"MARCOTEN" wrote:

thats amazing! i heard they will also"ship" a 3d printer to the international space center in the next supplys to them.

hahaha you said "ship." It would be worth while to have a machine to print their parts rather than having to FedEx them to the ISS. That might be an expensive overnight package.

The printers are really amazing machines. Virtually anything and everything can be printed. If you want to have some fun browsing an entire library of free 3D print files go to www.thingiverse.com and have a look. Here, you might like this: www.thingiverse.com/thing:29869

Once this Twenty project is done I'm moving on to design and print a complete 1:12th scale Cat Thirty or Sixty. I just need to find one local to get the measurements! (hint hint) ...to anyone in the Connecticut area please contact me!

Here's my YouTube video as promised:

wow nice video!
indeed : " It would be worth while to have a machine to print their parts rather than having to FedEx them to the ISS. That might be an expensive overnight package" that why it is send by a space SHIP haha
you use pla??
is is fuel / petrol resistand?? mabe it is possible to print the top of the carburettor for the ten and fifteen tractors, its the same one and a lot are broken, i did a aluminium casting myself to remake a new one, and is possibly more simple to print it in petrol resistant material.
my own casting:

MARCOTEN;123038 wrote:

you use pla??
is is fuel / petrol resistand?? mabe it is possible to print the top of the carburettor for the ten and fifteen tractors, its the same one and a lot are broken, i did a aluminium casting myself to remake a new one, and is possibly more simple to print it in petrol resistant material.
QUOTE]

I would say yes, it would be fuel resistant. One of the advantages to printing ABS (to modelers anyway) is that any final conditioning can be obtained with acetone. Just dip a rag in some acetone, wipe the part, and the little lines and imperfections wipe clean. Not so with PLA. As it stands today, I've been unable to identify any chemical solution that dissolves the material. But like any plastic, heat is the real killer. I imagine that the PLA would simply become too soft too close to any engine or in direct sunshine. Starting around 75 degrees C (167 degrees F) the PLA becomes soft. I can only imagine the dangers associated with such a flaw.

You might have to wait for that metal 3D printer mentioned earlier in the thread. Sadly, I have a feeling that won't be a very consumer-friendly priced item.

BTW - Here is the print you saw from the video.

The PTO .STL file sample from the printing platform before being 'sliced':

The PTO print:

Hm!, I wonder if you could add the Appropriate % for shrinkage and use it as a mold for the wax pattern for investment casting?
Inquiring minds would like to know

Regards Dennie

"64farmboy" wrote:

Hm!, I wonder if you could add the Appropriate % for shrinkage and use it as a mold for the wax pattern for investment casting?
Inquiring minds would like to know

Regards Dennie

Hey Dennie - You absolutely can. In fact it's easier than you think. Coming up with the first prototype for casting is a very sophisticated process the "typical" way - via aluminum, machined dies. But I can easily print dies for exactly that. I would only be cautious about the wax temperature being higher than the structural integrity of the 3D printed die. After all it is just plastic.

I'm only restricted by size really: 10" cubed. Other machines print larger, but my Felix 2.0 is easily in the top ten "consumer printers" as far as size is concerned. Anything larger you're then talking about multiple extruders running on multiple axes on massive print beds. Here is a large side-by-side comparison of most 3D printers on the market today. Note, ironically, my printer is not on here which is very strange to me: 3d-printers.toptenreviews.com/index.html

Anywho - I have another part designed for the winch after several hours last night and some more this afternoon. Curved surfaces with holes in them make me go loco. I made the rear facing seat used to control the winch as well as seat post. I'm not at the printing stage yet. I may need to make adjustments. Something feels...off...hmmm.

Seat:

I almost forgot: a package came today with the one single item I cannot print: the PTO drive chain. I have some history with robotics. A lot of my supplies came from Micro Mark. I knew when I saw the drive chain on the actual Twenty that Micro Mark had chain for robotics that would be the right fit. I've used this before and it's actually very stable for being so tiny. Now I can design and print the gearing to make the winch completely mechanical.

Again, thank you everyone for letting me share the project with you.

Drive chain: (too small and fine to print)

cbensch;123052 wrote:

Hey Dennie - You absolutely can. In fact it's easier than you think. Coming up with the first prototype for casting is a very sophisticated process the "typical" way - via aluminum, machined dies. But I can easily print dies for exactly that. I would only be cautious about the wax temperature being higher than the structural integrity of the 3D printed die. After all it is just plastic.

I'm only restricted by size really: 10" cubed. Other machines print larger, but my Felix 2.0 is easily in the top ten "consumer printers" as far as size is concerned. Anything larger you're then talking about multiple extruders running on multiple axes on massive print beds. Here is a large side-by-side comparison of most 3D printers on the market today. Note, ironically, my printer is not on here which is very strange to me: 3d-printers.toptenreviews.com/index.html

Anywho - I have another part designed for the winch after several hours last night and some more this afternoon. Curved surfaces with holes in them make me go loco. I made the rear facing seat used to control the winch as well as seat post. I'm not at the printing stage yet. I may need to make adjustments. Something feels...off...hmmm.




I was involved with the Q.A in the development of two patterns for D.O.E at investment casting houses in Montreal back in the 80's. One an aluminum casting house and one a stainless casting house. As an old tool maker the process was long tedious and at times frustrating. Man would this save time!!!

Thanks for sharing, I always enjoy new ideas and techniques
Regards Dennie

Dennie - You're welcome.

Here is the complete winch including gears with matching pitch; less small horizontal brackets. I had to design and print several gears to match the dimensions and pitch of the links in the chain, but the 9th print was the charm. Forget that third time stuff. Oy.

So far all that's left to print are the brackets and drums. I can't say for sure the componets will all fit together properly. The tolerance between the drums is very tight. But each piece will require hand finishing in the end anyway so I can just turn drums on the drill press with some 200 grit sandpaper to bring them down a hair. Alas, if some items need tweaking, they need tweaking.

But overall -->

Here's the total unit:

I just look at this stuff with my mouth open. Its pretty amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you Old Iron! I'm enjoying sharing and am grateful for the opportunity. Quite the super cool group here!

I have all pieces printed now and it appears everything fits as intended. I have some final sanding to complete in order to provide a smooth foundation for upcoming weathering. I also received my stainless 1mmx3.5mm "bolts" from Scale Hardware today. These will be used to fasten the components together at major joints. I'll have photos of the winch mounted to the model for everyone tomorrow. Getting closer!