Can a 3D printer do this question

[hdtvjeff]

Just discovered this wonderful forum.

I collect vintage cassette decks from the 1970's

It is next to impossible to get parts for knobs, gears, pulleys etc.

I do have original parts of my most prized collections.

My question is simple, though the parts are plastic and metal; can a 3d printer really duplicate these next to impossible to find parts?

Newbie questions:

Does it duplicate in same color?

Any specific 3d printer that you would recommend?

Thank you so much,

jeff

[Mjolinor]

Post some pictures of the parts you are talking about.

[Mjolinor]

Well the plastic parts I see can certainly be printed on a 3d printer, I would venture to say that any of the FDM printers will do those.

[hdtvjeff]

Here is a an exploded view of the cassette mechanism, and thank you for answering my question.chassis.jpgchassis.jpgchassis.jpgchassis.jpg

[curious aardvark]

if you can design it or get someone else to design it - then yep. Pretty much anything can be made.
It's the designing that's the hard bit :-)

[Geoff]

I could make all the main parts very quickly (being a 70's/80's kid myself...) I have alot of old ones here to get dimensions from..
All the panels no worries, the buttons, all the spindles could be done (i'd use natural PLA or nylon for those) ... the brackets you could do...

Really, the screws and springs would be the main components you couldn't print, the belts of old were pretty thin rubber too, so printing that in flex might be difficult.

[hdtvjeff]

Wow Geoff,

That is amazing, the chassis I can replicate too? With all the openings, contours, front back top and bottom too?

I am realizing I need a scanner and the 3d printer, two separate purchases.

What I don't understand about scanning is how it scans the bottom of an object if the object is on its belly?

Can you recommend a specific printer and scanner? again wow!!!

[hdtvjeff]

I could make all the main parts very quickly (being a 70's/80's kid myself...) I have alot of old ones here to get dimensions from..
All the panels no worries, the buttons, all the spindles could be done (i'd use natural PLA or nylon for those) ... the brackets you could do...

Really, the screws and springs would be the main components you couldn't print, the belts of old were pretty thin rubber too, so printing that in flex might be difficult.

Can you upload sample cassette mechanism parts you have replicated and their original?

Jeff

[Lil3dprinting]

@hdtvjeff you don't need a scanner, you need an artist. It's almost always better to recreate the art then scan. Even the most costly scanners can require some level of touch up on the art, as where something basic (like your asking about) could be done rather quickly in just about any 3d program.

[awerby]

A scan-to-CAD workflow makes sense for parts like this, and the more complex they are the more time it will save. Reverse-engineering isn't automatic, and an unmodified scan's not likely to work too well, but if you start with a scan and recreate the part from that, you can save a lot of time. It's quite tedious to make all the measurements you need from actual parts; scanning helps a lot with that. You'd still need an "artist", but if they've got the right tools they can be more productive.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com