3D printers.. Anyone play with them ?

[pbh4]

I've just printed a compact plug spinner with my 3d printer. It works nicely. I'll post pictures if anyone is interested.

Paul

[Smrtz]

I've just printed a compact plug spinner with my 3d printer. It works nicely. I'll post pictures if anyone is interested.

Paul

Did you have to sand it down at all to get it smooth? What printer did you use?

[pbh4]

I've just printed a compact plug spinner with my 3d printer. It works nicely. I'll post pictures if anyone is interested.

Paul

Did you have to sand it down at all to get it smooth? What printer did you use?

The printer is a Mendelmax I built myself. I print using ABS plastic with a 0.35 mm nozel and 0.15mm layer spacing. The print quality is not bad. (The workshop at the university where I work spent £30000 ($50000) on a commercial printer and my printed parts are comparable for 100th of the price!) Here is a close-up of a printed part

The diameter of the cylindrical rod is 10mm. It could be sanded and sprayed with acetone for a mirror finish.

Paul

[Squelchtone]

Here is a close-up of a printed part
https://www.dropbox.com/s/prhqrymw430mxii/plugspinner1.jpg
Paul

Well, that did not seem to work. How do I embed images in a post?

[Smrtz]

Paul

Here is a close-up of a printed part

Paul[/quote]

Well, that did not seem to work. How do I embed images in a post?[/quote]

Thank you for the info in your previous post! It's actually really helpful.

I don't know how to embed images, but you can always link to imgur.com

[GWiens2001]

You have to upload pictures to a web hosting site like IMGUR or PhotoBucket. Then post a link to the picture.

Gordon

[pbh4]

Here is a close-up of a printed part
Paul

Well, that did not seem to work. How do I embed images in a post?

The last attempt was an image stored in Dropbox. This is the direct link to the same image on Google Drive. I am not sure how resilient the link is, but let's try it!


It seems to work on the preview tab!

Paul

[pbh4]

I've just printed a compact plug spinner with my 3d printer. It works nicely. I'll post pictures if anyone is interested.

Paul

Now I have figured out how to embed images, here is my plug spinner:

First the parts:


Assembled plug spinner. The spring is from a drain snake and is 4mm x 0.5 mm spring steel


Packed away for convenience:


Packed down it is 10mm diameter and 110 mm long. It works well on euro cylinder locks.

Paul

[Squelchtone]

nope.. permissions error, you can see it because you're logged into your account, but we cannot.

403. That’s an error.

Your client does not have permission to get URL /_Hcl1y4KVDYKc_2MUXJr4O2cnFQPFlKpxPkVflxpvPqiJezHUG-2mRcR293p70VS4uBN=w1112-h589 from this server.

this happened last week to someone as well.

I'd recommend just making an Imgur account, its super easy and works 100% of the time.

[pbh4]

nope.. permissions error, you can see it because you're logged into your account, but we cannot.
...
I'd recommend just making an Imgur account, its super easy and works 100% of the time.

Groan! Okay, I have signed up to imgur. Here we go again.

First the close-up to show print quality


Then the parts:


Assembled plug spinner. The spring is from a drain snake and is 4mm x 0.5 mm spring steel


Packed away for convenience


Packed down it is 10mm diameter and 110 mm long. It works well on euro cylinder locks.

Paul

[Smrtz]

Did you use acetone to 'weld' the two half's of each handle together?

It looks really good, I might print one as well now...

[ggpaintballer]

You can also smooth with acetone and it will assist in adhesion between layers. To this point everyone has also been talking about extrusion based 3d printers. You could do a hollow sphere pretty easily with say a powder bed 3d printer. I don't think the tech is there yet to make the small metal parts precise enough for a lock. An exploit would just be to pour acetone in and melt the pins. You could start printing in say polycarbonate, but then just torch the padlock and again, melted pins. It would be fun to print a 400% or 500% sized cutaway lock and show how different pins were working in the core/ bible. I may design one if I get time on a weekend. I would also have to print a knock hockey stick sized pick.

[pbh4]

Did you use acetone to 'weld' the two half's of each handle together?

It looks really good, I might print one as well now...

No, I just printed each handle with a slot down the middle.

[pbh4]

It would be fun to print a 400% or 500% sized cutaway lock and show how different pins were working in the core/ bible. I may design one if I get time on a weekend. I would also have to print a knock hockey stick sized pick.

What a great idea! You could also print a big key to unlock it.

[Tighran]

I'm actually looking into playing with 3d printers but... while the printer is certainly important, I'm more concerned about the software used to generate the models. I took a CAD class using... Pro-Engineer I think, many years ago, but I have no idea what's common/popular now.
I also have some 3d modelling experience using Maya and a few other programs (PovRay!) and am currently poking around a bit in FreeCAD, but I'm not expecting too much. I know someone at a hackspace nearby likes using SketchUp, but I was less than thrilled the last time I tried several years back.
I'm actually willing to spend a bit of money for a decent program (say up to $200) but I'm not about to spend several thousand dollars for this sort of project. I know you often get what you pay for, but... there are some surprising exceptions in the world of free software.

Any suggestions on what to check out?