Anyone give me info on 3D Scanning

[VDX]

... if it's a one off, I'll let it print by a service provider (some experience with shapeways) - here you can select a bunch of materials from plastics, ceramics to metal ...

If you'll need more, search someone in your location with a RepRap-printer - e.g. a hackerspace or local user group ... they can give you some samples or print a part with your specs.

ABS is rigid enough for most mechanical tasks, PLA has higher shore hardness, so could be better for withstanding pressure.

Or you make a mould from your part for metal casting ...

Viktor

[White-Light]

Thanks Victor. You've been really helpful.

[kitatit]

Hi Al,
Regarding plastics and their properties. Great info there by Viktor. I've got several parts made from laser sintered nylon (SLS) for selective laser sintering. Shapeways call it (Strong White Flexible) and several of the main 3D printing services offer it. It is usually made with machines made by EOS. The product name is called PA 2200 and the generic term is polyamide 12. Great material and also one of the cheapest. It is white but they will dye it, black,red,blue,green ect.

I would generally describe it as rigid and tough. It's quiet strong and inspired confidence that is wont beak. I've found it to have quiet good tolerance to (relatively anyway) e.g. I had a motor with an 8.0mm shaft and made a gear out of SLS nylon with a 8mm hole. The part came out slightly under 8mm which ment you needed to firmly push the gear on with your thumb. They say to allow 0.5mm clearance for parts to fit together if I remember.
Now,the reason they call it flexible is that if you design the part with a thin section, say under 2mm, it will bend when you flex it by hand. This is very handy as you can take advantage of this and use it to create spring, hinge mechanisms ect. If you didn't want the thin section to bend, add a brace in the design and it will be rigid again.

Check this link below. It's very handy for getting quick price guild lines for getting parts printed.
http://3dprintingpricecheck.com

The file type used for 3D printing is call .stl . You can generate 3d models with Google Sketchup and export them in .stl format.
Then you just upload that file to http://3dprintingpricecheck.com it will show a list of materials and suppliers with prices......
From plastics with great prices to platinum, titanium ect with truly eye watering price. I haven't done any 3D scanning yet. so can't comment.

Good luck and have fun.
Kit

[White-Light]

Thanks, Kit. I'll take a look and have a play with some different sample prints to get a feel for costings.

[norty303]

Thanks Kit, really useful to know Sketchup can generate .stl files
I want to get some laser module covers made up, and that's going to be the best way of going about it I think.

[kitatit]

Hi Norty,

Here is a toutorial from Shapeways
http://www.shapeways.com/tutorials/s...o_stl_tutorial

For larger parts the cost can blow out pretty quickly though, even in plastic. I was considering 3D printing some dust covers to keep parts of the optical train in my projector clean. It got a bit expensive.
What I'd do, is slap together a quick mock up of thhe cover that is about the same size and wall thhickness. Export it as .stl then upload in to http://3dprintingpricecheck.com/ to get an approximate cost. That way you don't waste days designing getting your design just right, only to find it's way too expensive.

Depending on how big it is, if you get the wall thickness down to say 2mm and put some ribs and webs to give it a bit of strength, it still could be a good option.
I think I remember andy_con using die cast ali boxes a while go befor he got his CNC. Pretty good bang for buck if you can find the right size box from Maplin/RS ect.

You have some good options close by http://www.3dprint-uk.co.uk
They only do white but they have a unique pricing model which can be very economical. Watch their youtube vid and blurb in this link.

Good luck, its pretty addictive this 3D printing once you hold a part you designed and it turns up in the mail.
Kit

[norty303]

I suspect the costs of the 3D printing will be insignificant compared to the 40W of lasers they'll be covering

[VDX]

... depends on the laser -- a chinese 40W CO2-laser with PS is around USD300, a (chinese too) fiberlaser with 40W ranges from USD7k to 10k ... a comparable american type more around USD12k to 20k ...

Viktor

[kitatit]

Hey guys,

This might be useful as a point of reference for how much it costs to get stuff 3d printed in laser sintered nylon.

If you go to www.grabcad.com and search for Norty's cover. You will find a model I made. It's a quick mock up of a hypothetical plastic cover for a laser module, typical of what is built on PL. Its 200mm x 150mm x 50mm high. The wall thickness is 2mm. I didn't put in any windows or holes for connections but you get the idea.

You are welcome to download it and then upload it to 3D printing sites. It gives a bit of a reference so you can see the costs in different materials from different companies. It was surprisingly reasonable for a one off purpose build dust cover.

It was around $114 USD plus shipping from www.shapeways.com using strong white flexible SLS nylon.

Have fun
Kit