First try with a 3D printer

My first 3D printer sits on the desk and the question now is what to print first? I didn't need a plastic frog or any other pointless "thingy" but I did need a thread protector for my lathe spindle. Not having mastered any modelling software as yet I cheated and eventually found an .STL file online that I thought might be near enough.

This had been designed to fit a Logan lathe with a 2.25" x 8tpi thread, the same thread as my WARCO BH600G. The overall length was a bit short and the plain bore a little small but I thought that it might work.

And work it does. It screws on with a flick and jams tight as seen in the third pic - covering the threads and keeping them safe. Printed using eco-ABS filament.

Rik

Edited By Rik Shaw on 14/04/2021 16:05:07

Nice one Rik, 3D is ideal for these smaller non stressed parts, I have done well with my plane fences.

Cheers, Martin

Excellent, an ideal application.

Lovely crisp 'knurling' - which printer is it?

Neil

Thanks for the comment Neil, I eventually decided on the Dremel 3D45. Lots of £££'s I know but there's no pockets in shrouds is there?

Rik

Good print especially as in ABS which is not always the easiest of materials, well done... but everyone should have at least one frog!

I can recommend Alibre for the drawing, easy to produce stl files for the printer.

John

Great looking thread protector!

Note re frogs and boat prints - great for testing hydraulic presses.......gets em flatter than p*$$ on a plate.

Very nice, you gets what you pays for

30 quid a spool for the media

How many nose caps will a spool make? 15?

Edited By Ady1 on 15/04/2021 05:02:43

I only the buy the best filament for final parts as cheap stuff can (but doesn’t always) cause terrible quality prints. I’m typically paying £20-£25 a kg for Verbatim branded filament and £15 ish for cheap draft quality filament.

1kg goes a very long way, as most parts aren’t solid infill (especially test fits and draft parts), they’re a shell with a matrix inside, which can work out to be tougher though more flexibility (although this part probably is solid). I’d guess it’s no more than 10g, so you could make around 100 finished parts, and typical standard 3d prints are around 25% infill and you’d get double or triple the quantity.

I just printed a pair of exhaust manifolds for a classic Honda I’m restoring, bores have to be machined as it’s not super accurate, but test fit was spot on, now thinking about quotes for laser/water cutting from 5-6mm aluminium, it’s handy to have that ability! I did some carburettor adapters for fittings webber carbs years back, easy to knock out 5+ revisions inc test fits and tweaks in a day, and due to the CAD side of things I was able to properly design the flow though the part to ensure smooth transition between flanges.

Excellent job chap