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Designing and 3D-printing a garage remote motorcycle mount

stavros.io

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Re: Designing and 3D-printing a garage remote motorcycle mount

#31

Post by throwanem »

StavrosK wrote: post #30
throwanem wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair point. But how much effort went into getting that print quality out of a machine at that price point? I'm still uncertain that the heavy emphasis is of net value, but I'll need to spend some time considering why I feel that way before I can make a coherent argument.

I couldn't tell you, a lot of it is just me becoming more experienced at setting its parameters. I made a few minor upgrades, but I don't think it took too much effort to get that quality out of it.

Now you've got me curious. What's the make and model? And what are running costs like, in terms of feedstock et cetera?

I can hardly fit a Bridgeport mill in a one-bedroom apartment, after all, but a 3D printer might well be doable, and even if I still can't work in metal with one, I'd still be able to do a lot more than I easily can now...

Re: Designing and 3D-printing a garage remote motorcycle mount

#32

Post by StavrosK »

throwanem wrote: post #31
StavrosK wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I couldn't tell you, a lot of it is just me becoming more experienced at setting its parameters. I made a few minor upgrades, but I don't think it took too much effort to get that quality out of it.

Now you've got me curious. What's the make and model? And what are running costs like, in terms of feedstock et cetera? I can hardly fit a Bridgeport mill in a one-bedroom apartment, after all, but a 3D printer might well be doable, and even if I still can't work in metal with one, I'd still be able to do a lot more than I easily can now...

It's a Wanhao i3 duplicator. Filament costs around $25/kg, and your mileage will vary, but I think I've only used one spool (1 kg) of filament in the time I've had it or so. $50 of filament will get you a lot of prints, as most prints are a few tens of grams.

Size-wise, it's about the size of a microwave.

Re: Designing and 3D-printing a garage remote motorcycle mount

#33

Post by jlgaddis »

I just keep a traditional garage door opener in the inside breast pocket of my vest and jacket. Easy to close the garage when I pull out, easy to open it as I'm coming down the driveway. Harley-Davidson has an opener I could get and install directly into the bike (with a pushbutton on the "dash") but it's more than I'm willing to pay since my current solution works well enough.

Re: Designing and 3D-printing a garage remote motorcycle mount

#34

Post by stevekemp »

StavrosK wrote: post #18
throwanem wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, any time. In any case, I'm sure there's someone here who won't have run across it yet, and for whom it'll come in handy. On a related note - is it just me, or does the nigh monomaniacal focus lately on high-capital-investment tools like 3D printers and laser cutters seem like it might come at the cost of a lot that's of value? Like, for example, any interest at all in how to encourage and support kids coming up i…

Well, I got my printer for $250 new, and the print quality is fantastic, on par with some I've seen that cost $1000+. I'm not sure if you consider that high-capital, but I've definitely seen single tools (e.g. saws, and, hell, phones) cost more than that. I definitely don't think this is moon-house territory, the technology is very accessible, price-wise, especially if you consider that these tools are easily cheap e…

There appears to be a lot of choice and fiddling required to become proficient in 3d-printing. Without having a personal killer-use for one I've so far managed to get several things printed by downloading the designs from thingiverse and paying other people to make them for me, on a per-print basis.

Having 3d-printed things is pretty cool, makes my electronics projects look a lot more professional, but I still suspect if I bought a printer of my own I'd be frustrated and annoyed.

Re: Designing and 3D-printing a garage remote motorcycle mount

#35

Post by throwanem »

StavrosK wrote: post #32
throwanem wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now you've got me curious. What's the make and model? And what are running costs like, in terms of feedstock et cetera? I can hardly fit a Bridgeport mill in a one-bedroom apartment, after all, but a 3D printer might well be doable, and even if I still can't work in metal with one, I'd still be able to do a lot more than I easily can now...

It's a Wanhao i3 duplicator. Filament costs around $25/kg, and your mileage will vary, but I think I've only used one spool (1 kg) of filament in the time I've had it or so. $50 of filament will get you a lot of prints, as most prints are a few tens of grams. Size-wise, it's about the size of a microwave.

Wow, costs have really come down since I last looked into the space a couple of years ago.

Thanks for the info! One last question - I'm seeing .1mm cited as minimum wall thickness in a few places. Legit or bogus in your experience? I'd love to be able to 3d-print complex light diffusers, but that just sounds too good to be true...

Re: Designing and 3D-printing a garage remote motorcycle mount

#36

Post by jononor »

throwanem wrote: post #35
StavrosK wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a Wanhao i3 duplicator. Filament costs around $25/kg, and your mileage will vary, but I think I've only used one spool (1 kg) of filament in the time I've had it or so. $50 of filament will get you a lot of prints, as most prints are a few tens of grams. Size-wise, it's about the size of a microwave.

Wow, costs have really come down since I last looked into the space a couple of years ago. Thanks for the info! One last question - I'm seeing .1mm cited as minimum wall thickness in a few places. Legit or bogus in your experience? I'd love to be able to 3d-print complex light diffusers, but that just sounds too good to be true...

0.1 mm layer thickness is standard for an entry level machine. But in XY it is hard to create lines more narrow than the nozzle diameter. Typically 0.4mm, down to 0.2mm is available. There will also be visible lines still. And optically clear prints are ver challenging with FDM.

No idea if it would be good enough for your usecase.. Visit a makerspace or use 3dhubs to give it a try?

Re: Designing and 3D-printing a garage remote motorcycle mount

#37

Post by StavrosK »

throwanem wrote: post #35
StavrosK wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a Wanhao i3 duplicator. Filament costs around $25/kg, and your mileage will vary, but I think I've only used one spool (1 kg) of filament in the time I've had it or so. $50 of filament will get you a lot of prints, as most prints are a few tens of grams. Size-wise, it's about the size of a microwave.

Wow, costs have really come down since I last looked into the space a couple of years ago. Thanks for the info! One last question - I'm seeing .1mm cited as minimum wall thickness in a few places. Legit or bogus in your experience? I'd love to be able to 3d-print complex light diffusers, but that just sounds too good to be true...

Yep, what the sibling comment said. In practice, I've gotten great results with this machine with 50μm step in the Z axis, although yes, my X and Y axes are limited to 400μm.

Also yes, optically clear prints are a no-go, as far as I know. You can get transparent PETG, but it will end up looking rather milky after printing. Here are some videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkfQri2B0PY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI0FM_XdrzE

Re: Designing and 3D-printing a garage remote motorcycle mount

#38

Post by throwanem »

StavrosK wrote: post #37
throwanem wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, costs have really come down since I last looked into the space a couple of years ago. Thanks for the info! One last question - I'm seeing .1mm cited as minimum wall thickness in a few places. Legit or bogus in your experience? I'd love to be able to 3d-print complex light diffusers, but that just sounds too good to be true...

Yep, what the sibling comment said. In practice, I've gotten great results with this machine with 50μm step in the Z axis, although yes, my X and Y axes are limited to 400μm. Also yes, optically clear prints are a no-go, as far as I know. You can get transparent PETG, but it will end up looking rather milky after printing. Here are some videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkfQri2B0PY https://www.youtube.com/watch…

That's well within tolerances I could live with, I think. And optical clarity is not a requirement! I'm just thinking about complex-shaped translucent diffusers for a design of accent lamp I'm thinking about making - if it works out, I might see if I can sell them to some of the hipster shops around here, and I can see where diffusers might add some appeal.

Thanks again for all the info! I really appreciate you taking the time.

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