3D Printer: Most unbelievable gizmo ever

[BrooklynBay]

My grandfather had a 1972 Torino. I have the original detailed repair books for it. That grille is big even if it's made as two separate halves so it would require a large 3D printer. Since those pieces are shiny, I would recommend using silk PLA filament which cost about $30 for a 2 LB roll before tax. I'm sure that one roll would be more than enough to print the whole thing. Do you know the total size of it?

 

[BKennedy]

I saw something today that I didn't know I could not live without, until I saw it. Its a manual hub tool for those pesky hard to turn manual hubs.
James Duff has one out of billet aluminum I saw when purchasing some bushings from them for their radius arms, and I did a search and found these

4x4 Hub Tool - Etsy

This Car Accessories item by 4x4VintageStyle has 11 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Orem, UT. Listed on Jan 18, 2023

www.etsy.com

It sure would come in handy in cold weather, or when one of them like mine, is just very hard to turn all the way to lock.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Here's another one which is similar to that tool: 3D Printable Hub Lock/Unlock Tool by Jacob Bart

 

[BrooklynBay]

Here's another design which is similar: F350 4WD Hub Turner by kwmachine

 

[CDW6212R]

My grandfather had a 1972 Torino. I have the original detailed repair books for it. That grille is big even if it's made as two separate halves so it would require a large 3D printer. Since those pieces are shiny, I would recommend using silk PLA filament which cost about $30 for a 2 LB roll before tax. I'm sure that one roll would be more than enough to print the whole thing. Do you know the total size of it?

Thanks. I have two if the 72 front ends, most of the spare pieces are under my deck. The grille is painted generally, the original finish may have been that grey in the raw material. But everyone I've seen on forum or project cars were painted. So it's a typical satin finish, I painted mine black way back in 1988 when I put it on my 73 Ranchero. I would aim for that original color, pictured above, there isn't any chrome on it like some later grilles had.

I can measure it soon when I get to my Ranchero tomorrow or soon. I think it's near 24" long, about 2" thick, and the angle of the center is probably 20 degrees or so.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I have a medium sized machine so that size is too big to print even in two sections. Maybe a larger machine could print it in two sections.

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks. I'm sure it can be done, but the machine required and difficulty/cost, that's harder to figure out.

 

[Rick]

Thanks. I'm sure it can be done, but the machine required and difficulty/cost, that's harder to figure out.

There are companies you can send your file to for 3d printing. No idea about costs though.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The Best 3D Printer for Beginners including budget, small business, home or school options.

The best 3D printers for beginners, from brands like Creality, and Flashforge including budget, small business, home or school options.

www.thomasnet.com

 

[Rick]

Have you heard much about this one:

Amazon product ASIN B00I8NM6JO

 

[BrooklynBay]

The price went up a little since you posted the link. The build size is between small to medium. It's completely enclosed so that's good for maintaining a consistent temperature to prevent warping. It has dual extruders for printing with two types of filament such as two color printing or a separate filament for a raft, infill or support material. I didn't see the specifications list the maximum temperature range, heated bed or if it has auto leveling. Those three things are important. It has stable 10 MM Z axis rods. Older machines use thin rods which wobble, and are not as good for tall prints. The printing speed is good. It says that it could handle TPE & TPU so that's good. It's not bad for a machine in this price range over all but you could compare it to other machines in the same price range. Sometimes the Micro Center store has open box or closeout deals where they mark them down.

 

[Rick]

I'll check on those items you mentioned. For the price, even at $499 it may be a good starter.

 

[BrooklynBay]

There are more advanced machines which are called 3 in 1 or 4 in 1. They are capable of doing laser engraving, and CNC cutting with the correct attachments, but that's not for a beginner. I've seen some of those on display at the Micro Center store They run pretty fast compared to a regular machine, and are very stable even at high speeds. An average 0.4MM nozzle is run up to 60MM per second except on the first few layers. The slicer profile automatically adjusts the speed, but it could be custom edited.

Nozzles make a big difference on the quality of the print. No name brand brass nozzles are good but don't expect them to last a long time. The type of metal which the nozzle is made out of is another factor. Copper will transfer heat much better than a lot of different types of nozzle materials. You could find decent copper nozzles in the $4 to $20 range. No name brand brass, stainless steel or tool steel could be as low as $1 each in a quantity. Some nozzles are high end, and expensive such as Ruby or tungsten but the regular nozzles which are decent quality could last a long time. Some have special non stick coatings which only last for a short amount of time, so they aren't worth the extra expense either. Buy a nozzle cleaning kit with long, flexible points. The short abrasive style cracks off in the nozzle, and the abrasive part wears down the opening prematurely.

Switching colors or types of filament leaves a little behind in the machine so you might want to run new filament through to purge whatever is left over or use cleaning filament before starting a new print. This is important when you are about to run white or clear filament after using a dark filament.

 

[BrooklynBay]

A startup is using recycled plastic to 3D print prefab tiny homes with prices starting at $25,000 — see inside

California-based Azure wants to turn your leftover plastic bottles and food packaging into 3D-printed prefab backyard studio tiny homes and ADUs.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Rick]

I'm looking at 3D printers again and this one seems pretty good. Any thoughts?

Ender 3 Max Neo,

Amazon product ASIN B0B5QF985Y

 

[Mbrooks420]

I know 3 people with the Ender 3. One guy has 4 of them. Excellent starter unit. There’s a bunch of “free” upgrades you can print for it.

 

[timtimtimajim]

Ender 3's are a great place start start with 3D printing. Been super happy with my Ender 3 pro. Really easy to use and, as MBrooks said, there's all kinds of parts you can print to make them even better.

 

[Rick]

Cool thanks. I've been looking forward to working with a 3d printer. I'm usually much more of an early adopter but I haven't had the time to start something new.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It looks good. I checked the listing. The build plate is large. It uses auto leveling. The touch screen is color with a clear control menu, and it uses silent stepper motor controller chips. It also has a filament run out sensor to pause the print when the filament breaks or gets used up so that you don't ruin a print. It's able to resume printing where it left off in an event where there's a power failure. The X, Y, and Z axis rails look stable to print at a higher speed compared to some older models units. What are you planning on printing? I would recommend getting or building an enclosure to maintain a constant temperature, and keep out drafts.

 

[Rick]

What are you planning on printing?

Bits for cars and trucks of course.