New to 3D printers

[Chewy]

I know nothing about what I'm going to ask! There, got that out of the way. I do 2D in Draftsight, years ago it was AutoCad lite. I tried 3D with AutoCad 14(?) and that didn't go anywhere. Currently playing with Tinkercad. Hoping that will work. As far as printers go, I will probably go with Prusa MK3S kit sometime this summer.

Is there a program that will take 2D and make 3D out of it or some usable form for the printer?

Does anybody know how hot the newest Prusa model gets? The website says it will do nylon, but doesn't give temperature range.

Is there a lot of smell or fumes that I need to be aware of or take precautions? I would like to do this inside the house due to temperature concerns.

Is the part done when it is printed? I am catching references to washing?) the part and baking(?) it, but have seen any videos showing this, just vague references.

Looking at CHAPS & Thomas Sanladerer You Tubes. Who else do you recommend?

What do I need to know that I don't know that I need to know it?

Am I getting sucked into something that I should run and hide from???

The first item on my to-do list is some kind of window glide for my daughters house. It broke 2 years ago and there is a stick holding up the window. The part goes between the window and frame. It is about 1/4" thick with some milled out notches and holes. I was going to make it out of Delrin, but it will take some inventive work holding to do the milling. Can't show a picture because I misplaced the part. I can always get another off another window. Need some kind of strong slippery plastic for the part. What type of plastic would be a good choice for this? For the record the part can't be bought, I tried.

The next item is plastic for casting molds. Starting to get into steam engines and I would like to try casting aluminum and cast iron pieces. Again what kind of plastic to make 1 or 2 time molds and how thick should be walls to resist tamping the sand around them? Maybe some strategic reinforcements inside?

Last but not least, I have a collection of Halogen lights with broken leg brackets. I was going to make some replacements out of aluminum, but this would be a good practice item. A round collar with 3 tabs sticking out to attache legs to to slide up & down the main tube. Originals are brittle, thin and and have sharp junction connections. What kind of plastic or better still will one type fit all three applications?

Thanks in advance and I hope this made you chuckle! Happy New Years!!! Charles

 

[Pierre52]

Hi Charles
Happy New Year to you to and welcome to the 3d Printing rabbit hole

I have been designing and printing 3D objects for 3 years now and despite the big learning curve have loved almost every minute of it. My answers to your questions are my own opinion but also informed from an awful lot of You Tube content.
1. Is there a program that turns 2D to 3D? Short answer no. I had a lot of experience with Corel Draw so I was hoping the same thing. I too started with Tinkercad but then quickly migrated to Fusion 360. Disadvantage is that it is enormously powerful (read complicated). Advantage is that it is enormously powerful and it is free to hobbyists.
2. Your choice of the Prusa Mk 3 S is perfect. However, before you buy look also at the Prusa Mini at nearly half the cost. The Prusa will print all commonly available filaments so how hot it gets is not a problem.
3. A few years ago ABS filament was the go to for strong and durable objects. However the smell and fumes during printing were very obnoxious and trying to get prints to adhere to the bed often required a fully enclosed machine. PETG is also strong and durable and has none of the problems of ABS. I use PLA and PETG inside the house without problems.
4. Washing and Baking often refers to "Resin" printers. These use a whole different type of machine and process with some pretty obnoxious chemicals. Watch a few You Tube videos and you will get the idea. Some people also "smooth" their ABS prints with Acetone baths - not something I have tried.
5. Some other You Tubers are: 3D Printing Nerd, Makers Muse, CHEP, and 3D Maker Noob.
6. Other things you may need to know. I would suggest Slicing software. I personally use Simplify 3D (paid version) others swear by Cura 4 (Freeware) but you may be best sticking with Prusa 2 and staying within the Prusa ecosystem.
7. Are you being sucked into something you should run and hide from? Only if you don't like new challenges. I would suggest it is a great complement to any makers arsenal.
8. Al the tasks you have mentioned are quite doable. For further inspiration have a look at Clough 42's Milling tool storage boxes here:

 

[brino]

Hi @Chewy,

@Pierre52 gave you a pretty thorough response above.

About the only things I can add are:

1) Some people have talked about doing some kind of "strengthening" on 3D printed objects, often baking at low temp or a soak in warm water.
I have never tried it and have not seen a direct comparison of two parts with and without such treatment.

2) One other process that may be called "washing" is when you print an item that requires support for some features and print those supports using a different type of plastic using a "dual extruder". The idea is that you can soak the finished print in a solvent for the support material only, and be left with just the model you wanted that is made of a different plastic and so immune to that solvent. Again, I have NOT tried it, I do NOT have a dual extruder.

3) My printer (a Lulzbot Taz6) came with Cura slicer software. It seems to work great. I did try a "test drive" of Symplify-3D and found it a little harder to use.

4) I print in the house with PLA, HIPS and Nylon. We have tried ABS out in the workshop, but it did NOT go well. I think a full thermal tent would be required.

Have fun!
-brino

 

[Cadillac STS]

Fusion 360 is free for hobby use. Download it as fully functional 30 day demo then when it expires tell it you are using it for home use.

no reason to spend time on a lower end CADCAM program when this pro software is free. It is Autodesk like Autocad

you could import your 2D files and extrude a body onto them most likely.

It has a 3D printing function that will output your model file to your printer.

lots and lots of free tutorial help online

 

[Chewy]

Thanks to you all! I have been going through the You Tube stuff and getting more information. Brino, are you using the HIPS in place of ABS or just as a support platform? I didn't know anything about it till you mentioned it. It says it is strong and better than ABS but dissolves with lemon skin juice. I have to wrap my head around support platforms for the printing. I'm going to try the Fusion 360 and see if I can make it work. The problem wasn't with the program but with me doing the math to get everything to come out right. But, again that was 20 years ago. I'm not having any trouble with Draftsight and up to now, 2D mechanical drawings are all I ever needed.
I'm still going through stuff and no doubt I will be back with more questions. Thanks!! Charles

 

[brino]

Brino, are you using the HIPS in place of ABS or just as a support platform?

Hi Charles,
I'm just using it for the actual printed items. I found some spools at reasonable prices and the colour selection is wide!
I have not yet tried any dissolve-able supports, as I do NOT have the dual extruder head.
-brino

 

[Cadillac STS]

3D printed items can be very stout. I bought a 3D printed vacuum head that goes in the slots of my mills to collect chips and that thing is very well done and durable!

 

[macardoso]

Tons of people love Fusion 360 and it has a free to use license for hobbyists and businesses up to $100k revenue. Another option is Autodesk Inventor. It is the "professional" version of Fusion 360 (actually predated it) and is free to anyone for non-commercial educational use (read teaching yourself or playing with 3D printers) in 3 year renewable licenses. Inventor is better IMO but Fusion 360 has a better community in the hobby world.

I highly recommend just jumping into one of the two of these as you will find them powerful and quick to learn.

 

[Chewy]

My wife is onboard now. She was watching the tool drawer boxes above and would like them for her workplace. I have reorganized and built new work areas and buildings for her boss. That includes extra heavy duty drawers that are filled withe steel. She made dividers out of plexiglass and that was a chore. Also re-arraigning sizes is a no-go.

Downloaded Fusion 360. Ain't got a clue what to do with it. I'm used to CAD where are tools in a column and you select one and go. Really nice to take a sample item and spin it around. Have just started to You Tube and forums as to how to draw something, anything.

One old dog gonna try and learn some new tricks!

 

[Cadillac STS]

I started with Inventor and it is very similar to Fusion 360. I liked Inventor better because it is more familiar to me.

Fusion 360 has a setup to make the tools most like what you have used. For example if you come from Solidworks it can act more like that so your skills transfer easier.

One thing about Fusion 360 is it is cloud based so a lesser power computer can be used because it can do the calculations in the Autodesk computer system in the cloud. In the past it took a higher powered local computer to run it.

For someone new I would definitely go with Fusion 360 for free support and training online.

Have your wife take a look at Fusion 360 too. She may end up the better one in the family to pick it up and use it. Some people just have that type of skill to get the knack.