3d printing and the RC world

[Kraqa]

When do you think the at home 3d printing technology will affect the rc world?

i imagine printing what you want.

[STANG KILLA SS]

its already happening.

[Kraqa]

any threads with some cool parts?

[Szczerba]

Check out the Vendor section. JC Auto Designs.
Harley does some too, as well as Hoyfab Crawlers on FB.
Hoffy and others have parts shapeways.com.

3d printed 1.55 beadlocks printed by JC Auto Designs for me.

[tedo]

I printed a battery tray. Super functional and made specific fot my buggy.
My 3D printed Battery Tray

Some guy printed a wild willy chassis. It was super cool.

Monkeyracer and Crawford Engineering are making specific parts. Harley printed a few items (dash, cowl, etc) for some of his rigs.

Yes, it's already happening.

[hotwheels000]

DS Pro is also printing great parts.....snorkals, jerry cans, rum jugs....

[BC-Brian]

I 3D printed most of a crawler for my last Shafty build. Orange parts are 3d printed. Chassis and upper links are made with a laser cutter.

Fun with 3D printers and Laser Cutters. A Losi Night Crawler for 2.2S class.

Currently working on a new build with more 3D printed parts but have not started a thread about it yet.

[Harley]

Yeah they are becoming more and more popular.

The biggest hurdle is that people need to realize that running the 3D printer is the easy part and takes almost no time to figure it out. However the hard part is that you need to know a CAD software, or learn from scratch. That part can take 100's of hours to get to even an amateur level. Many of us either do this type of thing as a profession.

[Harley]

Here was one of the most simple examples I could come up with when I first got my printer.

[7echo]

Harley said-
"However the hard part is that you need to know a CAD software, or learn from scratch. That part can take 100's of hours to get to even an amateur level. Many of us either do this type of thing as a profession."

Yep, the 3d modeling and computer files are the difficult part.

[BC-Brian]

I have access to an affordable 3D printer and do CAD all day, if someone needs something drop me a line and I can point you in the right direction and such.

[tycoonman]

All of my stuff is printed.

While the CAD modeling might be the most difficult thing to grasp I wouldn't agree that consumer 3D printers are plug-n-play. Technical skills are required, and I've spent more time with the printer than with modeling.

[Harley]

Originally Posted by tycoonman

All of my stuff is printed.

While the CAD modeling might be the most difficult thing to grasp I wouldn't agree that consumer 3D printers are plug-n-play. Technical skills are required, and I've spent more time with the printer than with modeling.

Not plug and play, I agree. However the two that I use, a Robo3D and a Replicator 2, were both able to be pretty well dialed in within 8 hours and have needed little more than minor adjustments as I have gone. I think just about any motivated person could figure the printer out.

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by Harley

The biggest hurdle is that people need to realize that running the 3D printer is the easy part and takes almost no time to figure it out. However the hard part is that you need to know a CAD software, or learn from scratch. That part can take 100's of hours to get to even an amateur level. Many of us either do this type of thing as a profession.

I agree with this, and that's still just a part of the equation. Without some knowledge in machining, or the ability to think in 3D, designing parts can be problematic because you simply don't understand the relationships involved with 3 planes working together.