# 3D Printed Parts



## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Seems that a few of us are printing parts using 3D printers so I though why not start a thread to share our experiences.

I have an Up Mini 3D printer that cam with a CAD package I purchased. A few days ago I decided to give it a try and see what can be done and am really impressed. The print quality at 200micron is excellent, strength seems to be great and being able to knock a part up in CAD then sit back whilst it is being made is quite a novelty. I have pretty much had the printer running all day for the past 3 days.

So far I have made figurines for the kids, parts for a new light, 18650 battery cases, handlebar mounts and tube reducers. About the only downfall is the time taken to print. The handlebar mount seen below took about 1 1/2 hours however to make it by hand would have probably taken a day so not all bad I guess.

I give all my parts an acetone treatment to increase their strength but also to improve the surface finish. MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) can also be used but a mot more smelly and harder to come by. It also pays to watch the orientation of the parts to be printed to ensure the layers are running in such a way that the part will not loose strength

Here's a few pictures of what I have made (bike related)

Freshly printed parts with support material around them, handlebar mounts in there also








Handlebar Mount with pressed M5 nut and bolt and 3mm roll pin pivot
























Battery case (waiting for spring and button terminals to be fitted) These are draft parts hence the reduced quality


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Brad, I'm still finding it hard to get my head around the fact that we can now print parts. Amazing stuff.


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## Scalci (Dec 28, 2013)

This is very cool. I want to get a 3D printer, but ther are so many theae days on the market not knowing which one to get.

Brad, how difficult was it to draw the CAD side of the drawing?


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Scalci said:


> This is very cool. I want to get a 3D printer, but ther are so many theae days on the market not knowing which one to get.
> 
> Brad, how difficult was it to draw the CAD side of the drawing?


I use Autodesk Inventor 2014 since machine design and automation is my job so that makes it a bit easier but there are lots of freeware cad programs out there and plenty of tutorial video's so it's not hard to pick up. Essentially the learning is in the doing so give it a go.

The printer software on the UP does all the calculations regarding support structure etc so it makes life very easy. I just arrange the parts on the virtual bed, select the quality and speed I desire and upload to the printer. It takes care of the rest. Regarding which printer to get is a tough one. The Makerbot replicators are nice but also expensive. A lot will depend on where you live as that highly effects the price of any of the printers. I know Ktronic has an Up Plus which prints a slightly larger parts than the mini I have (140mm² vs 120mm²) and still costs less than the makerbot.

All parts can be made in pieces then fused together with acetone of superglue as the abs plastic melts to give an excellent bond. I snapped a part in half, put it back together then painted the join with acetone. The part is strong as ever again despite being broken

If you just want stuff to print there is a site called "Thingiverse" that is full of stuff peaple have designed and each design will include the .stl file ready to be uploaded and printed.


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## Scalci (Dec 28, 2013)

Thx Brad, I think. i will give it a try


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## Ofroad'bent (Jul 10, 2010)

Love the battery pack!


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Ofroad'bent said:


> Love the battery pack!


Cheers Mate. I am waiting on some battery tabs so i can complete the design ready for making a few. With the tabs I can configure the pack to be 1s2p, 2s1p and make some 3s and 4s packs as well. Just need to look at getting some protection circuits so non protected cells can be used and charged inside the packs.


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## Ofroad'bent (Jul 10, 2010)

brad72 said:


> Cheers Mate. I am waiting on some battery tabs so i can complete the design ready for making a few. With the tabs I can configure the pack to be 1s2p, 2s1p and make some 3s and 4s packs as well. Just need to look at getting some protection circuits so non protected cells can be used and charged inside the packs.


I can't see a problem building these without protection.
There are some nice 3400ah protected Panasonics out there that would do very nicely in one of these holders.


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## ktronik (Dec 23, 2006)

Brad and I have almost the same printer. Me the UP plus and brad the UP mini, they are the best printer for NO nothing guys, that just wana print, rather than spend weeks building and setting up a 3D re-rap printer, that often does not get the same results as a out of the box UP, however there is a learning curve of dumb stuff not to do, we can help here, any questions are fine, TinkerCAD is the best for newbys, get started CADing now, its easy and fun to do...I am in AU and can print stuff if people need....

this is me on thingverse

About Ktronik - Thingiverse

brad the reason for my post is this....

https://taulman3d.com/uploads/3/1/1/2/3112210/8685771_orig.png

it shows that the new T-glase as the BEST for passing light...thus you could make light pipes with it, its also SUPER TUFF, much stronger than ABS....one of us need to try it brad, I just did an order....got some colour changing stuff to try first, will help me see the heat of components while inside the box...K

The main features of T-Glase

Strength - First, as it's a taulman3D industrial line, it has to be strong and we, along with our local testers and some selected industrial testers, are very pleased with the strength of t-glase. Especially with the larger nozzles used on industrial units.
Temperature - Optimum temperature is about 212c to 224C, but will print down to 207C and up to about 255C.
FDA approved - t-glase is specifically made of FDA approved polymers for direct food contact/containers. This includes cups and other liquid storage parts as well as utensils.
Environmental - While t-glase is not biodegradable like PLA, it is a material that's considered 100% reclaimable. Thus the new "struders" that convert failed prints back to usable line work perfectly with t-glase. If you have a "struder", you can actually mix in 12% of the total weight in discarded clear water bottles.
Clarity - like 645 nylon, t-glase's clarity supports industry's requirements for non-destructive evaluation of 3D Printed parts.
Shrinkage - Very low shrinkage makes printing large flat surfaces a breeze. And it easily prints to acrylic, glass, Kapton and other platforms.
Bridging - Those of us that have printed with acrylics and polycarbonates are always envious of their bridging capabilities due to glass temperature. And the new t-glase is very impressive at bridging.
Fumes - Unlike some lines, there are no odors or fumes when 3D Printing with t-glase.


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Kerry, the T-glase looks fantastic but a pity our local supplier is currently out of stock of the 1.75mm clear. I have always wanted to make light tubes and could even make lenses by the looks of it and no fumes to talk of means I could bring the printer back in to the office again. At present it is in the shed and I send the print jobs to it via a wifi print server that essentially is a little box that plugs into the printers printer port.

Looks like I will have to make some more extruder nozzles as the T-glase seems to like 0.8mm-1.0mm so our 0.4mm will put a little too much pressure on the extruder. 

I can see so many uses for the stuff so will have to get some of the ideas into CAD ready to trial when stock of the clear filament arrives.


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## ktronik (Dec 23, 2006)

Yep, I will also order some on next order....

pp3dp.com ? View topic - The Kustom Ktronik Printing Center

I have made a booth, with neg air system and carbon air scrubbers...it sits 2m to the right of me....my shed was just too hot....and I did not want to cook my main board, so also make a custom air intake....it even got a mention in the official UP news letter....I was pretty happy about that...

How come your so good at CAD?? you do it for work??

K


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## ktronik (Dec 23, 2006)

if you make some nozzles, please make one for me...


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

ktronik said:


> if you make some nozzles, please make one for me...


Will do Kerry. Might make some tomorrow. Fantastic work on the enclosure and getting some recognition for it. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing ones name in print

Wouldn't say I am great at CAD, i just do it a lot. My job is engineering director at Cakes Galore so essentially I am an automation engineer that designs, fabricates, and programs food processing production equipment from single machines to complete line consisting of 1000's or parts. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a machine come to life from the CAD program, then programming it to make it do whatever I want.


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## ktronik (Dec 23, 2006)

brad72 said:


> Will do Kerry. Might make some tomorrow. Fantastic work on the enclosure and getting some recognition for it. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing ones name in print
> 
> Wouldn't say I am great at CAD, i just do it a lot. My job is engineering director at Cakes Galore so essentially I am an automation engineer that designs, fabricates, and programs food processing production equipment from single machines to complete line consisting of 1000's or parts. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a machine come to life from the CAD program, then programming it to make it do whatever I want.


WOW Director!! I guess you went to school and stuff.... I like a job that you can fix and bash stuff!! nice work.... I am impressed!!


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

School aside I think you learn more by doing and finding out what does and doesn't work. I love to learn new stuff which is why I am enjoying one of my other hobbies that is Knife making, from folder to hunting knives. I have nearly finished fabricating my heat treat oven that has a max temp of 1200ºC which I will also use to give alloy casting a go (make a housing in the 3d printer to be used as a sand casting mold) and have just started making a 2x72" linisher. 

Just need to build a bigger shed to fit all the toys in


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## ktronik (Dec 23, 2006)

'poke it and see' works for me... DUDE, sick sh*t! Lost PLA casting is very cool!! this is a GREAT vid about it....
Lost PLA 3D Print to Metal Casting; Complete - YouTube
totally worth a watch...its long, but it shows every step, and importantly all the safety stuff...

I am also looking for a small factory.... as lights have gotten out of control...I left the bike shop and am full time kLite now....we are at the start of the dynamo craze....if ya need a SP dynamo hub to be convinced...PM me I am the AU dealer...


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

I made up an acetone vapor tank tonight and ran a few parts through it. As you can see the gloss levels are great and the layers have fused meaning stronger parts. They look a little like they have bee coated in clear lacquer.


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## Goldigger (Nov 6, 2009)

Its been a while since I posted here...been far to busy working (own company) and being a dad..
And riding my bike rather than spending hours on the mill...and using my own lights with the short days we have in the UK at the moment..
Also got another set of wheels and went tubeless, as I'm a magnet for thorns!









But me warped mind see's an easy market for these 3D printers...

Sex toys!!

Happy new year all


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

GD glad your getting out lots and enjoying being a Dad. It is wonderful


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## borrower (Feb 26, 2011)

Great looking parts... how much does that 2x battery pack weigh? (I've been looking for something water resistant and light for quite a while now.)


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

borrower said:


> Great looking parts... how much does that 2x battery pack weigh? (I've been looking for something water resistant and light for quite a while now.)


Total weight is 45g with terminals and nickle plated cable gland. Not sure how much lighter it can be made as it was a trial but will have to see


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Nice Brad!

I make all kinds of stuff on mine, including the Magic Shine to Marwi adapters that I sell
Here's a shot of just a few of the items I make


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Very nice EI34. I am beginning to wonder how we ever did without them. I have nearly finished making some mods for my printer that I could never have imagined making at home before.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Ya, They are a pretty cool tool

I also have a CNC machine and they are cool, but 3D printers are a notch cooler, IMO

On one hand I can lay a big sheet of plastic down and the CNC machine can make 96 of the same item in the same amount of time that the 3D printer can make 3 items,
BUT, there is a ton of extra work involved on a CNC machine.
There is a ton of setup time and clean up time after the items are cut on a sheet.

With the 3D printer, the object is printed and done.

It's a trade off in your labor time which is worth a bunch to me.

I would like to get a top notch commercial 3D printer at some point.
The type that uses lasers and a powder material


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

El34 said:


> I also have a CNC machine and they are cool, but 3D printers are a notch cooler, IMO
> 
> On one hand I can lay a big sheet of plastic down and the CNC machine can make 96 of the same item in the same amount of time that the 3D printer can make 3 items,
> BUT, there is a ton of extra work involved on a CNC machine.
> ...


As it seems in all things, there are trade-offs. The CNC is usually much larger and in most cases can work in a wide variety of materials. In most cases the CNC is much faster. A 3D printer is much easier to program than CNC (do you even "program" it?). Each have their place but I think 3D printers hold an edge for the "hobbyist" due to low cost of entry and small footprint being a couple of the main factors.


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

There is also the advantage of being able to print stuff that only a 5 axis machine could do. Parts are not as strong but again as you say there are trade offs in everything. In saying that I have found that the acetone vapor bath fuses all the layers together and makes a really strong part, as well as making them look all pretty.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

brad72 said:


> There is also the advantage of being able to print stuff that only a 5 axis machine could do.


Great point there! That orange part in EL34's post would be impossible on my CNC.


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

And this vase I printed would be impossible on a cnc. This was printed with no support so surprised it even printed


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Ktronik, cool stuff. I checked out your Thingiverse page. 
You and Brad get some nice quality parts from your printers.

Brad, I am curious about that vapor technique and how you do it? 
I only use PLA, not sure if that technique is used on PLA or just ABS?

I struggled building my machine and extruder from scratch.
Not so much the machine itself but the Extruder was definitely the hardest part. 
Having re-designed the extruder 3 times from prototype to current.
In fact I am making a new part for it today to dial in the filament feed using ball bearings.
This page has a bunch of pics on my current DIY printer
DIY 3D printer using 20mm T-Slot Extrusions

That PLA casting video was cool but wow, what a ton of work for a very simple part. That's the perfect job for a 3 axis CNC mill since the shape was not all that complex.

*To illustrate the difference between CNC and printing the same part.*

Initially I made the Marwi to Magic shine adapters from sheets of 3/4 inch thick HDPE. I could cut out 96 at a time on a sheet of HDPE.

Ok, that sounds fast and fun, *BUT
*Setting up the CNC with the material is not fast at all, it's a PITA
Each part is left attached to the sheet by two tabs, so you have to snip each part loose from the sheet. 
Then you may have to snip the tabs smoother once you get the part free.
Then the part needs a small screw hole that is on the side of the part, so the CNC machine could not do that operation at the same time the parts were being cut from the sheet
Two different sized mill bits and two different sides of the part.
I built a jig to load 50 of the parts into the CNC machine and that operation would do the screw hole.

So that's several separate operations to get a finished product using a CNC machine and hand labor.

Not to mention that HDPE plastic goes everywhere and has a static charge to it so it clings to everything.
Even though I have a vacuum system as the main sheet is being cut, it is still a huge PITA to try and clean up the plastic.
AND, you have to babysit a CNC machine, you can't just walk away and leave it alone, so I am strapped to the machine during this whole process.

In contrast, the 3D printer is way slower to make one part, BUT, setup time is fast and you walk away and do other things. That's the most important thing, my time

This is what the part looks like when cut on the CNC machine.

Just finished my Extruder upgrade. The new filament roller came out nice
Here's a video of that


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Glad the mod worked well EI34. Looking at our print head extruders they also use a bearing as a forcing block. The other consideration is the nozzle temp. some of the filaments just do not extrude if too hot, or too cold. The genuine ABS filament I am just finishing up needs a temp of 260ºc, where as the aftermarket stuff is 230-240. The roundness of the filament can also play havoc. If you purchase 1.75mm, is should be just that, not oval shaped

I have only printed in ABS because of the strength. The acetone vapor bath is a simple bit of kit that forms a vapor of acetone that the part is submerged in that melts and fuses the ABS plastic together, removing any of the print lines, adds a high gloss to the parts and really increases the strength. 

My bath at present is an old stainless pot (broke the jar by mistake), a small heater(hot plate) and a lid. The parts sits on some grease proof paper on a piece of flat alloy with wire hangers attached. A small amount of acetone is poured in the bottom of the pot and gently heated (100ºc is the magic number apparently). As the acetone evaporates you will see a condensation line rise around the walls of the pot. When the line is higher that the part lower the part in on the cradle and let it sit on the bottom. As the vapors go to work the part will become shiny and then will look completely smooth, then it is quickly taken out and the remaining acetone flashes off the part. Depending on the vapor temp it can be as quick as 20 seconds. Now let the part fully harden overnight and it done. I say overnight because the entire part soaks up some acetone, even the core. 

I haven't done tests yet on how this treatment changes the dimensions but will do when my new rolls of ABS arrive. So far I haven't noticed any changes but I am watching the parts close and pulling them out as soon as they are done. 

A note on safety, acetone is heavier than air so will not escape the pot unless the vapor is allowed to rise higher than the rim. It is flammable so no naked flames. I wear a respirator and glasses just because I have a sensitive nose.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I have experimented with lower and higher filament temps on the PLA
The current PLA stock I am using seems to work well at 180c

I am using up the last PLA black roll and that roll has measured 1.73mm all the way through so far. Seems to be round and high quality stuff.

The next batch I have is from another source in 3 different colors and is 1.69mm, so I will have to re-set my Slic3r settings when the current spool is gone


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

EI34, what software are you using to handle the print as I am planning on fabricating a larger printer, something capable of 300x300x300 or there about so I can print off some bigger stuff. i already have steppers and microstep drives left over from another project that I might use. PM me is that is easier then I can give you my email.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Check out my build page link in post #29
I have some info regarding the software

This is the link to my main CNC page and there are more links there
EL4's CNC projects Main page

I use Alibre for 3D design, Slic3r to create G-code from .stl files and I use Mach3 to run the printer.
The reason I use Mach3 is that I already owned it and know how to operate it because of my CNC machine.

I know nothing at all about the stuff most guys use like, Arduino and all the other hardware and software that goes along with that stuff.

Let me know if you need any additional info. Happy to help.


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Thanks for the info. If I use mach3 that would be a good excuse to cnc my HM45 mill


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Cool, 
That would be a great project.

Mach3 is pretty cool, easily customized, easy to operate and is priced very reasonable at $175 one time only charge with free updates.
Plus you get the lathe software also if you want to CNC a lathe

Plus it has a huge user base so it's easy to get help on forums like CNC zone

*EDIT:*
For CNC machine software which is all 2D stuff, I use
Quickcad for drawing and sometimes Alibre 
Cambam for the CAM stuff
Mach3 to run the CNC machine


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Old thread but a few updates. Have been so busy at work over the past few months that I felt I needed a brain change so I have designed and started to build a delta 3D printer. All up the build volume will be 280mm diameter x 450mm high so should be able to print most things I can think up. I am using my UP Mini printer to make some of the parts like the linear carriages, end effector and fan ducts and so far it is proving to be a fun project whilst getting to learn some new stuff. I have started a build blog if anyone is interested and can be found here Delta 3D Printer Build and other 3D printer stuff

I also designed and printed a bar mount for my Garmin edge 500 computer. I ended up making 3 versions since I know some peoples printers are better than others.

Here's a few pictures of the Delta printer and the mount

Render of the printer design progress so far from Autodesk Inventor. Would be so hard to get right without cad. All up it is about 1150mm high and 550mm at the widest point so just a bit bigger than my current printer









Complete end effector with magnetic balls, hot end and fan duct attached. Just need to nuts and bolts fitted to secure everything









Garmin 500 mount. Really happy with this one and great to get the computer in front of the bars making it easier to see


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## muzzanic (Apr 28, 2009)

Cool thread.



brad72 said:


> Old thread but a few updates. Have been so busy at work over the past few months that I felt I needed a brain change so I have designed and started to build a delta 3D printer. All up the build volume will be 280mm diameter x 450mm high so should be able to print most things I can think up. I am using my UP Mini printer to make some of the parts like the linear carriages, end effector and fan ducts and so far it is proving to be a fun project whilst getting to learn some new stuff. I have started a build blog if anyone is interested and can be found here Delta 3D Printer Build and other 3D printer stuff
> 
> I also designed and printed a bar mount for my Garmin edge 500 computer. I ended up making 3 versions since I know some peoples printers are better than others.
> 
> ...


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

With winter arriving and early morning rides in the dark I designed and printed a mount that holds my single XML helmet light under the Garmin Edge 500 computer to keep the cockpit nice and neat. Driven at a max of 2.8 amps and dropping power on the hills gives me plenty of run time from a 1S2P pack. I ditched the aspheric in favor of a reflector with watch glass lens to give some spill as well as throw. The mount was Vapor smoothed to make it prettier.


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## find_bruce (May 8, 2011)

Looks real purty Brad. curious to see how it lasts in that the various plastic go-pro mounts seem to have a limited life.


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

find_bruce said:


> Looks real purty Brad. curious to see how it lasts in that the various plastic go-pro mounts seem to have a limited life.


This is the Mk2 mount. The first version snapped when I hit a large bump in the road jarring the whole bike. High pressure tires and no suspension works the mount pretty hard. This version has been going for about 2 months with no signs yet of stress but as you say only time will tell.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Nice! ABS or PLA? I see a rib along the bottom. Was that added at the MK2 stage?


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Thanks Vanc. This was printed with ABS and yep the rib was added in the MK2 design, along with beefing up a few other sections.


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## KevinGT (Dec 25, 2012)

Impressive! Keep the updates coming.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

brad72 said:


> ....This was printed with ABS


Do you have any thoughts on how well each layer of ABS is fused to the previous layer? Is there a general sense that printed is X% as strong as virgin or molded material?


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Vancbiker said:


> Do you have any thoughts on how well each layer of ABS is fused to the previous layer? Is there a general sense that printed is X% as strong as virgin or molded material?


Injection moulded ABS will always be stronge IMO but the process is expensive unless a large number of parts are made to recover the cost of the die. The layers can create weak spots so before printing you have to think of the part orientation to make it the strongest. I printed this mount on it's side to ensure the clamp area was strongest. The acetone vapor smoothing certainly does increase the parts strength by fusing the outside layers together as well as making it cosmetically more pleasing.

Another consideration is layer height which I want to test more scientifically. Cosmetically printing at 0.1mm looks nicer than 0.3mm but which is stronger. Same goes goes for the infill % and pattern. Even the temperature of the build chamber has an effect on the finished parts strength.

All that said though being able to design the impossible part in cad, send it to the printer before going to be and wake up the next day with your part ready is pretty amazing. Do also have the option to make some silicone molds of prints and cast out of resin. Main advantage with this is being able to produce the parts faster.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Thanks for the insight! Where I used to work, engineering would occasionally send models to a print service to make a prototype to test fit and "feel". Structurally they were pretty delicate. I know this is a rapidly advancing technology and improved materials are certainly one of the advancements.

What you said about designing the impossible part and shooting it to the printer is what I'm interested in. With CNC milling, I can program complex monolithic shapes and cut them, but usually requires lots of operations and fixturing to reposition and hold the partially cut piece. It also usually requires a large chunk of raw material too. All that adds time and costs that are tough to sell for low volumes.


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