First up, do you live near a makerspace or fablab? Because there's a good chance it'll be more cost effective to join that than buy a 3d printer. Certainly you should go experiment with one in the...
First up, do you live near a makerspace or fablab? Because there's a good chance it'll be more cost effective to join that than buy a 3d printer. Certainly you should go experiment with one in the flesh first if you have this as an option.
3D printing covers a very wide range of technologies, from titanium laser sintering for F1 and Aerospace to low resolution plastic tat that'll de-laminate as soon as you look at it. In between there's higher quality plastic extrusion & UV resin based stuff (the resin is expensive).
Presumably you're looking at home 3D printers which will do ABS PLA and so on, the problem with these is making stuff which looks good is time consuming, making stuff which is mechanically functional (ie strong enough, hard wearing & sufficient resolution) is tricky & there are hard limits based on materials & printer resolution.
However do you have a moment to talk about makings lord and saviour laser cutters? Laser cutters compared with 3d printing are blazingly fast, you can machine stuff out of wood so a bit of sanding and varnish and it'll look great also everything gets made out of 2d panels so you don't need to be some kind of CAD wizard to make stuff. They're not cheap but again look into local maker spaces & see if you can get access.
Still to answer your question if you didn't watch the videos above: Super FANCY COSPLAYS
You're making a custom one off item that generally needs to be bespoke to the wearer.
You need it to look a very specific way and if necessary you can do sanding / painting to get the look you want.
You don't need it to be mechanically very strong.
I can't think of anything that's a better fit for the technology than prototyping. Disclosure: despite the similarity in user handle I am not the xRobots James.
I was thinking of things you could use it for and came up with a question or those who know more about it than me. I've got an appliance that uses these traingle screws and I'd like to take it...
I was thinking of things you could use it for and came up with a question or those who know more about it than me. I've got an appliance that uses these traingle screws and I'd like to take it apart. Would a 3D printed bit be strong enough to unscrew these?
Don't print, cast! There's an old 'lifehack' to get screws out that have unusual heads. Take a cheap plastic pen, remove the parts inside, and heat the barrel until it's malleable. You should be...
Don't print, cast!
There's an old 'lifehack' to get screws out that have unusual heads. Take a cheap plastic pen, remove the parts inside, and heat the barrel until it's malleable. You should be able to mash the material into the screw to get a cast that will, when hardened, allow you to open it.
Or just spend a few bucks at Harbor Freight and buy practically every security bit ever made.
This is genius and sound like a ton of fun. I'm probably going to do this today and will update how it goes! Update: Didn't go so well, but I blame that on my approach. The general idea definitely...
This is genius and sound like a ton of fun. I'm probably going to do this today and will update how it goes!
Update: Didn't go so well, but I blame that on my approach. The general idea definitely has some merit.
I know, but this is the 1st time I've run into these screws and there's only 3. If 3d printing a shitty bit would work It'd be much more convenient than buying something I might never use again.
I know, but this is the 1st time I've run into these screws and there's only 3. If 3d printing a shitty bit would work It'd be much more convenient than buying something I might never use again.
I never bought a 3D printer, but I use 3D printing at work all the time for plastic prototypes to allow us to play with the 3D parts prior to spending time and money on machined parts and some...
I never bought a 3D printer, but I use 3D printing at work all the time for plastic prototypes to allow us to play with the 3D parts prior to spending time and money on machined parts and some parts that are too complex for standard CNC capabilities. In that case, we use selective laser melting.
For me it ... it was not just about things that I could build, but also about having a hobby besides programming like I do on the job already ... I bought my first 3d printer just because of that,...
For me it ... it was not just about things that I could build, but also about having a hobby besides programming like I do on the job already ... I bought my first 3d printer just because of that, not having any special idea on what to print, this was just my shiny new toy. After a while of using it - printing stuff from thingiverse mostly - I expanded my hobby to design stuff in FreeCAD. Later I found out (again) the social aspect of creativity, people just like to find it in others specially if they can relate it to you, many do find a way. Also, its a good conversation topic (not just on the internet).
But back on the topic, look more objectively, what can you gain and what can you loose. If you have time for potentially time consuming hobby and you are or wish to be more technical person and have money to spend on a 3d printer, and then later on.. for material .... I suggest, go for it. But you have to take in consideration that this is hobby area, you will just not get a successful result every time, you will need to be patient and willing to tinker with slicing software and 3d printer itself.
This pretty much describes my approach to it, as well. I'm very interested in its uses as an actual tool, but the truth is most of what I use it for is just to tinker with as a hobby unto itself....
This pretty much describes my approach to it, as well. I'm very interested in its uses as an actual tool, but the truth is most of what I use it for is just to tinker with as a hobby unto itself. I've probably printed more test objects than I have anything for a real purpose at this point (a few months shy of a year in).
My original intention was as a supplement to my electronics hobby, to build fun and unique enclosures, maybe dabble in some light robotics kind of stuff. I had also considered expanding towards some model making and miniatures painting with it.
But I have since realized that partially, I don't have as much time for hobbies as I envision myself to have when embarking on these things, and partially that the setup, maintenance, tweaking, and modifications for the printer itself has become its own hobby. Which is not say that's a bad thing, I definitely get enjoyment out of that, and I've learned a bunch of stuff just from going through various mods, which gives a lot more understanding to the machine itself.
I want one for lego bricks. I want to take existing part models and make a few modifications for custom type stuff. Like alter certain window blocks. There are all kinds of random useful things...
I want one for lego bricks. I want to take existing part models and make a few modifications for custom type stuff. Like alter certain window blocks. There are all kinds of random useful things you can make. I just don't have the room, time, or money right now.
If I had one I'd offer printing services. Very selectively though. Like send me your model and specs and I print it for cost.
I seem to recall LEGO are machined to really crazy tolerances, I'd do some research to check whatever printer you're looking at will work for what you want to do.
I seem to recall LEGO are machined to really crazy tolerances, I'd do some research to check whatever printer you're looking at will work for what you want to do.
I bought a cheapo Chinese printer kit, because it gave me an opportunity to build something with my kid. That's one of our favorite activities to do together. When we first built it, we started...
I bought a cheapo Chinese printer kit, because it gave me an opportunity to build something with my kid. That's one of our favorite activities to do together.
When we first built it, we started printing improvements for the printer itself. I was obsessed with making this cheap little thing print well. Now that it's built, we use it to print replacement board game pieces, broken knobs...things like that.
Lately my kid has gotten into TinkerCAD, and they get a huge kick out of printing the thing they created. All in all, it's really just a fun hobby that lets us spend time together and doesn't involve staring at a screen.
First up, do you live near a makerspace or fablab? Because there's a good chance it'll be more cost effective to join that than buy a 3d printer. Certainly you should go experiment with one in the flesh first if you have this as an option.
3D printing covers a very wide range of technologies, from titanium laser sintering for F1 and Aerospace to low resolution plastic tat that'll de-laminate as soon as you look at it. In between there's higher quality plastic extrusion & UV resin based stuff (the resin is expensive).
Presumably you're looking at home 3D printers which will do ABS PLA and so on, the problem with these is making stuff which looks good is time consuming, making stuff which is mechanically functional (ie strong enough, hard wearing & sufficient resolution) is tricky & there are hard limits based on materials & printer resolution.
All that said people with the skills can do some awesome stuff.
However do you have a moment to talk about makings lord and saviour laser cutters? Laser cutters compared with 3d printing are blazingly fast, you can machine stuff out of wood so a bit of sanding and varnish and it'll look great also everything gets made out of 2d panels so you don't need to be some kind of CAD wizard to make stuff. They're not cheap but again look into local maker spaces & see if you can get access.
Still to answer your question if you didn't watch the videos above: Super FANCY COSPLAYS
You're making a custom one off item that generally needs to be bespoke to the wearer.
You need it to look a very specific way and if necessary you can do sanding / painting to get the look you want.
You don't need it to be mechanically very strong.
I can't think of anything that's a better fit for the technology than prototyping.
Disclosure: despite the similarity in user handle I am not the xRobots James.
I wish it was as easy to find free laser cut plans as it is for 3D files.
Oh man watching a laser cutter go to work on wood and plexiglass was awesome. Definitely a fantastic tool
I was thinking of things you could use it for and came up with a question or those who know more about it than me. I've got an appliance that uses these traingle screws and I'd like to take it apart. Would a 3D printed bit be strong enough to unscrew these?
Don't print, cast!
There's an old 'lifehack' to get screws out that have unusual heads. Take a cheap plastic pen, remove the parts inside, and heat the barrel until it's malleable. You should be able to mash the material into the screw to get a cast that will, when hardened, allow you to open it.
Or just spend a few bucks at Harbor Freight and buy practically every security bit ever made.
This is genius and sound like a ton of fun. I'm probably going to do this today and will update how it goes!
Update: Didn't go so well, but I blame that on my approach. The general idea definitely has some merit.
For like $5 you can get metal bits on Amazon that would last a lot longer than plastic bits.
I know, but this is the 1st time I've run into these screws and there's only 3. If 3d printing a shitty bit would work It'd be much more convenient than buying something I might never use again.
I guess so, but for me, my time it would take to design the part or look for a model would be worth more than the $5.
I never bought a 3D printer, but I use 3D printing at work all the time for plastic prototypes to allow us to play with the 3D parts prior to spending time and money on machined parts and some parts that are too complex for standard CNC capabilities. In that case, we use selective laser melting.
For me it ... it was not just about things that I could build, but also about having a hobby besides programming like I do on the job already ... I bought my first 3d printer just because of that, not having any special idea on what to print, this was just my shiny new toy. After a while of using it - printing stuff from thingiverse mostly - I expanded my hobby to design stuff in FreeCAD. Later I found out (again) the social aspect of creativity, people just like to find it in others specially if they can relate it to you, many do find a way. Also, its a good conversation topic (not just on the internet).
But back on the topic, look more objectively, what can you gain and what can you loose. If you have time for potentially time consuming hobby and you are or wish to be more technical person and have money to spend on a 3d printer, and then later on.. for material .... I suggest, go for it. But you have to take in consideration that this is hobby area, you will just not get a successful result every time, you will need to be patient and willing to tinker with slicing software and 3d printer itself.
This pretty much describes my approach to it, as well. I'm very interested in its uses as an actual tool, but the truth is most of what I use it for is just to tinker with as a hobby unto itself. I've probably printed more test objects than I have anything for a real purpose at this point (a few months shy of a year in).
My original intention was as a supplement to my electronics hobby, to build fun and unique enclosures, maybe dabble in some light robotics kind of stuff. I had also considered expanding towards some model making and miniatures painting with it.
But I have since realized that partially, I don't have as much time for hobbies as I envision myself to have when embarking on these things, and partially that the setup, maintenance, tweaking, and modifications for the printer itself has become its own hobby. Which is not say that's a bad thing, I definitely get enjoyment out of that, and I've learned a bunch of stuff just from going through various mods, which gives a lot more understanding to the machine itself.
I want one for lego bricks. I want to take existing part models and make a few modifications for custom type stuff. Like alter certain window blocks. There are all kinds of random useful things you can make. I just don't have the room, time, or money right now.
If I had one I'd offer printing services. Very selectively though. Like send me your model and specs and I print it for cost.
I seem to recall LEGO are machined to really crazy tolerances, I'd do some research to check whatever printer you're looking at will work for what you want to do.
I would just do very specific bricks. I order most my bricks. I'm not looking right now for a printer though.
makerbots are cheap. I've used them for lots of little rapid prototypes and random replacement pieces for odds and ends.
I bought a cheapo Chinese printer kit, because it gave me an opportunity to build something with my kid. That's one of our favorite activities to do together.
When we first built it, we started printing improvements for the printer itself. I was obsessed with making this cheap little thing print well. Now that it's built, we use it to print replacement board game pieces, broken knobs...things like that.
Lately my kid has gotten into TinkerCAD, and they get a huge kick out of printing the thing they created. All in all, it's really just a fun hobby that lets us spend time together and doesn't involve staring at a screen.