3D printing

[Micropuller]

Anybody into 3D printing?
I bought a kit about 6 months ago. Started out with printing a lot of stuff from Thingiverse, but have started using it more as a (prototype) production tool.
Here's my latest project: Animatronic eye mechanism - YouTube

[PaulzOx]

Wow that looks awesome. Are you making it for a bigger project? Are you controlling it or is it programmed for movement?

[hellbounder]

That's pretty awesome . And I'm over here wishing somebody would make me a 87'. Chevy c10 front bumper , dash and door panels to fit a clod body .

[Micropuller]

This was just a test to see if I could make a working, semi-professional mechanism. Maybe someday I'll add a mouth and some other stuff, but I've got too many projects going on already.
Currently I'm trying to figure out 3D scanning. I've built myself a setup and it's working. Now it's a matter of lots of practice to get acceptable results

[johnnyh66]

I've had trouble getting my prints to stick to the bed... it's very frustrating.

[Micropuller]

What material are you using in your printer and what material are you printing on? Are you using a heated bed?
I'm printing on a sheet of heated borosilicate glass. For ABS I usually cover it with Kapton tape and heat it to 100-110 degrees Celsius.
For PLA, I spray it with hairspray (Garnier Fructis works very well) and heat it to 50-60 degrees Celsius.
It's also very important to have your bed leveled and at the correct Z-height. I usually have it at 0.1mm below the nozzle and print the first layer at 150%

[rangercat23]

Originally Posted by johnnyh66

I've had trouble getting my prints to stick to the bed... it's very frustrating.

We had the same problem at our shop and after consulting with the printer company they recommended using a new bed for each job. Once we started using new beds for each print everything worked.


.

[hellbounder]

Liars !!! Prove it by making a clod front bumper and send it to me to inspect !

[johnnyh66]

I'm using ABS with a heated bed (95 I think) covered in Kapton tape.
I sprayed it down with hair spray and that helped but not enough.
After a .25" of ABS was laid down, the print warped and lifted.

I just picked up a sheet of glass to lay over the bed.

I think it's calibrated pretty good.

[Micropuller]

Usually if you're printing with ABS, Kapton should work (no need for hairspray). Although I bought a roll of ABS once that wouldn't stick to Kapton, so I tried a glass sheet with hairspray and that worked ok.
Are you extruding extra material for the first layer? I normally have the first layer set for 150% height, 150-200% material. You should really be mashing the ABS onto the bed to make it stick properly.

[johnnyh66]

Yes, the first layer is set to 150% I think.
I need to get back to it, I've let it sit for a while now... like I said, I'm frustrated with it.

Here's the last print I did... sorry about the bad pic

[Micropuller]

Last night's print.
3D scanned and printed in PLA @0.15mm.

[GrimJeeper91]

Rapid prototyping technology is awesome. Have had a RP system of one form or another in my office since '95. My current system can print both rigid and elastomeric materials in layers 0.0006" thick so it has very high resolution. Definitely cool stuff!

[Micropuller]

0.0006"? Wow, that's impressive! What kind of machine are you using?

Made a couple of changes to my scan-setup today. Results are getting better.
This is a quick scan of a model engine crankcase. For a complete image I'd need to do a couple of extra scans from the bottom and the top. But you get the idea:

[Calderwood]

Originally Posted by Micropuller

Last night's print.
3D scanned and printed in PLA @0.15mm.

[img]http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/1494/j9cg.jpg[/img [img]http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5839/etl1.jpg[/img

What are you using for the scanning?

[Micropuller]

I have a David 3D structured light setup. Only difference to the kit they're selling is that I'm using a webcam (50 dollars) instead of a professional USB camera (1000 dollars)

[Calderwood]

Originally Posted by Micropuller

I have a David 3D structured light setup. Only difference to the kit they're selling is that I'm using a webcam (50 dollars) instead of a professional USB camera (1000 dollars)

What projector are you using?

[Micropuller]

A Dell M110

[GrimJeeper91]

Originally Posted by Micropuller

0.0006"? Wow, that's impressive! What kind of machine are you using?

Made a couple of changes to my scan-setup today. Results are getting better.
This is a quick scan of a model engine crankcase. For a complete image I'd need to do a couple of extra scans from the bottom and the top. But you get the idea:

Objet (not Stratasys) Eden 350V...

[Szczerba]

Pretty cool stuff guys. I lack the CAD knowledge to pull the trigger on a printer. I have been on shapeways the last few days looking around and found some cool stuff, especially R/C related.