3D Printing - General Thread

[mabloodhound]

Those came out great Ed.   Maybe Shapeways has improved their handling and printing process.   Sure were speedy this time around.

[eTraxx]

Yep, my thoughts too. I believe I read that they changed the support material (wax) to lessen the layering

[Hauk]

But as the saying goes; The proof of the pudding is in the primer.

I find it hard to judge Shapeways parts before they are primed. So I am looking forward to see the parts painted!

[eTraxx]

The ventilators were sanded lightly with 600 grit sandpaper, primed, sanded again and primed. The hardest thing is that they are so darn small this is a relatively delicate operation. I wonder if a Q-Tip with rubbing compound might work. Still .. think they came out pretty well. That small one is stuck on a toothpick the other two on Q-Tips.

[Hauk]

The ventilators were sanded lightly with 600 grit sandpaper, primed, sanded again and primed.

Looking damn close to perfect!

[finescalerr]

I would never guess the parts were 3-D printed or less than perfect from studying those photos. -- Russ

[eTraxx]

The primer helped quite a bit. The hardest thing for me is that they are so small and so hard to sand. David Emery pointed me to these Plastic Sanding Needles. Look to be useful even if not perfect for this. I'm going to drop by today and  pick up some cosmetic sponges .. want to try seeing if rubbing or polishing compound and a Q-Tip will smooth them. Notice that the walls of the "sheet metal" are quite thick .. they are .020 in. .. but I think a little sanding along the edge will hide that thickness

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks for that link. I definitely can use those plastic sanding needles!

[eTraxx]

I picked up some buffing compound at Lowes .. some Porter Cable #3 'Cleaning Compound' and #4 'Polishing Compound'.  These are sticks that you on a buffing wheel but they worked 'good nuff' on a Q-Tip.

I must apologize for the fingers .. I was putting brake pads on my truck before the pic

[finescalerr]

Although you might benefit from a manicure your ventilators wouldn't. I still contend they look quite good. -- Russ

[eTraxx]

Formlabs - Formlabs Form 1+ 3D Printer

• Form1+ : $3299
  
• 1 liter Resin  :  $149 – Clear, White, Gray and Black.
  
• Material properties  : ABS-like Acrylate Photopolymer Resin
  
• Build Volume : 125 x 125 x165 mm / 4.9 x 4.9 x 6.5 in.
  
• Layer thickness : 25, 50, or 100 microns / .025, .050, or .1 mm
  
• Min feature Size  : 300 microns / .3 mm
  

I spoke to Jon Bryant at Formlabs. He said that any questions to contact him at jon@formlabs.com or phone: 617.932.5227 ext766

I was really impressed with the sample they sent. This was printed at the 100 micron layer thickness – taking a couple of hours.  Printing at 25 microns would take approximately four times as long.

This in a way acts as a lead-in to Shapeways FUD. Shapeways charges $3.49 cm3 for FUD (Frosted Ultra Detail). The 1 liter of resin from Formlabs costs $149 .. which works out to $0.15 cm3. While there may be a difference in resin cost between what Shapeways and Formalabs use I suspect that the major cost difference is the print time is figured into the Shapeways charge.
Formlabs says that 77 of the chess pieces could be printed from one bottle of resin. That works out to 1000 cm3/77 or each chess piece having a volume of 13 cm3. At $.015 per cm3 for the resin then each chess piece would cost you $2. That same volume at Shapeways would be 13 x $3.49 or $45.37 .. not counting the $5 handling charge and approximate $5 shipping.

I haven't sawn, beaten, stomped or otherwise tried to kill the chess piece. Just holding it in my hands it appears to be solid, strong and durable. It (the resin) is described as "like ABS". Jon mentioned that if you go to the community forum there is the usual 'formeze discussions' .. that some have electroplated the plastic (yes .. ABS can be electroplated) to increase the strength of parts.

Is it worth $3299 to you? Donno. Would it be useful in Model Railroading / Military Modeling in creating your own parts? Sure.

I'm impressed with the quality of the sample they sent me. This machine is .. IMO .. where 3D printers take off from 'kit built' to professional printers.

The sample came to me nicely packaged as you see here. It is a rook that would I think make any chess player happy to have (well .. unless they were of the *cough* .. elite such as from Hollywood or Washington D.C.


Looks pretty darn good. There is some layering evident next to my thumb and just above where the base necks down to the spiral trunk. Remember this was printed at the 100 micron layer. Obviously, printing at 50 microns would reduce that layering by half and printing at 25 microns by a quarter .. of course the printing time would increase proportionally.


A view from the top and we can see the helical stairs spiraling down into the body of the tower and the lettering nicely done on top.


This isn't a review of the printer - I don't have one. Just an overview and a look at a sample printed piece.

[marc_reusser]

Cool. Thanks for the review/report.

[Wesleybeks]

Found an article about these guys today. I love the concept. Will be interesting to see if the idea works though.

http://www.solidsmack.com/fabrication/igo3d-is-the-first-and-fanciest-3d-print-store-in-germany/

Their website

https://www.igo3d.com/

[Bexley]

Huh. It makes sense now that I think about it, but the idea of Kinko's for 3D prints had never occurred to me.

[Chuck Doan]

Thanks for the report Ed. I wonder how much of a learning curve there is with these printers. I know there a group on Flickr dedicated to 3D print failures...