Consensus on 3D printed accessories?

[AstroKeith]

So I've acquired a some 3D printed parts over the last few months. They have all started out OK, but some have deteriorated significantly with uses. Details are

Undershelf battery holders - good, but then they dont get stressed much
Festool to vacuum hose adapter - fair, but starting to wear and shed a few filaments.
Bench dogs - useless - far too brittle to survive
Bench spacers - OK, but again they dont get stressed.

What are other FOG'ers experiences/thoughts?
I was going to buy some Systainer fittings off eBay, but reckon they wont take the strain.

 

[Bernmc]

There are a lot of variables in 3D printing, so it can be hard to tell what you're getting if you're not doing the printing yourself.

Material (ABS, PETG etc), quality (the thickness of each layer the printer lays down) and infill (3D-printed bits are seldom solid - they're typically 20% infill plastic) are the main ones I play around with. The pattern of the infill can also play a part - cuboid vs 3D honeycomb vs rectilinear....

My DC fittings seem pretty strong and long lasting - they're printed in PETG, cuboid infill, 30%. This takes longer and uses a bit more plastic, so I suspect that if you're buying from fleabay, you'd be getting standard low-res, 20% rectilinear infill, and potentially won't last long.

I print a fair amount of stuff for the shop and find it a really useful tool - but I have complete control of the process, and often need to do several prints to get things where I want them.

 

[WillAdams]

An interesting recent development is post-processing 100% infill 3D prints by placing them in a pan of fine salt, then baking them (if the thermoplastic used is one suited to a second melting and cooling cycle).

 

[Steve1]

I remember seeing my first 3D printed part, back in the early 1990's.  The guy said "be careful, its very delicate and very expensive".  Well they have certainly gotten cheaper.  Probably stronger too.  They can even print metals.  But on a retail consumer item, I doubt you are going to see the accuracy or strength of an injection molded part.

 

[woodferret]

For static longevity, the PETG stuff is fine, so are most PLA+.  I've had delamination issues on PLA.  My general rule of thumb is 20kg of force before I start adding reinforcement with hardware.  For example unreinforced benchdogs are fine if I'm ginger with it, but I can easily exceed that force temporarily by slapping stuff into it. 

 

[Roseland]

Parts made in the early 1990s would likely have been produced by Stereolithography.  It's by far the most accurate of the mainstream technologies but the early acrylate resins (pre-epoxy) were very brittle.  Modern resins are much better and have excellent detail resolution and surface finish.

Most 3D printed parts offered on the web are made by Fused Deposition Modelling, and these are generally not very accurate and have a tendency for the filaments to come apart.

Laser sintered parts are probably the most robust but have a rough surface and intermediate accuracy.

You pay your money and take your choice.

Andrew

 

[six-point socket II]

I don't buy aftermarket 3D printed parts from "unknown" sources.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[woodferret]

I also find the Festool ebay 3dprint scene a bit disgusting.  I've seen many scour thingiverse for mention of "Festool" and put up shoddy prints.  I've seen my own strictly non-commercial licensed stuff put up for $30.  IF you're going to buy 3d printed stuff, at least grab it from the respective designers and not some fly-by-night clearinghouse profiteer.  At least you'll stand a better chance of them printing it in the right orientation and using the right materials.

/rant.

 

[xedos]

I don't buy aftermarket 3D printed parts from "unknown" sources.

Just thinking out loud here:

How does one get to know a source without trying it ? 

And, if you know me and I recommend an "unknown" source - isn't it still unknown to you until you actually try it for yourself ?

At some point you've just got to roll the dice and trust a stranger.

 

[Bertotti]

I just bought some off of Etsy, the reviews looked good. How else do you know. I hope they are good pieces.

 

[PaulMarcel]

I have several friends with 3D printers so I'd go to them to print any design I wanted. That said, I'd be okay with a 'fragile' 20% infill PLA print to see if it actually was accurate for my use. Then go back and get one with a denser infill and stronger material. If you have your own printer, the prints could be considered disposable if that's what works in the shop (e.g., something that will likely get glued to a project and need to be hammered off).

Personally, I think the "crowdsourced" catalog of 3D prints on sites like Thingiverse are amazing resources if you have a printer or friend with a printer. You can also make some very project-centric jigs with ease, which will drive the handtool crowd into screaming "it's not real woodworking!" okay, so how are you liking your tablesaw?

 

[DeformedTree]

3D printing improves, but in the end, it's still for prototypes, mockups, jigs, etc.  Not real end items.  Yes there are some commercial application stuff, but when you are talking the world of metal stuff, that is a whole different world.

3D printing and making things has a place, if you need something to test an idea, or maybe fix something, but I'm certainly not going to go pay money for something someone 3D printed. Plastic 3D printing is not a commercial part making process, no matter how much some try to think it is or make it one.

I think in woodworking it has great potential for doing things like making a complicated router template in a hurry and the like. But I wouldn't expect it to be a long term item.  Maybe even use the 3D part as a template to make the real template.

 

[PaulMarcel]

I think in woodworking it has great potential for doing things like making a complicated router template in a hurry and the like. But I wouldn't expect it to be a long term item.  Maybe even use the 3D part as a template to make the real template.

For that I'd honestly use the Shaper Origin, but depends on what you have available.

 

[Svar]

... making a complicated router template in a hurry ...

Putting consumer grade 3D printing and "in a hurry" in the same sentence is a contradiction. Because "in a hurry" it is not.

My other peeve is people bother printing simple shapes (for example, dust cover for TS) when it could be done about x100 faster, much more accurately, and from better quality materials using basic power tools.

 

[DeformedTree]

... making a complicated router template in a hurry ...

Putting consumer grade 3D printing and "in a hurry" in the same sentence is a contradiction. Because "in a hurry" it is not.

My other peeve is people bother printing simple shapes (for example, dust cover for TS) when it could be done about x100 faster, much more accurately, and from better quality materials using basic power tools.

Fair enough,  but if you have a very complicated shape, you may have no way to make that template, thus it could be an answer, or an alternative to spending a day trying to make it.  As was mentioned though, a shaper origin would be a good option for that, but then you have to own one of those.  But along a similar path, a shaper origin is a great tool for making templates, might not be the answer for making a batch of something.  Use the SO to make the template, and then use that to use a standard router to crank out the batch of items.

3D printers are a tool trying to find a purpose, and they do have purpose, but yes, normal processes will often make better solutions.

 

[mkasdin]

I think for longevity nylonx filament or a Kevlar reinforced part will hold up well. I know MatterHackers sells those high strength filaments. Not sure of the wear, but it looks like the parts are used for motorcycle levers and foot pegs? PLA plus, petg, are good, but they don’t have the work life. The nylonx parts take much longer to print and at high temps....

 

[krudawg]

I bought the following from a fellow Fogger/retailer AlAmantea.  I bought them on a whim and have been very satisfied with the products - RAB - Rail Alignment Blocks, Dog Storage Unit and finally the Holder for the Rail Square by TSO.  I love em.  They are right where I need them and so far have proven to be a solid accessory for my MFT/3

 

[Sparktrician]

I have about as little use for 3-D printed products as I have for MIM products in high-stress applications.  3-D printing is about as precise as throwing a bunch of plastic up in the air and hoping it lands in a somewhat usable fashion.  MIM is more precise, but forged and machined parts work far better, longer and more reliably in high-stress applications. 

 

[fritter63]

Sorry, coming in late to this. I really need to stop by more often.

Try printing your parts at Shapeways using laser sintered nylon. I've had good luck and made an MTF 800 replacement part for somebody too. Here is my store to show you what I've done (not trying to to self promote, I rarely get sales!) but it's a good collection of the stuff I've made for the shop:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/smartjigs

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I love being able to have an idea, design it in Fusion 360, print it, tweak it, and have a useful product which I can’t buy anywhere.

[member=7493]Sparktrician[/member] said it’s not accurate but it’s been plenty accurate for me to design brackets for the MFT/3 extrusion to hold a fence, router fence stop blocks, track saw guide rail stops, knobs to replace hex cap screw on the Incra fence, spring loaded end stops for my Incra parallel guides, 3mm shims for my LR32 offset bars for proper frameless half overlay start hole location, another offset block for LR32 which allows me to quickly move the guide rail on my MFT/3 for drawer slides, etc.

If you’re creative 3D printing is amazing and even if you’re not, you could easily print enough things others have designed, including gifts for family and friends, to the point it more than pays for itself.

In addition, you’re learning about g-code which will be very helpful if you ever decide to venture into CNC.