WTB 3D printing (or alternative)

[Thomas MacFinn]

If somebody already has the .stl file, is Shapeways a good place to get a shape printed or is there cheaper?

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/foxknife

[Nissan Maxima]

How big is the thing you are printing?

[Blaine de Navarre]

You can also try http://www.ponoko.com. I have no idea if they're more or less expensive than Shapeways.

[Thomas MacFinn]

How big is the thing you are printing?

11" x 2" x 1.5" ... an idealized representation of the handle end of one of my wasters.

[Thomas MacFinn]

You can also try http://www.ponoko.com. I have no idea if they're more or less expensive than Shapeways.

In this case, Ponoko is slightly more expensive.

[Thomas MacFinn]

If you know somebody with a 3D printer that can't handle eleven inches, it certainly doesn't have to be that long.

How big is the thing you are printing?

11" x 2" x 1.5" ... an idealized representation of the handle end of one of my wasters.

[Gunter Haller]

The design looks simple enough that you may be able to look into CNC milling as well. It may give you a lower cost point. I've noticed that 3D printing is pretty spendy if you want larger parts made.

[Sean Powell]

There is a difference in types of 3D printing that lead to differences in quality, durability, accuracy, flexibility and color.

The cheapest options I know use layers of starch that are sifted down in layers and then the part is printed using ink-jet heads on an X-Y table and super-glue as the ink. More advanced versions of this can work in color mixed with the glue. The parts tend to be very brittle and there is a secondary coating process to make the shell stronger by manually adding more glue.

As a mid-range there is a system that uses printer-heads and something akin to hot-melt glue. This is a medium quality but better durability solution although there is often a cure-time and manual clean-up of support sprues etc. We use these in our office. Do not leave the parts in your car on a hot day or they will not be the right shape afterwards. It droops like hard candle-wax. You can print in multiple colors with the right machine and some colors/resins are more flexible so you can print a hard car with rubber tires.

Still top of the line is the bath and laser style. The laser cures the liquid resin and forms the shape with minimal support sprues and almost no cleanup after draining the liquid. I have heard that the parts are fragile but have no personal experience.

There is also a fairly new process of sifted powdered metal and laser scintering to create 3D metal objects of shapes that cannot be cast, machined or fabricated in any other known way. It's nifty stuff but far outside the need of this project.

If you are going to source this you probably want to look into companies that do the layered starch as it is cheapest, plenty durable for your size and geometry, tends to cost based on the shortest dimension, and frequently have print-beds in the 10" to 12" range. There was a company in Boston who sold the machines and ran a print on demand program, I'll try to find their name but it may have been lost in an earlier e-mail crash.

Luck!
Sean

[Thomas MacFinn]

On this first one, price is my over-riding concern. I want to hold one in my hands before I say "Yes, this design is perfect."

Once the first one is done, then I can look at other material qualities.

[Blaine de Navarre]

If you get in touch with http://www.emachineshop.com, they offer to help you figure out which process is most cost effective for your part.

[Brendan_deHay]

I spent some time on the phone recently with this gentleman:

Jerry S. McLeod
Advanced RP, Inc.
Ph: (770) 271-8985
Fax: (770) 271-8954
Email: Jerry@AdvancedRP.com

He is a sales guy for Stratasys 3D printers (they sent me a sample), which model in ABS plastic. His company (based in a northern Atlanta suburb) also operates a 3D print shop. They charge based on machine time. (25$/machine hour)

--BrENdan deHay
(mka Ben Hay)
benjamin_hay@mac.com

[Thomas MacFinn]

I really need to slow down and get samples. I've never done 3D printing before and have no idea of the materials involved.

Jerry suggested an interior honeycomb design for strength (which I liked) and a $115 price tag (which I didn't).

[Nissan Maxima]

On this first one, price is my over-riding concern. I want to hold one in my hands before I say "Yes, this design is perfect."

Once the first one is done, then I can look at other material qualities.

Make the design less than 10 inches long and I'll make one for you.

[Thomas MacFinn]

Done.

[Thomas MacFinn]

The example I was sent was great, spawned a revision of my original design and five additional shapes. I know better than to wear out my welcome asking for more free stuff. I still need to find a good source for these.

Perhaps I am not thinking wide enough. Now that I know a bit more about stl files, does anybody know of any alternatives to 3D printing that would be less expensive? Computer controlled woodcarving, for example. The only services I have found so far wouldn't be interested in small projects.

[Nissan Maxima]

For 1300 bucks you can own your own 3d printer.


http://cubify.com/cube/store.aspx

[Thomas MacFinn]

I started hand carving rattan with a drawknife because I couldn't afford a table saw. I only found out the drawknife was the better tool after.

Plus, as I understand it, the expensive part isn't the printer, its the material.