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Things I would like to 3D print

jmtd.net

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Re: Things I would like to 3D print

#81

Post by wlll »

jimnotgym wrote: post #47

Funny story. I bought a printer for my kids this year. An Anycubic Mega Zero with a magnetic base. It stays pretty calibrated but I have struggled with base adhesion once a few prints have been through it. IPA and abrasives have not fixed it...maybe I will get around to some other things...there have been a few random failures, but not many. We printed a few novelties items that came out OK. The real learning curve i…

> It stays pretty calibrated but I have struggled with base adhesion once a few prints have been through it.

Try using a heated bed and enclosing the printer in a chamber to prevent draughts (anything will do, cardboard).

A heated bed and IPA work for me.

Re: Things I would like to 3D print

#82

Post by OJFord »

milliondollar wrote: post #58
throwaway2077 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

is that a normal experience in all of the US or only certain states? sounds all kinds of fucked up. the random passerby ratting you out. cops showing up over a handgun, which as far as I know are legal to own in all states unless you're a felon. doesn't sound like land of the free at all.

Don't think op is in US. Nobody would say "phone engineer" in the states.

I'm also (as well as OP) in the UK, but mildly disappointed to read it on HN. Bit of a pet peeve of mine (as a capital E Engineer I suppose) the absurd things we accept having 'engineers' sent out for, things that are barely even trades.

I had a dishwasher engineer fit a replacement plastic piece where you put the tablet; a quote for an oven engineer to replace the glass door.

That sort of ridiculousness makes me more sympathetic to bonafide tradesmen using the term (or rather having it used about them by customer services) - boiler engineers, ISPs' 'engineer visit' to set up a new line, etc. - despite that probably being what started my peeve initially!

I don't know how widespread it is, I know in Germany for example it's a protected term. In Canada I think if unqualified (i.e. not 'software engineer' or 'boiler engineer', but just 'Engineer') it is too. We have chartered institutions that can bestow 'CEng', but it doesn't affect whether or not you're allowed to be called 'an engineer' or anything.

(This whole comment probably makes it sound like I'm a lot more annoyed by it than I am.. I just mean it's sort of 'heh ok sure' chuckle/eyeroll when they say it. Like if it started to be normal to refer to pharmacists/nurses/phlebotomists as 'dispensing/assisting/blood-taking doctors' I suppose.)

Re: Things I would like to 3D print

#83

Post by throwaway2077 »

jimnotgym wrote: post #72
Yajirobe wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come on, this sort of cop behavior is limited to the US

Not at all, as I mentioned above I am in the UK. It is hard to get our police to react to anything...but any mention of firearms gets them excited. Interestingly I thought the phone engineer was more of a dick than the coppers.

yeah, fuck that guy sideways.

Re: Things I would like to 3D print

#84

Post by ravenstine »

OJFord wrote: post #79
ravenstine wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can code, OpenSCAD might be the best place to start. I have 3D modeling experience, but CAD is sort of a different beast and a skill of its own. Most of the free tools that exist are pretty complicated (FreeCAD makes me want to claw my eyes out) and the professional software packages are outrageously expensive. Once I found OpenSCAD, which is basically just modeling by code, I got way more use out of my 3D pri…

I would love to use OpenSCAD, just seems to have a really steep learning curve that I can't get up. Even though I write code professionally and have no professional CAD experience, Fusion360 just clicked in a way that OpenSCAD didn't for using my 3D printer (Prusa Mini). I agree about FreeCAD, lacks a lot of polish, but there's a big update coming from it seems basically one maintainer that looks pretty promising. I…

I haven't used Fusion360, but I have to say the screenshots of the UI make it look appealing and pretty straight forward (more so than say Solidworks).

My assumption is that it and other standard CAD packages would have a greater learning curve for a programmer who mostly wants to print simple but custom objects. Granted, I have a background in non-CAD 3D, but OpenSCAD was incredibly fast for me to pick up not just because it relies purely on code but that it eliminates a lot of concepts that you are forced to learn otherwise.

In OpenSCAD, there are no units (though STLs seem to come out in millimeters), no object hierarchies, no sketches, no key combos, etc. All you have is code, in a domain-specific language, that describes what is being built. This can be difficult or unappealing, especially for someone who isn't a full-time programmer, but it can also be freeing to just deal with code and not have other things potentially get in the way or cause confusion.

Of course OpenSCAD probably doesn't scale the more complicated a project gets. But for Arduino/RPi boxes, replicating parts, screws and bolts (given a 3rd party module), it's a powerful and handy tool. However, it might be horrible for someone with limited coding skills.

Re: Things I would like to 3D print

#85

Post by codazoda »

I finally convinced myself to buy an Ender 3 when I found out my broken stove knobs would cost $400 to replace. I tried Amazon fakes but none worked. Once I got the printer I designed and replaced the knob backs. Printer paid for itself in one job. I use it for all kinds of projects around the house. Vacuum attachment tools, plastic washers and shims, electronic stands, and so much more. They are extremely useful tools. I have no problems with adjustments or build plates, either because I’m lucky, not too picky, or because I mostly leave it alone instead of tinkering all the time.

Re: Things I would like to 3D print

#86

Post by dekhn »

jimnotgym wrote: post #47

Funny story. I bought a printer for my kids this year. An Anycubic Mega Zero with a magnetic base. It stays pretty calibrated but I have struggled with base adhesion once a few prints have been through it. IPA and abrasives have not fixed it...maybe I will get around to some other things...there have been a few random failures, but not many. We printed a few novelties items that came out OK. The real learning curve i…

pretty sure you weren't "arrested"- ah you said you're in UK, not the US.

Re: Things I would like to 3D print

#88

Post by bump-ladel »

This is not applicable to all projects, but if there is some thing you want to print and you don’t have a printer, consider if it could be made from wood.

The tools can be more accessible than a 3D printer, can take up less room, and you get a skill that you get satisfaction from.

Re: Things I would like to 3D print

#89

Post by jimnotgym »

OJFord wrote: post #82
milliondollar wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't think op is in US. Nobody would say "phone engineer" in the states.

I'm also (as well as OP) in the UK, but mildly disappointed to read it on HN. Bit of a pet peeve of mine (as a capital E Engineer I suppose) the absurd things we accept having 'engineers' sent out for, things that are barely even trades. I had a dishwasher engineer fit a replacement plastic piece where you put the tablet; a quote for an oven engineer to replace the glass door. That sort of ridiculousness makes me mor…

Perhaps we have it backwards. I'm in the UK. If I saw a company that did 'engineering' I would expect to walk in and see someone at a lathe. I work in the West Midlands a lot and this is especially true.

An engineer may drive a train or maintain ships propulsion in the English speaking world.

A Civil Engineering company builds roads and bridges, and may not have any Chartered Engineers on the staff.

I know several people who design electronics for a living, have degrees in the same subject and call themselves 'Electronic Engineer', yet becoming CEng would never cross their mind. Whereas if you wanted to become a structural engineer you would likely have to become chartered.

I have never met a Chartered network engineer, yet what else would a CCNA call themselves?

Never mind the software engineers and Devops engineers...

Perhaps the Chartered Engineers should have found their own term rather than adopt a general one and then get sniffy about other uses? I know the Chartered Institutes have been around a long time but the term 'Engineer' predates them by some years.

Re: Things I would like to 3D print

#90

Post by riskable »

cjv wrote: post #8

I wanted to 3D print infinite LEGOs, but I was told that typical machines are not precise enough for this task.

You can print infinite Legos. It'll just take a high quality printer (e.g. a Prusa MK3s) and a bunch of test prints to get the tolerances right.

Now that I've got my settings for Legos dialed in I add Lego nubs to all sorts of things so you can attach regular Legos to them.

For example, I've printed a great many magnetic pins for my son's robotics team to give away as swag at competitions. They all had Lego nubs around the perimeter so the kids could attach Minifigures and other Lego parts to the pins.

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