3D Printing

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Dogtrousers

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
Is this still the future or has it arrived, and I just haven't noticed?

I was looking at ways of mounting a GoPro Hero camera on my bike. None of the mounts available was quite right, and it ocurred to me that I ought to be able to create a design in a CAD package of some sort, email it to a bureau service, and they would send me my mount in the post.

Am I talking about the distant future, or are some pioneers already doing this? I've done a bit of a web search and it seems to be possible, but still confined to 3D printing enthusiasts and other geeks.

I had a read on http://www.3dprint-uk.co.uk/ which is quite an interesting site, and it seems that I could have got the bracket I was dreaming up printed, and not at enormous cost, but definitely not at all cheap (probably measured in tens of pounds).

The drawbacks would be that: It would take me an age to design it; I would probably get it wrong first time and would need to print several; It may not be strong enough. Also this approach would be limited on bikes to non-safety-critical, low stress bits. Which is basically brackets and mounts for lights and other accessories and ... er ... that's it.

Has anyone actually dipped their toe into this world (for bike bits or for other reasons)?

As it happens I've come up with a cunning GoPro mounting solution, not involving any custom parts, that I'll be road-testing this weekend. If successful I will amaze you with it. If not I won't.
 
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Mojonaut

Mojonaut

Guru
Location
Nr Kettering, Northants
Shapeways will print stuff for you http://www.shapeways.com/ but it won't be cheap.

I just bought one of these http://tinyurl.com/q4q3drv well made arrived in couple of days (I was expecting it to come from China)
 
AndyRM

AndyRM

XOXO
Location
North Shields
Definitely gaining more mainstream popularity. The equipment and materials are still prohibitively expensive.

I've done some work here http://maklab.co.uk/

If you're interested in the technology you could book yourself some workshop time and get help to design and print it yourself.

Just seen that you're in London - there could be something similar there? If not, it's well worth the trip to Glasgow.
 
M

Markymark

Guest
To note, there's lots of variations of 3s printers. Some produce prototyping - lovely colours, details but fragile. For looking at rather than using. Some produce working parts. Still prohibitive for mainstream but yes, you can certainly get usable parts made. Just talk with them to ensure the material is suitable for usage.

Finally, get the 3d file designed well. You need to ensure it's fully watertight, ensure everything is thick enough, everything has proper support where is needed etc. Plenty of advice on this, you just don't want a costly mistake!
 
welsh dragon

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
Wasn't there a group of people not long ago who were selling the programming needed to replicate a handgun, and it worked? Blueprints were being sold over the internet? The website was taken down as I recall. That goes to show how good 3d printers have become.

I also read some where this week where the Chinese have managed to 3d print a house? Single story only at the moment, it would cost around £5,000 to make if things really took off?

Of course the cost of things at the moment is horrendous and may not be financially viable for ordinary joe blogs. At the moment that is.
 
Supersuperleeds

Supersuperleeds

Legendary Member
Location
Leicester
Japan released details this week of houses they have built using 3d printing.

I also read in a magazine this week a bike had been made using the same techniques, think it cost them £20,000 to make it though! They started with the seat post and when that passed the safety tests they did the whole frame.
 
OP
OP
Dogtrousers

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
Interesting. I'm not planning to actually do anything about this. More just idle curiosity. I was worried that maybe the future had arrived and I hadn't noticed. I'm relieved to see that it hasn't ... yet.

I like the lotto scratch card scraper, for $23.70 at Shapeways. I suppose the theory is that players of scratch cards are easy to separate from their money, so worth a try. And I'm sure it will scratch more efficiently than the edge of a coin.

Re the gun, when I lived in the States a friend over there told me about how when he was a kid they used to make ad-hoc 22 guns out of bits of car aerial and other random bits of scrap. Dangerous as hell, but if you're a bored teen with access to 22 ammunition, what's not to like? As Viv Stanshall might have said "a novel enough way to commit suicide".
 
U

ufkacbln

Guest
welsh dragon said:
Wasn't there a group of people not long ago who were selling the programming needed to replicate a handgun, and it worked? Blueprints were being sold over the internet? The website was taken down as I recall. That goes to show how good 3d printers have become.

I also read some where this week where the Chinese have managed to 3d print a house? Single story only at the moment, it would cost around £5,000 to make if things really took off?

Of course the cost of things at the moment is horrendous and may not be financially viable for ordinary joe blogs. At the moment that is.
Click to expand...

The gun design was taken down at the "request" of the US Department of State
 
welsh dragon

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
I was watching the one show tonight. Kevin Mccleod was on and they were talking about the new japanese 3d printer that can replicate a house. its made of concrete. It looked brilliant.
 
S.Giles

S.Giles

Guest
I also read some where this week where the Chinese have managed to 3d print a house.

I'm hoping that someday 3D printing technology will solve all my problems. If I can get Martyn at Raceware to 3D-print me a Blenheim Palace, an Aston Martin DB5, a Cameron Diaz and a nice carrot cake, I'll be a happy man (maybe). Reality is over-rated (and over-priced), IMHO.
 
JhnBssll

JhnBssll

Veteran
Location
Suffolk
I've nearly finished building my first 3D printer and thought I'd resurrect this thread instead of creating a new one. It's an Anet A2 and the kit can be bought for <£150 but it is a fiddle getting it together and even more so getting it to produce half decent results. So far it's only caught fire once :laugh: I've made some updates to the electronics so that shouldn't happen again with a little luck :laugh: I'm currently doing a few test prints before I finish off and tidy up the wiring loom.

I've been using FDM printers for over a decade now at work so these things have been around for a long time but the prices are plummeting... The big boy we have at work (a Stratasys Fortus 900mc) can print about 900x600x900 but cost about £250k 4 years ago. My little Anet can print 220x220x220 for <£150, albeit less reliably and less accurately (with lower grade materials etc etc) :laugh:

I'm an engineer by trade so CAD is one of my strong points - I'll have to start thinking up some bicycle related bits to model up and print!

Anet A2

Anet A2


Anet A2

Anet A2

 
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