Indicator holder project, and another printer question...

[Dabbler]

I had an idea for an indicator for an aloris style toolpost but haven't gotten to it in nearly a year, so, Janger suggested we 3D print one to see how it goes...

Within a few days, finished prototypes were rolling out like hotcakes! With a lot of help from Janger, and many of his great ideas, below are pictures of the current prototype: From the first to the second, there were 14 changes (!) even to something so simple...


I think I am getting the '3D Printing bug' - a serious malady! The real Prusa is around US$ 600, where the Bangood clones of it seem to be well under US$200. What would be the tradeoffs in trying to save the $400 US???

 

[YYCHM]

That's pretty darn neat!!! I've be curious about 3D printing for quite some time now. How long does it take to print something like that?

 

[Dabbler]

Janger will have to answer that question. I hope he will post pictures of some of the other prototypes that were made... I think we are on the 7th print right now...

 

[PeterT]

Demonstrates some of 3DP's strong point(s) - prototyping, seeing how it integrates with other components or assemblies, or maybe a finished part doesn't necessarily have to be made of metal to function, or just the speed & ease to change your mind & design. I'm not sure I can justify a printer, but its purely a personal interest & needs decision. If you guys need help on the CAD front let me know, but looks like you have things figured out.

 

[Johnwa]

Prusa or clone
There’s nothing magic about the original Prusa as the design was put in the public domain. The clones may or may not us “cheaper” parts, but there’s really not much that can go wrong.
Depending on what filament you choose you may need a heated bed (I do).

There is also a 3D club meetup the last Thursday of every month at the Alistair Ross tech center where there are usually some printers operating.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Dabbler]

John how do I link to an invitation or get to a meeting? I'm not 'for sure' getting one, but it would help to talk to people about them in any event.

 

[Johnwa]

Here you go
https://www.meetup.com/Calgary-3D-Printing-Group-Every-Last-Thursday-Monthly/
There is also a Facebook group if you’re interested.

 

[Janger]

That's pretty darn neat!!! I've be curious about 3D printing for quite some time now. How long does it take to print something like that?

I’ll be talking about all this at the forum meetup.

 

[kevin.decelles]

I have a Prusa clone. Spent $250 CDN 2 years ago. The brand was the GEEETECH I3 PRO B. There are many competitors with the same design (ie: INET A8). I bought a second one a year later and it cost about $295 (delivered).

There are different frame styles, mine was the acrylic version, but could have went with aluminum or even 'wood' for different money.

For what I'm using it for (prototyping, small utility parts), it works great. I like what I paid for what I use it for.

The upside to brand-name box units is the promise of plug-n-play and ease of use. Depending on the brand, you may be hand-cuffed on the software side (ie: can't upgrade firmware etc.).

With the printer I have, there is nothing proprietary about it. It runs an Arduino based board, runs the Marlin firmware, to which I have the source code. If I don't like a feature, I can modify it etc. as everything is open sourced. I'm also no afraid to frankenstein my printer by printing/using alternative parts, but I probably would think twice if I had a 1000 bucks in the game. Parts on Amazon and eBay are dirt cheap (entire Arduino board replacement is about $40. New hot-end is $20.

That said, @Janger has very nice prints to show in a very small time. It took quite a while to 'tweak' my printer to get it to print similar.

 

[RobinHood]

That is so cool. Very funtional. Another “some day machine”...

 

[Tom O]

I’ll have to check that out I have a replicator 2 that I bought a few years ago along with the Makerbot scanner