3D Printers

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Several here have stated they own 3D printers.
I was just wondering just how strong are the finished product from one of these printers?
Another question would be do you have to have a "masters degree" in some type of design to be able to make something with one?
Thanks
 
the strength is pretty good on most things. A lot of the strength also has quite a bit to do with the design of the part. When you say make something with them are you talking about just printing someone elses design? If thats what you mean then no...there is a learning curve to get good prints...but its not impossible. To design things does take a bit of skill. If you want to shoot me a PM i will give you my number and we can talk about it and i can answer any questions you have.
 
you dont need any masters degree :)

if you have no experience in 3d design i highly recommend you rhino. you could donwload a 100% fully functional trial -> http://www.rhino3d.com/
and there's a lot of documentation, if youre trully interested in learning 3d modeling im pretty sure you'll learn the basics in a week and by the end of the month youll be capable of modeling a full 3d design. if you have any comments/questions feel free to shoot me a pm.

greetings.
 
Well, thanks Chuddly and chapsrlz, on the info. I really was only wondering on strength of things made with one. Not that I was going to ever purchase one. My P2V killed my budget for a long time to come.
 
They are quite durable. The typical FFF printers (think 3d inkjets) make very strong ABS prints, and for burly things like arms and mounts PLA works quite well too, I haven't had any delamination or layer separation on anything.

Expensive industrial prints like laser sintered nylon are REALLY tough. I've heard SLA isn't as durable, but most of those have such small build volumes that they would be of limited use for most MRs.
 
Thanks for asking the question, Happy Flyer! I wondered that myself.
When I look at 3D printed parts, they do look very brittle. And you think about how they're made in layers... how that first layer is dried, set and hardened by the time the nozzle comes around to lay down the second layer, and so on. I would've thought that would make for parts that did not have very strong cohesion between layers, making them prime for delamination.

But it sounds as though that's not really the case.... which makes me very impressed.
 
Interesting topic...recently I had a small crash with my phantom and there were 2 small pieces of the gimbal that broke. I was very upset to have to pay over $150 to replace them when I bet they could have easily been created on a 3D printer for 1/6 that costs. Since then, I too have started looking into these printers.

Question: Could props be made on these printers? Would that be feasible?
 
Khudson7 said:
Interesting topic...recently I had a small crash with my phantom and there were 2 small pieces of the gimbal that broke. I was very upset to have to pay over $150 to replace them when I bet they could have easily been created on a 3D printer for 1/6 that costs. Since then, I too have started looking into these printers.

Question: Could props be made on these printers? Would that be feasible?
in theory they could but in practicality with what most of us have for 3d printers no. I have actually seen it done and it did work. But it was a huge PITA for him to get it to print and have correct contours all around and keep everything EXACTLY symmetrical. Let me put it this way....Would i use it for suspension parts on my car? NO! would i build an entire quadcopter out of it. You better believe it. its strong and light and can be customized to do what you need. It really fits this hobby perfectly.
 
chuddly said:
Khudson7 said:
Interesting topic...recently I had a small crash with my phantom and there were 2 small pieces of the gimbal that broke. I was very upset to have to pay over $150 to replace them when I bet they could have easily been created on a 3D printer for 1/6 that costs. Since then, I too have started looking into these printers.

Question: Could props be made on these printers? Would that be feasible?
in theory they could but in practicality with what most of us have for 3d printers no. I have actually seen it done and it did work. But it was a huge PITA for him to get it to print and have correct contours all around and keep everything EXACTLY symmetrical. Let me put it this way....Would i use it for suspension parts on my car? NO! would i build an entire quadcopter out of it. You better believe it. its strong and light and can be customized to do what you need. It really fits this hobby perfectly.

+1. Props require extreme precision to balance and they're put under high and constant torque. I think even if you could get it to print well, it would take a ton of finishing, and then even if it flew well the first time, the effective life would be measured in minutes, or a few hours before you start getting cracking or separation at the hub. This is one case where I'd worry about delam :) If you printed ABS and smoothed it in an acetone vapor cloud, maybe it'd hold together...Generally, just not worth it for props. Arms or deck? Landing gear? Sure.
 

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