monkeyseemonkeydo Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Not sure how successful this'll be but thought I'd give it a try. I've just bought my first 3D printer at work (Ultimaker 2) and am now in the process of working out what I can use it for so thought a thread may allow people to share their experiences, models etc. and give people ideas. Besides the usual printing test pieces and robots my first 'useful' print has been some U-clips for the Arcade because for some weird reason the cable guides on the frames don't seem to work with standard clips so I've been using zip ties for the past 18 months... And next to the original one. Anyway, anybody else got a printer and doing fun/useful things with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 We have one where I work, I'll post up some photos soon of stuff we've done. Mostly aerospace components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Do you have braided hoses Dave? That's the 'issue' I think - the clips are for 5mm hose but the braided is 6mm, if you file the clips out a bit with a small round file they will work Of course, playing with a 3D printer is much more fun though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 I love that you've bought one for work, and are now working out what you can do with it. My sort of logic. I haven't got round to getting one yet, but I know I want to. Same problem though, not much of an idea what to actually make... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 I've been thinking of getting one for ages, but haven't worked out what to use to do the actual modelling / designing ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurtisRider Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 We have two UP minis and I'm building a third (just need the electronics stuff). Incredibly fun and useful machines, got one sitting on my desk right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted September 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 I love that you've bought one for work, and are now working out what you can do with it. My sort of logic. I haven't got round to getting one yet, but I know I want to. Same problem though, not much of an idea what to actually make... Oh, don't get me wrong, I have ideas of what it could be used for at work but that's all fairly mundane boring stuff so am trying to think of bike/motorbike/toy/gadget related stuff to 'test' it on first And Ads- yeah, braided hoses on Hope Tech Trials. That and the non +20mm disc mount on the mk1 frames have been my only 'issues' (now running a 160mm rotor on the rear with Jitsie pads because I didn't like running the adapter!). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Which did you get, out of interest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted September 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Which did you get, out of interest? Printer? Ultimaker 2 The reviews seemed to place it as one of the better home/office ones and the fairly large build envelope (~200mm3) made it a fairly good bet. Not cheap (~£1500) but so far pretty pleased with it. Kind of disappointed with the quality of ABS parts coming out of it (having read up on the PLA vs ABS side of things) and am thinking that I might have to get some more PLA in stock as the machine only came with 0.75kg of silver PLA and I bought a couple of kg reels of black ABS. I've been thinking of getting one for ages, but haven't worked out what to use to do the actual modelling / designing ? We've obviously got easy access to Solidworks so I'm using that to create STL files then using Ultimaker's 'Cura' software to do the tool path and related stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 That's cool Dave, I'm interested in getting a 3D printer at some stage once I can actually get the grasp of 3D design (using Solidworks). I look forward to see what you come up with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted September 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Next up is a plunger for a 2 part adhesive pack since the stuff we bought (for another actually work related project) didn't come with one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Leigh Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Do you have braided hoses Dave? That's the 'issue' I think - the clips are for 5mm hose but the braided is 6mm, if you file the clips out a bit with a small round file they will work Of course, playing with a 3D printer is much more fun though I've got the same hoses as dave on my skye with the clips and they work fine, but when we put the same brakes on my friends arcade they didn't stay on... Doony think its the hoses, must be the guides on the frame being different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted September 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Yeah I never had an issue on ally frames so it's something specific to the steel guides in conjunction with the braided hoses. Not to worry though, all sorted now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Have you tried out any different finishing methods with your products Dave? I've seen people use acetone vapour to 'smooth' the finish of stuff a bit - seemed like it had the potential to make stuff look really good, but was hassle to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted September 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 No haven't really played with that side of things yet. The PLA seems to give a pretty good surface finish from the machine but the ABS gives very visible lines and a somewhat rough finish so need to mess around a bit. One other thing I'm struggling with when using the ABS is the edges of the build 'rolling up' as it cools and lifting away from the build surface and then becoming detached and screwing everything up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted September 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 Sorted. Yay me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 Isn't the rolling up why the build surface is heated? Plungers look slick. What's the difference in strength between pla and abs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted September 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 Isn't the rolling up why the build surface is heated? Plungers look slick. What's the difference in strength between pla and abs? That's what you'd think! For ABS the build surface is at 88 degrees I think but it still curls up. The default settings are to have the head cooling fans at 50% for ABS and there are some people online who say to reduce that as much as possible for ABS which might be worth a try. In theory ABS is a bit stronger and less brittle but to be honest I've been fairly impressed with the PLA so far anyway so may end up just sacking the ABS off if it's going to be a pain. Currently printing a T-Rex skeleton puzzle thing for Finn... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that NBR dude Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 Currently printing a T-Rex skeleton puzzle thing for Finn... Good to see it's being put to good use... :wink2: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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