3D Printer Suggestion (and questions)

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Can any of the printers mentioned in this thread produce a dense ABS infill jn order to make fuel grains for hybrid use?

I started on a project like this a year ago but never got a chance to fire the grains. I use an Ord-Bot Hadron (open source) kits are available but it isn't turn-key by any means. However you can do almost anything with it. For example I am adding a second extruder and there are wax filaments now for printing lost wax castings patterns.

I can print a grain with ABS and wax construction in any geometry or matrix imaginable. So many projects and so little time......
 
The IREC team I mentor two years ago printed many types of grains. Their conclusion was that you get better performance with less manufacturing time if you buy the bulk powders and bind them with something like PBAN or HTPB. Polyethylene worked really good - they got the type that coats metal - like found on dishwasher racks, etc.

They used some complex core geometries and found they liked finocyl the best as it provided even regression over a mix of fuels.

Edward
 
The IREC team I mentor two years ago printed many types of grains. Their conclusion was that you get better performance with less manufacturing time if you buy the bulk powders and bind them with something like PBAN or HTPB. Polyethylene worked really good - they got the type that coats metal - like found on dishwasher racks, etc.

They used some complex core geometries and found they liked finocyl the best as it provided even regression over a mix of fuels.

Edward

For "manufacturing time" are you comparing the time it takes a printer to make a grain to the time it takes a human to manually process a grain?
 
For "manufacturing time" are you comparing the time it takes a printer to make a grain to the time it takes a human to manually process a grain?

Yes. Printing a 12" tall x 4" diameter grain takes much longer than cutting the liner, mixing the chemicals, casting and extracting the mandrel.

Edward
 
Yes. Printing a 12" tall x 4" diameter grain takes much longer than cutting the liner, mixing the chemicals, casting and extracting the mandrel.

Edward

But the 3D printer can do that while the team is sleeping......or doing other value added tasks for the project.
 
And the grain can also cure while the team is sleeping. Additive manufacturing is great, but isn't the end all be all that some claim it to be. I see many college teams 3D print items like centering rings, stand off, etc, when those items are more easily made by traditional methods. I've told all the IREC teams I've worked with that you can build 99% of HPR rockets with a drill press, table saw and router.

Edward
 
And the grain can also cure while the team is sleeping. Additive manufacturing is great, but isn't the end all be all that some claim it to be. I see many college teams 3D print items like centering rings, stand off, etc, when those items are more easily made by traditional methods. I've told all the IREC teams I've worked with that you can build 99% of HPR rockets with a drill press, table saw and router.

Edward

I disagree, I think you can build 100% of HPR rockets with those 3.
 
If you want a bit more speed, my understanding is that a delta style printer is faster than the standard cartesian (X,Y,Z) printer. I just got an Afinitbot delta, but I haven't finished putting it together yet. It does have a larger build platform than most of the smaller cartesians and it does have a heated bed for printing ABS.
 
If you want a bit more speed, my understanding is that a delta style printer is faster than the standard cartesian (X,Y,Z) printer. I just got an Afinitbot delta, but I haven't finished putting it together yet. It does have a larger build platform than most of the smaller cartesians and it does have a heated bed for printing ABS.
I haven't played with a delta, but I believe they also become less precise the farther you get from center.
 
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