3D Printing

[jyl]

Anyone know about 3D printing at home?

I have an idea for some things I want to print, that are smallish (like fit in a 8” cube). One needs to be semi flexible (iPhone case).

But I have no idea how to get started.

[Discseven]

J... this guy covers the fundamentals. Never mind hardware he's using, Ender 3, doesn't matter. Basic principles and what to do out-of-the-box he covers nicely.

[fanaudical]

Another Pelicanite was asking the same question last year and I queried my 3D-printing friends. Look at QIDI printers, especially the enclosed models. They will print everything from TPU (the flexible stuff) to ABS (which makes nice structural parts).

I keep contemplating getting one; just haven't done it yet...

Their 8" cube printer:

https://www.amazon.com/Large-Intelligent-Industrial-Grade-Printer/dp/B07JBXVCWG

Somewhat smaller:

https://www.amazon.com/TECHNOLOGY-PRINTER-Screen-Extruder-Filament/dp/B076BLQWHY

You'll need a software tool for generating models; FreeCAD works OK, I can recommend some other low-cost commercial stuff if you need it.

[mjohnson]

If you're just dipping your toes into it - perhaps there's a "maker-space" nearby? They'll have the tools and probably at least a few folks eager to help. That's a safe/cheap way to get a feel for the materials and what direction you want to go if you keep it up.

We've got scads of them at work and the progression over even 10 years is impressive. The shift from "eye-candy" to prototype fixtures/tooling to truly useful trinkets has been cool to see. In my little group we have a few machines pumping out fixtures for holding stuff in our CT radiography cabinets.

[unclebilly]

I have a 3D printer and it runs a lot.

If you want to print something flexible, that would be TPU. TPU works better with a direct drive extruder (most have the feed mechanism 12” away from the how end and feed the filament through a PTFE tube called a Bowden tube. The flexible filament like TPU eventually snags up and causes all sorts of hell. I tried a big TPU print earlier this year and it buggered up about 3/4 of the way through a big print. That loop of green around the extruder drive is not supposed to be like that...



If you want to do this yourself, get an ender 3 pro and a MicroSwiss direct drive upgrade for it. The all in cost will be under $400 and they are a very capable printer.

Here is a gear shift mount for my son’s playseat we printed last week.



I have a CR10S Pro and finally have it dialed in to the point where I hit print and walk away. I upgraded to the MicroSwiss all metal hotend (not direct drive) a few months back and it is great.

If I was to do it all over again, based on what is out there now, I would start with an ender 5. It is large format like the CR10 but either comes with an enclosure or can be easily setup with an enclosure for printing ABS and PETG.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by jyl

Anyone know about 3D printing at home?

I have an idea for some things I want to print, that are smallish (like fit in a 8” cube). One needs to be semi flexible (iPhone case).

But I have no idea how to get started.

1st step is can you get your idea to a 3d model? Any cad experience?

Originally Posted by unclebilly

....... That loop of green around the extruder drive is it supposed to be like that...
......

I'll bite. I use same extruder, no filament loop. Why is it supposed to be there?

[jyl]

I’ve used Sketchup for some stuff, no other CAD experience.

[HardDrive]

Ender 3 Pro with a glass plate is great starting point. Huge user base. I have 2 of them.

The only wrinkle here is that you want to print flexible material, so you will need a direct drive. I do not have experience with anything flexible, so I am no help with that.

I use sketchup, but its poor for making complex curves, so you may want to look elsewhere for CAD software. I think Fusion 360 and Tinker CAD a popular entry level packages.

Use Cura for your slicing.

[dlockhart]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

The only wrinkle here is that you want to print flexible material, so you will need a direct drive.

Not all TPUs are the same. I went with a higher durometer TPU from Sainsmart to print custom carb intake boots. It is a 95A shore durometer and prints fine in a stock Ender.
If you want really squishy stuff then you will probably need the direct drive mod.

.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by dad911

I'll bite. I use same extruder, no filament loop. Why is it supposed to be there?

Sorry - typo. That loop is NOT supposed to be there. That was a big print of a prototype BOP seal... roughly 1 pound in.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by dlockhart

Not all TPUs are the same. I went with a higher durometer TPU from Sainsmart to print custom carb intake boots. It is a 95A shore durometer and prints fine in a stock Ender.
If you want really squishy stuff then you will probably need the direct drive mod.

.

Good to know, thanks!

[porsche4life]

John, I have an Ender 3 as well. They are great beginner machines. Easy to upgrade and print great. Sure it takes some fiddling to get it perfect, but I’ve seen what you do to an espresso machine, I have no doubt you can get it.

The teaching tech YouTube channel listed about is great. The other one that really helped me was Chep.

There’s some great YouTube videos out there too. Feel free to message me as well!

[jyl]

iPhone case is about as flexible as I’d want to print, most stuff I’m interested in will be rigid.

Thanks everyone! This looks cool.

[Geronimo]

My Artillery SW-X2 will be here in a few hours!! 300x300x400 should be a lot of what I want for starters.

I know a few cad softwares and with luck my art degree in industrial design will mix well and help me make some cool bits, maybe something others might want ass well.

First plan is to learn the printer well enough to be consistent, then get to work on scanning the Porsche and begin work on a new tail light design as my first project. I work at an OEM, and specialize in lighting design.

If that goes well maybe I'll look at a headlight, and plan with an idea I have for air induction box for my carbs.

I'll share 3d renders when I have something.

[fireant911]

I am a late starter... again... I recently had an idea for an object that would be worth pursuing. I started looking at 3D printers and was shocked at the number of different models available (thankfully the prices are now more reasonable). Reading reviews is oftentimes not the best way to decide on a particular manufacturer so I figured why not look on Pelican??? I was not disappointed - the Ender 3 model by Creality was mentioned several times which seemed to be highly regarded by those of you here that use 3D printers.

I, like others had stated, have experience with Sketchup but NOT with a real 3D design software. I started looking at the programs available and after experimenting with a few of these, I opted for DesignSpark Mechanical. It had a few things in its favor: it is free, lots of YouTube videos are available for using this software, and it is extremely capable of enabling a determined user in crafting some great designs.

Along with the design software, a method of printing model is required. After yet another thorough search, I decided to use the Ultimaker Cura as the slicing software (it instructs the printer to print the model layer-by layer). It, too, is free and highly recommended by many veteran modelers. Lots of features, easy to use, and, just as the modeling software, this slicer has a wealth of YouTube videos available for those of us that are just starting on our 3D modeling adventure!

The only area that gave me some discomfort was the table leveling procedures required for the Ender 3 and Ender 5 models. This is probably an easy endeavor for the experienced modelers but I was a bit concerned about my ability to do correctly this so I opted for another Creality 3D machine, the CR6-SE model. This machine has automatic table leveling so, in theory, one should be able to start printing just after assembling the machine and running the auto-level procedure!

I ordered the Creality CR6-SE model on Monday evening as there was an 8th anniversary sale on at the time! The machine arrived yesterday morning. I am off to do some 3D printing with, of course, multiple redesigns to my idea but having the ability to make actual models will be huge!!!

Thank you to those that pointed me in the Creality direction!

[unclebilly]

Congrats. You I’ll love it.

I friend of mine has a CR6-SE and it’s a nice machine. I recommended the Ender 3 to his parents but they got him this machine for his birthday.

Your gcode from the ultimaker slicer won’t work on this printer, you need to run the slicer with the correct printer model (you specify this in the settings). The CR6-SE comes with its own version of cura and it’s pretty easy to use.

You’ve got a good little machine - enjoy.

[cstreit]

Ender3 Pro is a great starter. I bought on a few years ago.

Since then I’ve made quite a few useful things:

Replacement clips for lines on my motorcycle
I fixed our washing machine agitator with new ratchet pawls
Replaced a handle and feet on the old crockpot
New year for something other in the house.


All in I’ve probably made replacement parts that were unavailable in the $1000’s for things at home

Most parts I simply downloaded the design off a few 3 D libraries and printed.It’s a ton of fun.

If you’re not a CAD person check out TinkerCad. Super easy to use for a noob. Thingiverse is a great place to get clever parts.

[fireant911]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

...Your gcode from the ultimaker slicer won’t work on this printer, you need to run the slicer with the correct printer model (you specify this in the settings). The CR6-SE comes with its own version of cura and it’s pretty easy to use...

I checked on this! The Ultimaker Cura covers not only the Ultimaker printers but many others 3D printers. The Creality CR6-SE printer is supported in the Ultimaker Cura (I had to select it from the available printer list). I downloaded both the Cura slicer and the Creality slicer and they are practically identical. From what I gathered, the consensus of modelers recommenced the Cura as it is more up-to-date than the Creality slicer. If any issues arise, I may test out the Creality version but hopefully I am off on the right foot.

I will probably be back soon with questions!

[cstreit]

Cura works fine on the Enders.

My only beef with it as it’s really difficult to do dynamic support blocking and alter density of certain part areas.

[unclebilly]

Umm… the Creality slicer is Cura.

Try it, hopefully it works.

I went through this with my buddy as well and we wound up using the slicer it came with. This was a year ago.