3D Printing Aquarium Parts

[ScubaSteve]

Those of you who've been to my place have probably seen the CNC mill and mysterious electric green box that make up part of my living room decor. That mysterious green box is a 3D printer that is use for prototyping parts :razz:

After a morning at work that was somewhere in the area of total to complete ****, I opted to come home early and have a chill day. I was sitting next to my tank watching TV but I couldn't hear the damn TV over my skimmer! My skimmer has always been loud but I've never really done anything about it, until today...

15 minutes in Solidworks and an hour of printing later I had myself a fancy custom skimmer silencer. Skimmer is now whisper silent!

I'll definitely be printing more parts for my tank from now on:mrgreen:

And yes, it is printed in bling bling gold:razz:

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Nergetic/D2684990-F33F-400D-A85D-1B9359F04868-2693-0000040B7848014F.jpg

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Nergetic/FE7AD38D-FDEA-4D92-B31E-7A053FC7A911-2693-0000040B7D34DCA4.jpg

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Nergetic/C1E90679-DCB0-40AD-88CF-2E0CDF2D0495-2693-0000040B81AAEBCC.jpg

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Nergetic/0A6B1425-486B-4D10-8039-EF4788F88D71-2693-0000040B85954E92.jpg

[Eduardo]

Very cool.

[subman]

That's awesome!!

[freezetyle]

I want one of those printers so bad!.

[imisky]

lol funny thing, Ive been 3D printing for the last 2 years.

[Ross]

What method?
I'm assumimg a fdm machine?

I've played around with sla parts from quick parts many years ago and they didnt hold up well fresh water after much time.



Sent from my SGH-I896 using Tapatalk 2

[imisky]

most of the desktop and home based 3d printers are now based on fdm (there is an SLA one coming out but limited like you had mentioned). mostly using ABS and PLA with the trend going towards PLA for the dimensional stability factor in the material. It doesnt curl and warp as much as ABS and doesnt give off a strong plastic smell. The only downside for us is, well PLA is biopellets. If you print anything with PLA that goes into sw it'll get consumed eventually.

I designed and build 3D printers for Tinkerine Studio which is a company I established in April. Im not sure if this is allowed but Im quite excited to see people on here having an interest in 3D printing. I go to Oceanic on Sundays around 1pm to chat with Paul and a friend. I can bring a 3D printer with me for anyone who is interested in 3D printing, possibly print off some small parts. But for now anyone who is interested can visit me at www.tinkerines.com we do some pretty fun stuff

[ScubaSteve]

My printer at home is FDM based as well but I'm looking to get an SLA in the near future. I do enough SLA that it is almost worth it financially to just by one.

For going my showcase models I get parts done with SLA at Camosun College on the island. Good pricing and great service (they always have the parts in my hands right when I need them, and I certainly don't make things easy for them).

Problem with almost all 3D print materials is that they swell with moisture. The products I design and build are waterr treatment devices, so always wet and with bacteria. To prevent water and microbe issues I dip or spray my parts with a clear lacquer (clear Krylon works great). I didn't bother spraying this piece here because it won't be in water but I would dip others for sure.

Between my CNC mill and the printer there is very little I can't build. It's awesome :razz:

[ScubaSteve]

most of the desktop and home based 3d printers are now based on fdm (there is an SLA one coming out but limited like you had mentioned). mostly using ABS and PLA with the trend going towards PLA for the dimensional stability factor in the material. It doesnt curl and warp as much as ABS and doesnt give off a strong plastic smell. The only downside for us is, well PLA is biopellets. If you print anything with PLA that goes into sw it'll get consumed eventually.

I designed and build 3D printers for Tinkerine Studio which is a company I established in April. Im not sure if this is allowed but Im quite excited to see people on here having an interest in 3D printing. I go to Oceanic on Sundays around 1pm to chat with Paul and a friend. I can bring a 3D printer with me for anyone who is interested in 3D printing, possibly print off some small parts. But for now anyone who is interested can visit me at www.tinkerines.com we do some pretty fun stuff

By the way, very nice system. Glad to see you went with an x/y gantry. What firmware are you running? Marlin or something else?

[Enigma]

Very cool! Hubby and I watched a show on those things, and our jaws dropped.

[imisky]

By the way, very nice system. Glad to see you went with an x/y gantry. What firmware are you running? Marlin or something else?

We are running Marlin on the machine, its about as good as it gets right now without writing your own. The machine is fully open source so we picked the best of the firmware, electronics and matched it to our hardware.

What machine are you running? I always ask because its awesome to know 3D printing is spreading in Vancouver. 2 years ago there was 3 guys I knew that was into this stuff. and now we are at about 40+ and growing.

There is a 3D printer meet up every 2nd week at boston pizza beside the langley colossus movie theater. Tons of people usually show up to just chat about stuff. Its like a sw meet but for 3D printers, feel free to contact me for more info.

[ScubaSteve]

We are running Marlin on the machine, its about as good as it gets right now without writing your own. The machine is fully open source so we picked the best of the firmware, electronics and matched it to our hardware.

What machine are you running? I always ask because its awesome to know 3D printing is spreading in Vancouver. 2 years ago there was 3 guys I knew that was into this stuff. and now we are at about 40+ and growing.

There is a 3D printer meet up every 2nd week at boston pizza beside the langley colossus movie theater. Tons of people usually show up to just chat about stuff. Its like a sw meet but for 3D printers, feel free to contact me for more info.

At home I run an ultimaker. I've got the thing nice and dialed in and have been consistently running 20 um prints. I've only had this ine at home for a few months. I've been using 3D printers for about 7 years in some way or form. At the office I use Objets. Man, I want one of those for the house.:razz:

[imisky]

At home I run an ultimaker. I've got the thing nice and dialed in and have been consistently running 20 um prints. I've only had this ine at home for a few months. I've been using 3D printers for about 7 years in some way or form. At the office I use Objets. Man, I want one of those for the house.:razz:

thats nice, you are the first person i know locally to have an ultimaker. When you said "green box" I thought it was a makerbot that you had stained. Ive worked with stratasys machines. they are nice but man are they expensive.

[ScubaSteve]

Ya I think I'm one of the few on the west coast that has one. I'm very impressed with it. They're very nice one you figure out the hiccups. Very few hobby level printers can match the output of the ultimaker, let alone get 20 um prints. I had a reprap for a while but gave up on it.

I'm curious to see how the Form1 turns out. It would make a nice SLA for the house

[Zoaelite]

If your like me and had no idea what a 3D printer was please watch this video to have your mind blown: Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aghzpO_UZE).

[Snaz]

I read on BoingBoing.net last week that a bunch of 3D printing patents are supposed to be entering the public domain next year, soon after that we can expect a huge number of new makes and models. 3D printing will be mainstream. Time to buy stock in the companies that make the mediums!

[Seth81]

I can't wait till I can purchase a desktop 3d printer for under $500. Yes I know they are available now but somewhere arounf the $2k mark? I would love to be able to print circuits on it too... man that would be awesome!

[ScubaSteve]

If you're handy, there are a number of kits in the $500 range.

[Seth81]

I have so little free time with the reef tank as it is... I'll just wait till I can buy an HP or canon 3D printer : )

[Seriak]

That is scary. I wonder how complex of an item it could make. Scary times, when people can print their own guns etc..

[Enigma]

That is scary. I wonder how complex of an item it could make. Scary times, when people can print their own guns etc..

If I could print a new magazine for my old Parker Hale 35-06 I'd be thrilled! My Win 94 30-30 could use a couple of new parts, too. It costs me $50 to get a new screw from the US.

[ScubaSteve]

I would not use the OpenGun project as any indicator of the 3D printing field. There was tremendous backlash from the 3D printing community over that one. Even the company who gave them their 3D printer got ****ed off and showed up at their door and took the printer back. It's unfortunate that it's the gun project that gets the news and my friend's who are developing ways to 3D print blood vessels for skin grafts and almost entire replacement limbs (which is next to a bloody miracle) get over shadowed by some yahoo who believes we should be shooting people. That's the media for you...

But 3D printers might potentially (will?) change the way in which we get "things". Soon people can just print out whatever they need. There are even some food printers out there (look up the BurritoBot). I've even seen someone that can print a T-Shirt directly onto someone's skin.

Times are a changin'!

[msjboy]

Not sure if 3Dprinters will ever be as mainstream as bubblejet printers simply because the majority of people don't have the spatial skills to do 3D /CAD modeling to begin with. Ask any joe to do a variable filet or a hyperbolic surface and they'll be stumped. They will be left to print out or do simple modifications to 3df files but that is probably about it. I think only the hobbyist/geeks, tool-die, industrial designers, model makers, CAD/engineers/architects will be the buyers of these devices.
One should be proud Vancouver was the pioneer of 3D printers ( stereolithography) with the VSE company 3D systems back in the mid 80's which still exists today. I had a chance to do a model with their technology but that stuff was totally toxic and would warp under its own weight on larger pieces. However, come 25 years later, I am not sure if the supposed ABS plastic will have the same engineering characteristics for a proper injection moulded grade ABS plastic ( eg. higher thermal, flex etc ). Also, ribs on the layers leaves much to be dersired. On the bright side,
3D printer technology will supposedly be used to built cheap houses for 3D world countries ( use foam/cement like material) and supposedly types of food....

msjboy :)

Go to news.com and read more if those are interested... use" 3D printers" as keyword.

[ScubaSteve]

Not sure if 3Dprinters will ever be as mainstream as bubblejet printers simply because the majority of people don't have the spatial skills to do 3D /CAD modeling to begin with. Ask any joe to do a variable filet or a hyperbolic surface and they'll be stumped. They will be left to print out or do simple modifications to 3df files but that is probably about it. I think only the hobbyist/geeks, tool-die, industrial designers, model makers, CAD/engineers/architects will be the buyers of these devices.
One should be proud Vancouver was the pioneer of 3D printers ( stereolithography) with the VSE company 3D systems back in the mid 80's which still exists today. I had a chance to do a model with their technology but that stuff was totally toxic and would warp under its own weight on larger pieces. However, come 25 years later, I am not sure if the supposed ABS plastic will have the same engineering characteristics for a proper injection moulded grade ABS plastic ( eg. higher thermal, flex etc ). Also, ribs on the layers leaves much to be dersired. On the bright side,
3D printer technology will supposedly be used to built cheap houses for 3D world countries ( use foam/cement like material) and supposedly types of food....

msjboy :)

Go to news.com and read more if those are interested... use" 3D printers" as keyword.

I think the aim is to one day have a repository (or store?) of downloadable objects that can be printed with little effort by the lay user. If we want to get really futuristic for a moment, a person could theoretically go to the Apple website, pay them for their new iPad, then print it at home and have it within a few minutes, effectively cutting out the whole shipping/freight industry. We are a long ways off from this but the hope is to eventually move towards Star Trek replicator like technology.

But I agree, for at least the next few years it will be limited to us geeks. Then again, I was able to teach my friend's 10 year old kid how to design parts in SketchUp and print an object in less than an hour. This is the generation that will be using this tech the most, so I have few doubts they could manage it (considering how tech and computer savvy they are).

In terms of materials, it's come a long way. The SLA materials are getting very close to the real thing, but they do still have some issues. When I design my parts I use those material properties rather than expecting ABS-like performance and the parts work awesome. I think I've only ever broken 1 part from the SLA, and I beat the crap out of my parts. My FDM is even better in that I can actually print with ABS and PLA (PLA is very non-toxic and is a dream to print with).

The whole ridges issue is going away as well. My printer does 20 um layers, so unless the light catches the ridges at a particular angle, you don't see or even feel them. There are some printing methods where you get zero ridges (they can even print smooth glass). Take a look at what Shapeways can do. Very impressive. You're right. It's still not yet there but it's moving forward quickly.

[Snaz]

Yep goto model website and watch the 3D image of the item you want...point and print.

Fifteen years ago did anyone expect grandma to edit and publish DVDs of the kids vacation?

[imisky]

lol the openGun thing is laughable, would any of you want to use a plastic gun that shoots bullets? I wouldnt, the chance of it actually being able to pull off 1 shot is very unlikely with FDM, and its probably only doable with laser sintering which wont trickle down to the public domain for another 20 or so years.

I love my 3D printer, its one of those technology that you dont need, but once you have one you ever think how you lived without one. I use it every day but then again Im a designer so I iterate ideas and use it for rapid prototyping purposes.

These tools are pretty amazing, we just got back from an event called World Makerfaire in New York. Its amazing how kids who get exposed to these know so much already about 3D printing, and 3D modeling, and yet they are only 8-9 years old. Imagine what they can be doing if they had one of these they could use to bring their ideas to life. Its amazing times.

I would love to see some photos of the 20 micron prints! I print at 100 and for practical use it is already very high resolution, let alone the time it would take to print an object that is 10cm talls.

[msjboy]

I think the $20K machines by Object print at 16 microns so check picts there.
- for 3d models, Google's sketchup ( they bought out sketchup a few years ago) warehouse has lots of models though many are for architectural purposes.

- they supposedly have new techniques that will increase the speed of print by orders of magnitude but it's still in the labs. ( eg. Vienna university researchers)...
to be profitable with a home 3d printer, doing a diy cone skimmer or something like a mame part will get you the best bang for the buck as opposed to something like a chess piece. Let's hope the plastic is reef safe.
msjboy
:wink:

[imisky]

@msjboy The point is I want to see an FDM printer using thermal plastic print at 20 microns, not a resin based printer. I print at 100microns because its easily achievable with FDM, even 50 micron is doable. The problem is the nozzle of and the feedrate control that is associated with 10-20 microns are so fine that some printers have a hard time. The time associated as well is the reason why industry companies dont bother touching that resolution with FDM.

Doing home 3D printers is not just about our sw hobby, its much much more. But for our hobby even the plastics are 100% reef safe. PLA is bio pellets, so it will degrade in our systems so thats a no go. ABS on the other hand is lego, it is also fully safe. and I use it in my system and have printed things for friends as well. That includes the ability to print grid wheels that ATB came out with not long ago.

[ScubaSteve]

I'll see if I can find time to do up a 20 um print this weekend. The ones I do have I can't show because we are in the process of patenting the object. Yes, they take for ever.

[imisky]

awesome, maybe I'll adjust Ditto to print some stuff at 50 microns for some prints. Scubasteve hope you dont mind me asking are you a product designer? Ive meet a few locally but Vancouver has a small market for product designers. If you are it would be cool to know some exist on canreef!

[ScubaSteve]

I am many things. Currently I am finishing my PhD in Chemical Engineering at UBC while also running my own company where I am designing my own products for developing countries. I also design and machine one off prototypes for the odd side job here and there when I can find time. I came from a product/transportation design background before engineering but I am starting to make the transition back as I wrap up the PhD. So in a sense, yes, I am a product designer. I realize now how much I have missed product design, so I'm trying to find a way to ride this cusp of both engineering and design backgrounds and be something pretty unique.

How about yourself?

[imisky]

Thats awesome, I think Vancouver really needs more people in the product design industry so the works doesnt get pushed to europe and the US.

I come from an interaction design background. Went through the school of interactive arts and technology program as SFU and came out with a passion for both interaction design and product design. In April I started a company with 4 guys I know from SFU to bring to market the Ditto 3D printer and has been going strong in that direction ever since.

[imisky]

so here is a 100 micron print shot with a macro at 1:1 and f2.8. This thing is only..3cm tall, but took an hour to print

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7840006992_7a0f760bb4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinkerines/7840006992/)
Cute Octopus (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinkerines/7840006992/) by Tinkerine Studio (http://www.flickr.com/people/tinkerines/), on Flickr

and with it beside a 9.2cm bigger version that didnt take that much longer at 200 microns to print

http://www.tinkerines.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/octopi1-1-1024x682.jpg

[ScubaSteve]

Very nice! Looks really good!

Ok, as promised... 20 micron print! Hot off the press... errr... printer. I just picked something simple and did it in translucent gold because it shows EVERY mistake. If I can make the gold look good, others are way easier. Both my camera batteries are dead so you get iphone pics :razz:

***Excuse the crazy glue on the fingers. I was re-aquascping.:razz:

Here it is on the printer. No clean up needed!
http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Nergetic/IMG_0128_zps4dfb3248.jpg

In the pics you can sort of see layers, but in real life you can't see or feel them at all.
http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Nergetic/IMG_0135_zps280d6495.jpg

[ScubaSteve]

so here is a 100 micron print shot with a macro at 1:1 and f2.8. This thing is only..3cm tall, but took an hour to print

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7840006992_7a0f760bb4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinkerines/7840006992/)
Cute Octopus (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinkerines/7840006992/)[/IMG]

Need to dampen those belt vibrations! :razz: Took me 3 months to figure out how to get rid of those.

Just buggin' ya. Looks great!

[imisky]

Very nice! Looks really good!

Ok, as promised... 20 micron print! Hot off the press... errr... printer. I just picked something simple and did it in translucent gold because it shows EVERY mistake. If I can make the gold look good, others are way easier. Both my camera batteries are dead so you get iphone pics :razz:

***Excuse the crazy glue on the fingers. I was re-aquascping.:razz:

Here it is on the printer. No clean up needed!
http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Nergetic/IMG_0128_zps4dfb3248.jpg

In the pics you can sort of see layers, but in real life you can't see or feel them at all.
http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Nergetic/IMG_0135_zps280d6495.jpg

Looks nice!, how long did that thing take lol. Ive seen some others try and print at 20 microns and totally fail. Most I know dont even bother as it takes too much time to do a test piece. Btw are you using netfabb profile for slicing?

[imisky]

Need to dampen those belt vibrations! :razz: Took me 3 months to figure out how to get rid of those.

Just buggin' ya. Looks great!


lol its always a work in progress.

[ScubaSteve]

Looks nice!, how long did that thing take lol. Ive seen some others try and print at 20 microns and totally fail. Most I know dont even bother as it takes too much time to do a test piece. Btw are you using netfabb profile for slicing?

With the Ultimaker 20 um has been pretty easy to achieve, though the thin layers are prone to curling, so over hangs can be a bit of a nightmare. I need to improve my cooling :neutral:

The bevel gear took 3 hours to print using 20 um perimeter/40 um loops and 20% rectangular infill. I could have easily dropped that to 2 to 2.5 hours but I wanted quality. I don't mind the long prints. Unlike my Huxley, I can trust my Ultimaker to print by itself for long periods of time (unless there is a ton of retraction... then I get worried). I just hit go and walk away. Most of my prints are around 10 hours.

I slice with Cura. Kicks netfabb's ass.

[imisky]

With a provided slicing profile, 20 microns is perfectly fine. Now telling a new user, who has limited experience with a 3D printer and no profile is another story lol. Thats where majority of the failures occur.

Ive been wanting to try Cura (skeinpypy). I use skeinforge + slic3r but would appreciate the accelerated slicing of pypy on skeinforge as I like it way better over slic3r.

I was wondering about netfabb as I know one of the default resolution in netfabb for UM is 0.075mm. So it should allow for a person to use it to adjust for 20 micron more easily. But again Ive never seen anyone use netfabb for slicing, only to fix broken STLS.

[ScubaSteve]

With a provided slicing profile, 20 microns is perfectly fine. Now telling a new user, who has limited experience with a 3D printer and no profile is another story lol. Thats where majority of the failures occur.

Ive been wanting to try Cura (skeinpypy). I use skeinforge + slic3r but would appreciate the accelerated slicing of pypy on skeinforge as I like it way better over slic3r.

I was wondering about netfabb as I know one of the default resolution in netfabb for UM is 0.075mm. So it should allow for a person to use it to adjust for 20 micron more easily. But again Ive never seen anyone use netfabb for slicing, only to fix broken STLS.

There is a God of Ultimaker called BlueBot (Paul Candler). He was the first to do 20 um prints. He swears by Netfabb. Most of the Ultimaker camp has switched over to Cura, even to the point that the company endorses it as the official slicer.

I used slic3r and KISSlicer for a while and liked them but Cura blows them away. There are some features of the other two I wish Cura had but I could easily request the programmer (Daid) to add them. He's pretty helpful.

Give Cura a go. You'll love it.

[Ross]

Dilbert today:

http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/100000/70000/0000/900/170968/170968.strip.gif