3D Printing Service

I have a nose cone design I don't feel capable of shaping myself, though I can easily describe it geometrically and have produced an engineering drawing. Can anyone recommend a 3D printing service with a price structure suitable for one-off hobby parts like this?

I've used ShapeWays with good success.

I've heard decent things about makexyz , though results vary.

Essentially you're paired with someone quasi-local who can, in theory, work with you more interactively/ iteratively.

Thanks, I'll look into both of them.

I've used 3dhubs with success, sounds similar to makexyz.

Have you done any 3D printing before? There is a learning curve.

Also, there is a setup charge folded into each order (at least on 3dhubs). If there are any other parts you can stack into the same order, you can dilute that, sort of like padding out an hour online order to dilute the shipping.

If you want to PM me with the proper information, I can see if it's possible for me to print. I will also provide a quote if it's possible.

I just took a quick look at makexyz, it is wildly more expensive than 3DHubs. I don't think you can get cheaper than 3DHubs, and I've been able to find local hubs (near work) that I can pick up from, to pay no shipping. Quality varies, no doubt.

BLKKROW, can you give an idea what sorts of materials and resolutions you can print? I may send you a file to quote.

neil_w said:

I just took a quick look at makexyz, it is wildly more expensive than 3DHubs. I don't think you can get cheaper than 3DHubs, and I've been able to find local hubs (near work) that I can pick up from, to pay no shipping. Quality varies, no doubt.

BLKKROW, can you give an idea what sorts of materials and resolutions you can print? I may send you a file to quote.

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I certainly can.

Maximum build size: 300 mm X 300 mm X 300 mm
Layer height/resolution: 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm
Nozzle diameter: 0.4 mm

I print 99% of my objects/items in PLA. I have found no other material that fits all of my needs and is reliable. I have printed in PETG with success but find it to be very similar to PLA.

PM sent.

A question in a similar vein: If one has no access to Solid Works or anything else like that, what free ware or cheap ware works OK to design things for 3D printing?

Banzai88 said:

A question in a similar vein: If one has no access to Solid Works or anything else like that, what free ware or cheap ware works OK to design things for 3D printing?

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I've had good luck with TinkerCad.

In fact, having no 3D CAD software or relevant training, I had no particular intention to do any of my own 3D printing at all. Then one day I discovered TinkerCad, and it was so absurdly easy to use (and free) that I immediately started looking for excuses to 3D print stuff.

Try it, it's really fun. Requires a decent computer and browser but nothing out of the ordinary.

neil_w said:

I've had good luck with TinkerCad.

In fact, having no 3D CAD software or relevant training, I had no particular intention to do any of my own 3D printing at all. Then one day I discovered TinkerCad, and it was so absurdly easy to use (and free) that I immediately started looking for excuses to 3D print stuff.

Try it, it's really fun. Requires a decent computer and browser but nothing out of the ordinary.

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Awesome, thanks! I'll try to wrap my head around it this long weekend!

Banzai88 said:

Awesome, thanks! I'll try to wrap my head around it this long weekend!

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Please report back on your experience.

One super-useful TinkerCad tip that I didn't know until recently: always drag a ruler onto your workspace. The simple presence of the ruler allows you to double-click on any measurement of a selected object and edit it directly (so you can set the height of an object to 0.235", for instance). That is about a billion times easier than dragging a handle very slowly until you hit the right number.

I've been pondering the possibility of building some smart objects in TinkerCad to make rocket design easier (e.g., body tubes, fins, etc.) There are some things I can't visualize in OpenRocket and it's a bit frustrating.

neil_w said:

I've used 3dhubs with success, sounds similar to makexyz.

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I'll give them a try. Thanks.

Have you done any 3D printing before? There is a learning curve.

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I haven't. The learning curve is exactly why I plan to outsource this one, though I do intend to climb that curve one day in the not too distant future.

Also, there is a setup charge folded into each order (at least on 3dhubs). If there are any other parts you can stack into the same order, you can dilute that, sort of like padding out an hour online order to dilute the shipping.

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I expect that, but I really only have the one piece that I need at the moment. I might get two of them in case of mishaps. The setup charge is likely to be the driving factor in the total cost, unless the design conversion (my drawing to a usable model) is harder that I expect it would be. What I expect for someone competent, that is; it would be super hard for me.

BLKKROW said:

If you want to PM me with the proper information, I can see if it's possible for me to print. I will also provide a quote if it's possible.

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PM sent.

neil_w said:

PM sent.

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Oh? No PM received.

jqavins said:

I expect that, but I really only have the one piece that I need at the moment. I might get two of them in case of mishaps.

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I often do this. Also, if there's any aspect of the design you're not sure of, sometimes it makes sense to get a couple different variations.

PM sent.

Oh? No PM received.

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Sent to BLKKROW.

Banzai88 said:

A question in a similar vein: If one has no access to Solid Works or anything else like that, what free ware or cheap ware works OK to design things for 3D printing?

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Fusion 360, by Autodesk. It's free to hobbyists.

Steve Shannon said:

Fusion 360, by Autodesk. It's free to hobbyists.

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Also free, more capable than TinkerCAD but still simple, less capable than Fusion 360, but with a lower learning curve is Autodesk 123D Design:

https://www.123dapp.com/design

Many YouTube tutorials:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=123d+design

Winston said:

Also free, more capable than TinkerCAD but still simple, less capable than Fusion 360, but with a lower learning curve is Autodesk 123D Design:

https://www.123dapp.com/design

Many YouTube tutorials:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=123d+design

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I'm downloading that one now and will give it a try. I still think TinkerCad is the best introductory tool for someone with no CAD experience, because it so ridiculously easy to use (and works in browser) but I'm ready to move up a step. Will see how it goes.

neil_w said:

I'm downloading that one now and will give it a try. I still think TinkerCad is the best introductory tool for someone with no CAD experience, because it so ridiculously easy to use (and works in browser) but I'm ready to move up a step. Will see how it goes.

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Agree on TinkerCAD as a great starting point. Autodesk, the creators of 123D Design are also the creator of TinkerCAD:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/autodesk-tinkercad/9wzdncrdcx1r

I have placed my order with Build to Spec, for the balsa parts and the 3D printed nose cone from the same source. Thanks all for the help.

jqavins said:

I have placed my order with Build to Spec, for the balsa parts and the 3D printed nose cone from the same source. Thanks all for the help.

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They do custom 3D printing? Can you provide a link?

I can't post a link, because printing doesn't seem to be on their web site. What happened is that I had drawn the shapes I needed in MS-Visio, with a cuttable pattern for the rings and fins on one page and an orthogonal engineering drawing for the nose cone on another. Built-to-Spec doesn't take Viso files, but can cut from PDFs, so I made a PDF and requested a quote. I didn't realize that the file I sent had both sheets until Mr. Berscheidt responded with a price for the balsa parts and "The nose cone we can 3D print for you as well, but we need to make a model for it first." Well, at the time I was trying my hand for the first time at OpenSCAD, so I sent him my model once I got it done, and now I have a quote for the balsa and nose together.

If you're interested in using them for 3D printed parts, I suggest emailing [email protected] to inquire.

Another CAD program I wasn't aware of that I found today due to its use in this 3D printed rocketry project:

https://hackaday.io/project/12044-the-big-one

It's free to hobbyists:

https://www.onshape.com/

Banzai88 said:

A question in a similar vein: If one has no access to Solid Works or anything else like that, what free ware or cheap ware works OK to design things for 3D printing?

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As mentioned Tinkercad, BUT be sure to look through the community shape generators. The defualt TC cylinders are really just polygons. I do use TC when I'm making things that are mostly cubes and when reall circluar sections are not needed.

More powerful, but with a bit of a learning curve is OhShape. Free fully cloud based CAD. Its sketch based and parametric. You can view the list all the operations made to create your model and you can go back and adjust any dimension and it propigates forward to rebuild the entire model. For instance, to change a BT-60 to BT70 transition in to a BT60-80 only required going back to the origional sketch and entering the correct dimensions for the BT80 tubing. On fine detail there are no noticable straight regions on cylindrical sections

I have been printing some very nice nose cones and transitions from models created on onshape. All of my Onshape models are public in a folder called "Model Rocketry"


Autodesk Fusion 360 is also free for hobbyists and reportedly has the ability to import .STL files for editing.