"A Wrinkly in 3D Printing Land", a tale of an OAP Vs 3D printers

P.S. Chris

I omitted CPU performance from the PC spec, that is complicated, 10 to 20 years ago it was just the raw processor clock speed and bus width, e.g. 32 or 64 bit that mattered, now it is much more complicated as a 'processor device' has multiple cores (processors in one package) and appear to have various bus types for accessing RAM to suit different tasks.

So I would investigate the use of a low to medium specification gaming machine but without the disco lights and flash casings that appear to be prevalent, or possibly a lightweight CAD workstation type of machine.

At present I would be hard pressed to know what would be suitable, the videos help to a point.

Jim

 

Hi Andy,

I hope you will create a thread showing the processing of these images to generate a 3D printable file.

I'm sure other P1 members would be interested.

This may be the final straw for me and I finally buy a 'smart' phone, what model are you using for your scans?

Jim

 

Look forward to seeing a how to do it, pros and cons thread, especially if it requires an expensive phone.

Jim

 

This thread is continued in the more appropriate 3D Modelling Projects forum under the same thread name.

https://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/inde...ng-land-a-tale-of-an-oap-vs-3d-printers.6395/

Jim

 

11.4 - EPC Coupling Assembly - Part 3

Update 02/01/25

I have now re-configured my Raise3D E2 with 0.2mm nozzles and started investigating how some parts can hopefully be made more precisely, this is the first to be looked at.

Originally printed with a 0.4mm nozzle the dove-tail part was the most difficult, the male part being rather poor, and both parts requiring some attention with a file to make them 'fit' together.

I have now re-visited this part and have now printed these couplings with what is a workable straight off the printer component parts.

Initially printing from the original design the dove tail looks more like it should be although a little loose, so a tweak on the sloping faces of the male part by adding a nominal 0.05mm to each, yes that small, has resulted in parts which clip together straight off the printer.

The ribbed effect of layers is very good at providing a clip fit, parts push together with a ratchet effect, however PLA is not very elastic and the layer adhesion not always strong enough, in this case will the base of the male dovetail part get sheared off easily in a rough shunt?

This can be easily prevented by flowing some DeLuxe Materials Plastic Magic between the mated faces of the two parts, the dovetail provides positive alignment of the parts to each other and the adhesive bonds the two parts over a much larger area for high strength.

Originally I printed these in ABS, this time I am using the HatchBox PLA Pro+ which I have found has much superior layer adhesion compared with their standard product during my Arkitex project.

As before I prototype in light colours as it is easy to mark for further design adjustments than the black that will be used in service, mind you the yellow used this time is rather difficult to photograph. Note to self - upgrade your photographic tools, there is no excuse, just open the box and use it!

Parts




Fitted to two ex-GWR shunters wagons




Coupled up to a Dublo wagon



Summary

Removing the previous prototype couplings from the NEM sockets there are stress marks at the base of the legs that fit into the NEM socket in one set, although they had not failed.
It was noted in the Arkitex project that this Pro+ PLA was noticeably more elastic than the standard PLA.

The two part assembly has two advantages

• The part which fits into the NEM socket of a wagon or loco is easily lengthened or cranked as required. The hook stays the same.
• For a straight coupling the two parts can be printed without supports which saves time and materials.

Next, put them into use to see how they fare without glueing.

Jim

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