<![CDATA[SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — making obsolete parts for machines]]> 2018-02-10T23:37:38Z PunBB https://www.soliforum.com/topic/17094/making-obsolete-parts-for-machines/ <![CDATA[Re: making obsolete parts for machines]]> sdtag wrote:

my parts aren't really obsolete but I make some hard to find replacement parts for some specific machines

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2788638
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1754897
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2044611

...since this is the print showoff thread

Those are pretty good!  I like seeing practical uses for 3D printers.  The world has enough fidget spinners.

-Kevin

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/4251/ 2018-02-10T23:37:38Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/142366/#p142366 <![CDATA[Re: making obsolete parts for machines]]> My first print project was a handle for a space saver Microwave. I had my Solidoodle 2 about 2 weeks it was only a few days before Christmas when My wife came to me and said we had to get a new microwave because the handle broke. I pulled the handle off and glued it together I heard  her say you are not putting that back on their. I told her I would print one. So i drew it up printed it and we are still using the microwave 4 years later.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/187/ 2018-02-10T20:24:06Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/142354/#p142354 <![CDATA[Re: making obsolete parts for machines]]> my parts aren't really obsolete but I make some hard to find replacement parts for some specific machines

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2788638
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1754897
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2044611

...since this is the print showoff thread

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/18370/ 2018-02-10T14:43:58Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/142339/#p142339 <![CDATA[Re: making obsolete parts for machines]]> I have printed spacers we use for when we can't find a fan with exact same dimensions at my job. I have printed dust cover caps for RF connectors at my job. Part holders and so on. Printed a piece to fix my kitchen drawer as well. I am also printing parts for projects that I could never buy anywhere.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/7731/ 2018-02-02T17:18:09Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/142139/#p142139 <![CDATA[Re: making obsolete parts for machines]]> so many of my projects are to repair things, new feet for stools, a dashboard holder for my sat nav, new change wheels for my lathe to give me different thread pitches., a box to hold the speed controller on the lathe, any number of things, as well as 1/12 scale fittings for a model boat.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/16373/ 2018-02-02T13:40:46Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/142134/#p142134 <![CDATA[Re: making obsolete parts for machines]]> knowack wrote:

Good job! 

Your modeling job looks quite accurate to the original, and your print quality is very good.  I like it when people find practical uses for 3D printing. 

What printer did you use?

I've had good luck with NinjaFlex TPU as well.  TPU is chemical and petroleum resistant, and has held up well for me in automotive applications.

-Kevin

Thank you. smile

The printer used was my favorite - the first SD4 we got years ago, at a 0.2963 layer height (which I use for almost everything, lol)

I bought the Sainsmart because a customer wanted certain parts in a grey TPU and it was the only grey I found readily available at a relatively decent price - it was just pure luck that it is holding up very well in this application.

Getting accurate measurements of the old part was the hardest part of the whole exercise... had to be very careful not to squish it at all. The rubber had deteriorated so much that it was basically mush.

As for "practical" uses of 3d printing - I have done several things that are very practical... repaired an articulating lamp, made a new mount for our hand-held shower head, and a few other odds & ends.

Also made a new hand roller for at work... we use it for creasing and making sure the edges are mashed down really well when doing banner hems.. made that well over a year ago and it is still in regular use now.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/10399/ 2018-02-02T13:16:27Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/142133/#p142133 <![CDATA[Re: making obsolete parts for machines]]> If heat resistance is an issue, or TPU is not soft enough, you can 3d print a mold and generate the part with silicon gel. You can find silicon gel resistant to extreme hot or extreme cold temperature, and different strength or softness or flexibility. But I don't think it is necessary in this case, the TPU seems to be good enough.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/17164/ 2018-02-01T15:29:22Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/142091/#p142091 <![CDATA[Re: making obsolete parts for machines]]> Good job! 

Your modeling job looks quite accurate to the original, and your print quality is very good.  I like it when people find practical uses for 3D printing. 

What printer did you use?

I've had good luck with NinjaFlex TPU as well.  TPU is chemical and petroleum resistant, and has held up well for me in automotive applications.

-Kevin

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/4251/ 2018-02-01T14:34:24Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/142088/#p142088 <![CDATA[making obsolete parts for machines]]> My day job is working for a small print shop (the 2d kind). We print business cards, invoice books, flyers, banners, postcards, and a variety of other things...

We recently had an order for some "record books" for farmers to track livestock, machinery and other items related to running a farm. These books were to be bound with the "cloth" spines - basically a strip of cloth impregnated with glue that holds the book together.

We have a special, small machine for doing these - old, but still very functional - for the most part. The book is placed in a slot at the top of the machine, a binding strip is fed in from the side, it is then heated and pressed around the spine of the book.

As it turns out, the rubber wheel that pulls the binding strip in had deteriorated to the point that it was not pulling the strips in straight anymore, and causing more problems than actually finishing books.

Boss ordered what he thought was a replacement wheel for it... what arrived was not the same, and after a phone conversation, it was determined that we would have to spend several hundred dollars to "upgrade" other parts to make the new wheel work in this machine. Not really a justifiable expense for the infrequency of use - not to mention that we needed to get these books finished and out the door in a matter of a couple of days.

After looking at it carefully, I suggested that I could 3d print a piece in TPU to replace the rotten rubber of the old wheel... I was taken up on the offer. Boss figured we had nothing to lose in trying.

So I brought the old part home that night, made some careful measurements, modeled the part, and printed it out. Took the printed piece and the original part back to work the next morning and handed to the boss. After looking it over, he made the call of cutting the old rubber part off, pressing the new TPU part on, and putting it back in the machine.

We honestly had no idea if the TPU was going to hold up in use - it does get pretty hot inside that machine and apparently some TPU has very low temp thresh holds (this from a materials friend of mine) - but after getting it installed, a few "test" books were run and it appeared it was going to work. A few minor adjustments to get the binder strip to align correctly on the book, and we were off and running.

750 books later, I am pleased to say the TPU part is holding up very nicely. the picture of it in the machine was after finishing the books - it looks just as good after as it did before.

The specific brand of TPU I used is Sainsmart, in grey.

Boss was so pleased, he ordered 2 more to have on hand, LOL (and yes, I was paid for this)

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/10399/ 2018-02-01T13:54:05Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/142087/#p142087