Printing portable N64 console housing

[tmaxxracer32]

Hi all,

I currently do not own a 3d printer but am very interested in the idea/possibly of purchasing one for a project of mine.
I've been toying with the idea of building a portable N64 but creating the housing is something I am stuck on... Particularly with how the screws will screw in. Circled areas as shown in this picture.


One of my favorite builds


I could potentially just use the gameboy advance housing, but want to build my own style with it as a reference.


So my question is:

If I were to print the bottom half and then the top half, will the 3d printer accurately print the housing along with the screw holes. I may end up building a few for friends so accuracy and precision is key!

Other questions I have:
-Do most printers have the ability to print smooth surfaces or will I need to sand it down for it to be perfectly smooth?
-Can most printers create threading? I can easily tap each one, but it would be very cool to have it come out ready to assemble.
-what would an estimated time frame to print out a full bottom/half roughly 7x5x1.5 (If I buy a printer I would probably spend 1-2k) ---I realize this may be a very vague question but I'm just looking for a guesstimation

I've been looking at the Flashforge (low price, decent volume, dual extruder), replicator 2 & 2x (seem great but high price), and the ultimaker printers (again.. high price). As I look more into it I realize the abundance of printers and its very very difficult to determine which is best for you.... I have a few more things I'd like to do with it so it wouldnt be just to create these PN64's but that will be the primary reason for my purchase.

Thank you for any help with this!

[TeddyYan]

From my experience, you can basically just screw a screw into a PLA printed item. If you do it on ABS, it will probably get stripped out. You might want to use a captive nut whether using ABS or PLA, as it will hold it in place better

Here is what a captive nut looks like.

[tmaxxracer32]

I googled captive nut and am not exactly sure how it works but I will keep that in mind if I decide to go forth with this project.

I plan to airbrush these so will PLA take that fine?

Thanks!

[3dkarma]

If I were to print the bottom half and then the top half, will the 3d printer accurately print the housing along with the screw holes. I may end up building a few for friends so accuracy and precision is key!

A well-tuned printer is more than capable of printing the housing with the screw holes.

Do most printers have the ability to print smooth surfaces or will I need to sand it down for it to be perfectly smooth?

The first layer you print will be smooth as the plastic is "smooshed" into the print bed, which is a nice flat surface. The top of the piece can be reasonably smooth, but probably won't be as smooth as the bottom. The sides of the piece will have ribbing that will be less than a mm high. If you want it absolutely smooth, you've got several options: if you're printing with ABS, you can smooth by wiping with acetone or in an acetone vapour bath. PLA can be smoothed similarly using THF (fair warning: acetone and THF can be hazardous to your health). You can sand it, you can spray it with plastic filler, sand it and spray over with the colour of your choice.

Can most printers create threading? I can easily tap each one, but it would be very cool to have it come out ready to assemble.

Yes, but I wouldn't rely on threading smaller than about M5. Use self-tapping screws for your needs.

what would an estimated time frame to print out a full bottom/half roughly 7x5x1.5 (If I buy a printer I would probably spend 1-2k) ---I realize this may be a very vague question but I'm just looking for a guesstimation

Couple of hours.

[tmaxxracer32]

Great info, thank you!

[Mysli]

You can actually print holes for screws as small as M3, even when using normal screws and not selftapping Also ABS is no problem for screw holes.
I have no experience with PLA but my ABS prints turn out fine and the threading seldom strips.
Just make sure that you print the holes about Ø2.5mm (nominal diameter - pitch) this only applies to 60° threading ie. Metric, UNc, UNf, UNef.