3d Printing components

[Tarsier79]

Hi Guys

I purchased a 3d Printer just over 1 yr ago, and have had to learn to model components in a cad program, (I chose Blender). Below is my latest design, a bearing housing(bearings from a 120mm fan) and mount for a desktop POP model.

If anyone here needs any 3d printed bearing mounts, or right angle pillow blocks etc designed for Bessler wheel/test purposes, I will be happy to help. Easy and quick designs are free for Bessler members only.

I can if required print as well, but would like to restrict this service to Australia. (Printing not free due to running costs etc.)

PM to discuss.

Cheers

Kaine.

[daanopperman]

Hi Tarsier-79

Money well spent Which limb did you have to sacrifice .

[Tarsier79]

Ha ha. I only paid $350 AU from China for a Prusa I3. It has surprising print quality for the price, and rivals most printers under $2000. Since then they have changed the design, and most aren't as good. I did have to modify some components, and still have some to modify to improve accuracy 0.1mm or so.

The finished bearing housing (bearings 8mm OD, 3mm ID) assembly ready for mounting with 1 x 60cm see-saw arm: (due to lazyness, I do minimal cleanup, as I am concerned with funcionality 1st.)

[daxwc]

That is very cool.

I can if required print as well, but would like to restrict this service to Australia. (Printing not free due to running costs etc.)

Can the rest of us buy this service? Although it seems more likely there is printing service in every city which might be cheaper once they have the cad program.

[daanopperman]

Hi Tarsier 79

I assume the printer uses a heated print nozzle .
In Nylon , pump housings , volute's , impellers , you have a patern shop , foundry , machineshop all in one .
I have a limb to sacrifice .
I need a new ringgear for my ride on .
Polyprop , PVC , HDPE , Nylon ,

[Tarsier79]

Sure Dax. I can send worldwide. Probably the cheapest solution is to find 3d printers in your general area with social media and get them to print for you.

Add: you just need to supply them the "stl" file. It is standard across 3d print software, and compatible with most cad programs.

[Tarsier79]

Daan.

It also has its limitstions. I would not use it for a gear in your mower. I prefer to print in PLA.

[Art]

Nice work Tarsier !

There is one idea still rattling around in the back of my mind from a few years back to do with syphoning and Venturi valves and making water run uphill , that 3D printing looks like it would be ideal for !

Is it feasible to " print " channels inside a structure with very smooth internal surfaces using dimensions of the channels of say around 5 mm ?

[Tarsier79]

Art.

As I said, 3d Printing has it's limitations. You have to define "very smooth". If you print the channel horizontal, it would be smooth along the channel, if you print it vertically, there will be minute bumps, as the print is made up layer at a time. There are ways to finish to smooth out bumps. You could also print so the channel is in two halves, so you could sand or smooth with acetone. Also, the imperfections will be less of a percentage if you make the channel larger, or print the majority so it holds common clear plastic tubing at the correct locations.

If you have a specific venturi chamber design I could try to help you out, but have very limited knowledge in that particular field.

[Tarsier79]

The big advantages of 3d printing in this field I feel, is the ability to design moderately complex and quite accurate components with specific angles and measurements, and the ability to reproduce them at different locations. Such as:

Bearing mounts that match gears for 90 degree drive. (I have had this problem before)

Custom pillow blocks.

Hinge mounts at specific angles.

Consistent reproduction of any part that is replicated around a wheel.

Accurate templating.


The Negatives:
Parts can take a long time to print.

The first layer (0.1-0.2mm) is usually squished, so often has a lip of anywhere up to 0.5mm

Anywhere a "support" is used for mid air bridging in a design will need to be cleaned up/sanded if that face is of importance.

Parts have to be designed with strength in mind, as 3d printed components are not as strong as moulded plastic.

[AB Hammer]

Tarsier79

Your insight of the 3D printer is very good and I will have to get myself one, one day. But for now I have to use my welders and hammer.

[daxwc]

Parts can take a long time to print.

How long? How big was the bearings?

[Tarsier79]

The above design took 13 hrs to print. Its bearings are only 3mm ID and 8mm OD. The wooden see-saw shaft in the pic is 10mm square and the entire height of the assembly is around 85mm.

More expensive printers will print faster, or higher resolution, or more accurate, or a combination of all three.

AB, metal is much better for obvious reasons. You don't need to buy a 3d printer. There is a good chance someone already has one nearby to you.

[AB Hammer]

I don't know. This is Homer, where people still use VHS tapes and the 4 highlight's here. Drinking, sex, hunting, and fishing and not always in that order. LOL

[Art]

Thanks for the offer Kaine, I don't have a lot experience there either but hopefully after I try and reproduce a device I remember
from school chemistry laboratory I will have !

It was a venturi "vacuum" pump device (made by an obviously pretty competant glassblower) which hooked onto a flow of water from a water tap
and produced enough "vacuum" to suck a liquid through a filter funnel . Being made of glass was nice because you could see what was going
on inside but IIRC it would not have been easy to mass produce.

If I am successful in reproducing it and can get it to do what I want it to do then having a go at making a 3D printed version might be the way to go.

In 3D printing , would it be possible to print over a wax form (melting point about 80 degree centigrade) without melting the form ?
I'm thinking about 'lost wax moulding' method of making channels inside the printed block by melting out the wax after the printing is complete .