3D Printing Specs.

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vkhosid

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94V
Hey guys,

I've got a question for you. I'm currently trying to get something 3D printed (a plastic case for that stratux thing) and have ended up on makerxy.com. When I upload the .stl files to the site, it gives me the option of messing with some attributes of the final product. Namely, the type of material I want, the thickness of the layers, and the infill percentage. Now, the material portion of this I dont really have a question on. However, the thickness of the layers and the infill percentage i'm totally in the dark on.

The layer thickness gives me 2 options. One for a .2mm thickness, and one for a .1mm thickness. My assumption is that this measurement is just the thickness at which new material is added. So, the thinner the layer, the more detailed it will be.

My real confusion is with the infill percentage. It goes in 5% intervals from 0% up to 100%. However, i'm completely unsure of what percentage I want/need.

Can any of you shed some light on this? Both, in general terms, and how it would apply to the printing of a plastic enclosure roughly 7x3x2 inches.

Thanks, all!
 
vkhosid said:
Hey guys,

I've got a question for you. I'm currently trying to get something 3D printed (a plastic case for that stratux thing) and have ended up on makerxy.com. When I upload the .stl files to the site, it gives me the option of messing with some attributes of the final product. Namely, the type of material I want, the thickness of the layers, and the infill percentage. Now, the material portion of this I dont really have a question on. However, the thickness of the layers and the infill percentage i'm totally in the dark on.

The layer thickness gives me 2 options. One for a .2mm thickness, and one for a .1mm thickness. My assumption is that this measurement is just the thickness at which new material is added. So, the thinner the layer, the more detailed it will be.

My real confusion is with the infill percentage. It goes in 5% intervals from 0% up to 100%. However, i'm completely unsure of what percentage I want/need.

Can any of you shed some light on this? Both, in general terms, and how it would apply to the printing of a plastic enclosure roughly 7x3x2 inches.

Thanks, all!
Click to expand...
Layer thickness is how much detail you need.

Typically things are printed with a solid shell and in between is some type of fill pattern such as a honeycomb. The infill percentage is how much plastic vs air do you want inside. 10-15% is usually pretty good. 100% would mean that the whole thing is solid plastic - which can get expensive.

For example if your enclosure has a 3 mm wall thickness, and the shell thickness is .4mm on the inside and outside surfaces of your enclosure, then you get 1.2 mm of honeycomb in between. The honeycomb can be very dense or very sparse depending on the percent infill you select.

Other issues are related to the shape - assuming this is the typical plastic extrusion process, each new layer needs to be placed on a lower layer and the angle at which you can extrude out into empty space is limited - you may need to add supports if your part doesn't sit flat on the workspace or if there are significant overhangs anywhere. Supports are extruded material that you need to clean off your part after it is finished.

Plastic is most often ABS or PLA. Both work.
 
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Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Layer thickness is how much detail you need.

Typically things are printed with a solid shell and in between is some type of fill pattern such as a honeycomb. The infill percentage is how much plastic vs air do you want inside. 10-15% is usually pretty good. 100% would mean that the whole thing is solid plastic - which can get expensive.

For example if your enclosure has a 3 mm wall thickness, and the shell thickness is .4mm on the inside and outside surfaces of your enclosure, then you get 1.2 mm of honeycomb in between. The honeycomb can be very dense or very sparse depending on the percent infill you select.

Other issues are related to the shape - assuming this is the typical plastic extrusion process, each new layer needs to be placed on a lower layer and the angle at which you can extrude out into empty space is limited - you may need to add supports if your part doesn't sit flat on the workspace or if there are significant overhangs anywhere. Supports are extruded material that you need to clean off your part after it is finished.

Plastic is most often ABS or PLA. Both work.
Click to expand...


It sounds like you've got some experience here. So tell me, Walmart sells a cheap 3D printer for just a few hundred bucks, which is kind of intriguing. Is something like that plug-n-play? i.e. would the average dummy be able to unbox it and make toys in a few hours?
 
Gerhardt said:
It sounds like you've got some experience here. So tell me, Walmart sells a cheap 3D printer for just a few hundred bucks, which is kind of intriguing. Is something like that plug-n-play? i.e. would the average dummy be able to unbox it and make toys in a few hours?
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I have no idea how reliable that one is so you are on your own for that part. You will need some slicer software to convert the drawing files into the code that tells the printer how to move / extrude. That's where you get into the questions about infill, rafts, supports, bridges, etc. Some versions are available for free, some cost quite a bit. I don't have a recommendation since (up to this point) we have only had Makerbot printers which come with their own slicer software. (We are in the process of assembling some re3D Gigabot printers, so I should be learning more.)
The common problems seem to be filament jamming, extruder wear, and issues with temperature control which result in filament jams. The other thing is that they tend to take a long time to print anything of a reasonable size - several hours would not be uncommon for something the size of your fist. A lot depends on the internal structure, and of course, the speed of the machine.

It's not rocket science, but I wouldn't assume that just because you can draw it that you will get a good print. Like any manufacturing process, it has it's strengths and weaknesses. You should catch on reasonably quickly.

thingiverse has examples of stuff that other people have made - they can be pretty complex, but something simple like a hollow sphere can be an utter failure if you try to print it in one piece.
 
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Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
thingiverse has examples of stuff that other people have made - they can be pretty complex, but something simple like a hollow sphere can be an utter failure if you try to print it in one piece.
Click to expand...

That's actually where I got the .stl file for this stratux case. Apparently people have had good results printing them, but no one seems to be sharing their "settings"
 
I do product design work in plastics and I have thought about getting one of these myself. Some of the ones that are available are really inexpensive. When I first started looking at stereo lithography machines years ago they were in the $250,000 price range for something that had a build area of 10x10x10.
 
I think I would like to try this for a data logger project I'm working on. Not complicated, pretty much a box with a coup!e strategically located ports, but it sounds like an ideal starter 3d project. Any recommendation for a newb design program?

I have some auto cad experience, but mostly desktop publishing applications.
 
Chip Sylverne said:
I think I would like to try this for a data logger project I'm working on. Not complicated, pretty much a box with a coup!e strategically located ports, but it sounds like an ideal starter 3d project. Any recommendation for a newb design program?

I have some auto cad experience, but mostly desktop publishing applications.
Click to expand...

I work with the high end CAD systems and I'm not sure what is available at low cost. I'm not sure what sort of software comes with the 3D printers but I would expect it would be software that takes the .stl file and slices it into the layers that the printer will make. I would also think you would need to provide the .stl file so if you are going to design the part yourself you would need a CAD program that will create a solid model and give you a .stl file.

I would check to see what software comes with the printer and also do some Google searching for low cost CAD software. Just make sure you can create a solid model and output a .stl file.
 
I'm not sure which of the thingiverse cases you're using, but the one I have doesn't have much solid material in it, it looks like I printed it 80% as the setting, but with a 3 layer minimum wall thickness which means that the print is probably solid (100% all the way through).

I used 2mm as the layer thickness, as there really aren't many details to highlight in the print, so it would print faster.
 
CMongoose said:
I'm not sure which of the thingiverse cases you're using, but the one I have doesn't have much solid material in it, it looks like I printed it 80% as the setting, but with a 3 layer minimum wall thickness which means that the print is probably solid (100% all the way through).

I used 2mm as the layer thickness, as there really aren't many details to highlight in the print, so it would print faster.
Click to expand...

Did you print your own stratux case? The case I'm looking at is this one http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1019324
 
CMongoose said:
I'm not sure which of the thingiverse cases you're using, but the one I have doesn't have much solid material in it, it looks like I printed it 80% as the setting, but with a 3 layer minimum wall thickness which means that the print is probably solid (100% all the way through).

I used 2mm as the layer thickness, as there really aren't many details to highlight in the print, so it would print faster.
Click to expand...

First post....

Welcome to POA......

:cheers::cheers::cheers:
 
94V, I printed my own. For the single antenna stratux.

I'm not sure i could print that curved case with the equipment I've got, but if you don't mind fluorescent yellow and are interested in the straight edged style of case, let me know. I should be able to print one.
 
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