Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 23 (edited) I bought my lad a 3D printer at Christmas. Tbh he's flying with it. Learnt a number of new CAD packages etc. Up until recently he's only been printing in the material PLA, a more environmentally friendly material than "traditional" plastics. Wanting to print now in ABS it is very temperature sensitive and has a tendency to warp etc. Our early attempts failed. We decided therefore to build an enclosure. Many hobbyists base their enclosures on the IKEA LACK tables. £6 a pop, a couple make a nice enclosure with storage underneath. These were unavailable in the colour we wanted and those colours that were had a silly delivery date because of this Covid thing. The delivery costs too were more than two tables! First attempted to make one out of an old fridge freezer! We abandoned that and put it back on the adjacent farm's scrap pile! So it was off to the scrap wood collection! Some 3/4" ply site hoarding made the top and base and some random lengths were cut into 50x50 legs on the table saw: The printer was used to make the interconnecting pieces: Trial fitting the plastic parts: Some paint: And it all came together! Scored some 2mm plastic from a neighbour he'd had for secondary glazing. A bit brittle tbh but needs must! Now ABS fumes are a tad noxious so need venting. On the back of the enclosure he's 3D printed a cowl with an old 120mm pc fan sandwiched between that and the rear ply panel: This needs 12V at 170mA. All I have here close in terms of wall warts in the salvage boxes so far is a 12V 500mA. It's unregulated though, just 4 diodes on the secondary as a bridge rectifier. Not even a smoothing capacitor in there! Anyone know if that'll be detrimental to a pc fan? Not sure how delicate these are. At the mo just strapped to a PP3 to test it! Lastly, I used the old nail polish remover / bfo kitchen knife / hammer trick to split the wall wart case. I imagine solvent weld glue best for sticking it back together again? Cheers Edited May 23 by Onoff 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney 68 Report post Posted May 23 Why not run a 12 volt supply from the computer PSU? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 23 15 minutes ago, Sidney said: Why not run a 12 volt supply from the computer PSU? It's a fair distance away for a start. I want it anyway to come off of the 2 gang power socket on the back of the enclosure. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy™ 2,513 Report post Posted May 23 try PETG. never had much sucess on mine with ABS, but ten its partly down to no enclosure so probabyl isnt being kept hot enough. ill eventually build an enclosure. one day 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff1946 104 Report post Posted May 23 That's a nice job. I like creating things from junk. (That's why my garage is full of junk) Regarding the computer fan, just check the voltage when running and put a resistor in if its over 12. When are you taking orders for custom made parts? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roys 201 Report post Posted May 23 @Onoff Do you want a 12V DC power supply sent to you, I have a couple of these spare, left over and never fitted from shop tagging systems. If so pm me your address and I will send it to you. They are decent enough wee units from what I remember. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 23 (edited) 18 minutes ago, roys said: @Onoff Do you want a 12V DC power supply sent to you, I have a couple of these spare, left over and never fitted from shop tagging systems. If so pm me your address and I will send it to you. They are decent enough wee units from what I remember. That's very decent of you! Just realised however there are decent switching psus on the BT routers that I've got a few of kicking around. Just put a 12V 1A one on. Measured at a nice stable 12V off load. Soldered/heatshrunk that on just now: Just got to print the "female" duct adapter to take some 4" foil duct up and out of the window plus a board or something to go over that. Edited May 23 by Onoff 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 23 53 minutes ago, Geoff1946 said: When are you taking orders for custom made parts? Hmm... We've done fridge/freezer handles, patio table repairs, Li-ion battery adapters, feeler gauges for my work, parts for obsolete Siemens switches again for work, pcb stand offs for a mates gate install, recessed mountings in woodgrain PLA for pir sensors up stairs for another mate. The list is pretty endless. Did some templates for a chap wanting to do a Brembo brake conversion on a Nissan S15 Silvia Working at the mo on a tensioner arm for a Cebora/Snap On MIG welder where the part is unavailable. Experimenting with photogrammetry software/AI to generate 3D solid models from 2D images. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 23 (edited) Little video: https://flic.kr/p/2j4NTy5 Fan guards....? Edited May 23 by Onoff 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roys 201 Report post Posted May 23 33 minutes ago, Onoff said: That's very decent of you! Just realised however there are decent switching psus on the BT routers that I've got a few of kicking around. Just put a 12V 1A one on. Measured at a nice stable 12V off load. Soldered/heatshrunk that on just now: Just got to print the "female" duct adapter to take some 4" foil duct up and out of the window plus a board or something to go over that. No problem, I shall return it to the vast mountain of “that might come in handy someday” pile I am intrigued by this 3D printing. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff1946 104 Report post Posted May 23 3 hours ago, Onoff said: We've done fridge/freezer handles, patio table repairs, Li-ion battery adapters, feeler gauges for my work, parts for obsolete Siemens switches again for work, pcb stand offs for a mates gate install, recessed mountings in woodgrain PLA for pir sensors up stairs for another mate. The list is pretty endless. Did some templates for a chap wanting to do a Brembo brake conversion on a Nissan S15 Silvia Working at the mo on a tensioner arm for a Cebora/Snap On MIG welder where the part is unavailable. Experimenting with photogrammetry software/AI to generate 3D solid models from 2D images. Looks like the start of a major industrial enterprise in a few years! 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerching 2,295 Report post Posted May 23 And now I want a 3D printer how much are the consumables? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sharpend 1,010 Report post Posted May 23 2 hours ago, kerching said: And now I want a 3D printer how much are the consumables? what there’s something you haven’t got in the depths of your storage! Gasp! Does Mrs Kerch know of this lack? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerching 2,295 Report post Posted May 23 1 hour ago, Sharpend said: what there’s something you haven’t got in the depths of your storage! Gasp! Does Mrs Kerch know of this lack? She does now as I've mentioned Father's Day!.......can't see it happening though with the current situation though 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 23 5 hours ago, kerching said: And now I want a 3D printer how much are the consumables? Paying about £20 - £30 per kilo roll. of filament. You can pay <£10 a roll but I've heard the cheap stuff can contain all the "lettuced" inc bits of metal etc. Have used Anycubic, RS Pro, Flash Forge & Steadytech filaments so far. That's all you have to buy unless components like belts and bearings wear. Printer here is an Anycubic i3 Mega S from here: https://www.anycubic.com/ It's basically a clone of the famous Prusa i3 It's an FDM printer. Fusion Deposit Modelling. The other common type is a "resin" printer. Resin printers are generally more accurate but can't print as big as FDM printers. The scene and technology is changing overnight of course! Some stuff done here: Adapters to use Makita batteries on an Einhell chainsaw: Adapters to use Makita batteries on no name 18V stuff: Fridge handles: 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sharpend 1,010 Report post Posted May 23 How long does the kilo roll last? How many battery adapters do you get? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 24 (edited) 20 hours ago, Sharpend said: How long does the kilo roll last? How many battery adapters do you get? The ones for the chainsaw, so Makita batteries to Einhell weighed about 62g 'ish each but the printing weight might be higher if you include supports. for overhangs so 80/90g all in The Makita battery to no name 18V adapters were about 90g each plus supports. All the adapters were printed around 20% infill. Not solid, pretty much a thick "skin" outer, then "honeycomb" / "criss cross" inner structure. Where screws pass through, countersunks etc its made denser for strength. Edit: Say <£2 per adapter assuming you shop around for filament and get it for around £20 per reel. Edited May 24 by Onoff 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 24 You do have no knock up custom battery connectors. I've used both 1mm Zintec and 1mm copper sheet. Hand job: Bend round drill bits etc: Bend over tabs: Solder together: 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sharpend 1,010 Report post Posted May 24 Great tutorial, what programs do you need for 3D printer? Any 3D design type or is it specific. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 24 (edited) 41 minutes ago, Sharpend said: Great tutorial, what programs do you need for 3D printer? Any 3D design type or is it specific. You can download other peoples designs from places like: https://www.yeggi.com/ & https://www.thingiverse.com/ Most are free and open source. Some you pay for. You generally download the .STL files which are "mesh" files. A free "slicer" program such as Cura is used to in effect turn the .STL into G code that the printer will accept. It's a bit tricky sometimes to modify .STL files (note not impossible). Better is if you can get the "step", .STP files too. Cura is used to set printing speed, layer height, bed and extruder (aka the "hot end") temperatures along with adding supports for prints with overhangs etc. You can of course draw up your own stuff in pretty much any 3D CAD package and export as an STL file. I use full AutoCAD. My lad uses Fusion 360 (free). Both made by Autodesk but like chalk and cheese imo! Helps if you can 3D model of course... FreeCAD is another. We use our own designs, other people's off the above sites or merge our own with others. Stick your Cura processed file on an SD card, whack it in the printer and hit print pretty much. Our printer, the Anycubic i3 Mega S takes minimal assembly and after levelling the bed (absolutely critical step) you can be printing "benchies" within minutes of setting up. Benchies are like the standard prints everyone does first off. Edited May 24 by Onoff 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SPECIAL LOCATION 2,238 Report post Posted May 24 (edited) Not got one... never used one... never seen one... BUT... this thread makes you think, Wish I had one to potter around with on various projects and ideas whilst 'Locking-Down'... Very interesting reading and seeing examples of real applications, of what can be done with a home set-up... How much "Wastage" and/or "Failed attempts" have you had on specific designs?? i.e. I am trying to compare with traditional printing... Few years back we printed the 'Order of service' for my father-in-laws funeral... It took a few attempts to get it all lined up and laid-out correctly across an A5- fold-out page, before doing the Full-Print-Run onto 'Posh-paper'! So I am guessing that not every 3D-print comes out correctly first time? Edited May 24 by SPECIAL LOCATION 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Onoff 850 Report post Posted May 24 59 minutes ago, SPECIAL LOCATION said: So I am guessing that not every 3D-print comes out correctly first time? Nope, definitely not! But you get better at it! We tend to print sections to check fit before committing. CAD first, print it full size and try a paper template. Then print a slice a mm or two thick: Progress to something a bit thicker: Tbh I think 3D printers are a Chinese ploy to shift mountains of plastic to the West! The CAD renderings always look better than the prints! 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff1946 104 Report post Posted May 25 Thank you for a great overview of this subject. I enjoyed reading it and now feel I know the basics of a subject which previously mystified me. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy™ 2,513 Report post Posted May 25 (edited) 10 hours ago, Onoff said: you can be printing "benchies" within minutes of setting up. Benchies are like the standard prints everyone does first off. never did print a benchy (i like to break the rules), but this was the first print with standard slicer settings & barely any setup / tweeking. although your projects put mine to same, rarely design & print much Edited May 25 by Andy™ 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roys 201 Report post Posted May 25 Right that’s it, I want one, now what to get rid off to create space, one of the bandsaws, one of the lathes, one of the many tool boxes, but no I like them all, think I will need to move house to one with a bigger workshop. Wonder if the MOD are selling off any airbases that has an aircraft hanger or two on it. Mmmm 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
