Plastic parts

[JimInPB]

Metal parts can be reproduced using multi axis CNC machines, just they aren't cheap like the 3D printers are and usual need pretty advance software on a computer to render them.

In the past, Autodesk produced most of that software. I now see Master CAM being used more often.

My biggest pet peeve with Autodesk these days, is that they no longer sell perpetual licenses for the AutoCAD software that I got so used to using. They now make you rent it by the year, for not cheap.

In addition to expensive software, a CNC machine also needs some potentially expensive consumable tooling & a guy that knows how to set up & qualify the tooling.

 

[Bob S]

This technology is growing at lightning speed. GE has 3D printed parts used in landing gear for military jets successfully. HP has printed a chain link that can lift 10,000 lbs.

 

[MikeHoncho]

You can get Autodesk in a 3 year free full version as a student. If I remember it was about 4k a year to rent.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

This thread caught my eye and piqued my curiosity. I read a report that the army had built a cement barracks in something like 40 hours using a 3D printer...and that made me wonder: if you can 3D print cement, is it also possible to 3D print rubber? Different types of rubber--hard rubber for things like impellers, soft rubber for joker valves....and at what cost compared to buying replacements? Or maybe 3D printing could allow mfrs to reduce the prices of these parts considerably? Unlikely, but maybe an opportunity for an aftermarket parts entreprenuer.

--Peggie

 

[MikeHoncho]

It's all about adhesion. How to get each layer to stick to each other. A 3d printer is nothing more than a complicated hot glue gun that uses plastics instead of the hot glue sticks. You can get super flexible materials but I would question its repeated flexing and critical nature of the part.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Might be worth trying with a non-critical part that doesn't flex much...maybe an impeller for a macerator pump (retail about $25). If you carry a spare, bench test it by putting a few gallons of water through it at a time to see how long it lasts and how well it stands up to running dry for how long. If it doesn't "pass muster," from I've read here the technology is advancing fast enough that it should in a year or two.

--Peggie

 

[Leeward Rail]

Printing rubber doesn't make much sense now. You just 3D print a mold then make the rubber part in the mold.

Difficult to impossible with cheaper printers to get a smooth-ish surface.

There is a guy 3D printing Boler-like campers and others have been printing buildings for the last year or so. But it all looks fugly, unless you apply some material to the outside to fair it.

Best option, unless you are a nerd hobbyist who likes playing with this stuff, is to design the part and submit it to shapeways or one of the many other companies who have industrial 3D printers, and have them make it for you.

 

[MikeHoncho]

Functionality trumps aesthetic for sure but you can stand it, paint it or treat with acetone for a glass finish

 

[JimInPB]

...is it also possible to 3D print rubber? Different types of rubber--hard rubber for things like impellers, soft rubber for joker valves....and at what cost compared to buying replacements? ...

The video above states that the single chain link that they tested, took under 30 minutes to print. To me, that suggest more than 20 minutes. I am guessing that the materials were probably somewhere in the $5-$20 range. I think that I can probably buy a chain link for less than that & I think that I can get one that is of better quality. That aside, for more complex parts, that are more difficult to manufacture by other methods, I think that this technology has a lot of good applications. Clients of mine have been using them since before the year 2000, but back then, the printers were $35k+. Back then, it was called solid modeling. 3D printers have become a lot more popular in the last few years, now that the prices are down.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

I’ve been using a CNC router for a while now on my boat and for @jssailem. I’ve written an article for the next Catalina Mainsheet to give a few ideas on their usefulness. The two things I did for John were custom door boards and a full sized drill template for mounting his new (SBO purchased) windlass.

Les

 

[jssailem]

The CNC work of @LeslieTroyer was spectacular. It made the install go like clockwork. It saved all of the manual measuring.

And beautified my boat.