3d printing....anyone here dabble in this hobby?

Bushwhacker

Bushwhacker

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Indian Trail NC
I need a small nylon gear printed for an Abu Garcia fishing real. I have a print file for the part. Anybody on here into the 3d printing? Had a guy here at work that does it but he is being a douche...:rolleyes:

Thanks,

Clay
 
PLA can be very durable. There's a lot of different filaments on the market to fill those niches. Mine's mothballed right now, but if you send me the file, I'd like to try. Problem is getting perfect dimensions on a hobbyist printer.
 
You guys see where they created a building with a 3D printer? I think it was an overseas company. Heard it on the radio.
 
Shapeways just started doing black nylon, but you'll likely need glass fiber reinforced nylon if it's for a gear. GFR nylon is outside the realm of most hobby machines, as those use FDM (fused deposition modelling) instead of a sintering process. FDM is pretty weak, especially for a functionally loaded gear with fine tooth pitch.

You could try CRP in Mooresville, who make about the best engineering rapid prototyping plastics around (their Italian branch actually), but it will cost you dearly. They make expensive stuff for some of my work projects.

A plastic gear is not something to be replicated without serious thought, if you're actually going to use it. Is it a drive gear or something less stressed?

Also try Protolabs.
 
I worked for a company in Raleigh during college called Fineline Prototyping. They are now part of Proto Labs. I'm sure they could make you what you wanted but don't know what it would cost you.


Sent from my HTC Desire Eye using Tapatalk
 
FYI a lot of public libraries now have printers, you go in and reserve some time in the cue. That will only work for small jobs and most likely limited to PLA.

We do all kinds of additive manufacturing of prototype parts here at work. I recently printed an inverse mold to be able to mold a real-size head out of ballistics gelatin, in printed in Ultem... took 3 days to finish it lol.
On my desk I have a miniature version of my own head w/ the skull removed on one side to show the brain surface (developed from an MRI).
 
I'd also be concerned about resolution. The gear teeth are fairly fine, so you may not get a good smooth print for what you need. But it's worth a a try!!


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I actually got the file from a guy on Shapeways. He was selling the printed gears at some point but I have not gotten an email back from him if they were still available. The one reel from Abu Garcia that is turned to a crap pile because of a tiny plastic gear, lol! From what i have heard on a lot of fishing forums it is common on this model.

The strength is not a big concern as it is only for turning the line guide back an forth. Even with this gear split it still winds ok but would slip every now and then. I have it rigged for the moment but would like to try a new gear.

Thanks for the input guys!

@mbalbritton @catfishblues sending you a pm
 
criket said:
You guys see where they created a building with a 3D printer? I think it was an overseas company. Heard it on the radio.
Click to expand...


I read this yesterday: 3d Printing a BUILDING?

Makes all this Revit/BIM bullshit I'm having to do as of late, seem almost relevant
 
RatLabGuy said:
FYI a lot of public libraries now have printers, you go in and reserve some time in the cue. That will only work for small jobs and most likely limited to PLA.

We do all kinds of additive manufacturing of prototype parts here at work. I recently printed an inverse mold to be able to mold a real-size head out of ballistics gelatin, in printed in Ultem... took 3 days to finish it lol.
On my desk I have a miniature version of my own head w/ the skull removed on one side to show the brain surface (developed from an MRI).
Click to expand...
So you're to blame for our Ultem shortage. I should have known.
 
CasterTroy said:
I read this yesterday: 3d Printing a BUILDING?

Makes all this Revit/BIM bullshit I'm having to do as of late, seem almost relevant
Click to expand...

That's great and all, and I like a good ambitious dream of what the future could be like, but it also seems like the most expensive possible way to do large-scale manufacturing. It is Dubai though, so money is no object.

It really seems that 3D printing is the super trendy thing at the moment, and I understand that. But it bothers me that everyone is trying to make it the solution for everything, regardless of whether it is a proper solution or not. It's kind of the death of engineering, by hammering the proverbial square peg into the round hole until it fits, because you really want to use the square peg.

I really like 3D printing (and use it fairly often), but it just doesn't fit my needs for everything. Sometimes a piece of sheet metal or a weldment or a machined part is far more simple and cost effective, especially with structural or fatigue-critical parts. Most of the time we don't want to pay for 3D printing for end-use parts, as the high-end plastics and metal sintering costs a lot of money for materials and machine time. If there's a better/cheaper option, we go for that first.
 
Last edited:
Fabrik8 said:
That's great and all, and I like a good ambitious dream of what the future could be like, but it also seems like the most expensive possible way to do large-scale manufacturing. It is Dubai though, so money is no object.
Click to expand...


They left out (if this were designed by the architects WE typically work with):
23 month Architectural design (then sent to engineers)
6 month S,PME design
3 additional months due to Architect changes and architects failure to understand actual construction means and methods for mechanical equipment requirements
2 month delay for clashes
Sent to contractors who could not understand the Bim model, so ultimately the engineers were the ones who had to assemble it because they were the only ones that understood the Revit Model
 
CasterTroy said:
They left out (if this were designed by the architects WE typically work with):
23 month Architectural design (then sent to engineers)
6 month S,PME design
3 additional months due to Architect changes and architects failure to understand actual construction means and methods for mechanical equipment requirements
2 month delay for clashes
Sent to contractors who could not understand the Bim model, so ultimately the engineers were the ones who had to assemble it because they were the only ones that understood the Revit Model
Click to expand...

I'm not in the building trades business, but I don't want to be the PE that has to sign off on structural parts made on a 3D printer, unless the process and bulk material properties were very, very well understood and characterized.
 
I hate to say this but if your not in a hurry. I would sent it to RP company in China. They are generally a fraction of the cost. Some of our parts would be an average of 35K to prototype in the US but china was like 8K with an extra week of lead time. The other thing you could try is hacker space in Charlotte its a hobbyist club that has all types of machines. I bet one of those guys could do it for you Hackerspace Charlotte
 
According to my software, it's a 2 minute print on my slow-ass machine. 15 layers at .2mm layer height. There's nothing to it. If I get my printer fired up today, I'll print out a few of them for S&Gs.
 
Sounds like something you could make with a couple hand files and a piece of aluminum.
 
Here are a couple pics. The plastic gear presses onto the brass gear. Seems this plastic gear in particular is prone to split from age or heat or a combination of the two. Not sure I have the talent or patience to make one with some aluminum and files...Lol!

20160508_201809.jpg 20160508_202024.jpg
 
Man that is awesome! Thanks to you both @mbalbritton @catfishblues !! Anything is better than the split one in it now. I can fine tune with a file if needed.

Thanks guys!:beer::beer:
 
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