[hoss2006]

I just bought some nice Echain. Now it would certainly take some time, but one could print the parts to make a mold and then use resin to cast them.

Okay, Hoss. I won't post every time my brain lights the bulb over my head.
Glad I am waiting on mine a bit. With your noggin working on these as well, there will surely be some profound insights for those building after you.

All ideas welcome, keep em coming.
Hoss

[SCzEngrgGroup]

That video is amazing, i would love ro find some more information on what is actually happening to produce that part, hard to understand without knowing any background on it. it looks like there is a glass lens and as it is pulled up out of the material it somehow tranfers the design patterns in slices maybe? kind of like an MRI machine.. CRAZY watching it happen.

any more info anywhere?

Chris

SLA machines have a vat of liquid polymer resin, and the part is "drawn" in thin layers with a laser, right at the surface. The laser cures the polymer, changing it from liquid to solid. In most such machines, the table on which ti part is drawn starts out at the surface, and submerges as the part grows upwards. The process can produce nice, accurate parts, with a resolution on the order of 0.001", but SLA machines are expensive, and the parts take a loooong time to run - run times of days are not unusual. But, they are great for making prototype parts to "test" a design, without the expense of cutting a mold.

Regards,
Ray L.

[LeeWay]

I just found a link for some material supplies. Don't know how they compare with pricing of other places.
Materials | Bits From Bytes

[hoss2006]

3D printer supply on Ebay has a lot of 3mm filament spools, pretty good prices and all the colors of the rainbow.
3d-printer-supply | eBay
Hoss

[Fastest1]

Nuri's site has a link to a great place too 3ders.org - 3D printing and 3D printers news, trends and resources.

[hoss2006]

Nuri's site has a link to a great place too 3ders.org - 3D printing and 3D printers news, trends and resources.

Excellent! gonna take weeks to read thru all this stuff.
Hoss

[LeeWay]

Very cool stuff.
According to this link, we will want at least two extruders on a machine.
3ders.org - Dissolvable support material used for 3D printing gearbox and Hilbert Cube | 3D Printer news

One for printing desolvable supports.

[hoss2006]

Oh man this is going to get mental!
Gotta work pva into the mix now.
Hoss

[hoss2006]

PVA looks tough to find yet but Makerbot carries a big spool.
MakerBot® Water Soluble PVA - 1lb coil - 3mm - MakerBot Industries
ProtoParadigm has a couple cheaper smaller sized spools to get your feet wet first.
https://www.protoparadigm.com/products-page/other-3mm/
They both have PVA in 3mm and 1.75mm.
Hoss

[hoss2006]

That video is amazing, i would love ro find some more information on what is actually happening to produce that part, hard to understand without knowing any background on it. it looks like there is a glass lens and as it is pulled up out of the material it somehow tranfers the design patterns in slices maybe? kind of like an MRI machine.. CRAZY watching it happen.

any more info anywhere?

Chris

They have a great 3D Printing Basics page on 3ders.org.
Videos shows several different types of processes.
3ders.org - 3D Printing Basics | Beginner's guide | 3D printers
Hoss

[LeeWay]

I also saw a link to where they can use polycarbonate, but as I suspected, it has to be dried first for best results.

[mhackney]

I bought a 5lb spool of 1.75mm black PLA from ultimachine.com yesterday. I thought I'd get started with the finer stuff. I've read that it is a bit easier to melt and easier to get good results up front.

cheers,
Michael

EDIT: should have been PLA not PVA

[hoss2006]

I bought a alb spool of 1.75mm black PVA from ultimachine.com yesterday. I thought I'd get started with the finer stuff. I've read that it is a bit easier to melt and easier to get good results up front.

cheers,
Michael

PVA? I got some ABS and PLA from them on the way but don't see PVA listed.
Hoss

[mhackney]

Typo, meant PLA, fixed the original post.

Michael

[rpovey]

I'm somewhat intrigued by designs like this one

3ders.org - The ORD Bot 3D printer platform using MakerSlide linear bearing | 3D Printing news

Basically all you really need is a 3 axis movement system with enough rigidity to hold the print head steady. Seems like it should be relatively come up with plans that could easily be made on the majority of CNC machines that people in the forum are using.

[hoss2006]

That's pretty neat.
Yeah I've seen all sorts of platforms researching these printers, seems to be a popular mod
to make your own frame.
The extruder isn't very heavy so the frame doesn't have to be super stout to support it
and yet still is plenty rigid enough for accurate printing.
I see myself expanding the X axis for making bigger prints.
Hoss

[hoss2006]

My rods and allthread showed up so I can cut them to length and get the Prusa frame built now.
The electronics are due tomorrow but they'll all need soldered together first.
Maybe get it going this weekend.
Pics and video to come, nothing step by step or anything, they already have a very in depth
instructional pdf that shows every step of the process.
Time to get to work.
Hoss

[LeeWay]

Can't wait to see you going on this, Hoss. I was just considering some of the software. While Mach 3 may play nicely as a 3D print control, the CAM's I use won't really. Addition rather than subtraction being what is needed for the Gcode.

What software will you use on this? It would help to get a step up on the interface with this.
Thanks.


PS. Here is a little better forum or at least more active than the first link I posted.
http://www.bitsfrombytes.com/usd/forum

[LeeWay]

Also saw this.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGrkWFTbmQw&feature=player_embedded]3D Printing Autodesk 123D Beta Models with MakerBot - YouTube[/ame]

Do we really need a second head for supports? While I am sure it would come in handy, it would complicate the project. That complication might be worthwhile though.

[hoss2006]

I'll be using ReplicatorG too for both, that's what comes with the H1.
I use Alibre for 3D and already checked that the stl from it opens in repg.
Have to get into it later in more detail.
A dual head will be more complex but I won't worry about that right now, have to
get good with one head first.
Hoss