3d Printing

[XH558]

Having just been thinking about Balders home built CNC that got me to remembering the other thing that blows my mind - 3d Printing   

My mate';s sone works for a company in Stourbridge called Parry';s People Movers ...

http://www.parrypeoplemovers.com/ 

Sort of tram things ...

Well he';s just had 3d printed an ';N'; gauge model of one ....

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/351/entry-9454-shapeways-arrival-class-139-with-windows/

Astonishing ..... PRINTED 

[Smeagol]

It';s "Smeagols" CNC 

I looked at these 3D printers ages ago, they are brilliant. One writeup I read said that they will be used in the space missions to manufacture items as they are required, and it showed a video of an adjustable wrench being made - fantatsic.

Heres the link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2117570/Amazing-3D-printer-action-Watch-working-wrench-printed-powder.html


We have a couple at work, used for prototyping and mock ups.

[Gaza07]

Thats very good there is some truly amazing technology out there, how long will it be before beam me up scotty becomes a reality 

[XH558]

It';s "Baldricks" CNC 

Oooppppsss - sorry  :embarrassed :embarrassed

[teslahed]

Oooppppsss - sorry  :embarrassed :embarrassed

Me and Gary were wondering how long it would be before someone got the two names confused as soon as baldrick signed up

3d printers are very impressive. I saw a thread on rcgroups where someone printed off a miniquadcopter frame based on a fractal design that looked very cool as well as 3D printed props!

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1641215

I really like the shape he';s gone for there - looks strong as well.

[Smeagol]

No problem XH558_LE 

That frame is "sweet" good design with areas to secure the ESC';s excellent.  laser or 3D printer next

[EDcase]

Hi,
I';m just starting with my research into quad fpv and registered here for some good info.

I didn';t see Baldricks post about it but was it this one?
http://www.3ders.org/articles/20121124-make-your-own-3d-printed-quadcopter.html
(Thats the best site for all things related to 3d printing)

I';ve ordered a basic 3d printer so I';ll be doing some tests in this area when I get it (hopefully before xmas)
I also do 3d computer graphics so I can design a few things to try.

Appart from balance, rigidity and lightness, what are the main things required for a good platform?

Cheers,

ED

[Gaza07]

Hi EDcase the thread that they were on about was Baldricks cnc thread here http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php/topic,781.0.html look forward to seeing your 3d printer 

Could I ask you to post a intro in the welcome section it lets people know who you are and were your at within the hobby 

[Smeagol]

I';ve ordered a basic 3d printer so I';ll be doing some tests in this area when I get it (hopefully before xmas)
Cheers,
ED

Hi Ed, i';d be interested in info on what model you have purchased.

[teslahed]

Appart from balance, rigidity and lightness, what are the main things required for a good platform?

Aerodynamics; if you can leave the frame as ';clean'; as possible in design underneath the sections where the props are spinning then it will perform better. A smooth, thin arm will produce better results than a lattice work box frame arm. It';s not critical though - there are plenty of designs that fly well that aren';t all that aerodynamic - strength, stiffness and lightness are more important.

If you are building a quadcopter for fun / stunt flying then you want to try to keep the weight in towards the centre as much as possible. Obviously the motors weight a bit and will have to be on the ends of the arms but the less weight you have at the edges the quicker the quad will start and stop spinning and change directions when turning.

If you can design in standard fittings for motor mounts and the nylon stand offs people like to use for the flight controller then it will go together quicker.

Have a look at one of Gaza';s videos where he build the sporan and copy all the bits you like the look of;

http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php/topic,12.0.html

O yeah - and welcome to the forum!

[EDcase]

Thanks for the welcome and info   ::)

Ah, yes I did actually see that post afterwards.  Yes, CNC is VERY accurate and perfect for making the base plates.

I';ve ordered/sponsored this printer: http://www.makible.com/products/makibox-a6-1
"We aim to start shipping in March"   He was a bit optimistic but that was before deciding to redesign for pellets instead of fillament. (This hasn';t beed done yet for ANY 3d printer)
The print volume is not very big (150 x 120 x 110 mm) but that should be enough for a small quad.

Its not actually complete yet tho.
I don';t know if you';ve heard of Kickstarter but its a bit like that.
I made a pre-order of £220 which sponsors him to design and build the prototype.
Its the cheapest option available as all others are over £1000.
Its a bit more expensive to order one now but still cheaper than any other option.

Its coming along and they made the first test print last week.  Its a bit crap at the moment but the fact that it works means that its only a question of tweaking the extrusion phase.

So I hope it will be ready before Xmas.

If you have any questions about 3d printing let me know (in return for multi-rotor info  )

I will have to do some testing to see what kind of accuracy its capable of and then I can make some bits

This is what the pro printers can do: http://www.3ders.org/articles/20121107-voxeljet-builds-aston-martin-models-for-james-bond-film-skyfall.html
but you';ll need about £400,000 for one of those printers 

There are also many agencies where you can send 3d files and they will print on one of these high quality printers then post the object back to you.

[Smeagol]

Thanks for the info, will be interested to hear how you get on when it arrives.

[teslahed]

I made a pre-order of £220 which sponsors him to design and build the prototype.
Its the cheapest option available as all others are over £1000.

If you have any questions about 3d printing let me know (in return for multi-rotor info  )

There are also many agencies where you can send 3d files and they will print on one of these high quality printers then post the object back to you.

£220 doesn';t seem too bad, assuming that';s all inclusive and the project doesn';t die. I remember when inkjet printers cost that much.

Have you looked into any of the 3D printing companies? What are the costs like for small items? It wouldn';t be too hard to email one some files if someone who';d already built themselves a 3D quadcopter was willing to share (go on, open source it, you know you want to...)

[sausageroll]

A good freind of mine has recently got a RepRap, ive been helping him with the build and tweaking.

Hes got it working well, extrudes PLA from fillament, has a heated bed and everything. Hes printing really quite impressive parts.

The Makerbot ones look good too, Thingamatic, replicator etc.


Pete.

[EDcase]

Thanks for the info, will be interested to hear how you get on when it arrives.

Sure, I';ll let you know as soon as I get to play with it.
The other one I was looking at was the ';Ultimaker';  It has a very large build volume and the quality of prints is very good.

I haven';t checked the cost of printing facilites as I don';t really have a need at the moment.