What did you 3D print today?

Not much explanation needed.  What did you 3D print today/recently?  Share it here.

Phone mount for the daily.  3 generations shown.  1 (top left) was PETG and super quick, as in modeled in a couple of mins.  It was supposed to be a super temporary solution but ended up staying in place for ~5 weeks.  Its melted and deformed because sun.  #2 (middle) and 3 (installed on radio shroud) are PLA test parts.  #4/final (not pictured) will be PET-CF.

I designed and printed this prototype of a prosthetic foot with an articulating ankle joint. It was a bit of a passion project since my younger brother had both feet amputated last year due to complications from flesh eating bacteria.

I haven't fired the old girl up lately. Need to change that.

I don't have a 3D printer, but I'll follow along to see what you all build.

I'll never cease to be amazed at what 3D printers are capable of.

Colin Wood said:

I don't have a 3D printer, but I'll follow along to see what you all build.

I'll never cease to be amazed at what 3D printers are capable of.

Translation:  Enable me.

prodarwin said:

Colin Wood said:

I don't have a 3D printer, but I'll follow along to see what you all build.

I'll never cease to be amazed at what 3D printers are capable of.

Translation:  Enable me.

The Bambu Lab A1 with multi-color head is currently at $489.

Decent deal.

A bunch of windshield wiper props for the tint place next door. 

Beyond that, it's been cold for a long time. 

mainlandboy said:

I designed and printed this prototype of a prosthetic foot with an articulating ankle joint. It was a bit of a passion project since my younger brother had both feet amputated last year due to complications from flesh eating bacteria.

 

First off, THIS is why 3D printers are awesome. you designed and printed this. Wow, just wow. 

Second off, tell me more about that blue filament? it's beautiful. It looks like anodized aluminum.  

I designed and printed a replacement rubber foot for my friends telescope tripod. The filament is TPU. It's my first time playing with TPU. It printed great. 
Here's a few shots of the finished product. It's hard to see the detail, black filament, shadows, crap lighting, etc. 

Here's the first prototype mounted on the leg. After testing fitment, I thinned the wall to about 1/2 of what you see in this pic. 

Test fit of the phone mount posted earlier:

Also printed another one of these today.  Its a self-watering planter that mounts to an Ikea Skadis board.  I will slowly turn this into a wall-o-plant.

In reply to DrBoost :

Thanks for the compliment! This is what I used to print it:

Made some bathroom passes for the lunch room at school  

mainlandboy said:

In reply to DrBoost :

Thanks for the compliment! This is what I used to print it:

You're welcome, and thank you!

Is metal 3D printing (from Xometry or some other service) any good? I had a mirror tensioner printed of PLA for my Trans Am and it deformed pretty badly. Would metal hold up better?

In reply to budget_bandit :

metal would definitely hold up better, but it would be easier and much less expensive to try ABS or ASA plastic. PLA is weaker than either, but great for prototyping and checking fitment.

Just for some clarity, PLA is actually stronger than both, but it is very brittle and much more likely to melt in hot environments (anything automotive). 

Its very likely that heat was the critical factor in your application.

prodarwin said:

Just for some clarity, PLA is actually stronger than both, but it is very brittle and much more likely to melt in hot environments (anything automotive).

This is one of my biggest pet peeves in the 3D printing and it carries over into the plastics industry as well.  A lot of people, us engineers included, are guilty of thinking about plastics as simple materials that have fairly consistent mechanical properties much like we think about metals but that is very rarely the case. Below are two charts of mechanical properties straight of of tech data sheets on Polymaker's website. I use a lot of this brand's filament because it is consistent and they publish their data sheets.

PLA is stronger only if you look at the Youngs Modulus (it's stiffness) or the impact resistance. However if you look at elongation and tensile strength ASA is a much stronger material or will at least exhibit a much less violent failure as it reaches it's ultimate strength.  If you have an enclosure for your printer and can stand some icky styrene fumes ABS and ASA are much better suited for automotive applications given the higher heat resistance and glass transition temps.

In reply to RacetruckRon :

Agreed. PLA is great for indoor use in a static environment. ASA is preferable if there is any UV exposure. I like PETG for its flexibility and heat/UV resistance, but it is less useful for highly detailed models. Finally, TPU is where I go for impact resistance. 

Fair enough :)  I should have said PLA is neither weaker nor stronger, it's very application specific.

There are several intermediate options you can try that are between PLA and some form of metal SLS etc. that are better suited to a mirror tensioner.

Heres a some data illustrating the points above:

https://www.cnckitchen.com/blog/comparing-pla-petg-amp-asa-feat-prusament
 

Of course it all varies from vendor to vendor, especially if you get into PLA"plus" type blends, which seem to have a huge range of material properties.

Micro gnome and frog on the Formlabs Form 3. Did it as a test after a bunch of maintenance.

 I've also got a 3d printed battery tray and an adapter for the turn signal stalls on the lotus, this are filament instead of resin, though

Printed a few bolts because they are not a readily available size and I'm just testing a concept.

I have 6 more printing tonight and its the first time I am using sequential printing instead of by layer.

Mr_Asa said:

The Bambu Lab A1 with multi-color head is currently at $489.

Decent deal.

Mr_Asa, 

I am seriously looking to get this.  There are some accessories that are discounted too.  Would you mind walking me through whart would be a good started package?

Thanks, Scott

playseat reinforcements for a fellow sim racer