3D Printer

[giulianom]

ichthyoid;828877 wrote: FWIW-

In 1986 I worked in R&D and invented 3D manufacturing using lasers (both argon ion & CO2).

Three methods:

1) free radical polymerization
(liquid to solid)

2) thin film lamination, and
(film to solid)

3) fine powder sintering
(powder to solid)

My bosses/company decided not to pursue patents, and the rest is history.

I also had a 3 axis/700 watt CNC controlled CO2 laser machining center, which I designed/specified as well.

Using the first ever linear motor driven gantry robot, it had travel of 36x36x18 inches with 1/2 G acceleration, and maintained +/- 0.005 inch/foot repeatability.

There was also a custom fume extraction system and a 600 foot/min. conveyor/forming table.

The work cell allowed for processing any material desired. There was a 'teach pendant' capability to program around existing objects, or I could just write the 'G code' manually.

I was developing an Autocad post processor CAM system when the project was shut down.

All built/developed for less than $250k (including my salary).

It was bad a$$

(and potentially lethal)

I remember you talking about that last year, at one of the meetings... Cool stuff.

grouper therapy;828878 wrote: Thanks for the info. I have the prints for a cnc router called mechmate that I hope to build in the near future. I'm sure I will pick your brain if you don't mind

Sure!

I browse CNCZone forums on occasion, and there's plenty there about all different types of CNC routers, CNC mills, CNC laser.. etc..

A MechMate starts at around $8500, it seems, so you're almost up to the level of some "professional-class" machines there.

For my "hobbyist" level requirements, I'd probably go with a CNC Router Parts 48x48" table kit for about $2600 + more:

http://www.cncrouterparts.com/crp4848-4-x-4-cnc-router-kit-p-137.html">http://www.cncrouterparts.com/crp4848-4-x-4-cnc-router-kit-p-137.html</a>


A popular CNC router motor is of a kind like these:

[IMG]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Spindle-Motor-Water-Cooled-1-5kW-ER11-CNC-Router-/150978022850?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2326fdcdc2">http://www.ebay.com/itm/Spindle-Motor-Water-Cooled-1-5kW-ER11-CNC-Router-/150978022850?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2326fdcdc2</a>

Spins a router bit very, very fast - and it's watercooled.



[QUOTE=][B]MC524;828906 wrote:[/B] How does the plastic come to you? Pellets? If so, let me know...i work in the Plastic Injection Molding machine industry. In fact i have pails of either Polypropylene and i think Polyethylene at my office. I know local customers that i can get other types from.;)
[/QUOTE]

The plastic comes in wire form called filament (like Rich said I said), in either 1.75mm or 3mm diameter - I use 1.75mm diameter filament.

However, I'm sure I could use raw pellet material!

There's a guy that made a DIY filament extruder that can take pellets and form them into filament:

[IMG]http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:34653">Lyman Filament Extruder</a>

I'd have to have a few parts welded to make one, though.


Polypropelene or Polyethelene might be interesting to try, with the right melting temperatures...

Styrene would be cool - a lot of plastic model kits are made out of that.

Edit: [QUOTE=][B]RonnieBlaze;828922 wrote:[/B] this is sweet!... ive wanted to get one for a while now... where did you get it from?[/QUOTE]

http://reprappro.com/Mendel


RepRapPro Ltd are the designers of this variant of the RepRap.org Mendel, so I bought it straight from them.

It's not bad as a kit goes (with inherent weaknesses), but the negatives are:

They're in the UK, so shipping takes a while. I believe they actually print the plastic parts for the kit on-demand, which makes sense, but it takes time...

All of the hardware bits are metric - which is not bad in itself, but finding some metric tools to match can be tricky..


One of the tools recommended was a 9.5MM diameter drill bit...

Know how to find a 9.5MM drill bit? Go to Home Depot and look for a 3/8" drill bit - it's 9.5MM in diameter!

I had to special order drill bits in 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, etc sizes from Grainger - but luckily I was able to pick them up at the store the next day...

 

[jbdreefs]

Just wow... Now i understand why the tank isn't finished.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[giulianom]

JBDreefs;828943 wrote: Just wow... Now i understand why the tank isn't finished.

Thanks for sharing!

Oh, there are so many other </em>reasons why the tank isn't finished...

 

[rdnelson]

JBDreefs;828943 wrote: Just wow... Now i understand why the tank isn't finished.

Thanks for sharing!

Well now he has no excuse. He can just print a stand, sump, skimmer, ect.

 

[mc524]

You are already in the melt temp range for the 2 i mentioned. 420°F would be nax for the PP. PE and Styrene is normally cooler. At least on our type equipment. Your numbers look in the ball park to what we would use, especially with do thin of wire. Let me know if you would like to try. I can give you some large ziplock bags of what i have to try.:thumbup:

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[giulianom]

MC524;828980 wrote: You are already in the melt temp range for the 2 i mentioned. 420°F would be nax for the PP. PE and Styrene is normally cooler. At least on our type equipment. Your numbers look in the ball park to what we would use, especially with do thin of wire. Let me know if you would like to try. I can give you some large ziplock bags of what i have to try.:thumbup:

I might try that... Though I probably won't get around to building a filament extruder for a month or two.

 

[mc524]

Glass filled intakes? I want to say Nylon with 30-40% Glass or more. We have several customers molding those. Usually, they are Sonic Welded together. PITA molds though. Lots of Cores, Slides, and Valve Gates.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ripped tide]

This stuff is really fascinating.

Maybe a certain admin should bring his printing machine to a meeting and do a demo building something for an aquarium.... Just saying.

 

[rdnelson]

Ripped Tide;829052 wrote: This stuff is really fascinating.

Maybe a certain admin should bring his printing machine to a meeting and do a demo building something for an aquarium.... Just saying.

Yes. He could build me an Apex.

 

[giulianom]

Ripped Tide;829052 wrote: This stuff is really fascinating.

Maybe a certain admin should bring his printing machine to a meeting and do a demo building something for an aquarium.... Just saying.

Not a bad idea...

It's moderately portable, so that could be a possibility.

I still need to do a little tune up work first, though.

Edit:

rdnelson99;829054 wrote: Yes. He could build me an Apex.

I could build you a plastic box that looks like an Apex...

 

[ripped tide]

Cool! I look forward to seeing it in action. What a handy tool for the creative DIYers.

 

[1mbrews8]

i have heard of these too and they are sweet! very interesting and can deff see some uses!

 

[giulianom]

Looking through the Thingiverse.com collection of objects, there aren't too many that are related to our hobby, but here are a few interesting ones:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:16982">Shane's Coral Frag Plugs</a>

[IMG]http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17313">Shane's Two-Piece Coral Frag Plugs</a>

[IMG]http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:16959">Joanne's Frag Plug</a>

[IMG]http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:21942">Suction Cup Eggcrate Bracket</a>

[IMG]http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:22471">Algae Turf Filter</a>

[IMG]http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:20839">Brine Shrimp Hatchery</a>

[IMG]http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:25850">Mixing Eductor</a>


I'm sure I'll come up with a few designs of my own as time goes on... :)

 

[serenitynow]

I have exclusive access to a Stratasys UprintSE that is used to print manipulatives for teachers. As long as I buy the "ink", I am able to experiment. In doing so, I have learned modeling techniques in order to produce a good print. I think the aquarium industry at the user level will greatly benefit from this process. Think of ALL the different ways we setup our systems. Parts/pieces/fittings/holders etc. can now be customized for a specific need. Pretty exciting!

 

[giulianom]

brchapm;829150 wrote: Seems like a frag rack would be possible....perhaps a self supporting with levels?

Probably not the frag rack itself - that's easier and more cost effective to get as eggcrate.


But the connecting pieces to hold the eggcrate together, yes, those could be designed and printed...


This printer has a 200 x 200 x 110mm print volume (7.8" x 7.8" x 4.3"), so as long as the parts fit within that space, you're good.

 

[giulianom]

MC524;828980 wrote: You are already in the melt temp range for the 2 i mentioned. 420°F would be nax for the PP. PE and Styrene is normally cooler. At least on our type equipment. Your numbers look in the ball park to what we would use, especially with do thin of wire. Let me know if you would like to try. I can give you some large ziplock bags of what i have to try.:thumbup:

Hey, here's an idea - can you get me some Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA, PVOH) in granule form?

I can get a 2.5lb jug of it from http://www.ebay.com/itm/Polyvinyl-alcohol-PVOH-Fully-Hydrolyzed-2-5-lbs-Granular-Grade-523-/190727732810?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c68423e4a">eBay </a>for not too much, or even a 50 pound bag for a lot more...

With that and a filament extruder, I could make my own PVA filament for printing...


PVA can be used as a [I]support material</em> - that is, a plastic that you print out to support other overhanging parts of the model, but is not actually part of the model.

The biggest benefit of this material is that it is water soluble - it dissolves in water!


Which is cool, because then you can print things like [IMG]http://www.flickr.com/photos/tbuser/sets/72157628948049239/">THIS</a>, stick it in hot water, and the PVA dissolves and the gears are free to turn - all printed as one piece.

 

[ronnieblaze]

What model formats can you use? I have tons of pepakura models i wonder if there is a way to convert them for print them.

 

[cdavidson]

RonnieBlaze;829533 wrote: What model formats can you use? I have tons of pepakura models i wonder if there is a way to convert them for print them.

Can you export pepakura models as STL? That is the file type needed for printing.

It looks like pepakura is designed to take a 3d model and make it into a 2D craft. It has no ability to generate 3D models, so it would not be able to export 3D models.

 

[ronnieblaze]

cdavidson;829535 wrote: Can you export pepakura models as STL? That is the file type needed for printing.

It looks like pepakura is designed to take a 3d model and make it into a 2D craft. It has no ability to generate 3D models, so it would not be able to export 3D models.

it looks like i can convert the .pdo to a 3d .OBJ file then convert that into a .stl using http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/">http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/</a>


I will try this process when i get home and see what happens.

 

[giulianom]

RonnieBlaze;829538 wrote: it looks like i can convert the .pdo to a 3d .OBJ file then convert that into a .stl using http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/">http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/</a>


I will try this process when i get home and see what happens.[/QUOTE]

Yes, STL format files (stereo lithograph) - a mesh of triangles in 3D space.


You can use the [IMG]http://sourceforge.net/projects/stlviewer/">STL Viewer</a> app to view the resulting 3D object.


I then can take the STL file and run it through my slicing program (Slic3r), which carves it up in to layers and translates it into GCode, which is what the printer reads to print objects.

GCode is used on CNC-related machines, where it tells the system to do things like:


<ol>
<li>Move the X axis +15mm, Y axis +5mm, and extrude 20mm of filament.</li>
<li>Go up one level, Z axis +0.2mm</li>
<li>Perform another move operation.</li>
<li>Repeat, etc. etc.</li>
</ol>