Yea, Blender will do that. And yes, you'll have to go through a whole bunch of tutorials to figure out how to do it.Originally Posted by Bitsyncmaster
Location: Yardley, PA
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Yea, Blender will do that. And yes, you'll have to go through a whole bunch of tutorials to figure out how to do it.
Posts: 1,243
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Alternatively, there are companies that do 3D printing with higher end equipment at a reasonable price. I used this company at my job https://www.rapidmade.com/ . It's a nylon material and unlike the other ABS prints, it is solid all the way through. The resolution is also MUCH better.
I've also seen some demo parts made with the markforged printers. They use carbon fiber in the plastic for much stronger parts and there are a lot of other material options. The base desktop one seems to start at $3500. I'm planning to have some car parts for my z3 made with this.
In terms of scanners, I think Keyence makes a desktop one, but I have no idea what the cost is. I am pushing my company to go with this scanner https://www.creaform3d.com/en/portab...r-handyscan-3d , but that's a $75k system. We need it to start reverse engineering parts and validating equipment setup. Once we get it in, I'll start scanning delorean parts in my off time.
Location: Los Angeles
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3d printing services in general charge a 700-1000% markup on the cost to print. It's something to bear in mind when using those services.
Location: Leonardtown, MD
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Well I have tried about 7 CAD design software and only the very basic "Tinkercad" let me get anywhere with a simple design. I then can import that into other software to get a little more checking. I'm just testing this software on my lap top so maybe some problem is I don't have a real mouse connected. Wonder if there is a class I can take for 3D design.
Location: Los Angeles
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https://www.gnomon.edu/courses/online
I used to teach at Gnomon, they have quite a few good courses and you can also get training videos. Not sure if the cost is too much but it's a potential avenue.
Location: Leonardtown, MD
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Can I 3D print over a "hole". I can flip the project if printing over a hole is not possible.
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I wouldn't be surprised but often its still WAY cheaper than buying a whole printer. I think the nylon printers are easily over $50k and possibly over $100k. Through work, I'd need easily over 200 more print jobs to break even on $50k.
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It'll depend on the printer. You'll want one with support material most likely. Some use the ABS or print material to make a support which you need to cut away. This leaves a rougher surface and the print material can sag. Others will use a different material meant to be dissolved but it can often be chipped out. This is much smoother and minimizes sagging.
Multi jet fusion printer uses a different approach where layers of powder are deposited at a time with binder being printed on each layer. You can create way more complicated pieces without worrying about them collapsing on top of each other since it is always supported.
Location: Southern MA
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It also depends on what quality you’re looking for. My simple ABS prints are just functional, and I don’t care as much about them being pretty, and if I do I can sand the down later. I’ve printed with supports too, which the slicer does a pretty good job of making strong enough for the print but fragile enough that I can just snap away with my fingers most of the time.
The other thing about owning a printer is that you can do test prints easily, without having to wait for shipping from a printing company. I used this to good effect as I learned the tolerances of parts that had to slide together after printing, since the 3D model doesn’t necessarily quite correlate to the real world print. On the other hand, the companies will likely have far nicer printers and be able to work in more exotic materials with higher quality tolerances and finishes, so it really depends on what you want to do.
— Joe
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Most of my 3D printing needs have been work related, so I have the benefit of using our in-house ABS printer to see if the part fits before I order a nicer one. I didn't realize there were 3D printing services until recently, since it was the first time I needed it. That's why I'm pointing it out before someone invests $3k in a printer they might only make $200 worth of parts on. In terms of personal projects though, I'm not coming close to $3k in parts so I'll be using printing companies.
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