Adventures in 3d printing tyres

[Will01Capri]

Nice work

[Max-U52]

Alwyn, have you tried TPU filament? I've heard it works much better for tires than any of the flexible PLAs. If it's as good as I've heard, you might be able to just print the tires, instead of having to mold them.

[AlwynTurner]

It's been a series of trials and tribulations, but this is what success looks like
The rear hub





And now with the tyres




on the axle

with the front wheel


YAAY Diamond T here we come. I just need to mould another 6 tyres and print more hubs.......

Alwyn

[Max-U52]

And no one else has checked out TPU filament? I have it from a trusted source that this stuff will print acceptable tires, no need for the molding process. You can get more info on TPU and TPE right here

https://rigid.ink/blogs/news/172062855- ... e-filament

If I ever get that far I plan to give it a try with something like the tire Alwyn posted here.

[AlwynTurner]

Hi Gary, I've tried with the rigidink sample which I think may be TPU and flexible it aint. There is a slight give to it but very little. Might be worth getting a sample of TPE and trying that, but given that a single tyre takes over 6 hours to print at the recommended print speed, and the result will not match the rubber compounds I'm moulding with, then I will stick to moulding, especially now I seem to have got a handle on how not to fill the mould full of air.

Alwyn

[Max-U52]

If I were getting those results I'd stick with them, too, Alwyn. They look just great. I'd just like to explore all the possibilities, so maybe I'll order some. The TPU/TPE is considerably more money, like almost three times as much, but if it works I think it will be well worth it.

[AlwynTurner]

Making progress with the tyre moulding and have almost got rid of the air bubbles. I now have enough tyres for one front and one rear axle for the Diamond T




For those wanting to produce 6 wheelers with these type wheels and tyres I will happily pm the openscad code for the hubs and the tyre moulds. One thing I am not doing is moulding tyres for anyone as it takes too d@mn long and is messy (and also fairly expensive - the compound to produce 10 tyres has cost me £40!).

Alwyn

[Springman65]

Alwyn,

I am new to this forum; and, your thread here was the reason I joined. I am sort of new to 3D printing as well. My quest is to be able to print a different sort of tyre though. I would like to produce tank road-wheel tyres for 1/16th scale RC tanks - generally not as intricate as the example you are working on.

I am just learning and using AutoCads's Fusion360 for my design tool and just now looking at getting a 3D printer. I have tested and very much like Dremel's DigiLab 3D45 printer - it says it can use PLA, ABS, and Nylon. A link to the printer's spec is: https://digilab.dremel.com/products/3d45

My question is do you think this printer would work using the NINJAFLEX?

Thanks,

Springman

[AlwynTurner]

Hi Springman, the printer looks good, but very expensive. I would personally recommend starting with something very much cheaper and then if you need the greater capability then upgrade to the dremell. I and a few other of the forum members use Creality CR10S printers and produce (in my opinion) excellent results with minimum fuss and problems.

Regarding ninjaflex I have no experience with this. I have used tpu filament which is slightly flexible and would probably do very nicely for tank road wheel tyres.

Hope that helps

ALWYN

[midlife306]

Hi Springman,
A sexy printer for sure, but the usable print volume is a bit small for the money at 10" x 6" x 6.7".
For just over half that money you could get a Creality CR10 with a half metre cubed print volume, this would print just about anything.
Enjoy the mysterious journey into 3D printing
Cheers
Wayne


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