Improvements I've made in the last year

[goopyplastic]

I guess my concern with the shapeways nylon is the msds melting temp of >80c / 176f ... however they list the decomposition at 300c and ignition at 380c so it's not going to burst into flames at least. Guess I can test some pieces in an oven and see what happens.

For the stainless since it goes through a green state I am pretty sure the part as drew has it would snap in half at the filament guide channel being only 1.1mm thick before they could fire it solid, and as mentioned before I think the holes won't size properly.

So this is what I am thinking of trying to have them print:



The holes are sized to 2mm, then will be drilled out to 3mm for a good fit with the pins (pin is 2mm in the picture just to test assembly)
I also filled the filament channel so it is close to 3mm part thickness but left some indents as a guide when filing / milling out the channel to the correct size.

Another thing I am looking at is having a print done in ultra detail then trying some lost wax casting etc..

[chrisx86]

hi drew,

great improvements! I am about to get one up! and I would really like to print PLA. (Mostly because of the fumes)
is there a possiblity to still get these custom parts from you?

thanks a lot,
chris

[DrewPetitclerc]

Hi Chris

Yes you can purchase a set, send me a personal message through this site with your email address and I will put you in touch with the maker.

Regards
Drew

[Wolfy]

Very interesting reading - thanks for sharing. The extruder mount is particularly intriguing although I think the quoted price for it is laughable. Is this really what companies pay eachother for little mass-produced bits of metal? You'd be better off printing the part and casting it. Its clear how a thin strip of metal folded at a right angle would be very prone to bouncing (just like a diving board) and that a rigid design is needed. No way I'd pay what these companies are quoting though - I'd rather make my own.

[Billzilla]

Very interesting reading - thanks for sharing. The extruder mount is particularly intriguing although I think the quoted price for it is laughable. Is this really what companies pay eachother for little mass-produced bits of metal? You'd be better off printing the part and casting it. Its clear how a thin strip of metal folded at a right angle would be very prone to bouncing (just like a diving board) and that a rigid design is needed. No way I'd pay what these companies are quoting though - I'd rather make my own.

Same here.
I'd like one as well but the cost for such a small part makes it out of the question.

[DrewPetitclerc]

Is this really what companies pay eachother for little mass-produced bits of metal?

No, this is half of what it cost to have a single part made by any well run machine shop, go ahead and ask one for a quote for one set.
If a shop began to "MASS" produce them then the cost can come down but that is not what is going on here.
But good luck with producing your own, some have been marginally successful and I hope you will be too.

[Wolfy]

No, this is half of what it cost to have a single part made by any well run machine shop, go ahead and ask one for a quote for one set.

Dam! Thats even worse!

If a shop began to "MASS" produce them then the cost can come down but that is not what is going on here.

A design once established and replicable by versatile / non-specialised tools is still technically mass production.

But good luck with producing your own, some have been marginally successful and I hope you will be too.

Thanks - I'll let you know
Out of interest, who has been marginally successful and how do their results differ from yours?

[DrewPetitclerc]

No, this is half of what it cost to have a single part made by any well run machine shop, go ahead and ask one for a quote for one set.

Dam! Thats even worse!

If a shop began to "MASS" produce them then the cost can come down but that is not what is going on here.

A design once established and replicable by versatile / non-specialised tools is still technically mass production.

But good luck with producing your own, some have been marginally successful and I hope you will be too.

Thanks - I'll let you know
Out of interest, who has been marginally successful and how do their results differ from yours?

Go ahead and ask a machine shop to make one (1) for you and then come back in a couple of months and ask for one (1) again, the price is not going to change significantly even though they may still have the code to CNC one, but ask them to make several thousand in one order and the price can get real cheap, you can go ahead and invest in that business.

As to who has been making their own, try reading the forum a bit and I'm sure you will see, too many people don't read the posts and try to find help for themselves.
So many want answers to their questions but instead of taking the time to do some research like I did they start a new post and then say "I'm sure this has been asked before".

[doraemon]

The extruder mount is particularly intriguing although I think the quoted price for it is laughable. Is this really what companies pay eachother for little mass-produced bits of metal?

Pretty much. I think the current going rate for CNC time in the US is anywhere from $120 to $150/hr. Once the program is written, then the cost of making the part comes down to machine time. But the cost of the time to write the program (and make any custom fixtures or setups) has to be amortized across however many parts you make. In looking at these relatively small parts, which are cut using small diameter cutters that you can't feed too quickly lest they snap, you need several setups to machine all the portions of the part. That all adds up to shop time.

I've actually made a couple sets of these parts as part of a project to learn how to write G-code. IIRC, the mount needed to be setup 5 different times in the mill to cut the various features, not counting tool changes.

Now as for making these parts cheaply, I'd say something die-cast or maybe even forged would work. For that, you better be looking at several thousand parts to make it cost-effective, though.

[Wolfy]

Go ahead and ask a machine shop to make one (1) for you and then come back in a couple of months and ask for one (1) again, the price is not going to change significantly even though they may still have the code to CNC one, but ask them to make several thousand in one order and the price can get real cheap, you can go ahead and invest in that business.

As to who has been making their own, try reading the forum a bit and I'm sure you will see, too many people don't read the posts and try to find help for themselves.
So many want answers to their questions but instead of taking the time to do some research like I did they start a new post and then say "I'm sure this has been asked before".

I have no intention of asking any 3rd party to make anything. I take my own approaches to problems, and I read and evaluate things and speak my mind as I see them. Incidentally I havent thanked you for drawing my attention to this particular issue so thankyou, but dont take things personally when I happen to disagree with a certain way of doing things, whether its standard practice or not (especially if its standard practice)

[JuliaDee]

Somewhere on this forum (not sure if it's in this thread or another) there are reports of people having had Drew's parts made by Shapeways in stainless and/or alumide. My instinct tells me that the extruder bracket is probably fine done this way and IIRC the Shapeways cost was US$35. One user also states that he's made the feed mechanism this way with success but of course it won't be a complete kit like Drew's - you'll have to make your own dowel pins, find your own spring plunger, etc. $250 is a bit tough to part with initially but I don't regret for a moment having spent it for the feed mechanism - I simply don't have to worry about feed slippage with any filament of any material from any supplier anymore.

julia

[Wolfy]

Just to highlight what a crazy bastard I am, my current projects include building a Z80-based computer from scratch (I have no interest in common microcontrollers or any of that arduino crap), which I will use to build a CNC machine among other things, eventually reaching the point where I design and build my own 3D printer

[eyUP]

building a Z80-based computer from scratch

Ahh..that brings back memories My Dad and I building a Nascom 1 from a bag of bits then typing machine code for hours in order to play Space Invaders on a B&W TV
However, I've got to say that if I were you, I'd much rather buy an Arduino, upload some reprap firmware and concentrate on writing a cool host for slicing and printing

[woofy]

building a Z80-based computer from scratch

Ahh..that brings back memories My Dad and I building a Nascom 1 from a bag of bits then typing machine code for hours in order to play Space Invaders on a B&W TV
However, I've got to say that if I were you, I'd much rather buy an Arduino, upload some reprap firmware and concentrate on writing a cool host for slicing and printing

Wow! Nascom 1, that's a blast from the past. I had one of the 1st of them, modified an old tv to use as a monitor so I didn't have to use that awfull UHF modulator (My day job at the time was repairing tv sets). Even wrote a driver to use a Creed 7B as a printer.

I wouldn't use a Z80 these days though, I'd be looking for a much better processor that had pretty much everything built in. I'm a PIC guy currently but do keep looking over the fence at ARM's and AVR's.
Technobabble mode off - back to printing.

[wilsonj]

Just a tip.

I replaced the extruder bracket with a piece of 3mm angled aluminium. Just cut to size and drill. It doesn't have the third mounting tab, but that doesn't seem to be needed. Cost about $5, and probably 90% as good.

[Wolfy]

While we're on the subject, another obvious improvement thats needed there is an extra hole (which would also require modification to the extruder head). The weight of that part being shifted from side to side translates into torque at the single screw where its fastened - as I found with my very first print because I hadnt tightened it enough. Although it doesnt seem to give many problems once secured it is still a really glaring design flaw.

[eyUP]

another obvious improvement thats needed there is an extra hole

Agreed...or a recess/shoulder just to stop it turning

[DrewPetitclerc]

Look at my design for the mount, you will see I addressed that issue with the limited design I had to work with (single M4 screw).

[Wolfy]

I came across a site that might be of interest: 3D printing of metal designs for less than it would cost for a machined version. I've made a new topic for it.

[forbinone]

Has anyone tried the Gekko printer table on EBAY it is supposed to guarantee no curled prints. ????