Learning about 3D printers and looking for input

[Technical Ted]

A few comments:

• I have encountered a few machinist that sort of turn up their noses at 3D printing. After all, its end-product is wimpy plastic, and the tolerances are nowhere close to what can be achieved with metal.

I think that 3D printing and machining are, as Forest said, like peas and carrots! I've been thinking about getting one for a while, but just now finally bit the bullet. I started machining back in the 1970's and think 3D printing has a new world to offer me.

Which leads me to ask which filament(s) are best for machinability?

I can easily picture printing a part, maybe out of nylon?, that would need some finishing operations on machine tools. Light duty gears, pulleys, you name it. If you can't print it to the fit/tolerances you need, you can always print them a little heavy for machining after.

Anyone done my machining of printed parts? If so, what filaments work well and any other comments you might have???

Thanks,
Ted

 

[kdtop]

I think that 3D printing and machining are, as Forest said, like peas and carrots! I've been thinking about getting one for a while, but just now finally bit the bullet. I started machining back in the 1970's and think 3D printing has a new world to offer me.

Which leads me to ask which filament(s) are best for machinability?

I can easily picture printing a part, maybe out of nylon?, that would need some finishing operations on machine tools. Light duty gears, pulleys, you name it. If you can't print it to the fit/tolerances you need, you can always print them a little heavy for machining after.

Anyone done my machining of printed parts? If so, what filaments work well and any other comments you might have???

Thanks,
Ted

Because the 3D printed part is laid down layer by layer, it is never going to be as strong as solid plastic, like Delrin. Also, most 3D parts are not printed solid, so only so much could be taken off before you would get into the semi-hollow inside. Of course one can change those settings in the slicer program.

Having said that, I have done cleanup of round parts by putting them in my lathe, and the plastic (PLA) cuts great. So you would need to play around with it, but it is definitely doable. Drilling, on the other hand, doesn't work well. The friction inside the hole causes the plastic to heat up and turn into molten goo. A boring bar in a large hole works fine.

For filaments, I like 3M Verbatim like of PLA. Nylon, just FYI, is a pain to work with. It has to be kept very very dry or it absorbs up to 50% by weight of ambient atmospheric water. And then that water causes bubbles in the plastic as it comes out of the hot end.

Kevin

 

[Janderso]

I watched this video this morning. I'm never going to be able to program a product in Fusion 360 = Old dog and all.
But, I am amazed at this simple example of a guy that comes up with a plan, draws it out then prints it.
The possibilities are limitless.

 

[Aaron_W]

I think that 3D printing and machining are, as Forest said, like peas and carrots! I've been thinking about getting one for a while, but just now finally bit the bullet. I started machining back in the 1970's and think 3D printing has a new world to offer me.

Which leads me to ask which filament(s) are best for machinability?

I can easily picture printing a part, maybe out of nylon?, that would need some finishing operations on machine tools. Light duty gears, pulleys, you name it. If you can't print it to the fit/tolerances you need, you can always print them a little heavy for machining after.

Anyone done my machining of printed parts? If so, what filaments work well and any other comments you might have???

Thanks,
Ted

I've been curious about that as well. From an appearance perspective some people use a sandable primer to help fill in the layers before giving it a finish sand, but with the current generation of printers this seems less necessary since the layering is much less pronounced.

One of the uses I have for it is making masters for resin casting. Because of the time required to print 3D printing isn't usually a great production tool, but it is really good for one off parts which can then be made more efficiently using other methods. I understand some of the 3D materials also lend themselves to the "lost wax" type of metal casting.

I watched this video this morning. I'm never going to be able to program a product in Fusion 360 = Old dog and all.
But, I am amazed at this simple example of a guy that comes up with a plan, draws it out then prints it.
The possibilities are limitless.

I'm finding that there are a ton of pre-made designs you can download and print so you don't have to be a master of CAD programs to make a 3D printer a useful tool. Most of the stuff I see people showing off are Baby Yodas, bundled up Bernies and such, but there are more practical things out there.
There are drawer organizers and tool holders available which alone could probably help justify the cost for one of the cheaper printers. It wouldn't take many tool holders or geegaws to make a $250 printer earn its keep.

Thingiverse tool holders

I'm still trying to learn Fusion 360, but intend to start learning how the printer itself works by printing some existing designs.

 

[DavidR8]

I'm finding that there are a ton of pre-made designs you can download and print so you don't have to be a master of CAD programs to make a 3D printer a useful tool. Most of the stuff I see people showing off are Baby Yodas, bundled up Bernies and such, but there are more practical things out there.
There are drawer organizers and tool holders available which alone could probably help justify the cost for one of the cheaper printers. It wouldn't take many tool holders or geegaws to make a $250 printer earn its keep.

Thingiverse tool holders

Organizing and tool storage is exactly why I'm looking at a 3D printer.

 

[Pierre52]

Here are two links with some excellent examples of using 3D printing for tool storage:
Clough 42 with how to design and make tool holders

and
crazy guy Alexandre Chapell, a very clever designer who has designed and made available so brilliant parts and tool storage ideas

From my experience, a properly tuned filament 3D printer will consistently produce items to within 0.1mm

 

[DavidR8]

Decided to jump in with an Ender 3 V2 today.
Still working on my F360 skills!

 

[RandyWilson]

I would say my printing is 10% self-designs with FreeCad, 90% downloaded form Thingiverse. A few nights ago the wife came to me with a catalog in hand and asked if I could make "one of these". It was a simple little caddie that snaps onto a laundry soap jug with a platform to hold the cup below the nozzle (drips are always a problem). I jumped over to the thingiverse tab, it's always open, typed in a bit of search, and asked "what color do you want?" Yes, I have a spool of Tide orange in PLA+.


Congrats, David. Welcome to the deepest rabbit hole on the planet. When you get the machine, pop the bottom cover off of the base and snap a picture of the motherboard. The 32 bit version should have V4.2.x screened on.

 

[Aaron_W]

Decided to jump in with an Ender 3 V2 today.
Still working on my F360 skills!

I know several people who have Ender 3s and like them. They have made upgrades to theirs but you can do that over time and as you find areas you would like to improve. It is hard to beat the Crealty printers for price which makes them very popular for people who run a bunch of printers, they are not just popular for the entry level to 3D printing.

 

[DavidR8]

Congrats, David. Welcome to the deepest rabbit hole on the planet. When you get the machine, pop the bottom cover off of the base and snap a picture of the motherboard. The 32 bit version should have V4.2.x screened on.

I know several people who have Ender 3s and like them. They have made upgrades to theirs but you can do that over time and as you find areas you would like to improve. It is hard to beat the Crealty printers for price which makes them very popular for people who run a bunch of printers, they are not just popular for the entry level to 3D printing.

Thanks gents, I have burned up the net for the last couple of weeks, hemmed and hawed over Creality, Prusa and the BiQu B1.
I could not justify the $1000 for the Prusa, The BiQu was an additional $100 over the Ender. Part of what helped make my decision was the Ender community.