3D Printing - what a time to be alive!
 

Anyone else here into 3D printing and/or own a 3D printer?

The other week I ordered a FLSUN Prusa i3 style printer, assembled it last week, and have finally gotten a few prints off, and I LOVE it :D The fact that I ordered a box of parts and assembled it into something that fabricates something in 3D right in front of me just blows my mind...

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Initial test print, which actually ended up being useful, was a one piece camera cap/lock for my DJI Phantom 3 drone.

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Second print was something the printer actually needed and in my opinion should have came with, a filament spool holder...

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3rd print was my first official useless print job :p The wife has a strange obsession with rubber ducks and duck figurines. I stumbled on this and HAD to print it out for her... After a little cleaning up it came out great! Accept for a little hole in it's head... But, she LOVES it and that's all that matters lol

A duck with a gas mask :D

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I can only imagine the parts for the Blazer I could print out :D

Very cool! I've been looking into these a little recently and considering getting one. They're getting pretty affordable now too. How's it working for you, any complaints about it? What size is the printing area on that model?

Someday I will get one. I want to let the costs come down a bit more. But they are very cool! Keep us posted on new print jobs you create!

This one is working great for me! I knew that buying a <$500 model wasn't going to give me perfect results, but I've been VERY impressed with it!

The only complaints I have about it, honestly, can be fixed by printing off a few simple parts to make the machine better (some stabilizers, holding box for the electronics and wires, etc). And out of the hundreds of individual parts it came with... only one was missing; a cooling fan that points down towards the print to held solidify the plastic as it prints. I wasn't about to deal with customer service and wait on China to send me a $5 fan, so I just ordered one off eBay and it was here in 3 days and mounted lol. Anything else is just a 3D printing learning curve, like heat settings, feed rate, etc. This one's build size is 200mm x 200mm and 180mm high, one of the larger in it's price range.


Yeah I remember when they first started circulating around and cost $1000+, and I never even looked twice at owning one myself, but I always though about how cool it would be lol. Well with a custom PC desk/case build in the works, I kept thinking about certain parts that would be awesome if I could find them (120mm fan to 3" tube duct adapter, cover plates for hardware, etc), but haven't been very successful... Someone at work mentioned I just make my own, then someone else said "yeah just get yourself a 3D printer", so for kicks and giggles I google some printers and was astonished at the pricing!



Now I'm getting into working with a few simple 3D design software to find one that I can work with. I worked with AutoCAD in highschool (12+ years ago...), but never did any 3D modeling with it, just 2D "plans", so that too is a leaning curve. Playing with Autodesk 123D Design at the moment.




It even makes it's own hang-on tool organizer box :D

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That is too cool man. I worked at a large contractor company and worked with many architects who used CAD. Way above my head! And I am in the IT field. LOL

Designed and printed my first "thing" last night :)

A nebulizer cup holder for my wife who has cystic fibrosis and has to do breathing treatments 3 times a day. Came out very well actually. Will look a ton better as a finished product once I get the printer settings dialed in.

It's a two-piece deal; the top snaps onto the bottom to create one assembly.

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I wish I could afford and knew how to do this. The possibilities for what I could do with LED lighting on a vehicle would be incredible.

You would be surprised at how affordable it is to get into! This printer (as a kit, I had to assemble it from a box of parts) was only $220. The 2.2lb spools of plastic filament are about $20-$30 for the standard PLA plastic and go a LONG way; I have yet to go through a full 2.2lb spool, hell not even half of it, and I've printed a few other things. Not sure about ABS plastic or others as far as price goes.

You definitely wouldn't want to use the basic PLA filament for anything going on a vehicle, you'd want to use ABS plastic because it has a higher heat tolerance and is more durable; the PLA is good for random things around the house and little nick-nacks.

This printer is capable of printing with ABS (ABS requires mainly a heated build platform to use, and it requires an overall higher temp print head to melt it), and I plan on getting a spool of it and playing around with it some in the near future. I would like to design and print a switch panel to mount somewhere in the Blazer, either in the overhead console or in the ash tray since I don't smoke and never use that :P

Way, way above my head! Put a wrench in my hands and I feel at home. Heck, I don't even own a smart phone (is that what they still call them these days?). I just have a good old flip phone that I only use to make and receive calls and use the voice mail.

But what you are doing is pretty impressive to me! Pretty much limitless what you can come up with on those things. Please keep updating what you come up with.

i can see within the next 10 years or so we are going to be able to make anything with these things, need a window crank for your 83 s10 just type in these numbers. or need a small plastic cover for a hinge on your fridge same thing. pretty neat