Amateur 3D Printing

[AkwA]

Not completely the right place to ask, but does anyone have access to a lathe or know of anyone with one? 
A manual lathe is perfect, I need some endcaps machined for my hub. Currently has torque caps on, and they cant be machined down, so need caps made from scratch. Importing a set will be in the area of R1750 and not keen on spending that.

[Mtree]

On 6/17/2023 at 12:37 PM, Kom said:

⚠️ Warning ⚠️ - Lengthy Opinion in response to your helpful recommendation 😁 : -->

When it comes to finishing, im not sure sanding, spraying, polishing is my strength - ive tried but i always end up with something i just dont like. Call it OCD.

Occasionally i print something that looks OEM, like these sleeves i printed for my car's vent controls. Straight off the print bed, literally looks like it was made for the car, and in this case the contours from the print actually look intentional.

Given the position of this stem cover, staring at it while riding my matt black propel, with even the slightest blemish, would just not work for me.

My initial learnings from 3D printing are that its no doubt a must have tool in everyones homes, ive already redeemed my outlay on useful prints within a month of ownership, but there are limitations on the amount of time you are willing to spend on designs and finishing products, vs. going out and just buying the equivalent (if it exists 😜).

I understand your frustration with the whole sanding/polishing etc piece, but you do find a certain sense of satisfaction that comes when you get better at it... There is also the option of using 2k automotive paint to finish everything (This assumes you have the whole workshop to go with things)

Your vent sliders look great though! Kudos on those!
100% agreed on a 3D printer being a tool that should be in every home, just the minor issue of Eskom and long prints.

Designing things becomes a hobby at a point, especially if you are designing 3D printers/CNC machines from scratch. The nice thing about learning tools such as Fusion360/SolidWorks/FreeCAD etc is that you are then able to design anything and everything under then sun. 

[Kom]

So many iterations to get my AirTag holder just right to sit under the seat attached to the seat rails - v0.3 currently in design 😮‍💨

[Kom]

On 6/14/2023 at 10:30 PM, AmirL said:

First prototype complete, will keep you posted once I've tested it. 

just a thought, but the angle of the bolts into the seat might be 6-8deg off perpendicular, you might need to factor that in to the mounts.

This is a design im playing with for a SWAT mount on the spez power saddle, found that i need -8deg tilt to get the varia perpendicular.

[AmirL]

35 minutes ago, Kom said:

just a thought, but the angle of the bolts into the seat might be 6-8deg off perpendicular, you might need to factor that in to the mounts.

This is a design im playing with for a SWAT mount on the spez power saddle, found that i need -8deg tilt to get the varia perpendicular.

You are correct, I've noted some changes to make the varia position better when mounted on the saddle.

[MongooseMan]

54 minutes ago, Kom said:

So many iterations to get my AirTag holder just right to sit under the seat attached to the seat rails - v0.3 currently in design 😮‍💨

Is there a particular reason you want to mount it on the saddle? (Personally that seems a bit too visible for an item that should be as inconspicuous as possible).

 

I went with this (it's diverge specific, but could probably be adapted to any bike with downtube mounts). Plus, it doubles as frame protection, so that's nice
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5515628

 

On my bikes without downtube mounts I've gone with this, under the bottle cages: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4894455

Edited June 19, 2023 by MongooseMan

[Kom]

1 hour ago, MongooseMan said:

Is there a particular reason you want to mount it on the saddle? (Personally that seems a bit too visible for an item that should be as inconspicuous as possible).

 

I went with this (it's diverge specific, but could probably be adapted to any bike with downtube mounts). Plus, it doubles as frame protection, so that's nice
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5515628

 

On my bikes without downtube mounts I've gone with this, under the bottle cages: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4894455

I dont have the downtube bolts, that would have been a nice print actually.

I was looking at the bottle mounts, but my bottle cage dont quite have that gap for the airtag "bulge" without me having to make it look obvious.

The design im going for is defs more stealthy than one would believe. Keep in mind the airtag sits above not below the seat rails, and aft of the mount.

[RustyHWR]

Can someone make one of these please? Need to keep the back wheel down.

[deonkretch]

On 6/4/2023 at 12:01 PM, Furbz said:

sadly likely wont work for me and my short legs.

my saddles are usually set right the way forward so wont have any rail to put it on.

i'm also fairly confident the saddles are ok - they are designed to carry a light so should be ok. also just a much neater finish to the bike using the existing mounts

I am finalising a sideways-mounted varia bracket - especially for dropper posts. 

It tucks the varia in below the seat. We've been testing for the last couple of months and so far it works perfectly well - even at the 90º angle.

 

[Kom]

Came up with an experimental out front mount for my wahoo bolt with integrated torch mount this weekend.

i modelled a bolt thru and a strap-on design to see if keeping the torch removable for recharging would be as aesthetically pleasing. 
 

I’m using two m4 15mm bolts to clamp the mount onto my bar, I’d probably redesign the clamp to include nuts 🔩 if i were to use one of these designs.

[Alouette3]

3D print clamps just delaminate and crack the moment any torque is applied. Tried some shifter adapters, didn't even get to go on a ride before they went.

[patches]

8 hours ago, Alouette3 said:

3D print clamps just delaminate and crack the moment any torque is applied. Tried some shifter adapters, didn't even get to go on a ride before they went.

As the interwebs always says: "sounds like settings issue"...

and the solution is quite simple:

• Go into your settings, under BankAccount.cfg
• Reduce the "Balance" value by approximately "USD150,000"
• Assign this value to to replace PrinterModel[X} with "MarkForged Metal X"
• Retry your prints with new metallic medium

But yeah, jokes aside, I too haven;t had great success with any prints that have reasonable dynamic forces applies. Like you say, the weak point is the laminations. I did however manage to fix (re-laminate) one of said prints with CA glue and that held up pretty well. But yeah, the process of printing, then breaking to find weak spot, then re-lamintaing weak spot with stronger bond seems a little over the top.

[-cK-]

Print material and print orientation plays a big part in part strength.

My go to filament is PETG and you need to identify the main directional force on the part and try to adjust your print orientation so that the main force is not in the direction of the print layers. 

Also know there is a limit to what you can achieve and do with a 3d printed part when it comes to functional parts. 

[Kom]

3 hours ago, -cK- said:

Print material and print orientation plays a big part in part strength.

My go to filament is PETG and you need to identify the main directional force on the part and try to adjust your print orientation so that the main force is not in the direction of the print layers. 

Also know there is a limit to what you can achieve and do with a 3d printed part when it comes to functional parts. 

Can’t add to this opinion, but spot on.

I’m always curious to see pictures of delaminating prints, what printer and filament was used.

Still nee to this myself, I’ve done some destructive testing and even PLA was surprisingly strong.

[Mtree]

Just a surprising feature I have found to stop with delamination of prints. 

PETG at 245/250°C and heated bed at 95°C, 3+ walls and 85% infill, generally have had good success with stuff not delaminating under loads, prints generally snap before delaminating. 

[-cK-]

Speaking of destructive testing...

Reminds me when I tested this part I printed for our friend @Pure Savage 😅

https://youtu.be/24QQp7EFl3k

Also brings me to the 3rd important thing that will determine strength and that is structural design/reinforcements 😉

Edited June 27, 2023 by -cK-