Who has a 3D printer and has made parts for their car?
I'm planning on getting one in the next couple weeks and have some projects in mind. Gonna start out with some PLA and ABS and plan on giving the CarbonX a try.
Post up pictures of some stuff you've made.
no good pictures to post at the moment, but I have ( a problem I know...) 5 printers....
I have yet to really make anything useful, let alone car-related useful :P except for a large-ish cup-holder insert for the BRZ
(partially due to my weak design software skills (OnShape, etc...), and partially due to too many other hobbies sucking up my time (music), and partially due to a few of the printers being finicky and not wanting to babysit them while it's nice outside, to catch them if they encounter a problem mid-print).
My current arenal:
Prusa i3Mk3 with the MMU2 (most reliable of my printers, with some issues related to the filament switching from time to time),
Creality CR-10S,
Creality CR-10S5 (the big one),
Printerbot Simple Metal (my first printer, not used currently),
and a Wanhao D7 resin printer.
Most of what I print is random stuff from Thingiverse, plus a few structural biology type protein models from the NIH 3D Print Exchange (work related).
So I'll spare everyone pictures of stuff that other people have already printed thousands of ( Benchy's, animals with T-rex heads grafted on, vase-type things).
Always curious to see what other people come up with though !
carry on :)
I have 6 printers now. It all started with one I bought to help out with projects in engineering school that later got cannabalized for parts. I've done a lot of 3D printed templates, cutting guides and jigs out of ABS, PLA and PETG on my truck project. ASA which is a modified ABS with excellent UV resistance or fiber reinforced nylons are the way to go for end use car parts. I would check out 3D Print my Ride on facebook if you have an account there.
My current lineup:
Prusa MK2
Creality CR-10S
Creality CRX
2X Creality Ender 3
Tevo Little Monster
PLA is pretty and easy to print. That's about all it has going for it. I really only use it for test fits and one time use parts that won't see a lot of UV or heat.
ABS is a real bastard to print. It requires a lot of patience, an enclosure and a heated bed capable hitting 90C. The CR-10 will struggle to do so. ABS and ASA hold up great at automotive interior temperatures and are tough materials.
PETG is my favorite to run on my Tevo with a big nozzle. It's a little stringy but it just prints great and has perfect layer adhesion.
I recently started playing with NylonX and Sainsmart Carbon Fiber Nylon which is a fraction of the price and 90% as good. You absolutely need a dehydrator and a dry box to print Nylon filaments. You also need a hardened steel nozzle and a garolite build plate. I couldn't get Nylon to stick to anything but garolite and a little bit of Elmers glue stick. It is a PITA but the parts you get off the printer are just phenomenal.
ABS Switch Cluster
C4 Front Lower Coilover mount
LS3 Spark Plug Holder
PETG cutting/grinding guide
CD009 Shifter Relocation mockup plate
My MK2 with a vase mode rocket that was printed on the Tevo
Sainsmart CF-Nylon 5th Gen Camaro 4L80e Shifter
Some ST/RS stuff I'm working on
PLA Pie Cut Jig for my bandsaw
Following for suggestions on printers. Between car stuff and my 501st/Star Wars friends, the need is real.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Pictures aren't working
Patientzero said:In reply to RacetruckRon :
Pictures aren't working
They are for me.
Slightly different tack, has anyone used any of the online 3D printing services? I'd love to have a printer, but I don't think I'd use it enough to justify the cost. But if I could submit a file once in a while to get something made, that could work.
In reply to Patientzero :
hosted on Imgur like all of my other pictures. Works in another browser and on my phone as well.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Well shoot. Nothing on IE or Chrome for me. :(
Probly firewall at work I guess.
What material is best for making a pattern to burn out when you do a lost wax casting ?
And what NOT to use !
In reply to californiamilleghia :
Pla is probably the easiest for that.
I've got one, an Anet A8. Cheap, tricky to setup, but very capable. Haven't really needed to do anything for my vehicles with it though, so I've mostly just printed junk. I'm getting a Wi-Fi adapter soon though, hopefully that will get me printing again. I've been on inbit of a hold because I need my laptop for other things.
californiamilleghia said:What material is best for making a pattern to burn out when you do a lost wax casting ?
And what NOT to use !
Stratasys has a published whitepaper on this.
In reply to californiamilleghia :
PLA is pretty good for investment casting. We made a set of front steering knuckles with patterns that were printed on my desktop printer when I had an internship with an investment casting foundry.
I cleverly lost a velocity stack (since found) so I printed a replacement using ABS the worked. It came off the printer pretty rough but a little sanding and a coat of PVC pipe cement made it pretty nice. When (if?) dyno day arrives I plan to have printed sets in a couple length options.
I have a folgertch FT-5...300mmx300mm platform, 400mm height...$500 as a diy kit.....then probably another $300 in "upgrades" to make it a bit more reliable and I still have a few more items on need to upgrade list....but it did work with the as delivered parts.
Bumping this because I want to print some slot car stuff someday.
Right now even $200 is out of the question, but maybe in a few months I could get one. Is it worth buying one of the real cheap printers like the Ender 3?
We used to have a Solidoodle 3 at work. It was basically useless, more of a tinkering toy than something that was actually useful. We used it for some prototyping work but there was always the problem of "is it the model or did the print screw up?". It gave me a pretty low opinion of 3D printers overall, and ironically the pile of trash that used to be our Solidoodle has now landed on my workbench at home.
We just got a Markforged to replace it. Night and day difference in quality. It only prints in a proprietary material, but setup and print quality is where 3D printers are supposed to be. The material is "Onyx" and it contains chopped carbon fiber so it's really strong. We can print actual items that can be sold with this. $3500, but for a company it's a bargain compared to the older unit because time is money.
Printed this today. It's my first model (I'm not the guy who owns this printer) and I'm going to start doing some of the car stuff. No tweaking or any modification once it came off the bed.
californiamilleghia said:What material is best for making a pattern to burn out when you do a lost wax casting ?
And what NOT to use !
I use PLA if its a filament printer. If I am playing with an SLA printer I go with the Formlabs casting resin.
PLA here https://imgur.com/a/kJjBZ
Last Formlabs print I had didn't go well because I used the shell method to try and limit my resin use. I turned it into desk art
In reply to slowbird :
I've got an Ender 3. Its a great entry printer, and easily upgradable. You can usually find one on woot.com for $169, if its not on there right now just wait a month and it should be back up
Mke, what were the upgrades for the ft5? Was thinking about the ft6 (need bigness) but not many reviews on it.
Tom_Spangler said:Patientzero said:In reply to RacetruckRon :
Pictures aren't working
They are for me.
Slightly different tack, has anyone used any of the online 3D printing services? I'd love to have a printer, but I don't think I'd use it enough to justify the cost. But if I could submit a file once in a while to get something made, that could work.
Our local public library will do 3D prints for a nominal charge. Mine is like less than two miles from the house. Better printer than I could afford. You might see if your county offers the same service.
Mr_Asa said:In reply to slowbird :
I've got an Ender 3. Its a great entry printer, and easily upgradable. You can usually find one on woot.com for $169, if its not on there right now just wait a month and it should be back up
Santa brought me one of those. I'm still learning it, I leveled the bed and printed a test part, then I designed a speaker spacer for the 944 in NX and printed that. Came out good, but I need to tweak the design a bit. It's a fun toy, but it's a cheapie, so you can't do anything serious with it.
In reply to Tom_Spangler :
I've done the E3D hot end, and the BL Touch self-leveling upgrades. That and a glass bed and its a real solid printer. Next thing to do is research some metal-filaments and see how well it will print with those.
So for anyone printing stuff other than PLA. Are you using some type of filtration for fumes?
I'm using PETG and no. Although I don't think PETG is nearly as bad as ABS or Nylon. I really need to build an enclosure before I start dabbling in those.
notice anything diffrent from PETG to PLA as far as smell when printing? They seem to be similar from reading about it.
Nope. I print in an unused room of the house with the door closed. For a single printer the fumes aren't supposed to be too horrible. Comparable to cooking on an electric stove, from what I remember of the study I read, problem is that the printers can run 24/7 (ish) compared to the stove.
PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, soon to be Nylon
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