How Good Are 3D Printers?

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

Using daughter’s resin printer, the resolution and layer height are far superior to my fdm printer, but it needs far more support and that ruins the quality of some prints.

I’ve got a set of moulding box sides waiting to be cast when I get the foundry fired up again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX2u6S5qV3Q

Recently installed a couple of Stevenson Screen temperature and humidity probe housings to check on the greenhouse and garden. PETG. Mostly clip together with pinned and dovetailed joints. ‘Double glazed’ roof and floor, double louvres. No support needed for printing. A squirt of solvent cement holds them together more closely on the roof to side joints, but this was the first working prototype. Forgot the circular fillet on the top bracket 🙁 :-

 

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

It obviously depends on what you make.  For my current clock build I printed a sensor block that houses 3 LEDs and 3 photodiodes.  Based on a design that I previously had to replicate which I machined from brass and took ages.  Excluding the time taken to learn OnShape, the new one was fast and accurate.  Then had to make a vane for the pendulum, which I was planning to make by machining a hub and profiling a piece of ali or GRP board.  I wondered about printing it, had a go, turned out fine in probably less time than the machine setup would have taken.  Several people are prototyping clock parts by printing and it looks like actually they work well and provided you don’t expect to print a small high-stress pinion should have good lifetime.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I’ve 3D printed a 1:16 scale radio control tank, including the tracks, although I’ve used a mixture of ABS, acrylic and steel rods for many parts according to the duty. Also springs and six ball races.

Neil

[Dave SParticipant @daves59043]

One of these watches is 3d printed, the other is a bronze casting from a 3d printed pattern made by scaling the first by the shrinkage.

Both were printed on a reprap Huxley that I built in the early days of 3d printing.

My ‘daily drive’ 3D Printer is now an X1C – immeasurably improved over the Huxley.

Dave

 

[Author]

Posts