I want to start 3D printing

[Richard_S]

Hi everyone. Looking to do some 3D printing. Want to be able to get usable stuff printed, but with a minimum of fuss. If it's finicky or awkward I know that I won't have enough time or patience. I invent and would be looking to make prototypes, so also need software to be able to make the 3D drawings with. Would like to be able to use some hard-wearing plastics at least some of the time. Nothing much above room temperature, though later may need plastic that can stand say a-car-in-the-sun warmth. I know some printers let you print with multiple materials and it would be very handy to be able to handle both the hard parts and the softer (rubber-like) gaskets too. To make parts that fit together with a dust-proof and maybe close-to airtight seal. In fact, ideally printed as one single part if that's possible. Got a budget of 1,500, can you recommend a suitable printer, what material I should be printing with, and suitable software for a beginner that will never have time to become a full-blown expert on the tools?

[airscapes]

If it's finicky or awkward I know that I won't have enough time or patience.

It is and it is and don't bother as it takes a lot of time to be proficient. Started in 2018 but now can sit down, design something and fabricate it. But you will need to put in the time and effort to lean the software, hardware and all the inns and outs of the process.. this is sort of like saying I want to rebuild engines, but if I have to learn a lot first I don't have time.. 3d printing is not plug and play

[Richard_S]

If it's finicky or awkward I know that I won't have enough time or patience.

It is and it is and don't bother as it takes a lot of time to be proficient. Started in 2018 but now can sit down, design something and fabricate it. But you will need to put in the time and effort to lean the software, hardware and all the inns and outs of the process.. this is sort of like saying I want to rebuild engines, but if I have to learn a lot first I don't have time.. 3d printing is not plug and play

OK, fair enough. You are saying that it's not yet mature enough for those who are not 3D printers first and creators only much further down the list. Thanks for your advice, much appreciated.

By the way, I have no interest in building or rebuilding engines, or indeed using them but I think I get the analogy.

[OG56]

The 3d printing part is relatively easy once you have the speed and temp for the filament you are using given its specification needs. PLA and TPU are super easy to print.

If you want to print with minimal fuss you really need to learn how to model really well with either CAD, box modeling, or 3d sculpting software. Also, understand mechanical tolerances for functional pieces that have to work together. The saying "garbage in, garbage out" is really true with 3d print quality.

[Richard_S]

The 3d printing part is relatively easy once you have the speed and temp for the filament you are using given its specification needs. PLA and TPU are super easy to print. If you want to print with minimal fuss you really need to learn how to model really well with either CAD, box modeling, or 3d sculpting software. Also, understand mechanical tolerances for functional pieces that have to work together. The saying "garbage in, garbage out" is really true with 3d print quality.

Hi and thank you OG56 and in particular for your positivity. I have done some 3D drawing before and found it not so difficult to do. I also trained as a mechanical engineer once, so I have at least a tiny grasp of that discipline. I am interested in people's opinions of which software is ranked as easier to use but also effective. Any suggestions as to which 3D software could be best for someone that needs to use it as a functional tool to design 3D printed parts?I see PLA mentioned all the time, so I assumed there was some reason it was so very popular. I don't know if it, or TOU, are suitable for my needs? Is it even possible to print soft gasket type material with a 3D printer? What material would that be? In particular, can it be printed within the same print as harder engineering-type materials which are dimensionally quite stable? In which case what material would work for the more dimensionally stable part in that combination?

[OG56]

I am not a CAD user but most of my friends use Fusion360 hobby or paid. They all have good things to say about it. I use art focused polygonal modeling software (Blender3d, Zbrush, 3dCoat) which I do not recommend for precise functional prints. It can do it but its more work.

Polylactic Acid (PLA) filament is "... the most widely used plastic filament material in 3D printing. Its low melting point, high strength, low thermal expansion, good layer adhesion, and high heat resistance when annealed make it an ideal material for this purpose." - Wikepedia

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) filament prints a rubber like print. I use it for custom rubber stamps for my wife's mixed media art.

I've had my printer for about a year and the very few print failures I've had were 100 percent my fault due to either bad settings or bad models that I made. I have over 10 years of 3d modeling but its been focused on cnc pattern making so 3d print modeling is relatively new to me.

[Richard_S]

Hi again OG56 and thanks for the recommendation of Fusion 360. I must give it a try. So far I have been trying out FreeCAD. Now, I do not have a 3d printer, so there's a lot I I don't know yet about the reality of getting models to actually print, but given that it strikes me that it's not so hard to create the CAD model, not hard but it is laborious. I say not so hard, however like all complex software I note that there's quite a few hours of work to get to even have a minimum proficiency. When I was a child, my father would design and build moulds for injected plastic parts in the evenings at home. I was aware from an early age of issues like shrinkage, and having to add tapers and to round corners to allow parts to release from the mould. Of course, 3d printing adds some new challenges, like overhangs, but does not perpetuate all the old ones, like the release issues I mentioned. The same basic idea that you have to think quite thoroughly about how you are going to make something before you even start is still there it seems.Thank you for the mention of PLA and TPU. I have to admit to being intrigued as to how well TPU would work for printing customised gaskets. Also just the sheer number of different materials it seems can be used with 3d printers.

[squadus]

With a budget of $1500 you could start by learning and mastering 3D design with TinkerCAD, AutoCAD or similar. Then I would utilize a print-on-demand service such as Shapeways to experiment with your 3D prints.