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3D Printing
Hey guys,
I wanted to start a separate thread to discuss and document my journey through 3D printer land. I have been an AutoCAD user since 2001 - sadly, I still run AutoCAD 2002. I am very familiar with the solids modeling approach, especially in AutoCAD 2002. Using old school AutoCAD I can draw a lot of different things with enough time and motivation (I was even able to extrude technically correct threads at one time) - but it does not, to my knowledge, support newfangled file formats like STL. Nor, for that matter, do the 3D models generated in old school AutoCAD support correct tool paths etc.
After seeing Brian RIcher's extremely cost effective 3D printed cabinets for his Overnight Sensations, it lit a fire under my ass and I immediately requested and received permission to order a printer of my own.
So I ordered this Monday morning, along with a few spools of cheap PLA and an odd accessory or two:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074QLQSQV/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Grand total came to under $700 for enough materials to print two bookshelf cabinets. Wait, what? Cost effective? How can that be? Well - my table saw originally retailed for over $1000, and I challenge anyone to build a pair of cabinets with complex curves and ready to go for the $30 in material and 70hrs that it took for Brian to print his pair. Time is money, and when you no longer enjoy making sawdust and your skill set in the woodshop makes it difficult to produce the kind of baffle geometry that I believe is required for next-level speaker systems... Plus, the 70 hours to build the cabinets are effectively free-time as the printers do the majority of the labor. I am not seeing how I, as a very lazy man, can lose by offloading the bulk of the labor involved in building a cabinet to a robot. In fact, that was essentially my bread and butter for the majority of the last fifteen years anyways.
Anywhoo, since I am in need of CAD software that will allow me to produce correct STL files and I am in need of software that will assemble those STL files into printable objects, I started doing some research.
I am hesitant to use any of Autodesk's products, but will not rule them out. I learned Inventor years ago, and found it to be astonishingly difficult compared to some of the other alternatives - although it was extremely powerful and those that have a knack for it really made it sing.
I downloaded and installed something called "FreeCAD" today - I am going to commit to learning it as it is multi-platform, meaning at some point in the near future I will be transitioning to Linux for the majority of my PC work. It appears relatively full-featured, but will present a learning curve for me as I am very used to subtractive/additive solid modeling in AutoCAD. I imagine regardless of what software I pursue I will be presented with that challenge.
Based on some research, I opted to purchase a license for Simplify3D. It allegedly prepares the model for optimal printing etc, and is not really expensive compared to most 3D modeling software.
I am not necessarily here to solicit opinions on software, however, so much as to just get a conversation going about 3D printing in general. I have noticed over the years, listening to various commercial and DIY designs, including my Vermillions, that there is a significant benefit to a specific type of baffle treatment. The specific type of geometry I want to begin implementing cannot be done within the constraints of my time and talent limitations.
In addition, I imagine all sorts of goodies coming off the printer not necessarily related to DIY audio.
I do not plan to use primarily PLA in the future, but it is extremely cost effective and I do plan on fucking up more than once during the process. Eventually, however, I do plan on attaining a high proficiency level in both 3D modeling and printing so I am looking forward to that.
I wanted to start a separate thread to discuss and document my journey through 3D printer land. I have been an AutoCAD user since 2001 - sadly, I still run AutoCAD 2002. I am very familiar with the solids modeling approach, especially in AutoCAD 2002. Using old school AutoCAD I can draw a lot of different things with enough time and motivation (I was even able to extrude technically correct threads at one time) - but it does not, to my knowledge, support newfangled file formats like STL. Nor, for that matter, do the 3D models generated in old school AutoCAD support correct tool paths etc.
After seeing Brian RIcher's extremely cost effective 3D printed cabinets for his Overnight Sensations, it lit a fire under my ass and I immediately requested and received permission to order a printer of my own.
So I ordered this Monday morning, along with a few spools of cheap PLA and an odd accessory or two:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074QLQSQV/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Grand total came to under $700 for enough materials to print two bookshelf cabinets. Wait, what? Cost effective? How can that be? Well - my table saw originally retailed for over $1000, and I challenge anyone to build a pair of cabinets with complex curves and ready to go for the $30 in material and 70hrs that it took for Brian to print his pair. Time is money, and when you no longer enjoy making sawdust and your skill set in the woodshop makes it difficult to produce the kind of baffle geometry that I believe is required for next-level speaker systems... Plus, the 70 hours to build the cabinets are effectively free-time as the printers do the majority of the labor. I am not seeing how I, as a very lazy man, can lose by offloading the bulk of the labor involved in building a cabinet to a robot. In fact, that was essentially my bread and butter for the majority of the last fifteen years anyways.
Anywhoo, since I am in need of CAD software that will allow me to produce correct STL files and I am in need of software that will assemble those STL files into printable objects, I started doing some research.
I am hesitant to use any of Autodesk's products, but will not rule them out. I learned Inventor years ago, and found it to be astonishingly difficult compared to some of the other alternatives - although it was extremely powerful and those that have a knack for it really made it sing.
I downloaded and installed something called "FreeCAD" today - I am going to commit to learning it as it is multi-platform, meaning at some point in the near future I will be transitioning to Linux for the majority of my PC work. It appears relatively full-featured, but will present a learning curve for me as I am very used to subtractive/additive solid modeling in AutoCAD. I imagine regardless of what software I pursue I will be presented with that challenge.
Based on some research, I opted to purchase a license for Simplify3D. It allegedly prepares the model for optimal printing etc, and is not really expensive compared to most 3D modeling software.
I am not necessarily here to solicit opinions on software, however, so much as to just get a conversation going about 3D printing in general. I have noticed over the years, listening to various commercial and DIY designs, including my Vermillions, that there is a significant benefit to a specific type of baffle treatment. The specific type of geometry I want to begin implementing cannot be done within the constraints of my time and talent limitations.
In addition, I imagine all sorts of goodies coming off the printer not necessarily related to DIY audio.
I do not plan to use primarily PLA in the future, but it is extremely cost effective and I do plan on fucking up more than once during the process. Eventually, however, I do plan on attaining a high proficiency level in both 3D modeling and printing so I am looking forward to that.
I have a signature.
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Comments
PlA is cheap but it takes a long time and the bigger and more complex the model and thicker the walls the longer it takes. The longer it takes the more chances that your print will not complete. I have thrown away a lot of 80% 90% builds and some which were non starter. So a bit frustrating in the beginning, but then you figure out what works and what doesn't.
It's zipped with 7zip
[edit]: well it's not uploading... if you want it just lemme know I'll get it to you
Rhino is actually a very good 3D modeler. If you know someone in school, you can get it for $195. Fully functional and for life.
https://www.rhino3d.com/sales/north-america/United_States
G-code (toolpath) generator is another software package. You can import STL or other formats from Rhino in to G-coder.
Mecsoft makes plugins G-coders for Rhino. They work directly from Rhino5 but a bit pricey (all tho powerful). https://mecsoft.com/rhinocam-software/
This is also a g-code generator.
http://www.vectric.com/products/vcp/features.htm
For 3D printing you can use softwar4e that comes with the 3D printer. They should have something generic so you can import the 3D model and print it.
I am not sure what the differences are between pro software and free 3D printing stuff.
https://mecsoft.com/visual3dprint/
We (the company I work for, not CSS) actually make functional under-hood prototypes for OEMs as well as end use engine components for various custom automobile build houses. The process is called laser sintering and is very different than the readily available 3D printing process being discussed here.
Those wavguides Craig got were huge and heavy. It was the only pair like that I ever made and if I was to quote something that size to a regular customer, they would have been $800 for the pair.
With all that said, there has been talk for decades about 3D printing revolutionizing manufacturing and that's just not the reality. There is no need for most items to be customized and 3D printing will never usurp injection molding for fast, cheap manufacture of mass produced plastic stuff. It's too good and too cheap. Metal parts are different, but CNC still trumps 3D printing in most applications.
3D printing is great, however, for prototypes, DIYers, and anyone else who wants to make less than thousands of something. Make the CAD file and it's yours forever. Print one out when you want, share it with your friends, make changes on a screen and print it again. It's great to see that the machines have come down in price so it's worth it for your average DIYer. While I'm at it, let me throw out a plug for www.proto-pasta.com for filament supply. One of the guys I used to work with helped start this company.
Dan
The next ten years should see subtractive manufacturing relegated to artisan status. Additive processes are already being used for production in several industries - and it is being used for critical components.
It is unwise to discount a technology such as this, probably better to adopt it and advance it lest we get left out in the rain like the old school machinists. They never saw CNC amounting to much, either.
But there are already hybrid machines.
Cessna plans on utilizing more printed parts going forward. So do various automakers.
Glad I work in a premium branded food company.
There are many alloys that are capable of being processed this way and when the geometry is too small to fixture, or too complex to CNC or results in too much billet waste, many companies are turning to 3D printing, even for large production runs.
Dan
My comment was more an opinion from inside the industry on the idea that 3D printing of plastic components is revolutionizing manufacturing. It isn't yet. I watched the hype build up around me with promises of one-off geometries built at the cost and speed of traditional volume methods, and it wasn't happening. This misinformation was embodied in a class action lawsuit against 3D Systems whose stock price had skyrocketed amidst the hype, then crashed once nothing materialized.
3d printing HAS revolutionized R&D to be sure, reducing iterative design process time by an order of magnitude in some cases. And in the metal realm, it has become the method of choice for various geometries and/or materials. We're only in the infancy of the technology and I'm sure capabilities will increase greatly over the next several decades - we'll see where it goes!
Dan