What did you 3D print today?

I mean..

if you think about it -- pooping is a form of 3d printing, innit?

 

Damn. I thought I had an original take.



I'll show myself out...

 

So I've been working on making my own truck panels for a little while now and have gone through a few versions and I think with the newest version I'm approaching the max level of consumer FDM printing quality wise.

This is the newest version of my overhead 2 switch panel. 3 Switch Panel and Driver Side Switch Panel coming soon.

Newest version is made from PET-CF a carbon fiber infused polyethylene. Simple terms strong and temperature resistant as fuck.






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OLD VERSIONS BELOW TO SHOW PROGRESS

Version 1


Versions 2 & 3

 

Those look great. They match the factory plastic almost perfectly.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who prints up a half dozen or more "prototypes" before the final version appears.

 

Yeah a little more lol tuning the filament because it prints at 315c was the hardest bit of the process since that balance of speed/cooling determines the outcome. It's to the point now where I can have one of the new panels done in an hour.

Process for anyone interested.

 

Did you make this model?

I've been trying to print one I found on Thingiverse, but realized it is 2-3 mm too wide.

 

Yeah I modeled it this one, a 3 switch one, and a driver side panel. I sell them here and there, I plan on updating my post on the site here and listing it up on Etsy after I get everything finalized here.

 

Awesome. I might buy one from from you instead of messing around with this one.

 

Let me know, since I'm still in the stages of getting everything sorted I can give you a testers discount.

 

From what I can see, your printer has a removable spring steel plate that allows you to pop off the project. I wouldn't use glue or hair spray. On glass, that's ok, but I think with spring steel or PEI, it's not as necessary if you get your settings dialed in.

I would also say that the bed temp is too low. I don't know your particular model. If it has auto bed-leveling, then it should have been able to compensate for the difference in the bed mesh. There are couple of other things you need to consider. Filament type AND brand are important to know. For example, PETG doesn't have the same settings as PLA. Even among brands, they will have different settings. I printed a bird with red PETG and a yellow PETG. Different brands. The yellow one, I had to lower the bed temp to 60 instead of 70. The nozzle temp also was altered from 225 to 230c. Many times, the recommended range will be on the filament spool's sticker. Once you get that range, you use it to fine tune the printer for that brand/filament.

Print out temp towers. Temp towers will help show you what the ideal nozzle temp is for that particular brand/filament type for stringing. I started a google sheet just to track what my temps settings should be.

I struggled with adhesion issues until I played with temp settings. Also, you can use a brim to get better adhesion. There should be settings when you go to slice the project to add a brim. I don't use skirts at all.

For Fusion360, I think they offer free or discounted student accounts, so you could look into that. The free account limits you to 10 editable projects. It is easy to use and there are tons of youtube tutorials on how to use it.

 

I made some wheel center caps from PETG. Atomic Filament has a gunmetal color that looks really good. My first attempt failed. I have wheels that have a 110mm bore. I printed some 110.5mm and hammered them in, but they still came out while driving. I came up with the idea to glue them to hubcentric rings. They're abs. I used an acrylic glue and they have stayed on for over a week. It's so much better than have the nasty dust cover exposed. The rear is even worse with the rusty drum.
I also ended painted the TRD in red.

Before and after

 

Thanks y'all. I increased the bed temp and added a brim:

60*C bed temp



and 70*C bed temp



Both look way better than the one I printed last week. Over the students' break I'll download Fusion 360 and the other app recommended and play around with them.

Thanks again.

 

It looks like you have some good advice already - there is an excellent tuning guide that will teach you a lot about your 3D printers called the Ellis print tuning guide. I used this extensively when getting my Voron 2.4 running, but it has information for a lot of different brands, as well as different slicers.

I started this comment a couple days ago, I see that you are making progress, but since this comment seems to be stuck in a draft mode on my browser, I'll send it anyway.

 

It's good to test what settings work best for you. If the bed temp is too hot, it'll make removing the object more difficult, so don't go overboard on it. I'm glad you're getting better results!

 

the new prusa slicer software (free) allows for a decent bit of design work.

 

18 hr print. Tool organizer for my 3d printer. Yellow PETG

 

And here's a couple more pictures from the install: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...3rd-gen-today.399305/page-14133#post-29956495

 

Is that RTV you used to glue them in?

 

Simple 80 x 220 x .75 print, nicely rounded corners, slight bend while warm from the bed.
Inserted between the seams/welt cord inside the bottom of my saddle bags.

two per side.

To keep them "filled" out.

Absolutely not necessary as they are supposed to collapse when empty. Helped fill in a very slow day at work though.