3D Printing is awesome. How about a thread for it (56k LOL warning)

[Dhim]

I absolutely love 3D printing and it seems like a lot of people still don't know much about it, so I figured I'd start a thread with some of the things I've printed with a 3D printer. A lot of things are vaping related, a lot are not. I'll probably keep this updated as a sort of live blog. If you 3D print, toss your stuff in here too!

Printers used:
Makerbot Replicator v5
Printrbot Metal

To start off, my absolute favorite thing I've printed (yes I'm a nerd). A life sized to scale version of a lightsaber.

Single mod holder.

Starting to organize ze e-liquids.

 

[Dhim]

An atty holder I made for some random dude on the internet...

and some giveaway winners

 

[Dhim]

This one gets it's own post. @Vaper Dyana was the first to welcome me here and asked about 3D printing. I promised to make her something vaping related, so here's her battery / mod holder. The 18650 slots will actually hold a 22mm mod as well.

 

[Vaper Dyana]

That looks AWESOME!! Thank you soo much!!!

 

[Jay9055]

Assuming I had the printer, what is the cost like for something like this?

This one gets it's own post. @Vaper Dyana was the first to welcome me here and asked about 3D printing. I promised to make her something vaping related, so here's her battery / mod holder. The 18650 slots will actually hold a 22mm mod as well.

 

[Dhim]

Assuming you have a printer, the actual cost of a print is extremely inexpensive. Where you run into a issue is time. For one, you need to set up your bed with tape (or use a heated bed and coat it), get your drawing set, use software to place it on the bed, then slice it and let it begin printing. Then that becomes your timesink. 3D printing is SLLLLLLOOOOOW.

Dyana's stand took aboout 4 hours or so to complete. The lightsaber you saw on top (including the blade not pictured) took about 25 hours to print spread out over 3 different print jobs.

On that note. I just got back from the store. Seems like my local Microcenter was having a nice sale on filament, so yeah. I have some colors to play with.

 

[Jay9055]

Sounds cool, how much time to design?

 

[Dhim]

Honestly at this point, most of the stuff I print is from either Thingiverse.com or other design repositories. I'll add the text and stuff. I'm fairly decent at graphic / photographic work, but moving the 3D space forces you to relearn EVERYTHING.

I'm working on a design now for a RDA stand, similar to the one I posted and also something with a little more flash for juice.

 

[Ace]

Do you use some kind of CAD program to design things?

Ok. Too slow. U kinda answered this.

 

[Dhim]

Do you use some kind of CAD program to design things?

Ok. Too slow. U kinda answered this.

Pretty much yeah. CAD, Blender, and now ever some photoshop.

 

[Ace]

Next. Is the stuff soft or hard? (Stop snickering) will it take heat?

Sorry, you got me curious.

 

[Temple Noble]

Very cool looking and it sounds like fun except the long wait time.

 

[Crocky]

That's pretty awesome! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[CaFF]

Friggin' awesome.

I remember seeing on The Register when the first "consumer" 3D printers came out awhile back and they were $$$ and the output was pretty horrid. Like a zillion BB's stuck together...loosely.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

May I ask what printer you use?

 

[Dhim]

Needed a new coaster. Made a new coaster tonight.

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[Dhim]

Next. Is the stuff soft or hard? (Stop snickering) will it take heat?

It's quite hard (that's what she said). In fact, unless you get a very specific type of material it has no flex in it at all. Pieces, especially pretty thin ones can snap if you tried but its quite durable. As for heat, that's iffy. Remember this stuff is heated to anywhere between 180°C and 235°C to melt and print. So doing things like holding it to a fire is probably not the best idea. Leaving it in a car however should be fine.

Very cool looking and it sounds like fun except the long wait time.

You just set it and forget it. You leave with a empty tray of tape and come back to something cool. I

May I ask what printer you use?

Of course. The one I bought for at home is the Printrbot Metal Assembled. The one I use at work is a Makerbot Replicator v5. To be honest the $600 Printrbot in many cases so far have come up with superior prints. It also prints more accurately at a faster pace.

The Replicator v5 is a brand new model line revamp for Makerbot and has been riddled with issues. I've had to send the "Smart Extruder" back 4 times for replacement. I also had to ship the entire printer out recently for a full repair, not user related. I'd buy 5 of these before I spent $3000 on the Replicator at the moment. The one big advantage of the Makerbot is the larger build platform, but there are other printers on the market between mine and the replicator that match it.

Makerbot is sort of the Apple of 3D printing. They make super simple software, package it up in a very friendly manor, take a lot of guess work out of things. The Printrbot looks like someone built it in their basement. In fact they actually sell almost the identical printer of mine as a kit, so you could build it in your basement. The software is not very user friendly, and quite intimidating at first but you can pretty much set any options you want on it.

Wow, that post turned out to be longer than expected. Sorry for the novel.

 

[CaFF]

Well, I'd imagine Makerbot is likely suffering the same fate as many good, innovative, and small start-ups; being swallowed up by big crappy ones like Stratasys. ;-)

Maker is left to the home/hobby market as a Beta testbed for the real money-makers in corporate sales.

That explains the disparity eh?

Makerbot does the kewl R&D stuff, then Strata banks on corporate pockets and extended warranty $$$ for the cheaper-made "industrial version". Ka-ching!

 

[Dhim]

Pretty much my guess as well. I have a funny feeling that with their new smart extruder line they had the R&D rolling on this but the Stratasys marketing came in and rushed it to market. I've spoken with the customer support people quite often and even they have alluded to the product getting rushed to market. They really need to be careful with that because the Ultimaker V2 is at the same price point and is a work horse. Heck when I got the Replicator a lot of the features weren't even turned on that they had on their main features page. No wifi, no mobile application, no way to remotely control a job, etc. It wouldn't even print over USB! When they get the bugs out of it, I think it will be a great machine but that darn extruder is just not that "smart" yet.

 

[CaFF]

Pretty much my guess as well. I have a funny feeling that with their new smart extruder line they had the R&D rolling on this but the Stratasys marketing came in and rushed it to market. I've spoken with the customer support people quite often and even they have alluded to the product getting rushed to market. They really need to be careful with that because the Ultimaker V2 is at the same price point and is a work horse. Heck when I got the Replicator a lot of the features weren't even turned on that they had on their main features page. No wifi, no mobile application, no way to remotely control a job, etc. It wouldn't even print over USB! When they get the bugs out of it, I think it will be a great machine but that darn extruder is just not that "smart" yet.

Well, it's a lot like M$...corporate and consumer are two completely different markets - even if the same products lines are involved.

End-users are free to buy anything they want, albeit with less support (ie..profits), but contracts in the corporate world are not so leisurely or easily gotten out of without penalty and expense.

I've had this same install of Win7 on this machine since I built it in 2007.
I bet that just galls Redmond to no end that I'll never need to upgrade...

 

[Dhim]

Well, it's a lot like M$...corporate and consumer are two completely different markets - even if the same products lines are involved.

It's funny you use Microsoft as they recently signed a deal with Microsoft to sell Makerbots in the Microsoft retail stores. There are some nice things about Makerbot though. For one, it churned out Batman.

 

[CaFF]

And this.....

 

[Dhim]

Did you get that off Thingiverse? If so, toss me a link that is screaming to be tested on the Printrbot.

 

[CaFF]

Did you get that off Thingiverse? If so, toss me a link that is screaming to be tested on the Printrbot.

Sorry, just an image I found on Google: http://inhabitat.com/makerbot-and-stratasys-complete-merger-into-3d-printing-super-company/

I think it's their logo?

 

[Dhim]

Sorry, just an image I found on Google: http://inhabitat.com/makerbot-and-stratasys-complete-merger-into-3d-printing-super-company/

I think it's their logo?

Found it... challenge accepted (tomorrow since I have a 8 hour job printing at the moment) http://www.georgehart.com/rp/rp.html

I have a strange feeling those press shots were not straight off the printer. We will see.

 

[CaFF]

Found it... challenge accepted (tomorrow since I have a 8 hour job printing at the moment) http://www.georgehart.com/rp/rp.html
.

As someone who once spent DAYS rendering shit in Fractint for DOS on a 386 with no math co-processor...just frakkin' wow.

(Irony Note: my first 3D render was done using Autodesk 3D Studio back around 1995)

 

[Smoky Blue]

my son is getting into this, for the summer.. it's cool..
thanks for sharing this, he read over the thread and was like wow!!

 

[VapeMan12]

okay, I am slow I guess... 3d printing i guess your using a CNC machine to do this? all those pictures look like real things. not pictures. someone today told me I needed to buy a 3d printer to make a shaft for a rc project I had no clue if they were joking or what..

 

[Dhim]

my son is getting into this, for the summer.. it's cool..
thanks for sharing this, he read over the thread and was like wow!!

How old is your son? If he is a bit younger and you have a Windows 8 computer get him the builder application from Microsoft. It's probably the easiest introduction to 3D printing.

okay, I am slow I guess... 3d printing i guess your using a CNC machine to do this? all those pictures look like real things. not pictures. someone today told me I needed to buy a 3d printer to make a shaft for a rc project I had no clue if they were joking or what..

So pretty much here is 3D printing that I am doing in a nutshell.

Picture your typical inkjet printer people have at home. That ink carriage moves left and right. On a 3D printer its just about the same. Except instead of only left and right it also moves back and forward, and up and down. So inkjet printer moves on a X axis. 3D printers move on X, Y, and Z. Now take out the ink and replace that with a plastic which gets heated, and printed on a bed. That's replication 3D printing in a nutshell.

I have a 3D printing YouTube channel that I have not updated in a bit, but here is a T-Rex head I printed. For this print I had 3 cameras on it so you can get an idea for all the motion.

 

[Dhim]

Challenge conquered. I actually made it harder on myself making it smaller. But here's 120 shapes in a shape. I did break a couple cleaning it up since it's soooo tiny in there and I printed at a very low res. I didn't think it would print at all but it did.

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[Dhim]

So this happened today. One life sized lightsaber is not always enough.

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[Ace]

Now, hollow it out. Put a copper sleeve inside. Make the button work and drop a 510 connection on top.

 

[CaFF]

So this happened today. One life sized lightsaber is not always enough.

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Nice!

I dig the Razer too.
My old CM Storm Spawn (the red one) from 2007 is getting a bit touchy, but I still love it.
Most usable and comfortable mouse I've ever had - short of the Logitech TrackMan Marble. =)

 

[Smoky Blue]

How old is your son? If he is a bit younger and you have a Windows 8 computer get him the builder application from Microsoft. It's probably the easiest introduction to 3D printing.


So pretty much here is 3D printing that I am doing in a nutshell.

Picture your typical inkjet printer people have at home. That ink carriage moves left and right. On a 3D printer its just about the same. Except instead of only left and right it also moves back and forward, and up and down. So inkjet printer moves on a X axis. 3D printers move on X, Y, and Z. Now take out the ink and replace that with a plastic which gets heated, and printed on a bed. That's replication 3D printing in a nutshell.

I have a 3D printing YouTube channel that I have not updated in a bit, but here is a T-Rex head I printed. For this print I had 3 cameras on it so you can get an idea for all the motion.

he is 14, and has aspenger's.. currently using i believe win 7.. just learned how to build one, software is next.
i have 6 years with cad brice blender autodesk scluptris and a few others..

but i feel he needs to learn at his own pace and learn from trial and error. he is pretty sharp and loves this stuff
will share your channel with him, thanks Dhim!

 

[Mt_KEGan]

Great work, very interesting. Can't wait to get one!

 

[Dhim]

I dig the Razer too.

I have a certain level of brand loyalty to them. Only last year did I force myself to use a mouse right handed. Before that being that I'm a lefty, used it with my left hand and had a bizzare gamepad to use with my right hand. When the gamepad broke I forced myself to learn how to mouse righty. The thing with Razer is that they were the ONLY company for quite a while making high end mice for lefties. Logitech only game with one meh product about 2 years after Razer did. So I appreciate that sort of thing since it really helped me.

software is next.
i have 6 years with cad brice blender autodesk scluptris and a few others..

Well darn, you're in a better situation than I am! I had to relearn everything I know about graphic design when working on the 3d plane. Almost nothing carries over from the 2d world.

 

[Smoky Blue]

i havent played around serious.. in 6 years..
but really.. it's not that hard.. i used to do a lot of 3d graphics animations skins etc
had a blast doing it too..
i don't play around like i used to, but every now and then i do like to play with photoshop..
love the 3d play they put into it now!

 

[Dash9]

This is some really great stuff! Hubby has been geeking out over 3D printing for a while and wanting one. I told him if he ever gets one he needs to print a mod holder for my Pegasus the size of a Coke can to fit in the cup holder for my truck. I drive a semi over the road and prefer to have my mod in reach all day. But I do put it down for weigh stations and such.

So is Printrbot the way to go?

 

[Dhim]

This is some really great stuff! Hubby has been geeking out over 3D printing for a while and wanting one. I told him if he ever gets one he needs to print a mod holder for my Pegasus the size of a Coke can to fit in the cup holder for my truck. I drive a semi over the road and prefer to have my mod in reach all day. But I do put it down for weigh stations and such.

So is Printrbot the way to go?

So far I am very happy with mine for the price. I can say that it has been a lot more reliable than the Makerbot. I'm still searching for the perfectly ideal print settings on it, but have been happy with most of the results. At the price to what you get, baring you are ok with tinkering with software I would say yes. At $600 it is one of the most reasonable, non kit builts. It comes leveled from the factory. All you do is take it out, install the software and drivers, and then plug it in and you're ready to print. If you want the gold standard in printing, check out the Makerbot Replicator 2 or any number of its clones out there (yes even those get clonned). That is regarded by most as the best performing printing for its money. Keep in mind it floats around $1800 new for the real version new.

 

[Madness]

I was just looking at getting a printer today then found this post, Thank you!
I'm still kicking around the idea of having one, the print times seem to be long, but it would be fun to play with.
With a Mill and Lathe in the garage now I find myself just doing things the old way, throw on some material and let the chips fly.
Still kicking the idea around.... Toys.... Must have more Toys....LOL

 

[Dhim]

@Madness pish you just do this...

 

[Madness]

Now thats funny...... hate to say it... but I have one of those in the garage also..
Think I used that ONCE... LOL

 

[Madness]

Question regarding the printers, does it smell like burning plastic as it prints? would I have to run it in the garage or is it ok in the house?

 

[Ace]

Ooooh good question

Question regarding the printers, does it smell like burning plastic as it prints? would I have to run it in the garage or is it ok in the house?

 

[Dhim]

Question regarding the printers, does it smell like burning plastic as it prints? would I have to run it in the garage or is it ok in the house?

Newp and yep. After the first print or two its odorless. All the extruders I've used I believe have a little machine oil left behind, once that's gone its odorless. At work we print in our lab and sit next to it all day. At home I have it in the basement, just simply because of space (and I have a stack of 7 rolls of PLA). I'm not a scientist, but I would say you are perfectly fine using it inside. It only melts a tiny bit at a time through a small heated area. Essentially it passes in room temp and gets heated enough to extrude out, that's it.

 

[Madness]

Good to know, Thank you!
Several years ago I ran a extrusion company, 40,000 sq ft facility filled with extrusion machines, that smell was not pleasant. Good to know the printer won't smell up the place. Thanks again!

 

[Dhim]

Good to know, Thank you!
Several years ago I ran a extrusion company, 40,000 sq ft facility filled with extrusion machines, that smell was not pleasant. Good to know the printer won't smell up the place. Thanks again!

One recommendation which I consider a requirement, make sure that you have the ability to always monitor it. Just in case, you have the ability to hit the stop button. I personally use OBS and teamviewer on the connected laptop. Here's some semi 3dprinting stuff over a remote monitor, which is printing now. A belt holster from another thread, a small screw tray, and some pins for another thing I printed. All said and done this job will take 2 hours to complete. This is 1:30 into the job.

 

[Madness]

Great recommendation, well noted!

Have they developed a wax type material so the prints can be used for a Lost Wax casting process?
From what I found the PLA material does not lend itself well for this type of casting process.

Right now, I'm making molds (multi part and very labor intensive), casting wax in them then use the wax parts to make cast aluminum parts, if I could print them and take then right to the aluminum casting process (lost wax) it would save a lot of tooling and time.

I have tried PLA parts and the material does not burn out of the mold well (as the aluminum is poured in) leaving voids in the cast parts.

Any suggestions?

 

[Ace]

This stuff is so cool. I really wish my skills exceeded the ability to post on forums

 

[Dhim]

Great recommendation, well noted!

I have tried PLA parts and the material does not burn out of the mold well (as the aluminum is poured in) leaving voids in the cast parts.

Any suggestions?

They have printers for just about any material. I haven't seen one for wax but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. PLA and ABS are both engineered to melt at (relatively) low temps, so I don't think that's your best bet. People have had ideas cast from PLA, especially into a plastic mold. I haven't gotten that far with research though.

Here's a quick print from today for you Star Wars nerds out there. This was a 2 piece print which came out pretty cool.

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[Dhim]

Looks like I have a new keychain.

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