DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... 3-D Printers?

Anybody have a 3-D printer? If so, what are some of the things you print?

I have been fascinated with videos of these things. I am not sure what I would use this for, but they are so darn cool.

I have one. I don't use it for much lately because most of my life is taken up with farm stuff these days, but the original intent was to be able to rapidly make parts for things, or just to play around. My bro-in-law has a fairly high-end one and he makes gifts, xmas ornaments, and other things. I've watched a lot of videos from creators/makers where they use the printer to prototype things, or sometimes to just create parts (boxes, enclosures, fairings, covers, etc). Once the major farm projects are done here, though, I will be turning back toward setting up my wood & metal shops and the printer will be part of that, especially since you can print so much more than just plastic these days.

Snap in place curtain rod holders
Specialized replacement bolt for my rear windshield wiper
Parts to fix my son's power windows
Fence post caps
Fence repair channels
Numerous magnet holders for specialized applications
Battery Adapters
Numerous replacement parts for restaurant applications
Bicycle water bottle holder
Spice shelf brackets
Shallow electrical box for a unique garage application
Stereo mounts adapters for older car stereos
Designer mouldings
Light switch covers
Bed frame grommets
Shelf brackets
LED strip lighting mounts
Drop ceiling adapters
RING doorbell mounting adapters
Burette Clips for my son's lab
Specialty picture hanger mounts
SharkBite tools
Folding door spacers
Flexible replacement box fan handles
Parts for my weed trimmer
Skeleton key for antique cabinet
Replacement parts for my solarium
Ridge vent clamps
Garage door replacement pulley
Decking spacers
Flag pole mounting grommet
Security camera mounts
Shop light mounts
Appliance legs
Barbell bushings
Drain plugs
Dozens of "parts" for equipment
Dozens of washers and spacers
Hundreds of decorative pieces
Dozens of hooks, hangers and brackets


That's just reading part of the way through my 3D file, and those are just things I personally designed. There is a WORLD of free designs ready to print here: https://www.thingiverse.com/


I have two printers and have been printing for about 15 years. One prints filament which I mostly use for TPU (flexable/ rubber-like filament). The other is a Stereolithography (SLA) printer. That technology uses a UV laser to cure liquid photosensitive resin into solid parts, layer-by-layer, with incredible precision.

Here's a recent design. I borrowed a buddy's cooler from his restaurant and saw that all his Igloo coolers have missing or broken closure tabs. These replacements are flexible. The one on the right is after a "aha moment". The bottom hole allows you to store the cooler with an air gap so mold and mildew doesn't grow inside. No more stinky coolers!






If you're thinking about buying one - you'll have a blast! There's definitely a learning curve to design. I started with rather simple designs and "learned my way" to some that are a little more advanced. But honestly, there is more than enough to keep you busy with free designs that already exist; and there's a great community of people that design "for the greater good" without seeking profit.

I am seriously thinking of getting one .... just a small one. My best friend from middle school's wife used one for many years in an old job, and she said it was amazing.

I am also considering a small CNC. I guess I am going nuts. lol

That's actually the one I have looking at.

I have a very old FlashForge that has had virtually zero downtime in 13.5 years.

I'm probably going to add another to the shop this year. I think Bambu is about the best in the biz now. A little pricey, but I've seen these in action and they are pretty amazing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHDS1DMC?ref=ive_vftp_hero_cx_pfo_vse-cards-ingress0&th=1

BTW, have you ever bid at Mac.bid? Amazing how much stuff goes through those doors that is virtually brand new.

I've never tried it yet. Maybe I'll be bidding against you on one of these.

Even on Amazon, though, that upgrade is only $100 more.

As a hobby, it's really become very approachable on any budget. So user friendly now too. My dinosaur literally takes 10 minutes of trial, error and fumbling with thumbscrews just to level the print bed. The Bambu I posted above self-levels before every print in a second or two. Granted, that's not something I have to do often, but a big PIA when I do.

Also, most newer print beds have flexible, removable covers that allow you to "coax" your prints off much easier. Mine requires fresh Kapton tape every 50-75 prints. Getting that on with no bubbles is rocket surgery... imagine sticking your hands in a small box to put an adhesive sheet on a 10x10 print bed that cannot have a single bubble when you're done. You think cellphone protectors are bad?! Plus, I have to gently chisel my prints off; one small gash in the tape and back to some rocket surgery. That will summon swear words you didn't know you had in your vocabulary.

If you're still on the fence for a while, there are some killer deals on Amazon for Prime Day and Black Friday/ Cyber Monday. I'll probably hold out until then before I buy mine.

Man, they have a ton of cra .... er, I mean, stuff on that site. lol They have some good stuff, but man is it buied in junk.

I decided to go with the Bambu Lab - P1S Combo 3D Printer. I also bought 2 big packs of filament. (on Amazon) I am ready to create some stuff. (hopefully not a mashup of slop/melted finament)

So, in other words, you're not playing around, eh? That is a great printer. Congrats! I've seen some output firsthand and saw it in action - that's the model my brother-in-law just bought.

Print the "test prints" right out of the box, they're generally designed to flex the printer's muscles in all the right ways to make sure it's calibrated correctly.

Take it easy on the build plate. I don't know if this printer will include a scraper. If not, try plastic first. It's also easy to remove the magnetic flexible plate with this model, then you can usually bend and flex it to remove a print that seems like it's "stuck" to the plate. When mine was new, prints stuck so bad I was constantly tweaking the bed level trying to get them off. Things usually loosen up a bit after a few prints.

You're going to have a blast. Hit me up here or in a PM if you have any issues.

Will do. Appreciate it. For a generally "techy" guy, there have been some new stuff that does throw me.

I have a Bambu X1C for myself. I also have 1 at work along with Formlabs powder and resin printers. We easily paid off the Formlabs in under a year with all of the parts that we are printing. I print everything from magnets for fun to all kinds of structural parts. Anything structural has to be on the Formlabs. I just started a print right now actually on my home printer.

For the Formlabs, we usually prototype on the Bambu first to get things dialed in, then move the the fancy printers for the final production run. For the prototyping, we usually go with the manufacturer provided "mystery boxes" because they are just trying to offload whatever they have a stockpile in. We don't care about the color when it is just prototyping something, haha. Pretty much stay with either Bambu or eSun filaments for the Bambu.

1. Do you have a "take your kids to work day"?
2. Will you be my dad?

Damn, I remember back in the day when Formlabs owned the SLA market. I had actually debated dropping a few grand on one. A couple blinks later, they're on the consumer side at under $300. I truly hope the same thing happens with SLS, but doubt it. If they could even get to sub $1500, I may bite; I expect that will be about ten years away though. We actually have to wait for 2028-2032 for a bunch of patents to expire before the "race to the bottom" occurs.

I've experiments with a bunch of different resins to find a balance between tensile strength and impact strength, which I've found with some of the "ABS like" or flexible resins... but nothing compared to the environment you're in when you're "melting powder". How cool, I'm jealous.

What the hell are you printing, as far as "parts", that these have paid for themselves so quickly??


For anyone interested in the tech:

BTW, have you printed any carbon fiber blends or nylon with your Bambu X1C?