Anyone make and sell parts with a 3D Printer?

[Bruce]

That would be awesome!!! I sure appreciate that. I need 2 of these. I'd like them in black (tough decision). if you have enough material. I'll PM you..
Can the center hole accommodate an 8mm bolt?

$20 and I will send three just in case one gets broken.

I had the center hole at 8mm. I can open that up to 8.5 or 9 if you prefer. You can run a drill bit through the hold if you need to make it larger.

 

[Bruce]

Maybe room for the screw head so it does not protrude? Worst case heat the screw and it will butter in... Just a thought!

I thought about countersinking the screw hole but I believe the plan is to put a 5/16 or 8mm screw from the light through this piece into the tube

 

[Beachbummer]

Ahh! that makes a lot of sense!

 

[1BadTundra]

I thought about countersinking the screw hole but I believe the plan is to put a 5/16 or 8mm screw from the light through this piece into the tube

That's correct. Just saw this LoL

 

[1BadTundra]

$20 and I will send three just in case one gets broken.

I had the center hole at 8mm. I can open that up to 8.5 or 9 if you prefer. You can run a drill bit through the hold if you need to make it larger.

It's actually a 1/4 bolt, I figured 8mm would give me a bit of play for alignment

 

[1BadTundra]

$20 is fair, and I appreciate the 3rd, I probably will break something

 

[1BadTundra]

Can we do them in Blue, and I promise I will not change my mind again!!

 

[Bruce]

First one printed. The bolt in the photo is 1/4”. I printed with the 1” edge vertical which I believe will have the most strength. That resulted in the hole not being a perfect circle but plenty large for your 1/4” bolt. You can drill through the hole if you want to perfect or enlarge. The walls are 1.2mm of solid PETG with a honey comb support structure inside.

 

[1BadTundra]

This is beautiful!!! It is 100% what I was hoping for. Thanks so much! This will be perfect!

 

[captainhook]

You're doing this all wrong; this is a totally justifiable excuse to buy yourself a 3D printer because you "need" it. Pro tip; buy your second printer first (kinda like boats!).

 

[1BadTundra]

You're doing this all wrong; this is a totally justifiable excuse to buy yourself a 3D printer because you "need" it. Pro tip; buy your second printer first (kinda like boats!).

Haha, I've been looking at them for about a month. There are so many options, I'm not sure which way to go. Best part is, I'm buying for "work". So it'll sit in my office, but they pay for it. I don't wanna screw them, but I was hoping to get a decent machine for no more than $2000

 

[captainhook]

Haha, I've been looking at them for about a month. There are so many options, I'm not sure which way to go. Best part is, I'm buying for "work". So it'll sit in my office, but they pay for it. I don't wanna screw them, but I was hoping to get a decent machine for no more than $2000

Prusa MK3S. If you just want to hit “print,” this is the answer. Your search is over!

 

[Bruce]

I was hoping to get a decent machine for no more than $2000

$2K is getting into a professional budget. It is unclear to me that high end printers are worth the investment unless they print exotic materials that are needed for a specific job. I see so much being accomplished with $150 Ender 3 printers.

I suggest taking a look at the dealer tested and well supported printers from https://www.tinymachines3d.com

Personally I have two Creality printers, a 12”x12” CR-10S Pro and an 18”x18” CR-10 Max. Both are highly upgraded with E3D Hemera extruders E3D V6 hot ends, double sided magnetic print surfaces, belts to lock the two Z screws together, upgraded firmware, upgraded or replaced fans, BLTouch leveling, upgraded filament feeding systems and likely much more that I have forgotten. The CR-10S Pro was a $600 printer that I likely have $1,000 into now.

Prusa MK3S. If you just want to hit “print,” this is the answer. Your search is over!

Prusa makes great printers. I wish they were bigger.

 

[1BadTundra]

$2K is getting into a professional budget. It is unclear to me that high end printers are worth the investment unless they print exotic materials that are needed for a specific job. I see so much being accomplished with $150 Ender 3 printers.

I suggest taking a look at the dealer tested and well supported printers from https://www.tinymachines3d.com

Personally I have two Creality printers, a 12”x12” CR-10S Pro and an 18”x18” CR-10 Max. Both are highly upgraded with E3D Hemera extruders E3D V6 hot ends, double sided magnetic print surfaces, belts to lock the two Z screws together, upgraded firmware, upgraded or replaced fans, BLTouch leveling, upgraded filament feeding systems and likely much more that I have forgotten. The CR-10S Pro was a $600 printer that I likely have $1,000 into now.



Prusa makes great printers. I wish they were bigger.

I appreciate the feedback. We need to print photo eye brackets, receiver mounts... speciality parts for a high speed manufacturing facility. Nothing too extreme, but I don't know enough about them to get the best bang for our buck without over indulging.

 

[Bruce]

I appreciate the feedback. We need to print photo eye brackets, receiver mounts... speciality parts for a high speed manufacturing facility. Nothing too extreme, but I don't know enough about them to get the best bang for our buck without over indulging.

Noise is a big consideration that I did not mention. My printers are on a workbench type table in my office. They are loud. The power supplies are a large portion of the noise. My office is in my home so not a big deal. An enclosed printer or a printer upgraded to quiet fans would be preferable in a commercial office.

Having the printers in my office does allow me to accomplish a lot more printing while doing my day job.

I suspect that your parts could be printed from PLA which is the most common and easiest to print plastic filament. If they crack from vibration then PETG could be a good option to add a little flex to them. I suggest registering a free personal account for Fusion 360 to start drawing parts. Commercially it costs ~$400 a year.

Looking at photo eye brackets to order I would think you would be able to draw and print one in less than an hour at a material cost of perhaps $0.50. You likely could leave the printer running a batch of 16 overnight depending on the size of the bed.

The pieces I mailed to you took ~5 minutes to draw and ~1 hour to print the three.

 

[1BadTundra]

Wow, that's a lot of information... Is your fully enclosed? I don't think noise will be an issue, as our office is a modular unit in the warehouse section. Its insulated, but still hear the compressor cycling, and fork lift traffic from the floor. But its quiet enough to hold a normal phone or teams call without any excessive volume. I see so many options, and just not sure what to buy. I want to get the best bang for my buck, with overindulging and getting more than we'll ever use. PETG would be better, there is a lot of moving parts and vibration, and the last thing I want to hear is "Walker printed this piece of shit and that's why it broke!"

 

[1BadTundra]

Is the software easy to use? Easier than CAD? How user friendly is it?

 

[Bruce]

Fusion 360 is by AutoDesk who makes AutoCAD. I see it is as more appropriate for 3D printing. https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal

Tinkercad is often used to start learning and likely could be used to create your parts Tinkercad | From mind to design in minutes

These are my printers. The MAX is currently waiting for me to finish upgrading some parts. They are not enclosed. I am able to participate in phone and video calls without the printers interrupting. The noise is almost entirely fan noise.



As for strength this cube storage is held in place
by 3D printed angle brackets. Adding diagonal sides greatly increases the strength.





I prefer PETG from ZYLtech Engineering LLC. I tried a few brands before finding that Zytlech had excellent quality and strength with fast shipping and reasonable pricing. The large empty spools to the left of the printer are from 5KG Zytlech rolls. Typically filament is sold in 1 KG rolls as you can see above the printer.

I suggest starting with PLA and other people’s designs to learn how the printer works. That is how I got started.

 

[1BadTundra]

What is the price range for these printers? Also how do you know what brand to go with, are any brands particularly tried & true?
I do like the angle brackets with gussets, we could really make good use of this kind of thing.

 

[Bruce]

What is the price range for these printers? Also how do you know what brand to go with, are any brands particularly tried & true?
I do like the angle brackets with gussets, we could really make good use of this kind of thing.

This is the current equivalent of the printer on the left and is where I would start for your usage and your budget https://www.tinymachines3d.com/collections/3d-printers-in-stock/products/cr-10-smart-pro-3d-printer You can get Chinese Creality printers for less but buying through Tiny Machines gets a pretested printer with support and access to many upgrades. I keep quite a few extra parts on hand, nozzles, heat breaks, silicone socks for the hot end, temperature sensors, hot end heaters, fans, etc.

This is the Prusa that @captainhook suggested. It probably is a better printer but is smaller than I wanted https://www.prusa3d.com/product/original-prusa-i3-mk3s-3d-printer-3/