Ive worked with the 3d printers in the past. and the "cornstarch" powder machines product a part that is very delicate. you can strengthen them by soaking in hot beeswax or by wicking CYA glue (superglue) through it and letting it cure.
when using these as masters dont forget to take draft and shink into account. Jason ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Lum" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, November 2, 2011 9:18:19 AM Subject: Re: [TANKS] track talk We have a "printer" at my school and would not mind printing some parts for people just to learn how it works. I'll get in touch with the tech guys and see what I need to do it. I did ask about cost and they said something crazy like $5 per cubic centimeter! Tom On Nov 02, 2011, at 09:25 AM, Frank Pittelli <[email protected]> wrote: Here are the disadvantages of 3D printing compared to molding parts: 1) ABS plastic is not as durable as the polyurethane we use when molding parts. 2) When molding, there's a 5 minute cycle time for a batch of parts (we do 8 parts per batch), each "part" will probably take at least 15 minutes on a 3d printer. 3) The plastic used by the printer is more expensive per pound than that used for molding. 4) If necessary, you can easily add a strip of fiberglass to molded parts to increase strength. That is not possible with printing. Basically, when it comes to mass-producing parts, molding is the cheapest, fastest and most flexible approach. As Joe said, the real winning combination is to use a 3D printer to make the master part, then make molds from them. We've done that for a couple of parts (drive cog, experimental pumps) and it works great. If you do get a Thing-O-Matic, you should expect a never-ending stream of 3D requests from Maryland for master part production (in exchange for mold making if you want). Frank P. On 11/1/2011 10:36 PM, Doug Conn wrote: > The Thing-O-Matic uses ABS plastic and produce parts the > required size and thickness. -- You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. To post a message, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat -- You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. To post a message, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat -- You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. To post a message, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat
