Can a 3d printer make this part?

[hdtvjeff]

Thank you for that wonderful advice Fred

Just curious, asides from a pulley with the right skill set and software can metal parts that make up a older audio cassette deck be replicated too?

Look above Fred I also put a link to the 3d printer i bought, is it recommended?

[fred_dot_u]

I'm not familiar with the printer you've linked, but it looks impressive for the cost. Quite a large print bed and the frame appears to be a well designed structure. You want a stiff frame and if that one is all-metal, it's a good start. The channel construction that appears in the image provides better rigidity than flat panels of acrylic.

If you develop the necessary skills to recreate a metal part, you can have it printed by an online 3D printing service. A recently viewed video showed me the results of someone's design which was printed in stainless steel, a part for handling sensitive drilling on a machinist's lathe. Some post-processing was required, but it was minimal, involving machining surfaces to bring the part into tolerance.

If your ultimate goal is to duplicate such parts, aim for the "tougher" programs such as Fusion 360 and stay clear of TinkerCad. I'm not sure how well OnShape fits into your objective, but I'm confident that Fusion 360 will do everything you require. Another advantage of that program is a comprehensive set of videos on the YouTube as well as forum support at the web site and other locations.

For your linked printer, consider to access your preferred search engine, using the printer name followed by "review" or even check YouTube for related videos. You'll probably get better insight from the reviewers with the higher subscriber counts, but it's a hit-and-miss proposition, general speaking, to know how qualified is a particular reviewer.

[hdtvjeff]

Thank you Fred for the valuable insight
I can only imagine what we will be 3d printing 10 years from now.

I remember starting with a panasonic dot matrix monochrome printer thrilled to print out a grainy photo only to have studio type prints available in a home printer a decade later.

[curious aardvark]

one thing to bear in mind - metal printing is still extremely expensive.
getting a metal part made would most likely cost more than the machine is worth.
a decent engineering firm would most likely make a part cheaper, through conventional methods.

You might be able to replace some of the metal parts with plastic printed parts. If they're just structural, that could work quite well.

I don't think of openscad as programming, more telling the computer what shapes to put where. What shapes to take away from other shapes, etc.
If you can visualise what you want to make and break it down into basic shapes, then openscad makes it really easy to produce models.

[ralphzoontjens]

With any CAD tool that does revolve operations, maybe some POM filament, you will have made that in under 30 minutes.

[hdtvjeff]

As a follow up I have to ask this.I have a cassette lid from my stereo, not sure if it is plastic or acrylic but is it at all possible to 3d print clear see thru complete with the lock tabs seen in one of these photos?I doubt this is possible but a smoked glass look cannot be 3d printed can itIf a 3d printer can do these things I will immerse myself in this technology.Thnaks so much for answering this newbie's questions!

[fred_dot_u]

I get so many email messages from various 3d printing forums, I can't recall where I saw this latest one, but it's about transparent ABS plastic, just about what you seek. ABS can be a little finicky to print, but I've had pretty good luck with it in the past. I've not tried ABS clear, though. There are other plastic formulations that are transparent. I think you can get PETG in clear too, which is easier to print than ABS if you get the temperatures correct. You will almost certainly see layer lines. The locking tabs will be a weak location and require support when printing. The part has to be printed tabs-up and the vertical segments will be small and layered horizontally, the least strong configuration possible.

I think it can be printed, but won't be very strong or durable if it's going to be subjected to repeated lock/unlock cycles.

[ralphzoontjens]

Formlabs 3dp-camera_final-lenses resin dipped.jpg

These lenses were made with a desktop SLA machine, polished and resin dipped. I'd say an above 90% transparency is possible.For FFF printers try HDglass, printed at low layer thickness with a thin epoxy coat. With a smooth surface things will become more transparent.

[hdtvjeff]

Fred and Ralph, Thank You !

[curious aardvark]

basically it's possible, not necessarily to the same level of clarity, but definitely possible.
And it would be just as strong.
I actually find that clear pla is tougher than coloured pla.
I often use it for that little bit of extra strength.
Ralph is right, to get good clarity from fdm you'd need to paint it with a resin that fills in the gaps and shape fdm naturally produces.

Clear pla works well, as does clear pet-g. and hdglass (pet-g).

With a resin printer it's possible to print useable spectacle lenses.

It's swings and roundabouts. resin machines do some things fdm machines can't and vice versa.