3-D Printing of Small Parts

[Coley]

In my work I often design parts in 3D-Solidworks and to a lesser degree Autocad pretty much all the time for work/design/engineering purposes.
I have always considered measuring up and making a few interesting parts from the truck realm....but as of yet I haven't applied any time to it.
In reality it would probably take less than an hour to accurately measure up a part then about the same to commit to 3D design...some more, some less...depending on the part.
That said, I have had designed parts made up in 3D in the past and it looks like the resins are getting better. That last part I had made up a couple of years ago was very accurate...but very brittle and not much use other than as a 'display model'.
As was stated...when the model is complete it can be exported/saved as an .stl file which plugs right into the format for these printers.
Here are a couple of quick jpegs of what I have designed in that past...at least in plastics, noting that most of my design/engineering work is rooted in mechanical/equipment/automation components....ie: metal. Regardless, this part was way more complicated than anything we would find in these trucks...so the difficulty level is pretty 'doable'.

All Good
Coley

['70_402]

I also work in an engineering firm. We have a large very expensive 3D printer. Sooo... if anyone has any solidworks files or stl files that they would like to share, I could make some if needed. (very low numbers) nothing full production for sure. haha.

Most of my stuff is downhole oilwell production stuff, perforating guns and logging tools.

[Hart_Rod]

Some great stuff here!

[bw46]

I second the suggestion to check out Quickparts. Or other similar companies. search for '3D Printing Service Providers'.
Here's a link to Quickparts. http://www.quickparts.3dsystems.com/...FYJqfgodJQ0Psw

They have online tools that allow you to upload your CAD model for a quotation. Prices differ depending on how fast you need the parts. The benefit of such a path is two-fold:
1) you don't have to buy and mess with the machine
2) Access to FAR better printing machines. For example if you print the part with SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) the part will be made of durable Nylon and are much more accurate. Nylon is acceptable for under hood temperatures. Think custom intake manifold. These machines can cost a lot more than a starter home, and you can print parts on them!

It's not cheap though. Some day...

[davepl]

Printing is the easy part... it's getting a model of the part that's hard! I made an Arrow in blender and that took me half a day :-)

[Burbor]

davepl, you are correct! Its the getting the CAD model that is the tough part.
Here's a picture of the SolidWorks model so far. This is just a rough first pass based on the pictures. I'll need to tweak the sizes of things a bit.

[Coley]

Originally Posted by davepl

I made an Arrow in blender and that took me half a day :-)

What?...lol.
what is an Arrow in Blender?

Coley

['70_402]

There's a lot of cool stuff for free on Thingiverse and grabcad.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Burbor

davepl, you are correct! Its the getting the CAD model that is the tough part.
Here's a picture of the SolidWorks model so far. This is just a rough first pass based on the pictures. I'll need to tweak the sizes of things a bit.

Looks good. PM sent.

LockDoc

[In The Ten Ring]

Could someone print out a 1972 inner grill?

[Burbor]

Another CAD data file website is: www.3dcontentcentral.com, and there is probably a bunch more.
The thing that I find is, there are plenty of models of cup holders, and trinkets, and other such stuff, which is great and sometimes very helpful if you're looking for something generic. However, if you're looking for a very specific part, that fits exactly into what you're working on, the chances of finding that are much more slim. This is where you need to make your own CAD model. The steering column bearing cage is a good example of the latter.

3D printing an inner grill is probably not worth it, unless you wanted something custom. 3D printing is not really cheaper or easier than buying something off the shelf, at least not yet.

Blender is a modeling software: www.blender.org

Another recent CAD software (that looks promising) is called ONSHAPE. https://www.onshape.com/cad-pricing
They offer a free version, which has good functionality much like SolidWorks. Good tutorials for those that might want to learn.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by Coley

What?...lol.
what is an Arrow in Blender?

Coley

You're overthinking it... it's literally an arrow that I made in Blender :-) Then I exported it to STL and printed it. But it's actually a model for in-game use (zArrows on the App Store).

[alexis12]

Its super cool for to have the ability to 3d print parts. Do you guys think i can print some good parts with one of this 3d printers on a lower budget?

Or would i need something more serious like this industrial 3d printer?

thanks!

[davepl]

I have this guy. Works great for PLA so far, I haven't had as much like with ABS. It does not have a heated bed. But it's also a 3-axis CNC mill and laser engraver, which is nice. Pricey at over $2500 I think (I bought mine used):

https://boxzy.com/