1 Topic by Ro@drunner

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Topic: Next steps in 3d printing???

So I have finally got my printer working and am slowly ironing out many of its shortcomings. Now I'm getting to the point I want to print parts of my own design. I've been printing in ABS and am fairly pleased with the results, but ultimately is not ideal for what I have envisioned.

Now I need to get a 3d design program up and  going but it looks like I'm going to need some new hardware first. I have been checking out the possibility of getting solid works and it seems doable at a glance under a student liscense. It looks like you can get one if you are an armed forces veteran of US or Canada as long as it's non Comercial use.

My last thought for the day is filament choices. ABS is less than ideal for my application. It's simply not strong enough. It would be okay for some pieces. I have seen nylon and nylon carbon filaments online and they look like my next approach. Is the strength of nylon printed parts going to be a drastic increase in  say flexibility and or layer adhesion. Is warping going to be even more of an issue?

2 Reply by heartless

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

nylon is definitely more flexible/resilient than ABS is.
Layer adhesion will be more dependent on printing temps.
Warping - eh - depends on the nylon blend. Some are more difficult than others.

You may want to take a look at Taulman's 910 Alloy - very strong, yet still relatively flexible/resilient (more so than ABS for the same part). It is also relatively easy to print with, or at least it was for me.

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3 Reply by Tin Falcon

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

As far as design software a solid works student or veterans licence is one viable option .
another option is find a copy of 123d Design. I has been orphaned by auto desk but IMHO it had some life and usefulness for this hobby fairly powerful and easy to use.
a third option is Fusion 360 from auto desk, simply download the free trial then register as an enthusiast.

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4 Reply by Ro@drunner

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

Thanks for the tips guys!

I was checking out taulman's line of filaments and was looking at the nylon offerings they have. I'm thinking I will like results if it's just a bit stronger than the ABS is.

As to the design software I sill have a bit of time left before I can really make any assessments as my old laptop doesn't seem to like anything I have installed yet. I have tried tinker cad and was less than impressed. Free cad was a bit better but still didn't do it for me either.

In the mean time I still have a bunch of work to do getting my solidoodle 2 modded out and working sweet, but it's working good now and gets better with each print I do. I'm also going to order up some PLA and more ABS to play around with.

I'm really enjoying 3d printing at the moment and am hopeful that I can get design software that I can manage my way through. In the future I would like to expand into a CNC router as well at some point.

5 Reply by heartless

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

CAD programs, in general, are resource hogs, so you will want to take that into consideration.
Solidworks especially is very demanding on processor, memory and Graphics card...
I run a dual core processor, 12 gig of RAM, and a decent HD graphics card on a Win7 64 bit system, and even that can sometimes a lag a bit, depending on the complexity of the part(s) I am working on.

If you are seriously thinking about Solidworks (definitely a powerful and useful program) you may want to take a look at the minimum system requirements needed to run it : http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/Sy … ments.html

honestly, it is a good idea to look at minimum system requirements for any program before you try to install it.

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
Printit Industries Beta Tester - Horizon H1

6 Reply by Tin Falcon

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

I can really make any assessments as my old laptop doesn't seem to like anything I have installed yet.

I know what you mean . I have an old hand me down that i tried 123d  it would not even load. 
Even this laptop is a little  particular If i am trying to run fusion 360 i pretty much need to close all other programs. I just picked up a low end gaming laptop that should work much better.

Soliddoodle 4 stock w glass bed------Folger Tech Prusa 2020 upgraded to and titan /aero extruder mirror bed
FT5 with titan/ E3D Aero------MP mini select w glass bed
MP Utimate maker pro-W bondtech extruder
Marlin/Repetier Host/ Slic3r and Cura

7 Reply by justsomeguy

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

If you're any good at coding check out openSCAD. I have a background in programming so it's a good fit for me. It runs decently on older hardware. It has a less intensive rendering engine for previewing your changes so you only have to use the more computationally expensive rendering engine when you want to actually export your final stl.  It's free and open source and makes nice solid models for 3d printing. It's amazingly easy to bang up a simple part quickly with this tool but as part complexity rises i would start looking at something GUI based instead. I have yet to need such a complex part but the day is coming.

8 Reply by Ro@drunner

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

I had a bit of time today to play with my printer and print out a couple of pieces. However most of my day was consumed with getting sketchup working on my laptop. By the end of the day I managed to print out a part of my own design.

I started out trying to download a copy of sketch up make. Needless to say it would not install on my computer. Then I had the idea to check and see if I could get away with an older version and have any success. Sketchup 2015 downloaded and installed with no issues.

Most of the excitement for today was spent trying to draw up a spool bushing. After a few YouTube videos I was on my way to getting something made except it took a good deal of time and experimenting to get to a result.

I finally had a 3d model ready to print or so I thought. I ended up making the model in inches and my slicer is setup metric. So I quickly switched sketch up to metric units and began to make the part again. This time for the life of me I could not arrive at a solid part.

Finally after a dozen different tries with slight variations of the way I was drawing it success. I ended up with a pair of spool bushings for my printer.

When I was printing I figured out that I have an issue with my Y driver. For the time being I have to position the fan from my power supply under my board to keep the Y cool or I start missing steps. I'm hoping all I have to do is make and adjustment to the driver but need to do some more research first. Worst case I will make a fan mount for the board and drop a fan on it.

9 Reply by Grendel

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

when I design I just use a good old CAD program, either Bentley Microstation (my preferred option as that's what i learned CAD on) or autoCAD.
Full AutoCAD can be got on a student licence for free.
AutoCAD comes with everything set up for inches, and can be converted to metric, the only thing is it actually measures in working units, so if you change the working units the size changes, Microstation on the other hand, measures in set units, if you change the working units, the part stays the same and the dimensions just transfer between metric and imperial, I use this when wanting to input imperial dimensioned parts, or mix metric / imperial in one part.

10 Reply by Tin Falcon

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

Will auto CAD produce stl files???

Soliddoodle 4 stock w glass bed------Folger Tech Prusa 2020 upgraded to and titan /aero extruder mirror bed
FT5 with titan/ E3D Aero------MP mini select w glass bed
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11 Reply by Grendel

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

yes:-
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/ … B-htm.html

12 Reply by Tin Falcon

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

I finally had a 3d model ready to print or so I thought. I ended up making the model in inches and my slicer is setup metric. So I quickly switched sketch up to metric units and began to make the part again

You do realize you could have just changed the parameter in rh and imported in inches  ???

Soliddoodle 4 stock w glass bed------Folger Tech Prusa 2020 upgraded to and titan /aero extruder mirror bed
FT5 with titan/ E3D Aero------MP mini select w glass bed
MP Utimate maker pro-W bondtech extruder
Marlin/Repetier Host/ Slic3r and Cura

13 Reply by Ro@drunner

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

Lol, yeah I figured I could switch it up but decided I needed to just go metric. It's time for me to learn to move on the rest of the world already has. Plus all the things I will be making are metric so it's just a matter of getting it all on the same page.

After having used sketch up for a week I'm not really warming up to it yet. It's looking like a short term solution for me at this time.

14 Reply by pap4tinker

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

I think sketchup exports as OBJ, not STL.

15 Reply by NoelB

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

Hi Roadrunner
Autodesk Fusion 360 is a fantastic program - and there is a FREE version if you are a hobbyist. Absolutely everything you will need for 3d or cnc - and EASY to use.
Cheers

16 Reply by Tin Falcon

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

And f you wan to get into organic shapes there is scuptris.

Soliddoodle 4 stock w glass bed------Folger Tech Prusa 2020 upgraded to and titan /aero extruder mirror bed
FT5 with titan/ E3D Aero------MP mini select w glass bed
MP Utimate maker pro-W bondtech extruder
Marlin/Repetier Host/ Slic3r and Cura

17 Reply by william.fecke

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Re: Next steps in 3d printing???

I float between a couple different CAD programs -- usually driven by what I am doing.

OpenSCAD -- if I need to work with primitive shapes and precise positioning
FUSION 360 -- For quick throw together mockups
SolidWorks -- for complicated mockups
3D Builder on Win10 -- If I have to anything at my buddies house.

It boils down to what are you comfortable with and what are you trying to do.

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