What 3D-printing projects did you do for your truck and shop?
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- #42
Here, I made this one in pink just for you guys 
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On a related note, I have to admit that I'm struggling with fits, like with lids on boxes for example. They are always too loose or too tight. Have to trial test down to 0.1mm or less. Cuz shrinkage is not consistent. A pain... But getting better at it.
One way to go is to make the wall thicker and the fit a bit too tight, and then just sand things down a tad for a great fit if the shape allows. But time-consuming.
And, yes, believe it or not, you young Amazon addicts out there, there was a time -long ago- when things were actually made in the USA...!
:On a related note, I have to admit that I'm struggling with fits, like with lids on boxes for example. They are always too loose or too tight. Have to trial test down to 0.1mm or less. Cuz shrinkage is not consistent. A pain... But getting better at it.
One way to go is to make the wall thicker and the fit a bit too tight, and then just sand things down a tad for a great fit if the shape allows. But time-consuming.
And, yes, believe it or not, you young Amazon addicts out there, there was a time -long ago- when things were actually made in the USA...!
Have you tried to setup any Gridfinity storage yet? I'm designing a new table that I'm building for the printer, adding a couple of drawers. I'm gonna build the drawers so they fit well with the Gridfinity modules (42mm).
What was your percent fill?
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- #46
all the bolts and all my structurally-stressed parts are always 100%
added: Having said that, I should also note that I'm pleasantly surprised at how stiff/strong most PLA parts are with only 10 or 20% infill... I do 100% for peace of mind or if I'm going to drill / grind etc, but lower infills are likely fine for a lot of jobs in my (limited) experience.
added: Having said that, I should also note that I'm pleasantly surprised at how stiff/strong most PLA parts are with only 10 or 20% infill... I do 100% for peace of mind or if I'm going to drill / grind etc, but lower infills are likely fine for a lot of jobs in my (limited) experience.
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- Thread starter
- #47
This time it's a cutting fluid brush stand for the lathe and drill press. (Now I get to buy a mill too to justify that brush stand fully... Yea! )
The idea is to have a small vial that the brush tightly fits in upright and where I can pour just enough cutting fluid to wet the brush for that part, so less waste or potential spillage.
I made the vial removable from the bigger base so I can empty it or store it all easily when needed, but still fitting tightly enough to stand upright securely when containing a liquid. I'll print more such vials as needed.
Gave the vial a little funnel lip so less mess when emptying, and a chamfered top for the brush to slip in more easily and to scrape off excess fluid.
The idea is to have a small vial that the brush tightly fits in upright and where I can pour just enough cutting fluid to wet the brush for that part, so less waste or potential spillage.
I made the vial removable from the bigger base so I can empty it or store it all easily when needed, but still fitting tightly enough to stand upright securely when containing a liquid. I'll print more such vials as needed.
Gave the vial a little funnel lip so less mess when emptying, and a chamfered top for the brush to slip in more easily and to scrape off excess fluid.
Huh. I used an old baked beans can for that in our fab shop. Worked great for many years.
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- #50
Of course, like everybody, I have been thinking of printing holders for phones, gps, radios, etc to put on my dash.
But then, today, reality struck back some. Saw a vid where some guy did some tests with various filament materials, leaving them on his dash in the sun. And the PLA drooped badly after a while. Even PETG to some extent IIRC.
So, yea...
Nylon was good, though.
But then, today, reality struck back some. Saw a vid where some guy did some tests with various filament materials, leaving them on his dash in the sun. And the PLA drooped badly after a while. Even PETG to some extent IIRC.
So, yea...
Nylon was good, though.
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- #52
TBF, the dash in the sun is about as bad as it gets, aside from the engine bay, I think. I would hope that PLA items used outside like light housings etc are probably going to be OK when left in the sun. But the color may matter.
PLA doesnt have any UV protection meaning that it will degrade significantly faster than other types of filaments in direct sunlight. That's not to mention the lower temp threshold. It does well for things indoors or that are non-structural but it wont last inside a car, plus it absorbs moisture that makes it even more brittle. That's where PETG and other fancy filaments come into play.
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- #55
Starting to think about printing some jigs for lathe tooling-sharpening on my grinders.
But in the meantime, just a little tool to help orient the existing tables on the grinders in line with the shaft axis - IOW perpendicular to the wheel surface. The recess is for my electronic angle finder. This way, I can easily set up a known angle on a tool face when sharpening it. Will also be helpful when I set up my drill bit sharpening jigs. The pointy cap is to figure out more precisely the height of the centerline of the shaft when needed, and also useful on the lathe to align tools :
But in the meantime, just a little tool to help orient the existing tables on the grinders in line with the shaft axis - IOW perpendicular to the wheel surface. The recess is for my electronic angle finder. This way, I can easily set up a known angle on a tool face when sharpening it. Will also be helpful when I set up my drill bit sharpening jigs. The pointy cap is to figure out more precisely the height of the centerline of the shaft when needed, and also useful on the lathe to align tools :
I used some transparent PLA to print a crystal thing for a friend, it was for his daughter, something to do with My Little Pony. He had it modeled then sent me the STL file and 3 spools of filament.
Stuff was a PITA to work with, and shape was too. I tried all sorts of tricks, couldn't get it looking "clear". Slowed the print way down. Even tried sanding and polishing the faces, which helped some. Obviously it was above my skill and experience level.
They were very happy with it but I wasn't.
Saying that, I just took delivery of a spool of Overture clear PETG the other day, haven't tried it yet.
I guess the best way to print clear stuff is with a resin printer. Obviously not something you'll have at home. The Makerspace lab at the Univ is talking about getting one soon, so I may have access, as a professor emeritus.
