All Makers and Fabricators Should Watch - 3dHubs

[Noobz347]

How cool would it be to get stuff printed, injection molded, or CNC, [exactly] how you designed it without having to own the hardware?

Wait! Put away that checkbook... There's more!

This is one of the very few tech channels that I subscribe to. Chris is fantastic at laying it all out and explaining technology efficiently.
Watch this entire video. I know there's a ton of guys in here that can use a service like this. What's awesome is that it's open source! The "printers" belong to hobbyists like us.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzTsDrepf64


Who's the dude with the CNC machine on here that was looking for projects? He might be interested too... as a maker.

Anywho... I'll leave this here. I'm thinking it'll get the most traction.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

That's pretty freakin cool Noobz...coulda made the air box outta plastic....may look into it.

It still looks to be a pricy process nonetheless. If it cost about 15 bucks to get those two basic small pieces made and shipped in US dollars, I can only imagine how much it would cost to have something large and complex like the air box printed.

I'd still like to mess with it though...I'm gonna set up an account.

 

[Noobz347]

That's pretty freakin cool Noobz...coulda made the air box outta plastic....may look into it.

It still looks to be a pricy process nonetheless. If it cost about 15 bucks to get those two basic small pieces made and shipped in US dollars, I can only imagine how much it would cost to have something large and complex like the air box printed.

I'd still like to mess with it though...I'm gonna set up an account.

Agreed. A large complex "thing" would be pretty pricey. This would be better for creating a single component of something that you're building like, a rigid single piece aluminum frame with a recessed channel and precisely measured holes that would firmly affix a plate of glass to a metal housing complete with machined fastener bosses.

...but that's just one idea.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I have a few projects at work revolving around metal 3D printing. Some of it is porous technology as well. Interesting stuff and we've come a long way. Still expensive...but I'm not paying for it

 

[NIKwoaC]

I will say this- most 3D printed plastic parts, even from high end machines, are frail and brittle compared to conventionally made plastic parts, like through injection molding or machining. There is still a lot of undue hype behind hobbyist 3D printing, IMHO. At the end of the day, most of these guys are making toys and trinkets. With that said though, I wouldn't hesitate to do something that was not load bearing and not exposed to temperature extremes. HRM did an article on a 3D printed gauge cluster bezel a while back, and something like that makes perfect sense.

The idea of community-sourced production is pretty cool though. It's like Uber for people who have home machine shops.

 

[a91what]

I could use some pieces cut on a CNC machine..... then sorted organized places into boxes and sold as blower kits...

Dream on.

 

[jrichker]

The ideal companion to 3D printed parts is investment casting, an ancient process used in making high quality jewelry.

A positive image is carved and shaped in wax and then liquid ceramic is sprayed or pored on the wax piece.. The ceramic mold dries and this then turned upside down and heated to melt out the wax. The mold is then fired in a kiln to harden the mold and melt or burn out impurities. While the mold is still hot from being fired in the kiln, the molten metal is poured into it. The mold and part are allowed to cool and then the ceramic mold shell is removed. The finished part is a very close tolerance duplicate of the wax mold. The rocker arms for Chrysler's 5.7 Hemi are supposedly manufactured using investment casting because the close tolerances reduce the amount of machine work needed to produce high quality parts.

Now imagine that your 3D printer is creating the positive wax image for an investment casting. Anything you can print can be made into a useable part: supercharger impellers, rocker arms, intake manifolds even cylinder heads are possible.

For more on the investment casting process, see:

http://thelibraryofmanufacturing.com/investment_casting.html

or watch


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xeg575g_Cgs

 

[Noobz347]

I will say this- most 3D printed plastic parts, even from high end machines, are frail and brittle compared to conventionally made plastic parts, like through injection molding or machining. There is still a lot of undue hype behind hobbyist 3D printing, IMHO. At the end of the day, most of these guys are making toys and trinkets. With that said though, I wouldn't hesitate to do something that was not load bearing and not exposed to temperature extremes. HRM did an article on a 3D printed gauge cluster bezel a while back, and something like that makes perfect sense.

The idea of community-sourced production is pretty cool though. It's like Uber for people who have home machine shops.

It largely depends on the machine but I know what you mean. We have two machines at work and both are used for prototyping. There's been the odd occasion where we printed cockpit buttons, controls, and face-place but those are relatively low abuse items. One of the companies we do business with though... They've got a machine that prints carbon-fiber reinforced ABS. The price tag for such a machine is not in my reach but it's probably not a horrible business to be in. These guys often make our permanent parts after we've prototyped with PLA or ABS.

IMO, every hobbyist should have decent size 3d printer, even if it's a cheap one. If you can design your part, check it for it and accuracy then send the file to an outfit with a [much] better printer, you can print a reliable/use-able/durable part for relatively cheap.

Things you can print with PLA:
Connector clips
ash tray door arms
seat belt covers
map light covers
A/C vent fins
interior clips
speaker covers
seat bolt covers
radio knobs
door lock pull tabs
visor clips
I could probably come up with more.

ABS is harder to work with but parts are pretty strong. There are fiber reinforced filaments that you can buy but printer quality and cost increases to do this really well.

 

[General karthief]

Did you post a video link with an oriental chic with boots and a mini skirt that toured a company that made 3D printers?
or was that pronz I was watching, can't remember.

 

[Black1987]

I have used 3D printing at work and school for the past 6 years. We use it for test fits, reverse molds, and nonstructural parts typically.

One issue @NIKwoaC touched on was it 3D printing shouldn’t be used in a high stress/critical application. There’s been a lot of debate and research on one major issue with printing parts is the origin point of the print has been linked to contribute to a hidden failure not predicted FEA because it causes additional fracture surface and/or void like delamination.

But exterior styling, interior parts and molds....go for it.

 

[Noobz347]

Did you post a video link with an oriental chic with boots and a mini skirt that toured a company that made 3D printers?
or was that pronz I was watching, can't remember.

It wasn't pronz. It was an informative video about the 3d printing industry.

The jigglies were just bonus material.