3D Printing 3D Print Epoxy Fillet Tool Question...

[AndrewGil]

This might be a simple answer to some, but bear with me...

How would I go about making a tool that will help with doing my Epoxy Fillets? I am new to the 3D printing space as I just got my first printer (Ender 3 v2 with some upgrades).

 

[frogglicker]

Good morning, Andrew. That's a great question! This post assumes that you have a base of knowledge and tools but if you have more questions, feel free to ask.

This would be my approach:

• Start with a search on Thangs.com - think of this site as Google for 3D models.
  • epoxy fillet tool
• Design a prototype in CAD
  • TinkerCAD - a lightweight, easy-to-use (and Free) online CAD app. There is a learning curve but it's probably the easiest to start with if you haven't designed parts before.
• Ask the forum if anyone has a design

Most of the time, someone has already designed or has acquired something like what you're looking for.

Welcome to the 3D Printing fold and best of luck. I am sure others will have some ideas for you but this should get you on your way.

 

[AndrewGil]

Good morning, Andrew. That's a great question! This post assumes that you have a base of knowledge and tools but if you have more questions, feel free to ask.

This would be my approach:

• Start with a search on Thangs.com - think of this site as Google for 3D models.
  • epoxy fillet tool
• Design a prototype in CAD
  • TinkerCAD - a lightweight, easy-to-use (and Free) online CAD app. There is a learning curve but it's probably the easiest to start with if you haven't designed parts before.
• Ask the forum if anyone has a design

Most of the time, someone has already designed or has acquired something like what you're looking for.

Welcome to the 3D Printing fold and best of luck. I am sure others will have some ideas for you but this should get you on your way.

Thank you. Let me elaborate further into my question. I am aware of the ones that are on thingiverse, I have downloaded them and printed some.
I have the most basic knowledge of Fusion360 since I started using it at work. However, really what I am asking is how would I go about making one in CAD myself.

I am trying to have a rolodex of tools that I can print when I need them, things down to fin guides, body tube marking guides, etc.. Ideally, I want to get the basic idea on how people have made these fillet tools so I can make my own version of said tool.

 

[Rschub]

You have to learn how to use the cad system you have, then you can make anything you want?

In Solidworks to make a fillet tool, I might extrude a handle maybe hex shaped about 6 inches long and 1" across the flats.

Then I would extrude a round shaft from one end maybe 3-4 inches long.

Then I would revolve a sphere on the end of the round shaft the diameter I wanted my fillet.

Then chamfer or fillet the ends of the hex to remove the sharp edges.

This might be hard to print, so you could cut it lengthwise to make a flat surface to print up from.

You could also skip the sphere step and just use the round shaft to do the fillet. I use tongue depressors.

Setting up your organization in the beginning is very important. When I started designing rockets, I set up several folders, one for nose cones, one for body tubes, one for fins, etc. Then as I designed using for instance LOC parts, I would put their standard part in the appropriate folder.

So now if I want to use a 4" LOC nosecone on a project, I can use the one from my "parts library."

Every time you design a new category part, like electronics sleds for example, create a new folder for that category.

Learn how the parametric features work, so you can make changes to a part easily. Using a nose cone example, you can make a single sketch dimensioned so that by changing 2 dimensions [tube OD and wall thickness], the nose cone is automatically resized to different tubing sizes.

Cad is learning by doing, google is your friend, there are probably many videos covering every tool in the cad system you are using.

 

[cwbullet]

I have made a couple in Tinkercad. It is easy to use. Despite that, I usually use a piece of PVC pipe. It is almost as cheap as printing it yourself. I always have an extra piece in my shop from my many projects.

 

[AndrewGil]

I have made a couple in Tinkercad. It is easy to use. Despite that, I usually use a piece of PVC pipe. It is almost as cheap as printing it yourself. I always have an extra piece in my shop from my many projects.

Thats normally what I do as well. I am just going to try my hand at making some stuff since I have this new to me printer.

 

[AndrewGil]

You have to learn how to use the cad system you have, then you can make anything you want?

In Solidworks to make a fillet tool, I might extrude a handle maybe hex shaped about 6 inches long and 1" across the flats.

Then I would extrude a round shaft from one end maybe 3-4 inches long.

Then I would revolve a sphere on the end of the round shaft the diameter I wanted my fillet.

Then chamfer or fillet the ends of the hex to remove the sharp edges.

This might be hard to print, so you could cut it lengthwise to make a flat surface to print up from.

You could also skip the sphere step and just use the round shaft to do the fillet. I use tongue depressors.

Setting up your organization in the beginning is very important. When I started designing rockets, I set up several folders, one for nose cones, one for body tubes, one for fins, etc. Then as I designed using for instance LOC parts, I would put their standard part in the appropriate folder.

So now if I want to use a 4" LOC nosecone on a project, I can use the one from my "parts library."

Every time you design a new category part, like electronics sleds for example, create a new folder for that category.

Learn how the parametric features work, so you can make changes to a part easily. Using a nose cone example, you can make a single sketch dimensioned so that by changing 2 dimensions [tube OD and wall thickness], the nose cone is automatically resized to different tubing sizes.

Cad is learning by doing, google is your friend, there are probably many videos covering every tool in the cad system you are using.

Thank you for the advice! I am going to give this a try. I imagine most of the same steps would transfer over to Fusion360 that I am using. If not, ill mess around with it till I get something useable.

 

[manixFan]

I have printed many rocketry specific 3D tools and jigs, including several for producing fillets. In the end though, I found a 'ball on a stick' works better than any of the tools I could make. Following a friends advice, I find a marble or ball bearing of the right diameter and just hot glue it to a wood dowel. It's angle 'agnostic', and cleans up easily. The biggest issue I had with my 3D printed jigs for fillets is the layers make it hard to get smooth fillets and also to clean the jig.

Even though I am very math challenged, I ended up using OpenSCAD for nearly all my 3D printed parts. I do everything with well named variables and don't use any specific numbers in the actual body of the code. That makes it fairly easy to scale designs or modify them as needed. Of course traditional CAD programs allow scaling, but I haven't found any that have a 'customizer' panel like OpenSCAD does, but that's probably just my lack of knowledge about other programs.

I often joke to my rocket buddies that when you have a 3D printer, every problem looks like a 3D printed part. While that may work, it's not always the best answer. I found that to be true for fillet guides. Enjoy the printer – I think they are great tools for rocket builders.


Tony

 

[wsume99]

I have two things to add -

1) Designing something for a specific application requires an understanding of the CAD system you are using. There is a ton of content on YouTube for most of the popular CAD tools available today. So learning CAD should not be hard. It may take some time but it's not hard. The hard part is making a design that works for your application and is also "easy" to 3D print. Learning what is easy to print is the hard part IMO. I would say 99% of the things I print are designed so that I can print them without using any support material. That adds some complexity to the design process.

2) My printed fillet tools are not a round ball. Why would I print something that I can easily get through other means? I also do not like pulling fillets with a round object. I don't like how the excess epoxy flows around the round part of the tool and stays on the BT or fin. I could use tape in those areas but I don't like doing that. Instead I made a flat fillet tool that follows the contour of the tube and fin and forms the fillet I want. My tool looks more like a flat scraper with a contour in it. I've used this successfully on several rockets. Hopefully my description makes sense.

 

[cwbullet]

If you do make one, share it. The best thing about the CAD and 3D printing community is sharing and improving upon someone else's ideas.

 

[robopup]

I have printed many rocketry specific 3D tools and jigs, including several for producing fillets. In the end though, I found a 'ball on a stick' works better than any of the tools I could make. Following a friends advice, I find a marble or ball bearing of the right diameter and just hot glue it to a wood dowel. It's angle 'agnostic', and cleans up easily. The biggest issue I had with my 3D printed jigs for fillets is the layers make it hard to get smooth fillets and also to clean the jig.

This. If you use spheres then you don't have to hold the tool at a constant angle.