Prusa i3 3d printer

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metalmuncher
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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by metalmuncher » Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:21 pm

Peter Butler wrote: Thu Apr 16, 2020 8:51 pm
tom_tom_go wrote: Thu Apr 16, 2020 8:21 pm

I am still not sold on 3D printing for garden railways as you don't get a clean finish after printing and people seem to have to spend a lot of effort to achieve a finish that is not on par of what a resin moulded part would give you.
You really think so?....
While the finish on that is very nice, he has got a point that you need to put a lot of effort in to get a result like that.

I used to (naively) hope that 3D printing would save on effort when producing models, but there really is no substitute for putting in the work to get a nice model. I made the Hudswell Clarke BE loco as an experiment in making something quick with minimal 'manual' input, printing fully pre-detailed parts, sanding only where necessary for fit, gluing the components together and quickly dusting over with a rattle can. It looks pretty nice and densley detailed from a distance, but the finish breaks down when close up.

You can either print the components and spend most of your time fettling to get a nice finish, or you can spend most of your time making the components out of plasticard or wood and less time getting a nice finish. I think the best way is somewhere in the middle. If I were to build the Hudswell Clarke again with the goal of getting a better finish, I would probably build the major components from sheet stock, and use printed parts for the details like axleboxes, springs, etc. Small detailing parts are the best use of printing for model railways in my opinion - being able to knock off 4 identical leaf springs or 10 buffers at once is much less effort than making the same quantity by hand, and the printing defects can get hidden in the details.

Good luck with the rest of the build Rik, it will be interesting to see what £80 in components can achieve.

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:46 pm

metalmuncher wrote: Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:21 pm ....... Small detailing parts are the best use of printing for model railways in my opinion - being able to knock off 4 identical leaf springs or 10 buffers at once is much less effort than making the same quantity by hand, and the printing defects can get hidden in the details.

Good luck with the rest of the build Rik, it will be interesting to see what £80 in components can achieve.
That's my thinking. I didn't fancy the prospect of making 14 identical bus seats by hand. I could have made one and then used it to make a mould for resin casting, but wondered whether 3D printing might be a quicker process (not counting the time spent constructing the printer).

I'll have to get to grips with the 3D drawing software but I have found an online source for a 3D drawing of bus seats if the drawing process defeats me.

My cheapo printer might produce fairly rough and ready printouts, but as the seats will be tucked away inside I might be able to get away with it.

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philipy
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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by philipy » Fri Apr 17, 2020 6:45 am

We've had discussions about finish, size of pieces, suitability, etc in the past and basically from my own experiences I'd agree that smallish components work best. As I've said before, I tried printing a complete van, which was a disaster but adding printed detail to a styrene box worked well.

Having said all that, these days 3D printers are used commecially for all sorts of medical and fairly high precision engineering jobs, but then again they would probably add at least 3 and possibly 4 noughts to Rik's £80. I know it is said that a bad workman blames his tools but then again you only get what you pay for. :lol:
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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:38 am

philipy wrote: Fri Apr 17, 2020 6:45 am Having said all that, these days 3D printers are used commecially for all sorts of medical and fairly high precision engineering jobs, but then again they would probably add at least 3 and possibly 4 noughts to Rik's £80. I know it is said that a bad workman blames his tools but then again you only get what you pay for. :lol:
I'll not try printing myself a new heart valve just yet then ..... ;)

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:08 am

OK - the printer is now up and running .....
IMG_0521.JPG
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Sorry it's a bit blurry, it was getting late last night when I took this.

My first print out wasn't entirely successful ...
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A barrel, downloaded off the web for free. 2/3 of the way through printing it, one of the vertical guide rods became detached (partly poor design and partly because I hadn't tightened the restraining screw enough). However, as you can see the striations are fairly prominent. I'm not sure if this is because of the quality of the printer, the quality of the drawing or there are some settings which I can adjust to improve matters. I did increase the size from the original drawing, whether that makes a difference to the quality? Any suggestions?

My second model is a bit more successful - a pigeon basket which was often seen on rural platforms between the Wars.
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As it's wickerwork, the striations don't really matter. This was actually reduced in size from the original and maybe that helps?

Anyway - it seems to work. I've ordered more filament as I've nearly run out of the small reel they sent with the printer. My next job is to get to grips with Sketchup to make a drawing of the seats for the railcar .....

Interesting times.....

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by tom_tom_go » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:10 am

At least it lives Rik, well done.

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:12 am

PS - The printer is actually an Anet A8 clone. Not sure why it was listed as a Prusa i3 (clone)
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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:18 am

PPS I think it would have been difficult to have produced a representation of wickerwork in any other way. So maybe 3D printers have a role - albeit a very niche one :scratch:

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Peter Butler
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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by Peter Butler » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:35 am

Well done Rik, quite an achievement to get it working at all, I had concerns.
Now for that white elephant.
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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by Jimmyb » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:53 am

So when are you taking commissions ;)

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by philipy » Sun Apr 19, 2020 12:26 pm

Well done on getting it going.
I do like the pigeon basket, but 'nuff said about the barrel! However the good news is that you've made a start on filling a box with duff prints "which might come in handy one day"! (Mine is rather fuller than I'd like!)
ge_rik wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:08 am However, as you can see the striations are fairly prominent. I'm not sure if this is because of the quality of the printer, the quality of the drawing or there are some settings which I can adjust to improve matters. I did increase the size from the original drawing, whether that makes a difference to the quality? Any suggestions?
I'd suggest as a first you should look at the layer thickness settings in Cura. I print virtually everything at 0.18mm and 15% infill seems to work well for most things.
Don't know what size nozzle your machine has? Mine is 0.4mm, but I know others are available.
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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Sun Apr 19, 2020 12:48 pm

I think it must be something to do with the drawing. I've just printed part of a wheelbarrow and that seems a lot smoother.
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Struggling to print the other parts of the barrow but maybe it's because I scaled them all down. Might be that some things have a limit beyond which they can't be shrunk...

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by tom_tom_go » Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:14 pm

What are the print speed times like Rik?

How much power does it consume when printing, does it have an amps rating?

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Sun Apr 19, 2020 3:13 pm

tom_tom_go wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:14 pm What are the print speed times like Rik?
The barrow and the wicker basket each took about an hour.
tom_tom_go wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:14 pm How much power does it consume when printing, does it have an amps rating?
No idea, Tom. There's a small heating element for the print head, but no more than a hot glue gun would use, there are five stepper motors, but they won't draw much, a couple of 12v fans like those found in a computer and, of course, the electronics board. I doubt it draws very much when in use - probably around 20amps at 12v = 240W ???? Unless anyone knows any different.

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by metalmuncher » Sun Apr 19, 2020 3:31 pm

I'm a bit surprised you actually got a fully functional printer for £80! Print quality is about what you would expect for initial prints on a cheap kit, I wonder how much you will be able to tune out the artefacts in software parameters and how much is caused by the mechanics of the machine.

Looks like the machine doesn't have a heated bed? If not, power consumption is probably quite low - I would say less than 100W once its up to temperature and printing. The hotend usually has a 30-40W cartridge heater, but once it reaches temperature the electronics will just pulse power to maintain temperature so the average power would be much less. In general, the cost of filament will be much more than the electricity costs.

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Sun Apr 19, 2020 6:31 pm

metalmuncher wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 3:31 pm .... Looks like the machine doesn't have a heated bed ....
Actually it does, controlled via a thermistor. Considering what I paid for it, I'm well pleased. Still got to get to grips with its capabilities (and non capabilities) and in some ways it's a bit Heath Robinson, but that somehow mirrors my approach to the hobby - if I can find a way of doing something cheaply, I will 🤗

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:39 pm

This may not look much but getting to grips with Sketchup and figuring out how to get curves on curves for the seat backs was a challenge in itself! I need to improve the mounting between the seat and the back, but basically I'm almost ready to go into production..... :sunny:
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Also need to tweak the size slightly, but that's easily done.

Feeling quite chuffed!

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by BorisSpencer » Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:48 pm

It looks like you've printed them pre-upholstered with some sort of velour.

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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by philipy » Mon Apr 20, 2020 5:36 pm

Those are excellent Rik. Well done at such an early stage in the learning curve.
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Re: Prusa i3 3d printer

Post by ge_rik » Mon Apr 20, 2020 9:44 pm

BorisSpencer wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:48 pm It looks like you've printed them pre-upholstered with some sort of velour.
I could say I planned it that way, but in reality it was pure happenstance.

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