3d Printing

[losikid]

Has anyone had experience with 3d printing (FDM type)

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by losikid

Has anyone had experience with 3d printing (FDM type)

We have one at work....very slick but really for fast prototyping only. Parts are strong but not the most durable....really depends on your application I guess.

This is one of our engineers at work. I printed it out on our printer, and may use it on my scaler. I have a larger version of it as a tap handle in my basement.

[losikid]

Man thats got some detail for being that small. I was thinking getting a radio housing printed up. Not sure if you have seen my radio conversions but i'm wanting to use a more advance radio but it will require me to either make a new case or heavily modify. I found a site online said that a fdm printed object is 80% the strength of injection molded abs. I have had mixed reivews about 3d. Some say it should be ok, some says its brittle, some say its not durabale enough. So i'm looking for opinions from people who have actually used or made parts created from an fdm printer. There are different types of printers and thats why i feel i am getting mixed reviews.

[EddieO]

If its printed on one of the better units, like a dimension printer, it will be 100% fine for a radio housing......lots of stuff like cameras, camcorders, cell phones, remotes, etc are 3d printed as prototypes and tested without issues....what doesn't hold up well is stuff thats gonna have a load put on it.....so a suspension arm isn't a good idea. Jay Leno printed up a crescent wrench and used it........it held up enough to undo torqued bolts.

Be prepared to pay a pretty penny for the print job though. A radio is going to take a bigger unit, which are still fairly pricey units, plus its going to use a decent amount of the ABS cartridge. If they have to modify or edit your file, look for the price to go up even more as well.

There was a company I saw doing RC stuff on his page, maybe google it and see if he is still in business.

Later EddieO

[C*H*U*D]

EddieO is right. For a housing like that, you should be fine...that's why I said it depends on your application.

One thing we do here is print the part out solid and then add holes and smaller features on the mill. The printer doesn't do a great job on small holes, but I have post-drilled parts before and tapped threads into the part...they hold great that way.

[EddieO]

A lot of 3d printing I have been around, actually doesn't do many holes, if any at all.....they typically put a dimple where the whole is going to be drilled, or just the start of the hole, then you can drill them on a simple drill press if they want or a mill.

Later EddieO

[Grizzly4x4]

Originally Posted by EddieO

A lot of 3d printing I have been around, actually doesn't do many holes, if any at all.....they typically put a dimple where the whole is going to be drilled, or just the start of the hole, then you can drill them on a simple drill press if they want or a mill.

Later EddieO

I held this engine block in my hand when the 3D Systems rep gave a presentation a couple weeks ago. He had one in about 1/18 scale and one in about 1/6 scale. There was no post machining done to it. Depends on the system though.

http://www.printin3d.com/

Glad to see you found that head Jaun.

[EddieO]

Thats printed on a vflash I think, so about a 10k unit.......the holes thing is just something some companies do when they print, not required though.....

Very cool little engine block.

I actually have a 3d printer, but mine is just a makerbot one, which is based on an open source unit. It's resolution, while good is not as precise as the higher end units. I can't print very big object either......I got it mainly to print test parts and was hoping to print scale parts.....I have yet to get it all working right though.....not much time to play with it when I am constantly building motors....

Later EddieO

[ToyTundra]

I think http://dpt-fast.com/ is who i used for a project in college. Their prices were lower than other outfits. Quotes for our parts ranged from $250 - $700. Don't be afraid to haggle.

http://www.quickparts.com/Home.aspx has a better website/service but they stood firm on their price at the time.

One of the things we had made was a lot like a small stick transmitter (6" x 6" x 1.5"). The posts for the case screw were somewhat fragile. No one told us that at the time, but some design tweaks could easily overcome that. It was brittle, but could be usable as a TX. I don't remember what method was used for our parts.

[losikid]

What is the best type of 3d printing?

[Longhair]

Try http://www.shapeways.com/

[nos2k]

Hi Losikid

I own a BFB 3000, which is an amazing 3d printer at relatively low cost. I am using it at the moment, to make my own crawler from scratch.

Normally i use the printer for prototypes, but its very handy for RC. I wouldnt say that the printer is bad for anything, it depends on knowing how to use it. But ofcourse, if you want an arm for a flux going at 60 mph into a wall, it will not last as much as for instance an RPM arm.

On the other side, if you use it for printing crawler parts, you can do anything - since the load on these arms will not be enough to break them (unless you let it drop from a mountain.. )

As for your radiobox, if you want it printed, and have a design then PM me here, and i will have a look at it, and i can give you a price quotation - it will be cheap ( think 50 usd max ) compared to what others will do, and for that price, i will print it in a PLA type material, which means it will be very hard to break. You will be able to spraypaint this in any color you want!

Let me know!

[losikid]

Originally Posted by nos2k

Hi Losikid

I own a BFB 3000, which is an amazing 3d printer at relatively low cost. I am using it at the moment, to make my own crawler from scratch.

Normally i use the printer for prototypes, but its very handy for RC. I wouldnt say that the printer is bad for anything, it depends on knowing how to use it. But ofcourse, if you want an arm for a flux going at 60 mph into a wall, it will not last as much as for instance an RPM arm.

On the other side, if you use it for printing crawler parts, you can do anything - since the load on these arms will not be enough to break them (unless you let it drop from a mountain.. )

As for your radiobox, if you want it printed, and have a design then PM me here, and i will have a look at it, and i can give you a price quotation - it will be cheap ( think 50 usd max ) compared to what others will do, and for that price, i will print it in a PLA type material, which means it will be very hard to break. You will be able to spraypaint this in any color you want!

Let me know!

What are the cons of going this route than from the high dollar printers from like dimension. Also about the final product its self what is the level of detail; it can generate and compared to injection molded abs what do you think the strength quality is, I am really interested so i may be having you print one up for me once i get a final design laid out, still at minimum 3 months may be more or less dependent on time and money