Making a thread about 3D printing because
1) The most recent one seems to be a couple of years old
2) Tegra_Devil tried to start one and somehow broke RS
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Tegra_Devil
I was looking to get a 3D printer to start printing stuff for my RC cars and trucks. Anyone have recommendations? Tips/tricks?
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Most consumer 3d printers come in two basic types; filament and resin.
Filament printers can be used for small objects or large ones. You can have a reasonably good level of detail that can look great if you spend time polishing and finishing them (bondo, paint, etc) or really functional prints that can be used as part of equipment that has a reasonable amount of stress and strain.
If you see folks making cosplay costumes, statues, or home made Roombas, its probably going to be done on a 3D printer. This is what you would probably print an RC car body, frame, or wheels with. They even have an open source RC car project out there but I'd imagine if you're asking this question, you're probably beyond that by now.
Filament itself is kind of like a hot glue gun shooting its load into a heated surface, cooling down that load, and running it over again and again until you have a 3d printed object. It creates an object a layer at a time until it is finished. It comes in two diameter sizes, 1.75mm or 2.85. This refers to the thiccness of the plastic cord wrapped around a spool and fed into your printer.
Most home printers use 1.75mm. It is usually enough for anybody's needs. I've used an $8000 2.85mm printer which was the size of a fridge and it was great, but its not what I'd want for my home.
There is a deep rabbit hole to go down about different TYPES of filament-based printers like type of movement, type of filament feed, etc, but thats the basic info you need right there.
Resin printers are a little different. They're about the size of a coffee maker and feature a tub of liquid that has a laser fired into it at different points in order to make incredibly small, incredibly detailed prints. People who are into tabletop gaming love this type. I have zero experience with it and right now have no interest or need for one as it wouldn't print anything I would want or use. It would be unrealistic for you to try to print RC car bodies, parts, or wheels on a resin printer but to each their own.
I'm using a Creality Ender 3 Pro. Its the Honda Civic of 3d printers. Its cheap. reliable, and has a TON of aftermarket support.
I buy filament online and occasionally in the store. I try to average no more than $20-25 per spool of filament. There is a store near me (none in Washington State unfortunately
) that sells filament for about $16 a spool and its "okay" stuff. My go-to filament is Hatchbox brand but I am always trying new stuff.
With respect to filament, you can get a bunch of different types. You can get different results from them, depending on your needs.
PLA -
This is the most common, easiest to work with type of filament. You don't have to do anything special to work with it, and its pretty forgiving. Its cheap and plentiful and will work with most of the projects you need to use it for. You can't soak the prints in water, though, as the type of plastic it is soaks up water and can be damaged by it. If you get them wet, you're fine, but you can't print kitchen things like spoons or ladles.
Don't use this on something that will be outside for its entire lifecycle. After enough time the plastic will degrade and fall apart.
PETG -
Like PLA on steroids. Its food safe, water resistant, and you can get shiny or even translucent types. It won't warp or shrink when exposed to to reasonable heat, and its about the same price as PLA. Its can be VERY particular to print with though. You can't have fluctuating temperatures in your room, and needs to be a bit warmer in order to print with. You should print this with an enclosure around it to avoid a draft ruining your print.
ABS -
This is the ABS they make water pipes and car parts and even Legos from. Its UV resistant, tough, and will work like a professionally made product. This is the kind of material you'll probably want to print impact-ready parts from, or ones that will receive excessive wear. You WILL need to ventilate your printer though because the fumes are toxic and you'll need to have an enclosure to keep the heat in because it needs to be very hot when printing.
Nylon -
Nylon. We know what it is. We make tents and and clothes and load-bearing surfaces out of it. This is ABS on steroids. Its all of the above PLUS it goes extra for the temperature requirements. I recommend ABS over it only because I know ABS is cheaper than nylon.
TPE/TPU -
Flexible filament. Its squishy. People make phone cases and shoes and other rubbery stuff from this. I've never used it but I've heard of this being used for hobby racing. This is similar to PLA in that it will degrade when exposed to too much water, so don't make a Speedo out of it because it may fall apart on you.
There are a bunch of other types including wood, metallic, glow in the dark, and even carbon fiber
. Most of them have printing requirements similar to the ones I've mentioned above.
If you're looking to get into 3d printing, walk before you run. Print a bunch of stuff with PLA. until you get the printer calibrated/tuned up properly. And unlike the Burquitlam kids driving around in their mom's old Corollas, slower is better.
I hope this helps a little bit but if you have any questions, feel free to ask.