is this 3D printed part feasible? 800mm project

[Michele Scotti]

Hi there - question for the much- envied 3D printer experts.

The focuser/derotator for the 800mm project needs a part -a simple cylinder - that can be made of plastic material. The rest of the focuser is made of Aluminium.

As said earlier, a cylinder with OD 120mm, height 135mm, wall thickness 2.5mm

Is it feasible or the wall is way too thin? I don;'t have very stringent need for roundness as long that it doens't look oval! 

Cheers, Michele

[Synchronicity]

It's absolutely feasible. Roundness won't be an issue either but strength might depending on what it was used for. 

What about smoothness? Finer surfaces take much longer to print.

Michael

[MrFreeze]

A 2.5mm wall thickness is perfectly reasonable. I made a dew shield for my Mak127 (the one on Thingiverse - not recommended - too small and needs filing to fit) and that is 150mm OD, 175mm height with wall thickness about 2.2mm. I wouldn't want to sit on it, but it's perfectly strong enough for it's purpose - it hasn't broken yet despite it being too tight and being forced into place with quite some effort.

Your size is too large for most small resin printers like the Anycubic Photon which make much stronger parts. It would be possible (just) to print this on an Elegoo Saturn if you know anyone lucky enough to have bought one. (The last batch of 200 produced sold out in about 20 minutes!)

David

[Jonk]

Whilst perfectly feasible, can you find a piece of plastic pipe that is close and use that? If you know someone with a lathe, they can make it fit.

I have access to an Ultimaker 3 Extended and this can produce amazing parts.

I always tell people at work, if you can draw it, we can print it (within size restrictions)!

[Michele Scotti]

1 hour ago, Synchronicity said:

It's absolutely feasible. Roundness won't be an issue either but strength might depending on what it was used for. 

What about smoothness? Finer surfaces take much longer to print.

Michael

 

1 hour ago, MrFreeze said:

A 2.5mm wall thickness is perfectly reasonable. I made a dew shield for my Mak127 (the one on Thingiverse - not recommended - too small and needs filing to fit) and that is 150mm OD, 175mm height with wall thickness about 2.2mm. I wouldn't want to sit on it, but it's perfectly strong enough for it's purpose - it hasn't broken yet despite it being too tight and being forced into place with quite some effort.

Your size is too large for most small resin printers like the Anycubic Photon which make much stronger parts. It would be possible (just) to print this on an Elegoo Saturn if you know anyone lucky enough to have bought one. (The last batch of 200 produced sold out in about 20 minutes!)

David

 

Thanks Michael and David,

 smoothness and robusnes are not important for this application - it's just a sleeve carrier for ceramic ball bearing of the focuser.

Thanks for the prompt feedback! 

 

[Michele Scotti]

4 hours ago, Jonk said:

Whilst perfectly feasible, can you find a piece of plastic pipe that is close and use that? If you know someone with a lathe, they can make it fit.

I have access to an Ultimaker 3 Extended and this can produce amazing parts.

I always tell people at work, if you can draw it, we can print it (within size restrictions)!

I actaully have bought such a pipe but the turning is just a nightmare - and I'd need to make flanges to support the whole thing. While pondering on all those aspects I  got my Eureka moment.... 3D printing.!

Glad to see you all  cleared my doubt about thinkness.

Are there online businesses that can print out on;y one piece? Do they need a specific CAD file (like STEP) or do I need to create the model  witha  special  software? Any idea of the cost?

Cheers 

 

[fozzybear]

Maybe  @Gina could shed some light on this as being a largish item.

[MrFreeze]

5 hours ago, Michele Scotti said:

I actaully have bought such a pipe but the turning is just a nightmare - and I'd need to make flanges to support the whole thing. While pondering on all those aspects I  got my Eureka moment.... 3D printing.!

Glad to see you all  cleared my doubt about thinkness.

Are there online businesses that can print out on;y one piece? Do they need a specific CAD file (like STEP) or do I need to create the model  witha  special  software? Any idea of the cost?

Cheers 

 

The obvious online firm is Shapeways, but be warned - they aren't cheap. There are many others, or you could try to find a local maker space, or some person local with a printer to do it for you.

You will need to create an STL file (Stuctured Tesselation Language) for them ( or whoever else you use). There are many programs available to generate your STL - the best known is probably Sketchup, but there are many others, many of which are free. Personally I use Gmax for historical reasons - I have been 'into' 3D design for a long time (about 35 years!)

3D printing is another rabbit hole that can consume vast amounts of time and money (just like astronomy!) - be warned.

David

[Jonk]

3dhubs was the first one I used.

If you send me the dimensions I've drawn the model and created the .stl file for you (attached).

120mm od x 115mm id x 135mm length.stl

Edited October 24, 2020 by Jonk

[PeterW]

3dprint-U.K. do SLS nylon, you pay for the bounding volume so you could pack extra goodies inside for the same cost. Any bureau using the HP FusionJet would be good too - high throughput machine.

If you FDM it I would be tempted to add a few longitudinal ribs inside (if the design allows), just to lower any risk of delamination from flexing. If you use a tough material and print thick layers you won’t need to bother.... I always like to make sure prints aren’t too fragile... stops end users questioning the technology.

 

peter

[Michele Scotti]

Is height the main parameter that makes it not achievable for 'satandard' printers? Would it be easier i.e. easier to find a more common printer, to split the  item in 2 and glue it later? it would be 

Having to do smal drilling is there a recommended material?

4 hours ago, PeterW said:

If you FDM it I would be tempted to add a few longitudinal ribs inside (if the design allows), just to lower any risk of delamination from flexing. If you use a tough material and print thick layers you won’t need to bother.... I always like to make sure prints aren’t too fragile... stops end users questioning the technology.

There's virtually no room for any ribs unfortunately.

Here's the overall design if anyody is curious:

 

6 hours ago, Jonk said:

3dhubs was the first one I used.

If you send me the dimensions I've drawn the model and created the .stl file for you (attached).

 

Fantastic! Thnx a lot!

[PeterW]

If there is no risk of it being bent then you should be OK. The machines I have can handle a 20cm cube, So would be fine. Good luck

 

peter

[Michele Scotti]

I've checked online in a few website, thanks to the STL from Jonk. The cheapest quote is £140 - way more than I expected - I guess it goes with the overall volume....

I guess I need to make friends with somebody tha owns a printer! 😅 

Any suggestion for on the material? FDM or PA are those more basic. The only characteristic that I need it's probably that I can drill it easily, all the rest doenst count

[Synchronicity]

A Creality Ender 3 can be had for under £250 depending on the specific model.  It has a build volume: 220x220x250mm  

Maybe you should just buy a 3d printer - it'll keep you occupied when the clouds won't go away 😆

Michael

[MrFreeze]

Wow - that is seriously expensive. In comparison an Anycubic Mega S printer (I have one of these, along with a Photon) which can produce 210x210x205 prints costs less than £160 including postage! So, yes it looks like print agencies have priced themselves out of the business. I'm about 50 miles from you, so probably not practical unless you get really desperate.

David

[Jonk]

Try PLA, it’ll be strong and drillable.

I’ll check how much material is needed tomorrow at work, and how long the print will take as I may be able to do it for you.

[Chriske]

On 23/10/2020 at 21:30, Jonk said:

I always tell people at work, if you can draw it, we can print it (within size restrictions)!

CORRECT...!!!😆

[Chriske]

3 hours ago, Jonk said:

Try PLA, it’ll be strong and drillable.

Drillable yes, but do support it from the inside very well. If you don't, the drill will split the part when entering the inside perimeter..! That's because larger drills will force itself inward with the 'speed' of the drill's flutes. Smaller diameter drills will work.

 

[MrFreeze]

11 minutes ago, Chriske said:

CORRECT...!!!😆

If only that were true :

Print that!

Sorry - couldn't resist.

David

 

[Chriske]

14 minutes ago, MrFreeze said:

If only that were true :

Print that!

Sorry - couldn't resist.

David

 

No problem at all. The only thing that will be difficult is the railing around the house : to thin.
But this is not a real situation, it is an optical illusion, so this one doesn't count and is not feasible indeed, sorry David...;-)

[Michele Scotti]

4 hours ago, Jonk said:

Try PLA, it’ll be strong and drillable.

I’ll check how much material is needed tomorrow at work, and how long the print will take as I may be able to do it for you.

That would be just super! Thanks a lot  even just for checking.

In case let me know - I need to fine tune the dimensions (by tenths of mm) of the item and generae a new model

[PeterW]

I’ve printed Optical illusions that mess with the brain when viewed from certain directions. 
I usually start by asking what the part is for, the environment and the expectations on it.... then I can advise. “Can you make it the normal way” is another usual question to ask. Use 3DP when it makes sense, but not if there are better ways to achieve the same result.

 

Peter

[MrFreeze]

Hmm. That will take some time to print.

David

[Chriske]

Oops, there must be another way...

[Chriske]

I see now you're using 0.2 layer hight, why not 0.3..(0.4mm nozzle I presume)?
Also try higher speed, most of the time I'll go to about 100mm/s
Remove infill, and replace it with extra perimeters, way faster.