Netduino home hardware projects downloads community

Jump to content


The Netduino forums have been replaced by new forums at community.wildernesslabs.co. This site has been preserved for archival purposes only and the ability to make new accounts or posts has been turned off.
Photo

How to 3D print your project a custom case!


  • Please log in to reply
5 replies to this topic

#1 Joshk

Joshk

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 72 posts

Posted 13 June 2014 - 04:10 PM

In all the time I have been on this forum I haven't seen the magic of 3D printing mentioned, so I will kick things off.

 

For Netduino based projects there is nothing cooler or cheaper to make it look professional and protect the circuits than a custom 3D printed case.  Not only is it cheap to create just one, but you can draw it on your computer and get a quote before you spend a penny.

 

Step 1) Find a free 3D drawing program like Sketchup that is right for your project by Googling "3D modeling software".  If you don't want to learn 3D drawing then you can hire a designer.  I could design small projects here.

Step 2) Find a quality printer to hire.  You can Google that, or I can do it for you.  I have the top-of-the line Form1 SLA printer that I use for awesome Netduino cases listed right here with a review.  I currently print at cost since I already own the printer for my own use.

Step 3) Upload your 3D file and your parts will be shipped to you just like anything else ordered online.

 

I would love to help you guys discover the potential of 3D printing, no matter if you use mine or Google others.



#2 baxter

baxter

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 415 posts

Posted 13 June 2014 - 04:58 PM

As someone obviously familiar with 3D printing, what do you think of the Da Vinci 1.0 3D Printer?

http://www.amazon.co...bs_6066127011_1



#3 Joshk

Joshk

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 72 posts

Posted 13 June 2014 - 05:17 PM

I think the price is impressive.  But the technology is Fused Filament, meaning it prints by melting a plastic "welding rod" as it leaves the nozzle and squirts it on top of the previously printed later.  Prints will leak liquids (such as electrical potting) through pinholes.  the pinholes will be substantial with a .4mm nozzle.  This also leaves a rough texture.  I think SLA technology is worth the money, which is basically a liquid plastic hardened by a laser beam that traces the layers.  You can buy a Form1 at formlabs.com like mine and it can print water pipe fittings, plus the texture is amazing.  



#4 Joshk

Joshk

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 72 posts

Posted 13 June 2014 - 05:31 PM

I can not find any close up pictures of anything printed on that printer, I guess there is a reason :D



#5 baxter

baxter

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 415 posts

Posted 13 June 2014 - 11:36 PM

Yes, there is a reason. When the light shines just right you can see the surface roughness. The Da Vinci business model has also received a lot of criticism for the chipped, proprietary filament cartridge. I wish I could afford a Form1 printer. The Da Vinci is cheap enough to play with, but I think I would be disappointed with its results. Thanks for the information about your service.

 

 



#6 liqdfire

liqdfire

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 78 posts

Posted 16 June 2014 - 11:23 PM

I would not buy a printer from XYZ Printing, their printers take proprietary cartridges, that have a DRM chip in them. There have been articles on how to hack them, but I refuse to support a company that takes open source ideas and close source them, not to mention making it restrictive for their customers to use  standard filament. 

 

I personally have a MakerGear M2, bought it as a kit, it is an excellent printer, but not anywhere near the price of the XYZ. If you are looking for something in that price range, take a look at pirate3D bucaneer. The are very promising machines, they have a very successful kickstarter, and just closed pre-orders so they can do fulfillment. The pre-order was right around 500, so in a similar price range.

 

The thing you have to remember about FDM (Fused Deposit Modeling) is that there are a lot of factors that directly effect your print quality. The inexpensive printers tend to take a lot more tweaking to get good print quality. Though, any printer is going to require some amount of tweaking and tuning. 

 

If you really just want something cheap that works decent, there is also printrbot. They are laser cut, so I would not use them anywhere but indoors, especially if you live in a humid climate; the warping can toss your print quality out mid print.






0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

home    hardware    projects    downloads    community    where to buy    contact Copyright © 2016 Wilderness Labs Inc.  |  Legal   |   CC BY-SA
This webpage is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.