Which 3D printer

[Woz]

low range 2.2rpm that's a bit of torque!

Our WB's at work cut less than true, reckon 30 years of cutting 60 rockwell C chrome iron has got to them a bit (plus whatever they did for the previous 30 I guess)

30 years of machining ni-hard and ours is still cutting perfectly...

[jamesp]

I threw away a Kearns no 2 you could have had for nowt...

Doubt I could have got it in.

Cleared out an Interact, colchester master, Jakobson surface grinder and a spare barfeed since begining of December.
There is an old Citizen L20 heading the same way when I can be bothered wasting the time on it.
Also ditched three customers who were no longer worth the effort of even trying to justify dealing with; all connected to automotive and took three months + to pay coincidently.
If they were regular every month, you can put up with it. Flash in the pan "we need it last week, for nothing, we will pay when we feel like it". Do one.

[Woz]

I know someone who is looking for an old CNC if you're getting rid...

[jamesp]

I know someone who is looking for an old CNC if you're getting rid...

probably the same guy I was talking to a couple of weeks back.

[WFO]

I know someone who is looking for an old CNC if you're getting rid...

probably the same guy I was talking to a couple of weeks back.

yup...

[Jay_Benson]

Time for an update.

I have downloaded and printed the bits required to convert the Creality Ender 3 printer to one with virtually a direct drive to the extruded head - previously the plastic filament went through 300mm PTFE pipe that went through about a 90 twist - for softer and more resilient plastics such as TPU the original drive position would have caused the filament to snag stopping the printing process. All has one well with a new section being soldered into the wiring loom and the drive unit has been repositioned right above the extruder unit.

I have printed off the first component and was expecting it to be a little sifter the the original PLA plastic. It isn’t. It is heaps softer and it is really too soft for my purpose when I have the cavities just 20% filled. So now it is printing a couple more overnight with a 100% fill ratio - hopefully this will stiffen it up significantly. If not, then I will have to explore getting something in between the two plastics. Fortunately, the plastic filament is not too expensive. On the plus side, I have no concerns about a slightly stiffer plastic snagging between he drive and extruder units.

[jamesp]

Time for an update.

I have downloaded and printed the bits required to convert the Creality Ender 3 printer to one with virtually a direct drive to the extruded head - previously the plastic filament went through 300mm PTFE pipe that went through about a 90 twist - for softer and more resilient plastics such as TPU the original drive position would have caused the filament to snag stopping the printing process. All has one well with a new section being soldered into the wiring loom and the drive unit has been repositioned right above the extruder unit.

I have printed off the first component and was expecting it to be a little sifter the the original PLA plastic. It isn’t. It is heaps softer and it is really too soft for my purpose when I have the cavities just 20% filled. So now it is printing a couple more overnight with a 100% fill ratio - hopefully this will stiffen it up significantly. If not, then I will have to explore getting something in between the two plastics. Fortunately, the plastic filament is not too expensive. On the plus side, I have no concerns about a slightly stiffer plastic snagging between he drive and extruder units.

Company I am making forming tools for, are 3d printing the top (punch) tools for bending 1.6mm stainless; they are using 99% fill, as it makes a huge difference on print time to going full 100% apparently.
Lump roughly 140 x 60 x 50 was taking about three days to print; think it was an ultimaker??

They were also printing the bottom tools, (basically an elongated "U" shape) to bend 1.6; fortunately it was not up to 2mm: so I`ve just had an order for 14 tools.

[Jay_Benson]

99% fill? Hmmm. I will give that a try.

When I have registered the final design I will put photos up of the different steps I have taken to get to the final design from the first wooden mock up through multiple clay models to the initial printed design done by the University of Birmingham - thanks for the suggestion Woz.

The PLA plastic version works well at 20% fill but it is very brittle and shatters too easily whereas the TPU plastic is far too flexible - it doesn’t shatter though. I have also ordered some PLA blended with PETG so it should be less brittle but not too flexible. All good fun playing around. The hardest thing with the printing was cutting the first wire when extending the harness - once I had done that I was committed but thankfully no issues.

[Wardy_uk]

Time for an update.

I have downloaded and printed the bits required to convert the Creality Ender 3 printer to one with virtually a direct drive to the extruded head - previously the plastic filament went through 300mm PTFE pipe that went through about a 90 twist - for softer and more resilient plastics such as TPU the original drive position would have caused the filament to snag stopping the printing process. All has one well with a new section being soldered into the wiring loom and the drive unit has been repositioned right above the extruder unit.

Do you have a link for this? I’m looking at doing something simolare but yet to find a decent solution

[Jay_Benson]

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3386628

I made 100% sure that the print table was entirely flat - I use the simple piece of paper at each corner between the table and the extruder and spin the wheel until the extruder grabs the paper a bit then go on to the next corner and do the same and then went round each corner so that it grabbed about he same amount at each corner without fiddling with the wheels. It is a pain but well worth it.

You need a couple of M3 x 20mm bolts to get it set up and a cable tie or two for the extended cable to the drive unit to be secured so it doesn’t snag - there is also a 3D file of a cable guide that is, IMHO, really quite amazing.