3d print 3D printing applications for astronomical use (DIY)

[Bamo]

Hello reader,

Appreciate your time to read that topic.

Have you ever tried 3D printing tech to create/design any of your astro components that may substitute expensive ones?. I'm curious to know your thoughts about it.

Thankfully,

Bamo

[johninderby]

Have a look at this thread.

 

[Gina]

59 minutes ago, Bamo said:

Hello reader,

Appreciate your time to read that topic.

Have you ever tried 3D printing tech to create/design any of your astro components that may substitute expensive ones?. I'm curious to know your thoughts about it.

Thankfully,

Bamo

Yes indeed.

[Chriske]

Hi,

I've printed lots of telescope-parts these last few years. Some of them I've posted on this forum.
I even printed a complete 10" telescope, look for 'Printsonian".
But hey, I myself am rather new to this forum(joined only one year ago). There are lots of guys and gals printing telescope-stuff here on this forum, and lots of these parts are very nice, I might add.
John posted a link(thanks.!) to a rack&pinion focuser I designed. But that project isn't finished yet. You can read all about it in that thread.
I also designed a few other focusers that actually are finished, work perfect and very smooth as  matter of fact.
in total I printed 7 focusers, only one of them(rack&pinion focuser) is not good. It actually does focus but the speed is to high and while focusing I can "feel" the gear running into the rack. And that's not how it's suppose to be at all. So busy redesigning that one.

[adyj1]

I upgraded my EQ5 to stepper motors and 3d-printed the custom brackets for the motors from thingiverse. Much lighter and better fitting* than the metal generic equivalent brackets.

Ady

*(although I did have to do a bit of post-print modifications because the ones I printed seemed to be for a slightly different mount)

[kbrown]

I've printed enclosures, cable holders, filter and camera adapters etc etc. I've only had my 3d printer for few months and it has proven to be a great addition to my tool set. So many things I could DIY now

[Bamo]

18 hours ago, johninderby said:

Have a look at this thread.

 

Seen it. Very cool and impressive. Curious to feel with my own hands how hard this material is!.

[Gina]

Have you trodden on Lego bricks??  They are made of ABS, a common 3D printing material.

[Bamo]

14 hours ago, Chriske said:

Hi,

I've printed lots of telescope-parts these last few years. Some of them I've posted on this forum.
I even printed a complete 10" telescope, look for 'Printsonian".
But hey, I myself am rather new to this forum(joined only one year ago). There are lots of guys and gals printing telescope-stuff here on this forum, and lots of these parts are very nice, I might add.
John posted a link(thanks.!) to a rack&pinion focuser I designed. But that project isn't finished yet. You can read all about it in that thread.
I also designed a few other focusers that actually are finished, work perfect and very smooth as  matter of fact.
in total I printed 7 focusers, only one of them(rack&pinion focuser) is not good. It actually does focus but the speed is to high and while focusing I can "feel" the gear running into the rack. And that's not how it's suppose to be at all. So busy redesigning that one.

Hello Chriske,

You piece of art is really impressive. But am a bit surprised how could you print a 10" scope!. I'll have a look at 'Printsonian'.

I'm curious how this material behave?. Easy to deflect?. What's the minimum thickness you can produce?. Also, curious to see your focuser functioning. Please let us know how will it responds to temperature changes. 

One last thing, what brand your 3D printer is?.

Cheers and success!.

Bamo 

[Bamo]

11 hours ago, adyj1 said:

I upgraded my EQ5 to stepper motors and 3d-printed the custom brackets for the motors from thingiverse. Much lighter and better fitting* than the metal generic equivalent brackets.

Ady

*(although I did have to do a bit of post-print modifications because the ones I printed seemed to be for a slightly different mount)

Awesome, I think I'll start thinking of buying a new toy (3D printer).

What brand do you own?

Cheers,

Bamo

[Bamo]

4 minutes ago, Gina said:

Have you trodden on Lego bricks??  They are made of ABS, a common 3D printing material.

Hi Gina,

This is a reasonable strength material if produced in enough thicknesses then

[Gina]

1 minute ago, Bamo said:

Hi Gina,

This is a reasonable strength material if produced in enough thicknesses then

Yes, indeed.  3D printed items can certainly be strong.

[johninderby]

I use ABS for printing suspension parts for RC cars.

 

[Stub Mandrel]

Lots!

 

[Gina]

Brand? - I call my printers "GinaRep" akin to "RepRap" which is the principal they're based on - one built using another.

[JamesF]

My daughter and I are just finishing off building one of these:

https://www.geeetech.com/geeetech-aluminum-prusa-i3-3d-printer-kit-p-944.html?zenid=f248gk5010hkvvsu6v5jvc9k83

It will certainly be used for astro parts once we finish it.  I was tempted to get something bigger but decided some experience with a smaller unit would be sensible first.  And in fact it really isn't that small.  It has a maximum print volume of 200mm x 200mm x 180mm.  It's not perfect, but for what it cost I'm pleased with the quality so far.

James

[Chriske]

1 hour ago, Bamo said:

Hello Chriske,

You piece of art is really impressive. But am a bit surprised how could you print a 10" scope!. I'll have a look at 'Printsonian'.

I'm curious how this material behave?. Easy to deflect?. What's the minimum thickness you can produce?. Also, curious to see your focuser functioning. Please let us know how will it responds to temperature changes. 

One last thing, what brand your 3D printer is?.

Cheers and success!.

Bamo 

This is my Printsonian.
The links in the Printsonian thread are non-existence anymore, sorry about that.
I'll post new photo's in it later on.

 

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, Bamo said:

Hi Gina,

This is a reasonable strength material if produced in enough thicknesses then

I printed a case for a guitar effect pedal in PLA, I tested it by standing on it and it happily took my 12 1/2 stone.

[Bamo]

5 minutes ago, Chriske said:

This is my Printsonian.
The links in the Printsonian thread are non-existence anymore, sorry about that.
I'll post new photo's in it later on.

 

Whaaaaat!. This is jaw dropping. Couldn't imagine it could be done till you showed your picture!. Now I'm curious really how big your printer is!.

Impressive!.

 

[adyj1]

2 hours ago, Bamo said:

Awesome, I think I'll start thinking of buying a new toy (3D printer).

What brand do you own?

Cheers,

Bamo

Unfortunately I don't have one, but fortunately a call out at work normally gets me something small made in exchange for beer money... 

[Stub Mandrel]

Mine's a Factory3D kit.

[Mognet]

I've got a couple of designs on here already, but I'm working on a dew/light shield that can fit multiple sizes of camera lenses, and unlike the first one won't be tied to a specific lens. It's based on a camera iris, with the top ring able to rotate to control the contact arm positions

A quick screenshot from OpenSCad showing a partially exploded view of how far I've got. Just need to add the spring box, arm for the rotating ring, side walls and shield. The full thing will be posted once I've printed it

 

[fozzybear]

7 hours ago, johninderby said:

I use ABS for printing suspension parts for RC cars.

 

lower wishbones by the look of things gosh I gave up 12th and 1/8th years ago used to do stock car racing back in the day..  how things have changed

[Chriske]

1 hour ago, Mognet said:

I've got a couple of designs on here already, but I'm working on a dew/light shield that can fit multiple sizes of camera lenses, and unlike the first one won't be tied to a specific lens. It's based on a camera iris, with the top ring able to rotate to control the contact arm positions

A quick screenshot from OpenSCad showing a partially exploded view of how far I've got. Just need to add the spring box, arm for the rotating ring, side walls and shield. The full thing will be posted once I've printed it

 

Please forgive my ignorance, but could you please explain a bit more about his object, What's its purpose..?

[fozzybear]

25 minutes ago, fozzybear said:

lower wishbones by the look of things gosh I gave up 12th and 1/8th years ago used to do stock car racing back in the day..  how things have changed

how does the abs compare to Grillon plastic albeit injection moulded I believe that's what the parts are made of now. gosh my stock car was made of titanium because I had it available to me at the time when mardave and Schumacher I think going back to the mid 80s  produced theirs  and being a member of BRCA.