Members who 3D print?
- Thread starter bedhed
- Start date
I've printed a couple things for personal projects but don't have my own printer yet. I've used 3DHubs.com in the past.
Pretty much the same here. A friend of mine recently bought one and we got it set up, but I haven't printed anything. I'll check that site out. Haven't been on that one, but I have been on Pinshape, Cults3D, and GrabCAD. Found a few TJ parts from those, but nothing that is useful to me at the moment.
Mainly just looking to see if we had any others on here, for future reference. Tech questions, files, ideas, etc. I'll jump back on later and upload the files that I found, just in case anyone is interested.
I have a 3D printer and have done some personal projects. Most is just download of thingiverse but I have built a few things in Blender.
I haven't tried Blender. Might be the first time hearing of it. I'm not in a spot to download it and try it out, but I just looked at screenshots of it, and it looks like something that would work for me, maybe. I've mostly just been fooling around with TinkerCad. I like it for the minimal learning curve and simplicity, but there's things that I can't seem to make it do. More complex things, I guess.
I've been using the 3D modeling software on my work laptop for my personal projects but Autodesk Fusion 360 is available free for hobbyist use.
https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/fusion-360-for-hobbyists
https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/fusion-360-for-hobbyists
I have done several projects personally and for others as well. I own a 3D printer and design software. Feel free to reach out if you need something.
Here is something I did recently (center caps)
Here is something I did recently (center caps)
OctoPrint is pretty cool if you haven’t heard of it. I have it installed on a RaspberryPi and it is basically a web front end for your printer. So no more having to copy the gcode to your SD.
Darsmith
TJ Enthusiast
Have a Creality Ender printer and use it all the time. Recently designed and printed a speaker adapter ring for installing a Kicker 6.75" sub in my console, printed front speaker pods for installing Polk 5-1/4" speakers up front and just designed and printed adapter rings for installing Polk 5-1/4" speakers in the roll bar pods using the factory grills. Fusion 360 is a great tool for the design and outputs .STL files right into Cura for slicing and generating G-code files for the 3D printer. I stopped machining small parts on my CNC mill; I now just 3D print them.
Cool. I'll check that out. Thanks
Thanks. Will do!
Very nice! Those are a money saver. I bought a few OEM several years ago off eBay. They are pricey.
My friend who bought the printer made mention of that before, but neither of us have tried it yet. I'd completely forgotten until you mentioned it. I need to look that up.
Buddy bought a Longer LK4 Pro. 3D printing is new to both of us, so take this for what it's worth, but it has performed very well for the 6 or so prints that it's done. No complaints thus far. For the price, I expected less.
I downloaded and tried Blender. It looks really promising, but it's been a struggle. I'm usually fairly quick to catch on, but not so much with this one. After going in without checking out any tutorials, then watching a few tutorials, I got the feeling that the use of key strokes is much needed. That, and the use of two hands. One for shortcuts and the other for the mouse.
Is my thinking way off?
Is my thinking way off?
Denverdean1
Member
I'm on my second 3d printer now, the first one I bought a couple years ago was a cheap kit you had to assemble. It was good for learning but I could never get quality prints from it. Back in September I decided to buy the Anycubic Mega-S. I really recommend it as it is really easy to use out of the box, it comes with tons of tools, spare parts and filament, and it produces very quality prints without having to adjust and fiddle with things.
@joelachr I downloaded Fusion 360. That might just work for me. So far, it's been pretty straight forward. There's a bit of a learning curve, but not too bad. The Tinkercad site that I've been fooling around with is an Autodesk program too, so some of the functions are the same. That has helped.
Darsmith
TJ Enthusiast
Love Fusion 360. Designed and printed a license plate frame and rear license name plate with my Jeeps name on them last weekend. First time printing a multi-colored print. Also designed and printed a cup holder riser for my wife's Forester. I used to do a lot of projects on the CNC mill, but now do a majority of hobby projects 3D printed.
Shuttlesworth
TJ Enthusiast
Easy 3D software that is pretty robust for home projects is Fusion 360. I'm a Solidworks guy, but from a Hobbyist perspective and for price you simply can't beat Fusion 360. It implements all the basic functions that all industrial software's have and is easy to navigate/ user friendly. There are tons of videos on how to get started with it.
Be weary of material choice. 3D printed parts are suited for stationary, room temperature and low strength uses. They are mainly used for prototyping due to the low cost and accuracy. Finished products that are 3D printed are using very specialty printers with specialty materials made for each use case. Once you get into "aluminum" strength materials the plastic is expensive and the printers that do that are in the $12k-$20k range for low end. So do your homework on printer and material.
Be weary of material choice. 3D printed parts are suited for stationary, room temperature and low strength uses. They are mainly used for prototyping due to the low cost and accuracy. Finished products that are 3D printed are using very specialty printers with specialty materials made for each use case. Once you get into "aluminum" strength materials the plastic is expensive and the printers that do that are in the $12k-$20k range for low end. So do your homework on printer and material.
Last edited:
I use a 3D printer pretty extensively at work. I've used Markforged printers as well as Dimensions. I have an old version of Solidworks (2013) and I'm currently running Inventor (New job, new CAD program) so I'm still learning the ins and outs. I don't have a personal printer but small stuff, I just run at work and give them the cost of the print in Petty Cash.
I can probably offer 3d prints for a small fee...I'd have to work up some pricing, but our printer basically sits. Pretty limited on material choice too, though the materials we have are decent for Automobile interiors (ASA and ABS).
@Chris I don't know the rules here regarding vendors, so you can delete the last paragraph if I'm violating them. We don't offer 3d Printing as a service, but I don't know why I couldn't offer that to forum members.
I can probably offer 3d prints for a small fee...I'd have to work up some pricing, but our printer basically sits. Pretty limited on material choice too, though the materials we have are decent for Automobile interiors (ASA and ABS).
@Chris I don't know the rules here regarding vendors, so you can delete the last paragraph if I'm violating them. We don't offer 3d Printing as a service, but I don't know why I couldn't offer that to forum members.