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Ok - not sure what category this should be under but here goes :

I've been looking around for a 3D Printer to do some modelling ( among other things ) & will post what's found here ....

First up I was looking @ this :





Rapid Bot 2.0

Nice, but @ around the $700 mark is a bit on the high side for me right now, so I'll keep looking ...

So has anybody actually used one, or can recommend an Aussie made one ?

Cheers, Bantum ...

Just looked at it again & a thought had crossed my mind : that you could build one from scratch with salvaged bits off an old printer, some plans ( yet to find any ) and a dose of inspiration. In theory it would only need the 'head' & control unit to make it work ? maybe ? dunno much about them, hence the query ...

PM Phinzinza - he's built his own one! Turns out way cheaper than buying one - but I think he's built his own coding/programming to run it all. He'll be able to tell you more

Cheers

Bennie

Isn't that what is called an oxy-moron, wanting cheaper & aussie made ??

Wasn't aware this technology was on the market, but I guess with some technology, once seen on telly, it'll be on the shelves soon after. All we need now is some metallised 'ink' or tougher fibrous plastic'ink' for making more robust items.
I am curious as to what people are achieving with these printers so far. Goes beyond downloading text, pics, music and video eh !?

Imagine being able to print up a coupla EA81S twin port heads , bare of course, and a cam to suit!

steptoe wrote:All we need now is some metallised 'ink' or tougher fibrous plastic'ink' for making more robust items.
Imagine being able to print up a coupla EA81S twin port heads , bare of course, and a cam to suit!

It'll come

Biggest limitation at the moment is the size of the machines - the biggest item you can print is about 120mm3 (from memeory - don't quote me).
But you can make things would be otherwise impossible.
I know the plastic is fairly expensive so its not particularly cheap and I am not sure about the strength or longevity of the plastic.
Remember these are designed for building prototype items - not full on production.
I know there is a guy in Perth on a rotary forum that bought one and was making parts like guage holders to fit around the steering column etc - they weren't cheap but they were accurate.

I have a reprap, same concept. They are pretty crude but for basic 3d printing it works. Im probably going to turn mine into a small router but . Seen one on the web a few weeks back, did laser cured resin type substance. much, much, much better, but at a price (around 3k from memory, very cheap for what it does though).

Think this was it,

http://theglobalplaybook.com/formlabs-f ... d-printer/

just check out the chess piece, with internal stairs!

Regards

Doug

we have a bits from bytes printer imported from the UK. cost us about 3k a few years ago but they have come down in price a lot since then. It is good for simple chunky parts but anything thin or with fine detail comes out pretty average.

make sure you look for something with a heated platform. That is the biggest weakness in our printer.

Thanks guys for the great tips there, some other observations that I've made:

• That the strength of frame & its smoothness of operation is critical for repeatability & tolerances ...
• Scalability - some printer frames are able to be made to a larger size up to 400l x 400w x 400h mm or more ...
• Filaments - vary and depending on type is a $ consumable item ...

I'm wondering what other types of filament are available ?

Ciao, Bantum ...

steptoe wrote: ... Isn't that what is called an oxy-moron, wanting cheaper & aussie made ?? ...

Yeah, I know ...

steptoe wrote: ... Imagine being able to print up a coupla EA81S twin port heads , bare of course, and a cam to suit ! ...

Yep that's what I'd imagine will happen eventually but until it does, you could be making plastic parts that need to be replaced, like door handle trims ...

Just had thought: What if you did a 3D print in some ceramic base material like clay, fired it in an oven & hey presto ! a mould for casting ... Now there's a idea ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

I'd love one too! But building one myself is so time consuming, buying one is so wallet consuming! Maybe oneday

As for specialized materials you need specialized printers to do this. Thanks to companies like Defence Distributed in the US (Specializing in open-source gun printing) there's a lot of carbon-based and other types of printable in development.

Exciting times for home manufacturing ahead.

Personally: I'm keen on a star-trek level replicator.

60766244 wrote: Personally: I'm keen on a star-trek level replicator.

Yeah that'll come one day
And probably sooner than we think......

The Yanks have made a plastic gun with a 3d printer

O_o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjpECO1zeEs


TOONGA

TOONGA wrote:The Yanks have made a plastic gun with a 3d printer

O_o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjpECO1zeEs


TOONGA

That's what I was talking about. Pretty cool imho. It's only a matter of time until polymers become stronger/better/more durable. Anyone can freely download the software and the files within minutes, all you need is plastic and a printer.

This tech makes politicians terrified.

I would love a StarTrek 'replicator' too !

But for now, here is another printer to consider :



Quantum ORD Bot

Might be worth a look to see if I can get bits for it ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

Just saw in the ABC news that CSIRO is now using a 3D laser printer to make components from titanium powder ! ...

Want one of those ... Titanium tech

Also there is a 3D Expo in Mackay - I can't make it though , Doh ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

There's 2 main types of 3D printer; the type that squirts out molten plastic from a nozzle, and one that uses thousands of layers of powder and a binder or laser to melt it together one layer at a time. The second one is much more versatile since you can get many kinds of plastic and some metals but these machines are far more complicated and expensive.
But the plastic nozzle type could still be useful for making patterns for casting, and if you're worried about surface finish or tolerances all you need to do is a bit of polishing after the print.

There's not really a limit to the size of printer you could make, if you can make a CNC controlled X-Y-Z table big enough you could print a whole car. When I looked into it the main issue with making your own is the stepper motors and their controllers. Printer parts are cheap but I think they lack the accuracy and torque you'd be after. Stepper motors can be had off ebay but the controllers are quite complex I think. I know a guy whose made his own CNC laser cutter which can also be converted to router/milling, table size about 400x600mm. He's currently working on a 1.4x1.4m version that he can convert to plasma cutting as well.

I didn't know Phizinza had made his own, definitely they guy to talk to on here for tips and tricks

60766244 wrote: Personally: I'm keen on a star-trek level replicator.

Even before 3D printers were invented I saw a future of a Star Trek like replicator, able to reproduce virtually anything. We will all have basic ones in our homes, much the same as we all have a microwave oven. They will even be similarly priced! For larger items, we will simply go to a community replicator. Large, complicated items will be made commercially

I've been searching online for a 3D printer & came accross a starer kit :



& is Aussie to boot !

Still need all the support hardware though ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

That's awesome ^ What's the cost?

And have you heard about the dude in NZ that's building his own Aston DB4 with a 3D printer?

One news article here. There are plenty of articles about it, just use the usual search engine and look for 3D printer DB4



He's also built a Ferrari 250 GT or something of the like...

Enjoy!

Bennie

We just built a small silicone dispenser to seal up one of our products,

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YTx5AAk5v9A

Around 100 bucks an axis. All up with PC and pumping out goop change from a grand not including labor. Utterly shits all over my reprap mendal 3D in pretty much every aspect.

Much cheaper to build one then to buy one .

Regards

Doug