3D Printer ideas

[tudorsailor]

Sounds interesting - here are a couple of photos of the "bung" showing the sizes. It would have to be flexible/rubbery as you say. The idea is to hold the T section of the shroud terminal in place whilst lifting or lowering the mast when there is no tension on the shrouds. Once the terminal is inserted into the mast the bung is fitted and as can be seen in the photo,View attachment 81389View attachment 81390 there is a flat side that surrounds the hole in the mast and a bulbous bit that inserts which is slightly larger than the mast hole ( hope that makes sense!)

It is a bit difficult to see the detail from your photos

Is the bung that you photographed a spare? If you sent it to me, it would be much easier to try and model. Once I have seen it, I would send it back by almost return

PM if you'd like my address

Do you have a photo of a bung in place?

TudorSailor

 

[Norman_E]

Most amateur printers can print in TPU which is flexible and rubbery, but I don't know how UV resistant it is.

 

[bedouin]

Everytime I read a thread like this it makes me really really want to find an excuse to buy a 3D printer. Unfortunately I still can't find one that is good enough

What is currently regarded as a good hobbyist device?

 

[tudorsailor]

Everytime I read a thread like this it makes me really really want to find an excuse to buy a 3D printer. Unfortunately I still can't find one that is good enough

What is currently regarded as a good hobbyist device?

I have an Ultimaker 3. I am happy with it but I admit I was given it by Ultimaker for my work.

TS

 

[Norman_E]

Everytime I read a thread like this it makes me really really want to find an excuse to buy a 3D printer. Unfortunately I still can't find one that is good enough

What is currently regarded as a good hobbyist device?

I have the same problem. They now start at as little as £70 for a kit to build one. Most of those seem to have wooden frames which will probably warp. I wonder if this is any good: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-ANYCU...Metal-Ultrabase-2KG-PLA-Filament/372737729956 Does anyone have one?

 

[bedouin]

I have the same problem. They now start at as little as £70 for a kit to build one. Most of those seem to have wooden frames which will probably warp. I wonder if this is any good: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-ANYCU...Metal-Ultrabase-2KG-PLA-Filament/372737729956 Does anyone have one?

At that price you can't really go wrong can you? Seems to get good enough reviews and might be a good starting point to decide whether you want to take it further.

Anyone know any interesting construction projects/toys for the boys to print?

 

[prof pat pending]

As with most things, you get what you pay for. Tudorsailors ultimaker 3 is about £3k and a nice bit of kit as desktop printers go, although if I was in that market, I’d probably go for something that contains carbon fibre in the material like Markforged, the increase in stiffness is staggering .

But back to the cheaper end of the market, there are numerous forums for 3D printers, have a poke about and look at some photos of parts off the machine before you part with your hard earned

 

[tudorsailor]

Be careful what you wish for......... When I first had my printer, I hated it and asked the company to take it back.

After spending more time working out why the prints were failing, I then decided to keep it! It is a dark art getting satisfactory prints. First there is the settings on the software that tells the printing how to print. Then there is the filament itself. Adjusting the gap between the print head and the bed is critical. Then getting the print to adhere to the print bed is a problem which I solved by buying special stuff to go on the glass - and not using hairspray or glue. I have a heated print bed and I do not think a printer without one would be as useful.

Of course the other thing is designing the widget that you want to print. I use 123D Design by autodesk. It used to be free but I do not think it is still available. Learning CAD is another hurdle. Some things - such as the stl file for ST60 covers are available to download for free from websites such as thingiverse.

I have written up some of my experience with Practical Boat Owner, but my wife would say that I was not completely honest. When I show off the latest creation, I "forget" all the hours it took to get to that point.

I am convinced that desktop printers are of value, but you must be a true techie enthusiast to make it worthwhile. They are definitely not plug and play yet. In some ways it might be best to start designing simple things and see how you get on. Then get them printed by someone on eBay and decide if it works for you before investing in a printer

If anyone invests in a printer, I am happy to share my experiences offline.

I have volunteered to talk at the Cruising Association about 3D printing, but as yet they prefer to ask me to talk about sailing around Italy!

TudorSailor

 

[prof pat pending]

Be careful what you wish for.........

I have volunteered to talk at the Cruising Association about 3D printing

TudorSailor

Oh Jeez, don’t volunteer, it’s bad enough having to do it.

 

[coveman]

Tudorsailor - thanks for the offer - and judging by your last post the process of modelling and printing takes time and experience to achieve! ie not for a non techy like me!
Unfortunately the bung I have is not a spare so I am a bit reluctant to post it in case of loss.
My plan is to see if there is a local operator who could perhaps help out.
I suppose anything bunged in the hole would prevent the terminal dropping out but it seems there is a demand for them, and they leave a neat finish

 

[tudorsailor]

If you could take photos with better lighting +/- flash I may be able to model something based on your measurements. The photos are too dark to see the shape!
TS

 

[prof pat pending]

Tudorsailor - thanks for the offer - and judging by your last post the process of modelling and printing takes time and experience to achieve! ie not for a non techy like me!
Unfortunately the bung I have is not a spare so I am a bit reluctant to post it in case of loss.
My plan is to see if there is a local operator who could perhaps help out.
I suppose anything bunged in the hole would prevent the terminal dropping out but it seems there is a demand for them, and they leave a neat finish

Google sketch-up is relatively simple to get your head around

where’s local?

 

[mattbaker]

I think techradar has somhttps://www.techradar.com/in/news/best-3d-printer
Thanks me later!

 

[northwind]

Instead of parting with it, why not "cast" it in something like silicone and send the mould over? Easy enough to fill a small container with silicone or even plastercine
and send that instead.

Tudorsailor - thanks for the offer - and judging by your last post the process of modelling and printing takes time and experience to achieve! ie not for a non techy like me!
Unfortunately the bung I have is not a spare so I am a bit reluctant to post it in case of loss.
My plan is to see if there is a local operator who could perhaps help out.
I suppose anything bunged in the hole would prevent the terminal dropping out but it seems there is a demand for them, and they leave a neat finish

 

[coveman]

If you could take photos with better lighting +/- flash I may be able to model something based on your measurements. The photos are too dark to see the shape!
TS

I'm away from home for the next 10 days but will look into better photos or as northwind suggested, some kind of mould on my return - many thanks

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Be careful what you wish for......... When I first had my printer, I hated it and asked the company to take it back.

After spending more time working out why the prints were failing, I then decided to keep it! It is a dark art getting satisfactory prints. First there is the settings on the software that tells the printing how to print. Then there is the filament itself. Adjusting the gap between the print head and the bed is critical. Then getting the print to adhere to the print bed is a problem which I solved by buying special stuff to go on the glass - and not using hairspray or glue. I have a heated print bed and I do not think a printer without one would be as useful.

Of course the other thing is designing the widget that you want to print. I use 123D Design by autodesk. It used to be free but I do not think it is still available. Learning CAD is another hurdle. Some things - such as the stl file for ST60 covers are available to download for free from websites such as thingiverse.

I have written up some of my experience with Practical Boat Owner, but my wife would say that I was not completely honest. When I show off the latest creation, I "forget" all the hours it took to get to that point.

I am convinced that desktop printers are of value, but you must be a true techie enthusiast to make it worthwhile. They are definitely not plug and play yet. In some ways it might be best to start designing simple things and see how you get on. Then get them printed by someone on eBay and decide if it works for you before investing in a printer

If anyone invests in a printer, I am happy to share my experiences offline.

I have volunteered to talk at the Cruising Association about 3D printing, but as yet they prefer to ask me to talk about sailing around Italy!

TudorSailor

I entirely agree with the comments about CAD software - I used 2D CAD software in a professional field, and that was a steep learning curve! 3D is going to be that much harder.

However, lots of things have already been designed, and there are web-sites where you can download ready-to-go CAD models. Thingiverse is probably the best known, but no doubt there are others. Thingiverse has a surprising amount of boaty stuff.

One day when I have the spare cash I'll get a 3D printer - I'm sure I can find a use for it! But I do qualify as knowledgeable abot techie matters.

 

[northwind]

The new Prusa mini is worth a look for anyone in the market for a budget machine, good support and ecosystem around their products.

 

[tudorsailor]

Google sketch-up is relatively simple to get your head around

where’s local?

It seems that 123D Design is still downloadable as an alternative

https://autodesk-123d-design.en.lo4d.com/windows

TudorSailor

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Just for interest, I've just bought my first 3D printer - a very basic one, a CReality CR-100. It only handles PLA, and has a tiny build volume (10x10x8 cm), but it will do to explore the capabilities of the technology, and to gain experience in using 3D design software. After printing a couple of "canned" projects, it is currently printing my very first design - a new holder for the spools of filament, as the one supplied only works with CReality's own spools, which have a much larger hole in the middle than the FlashForge ones that I bought.

I'm using OpenScad, which might not be the first choice for non-programmers, but which seems to be pretty widely used. It has a lot of parametric libraries for things like screw threads and gear wheels.

 

[maby]

Just for interest, I've just bought my first 3D printer - a very basic one, a CReality CR-100. It only handles PLA, and has a tiny build volume (10x10x8 cm), but it will do to explore the capabilities of the technology, and to gain experience in using 3D design software. After printing a couple of "canned" projects, it is currently printing my very first design - a new holder for the spools of filament, as the one supplied only works with CReality's own spools, which have a much larger hole in the middle than the FlashForge ones that I bought.

I'm using OpenScad, which might not be the first choice for non-programmers, but which seems to be pretty widely used. It has a lot of parametric libraries for things like screw threads and gear wheels.

Take a look at DesignSpark from RS Components (https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/mechanical-software). We use our 3d printer for prototyping and short-run production and we spent a long time evaluating software to drive it. DesignSpark 3D is far and away the best package for such things - and it's free. Another benefit is that, if you are using the printer to produce any serious engineering product, RS offer downloadable models for many of their stock lines. If I'm designing an enclosure for a device that is going to include things like switches, power connectors or sensors, then I can often download the accurate 3d models of those components from the RS catalogue and see how they are going to fit within my box - ensure that holes are in the right place and there is space for everything inside.