FridgeFreezer Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Per the title really, after being a long time without access to a 3D printer I treated myself to a Prusa Mk4 - I've already got a long list of bits and bobs that I want to print but wondering if folks here have any good tips or things they've printed for the vehicle or around the workshop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I thought this was a call out for people to get things printed! I have something that requires 3D printing, but luckily someone at work has a 3D printer! A cup holder? One of those drill bit stands that stores all your drills in size order. a pen tray for a wall calendar. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, steve200TDi said: One of those drill bit stands that stores all your drills in size order. And drill guides! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Ranged Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) 6 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: Per the title really, after being a long time without access to a 3D printer I treated myself to a Prusa Mk4 - I've already got a long list of bits and bobs that I want to print but wondering if folks here have any good tips or things they've printed for the vehicle or around the workshop? Being a better qaulity printer than my enders lol I can't give you any setup tips other than where to print, dont print in the garage or workshop lol (my partner doesn't like anything workshop related in the house..... some days I think that includes me lol) I learned you need stable air, no drafts and a steady temp with an open bed printer... I found a spare bedroom works well Filament.... If your planing on a big print or a run of items (for me tool organisors) where you will want more than 1 roll of filament then buy it all at the same time... same filament from the same suppler, colour, everything just bought 3 months apart I ended up waisting 1/2 a roll to failed prints and tuning (changing bed, head temps and retraction to stop stringing) Store your rolls in a dry place (I had an old fridge with a 40watt filament bulb mounted inside as a heater, gave it away when I moved out of my workshop... will make a new one when I have my new workshop) hymidity can leave you very frustrated lol i was silly enough about this I wouldn't open the packing bag till I was mounting the roll on the printer Now this tip has nothing to do with the printer but an awfull lot to do with the experiance and fun of printing buy yourself a bottle of what ever tipple you like and before you sit down on CAD to design your wonderfull idea pour a glass lol Edited January 16 by De Ranged bad grammer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 20 hours ago, steve200TDi said: One of those drill bit stands that stores all your drills in size order. a pen tray for a wall calendar. I'm already planning on gridfinity-ing everything in the shed & garage just takes a while to print and I may need a few reels of filament... For those unaware: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Clough42 has some videos on printing organisation as well: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Ranged Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) Lol thats basicly been my main use of my first printer I found some cheap organizer cases and bought up about 20 of them lol and started making kits and orgainzing stuff that goes with tasks like electrical crimps My Rivenut gun and rivenuts unfortunatly the rest of the ones Ive done are all packed away (from moving out of my leased workshop... need to get one built at home) but I've also done storage for GM plugs (6 pin to 1 pin), relays and other electrical components, 2x electrical tool kits (crimpers, strippers, soldering iron, solder screw drives etc), bearing pullers and Ive got another 3 half modeled in Solidworks, Tube expanders, petrol compression tester and brake hardline kit (this will end up being two kits 1 for the eastwood flairing kit and 1 for the other tools (brake spanner, tape, pen, benders, deburing tool etc ) If you want STI's or Step files I'm happy to share.... I'll just warn you some of these were when I was learning to model lol and they are a little painfull to work with Oh and at some stage the plan is to model the orange bit of the handle so I can colour code it and print it with a name on it so its easy to find what I want lol Dad workshop left me with a bit of OCD on tool organisation Edited January 18 by De Ranged 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 I have Ender 3v2 that I’ve added to. I have a creality enclosure as the printer lives in the garage and recommend a little foam filament cleaner stop dust getting on the filament into the hot end. I’ve got leds and a camera on it, switched it to klipper with a pi. As with landy make sure it’s set up well and square and all adjusted correctly (sure you will but as this is a general thread tips thread). I’ve printed alignment aids with it. I want a hole in a certain spot every time model and print it as the printer is accurate. I am eyeing and adapter for the snorkel hole on my wing to print. Vacuum connectors handy to do. Control boxes another item. I use f360 and unit maker slicer but lots of got stuff out there. I’ve done broken plastic things - scissor handle, battery cover. Take a picture import into 360 and draw round the missing pieces. hope you have lots of fun with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 On the filament front, particularly if you're wanting to print something tough, PolyMax PLA is about as good as it gets. It's not cheap - but it's better value than cheap filament for consistancy and number of successful prints. In terms of useful tools, where it really wins is printing fixtures for specific jobs. One such was wanting to drill a hole between two diagonal corners of a cube. At first glance, it appears simple - then you realise that you have to deal with compound angles, none of which are whole numbers. After our machinest spent a couple of days trying to figure out a way (only manual, basic machines) I printed a socket in 2 halves which went in a Lathe - made the job very easy. I recently needed to drill a series of 12 holes in a heatsink, 15.85mm apart. It was much quicker to draw & print a drill (centre punch) guide than to mark them all out manually (I needed to make 12 of them). End result was spot on. Also good for making panels & enclosures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 59 minutes ago, simonr said: On the filament front, particularly if you're wanting to print something tough, PolyMax PLA is about as good as it gets. Better than the PETG offerings out there? It seems like a lot of folks are printing more PETG than PLA these days as the problems have been solved, my Prusa came with a reel of their PETG and so far it's printed perfectly. I've not really delved into the cost difference if any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 PETG is good - I always had problems with it - however, as you say, maybe the problems have been solved! Generally, PLA will give better appearance prints. It's stiffer than PETG, but more brittle. PolyMax is stronger than regular PLA giving the stiffness of PLA with most of the strength of PETG, but on the whole beter print quality. I use PETG, PAHT or HIPS if I need higher temperature resistance. Current favourite is PAHT which gives the best compromise all round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlWorms Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Buy or build a filament dryer (I use the Sunlu S2), because if it gets damp, you can have all sorts of trouble and wonder why! Also, look at an enclosure. I have a Prusa MK3S+ and build one of the "Lack Table" encolsures - it's really helps with big prints, preventing warping etc. Also great to keep the dust off and people grubby little mitts out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 @NRS91 is I think a prusa printer man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRS91 Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Yea I ran a Mk3s for years and now on a Mk4 with prusa enclosure. I run 2.3kg spools of recycled PLA fron Filamentive which requires you to print a larger spool holder and despite everyones insistence that moisture will ruin filament ive not had any issues, maybe my filament isnt as hygroscopic as other brands or materials. I use kitchen cleaner spray and paper towels to prep the print sheet, I used to use isopropyl alcohol but i found it spread the oils from your fingers around the plate rather than remove it. Draughts are the main killer of large prints with sudden temp changes distorting the print. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 I have nothing to add to the printer tips, but can comment on the design, Hollow shapes with constant wall thicknesses is the future. It cuts down massively on material usage and process time compared to making things solid, while also reduce shrinkage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Ranged Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 This just pop'd up on my Youtube A little slow and drawn out but it appealed to my OCD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRS91 Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 On 1/22/2024 at 11:37 AM, Daan said: I have nothing to add to the printer tips, but can comment on the design, Hollow shapes with constant wall thicknesses is the future. It cuts down massively on material usage and process time compared to making things solid, while also reduce shrinkage. I tend to design solid objects then have the slicer settings set to 15% gyroid infill (3D infill that is strong in all directions) then print 3-4 walls and 5 upper and lower layers. Pretty strong for models and also part prototypes and gadgets. To help with dimensional accuracy and shrinkage i also tick the "print outside walls first" option. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnoK Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Go on, get yer teeth into this beauty..... https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/3d-printed-rolls-royce-merlin-full-size 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 2 hours ago, JohnnoK said: Go on, get yer teeth into this beauty..... https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/3d-printed-rolls-royce-merlin-full-size That's glorious 😍 Although 50kg of filament * ~20 quid a kilo = well, still the cheapest Merlin you'd ever buy I guess 🤔 Wonder if he's shared the files, a 1/10th scale version would be a hell of a desk ornament Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 A few more things of limited interest! Bike computer in a waterproof box. A panel for a battery box. I love the ease with which I can make tidy panels! Variable power supply, powered by a DeWalt Battery. This is a bi-stable clamp with printed springs. It's actually to hold the cable-lock on my bike. Push the cable in-between the jaws & it snaps shut. It works well & has a very satisfying action! I printed this in PETG as PLA is too brittle for the springs. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 16 hours ago, simonr said: A panel for a battery box. I love the ease with which I can make tidy panels! Did you print the labels in yellow 1st, and what was the process for that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, FridgeFreezer said: Did you print the labels in yellow 1st, and what was the process for that? I have a Bambu Labs printer, which will print in 4 colours / materials. There have only been a few occasions where printing in 2 materials has been useful - such as felxible button caps in a hard plastic shell, kind of like a keyfob. However, printing decals has been very useful! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 18 minutes ago, simonr said: I have a Bambu Labs printer, which will print in 4 colours / materials. There have only been a few occasions where printing in 2 materials has been useful - such as felxible button caps in a hard plastic shell, kind of like a keyfob. However, printing decals has been very useful! Ah, I bought mine before the multi-material upgrade was available so I'd have to do it some other way. Very neat though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 The best option is to print it with the lettering recessed a mm or so, flood it with paint then sand the surface. Another is to print the panel in two pieces. One having the lettering raised from the surface and the other with cut-outs - then press the two together. I've used this for back-lit, illuminated decals. It looked fantastic! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volvotgb Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 On a Prusa MK4, if you make the letters recessed, when you come to slice it, it asks you if this is a logo and if you say yes, you can print the first part up to the letters in the colour you want the letters and then it stops and you change the filament for the colour you want for the rest of it. Works really good. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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