Adventures in 3d printing tyres

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Springman65
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Re: Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by Springman65 »

Alwyn and Wayne,

Thanks for your quick replies - I sort of understand and agree with your analysis that the Dremel is a bit expensive. But, for me it also has some qualities that I want or am looking for.

One of the bigger thing is that in my quest of or for a 3D printer I have come to realize just how much of a racket they can make - grinding away for hours on end; so, I wanted a cabinet enclosed unit. I am also of the belief that when printing in materials such as ABS, a temperature controlled cabinet can yield better prints (just my opinion from what I have seen in demos)

There are other things that I like, but these are some of the bigger points. This is a big step, and I am shopping still - probably will be unit the moment I do buy a 3D printer. But, having people or a forum to bounce these kinds of questions off of is the best way for me to understand and find the setup that best suits me and my expectations. - Thanks!

One of the issues with printing a roadwheel tyre is its attachment to the roadwheel rim itself?

I am looking at converting a Classy Hobby 1/16 Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf.L Luchs (Sdkfz.123) Light Reconnaissance Tank Model (Display Model) into a RC runner. The original model has molded roadwheels and tyres as single units in styrene. I am thinking of removing the plastic tyre portion and replacing it with a tyre printed from black NINJAFLEX. And I may want to try something similar for the 1/16th Panda 38T as well. And, there are some other similar projects I am interested in as well. So, stepping into 3D printing is the logical next step in the hobby....

Best WIshes,

Springman
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Woz
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Re: Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by Woz »

Key Highlights-

"Error-proof printing with filament recognition system...."

Which means you'll have to use Dremel filament and I'm betting it won't be cheap.

There's no price on the Dremel website but on Amazon it's £26 for 500g. I've been using stuff thats £15 for 1kg, so the Dremel stuff is over three times the price. Also quite often you'll change the filament before it runs out so there's always a bit wasted. With a 500g reel you'll be changing it twice as often.

The biggest problem with the 3D printing industry is the that big companies HP, Dremel etc. are all trying to figure out how to make money out of consumables. (Like they do with inkjet printers.)

The printer may be the best in the world but if you're paying two or three times the amount for filament then will it be worth it in the long run. Also what if they stop supporting it because they have a better machine to sell. I've binned two inkjet printers that worked fine but I couldn't get ink for them.

If a printer is bolted together well it wont be too noisy and you can always cover it with a box (plastic bin) to keep it warm when printing ABS.


By the way instead of printing tyres why not use rubber tubing-
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midlife306
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Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by midlife306 »

Very good point Woz
I use a lot of filament, usually a couple of 1kg spools per week, sets me back about £25/30 per week. I can live with that, but £100 per week would be divorce territory for me.
People new to 3D printing think you only print small things,!i can tell you it’s just not true.
Our hobby is all about 1/16 and
Bigger, spending over a grand on a printer limited to 6” square is madness. If you’re happy with the size buy a cheap Anet A8 & have a play making all the schoolboy mistakes, learn the trade & make your own informed decision on what to buy next.
I’ve done just that, I’m getting the Creality next
Error proof printing, I bet I could make it do rubbish prints lol
Cheers
Wayne



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wibblywobbly
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Re: Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by wibblywobbly »

it says it can use PLA, ABS, and Nylon.
All printers can print all filaments, the only issue is the size of the nozzle that you fit, and whether it has a heated bed.
Noise can all but be eliminated by fitting stepper motor dampers. I use squares of that grippy rubber car mat under the feet of my CR-10 and the noise drops by about 40%, a foamboard cabinet would probably silence it completely. It isn't 'that' noisy, but I can just hear it in the next room if I leave it running overnight. If it was further away I wouldn't hear it at all.

The comments above are true, any of the printers that are bespoke, eg made by a manufacturer using unique parts, are both expensive to buy and maintain. You are tied in to their products and always will be. The printers that use off the shelf components can be maintained at minimal cost, and the filament is economical as well.

I am on my 3rd printer, it was my experience with the first two, both designed in the early days, that taught me which way to go, so big build plate, simple design, and rugged. The Cr-10 is now the most popular printer out there for a reason.

Another thing to consider is printer evolution, if anyone designs something new and makes it cheaply enough then all current printers become practically worthless, and unsaleable. The cheaper the printer, the lower the potential loss.
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AlwynTurner
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Re: Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by AlwynTurner »

I can only echo what Wibbly says and he is vastly more experienced than I am. I am now on my second 3d printer in 18 months, I started with a cheap and cheerful chinese reprap prusa clone and achieved in my eyes some brilliant results (so I thought). After a year my printer was tired and clapped out, and taking a leaf out of Wibblys book I upgraded to a Creality CR-10S and was simply amazed at the reliability, simplicity, ruggedness, and sheer quality of the printer. The results were astonishing! 8O :D

The printer bed capacity is huge and can handle the entire turret of my next tank (Cheiftain) in one print, although at 38 hours print time I suspect I'll be printing it in sections. I can set a 4 hour print going and walk away and leave it, confident that it will complete successfully.

I think if you go for a small capacity and very expensive printer you will very quickly regret the purchase and wind up as we have done moving on to something with larger capacity and easier and cheaper supply and maintenance. A roll of PLA filament costs me £11 and at the moment is lasting me less than a month.

Unless you have large amounts of spare readies and can afford to scrap a printer and replace it quite quickly, then I would recommend a cheaper start with a Creality, and if you feel the need later, then move on to a big name brand, but I don't think you will when you see what the Creality and Cura can produce.

Anyway best wishes with your new hobby whichever way you go and don't be afraid to ask questions and look for advice - I have frequently and it is always forthcoming and incredibly helpful.

Alwyn :thumbup: :wave:
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jaymillz517
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Re: Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by jaymillz517 »

Great information, I plan to purchase CR10s shortly and this section is a gold mine. Thank you for sharing, most knowledge like this is held on to.
Springman65
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Re: Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by Springman65 »

I have done some more investigation into 3d printers and found a company that is local to me that seems to market a very good printer - https://www.makergear.com/

I am looking at the M2 Kit - you buy the printer as a kit and assembly it. I have seen some very good review on it; and, it have a forum and seems to have good factory support.

Anyone here use one by chance?

Springman

PS - I forgot to say I was in the US - Ohio specifically
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AlwynTurner
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Re: Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by AlwynTurner »

Hi Springman, I have had a look at the website for this printer and noticed a couple of things

1. The construction of the printer uses the same rod and bearing system as my early reprap prusa printer and comparing that to my new CR10S is like comparing chalk and cheese. The creality printer uses rubber runners on wide aluminium bars which provides a much more robust frame for the moving parts to move along. The printer which you are considering will certainly work, my early printer did, but after a year my early printer was not sturdy and therefor the quality of printing had degraded noticeably.

2. The heated end on the makergear is right next to the filament feed motor, and this caused me heaps of problems with my early printer. In particular the cable to the feed stepper motor is constantly moving backwards and forwards and I had numerous examples of the cable breaking at the plug into the stepper motor, which meant that the printer stopped working - very very frustrating.

3, Because the drive bands for the z-axis are fastened in close proximity to the hot ends, eventually the heat from the hot end caused the fasteners to warp and come loose - printer stops working and you need to order new fasteners from the factory

4. Because the feed stepper motors are on the moving Z-axis, there is constant vibration which because the z-axis is not as stable as the creality design, this affects the print quality. I only noticed the effect when I moved from my reprap printer to the creality and the print quality improved dramatically

Because the actual design of makergear is not clearly visible fom their photos it isn't possible for you to see the clear differences in design/build/quality between the makergear and creality products but I can tell you that after my experiences with my reprap prusa I would not go back to this first generation printer design as the hassles and problems I started to experience after 6 months and 12 months down the line drove me to distraction and resulted in my giving the printer away to my son-in-law.

My advice is to try and view the actual products in their finished and working state and then make your own comparison before buying, it could save you a lot of hassle and heartache (and wallet ache) later.

Hope these comments prove useful

Alwyn :thumbup: :wave:
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Springman65
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Re: Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by Springman65 »

Alwyn,

Need to ask a quick question:

The Ceality CR10s; does this printer come with a heated bed or optional add-on for one?

Thanks,

Springman

(I am looking at the Creality3D CR - 10 500 x 500 x 500mm 3D Printer DIY Kit....looks good??)
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AlwynTurner
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Re: Adventures in 3d printing tyres

Post by AlwynTurner »

Hi Springman, yes it comes with a heated bed BUT....

it is difficult to get it up to the 100 degrees plus you need for ABS printing, you would need to put a cover over the printer to enable it to get up to ABS temp.

I use PLA for printing my stuff. There are people who have modified the creality to get better control of the heated bed by means of a separate control unit, best to research the creality user threads

https://www.thingiverse.com/groups/crea ... opic:17593

The mechanics of tthe CR10s are brilliant but the heated bed not so good.

There are ways around it as the thread shows

Alwyn :thumbup: :wave:
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