Space and Science BS Thread

Blender and you can scale things a lot. I think there's also a 3d printing thread somewhere...

For 400 you can get a pretty good one that doesn't need much tweaking since it's self levelling (CR-6)

Also, you can always try the local library.

 

There really aren't any printers under 1,000 that are not going to require tweaking and modifying. They'll work for now, but give it 2-3 months and you'll be troubleshooting them, finding out they cheaped out on the parts, and then upgrading them.

 

Tbh? My CR6Max isn't my first printer, and it's every bit as good as the Prusa stuff. Maybe a touch better. Gonna build my next one as a coreXY, though.

All 3dp is a bit fiddly. Even with auto level, you'll need to fux with bed temps, supports, etc, every time you use a new material.

 

Anyone watch the Antares launch yesterday?

 

The A8 plus is a modified A8 that has lots of upgrades out of the box including print size 300 x 300 x 350mm. That didn't stop me from adding polymer bearings, fiberglass belts and an auto leveling touch sensor before I made my first print. All in and it was around $250 and it has worked great with lots of prints including a 1/5 scale 4Runner RC body.

Back to space. For the Saturn 5 Rocket I ended up with a smaller one that has way more detail. I was going to resize it from 12" to 36" but just the first part was over two days to print. I settled on 200% or 24" total.



Slicing in Cura.



A few hours in.

 

I missed it but try to catch them when they go up. Love watching launches from Wallops!

Anything un-nominal happen?

 

Nope, nothing abnominal. It was...not as nominal as their first flight, but still pretty nominal.

 

I feel like you could have worked nominal/abnominal in there a couple more times.

 

The problem is that most people don't know what you just said. It's greek to them. They're looking for a tool to use, not a new hobby. They don't want to troubleshoot the printer, and they definitely don't want to troubleshoot slicing. Prusa is one of the closest to that. Prusa controls the whole ecosphere, which is why fewer of theirs end up abandoned in the corner gathering dust than others.

As for space, i need to print another one of these. Last one got broken during use at a party. I made the shell a bit too thin. Prusaslicer has a solid infill ironing setting i want to play with a bit before I do though. It's supposed to make it very translucent. It's 36" tall and had LED strips inside. For some reason I can't find the pictures of the first one I printed so a fusion360 screenshot will have to do for now.

 

Is that a bong? Lol

 

Let's just say my falcon heavy got humans into orbit before Elon.

 

This made my day. I read the whole description of how awesome the build was and then I notice, "hey, is that an upside down rocket booster on the side."

 

I also won't buy a 3D printer until they are as simple to use as a modern Inkjet or Laser printer. People sometimes forget there was an era when even paper printers had quality and consistency issues that really barred their use from professional settings. I give it ten more years before materials science and printer design combine to make something even children can use. Then next will come the 3D metal printers and most of us won't have to wait for certain parts anymore, we will be able to pay for a license to print them.

 

They already exist. 3D printers have been around for decades, the only thing that has changed is that some patents came up that weren't renewed. Then some people realized they could strip their design down to the absolute minimum required to be a printer so that they could be sold at a price people would pay. Most 3d printers on the market now would be like calling a go-kart a car. They're slow, unreliable, and lack features, but they'll get you where you want eventually. But like cars, if you're willing to pay, there are amazing options out there with tons of features. Most people however are buying the gokarts and strapping on the a/c, power windows, heated seats, etc.

 

I want to take it a step further. The plan (eventually) is to add an arduino/pi, smoke sensor, and speaker. Then use that to trigger mp3's from the first launch based upon the parts per million of the smoke. But i doubt i'll be getting to that anytime soon.

 

Again, you're basically describing the bubble jet era of paper printing. You could own a high quality colour home printer but the cost was so high that very few people purchased them for that use. There is no reason why good high end 3D printers cannot come down in price eventually. We can talk all day about alignment, printing materials, beds, etc but all those things can be sorted out eventually for mass production. One day.

 

LOL that would be nice.

That being said I know JD and Case International are looking at rolling out metal 3D printers to dealerships in the near future. A big problem with Ag parts, other than the companies often price gouging, is that it's difficult to hit the economies of scale on certain parts. 3D printing those parts could revolutionize the industry. There's even rumors that massive farms may be able to have a printer setup on their farm and pay a per part cost for life that would still be cheaper than waiting for a dealership made in China version.

 

There are filled filaments that you can print with and are then sent off to be baked. The plastic burns off and you're left with a metal part. I think we're a ways from laser sintering being available in the home though. This one draws 13KW of 3 phase power...I want it!
https://www.ge.com/additive/additive-manufacturing/machines/dmlm-machines/x-line-2000r

 

Those use metal filled plastic filament. The sintering process will result in shrinkage, possible cracking or warping. There are options that you can print in your standard 3d printer and send the finished part off to be sintered for you (a hardened steel nozzle is recommended).

https://www.matterhackers.com/store/c/basf-ultrafuse-316l-metal-3d-printing-filament

 

Salesman terms. Yes it is genuine 304stainless. It will be just as hard when finished. It will not be just as strong. It will be comparable to a cast part. A machined part will have a bit more flex before it breaks. 3D printing however will allow you to make parts that are impossible to be machined.