- Joined
- Feb 1, 2015
- Messages
- 9,691
More on the X Jet
Building up my workshop tools now so on the day i retire i have plenty of DIY tool resources to keep me busy.
That is amazing!I realize I'm a year late and a dollar short here, but 3D printing is one of my recent passions (year and a half anyway) and I'm amazed at the versatility of not only the printer, but the myriad of materials to utilize for different applications. This is a single cylinder-double acting engine I printed with PETG. It could've been many other materials, but I live where it's HOT and needed something semi-heat resistant.
Other than some metal fasteners, all of the parts including the piston and cylinder are PETG printed, no rubber piston rings or metal bearings. I lubricated moving parts with olive oil, seemed to be appropriate although I'm told PETG is fuel/oil resistant. As it's plastic on plastic, you sure wouldn't want to run it at high speeds ... You"ve probably figured out how I learned that, but being 3D printed, I just printed up the damaged parts and reassembled!
I’ve used mine to print emergency repair gears for my HF Mini Mill, and once I put it in, it never came back out! I’ve experimented with PLA, PLA+, PETG, Carbon Fiber Nylon, Glass Filled Nylon, and TPU so far. Printed some excellent gaskets out of the TPU, gears out of the nylons, and I’m designing a simple throttle based carb for my IC engines that I’ll print out of nylon of some type or another. I’ve even printed replacement magazines for my .22LR rifle as well as other parts for broken items around the house. I even printed a rather large set of TPU fenders for my son’s one-wheel and he’s beyond pleased with them!I bought a creality CR10V2 several years ago. It was progressively upgraded and is now basically a v3 with a e3d volcano hot end and custom marlin firmware and a few other hardware tweaks.
Used to use it all the time, mostly because it was all new.
I use it less these days but there are times when its a lifesaver. Mostly reproducing broken parts for things you just can’t get anymore. That, and hobby stuff like the slot car track bits, rc parts and even gears for the Atlas:
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I’ve even used it to make broken interior bits that you just can’t buy any longer for the Corvette.
They do tend to “sit” quite a bit once the “new” wears off. But sometimes, its the only tool that can do the job you need.
I don’t regret buying one (or the money spent on “upgrades”) one bit.
I only know a handful of guys who bought them. But with most of them, after they run out of stuff they can make from someone else's files, they're done with them.
On the plus side, I might actually buy one of those spiders. It seems like such a waste of material to make one out of metal. Which is why I still haven't done it.