Another step towards design independence !

[Polar_Bus]

I'm taking the deep plunge into 3D printing ! This is a VERY cool technology ! Where I already do CNC machining i'm learning the basics pretty quickly. Have a solid understanding of how the mechanics function, however i'm struggling a bit with the software interventions . 3D printers all use a standard "slicer" program that takes a 3D model (such as Solidworks / AutoCad etc ) and converts the model to a .stl file and "slices" all the tiny layers. Been playing around with this for about 3 weeks learning. Hopefully i'll get something printed this weekend. Once I gain experience i'll be able to design and print everything RC related from simple PLA brackets to Nylon gears , and even soft rubber parts. Pretty cool stuff !

 

[siblues]

I have a really good 3d printer setup here too but upgraded the hardware a while back and ran into problems and haven't gotten back to it.You should try Cura it is very advanced free and does a great job implementing new functions constantly.

 

[1Coopgt]

I'm taking the deep plunge into 3D printing ! This is a VERY cool technology ! Where I already do CNC machining i'm learning the basics pretty quickly. Have a solid understanding of how the mechanics function, however i'm struggling a bit with the software interventions . 3D printers all use a standard "slicer" program that takes a 3D model (such as Solidworks / AutoCad etc ) and converts the model to a .stl file and "slices" all the tiny layers. Been playing around with this for about 3 weeks learning. Hopefully i'll get something printed this weekend. Once I gain experience i'll be able to design and print everything RC related from simple PLA brackets to Nylon gears , and even soft rubber parts. Pretty cool stuff !

You would love the printers we have at work. I use Creo at work to design fixtures and print them out . I'm struggling with a fixture I'm designing right now that is a inch square and .3" thick.