Anyone here offer 3D printing service?
Don M
Posts: 1,652
I would like to have some inexpensive Ping type mounting brackets made. Cost?
Such as:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:189585
or
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:677610
Thanks.
Such as:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:189585
or
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:677610
Thanks.
Comments
https://www.makexyz.com
PLA is almost as tough as abs, and is easier to print. Warping can still be an issue, but not as severe at ABS.
The first item you linked is a big rectangle. This might have warping issues. If the part were modified to have large holes instead of large areas of solid plastic, the warping could be reduced, and the material used and print time would be reduced.
The biggest cost is usually the operator set-up time, and the print time.
I use MakeXYZ and 3DHubs for printing my simple designs.
The person I use at MakeXYZ just happens to live about 500feet away from me.
He has a Makerbot Replicator 2 and prints only in PLA plastic.
It took a few projects for me to get tolerances to be pretty close to what I wanted.
Now, I can send him my files and get the results I want without shipping cost.
The person I use at 3DHubs works at a hospital that is about 1/2 mile from where I live.
He prints using a Lulzbot TAZ5 printer and mostly prints using ABS.
I pick up finished parts at the hospital, again no shipping cost
I'm still zeroing in on my tolerances with the Lulzbot printer because the Lulzbot uses a .35mm extruder
whereas the makerbot uses a .4mm extruder.
What I've noticed about cost is that the ABS will tend to be about 1.5x the cost of PLA.
I believe this has to do with the print speed of ABS is slower.
When I send a design, I sort of expect the cost to be $5 + $10.00 per hour run time.
I slice my designs using makerware software just to confirm that the files are valid and to get the print time.
Both of these services appear to work out good.
I don't think that using these services without specifying a particular printer machine will give you consistent results.
I plan on working with the same people and machines so I know that what I send them is what I get when it's printed.
What about aluminum?
What you have to trade if I cnc some for you?
You cannot expect to send a 3D file to some random person and get the print exactly the way you wanted.
Our designs take 3 to 5 runs to get right, and we know how our machine works (Printrbot plus). We use ABS only because we need to withstand high temps (95 degree C). And it is hard to get a good print with ABS, but once you get a particular print sorted it works good and you can print many in a row without a problem.
Bean
There's no such thing as "free shipping." It's a cost to the vendor, so they just fold it into the price.
I agree with others who have suggested go local. I pointed to what is basically a referral service. Limit your search to someone near you, and get to know that person.
I also think it's a good idea to look into maker spaces and others who rent time on machines. The files on Thingiverse are basically turnkey, though you have to be mindful of file formats and versions.
As for PLA or ABS: this is not a structural piece, so I doubt it matters. I'd go with the cheapest.
Finally, some of these look nice and neat and all that, but Parallax sells also some really simple metal L-brackets that would probably work, too. I think they're like 50 cents each. I use them to mount servos to chassis. May be all you need.
https://www.parallax.com/product/720-00011
Aluminum Ping Stand
Parallax also has purpose-built Ping mounts (linked above). These seem much nicer than the cheapo stuff that you find by searching for "HC-SR04 mounts" on ebay or such, but maybe those are sufficient?
I presume that you have already explored the obvious ... but just wanted to make sure before you invest a great deal of time/cost/risk in a third-party manufacturing endeavor.
While I understand there is no "free lunch" what I have noticed in this is that the price including shipping appears to be less than others that charge extra for shipping on top of the cost of the item.
So actually you made a good suggestion here.. I kinda like the idea of L brackets for now and will look at a different solution later. Thanks.
While I appreciate your offer and fully embrace the idea of trading goodies for services... I really don't need something as rugged as aluminum for this project. But thanks anyway.
1) In many cases, people have no idea what to make after they've printed out a few build-in vases and test objects.
2) Owners would LOVE to tell wives and other people that they made a part for you and earned money (however little).
I have put the word out locally and will wait to see what pops up.
I looked at using the L brackets as Gordon suggested but the holes on a Ping are only on opposite corners and they are not easily accessible. On the Chinese knock offs there are holes in all 4 corners but again the location of the holes does not make it an easy or nice looking application. I went ahead and ordered a couple samples from makexyz just to see how well the process works.