3D printing

[gein]

Hi, i just ordered my first 3d printer and should receive it by the weekend.

https://www.elegoo.com/products/eleg...xoC6fAQAvD_BwE

I was wondering what are you guys mostly print for your crawlers?

Im planning to try some 3d printed tire foams, jack stands and some accessories for my Phoenix and base camp...

Any ideas, tips and links to 3d files would be appreciated

Thanks in advance!

[JatoTheRipper]

3D printing is fun, but you must have patience to set it up, level the bed, and get things right to get the best print. Learning the slicer is important as well.

I mostly printed aesthetic parts, but some structural as well.

Here is a thread on 3D printing for RC: 3d printer for rc parts

Thingiverse is my favorite repository for 3D print files. Prusa's Printables is another.

Here is my Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/jatotheripper/designs

My Printables: https://www.printables.com/@JatoTheRipper_43372

https://www.yeggi.com/

You can checkout my Shapeways shop and others for ideas, but it is a place to buy prints not models. I do not give away or sell models.

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/leafspringmafia

[gein]

Thanks for all the infos!

Yeah i already found some good stuff on thingiverse and cults3d

I will definitely need to spend some time learning on this thing before getting crazy with printing.

It should be an interesting weekend!

[Greatscott]

Several moons ago I had a big bin of random RC parts, and multiple odd chunks of aluminum. Those are what I used to make brackets, braces and such for my custom builds. I still use some aluminum, but the random parts bin was sold off, thanks to my printers. If I need a part I draw it up in Fusion 360, then print it. This is what makes 3D printers so awesome for us custom builders.

Sites like Thingiverse and such are a great way to get started. But, I found these pre-made designs about as useful as that random parts bin. Normally, you'll find something close to what you want, but not exactly. Being able to design your own parts is, in my humble opinion, and lot more rewarding experience, but you design exactly what you need, and it works exactly the way you want it to. I bought a book, and took about a month to get dangerous in Fusion 360 (free to hobbyist).

Pro-Tip: Keep your PLA and PETG dry.
• I had all kinds of random print failures that drove me nuts, and almost drove me out of 3D printing. After a month or two of chasing my own tail I found out I was storing my open filament wrong. UV light and humidity are your enemies here. I now store my open filament in an air-tight tote with desiccant and a humidity sensor, and have little to no issues on either of my printers (Prusa Mini and CR10); this tote is stored under my print desk, away from direct sun light. From what I have read, it is recommended to keep filament < 40% humidity; I normally run < 20%. If the humidity gets > 25% I change out the desiccant.

Happy printing!!!!

[nightcrawler48]

Only your skill and imagination are required to do some very interesting things with a 3d printer. I've had my printer for just over 3 years now and have over 2,000 hours of print time and I've used over 4,800 meters of filament. Needless to say I've learned a lot in those 3 years.

I built this off-road tow truck for one of the neighborhood kids who is crazy in to RC. Took 2 years to build, mostly because I started right at the beginning of Covid and it took over 18 months just to get the truck body. There are over 85 individual 3d printed parts here. Can't remember how many hours it took to print everything. It was a fun build.

[gein]

I would love to have the talent needed to draw my own parts thats for sure, but im really not there at the moment.

Softwares like fusion 360 are pretty pricey too, like most autodesk products so you have to be serious about it!

[bgredjeep]

Agreed about designing your own parts. I printed a couple things I downloaded when I first got my printer, but learning fusion is way better in the long run. I learned it by watching Harley Designs stl Sunday videos and following along. I do share designs I think others might find useful to my thingiverse.

Fusion 360 is free for home/hobby use

[gein]

Youre right, i just saw the free version!

[nightcrawler48]

I tried 3 or 4 different 3d software before I even ordered my printer. I wanted to make sure I could do the 3d design before I invested a ton of money in a printer. And I did a lot of research before I picked which one I thought would best suit me.

Any 3d software that offered a free trial period, I tried. Fusion 360 was getting a lot of hype at the time but I just couldn't seem to get anything to work for me. I ended up using OnShape. It works for me and I'm still learning stuff. In the beginning I would sometimes spend a whole day trying to figure out how to do one thing, still do sometimes when it's new to me. There is lots of information on YouTube for most of the 3d software that is popular. And the software vendors usually have a user forum or blog that can be really helpful.

A little patience and do some very simple designs, maybe not even RC stuff, and you'll get the hang of it. Trying to get too fancy at the start can be frustrating when things don't turn out the way you want. That "walk before you run" thing you know.

[gein]

Ill do the assembly of this thing as soon as i get it and ill start learning the basics of the printer this weekend. Ill probably start by printing some small test stuff from thingiverse...

[Nophix]

Thingiverse has a TON of STL's for scale RC. I'm on vacation this week and my poor printer has been running non stop. Did a scale toolbox for a garage I'm working on, a roof rack for my daughter's Cross Demon, some spacers for a few things, and now I'm doing some more scale garage goodies. I've been messing with 3D printing for a couple years, and it's a ton of fun. Start with some simple things, and tune the printer in.

[bryantjt]

Fusion 360 is free for personal use. Solidworks has a $99/year license for hobbyists as well. If you can afford it, I think Solidworks is more intuitive to use than Fusion but both have great YouTube tutorials and you can teach yourself. I had to use them professionally when I got out of college and was self taught.

[gein]

Tons of good info!

I should have my printer today.

Cant wait to try this thing!

I signed up for the free version of Onshape just by curiosity, ill probably try this and Fusion 360 and see how it goes...

[themountain]

Have a look at this ....lots of info
https://3dprintbeginner.com/3d-printer-calibration/

TPU printing isnt as easy as it sounds better start with basic PLA for ornamental stuff. If you want and draw your own things Onshape is a good cad program and in terms of slicer Orca is obviously the hottest ticket right now ... I dont like it that much because for a Marlin printer Ideamaker is still superior.


Happy printing !!

[gein]

Well, i assembled the printer yesterday night and started printing right away.

Cant believe how easy it was and how good were the results.

I printed an included buddha test model and it went very smoothly.

I found some prusa profiles for my printer this morning and used it to slice a benchy boat which i am printing now.

So far so good!

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by bgredjeep

Agreed about designing your own parts. I printed a couple things I downloaded when I first got my printer, but learning fusion is way better in the long run. I learned it by watching Harley Designs stl Sunday videos and following along. I do share designs I think others might find useful to my thingiverse.

Fusion 360 is free for home/hobby use

Good to know it is still free because I just recommended it to a coworker the other day.

[Col_Sanders]

I messed around with Fusion 360 a bit. I need to do some tutorials or something. Its sure a lot different than the old 3d modeling programs I was using 20+ years ago in school.

[themountain]

Originally Posted by Col_Sanders

I messed around with Fusion 360 a bit. I need to do some tutorials or something. Its sure a lot different than the old 3d modeling programs I was using 20+ years ago in school.

Look into Onshape https://cad.onshape.com/
....its a nice alternative.