3D Printing What Are You Printing Today?

alexzogh · Jan 24, 2020

Just finished a 155 hour print - over 5 lbs of PETG.

timelapse - 1 frame every 15 minutes of printing

AeroAggie · Jan 24, 2020

alexzogh said:
Just finished a 155 hour print - over 5 lbs of PETG.

timelapse - 1 frame every 15 minutes of printing

So....what is it?

alexzogh · Jan 25, 2020

It's the bottom half of a 10" diameter V2 fincan. Total height will be 80"

AeroAggie · Jan 25, 2020

alexzogh said:
It's the bottom half of a 10" diameter V2 fincan. Total height will be 80"

And will this guy be fully 3D printed? Show some models! Sounds like a helluva project.

jondub · Jan 26, 2020

New, upgraded landing legs for our 1/24 scale Block 5 Falcon 9. We flew the the Block 4 version with a CRS Dragon and Trunk at LDRS 37 at TCC. On that flight 3 of the 4 legs broke when it landed.

The new leg has an 8/32 rod running almost the whole length. It is also printed in 2 pieces instead of 3. It will also have a composite layup over the exterior. We hope to have the new Crew Dragon and trunk ready for a flight at the March Snow Ranch launch. If we don't make that then Dairyaire in May. The 8/32 rod ends where the legs pivots on the air frame will be internally threaded and embedded into bottom of the leg.

TurbulentSphere · Jan 29, 2020

I've always had success with them, but I've seen some conversations on the internet stating that grid fins don't work at model scales. Printing out some test pieces to see how they compare to other configurations.

alexzogh · Jan 30, 2020

AeroAggie said:
And will this guy be fully 3D printed? Show some models! Sounds like a helluva project.

Fully 3d printed. The high power ’filament fleet’ is actually getting pretty big. We need some nicer weather

liv3mind · Jan 30, 2020

alexzogh said:
Fully 3d printed. The high power ’filament fleet’ is actually getting pretty big. We need some nicer weather

View attachment 405034

Awesome

ghostfather · Jan 30, 2020

TurbulentSphere said:
I've always had success with them, but I've seen some conversations on the internet stating that grid fins don't work at model scales. Printing out some test pieces to see how they compare to other configurations.

View attachment 405029

I'd be interested in trying to fly with grid fins.
Do you have a 3D model I might be able to print?

TurbulentSphere · Jan 30, 2020

ghostfather said:
I'd be interested in trying to fly with grid fins.
Do you have a 3D model I might be able to print?

Have this one, but it is on the bigger side: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3419162
I'll post the small one assuming it works, but that will be a few weeks from now.

ghostfather · Jan 30, 2020

Looks good, will make something from this, maybe make my own fincan.
Not sure how to model this in Rocsim, but will give it a shot.
Thanks for the link

Jose Saura · Jan 30, 2020

TurbulentSphere said:
I've always had success with them, but I've seen some conversations on the internet stating that grid fins don't work at model scales. Printing out some test pieces to see how they compare to other configurations.

View attachment 405029

I would like to know how your fins perform.

Here is an article I just found that describes grid fins pros and cons.

https://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/weapons/q0261.shtml
Quoted from the article:
"...in general, the thin shape of the lattice walls creates very little disturbance in the flow of air passing through, so drag is often no higher than a conventional fin. At low subsonic speeds, for example, grid fins perform comparably to a planar fin. Both the drag and control effectiveness of the lattice fin are about the same as a conventional fin in this speed regime.

The same behavior does not hold true at high subsonic numbers near Mach 1. Drag rises considerably higher and the fins become much less effective in this transonic region because of the formation of shock waves. Even though the weapon may be flying below Mach 1, the airflow through the cells of the fin can be accelerated to supersonic speeds creating normal shock waves within the grid. This behavior is often referred to as a choked flow that blocks incoming air from passing through and increases drag. The drag grows even worse for a weapon flying slightly faster than Mach 1 since a detached normal shock wave, also called a bow shock, can form in front of the fin. This bow shock worsens the effect of the choked flow by forcing additional air to spill around the fin further increasing drag and reducing control effectiveness."

swatkat · Jan 30, 2020

alexzogh said:
Just finished a 155 hour print - over 5 lbs of PETG.

timelapse - 1 frame every 15 minutes of printing

My record is 348 hours straight. 3 1kg reels but at 0.1mm layer height and 0.2mm nozzle. It was a helmet. So far, I've not seen anything longer on our 10k member fb printer group.

SpaceManMat · Feb 1, 2020

I printed a BB8 and maintenance cockpit for my HPR X Wing I am building.

I used 15 minute epoxy to put it together, is this going to be an issue with PLA?

X Wing Droid Assembly on Flickr

X Wing Droid Added Captive Nuts on Flickr

X Wing Droid Assembly on Flickr

SpaceManMat · Feb 1, 2020

AeroAggie said:
Working on sleds for TeleGPS, Raven 3, and Featherweight GPS this week, along with drill guides to install them. After about 10 prototype prints, I think these are basically done.

Any chance your willing to share the design for the Raven 3 unit? I’m looking at using a Raven 3 in the nose of my X Wing.

SpaceManMat · Feb 1, 2020

AeroAggie said:
Finished up a sled design for 38mm minimum diameter rockets. It fits in a 3" long coupler and holds a Raven 3, 1s LiPo, and screw switch. My name and phone are embossed on the switch riser in the event someone else finds it before I do. The battery clip is printed separately then super glued on due to excessively stringy bridging when printed in situ. I'll work on bridging settings and integrate it later, but I declare this one done for now. I might take a soldering iron and do some plastic soldering to make sure the glue joint doesn't fail prematurely.

I’m looking at putting a raven in the noise of an X Wing, are you able to share this Design please? Also what switch are you using?

beeblebrox · Feb 2, 2020

SpaceManMat said:
I printed a BB8 and maintenance cockpit for my HPR X Wing I am building.

I used 15 minute epoxy to put it together, is this going to be an issue with PLA?

If you are gluing PLA to PLA you should use 3DGloop. It welds the parts together, you will never get them apart. 15min epoxy does not stick well. Assuming you are using Bob Smith or equivalent, the 30 minute is better. BUT, Epoxy or CA does not stick that well to PLA, Forget about it with PETG. Epoxy will stick best to ABS or ASA made 3D parts. If you have to bond to 3D parts design them so there is a mechanical lock-fitment.

X Wing Droid Assembly on Flickr

X Wing Droid Added Captive Nuts on Flickr

X Wing Droid Assembly on Flickr

dr wogz · Feb 2, 2020

I've found PLA notoriously hard to glue to.

And, Epoxy & plastics rarely stick well, unless the plastic is nicely scuffed & scratched for the epoxy to 'bite into & hold onto'

cwbullet · Feb 2, 2020

TurbulentSphere said:
I've always had success with them, but I've seen some conversations on the internet stating that grid fins don't work at model scales. Printing out some test pieces to see how they compare to other configurations.

View attachment 405029

Those are ones that would be fun to fly.

alexzogh · Feb 3, 2020

dr wogz said:
I've found PLA notoriously hard to glue to.

And, Epoxy & plastics rarely stick well, unless the plastic is nicely scuffed & scratched for the epoxy to 'bite into & hold onto'

I've only found one formula that really works - SCI-Grip 16 from IPS (Weld-on). It's specifically formulated for plastics and tends to create a bond that is much stronger than the filament layers you are connecting. Not cheap, but worth it.

for the TDS & SDS: https://www.chemical-concepts.com/scigrip-16.html
you can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/SCIGRIP-10315-Acrylic-Cement-Low-VOC/dp/B003HNFLMY

Charles_McG · Feb 3, 2020

3D Gloop has been working for me. The PETG version seems to work fine on PLA.

Wschmiedlin · Feb 3, 2020

Printing a 265 Deg. temp tower in ABS. Need to learn this roll so I can attempt my new nose cone, and 29mm retainer.

Dustin Lobner · Feb 29, 2020

3.5 days into a 4.5 day print - motor mount and fincan for a new build. Matterhackers Tough PLA, CR-10. 245°C hot end, 75°C bed, gluestick bed.

jbr · Mar 1, 2020

expensive filament $52.00/kg

Dustin Lobner · Mar 1, 2020

jbr said:
expensive filament $52.00/kg

True story. This is the first time I'm using it, and only for fins, nose come and motor retainer will be esun PLA Plus.

I use tough PLA at work all the time for mechanical testing fixtures...it's fantastically resilient, want to see how it holds up here.

cwbullet · Mar 1, 2020

alexzogh said:
Fully 3d printed. The high power ’filament fleet’ is actually getting pretty big. We need some nicer weather

View attachment 405034

Did you do a build thread on the biggun?

AeroAggie · Mar 1, 2020

Ever lost your grip on the Featherweight magnet and let the smoke out because it jumped to the circuit board? Here ya go...

Magnet Cocoon keeps you from shorting a circuit with the magnet.

OverTheTop · Mar 1, 2020

jbr said:
expensive filament $52.00/kg

So cheap. The ABS for the StrataSys we have is nearly $400/kg, if you buy the filament they intend to be used on it. We bypass the security system and use $25/kg filament.

Dustin Lobner · Mar 1, 2020

OverTheTop said:
So cheap. The ABS for the StrataSys we have is nearly $400/kg, if you buy the filament they intend to be used on it. We bypass the security system and use $25/kg filament.

Lol, awesome. Stratsys amuses me, we have some of their stuff for printers at my job. Your story doesn't surprise me.

BryRocket · Mar 2, 2020

Printed off my sled for my L3 project (need to start a thread for that).

3D printers are so cool for making parts obviously but I love being able to make tools and drill guides. They are especially useful when using carbon or opaque tubing and needing several very accurate holes for an eBay that is suspended in the upper airframe in a zipperless coupler design.

Coupler drill guide.

Finished coupler.

Internal retaining ring and ring epoxied into coupler.

View attachment 408119

Parts printed for sled. My goal was to have an eBay of 6” with two stratologgers and a RunCam with an adjustable telescoping lens. I’m hoping that I can telescope it back to get into the coupler and slide the coupler into the airframe, then I can use a driver to back the screw out and a spring pushes the lens forward and will flush it up with the airframe. Maybe overkill but whatever.