World Domination, I just got my self a 3d Printer!!!

[Harold in CR]

Nechaus
You are going to need a bigger printer. I just watched one that is capable and IS building houses. A typical 2500 sq/ft house can be built in 20 hours. It can include all plumbing, all wiring, and other items.

They use a lightweight concrete. 8)

 

[Hyena]

use a lightweight concrete. 8)

Heh until that last line the 3 little pigs came to mind :lol:
Wow the future is really creeping up on us. Next project, personal teleporters 8)

 

[Trackman417]

I bet there would be some people on this forum that would be in need of a small pieces of plastic to help mount some stuff. Like lights or something. Play your cards right and you could be making battery boxes that can be fitted and glued together

I'm guessing the software needed to run the printer is included and plug and play?

 

[nechaus]

yeah the printer software is,
you can just use google sketch up to design things

im not sure if it would be worth printing people things yet, it cost like $30-$40 + per kg of plastic and takes ages to build things.


I do plan on making a battery bay out of plastic for a 20s 16ah pack, but its going to be pretty thick and held together with long bolts
pretty much make 8 single bays that connect to each other, and then a top cover for the whole lot with places to put cell logs or some type of cell monitoring
and i think if i crash there is a good chance it will just break into pieces, but i can just print another if that happens

 

[amberwolf]

if the plastic is simply supplied in granules or powder, you mgiht consider building a machine to recycle locally-obtained plastics into material for the printer.

 

[bigmoose]

The plastic comes on a spool, like weed wacker filament. It comes in 3mm diameter and 1.75mm diameter, either ABS, polycarbonate, PVA or PLA. Here is a site that walks you through building your own machine. http://reprapbook.appspot.com/ Looks like the software is all open source. That would explain the proliferation of these machines in the last few years.

We have two Stratasys Dimension machines that were earlier versions of the SST 1200es and BST 1200es side by side at the "big lab." They have been relatively reliable the last few years, but the service guys were always out the first year, about 8 years ago. There were really just glorified versions of nechaus's printer. They could do like a 10x10x14 inch model. One thing though is they printed in an enclosed and elevated temperature environment. They wanted to control drafts and keep the temp around 120 deg F, if I recall correctly. I think we paid like $60K to $80K US each for them. They do take forever to print. A solid part about 6x2x1 took about 8 hours to print. If the interior is open or void it speeds things up. The models are stronger than you first expect. We have dipped the ABS models in acetone/lacquer thinner to smooth over the exterior "threading." Just don't dip too long.

Just checked and it looks like prices have come down! List price for these machines new is now: Dimension SST 1200es: $32,900, Dimension BST 1200es: $24,900. So about 10 X the smaller version price.

 

[MattyCiii]

Yeah the cost of the filament is not an issue. It takes forever to go through a 5KG spool, as even a solid part is 70-80% air. There's a solid shell, and any through-holes are fully encased, but the "solid" part is a lattice of honeycomb spaces (at least on the MakerBot prints). Makes for strong, lightweight pieces with a tiny bit of flex.

Making parts for fun and profit... Time invested in the design is the biggest "cost". Then the printing... yeah it can tale several hours for a larger part, but the printer does all the work.

 

[nechaus]

Im glad it takes a while to go through 5kg, i have about 7 or 8 kg ordered lol..
i got 1kg of glow in the dark filament but its abs, so ill be using that after i use the pla..

 

[MattyCiii]

Heh that's the first thing I said when nechaus told me he bought it. I thought "oh man, all the cool shit I could make with that!" and then when he said to pick something to make to test it out I couldn't think of anything useful for the life of me :lol:

Yeah, that's why half the stuff you find at thingiverse are 3D printer upgrades! People don't know what to do with it!

So far for bike/e-bike parts, I've made lighting mounts, a battery mount, and prototype parts for what has amounted to over $700 worth of outsourced machined parts. It really pays to get that stuff cut right the first time!

 

[bigmoose]

Since most electronic stuff fits in a 6x6 footprint, we found the machines extremely useful for prototype housings, board spacers, standoffs and such. If you are into small robotics, they are invaluable.

 

[spinningmagnets]

I think that when it comes to mass-production of a finalized design, its still going to be hard to beat injection-molded plastics. That being said, it takes time and money to make the molds, and that's an expense that has to be amortized over the production run. Glock introduced a plastics/metal pistol in 1982 to mixed reviews, but its now clearly a HUGE success, and every major pistol manufacturer offers a model where a major portion of the complex frame is non-metal.

This machine is awesome for one-offs, and low-production designs, which fits right in with E-bikes right now. I'm working on an idea for a disc-side hub-motor fan similar to a front disc brake from a car. I plan on using straight vanes that are angled, but curved blades would work better (harder to make for me, easy in 3D).

Another project could be a a mid-powered mid-drive bracket. With the right shape, thickness, and ribbing, 3D plastics could easily make something that could work well. The drop-outs could be water-jetted metal that bolt-on. Since I would imagine such a bracket would be low-production, you could just print and ship, according to what frame it was for.

I wouldn't want to step on the toes of urbancommuterstore.com or StokeMonkey, but...Rolls-Royce was introduced in 1906, and the Ford Model-T in 1908. Both are still with us, but one of them sold 15-million units. The world needs a Model-T of E-bikes.

Triangle battery/cargo housings, perfect product for this. Low production and the shape varies by frame. I'd make it in three corner pieces. Made so that the end user could buy and cut their own side plates out of aluminum or 1/4-inch plywood, the side plates would hold the whole thing in alignment. Of course if they are popular and the customers are willing to pay enough, you could sell the side plates too, but at least the customer has the option. Tubing clamps could attach from the side, and be integral to the housing...and the clamps would match the odd shaped tubing that's sometimes found (triangularish or oval).

edit: if someone actually wanted to make a triangle box as I have suggested, make it as big as the biggest frame candidate, the corner pieces can be cut down smaller to fit a smaller frame.

edit: I'd add two simple hinges on the right side so that the right-side plate can swing out easily for access, or be cut-off by the buyer if they wanted that.

 

[amberwolf]

The plastic comes on a spool, like weed wacker filament. It comes in 3mm diameter and 1.75mm diameter, either ABS, polycarbonate, PVA or PLA.

It would not be that hard to build your own extruder for this stuff, if you can control the temperature of the mandrel/die properly, and keep the "pool" just at the soggy temperature so ti can be forced thru but not come out with the pizza-cheese problem. A large-volume air compressor tank could probably hold enough air to run a piston/plate to push the plastic thru the mandrel , and then you just need to "catch" it on a large-diameter reel as it comes out (so it does not curl up too much for the machine to deal with at the inner part of the spool.)

If you use a lot of the plastic, this would be worth doing. If you don't, it's probably a lot more convenient to buy spools.

 

[nechaus]

id love to recycle plastic, i wish i could do any types,
i get enough fumes from when i use my soldering iron or welder,

im keen to just use pla plastic for now, if i can recycle that i will..
here is a pic of some pla i got today, i have more coming of different colors

Its actually really quite stiff, its hardly a soft type of plastic,
feels pretty dam strong actually. pretty hard to break a small 2cm piece in your fingers but u can do it
It will certainly be strong enough to make my line trimmer motor mount and base from


I melted a small piece, it does not smell at all like a normal plastic

 

[Sancho's Horse]

Recycling plastic is a great idea, but it might be better suited for a benchtop injection molder rather than a 3-D printer. I agree that injection molding is the way to go for production level turnout. Sounds pretty intimidating, because a 650 ton injection molder can be pretty expensive, but building your own, say 60 ton, injection molder is completely doable (and relatively easy/ incredibly cheap). As long as you can tell the difference between phenolic and other plastics you are good to go (milk jugs for soft plastic bits, 2 liter pop bottles for the hardened bits), and... although making aluminum (aluminium?) molds can get pretty expensive (unless you understand metal casting, or have a metal shop), you could easily use plaster of paris with your 3-D printed designs (provided the porosity is at a minimum). Boom master mold done. Creating a workable mold is a definite art though.

A lot of blah, blah, blah...but essentially, it wouldn't be to much of an investment to go to small level production...provided your designs are ones which have mass appeal. And you are in luck because...you have a 3-D printer, and a lot of people willing to give input. Don't like that?...how about this? You could even accept other people's designs. Sort through what works, and keep the best ideas for your own. Ah...the seemingly limitless phase...my favorite.

A little bit envious, but loving it.

 

[ohzee]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/V2-Linear-Prusa-Kit-Gregs-Extruder-RAMPS-Electronics-Motors-Metric-Version-/330773122104?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d039d4c38

Thought this was interesting. On another forum had a member showing off his build that he bought from ebay for right under 600$.

Just was not aware that was an option could see some ES members interested in that.

 

[Kin]

I'm ordering the Solidoodle. Just don't you guys all of a sudden order 1000 and push back the lead time. I'm giving myself 3 days waiting period so I don't regret this. I've finally decided the Solidoodle hit the price point for me ($550 + $25 ship + $46 for kg of Abs), with a robust design (by my opinion), effective software system (free softwares, but slightly tweaked), and sufficiently large build space(6x6x6). lets just hope my claims there about it, aren't wrong. They're entirely based on my own examination and speculative opinion and 4 hours of researching last night + a few years of eyeing projects like reprap, from the distance.

Haven't personally purchased any toy >$400 in my so far somewhat short life, so I need to not make a mistake . After I get through my initial projects that will take a few weeks of printing, I'll definitively leave the option for people on ES to print at low cost.

 

[ohzee]

wow yea that solidoodle does look nice did not realize there was one that cheap pre built.
I see one of these in my future. Keep us updated please.

 

[nechaus]

mines out for delivery today!!!!

 

[Hyena]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/V2-Linear-Prusa-Kit-Gregs-Extruder-RAMPS-Electronics-Motors-Metric-Version-/330773122104?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d039d4c38

Cool, a 3D printer making another 3D printer!
Between this and the drones Nech and I are making I fear skynet going live is just around the corner :lol:

mines out for delivery today!!!!

Sweet!
Got your first project ready to go ? I expect pictures of the first wobbley job by midnight

 

[nechaus]

Iv got a whole bunch of files sorted now,
projects that are single file prints are in one big folder, multi file prints are in their own folders

I don't know what to print first, im going to start on something small to make sure the printer is ready to go out of the box, do a basic setup, test it all.
I also get my quadcopter motors today and esc's. so later ill start printing its parts
im thinking of using parts from different printed quadcopter designs and make my own wacky design.
for the small stuff,
I have bicycle brackets, gopro stuff to print, housing for cheap dc watt meters. a Ducted fan for my electric skateboards brushed motor.
Try do some stress tests with the plastic, ill print some props and run them on my Fatboy and largest Turnigy motor, see if they break apart.
if they are good ill be able to print lots of different propeller sizes and types to try and improve flight times.

 

[Hyena]

I also get my quadcopter motors today and esc's.

How'd you get it so quick ?? I ordered mine like a week before you and they only shipped out 2 days ago.
Or did they have them at the Aus warehouse ? My transmitter arrived in 2 days but the other stuff is still a way off yet. They only had bits and pieces locally so I got the rest from the international warehouse

im thinking of using parts from different printed quadcopter designs and make my own wacky design.

I reckon they're going to be hard enough to get flying right even using standard methods, I'd advise building one as intended first up, make sure it all works then start on the weird stuff. You seen the scorpian tricopter ? They're kinda cool. I guess it depends on what you want to use it for. For gopro use I'm going to big, stable and slowish. If you just want something to fly for fun and look cool I'd go with a smaller setup.

ill print some props

I was thinking of that myself the other day but reading forums about quadcopters it seems getting even properly made props perfectly balanced can be quite a feat and I'm not sure how well a printed one will work out. You'd want it perfectly smooth which doesn't appear how they come out of the printer. For video work you want minimal vibration so perfectly balanced props.

I thought of a useful project, and one that should be able to print totally in the area of your printer- a lipo booster pack for my stealth fighter. I have 18S 18ah inside the frame but want to make another 6S 18ah booster. Sort of a triangle pyramid shape - 2x5ah on the bottom and a a single 8ah on top. With a small strap slot on each side it could neatly strap into the low flat top section of the frame up at the seat post end.

 

[nechaus]

Ill print you anything you want man, you just have to send me the design

So far, because im a beginner at cad like programs, it takes me sometime to design basic thing lol. so im just download designs to print now, and then i can edit some later and start from scratch. Wont be long until i can design stuff better,
I ordered my motors and esc from the local warehouse, its super quick,
All the other stuff is coming from overseas warehouse.


Thinking about the props now, yeah it prob wont work at all for these quads, should be fine for cheap fans tho.
However, if its super accurate, upto 0.2 mm, it might actually work

I have to supply my own power supply for this machine, the smallest 12 volt one i have is actually 82amps,
im going to use it for now with a dc watt meter, should of ordered one ages ago since they are so damm cheap

 

[nechaus]

The good news, i got the printer, the motors, and the esc's
The bad news is that there was a small broken bit on the printer which was fixed easily, However the printer is not connecting.

So iv been in contact with the support team, they have told me that the x=ray machines could have messed up the firmware, so now i need to do a firmware update.

 

[Alan B]

Xrays disrupting firmware? Sounds fishy.

Hope it fixes it.

 

[nechaus]

Ok i figured it out.
its another user error, if you would call it that,

When i set up the machine, it had stickers all over the machine to not move motors by hand, I thought it was due to calibration.
So 3 motors, x2 had stickers say dont move, so i moved the 3rd one with my hand, the one that feeds the plastic, i saw lights come on at pcb

Current was sent back to the PCB and frizzed the firmware,
now i have to reflash the board to get it working,

pain in the ass, i was pissed off for a good hour trying to get the thing connect, thinking it was the supplier.
but it was my own fault

Have to wait until Tuesday when i get my AVR stick and re apply the hex code and then i can finally start to print!


but so far, they are pretty helpful, use all the most common components.