3d Printers South Africa

furpile said:
So what happened with the parts in the photo? Looked like they came loose during printing and warped?
Click to expand...
Parts of them warped up and lifted off the bed, but there was enough adhesion to keep them on the bed to finish the print. I opted to finish it because I could still use it to check a few things.

What I think happened was:
1) Aircon was blasting the print
2) Build plate wasn't as clean as it could be
3) Didn't include a brim in the slicing.

Doing the following:
1) Not having aircon on.
2) Giving the plate a bit of a wash with isopropanol to make sure there is no old hairspray.
3) Adding a brim.

Seems to have fixed the issue completely.

2023-02-20 12.00.57.jpg
 
konfab said:
Parts of them warped up and lifted off the bed, but there was enough adhesion to keep them on the bed to finish the print. I opted to finish it because I could still use it to check a few things.

What I think happened was:
1) Aircon was blasting the print
2) Build plate wasn't as clean as it could be
3) Didn't include a brim in the slicing.

Doing the following:
1) Not having aircon on.
2) Giving the plate a bit of a wash with isopropanol to make sure there is no old hairspray.
3) Adding a brim.

Seems to have fixed the issue completely.

View attachment 1479305
Click to expand...
Cool. I have been lucky so far. I have never cleaned the bed, I wipe it clean with my hands etc and never have a problem with PETG adhesion. But is also depends on the size of the print, smaller prints a brim is useful to keep it stuck. My printer is sitting in a study nook so I want to hang something over it to keep the aircon away from it when I am working from home.
 
20230221_181842.jpg
20230221_181804.jpg

And here it is fully assembled. Super happy with this. I have been designing this since I bought the printer last year.

Print wise:
Even without the aircon, I still had a little bit of warping, but not enough to compromise the project. I think I will need to build/make an enclosure for it.
 
konfab said:
View attachment 1480235
View attachment 1480237

And here it is fully assembled. Super happy with this. I have been designing this since I bought the printer last year.

Print wise:
Even without the aircon, I still had a little bit of warping, but not enough to compromise the project. I think I will need to build/make an enclosure for it.
Click to expand...
It's kind of weird that you get warping. Even with my enclosure open I don't get any with PETG. Did you dry out your filament completely?
 
Gnome said:
It's kind of weird that you get warping. Even with my enclosure open I don't get any with PETG. Did you dry out your filament completely?
Click to expand...
I bought the filament on Sunday and unsealed it. I presume it sitting in a sealed bag is good enough.

To my understanding warping is caused by temperature differences between the top and bottom of a model.

Might also be bed temp.
 
konfab said:
I bought the filament on Sunday and unsealed it. I presume it sitting in a sealed bag is good enough.

To my understanding warping is caused by temperature differences between the top and bottom of a model.

Might also be bed temp.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the sealed bag is no guarantee. I have had a few rolls that I opened and immediately started printing and had lots of issues. Dry it out for a few days in a bucket with a dehumidifier tub (from PnP) and desiccant and the problems just disappear. While printing initially you could hear a pop every now and then which is the moisture in the filament.
 
konfab said:
I presume it sitting in a sealed bag is good enough.
Click to expand...
I bought some eSun PETG and also opened some of my eSun ABS (both from DIYElectronics). In both cases they come out of the bag so wet that when you extrude it sounds like fire crackers are going off (popping noise from the moisture).

It isn't DIYElectronics at fault, people in other countries say they same thing, eSun filaments often comes not dried.
 
332112945_902842044853083_4094708215246517943_n.jpg
 
I've been having a little fun with modding today. I decided to change the stock Creality hot end with a nice Phaetus Dragonfly. Now my printer came stock with the Titan extruder (CR10-V3), so according to the Phaetus docs the BMO version is the correct version to use. So, I stripped my toolhead and started taking it all apart to fit the new hot end.

Hmmm. Something's not right
IMG_9474.jpeg
Looks like the original hot end has an additional flange. The original flange is threaded where the Dragonfly's 1st flange isn't
IMG_9475.jpeg
But it the Dragonfly's 1st flange does screw off (the part that makes it a BMO version
IMG_9476.jpeg
 
Looking online a little it seems that you're supposed to print that additional flange to make it work on the CR10. Well obviously that's not gonna happen now. Time for a side project: make a new double flange!

Measuring up the threaded end of the Dragonfly, that looks like an M8 thread (8x1.25)

IMG_9477.jpeg
IMG_9478.jpeg

I've scratched around my cut off bin for a suitable material - obvious choice is some aluminium but I've only got 50mm OD stock here and the major dimension needs to be 16mm. That's going to be a LOT of machining. Scratching around some more I've got some Acetyl (Delrin) which will work perfect.

IMG_9480.jpeg

That's going to need a little trimming down...

IMG_9481.jpeg

Perfect!! Now it just needs to be turned down, so out comes the 4 jaw chuck which is ideal for turning lopsided stock into nice round parts

IMG_9482.jpeg

After spending way too much time I realised 2 things: 1. Delrin sucks when it comes to machining it. 2. It would've been quicker just printing something. But, eventually I get it finished
IMG_9484.jpeg

Perfect fit! And much sturdier than anything printed would've been

IMG_9486.jpeg

I'll test everything tomorrow. Spent way too much time on this...
 
eye_suc said:
Seriously, nice job!

I have to ask you some advice:

How much would it cost to machine the following from aluminium pipe (pipe has an inner diameter that is good enough and only the outside needs to be machined):
View attachment 1481055
Total length is about 14cm

I need some of these made and have NO idea where to go to have this done.
Click to expand...
Thanks man!

Eish I'd do it but I'm a total noob when it comes to machining - I've only recently put my little hobby machine shop together. Other issue I have is that I've only got a very small lathe so 14cm would be too long when it comes to supporting a long/thin workpiece. My brother has an engineering shop but they're not likely to take on small jobs. He'll likely quote you a "fark off price" as he calls it - which would be the case for most pro engineering shops. That's why I put my own little setup together.

What you looking for as a retired machinist that has a fully setup shop; not too sure where you'd find someone like that.
 
eye_suc said:
Seriously, nice job!

I have to ask you some advice:

How much would it cost to machine the following from aluminium pipe (pipe has an inner diameter that is good enough and only the outside needs to be machined):
View attachment 1481055
Total length is about 14cm

I need some of these made and have NO idea where to go to have this done.
Click to expand...
What are these used for?
 
eye_suc said:
These are the pushers in nerf blasters. The move the dart into position and then when you pull the trigger the plunger in the back forces the air down the tube to expel the dart at about 200 feet per second.
Click to expand...
If you can get pipe with correct ID and an OD that's the smallest diameter, you could probably print a mold and cast those larger diameter pieces straight into the pipe using epoxy or alternatively print them as sleeves to put over the pipe and fix in place. Dunno how much flexibility you have re sizes. If you could go a few mm bigger might be easier. Machining gonna be a bit expensive. How many do you need?
 
eye_suc said:
Thank you for the advice! I figured the retiree would be the best bet, but I couldn't find any listings for the on Offerzen :(

If something comes to mind later, please let me know! I've been trying to get this thing made for almost a year now.
Click to expand...
Heh, I can't imagine a retired machinist advertising his services on Offerzen. If I had more experience I'd tackle that for you but like I said I'm very much a noob still.
 
eye_suc said:
Seriously, nice job!

I have to ask you some advice:

How much would it cost to machine the following from aluminium pipe (pipe has an inner diameter that is good enough and only the outside needs to be machined):
View attachment 1481055
Total length is about 14cm

I need some of these made and have NO idea where to go to have this done.
Click to expand...
https://www.pcbway.com/ has a service where you can ask them to
CNC machine, CNC Lathe, 3d print stuff (including metal parts in quite a few different type of metals).
You get an instant quote, it is super easy and you know exactly what you are going to get
 
eye_suc said:
I've converted one of the blasters to Metric from Imperial. Some of the parts need to be metal (alu) for strength and durability over time and this part has been holding me up for AAAAGES. I've got everything else sourced.

I would like about 10 to start off with for testing. If I can make it work then I might be able to get more for reselling.

So yeah, low quantities. I guess I will have to settle for printed parts for testing, but according to the creator they won't last very long.
Click to expand...
Contact the model engineers clubs. I see there is one in Roodepoort and Centurion. These guys build their own steam trains that they ride on. Most of them have their own machine shops to make the parts. I am sure there will be a few retired guys that can make that for you.

CSME, Model Steam Trains, Centurion, Pretoria, Kids Parties

CSME, Centurion Society of Model Engineers, boasts an attractive site with trains that trail through a beautiful landscape including tunnels, bridges and over lakes. Perfect for a kiddies party, family outing or picnic.
www.centuriontrains.com
www.facebook.com

Rand Society of Model Engineers

Rand Society of Model Engineers, Florida, Gauteng, South Africa. 7,155 likes · 13 talking about this · 3,529 were here. Home of the Rand Society of Model Engineers; where builders of working scale...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
eye_suc said:
Thank you for this. However I have checked with them in the past, prices are still nuts.

View attachment 1481169

About R2500 without VAT, shipping or customs. For 5 units. The raw aluminium pipe costs about R5 per 14cm length :(
Click to expand...

Your best bet is probably China. There are a few who will do small runs and ship it.
 
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