Large Scale Central

A 3D BIrthday

Modeling Technical Modeling
#21

David Maynard said:

John Caughey said:

Cliff Jennings said:

Richard,

Wow, you must be livin’ right!

Here’s some additional conversation on the subject,

https://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/27510/3d-software

Any suggestions on the Printers?

How complicated are the Kit Builds? The one I’d like charges $300 to send it assembled … hmmm 30 hours @ $10 /hr or 3 hours at 100 per? I’m still harboring the idea of casting parts in bronze/brass.

The Prussa kit that Dave built, lays down a thinner step for a smoother profile, than of course the less expensive ones.

If all y’all think I can do it, I might be able to ‘guilt’ my sister into half the cost … heck they are taking their whole fam dambly to Peru for Christmas, leaving poor old Unca John home alone again … (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cry.gif)but Sis; building it will help me with your absence (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)nudge nudge …(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Gee, that could be a good thing, or a bad thing. You do have smoke detectors?

I have my own home, for both our sanities. In answer to your question, yes I do have them scattered about, where ever they landed after I pulled the batteries out of them squawking thangs … why?

#22

Oh, um, just asking.

One ended up in my front yard one evening. it went off when dinner was ready, a common occurrence here, but it never stopped going off. It sat in the front yard for several minutes, still going off, until I beat it into submission with a shovel. The next day I hung up a new one. I guess then darn things are only supposed to last 10 years or so.

#23

John,

I have been sitting on the sidelines on this forum for quite some time, but thought i would share a few points on 3D printing I have learned.

I looked at 3D printers for about a year and the thought of buying a printer for a couple hundred bucks had me VERY interested. After reading and searching for the right machine i came to the decision to spend the money and buy a plug & play printer. The main reason was I was sure that i could put a kit together without any real problems but the more i read on the issues people had talked about on the various sites that sell the machines/kits was with minor software issues, bad servo motors, missing parts, etc. etc. I fretted this would delay/derail my excitement in the process with all of the potential back and forth.

With a plug and play model i surmised that any issues with the operation out of the box would be on the manufacturer as i wasn’t involved in the installation of assembly so getting it fixed/returned if need would be a smaller headache.

So after much research, i purchased a ROBO3D R1+. the deciding factor was the build plate area, (size of the prints) 8.5" x 8,5" x 9".

The unit has a heated and auto-leveling bed (Build Plate).

Resolution is .05mm - .4mm. there are 3 set printing protocols - Fine, Medium, course. the finer the print the longer the print time.

Example a print of about 3.5" x 5.25" x .625" takes about 4 hours on the medium setting. this has a .2mm thickness resolution and 50% fill. The same print on the Fine setting has a .1mm thickness resolution time to print is 8 hours on the Fine setting.

As learning the printer’s nuances is intense, so many parameters to consider prior to executing the print the learning curve is fairly long. yes the “Factory” setting on print quality make it easy to just select the quality setting and let the printer do it’s thing, there are many settings that allow one to customize the “level” of Medium or Fine one would desire. It really comes down to the print time one is willing to endure.

What i can tell you getting back to my decision for not purchasing a kit printer was simply i wanted to learn the process ASAP and i was printing in 1 hour after the unit arrived. (Truly PLUG N Play)

This 3D printer/process is an awesome tool and the sky’s the limit (Time) to make the parts models you desire.

I’m still learning the process (6 Months experience) and haven’t started making my own plans/drawings yet, there are plenty of projects on the web to explore to learn your printer.

One thing of note so far learned is that PLA plastic and Arizona Sun do not mix. PLA is the cheapest/easiest material to use but finished models of PLA outdoors is sketchy.

Hope this helps.

Howard

#24

Thanks Howard,

I think I’ll wait until printers can print smooth curves and true balls. I want to print ‘waxes’ for lost wax casting and the stepped look won’t do on drivers and wheels.

Thank you for taking the time to reply and I’m glad you said hello.