Any folks out there made use of a 3D printer to produce parts or prototypes. It seems from what I have heard that these new fangled printers could be quite handy. I see that they maybe they would be a good way to make patterns for casting in the first instance... I'd like see some results and to know what they are being used for and how successful they have been.
We have one at school, but it will only do a part that will fit in a 5" cube. The printer takes a long time to print a part (several hours). If the piece is not complex, and you only need one or 2, it's still faster to just go machine it. But, you're right. A 3D printer is the way to go in terms of patterns for castings. You can add your drafting and account for shrinkage all with the CAD program, then print that thing off! If you ever watch Jay Leno's YouTube channel, they have one and use it quite a bit. It's pretty cool to see what they've done. The only part we've had printed so far was related to skateboarding, so I won't show it off here, but it turned out great. Apparently, you can set the printer up to use ABS plastic and similar substances (I think they usually use some type of thermal epoxy/resin).
Watch this video I got from kroozn1: http://bangshift.com/blog/watch-a-l...-built-of-3d-printed-parts-truly-amazing.html
Boy, am I way behind the times, I just watched a small documentary news item on these printers. I thought they were just printing in plastic, but I note that these things are printing in aluminum and stainless steel as well as skin cells for medical purposes. So my thoughts of making patterns and prototypes are OK but now I see the real thing can be made. I guess this means that if a part is not suitable or available for a project it can be replicated in a form that will work right, say a thermostat housing with or without and extra hose point or copy a diecast junk component out of a better quality material...
I have a 3d printed part on the recycled 40 ford woodie.. its plastic... simple.. for the most part hidden.. and solves a very big problem.. I used shapeways..
It would be a great toy to have in the garage. I'm not up to date, but they also use various powdered metals. Several years ago, I was in a Northrup Grumman facility on a job interview/tour and they were making titanium powdered metal nose cones for a fighter jet. Not certain if it was a finished piece, a prototype, or what. Our product engineering department uses one to print out engine parts (brackets, redesigns, etc) for our manufacturing facility to test fit before sending off big orders, and we have resin models of the heads and blocks (diesel engines - we don't want to handle the real ones!) we produce to help us visualize issues that come up.
We just had a SLT (sintered laser technology) vendor in at work last month. He made us a sample of a complex part in aluminum. It would have had been made in 7 parts for conventional machining. But the surface finishes were rough, really not acceptable for an antenna part that the sample was made to depict. Almost all of their finishes were at best in the 125-150 ums range. Everyone seems to be under the impression that anyone can start banging out complex parts right away. The 3D image model has to be exported in the correct format and set up for a specific machine. Other considerations are add-ons to support thin sections, part orientation, minimum cross section thicknesses. All of this has to be built into the 3D model up front. Bob
One of my best friends is a big nerd and just built his own 3D printer...ya...he needs a life. Its badass though. And I have been talking to him about making some smaller things for my project. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
We used SLA technology for our prototype Blinkie turn signal housing. Using a solid model created in SolidWorks, the plastic prototype cost about $200. They also have a material that they can print that replaces the wax pattern in lost wax casting. However, the cost for such is much higher than making a wax pattern. Dimensionally, there are considerations. Some printers have a different resolution in the XY direction versus the Z direction so the orientation is important if you have tight tolerances. Also, features such as dowel pin holes should be finished after casting. One cool feature of the printing process is speed, we can get a hundred parts in a week. The technology will improve in the near future.
I use my 3d printer to print parts, then I investment cast the plastic part to make metal parts. Works out very well...
I recently took a tour of PA College of Technology. They had a sample they made of a 3/4 inch threaded bolt with bother left and right hand threads on the same bolt WITH nuts that turned. The rear nut was captive, it would not come completely off the bolt because it ran into the opposing thread. All three pieces were made at the same time. I've only been able to watch videos of the printers working, but I have a hard time understanding how it can make a bolt and nut assembled and the nut has clearance to turn on the thread. Can anyone explain it?
Its a additive mfg process, it just prints with a bit of space between the threads. If you think thats cool you should the herringbone gear bearing they make.
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If its the part I am thinking about one of the vendors (of 3d printers) was giving them away at a trade show I attended.. either way.. modeling the part (ie the threaded bolt with left and right handed nuts is rather simple..) the trick.. is that the software that is used to generate the "g" code for the print, prints "support material" where the "clearances" for the threads would be placed.. on the printers that I had the oppertunity to see, that printed support material is "soluble" .. meaning that once the print was complete the part was held together with a support that a solvent would dissolve.. the printed part would get deposited in what amounts to a parts washer for a few hours.. the support material would dissolve out, and the part would magically be "free" based on the designed in clearances. thus the printer isnt really magic.. tis the designer of the part to be printed that becomes the magician.. because there job is to design in those clearances to an appropriate amount.. for what its worth.. until this fall I taught high school kids these skills, at which point one of my supervisors felt that It was time for me to move to a less challenging position.. ps... This is the handle for the wiper switch.. which makes "turning" the wipers on and off.. easy.. most people never see it..
Thank you, that makes sense. The instructor that lead the tour didn't know how it was done, and you know I'm not smart enough to think of that method. I'm still impressed.
A friend of mine, pictured in this article, has been using a 3D printer to design and build marine jet drives for over 8 years now. http://www.namjet.com/news-media/3-d-printers-show-unlimited-potential
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