3D Printing - Whats it all about?

Hi Fat Controller,

I've had my printer for about 2 years now. To start with I printed useless things to gain experience. Now I print things I want or need. Replacements for broken items or designs to make things work better. After a while your confidence grows and your printer becomes a very useful tool. When you know what you can do the usefulness increases. I would however warn you that there is a lot to learn to get the best out of 3D printing but don't let this prevent you from giving it a go.

Regards (and good luck)

Ademission

 

It's not a hinge as such, hence the vague description But I've passed on the link, thanks! Yes, Nérac is beautiful, isn't it? I'm looking forward to summer concerts by the river, once life resumes a bit of normality

 

Not heard on the news recently, that I remember, so just curious : is vaccination pace improving in France?

 

Yes it is, which no doubt is why it's not been reported All four vaccines are widely available, and vaccination centres, doctors, nurses and even vets are jabbing away like crazy. There's still a hardcore of anti-vaccers, but they'll come round when they realise that they'll have to produce evidence of puncture marks in order to go out, eat out, go on hols etc.

 

We have some science emerging here that those being hospitalised for, e.g. Kent / Indian variant, are people who declined the vaccine. Maybe that feedback-loop will help the disbelievers.

Sorry, have wandered off-thread, I'll shut up now.

 

I'll answer on the appropriate thread. Don't want to go upsetting our hot, new Admin

 

As it is biodegradable how does PLA stand up to outdoor conditions and sunlight is as a greenhouse doorknob. Also what is it's physical hardness, brittleness and strength like. Can it be drilled and take a screw?

 

As @NigelJ says, also wondered how strong and durable those various plastics are ?

Had looked at and thought about that same Ender 3 Pro but could not justify the price for the odd part plus all the learning of the CAD designing needed ?

Expect there are some already out there in the uk, but wold be good if someone offered a low cost 'printing' service for small items ?

Its seems a kind of the modern day equivalent of the diy/hobby CNC machines that some folk still build today, again something we looked at, but folk we know who did build a CNC found that it ended up in the store room little used once the initial interest had wained.

 

Buy one and become that service when the enthusiasm wains?

Dunno how you would find a local enthusiast, but I reckon they exist.

 

Hi NigelJ,

My comments below are for PLA as this is the only filament type I have used. There are quite a few other types that offer different attributes but might not be biodegradable.

I've not seen any biodegradation of the items I have outside though they have only been out there for just over 1 year. I assume the biodegradable effect is a longer term thing.

Last summer I did have a problem with black PLA being used for a supporting bracket for the bird feeders. Being black it absorbed the heat from the sun and became less rigid. The weight of the feeders started to permanently bend the bracket as if it were starting to melt. I replaced the brackets with white PLA and I've had no problems since.

The door knob on the greenhouse has no constant side-load and is coloured grey to match the aluminium metalwork. I don't anticipate any problems with it. Time will tell.

As for PLA strength, its quite good. Not particularly brittle and quite hard. Strength is better along the lines in the print. Layer to layer strength is not as good but by printing slightly hotter the bonding of layers is better.

Using screws may need a little explanation. A solid 3D printed part is a solid skin around an infill pattern to reduce the PLA quantity used and speed up the printing. The density of the infill can be varied 0 - 100% and the infill pattern can also be varied. I generally use a pattern that is like a 3D honeycomb and consequently strong. The outer skin is solid, made from multiple layers of PLA (user selectable layers). If you know where you will be putting screws into a part it is better to design the hole into the part so that the bit around the screws become solid (part of the skin). I usually make my screw hole diameter smaller than the thread (i.e. M5 = 4.8mm diameter) and then the screw can cut its own threads into the skin. If you want though, you can tap your own threads. Doing either gives good strength.

I guess what I am saying is that a drilled hole will be into the infill where the plastic is less dense and consequently less strong. better is to anticipate and print the object with the hole ready for the screw.

A bit technical but hope this helps.

Best Regards and stay safe.

Ademission

 

Certainly there are companies out there offering rapid prototyping services for the engineering world in a range of materials including laser fused metal powders. Have seen some things composed of laser cut paper.
At the local level for home use probably a lot fewer, but I believe there are "maker" clubs that have this type of machine.

 

Hello ricky101,

I started using TinkerCAD. Its free for non commercial applications and is very simple to use. There is a series of 4 tutorials of 20minutes each on YouTube. Its good but after mastering TinkerCAD I tried Fusion360 and that is exceptionally good and very very powerful. I now use Fusion360 exclusively and it is also free for hobbyists. Again there are many tutorials on YouTube.

I believe there are many people that will produce parts from CAD files at reasonable cost though I have never used them myself.

Hope this helps

Ademission

 

Looks good, will give it a try - thanks.

Notice your printer is now selling for around £150.
Creality3D Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer

Would you change yours now for a better model, sub £250 ?

Any recommedation as to a good uk supplier ?

 

Hi ricky101,

£150 for the Creality Ender 3 Pro is a very good price. I think I paid £239ish when it was first available. I'm not sure but I may have bought it from Amazon.

Since buying my printer, I have upgraded it in a number of ways: -

1. Glass "Buildtack" plate
2. Octoprint (wifi) using a Raspberry Pi
3. Replaced original PCB with a silent stepper driver pcb with bootloader.
4. Dual gear extruder
5. BLTouch levelling device
6. Numerous 3D printed add-ons

None of the above are essential, but all help to make it more convenient to use.

All in all there has been a couple of hundred pounds of add-ons (maybe more).

I don't feel the need to buy anything different at the moment.

The basic £150 package will produce good quality prints provided you learn to set it up correctly. You will need patience and you will make mistakes to begin with.

Software procedure is as follows: -
1. CAD (TinkerCAD or Fusion360) to produce STL files of your design or download from other peoples designs from Thingiverse.
2. Cura for slicing your STL design into GCODE.
3. GCODE file then copied onto microSD card and plugged into the printer and printed.

Feel free to bounce any other questions off me.

Regards

Ademission