Absolute max print size

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04kmorri
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Absolute max print size

Post by 04kmorri » Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:42 pm

Just as the title says, is our M2's limited to the 8x10x8 build area or can we push it a little bit, I'm asking this because a) I'm at work and don't have my printer in front of me to check, b) because one of hte engineers at work wants to 3d print a robot attachment for a trade show, he asked me if I could print it up, and I have the .stp, and the autodesk .igs file but the attachment is 14x12 inchs and aside from splitting it into multiple pieces, or scaling it, I've been trying to think of how I could print it out in 1 piece. Any suggestions?

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Tim
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Re: Absolute max print size

Post by Tim » Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:45 pm

Monolithic prints are overrated. What's wrong with splitting it into pieces?

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insta
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Re: Absolute max print size

Post by insta » Wed Jun 24, 2015 7:31 pm

You can sometimes push to like ... 8.05". You're definitely not fitting a 12x14" piece on the M2 in one piece.
Custom 3D printing for you or your business -- quote [at] pingring.org

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Matt_Sharkey
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Re: Absolute max print size

Post by Matt_Sharkey » Wed Jun 24, 2015 7:59 pm

Aside from being well beyond the print volume of an M2, the risk of a failed print is pretty high. and if you're using most of that print volume, you're talking 2 days of printing, how would you feel if it failed at 30 hours?

I think one of the more satisfying projects was the first time I designed and printed something with assembly in mind. I recommend you give it a shot!

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jimc
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Re: Absolute max print size

Post by jimc » Wed Jun 24, 2015 8:00 pm

yup i agree with both these guys. i dont know why you would even want to do it in one piece. too prone to things going wrong as well as warping, etc. if something does go wrong and your 3/4 way into the print then a redo sets you way back in time and materials. slice that sucker up in 2,3,4 pieces and assemble it when its done.

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jimc
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Re: Absolute max print size

Post by jimc » Wed Jun 24, 2015 8:01 pm

haha great minds think alike!

04kmorri
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Re: Absolute max print size

Post by 04kmorri » Wed Jun 24, 2015 11:32 pm

I knew it was a long shot, the reason he and I wanted to do it one shot is because he intends to use it at an expo our company is going to in November, and he wants there to be no seems. He was looking into going with a professional service, one that could actually print the entire thing in 1 go, that is until the purchasing person for our department saw the quote she was blown away. He will still probably go with the professional way, but I wanted to give it a go, so that I could possibly provide an inexpensive 3d printing service to the company, in the event they actually needed something printed up in the dimensions our M2's could handle.

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insta
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Re: Absolute max print size

Post by insta » Thu Jun 25, 2015 1:59 am

Post-processing will get rid of seams. Contact me or jimc (he's better at it but I asked first) :)
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04kmorri
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Re: Absolute max print size

Post by 04kmorri » Thu Jun 25, 2015 3:18 am

I was just looking through the getting started forum ( i think), and saw the friction welding and the 3 coats of rust-oleum thick, with some sanding may be the route, atm though I still have divide up the print, get more material in, then figure out the best post-processing to use(unless you mean software post processing).

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Tim
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Re: Absolute max print size

Post by Tim » Thu Jun 25, 2015 3:29 am

I tried friction welding the other day and decided that it will take some practice. The filament did melt and weld the two pieces where there was a split between them. However, it left a shallow filament-sized depression that I was not able to get rid of. I think it's a technique that takes some getting used to. I'd recommend alignment holes that accept short pieces of filament as alignment pins, and solvent glue (weld-on methylene chloride if it's PLA or PET, or just plastic model cement if it's ABS).

Some sanding, a coat of glaze, and some paint will do wonders.

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