pushing down onto several layers, but when pushing sideways across the layers, the strength will not be the same, bit like splitting wood along the grain.
 
alant said:
Since these printers lay down 'plastic' in layers, is there a weak potential shear failure waiting in the wings?
I can understand there may be strength, when pushing down onto several layers, but when pushing sideways across the layers, the strength will not be the same, bit like splitting wood along the grain.
Click to expand...

Depending on things like wall thickness, pulling through Z tends to be the worst, the “grain” changes direction which tends to help shear, but if it’s a thin wall, yes it can easily split. There are ways around this though, you can infiltrate some with a low viscosity resin, you can also wash the surface of some materials with acetone, this gives a shiny surface, but also helps to remove the layer lines which act as defects.
 
skipper_stu said:
Alan
what on earth is the matter with you?
In fact what is the matter with others on here this weekend? Ive been on the receiving end as well! Argue, bicker, peeing contests! For gods sake, get a grip!
Stu
Click to expand...

Put "plank" into a sentence Stu, almost any sentence, and out will pop a perfect description of Alan. ;)

I assume he's using this serious technical thread to air his inadequacies because all the aggressors on my "Traffic Police" thread on The Lounge have been well and truly battered by yours truly so he certainly isn't going to chance his arm over there. :)

Richard
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

Halo
Cuuting a 115mm hole for Wema tank hatch
Replies
9
Views
368
pete
pete

Share this page

Top