3D Printing

2018-06-29 I've had pretty good luck with PLA plastic holding up to metalworking fluid and I am currently running a collar on my mill that mounts my coolant spray nozzles and acts as a manifold for the coolant. It is available on thingiverse here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2983210

2017-12-04 I have developed and published a belt compliance test fixture on the reprap wiki. Why would anyone bother? Belt stretching = part inaccuracy. I did it because I could not find any numerical data on how much I should expect the belts typically used in a 3D printer to stretch when a certain amount of force was put on them. I also want other people to contribute their data to pool of knowledge on the web so that I can have factual information on the compliance of belts of various constructions and origins. By publishing the design for the test fixture I hope to create a consistent basis for the measurements.

2017-11-22 I am currently in the process of designing a better 3D printer for myself. What does better mean? With so many 3D printer designs out there, why can't I just pick something that is already engineered? Well -- I love experimenting with ideas and making things "better." Better is really subjective word. Today, I think better would be:

• • Mechanically precise, but without paying through the nose for those rectangular cross section linear bearings. I have done some experiments with using bearing trucks and sustainable technology. I want to use the frame of the machine as part of the guiding system, but not have it be imprecise or expensive. I'm a little down on the use of v-wheels because they aren't usually axially pre-loaded in a way that inspires my confidence. So I am toying with other ideas here. The standard 8mm rods, and even the 10mm rods bow under their own weight and the weight of the Y carriage.

  • Has a heated build volume. ABS printing works for me but can be frustrating. I think a heated build chamber would help me a lot.

  • Safe: I want to eliminate single point failures that can result in your house burning down. Like:

    • MOSFET fails on.

    • Relay sticks.

    • Arduino fails to boot.

    • Arduino output fails.

    • Thermistor pulls part way out

    • Wire breaks

    • Vref on arduino gets goofy.

  • On par with the cost of existing entry level kits.

  • Reliable

    • Robust mechanically

    • Maintainable wear parts

    • Doesn't take fiddling with every time one goes to make a print.

2017-10-23 Today I printed a toiled paper holder rod. I pumped up the temperature on white PLA from Microcenter to 220C for printing. It yielded little fuzzies like printing in PETG, but the layer adhesion was the best I have ever seen. It made for a surprisingly robust part considering the thin walls. I thickened them up, and created a rubber band based spring pin. It is published on thingiverse

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2603759

https://thingiverse-production-new.s3.amazonaws.com/renders/fe/b6/b2/23/88/9c18e8dbf9e7a0bdd1a456c6a2cfaa09_preview_featured.jpg