3D Printers

R

Russ59

Senior member
 Mansfield Woodhouse
Has anyone had any dealings with 3D printers, how they work or actually used one?

The company I do a little work for recondition alternators, starter motors, wiper motors, regulators, fuse boxes and various other things for Classic and Vintage cars.
Certain components of these items where originally made from Bakerlite and over the years does deteriorate and are no longer available as is with the parts I make for them, I make the Fuse/regulator covers out of fibreglass.
The question is that certain parts I can't replicate in fibreglass and suggested to them that a 3D printer might be the option to produce them in plastic.

So has anyone any ideas?
 
Russ I've been looking at 3D print for the last 12 months with some projects in mind, whilst it's an amazing technology the material is severely limited and the finish quality is very poor in the flesh, even from an expensive machine. Smooth corners, smooth compound shapes and finishes are only achievable with lots of post production work. At the moment it's a neat novelty but unlikely to an economic solution for your project .... yet

An interesting article

http://gizmodo.com/why-3d-printing-is-overhyped-i-should-know-i-do-it-fo-508176750
 
http://www.johnburn.co.uk

These people know everything there is, and some of the things they can produce is amazing.
 
Ewazix said:
Russ I've been looking at 3D print for the last 12 months with some projects in mind, whilst it's an amazing technology the material is severely limited and the finish quality is very poor in the flesh, even from an expensive machine. Smooth corners, smooth compound shapes and finishes are only achievable with lots of post production work. At the moment it's a neat novelty but unlikely to an economic solution for your project .... yet

An interesting article

http://gizmodo.com/why-3d-printing-is-overhyped-i-should-know-i-do-it-fo-508176750
Click to expand...


Interesting read :thumbsup:

Thanks for that.
 
Affordable 3D printers are currently revolutionising the world of strategy boardgame figurines. And that's about it. :play:
You'd be better off buying a chunk of the appropriate material and machining it at the moment.
It's massively overhyped at the moment, but it needs to be, otherwise it won't get the funding that is required to make the breakthroughs it needs.
 
These guys are my work neighbours http://www.central-scanning.co.uk/index.html some of the stuff they do is amazing!
.....didn't understand most of what they were telling me though :oops:
 
You can get a massive amount of detail from them already - it depends on how you set the printer up.

the company I linked are making great strides into the car market and F1, I've seen alloys, interiors, and engines all printed out already and the quality is amazing - it's hard to believe they came from a printer.

there are different printers for industrial use, and simpler ones for commercial...
 
Talksthetorque said:
Affordable 3D printers are currently revolutionising the world of strategy boardgame figurines. And that's about it. :play:
You'd be better off buying a chunk of the appropriate material and machining it at the moment.
It's massively overhyped at the moment, but it needs to be, otherwise it won't get the funding that is required to make the breakthroughs it needs.
Click to expand...

it is a bit overhyped. we are not about to be able to start printing off a new axles in the garage or stuff like that at the moment. in my experience the printers pieces are not hugely strong unless very bulky (see that gun that was printed)

having said that some one in the university printed me a 1cm 0.5mm tube that was coiled around a second spiral out of metal.... very nifty.

for a one off you might be better looking at a different technique. what is the shape your after?
 
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