3D Printer - this thing's cool!

[K-fab]

I've been toying with the idea of getting a 3D printer for a while now. There are so many little detail things that could be done with it, that the temptation finally overcame my common sense (this seems to be an issue often in my world).

So I've been doing research for a couple of months and came across the MakerGear M2. All the reviews and such pointed me in this direction. I also went ahead and purchased Simplify3D software to go with it. It was the most recommended of the available stuff. The printer has a bed capable of 10x8x8.



I was able to download a recommended replacement part for the printer (the mfg actually says "go get this guy's feed arm, it's better than ours, and print it" in the instructions) and print it within 10 minutes of getting the printer out of the box. It's surprisingly simple to start running.

I can take any of my 3D solids out of ACAD, export them as an STL file and drop it right into the Simplify3D software and then print away. Here's a scaled down Method bead lock rim and the arm that was recommended:



There is a learning curve. I've been reading on the MakerGear and Simplify3D sites about making bridges and such so when the system starts doing "floating" areas, I don't get this sort of stringing:



I have had three fully successful items that I've designed/made too. Three versions of a cell phone holder. The first two are just cradles. One is a tight tolerance piece that will attach to the dash of my XP. It holds the phone nice and tight and won't let it flop out during use, the other is scaled larger just a tad so the phone drops in easily. This piece is attached to the wall under my shop's stereo.

The third one is a thicker, more burly phone cradle with an integrated locking clip and countersunk holes. This one's going on the handlebars of my new KTM 350 XCF-W. I still need to make the mounting clamp, but I'm waiting on the new handlebars before I design it.



Phone in cradle:





One of my next learning projects will be vent louvers that will clip into the holes in the doors of my XP - trying to get some air flow into the cabin.

I plan on making all the internals of the head and tail lights of the Mini-Raptor with this printer, along with the detail stuff like the vents, louvers, grill pieces and such.

It's not the fastest thing in the world, but hey, not a big deal. The first two cell holders I made (similar to the one in the pix) are half the thickness and don't have the arm on them and I did them in a lower resolution and they took about 45 minutes each. The wheel took about an hour.

It's pretty cool that the software not only shows the amount of time to produce the part, but it also shows the amount of material used (right now 1.75 mm diameter PLA), weight and cost.

The cradle in the picture took 2.5 hrs, used 6908.2mm of material with a weight of 20.77 grams (.05 lbs) and cost a whopping $.96 - yes, 96 cents!

When it prints thicker pieces, like the control arm and the cradle, it actually does a netting layout inside the piece. They're not solid. It lays down a full layer or two for the surface and then starts laying down a netting that's spaced about 2mm apart, criss-crossing as it builds. Makes the part light and strong and uses far less material.

I also got PVC and clear PLA. The PVC will be a bit more durable and stiff.

Not sure how well the clear stuff will work - there's a layered affect and I don't know if the clear will be clear or look a bit cloudy. Time will tell.

This thing's gonna be fun.

[CARLRIDDLE]

Saw a 3D printed car the other day. Elec powered, suppose to go on sale end of yr.

[K-fab]

Koenigsegg is 3D printing their turbo chargers - doing ti, nickel, steel, etc. The printers are getting flat out amazing and better and better every day.

[JD66]

Hey K,

Sweet purchase. Oddly enough, we just received our second 3D printer at work today and it's that exact same printer. Good choice, it's pretty well built.

We run both ABS and PLA at work. We built an enclosure for ours because ABS seems to print a little cleaner with a higher atmospheric temperature during printing - our enclosure isn't heated but it keeps the heat generated from the printer inside (temperature is between 85-100 usually). This is optional, but can give cleaner parts (especially on taller parts as you get further away from the heated bed). With it being summer in AZ you could just print outside

You'll find there are a lot of parameters with regards to the printing (temperatures, feed rates, accelerations, layer heights, extruder retraction, etc). If you need any help with settings let me know.

For ABS we are using glue sticks to put a layer of glue on the glass bed before starting a print, helps ensure the part doesn't come off the surface during printing.

For PLA, we use wide strips of painters tape on the bed and print directly onto the tape.

We always print with a raft too - it's a first few layers printed under the entire "shadow" of the part so you have a nice solid layer to print onto. This is especially helpful if your part has thin walls that may not stick to the bed on it's own.

You can also add support material manually - we add support material to anything with an overhang greater than 45 degrees. Less than 45 degrees and you can get away without support material.

One more thing - check out Thingiverse.com, there are some cool parts there that you can download.

Probably a lot more info than you were expecting! Have fun with it.

Ah, one more thing. I believe they have a new extruder design - if you start having any problems with your extruder it's something to look into.

[flyerrider]

Badass man! I've been looking at them for a while too. I saw a guy that 3D printed the molds for the body of a car he was building. Not cheap but a hell of a lot less work and dead nuts accurate.

[nutz4sand]

Dunno how true it is but I have heard they have giant scale printers that can actually print out a whole house you actually live in. They literally set it up and come back to a printed house is what I have been told.

[K-fab]

Thanks Justin! That's exactly the type of info I need.

Been on thingiverse already - yea, some cool stuff.

I'd read about enclosing and will do that when I move it to the shop. I'm sure the a/c blowing on it right now doesn't help.

What temp are you running the bed with PLA? - I'm almost assuming none if you're covering it with painters tape? I've been heating it to 60C and the head to 216C (I have the new head/extruder and discovered the heat setting issues fairly early - nothing would stick to the table.) I am starting to play with temp a little. I figure it's a good place to start.

[flyerrider]

My friend went to an investor meeting for a guy that wanted to start a company that 3D prints houses. The build cost is insane. Build time, not so much.

[JD66]

Sure thing. Yes, A/C is not your friend in this case. PLA doesn't care too much but ABS does.

We are running 50C for the bed with PLA and painters tape. The extruder is set to 215C (we have not upgraded the extruder yet so setpoints may vary slightly).

You can also slow the print speed down by 50% or so on the first layer, helps a lot with getting the part to stick.

[Bullnerd]

Cool stuff guys and congrats K' on your new piece of equipment.

When I bought my milling machine the guy was getting into rapid prototyping using the printer style machines. He tried to sell me one for 30k. The cool thing is the machine could change to a water soluble substance that would print out just like plastic. Then just run the part under warm water and the plastic melts away creating clearance between moving parts.

I just had a couple parts done by a rapid prototype service. The parts where done with STL(stereo lithography). VERY impressive! The parts look like they where cnc'd!