3d Printers

[Skeans1]

The first photo shows the last batch of parts I just finished for building three RC airplanes. There is well over 40 hours of printer time in that photo. The smallest parts took just over an hour each and the larger parts were more than 11 hours each. I'm using foam board to make the wings.

The airplane will tow a streamer and be used in aerial combat with the winner landing with the longest stream and a depleted battery. Of course, mid-air collisions are certainly possible so making your own parts has an advantage versus buying them in a hobby store.

The other photo shows what the parts look like once assembled.

This is typically what I use my 3D printer for.....it's a hobby using the printer to make stuff for other hobbies. LOL

You running Klipper or Marlin firmware?

 

[mikester]

In general 3D printers are expensive toys, have relatively poor quality finish, and produce sub standard quality plastic parts if you are thinking of trying to make automotive replacement parts. Parts will shrink and warp in heat and direct sunlight. They are brittle. Poor mechanical strength. Slow to build parts if you need multiples.

They are great for prototyping and getting a "hands on" for new designs.

Anyone who tells you this is the future of manufacturing is either selling you something or are fanboys with no practical experience with part design or manufacturing.

 

[LFP57]

In general 3D printers are expensive toys, have relatively poor quality finish, and produce sub standard quality plastic parts if you are thinking of trying to make automotive replacement parts. Parts will shrink and warp in heat and direct sunlight. They are brittle. Poor mechanical strength. Slow to build parts if you need multiples.

They are great for prototyping and getting a "hands on" for new designs.

Anyone who tells you this is the future of manufacturing is either selling you something or are fanboys with no practical experience with part design or manufacturing.

I have to disagree, I have four (two at home) machines, two of them have a build area of 1000 mm x 1500 mm, I print full size automotive parts used for engineering testing. They are far from expensive toys, you'd be amazed at what I printed to be used as replacement parts for cars as well as countless other nonautomotive items. As far as brittle and being affected by UV light that's only because it was printed with PLA. As far as surface finish, you are mistaken, they can produce very nice finishes and the strength of ABS is 4000 PSI tensile strength!
I also do a lot of 3D scanning and I'm an expert with CAD, anything that I can think of and create in CAD, I can print it. I had to replace a number of kitchen drawer brackets that mount the rails to the rear, i couldn't find any replacements, so I removed a good one, recreated in CAD and printed a entire new set. I had a friend with an classic car, a 60 yr old defroster duct broke, created a new one, printed in ABS, it fit perfectly and he's been using it for yrs now, that and countless other examples!!
There's so many different types of filament, ASA (UV resistant) PETG, metal filled (copper, brass, wood) and many, many others.

 

[LittleBill21]

I have to disagree, I have four (two at home) machines, two of them have a build area of 1000 mm x 1500 mm, I print full size automotive parts used for engineering testing. They are far from expensive toys, you'd be amazed at what I printed to be used as replacement parts for cars as well as countless other nonautomotive items. As far as brittle and being affected by UV light that's only because it was printed with PLA. As far as surface finish, you are mistaken, they can produce very nice finishes and the strength of ABS is 4000 PSI tensile strength!
I also do a lot of 3D scanning and I'm an expert with CAD, anything that I can think of and create in CAD, I can print it. I had to replace a number of kitchen drawer brackets that mount the rails to the rear, i couldn't find any replacements, so I removed a good one, recreated in CAD and printed a entire new set. I had a friend with an classic car, a 60 yr old defroster duct broke, created a new one, printed in ABS, it fit perfectly and he's been using it for yrs now, that and countless other examples!!
There's so many different types of filament, ASA (UV resistant) PETG, metal filled (copper, brass, wood) and many, many others.

ignore him, somehow a 3d printer hurt him in the past, and he apparently is still grieving. PETG, ABS and ASA easily can handle outside uv light and heat.

 

[BravoXray]

GE 3d prints most of the fan and compressor blades in their turbofan engines.

 

[ponytug]

GE 3d prints most of the fan and compressor blades in their turbofan engines.

Yes, 3D printing sure beats the prior method of growing single crystal blades and then checking them to make sure the crystal is aligned properly with the blade after the fact...

 

[mikester]

ignore him, somehow a 3d printer hurt him in the past, and he apparently is still grieving. PETG, ABS and ASA easily can handle outside uv light and heat.

Yes aerospace and NASA use this technology and it's pretty slick and crazy expensive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope

I wonder, is this one of the reasons why the James Webb telescope started with a $500 million budget that has now ballooned into a $10 billion dollar price tag? Gee whiz gets expensive fast.

 

[NorTracNY]

In general 3D printers are expensive toys, have relatively poor quality finish, and produce sub standard quality plastic parts if you are thinking of trying to make automotive replacement parts. Parts will shrink and warp in heat and direct sunlight. They are brittle. Poor mechanical strength. Slow to build parts if you need multiples.

They are great for prototyping and getting a "hands on" for new designs.

Anyone who tells you this is the future of manufacturing is either selling you something or are fanboys with no practical experience with part design or manufacturing.

Not surprising, your view was not warmly received. You do have several very valid points, but I'll disagree with the use of the word "toys." I work at a place that is making world class precision instruments and we certainly use 3D printers. They are incredibly useful and allow us to do things that were not possible otherwise. They do not make the highest precision parts, but they can quickly create parts which allow some types of testing which can avoid much more costly problems later on. We find more uses every year for utilizing 3D printers and expand out capabilities as the printers improve. I'm actually not aware of what "cheap" 3D printers that someone would have at their house can do though.

Most parts are cheaper to have made in a more traditional manner than on a 3D printer, but the fact that you can make parts on a 3D printer which are impossible to make otherwise is huge. There are also many features which can be "added" to a 3D printed part for free, but would add significant process steps in a traditional manufacturing sense.

 

[Root Cause]

In general 3D printers are expensive toys, have relatively poor quality finish, and produce sub standard quality plastic parts if you are thinking of trying to make automotive replacement parts. Parts will shrink and warp in heat and direct sunlight. They are brittle. Poor mechanical strength. Slow to build parts if you need multiples.

They are great for prototyping and getting a "hands on" for new designs.

Anyone who tells you this is the future of manufacturing is either selling you something or are fanboys with no practical experience with part design or manufacturing.

Anyone who tells you these have no practical experience in part design or manufacturing has 30 year old information.
3D printers can use ABS plastic which is the same thing commonly used on automotive, molded parts. I have no idea how the sun or time knows how these parts are different.

Markforged can make you quality metal parts over 50 RC faster than you can get a quote back from some machine shops.

I still have contacts wih an R&D company who makes electrical components for all the major auto manufacturers. They use metal 3D printers for prototyping new parts. It saves months getting the part from concept to launch. It isn't just making the first parts, it is making the modifications in days not weeks to reach a final part approval.

Here is Josef Prusa's factory. His Prusa printers are his production line and they reproducing themselves. A pretty good feat for something slow and can't make multiple, quality parts.

Here is a yacht being produced by a 3D printer.

Then there are several of these on Youtube: 3D printed houses made from concrete.

These may never replace traditional manufacturing but they have already found there place and it will continue to grow.

 

[LittleBill21]

I don't even understand why we are comparing commercial automotive applications in the first place. we are talking about 100-1k printers. this is home hobby level, not everyone needs its to be commercial level. acting like we are trying design airbag restraint systems or something here.