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Ask Slashdot: For What Are You Using 3-D Printing?
An anonymous reader writes: I've been thinking about getting a 3-D printer for a while: the quality is rising, the software is better, STL files really do seem a sufficiently good standard ("sufficiently standard," that is — I'm not worried that printers are going to stop supporting it anytime soon), and prices have dropped quite a bit. Importantly to me, it also seems like less of a jumping-off-a-cliff decision, since I can get a completely assembled one from places as wild and crazy as ... the Home Depot (not that I plan to). However, even the stretchiest practical things I can think of to print can't truly actually justify the price, and that's OK — I hope not to require enough replacement knobs and chess pieces to necessarily *need* one, and playing around with it is the main likely upshot, which I'm OK with. But still, I'd like to hear what uses you have been putting your 3-D printer to, including printers that aren't yours but belong to a hackerspace, public library, eccentric neighbor, etc. What actually practical / useful tasks have you been using 3-D printing for, and with what printer technology? What playful purposes? It's OK if you just keep printing out those chess pieces and teapots, but I'm curious about less obvious reasons to have one around. (And I might just use the local Tech Shop's anyhow, but the question still applies.) If you've purchased a 3D printer, are you happy with the experience? If so, or if not, what kind did you get?
It's nice to quickly be able do design and print replacements for stuff I happen to break without having to visit a store and adhere to opening hours. A selection of stuff I've printed that have actually been useful: Oscilloscope foot, fire alarm ceiling mount, a new and better 3d printer + a bunch of improvements to it, spacer for the kitchen sink, sprint sled, microphone mounts, electronics boxes, speaker stands, a block to keep the kitchen drain pipe at a good angle and parts for an old and broken curtain system that are no longer manifactured or available anywhere.
My 2 main projects I was planning to do with my 3d printer was make my own variant of the inMoov robotics project and also using PLA prints as a "lost wax" mold in aluminium casting (they would eventually fold into the one project after initial prototyping). However, I have an Ultimaker 1 and it is very unreliable so I haven't got very far. I am thinking about ditching it for a Flashforge Creator Pro but I'm waiting for the USD/AUD exchange rate to be more favourable to me.
I call it 'dollar store value'; for something about the size of a VHS tape, chess piece (Dalek pieces!) or smaller (er, like 6" square sort of thing) its about break even or cheaper to print it out; if its at all large, its cheaper to just buy it at the dollar store or whatever. You want to make a little box to hold screws? Buy it at the dollar store. You want to make a custom designed thing for your pegboard, or a case for a model car, or whatever.. well, perfect. Of course, if its a self designed thing, the printer is invaluable; you can design somethign, print it out, refine it, print it again. Its amazing. --> I've made a tricopter (liek a quadcopter, but no extra rubbish motors :)
So if you are a creative type, who doesn't mind learning to CAD (open source stuff), its fantastic. If you don't have time to CAD, you're relying on existing models to print.. check out sitrs like Thingiverse to see whats out there.
If you want to mass produce stuff cheap, its currently the wrong game.
Good for makers, not so good for consumers.
Well, the things that I tend to do most often is make my own tools for fairly specific tasks. One of my greatest eureka moments was when I realised that I can 3D print my own tool to open a watch case. It took a few iterations (plastic after all is weak), but I finally hit on something that's reliable enough, and it won't scratch the watch case. This was all because I took it in some years ago for a battery change, and the person kind of made a mess of trying to open it, they bent a strap pin, put tears in the leather strap, and scratched the case back. Fortunately it was my cheap daily watch, but still, I got paranoid after that, and had no intention of going to that person again. Now, I save a few dollars by buying my own batteries, and they're good brand ones too, and use a plastic tool to open the watch. No chance of marking it.
The point isn't so much that 3D printing is awesome, but it's really great when you realise that with this tool (3D printer that is) I can do things which I previously would never do. I'd never consider making a tool before unless it could be made with sheet metal and a hammer and file, and in some ways, the tool I made is better than one I could buy.
I use mine for all sorts of things. Missing battery covers, custom enclosures (Working on making a custom instrument panel for my project car powered by some 328p's), missing knobs and dials.
I regularly make things for my dad's bosses (Yacht charter company. Lost knob or plastic doohicky and want to buy a replacement? Fuck you, give us $300 because BOATS!). Lots of lost/broken/etc. plastic bits that cost lots of money to replace, I make the parts they want for 25 to 50 percent of the cost to replace them with OEM parts.
Right now I'm printing out a display model of a mechanical torson limited slip differential. Why? Because LSDs are pretty neat.
I'm using a makerfarm I3v 8" model. Comes in a kit, frame is made of laser cut wood. Best customer support I've ever experienced, no problems with the printer that have not been user error. I just got auto bed leveling set up and it's extremely reliable.
I carry around a pipe caliper that I designed and 3D printed. A scissor-looking device that tells you the size of a pipe (up to 4") based on outside diameter. Useful on the job.
I designed and printed a custom flashlight holder for those cheap LED flashlights.
Custom replacement handle for a triangular file
Set of custom drawer knobs.
Custom hard drive mounting bracket.
Custom battery holder.
Custom shelf bracket.
~Three dozen clothespins.
3-axis tilt camera stand that mounts on top of a tripod. (replaces one that broke).
Custom 80:1 worm gear reduction for a machine I was working on, as well as a few spur gears and light-duty V-belt pulleys for same machine. Custom thrust bearing and ball bearing holders.
A full set of Meta-Chess pieces.
A custom tool for aligning V-belt pulleys using a 3V line laser module and magnetic base.
Currently in progress is a mostly 3D printed racing wheel controller for my PC, which uses the guts from a dual analog game controller. The controller is unusable because the silicone pads for the buttons cracked, but the electronics are still good and with 4x analog axes I can get steering and three pedals plus 16 digital buttons. My hangup is I can't get the "feel" of the buttons right...
If I ever get off my ass and finish building the electric furnace I've been working on, and manage to melt some aluminum with it, I fully intend to try lost-PLA casting some aluminum parts. That's be awesome...
=Smidge=
you're funny, with its 105 degree C transition temperature ABS can't even be safely used for a stove knob or a light fixture or under the hood of a car.
Makes great yoda heads though, or other toy models
I use shapeways stainless steel 3D printing to make parts for physics experiments. It's only useful when the parts are small and can have sloppy tolerances. But in these cases it saves a fortune. I recently had a dozen small parts made for $200 that would have cost $1000 made by conventional machining. You can make screw threads (1/4 - 20 and larger; 10-24 might work) by printing the thread and then chasing the printed thread with a die or tap before use.
I'm a musician. I'd love to test some designs for trombone mouthpieces on a 3D printer. Trombone mouthpieces have been round for a hundred years because that's easier to manufacture on a lathe. What if brass mouthpieces could be different shapes? oval, oblong, rounded triangle? A 3D printer would be great for that kind of experimentation. Likewise, I'm also interested in unusual capo and string mute designs for a guitar.
So, you see your truck as more of a "lifestyle" purchase than a utilitarian one? I'm genuinely curious, because I see a lot of people with big shiny pickups with cargo beds that have never been exposed to the elements, much less scratched by having something placed in them. Their towing hitches are perfectly chromed and have obviously never seen anything like a trailer.
I see some of them commuting into downtown Chicago for their jobs in the financial district and wonder what went into their decisions to purchase such vehicles.
You are welcome on my lawn.
where we get parts from engineers, so they cost something, most our parts (ymmv) are cnc out of acrylic with a Tomach machine
occaisionally it is cheaper to make things from the 3D printer
however, most of our parts require some smooth surfaces, and the CNC works better for us
Made brackets for the power-supply to my CNC mill so that it conveniently hangs off the side of the workbench but can be quickly removed for transport.
In same workshop, a cheap 8-port switch I bought for it turned out to not have wall-mount keystone holes. So made some clips which screw into the side of the bench and hook into the vent slots of the switch to brace it.
The most useful things for it tend to be the most pedestrian. Though my other use is for enclosures for custom electronics projects, which is also extremely useful.
Custom Model Rockets
Movie Props (Make your own light saber)
Prototypes
Inventions
Robot Parts (FIRST Robotics)
Phone Cases (with gears)
Thingiverse
Custom connectors for Legos
The biggest questions you have to answer are 1) what material do you want to use, and 2) what the max size of your part? Personally, I like ABS. It is flexible and more forgiving and assembles easily with acetone. My favorite lowend 3D printer is the Makerbot 2X, however you won't get an iron man costume out if it with the 6x9x12 build volume. However, with a few mods you can print, ABS, Ninjaflex, and even PLA.
The Ultimaker 2 is a great printer for PLA, nice resolution, however it uses 3mm filament which is not as common as at the 1.7mm that most of the other printers use.
My lease favorite low end 3D printer is the Makerbot Z18.
It's all good fun, go for it!
But 3D printers are more useful for making enclosures to said circuit boards, not for fabbing them.
The things that I print range pretty widely:
- 3D printed prosthetics for people. See http://www.enablingthefuture.o... . Yes, home printers can make prosthetics that hold up to real world use, and for a lot of people (particularly kids and uninsured) the difference between $50 and $5,000 is insurmountable. Of course you should work with a professional if you can, for obvious reasons, but they're getting into 3d printed prosthetics.
- Parts that you can't buy. For example, a clip in my dishwasher broke, and the manufacturer only wanted to sell the whole drawer assembly for $400. So I printed my own, which have lasted for years. (Nylon)
- And parts that you can buy, but it's more fun (or cheaper) to make your own. Like a replacement watch band for the Pebble.
- Scans. I have a portable scanner (structure.io) and I scan people at Maker Faires and F&SF Conventions. Fun to share and print.
- Art. I like designing things and printing them because they look cool. And there's tons of great art to download.
- Personalized/unique stuff. I've published tons of designs using Thingiverse Customizer, that let you personalize or randomly generate a unique pen, your wallet, minions, snowflakes, etc.
That being said, I don't think 3d printing is quite at the level to be ready for people with no technical or artistic interest, because there's little for those people to do with a 3d printer. They can download and print other people's designs, but I'd think they'd get bored of that after a while. Designing your own stuff is a lot more fun!
Enable 3D printed prosthetics!
It has a use for some small, niche scenarios, but it doesn't do anything for most of us here, and I really wish we would stop seeing stories on it every other week.
With a 3D printer you could run a ~19th century machine shop from your own home. You don't use the 3D printed model. You use it to check fit up and then to turn it into molds.
You can melt iron with used motor oil even charcoal. Sand casting is still used almost everywhere for cast iron.
Give me a 3D printer big enough and I'll build you a tractor. Engine and all.
And people don't explain what they want something to look like. They send a cad or other type of file that defines what they want, not some inaccurate poorly rendered result of a cad file.
Well, I've been working for YEARS in the merchandise/nick-nack/gift production industry and I know my competitors well, in fact...I got my job because everyone else does it the old fashioned way, and if there's something key accountants know...is the hardship of communicating their ideas to the production teams in e.g. China.
Cad files is what we have after visualizing a product anyway, but good luck sending that to the factory in China. Most often the factories and production facilities in China depend heavily old older software and huge machinery that can't even use our files. It's WAY better to send them a sample for them to copy, these people are EXPERTS at copying stuff.
Even little things like a logo on an USB stick, they will and can get wrong if they don't know exactly how it looks from all angles. You'd be amazed how often this happens.
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.