My 3DC

[Grant Lamontagne]

I've been making a lot of spaghetti monsters lately, but I think I am getting it back on track.

Last night I made a grappling hook for one of my drones, just in case I ever get another one of my drones stuck somewhere!

This morning I fired up the machine again to try making a sheath for the Skeletool, you know, because the Skeletool already has a pocket clip and a carabiner and that's not nearly enough ways to carry it!   

This one worked out well, and fits the Skeletool very nicely.  As a bonus, it is also big enough to fit on my belt, and so that makes it far superior to the Surge sheath I tried earlier!

I'm not sure this is how I would choose to carry the Skeletool, but if one wanted a hard sheath for it, they could do worse than this one.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2222815
 
That said, this was a bit of a messy design, requiring several supports that I'm pretty sure wouldn't have been necessary if the designer had put even a little thought into it.  For one, the belt loop is squared, stuck to the back, and raised enough that it needed a support that was almost 1/4" high.  If it had been angled out form the body of the sheath rather than 90 degrees, it wouldn't have needed a support.  Additionally, the model was oriented sideways, which would have required even more supports.  If you try this one, make sure to reorient it first.

I also find the edges/corners a bit on the sharp side, so it may have been nice if they'd been rounded off a bit.

Def

[Sos24]

Very cool.  I have thought about getting a 3D printer.

I know our local library has one that patrons can use. I plan on finding out the rules so I can experiment on it, before purchasing my own.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I think you will find they have become remarkably affordable.  There is one model at a large, blue electronics chain that is available for less than $100, and at that price there's really not much stopping anyone from giving it a shot.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Just to update this a bit- the Wave sheath fits the 2004 Wave (Second Generation) and the Wave + but not the original Wave.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Some time ago a coworker asked me if she designed a candle mold, could I print it for her.  I asked what kind of candle mold she wanted and she said one that would make these candles for a UCO candle holder.

After a quick search on Thingiverse I found that someone had already designed these molds so she didn't have to.  It blew her mind that this kind of thing existed!

I printed off a mold for her and asked her to let me know if it worked.  She just sent me an email thanking me for the mold, and that it worked so well she wants me to print a few more for her so she can make three candles at a time.

This is the joy of a ,3D printer- spending a few hundred dollars to save the cost of buying a $15 item.   

Unfortunately I printed them in almost the exact same yellow as the beeswax she was using, but you should be able to figure out which is which!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

One more pic.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I've got a little bit of a milestone for myself today-  I have finally designed something from scratch that I then managed to successfully print.

I wanted a small holder for a Tile Sticker to put on my dog's harness. 



As my dog is VERY tiny (he's filled out to about 13 pounds) I wanted a smaller Tile than the Mate he was wearing, so I got a sticker.  I'll have some comments on that in the url=https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,90573.0.html]Tracker Thread[/url] shortly, but, like the Airtag, there's really no direct way to attach it to his harness, so I decided to make one in Fusion 360.

I'm not overly skilled in Fusion 360, so it probably took me a lot longer to do it than it would for someone who knew what they were doing, but I'm proud of myself nonetheless.

Also, the final product really won't work as I didn't take into account the small button on the side of the Tile Sticker.   

So some redesign will be necessary, but that doesn't take away the cool feeling I have from making something completely from scratch.

Hey, I know it's a little thing, but I'm counting it as a win anyway.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Third and final (for now) version!

I'm pretty darned happy with this newfound superpower of creating something from nothing!   

Def

[MadPlumbarian]

Nice, I have one that the kid gave me like two Xmas ago, we tried for like two weeks to get that thing going and just never printed anything, some how the onboard comp got cleaned out and he even tried to reprogram it but we just never got anywhere, so it sits in the attic doing nothing..
JR

[Vidar]

Nice one - and big step.

Making the model yourself certainly gives options and freedom to make you want. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

It was a really great feeling, even if I had to make three different versions until I found one that actually worked the way I wanted it to!

That having been said, there are a few changes I would make to this version too, in case I feel up to going to Version 4.   

I also think I may try doing a version of AirTags too, which will be much the same thing, but with a slightly bigger... circular.... thing.

As it is now, the strap holders are a bit wide for my dog's harness, but they are perfectly sized for MOLLE webbing.  I wonder what could have influenced that particular measurement.... 

All in all, I am sure many of you design much more complex items than this every day, but for a complete amateur I am taking it as a win! 

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I am now also experiencing 3D Printer anxiety.

Last night I started printing a hexagonal shelf (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2486729) that I thought may be neat for displaying SAKs and/or multitools, but it was going to take 12 hours and 40 minutes to print.

It looked good when I went to bed last night.

It looked good when I got up this morning,

It looked good when I left for work.

It should have finished about an hour after I left and I am really anxious to see how it came out, or if it turned into a dreaded spaghetti monster after I left.  I have made many of those already, and it's not fun.   

My first Tile holder above failed miserably- the first pic I posted of it was actually the second one I made.

Def

[Vidar]

All in all, I am sure many of you design much more complex items than this every day, but for a complete amateur I am taking it as a win! 

It is definitely a win. And like most things the more you make the more you learn. You're on your way! 

I've actually done relatively little design work the last year. (The main prototypes have been contraptions to avoid schools and packs of fish and make them swim through one by one in an orderly fashion regardless of species, size and general misbehaviour. With size differences being 100:1 that isn't as easy it sounds. Many small will go in the same opening as one big fish, some will stop and block, others will return back the wrong way... Herding sheep is easier!)

I never tried Fusion 360 but many seem to use that. And for most stuff most solid modellers are very much alike.

Edit: My cure for 3D printing anxiety was DLP resin printing. That replaced result anxiety with chemical smells and what not. I've been banned from use in the house! 

[Grant Lamontagne]

My machine uses only PLA and I don't find it has a smell, at least not one that I notice.

This isn't actually a 3DC since I don't often carry plants with me, but this was my most intense build to date- the software estimated it would take 14 hours to print, but in the end it worked out to just over 22 hours, probably due to all the supports.  I don't know that the supports were 100% necessary, but I included them anyway.  I figured with such a heavy build I didn't want to take any chances. 

Here is the original file:  https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2049003

Unfortunately my machine isn't that big, so I had to scale it down a bit.   

Still, my thought is to put cat grass or similar in it, which will make it look like it has a green mohawk.   

Def

[Vidar]

That is a long print. I've seen some jars with holes in the sides which are used for growing strawberries indoors. So maybe some strawberries out the eyes and nose for good measure?

Some years ago I made copies of old skeleton keys still used in some doors around here. The most work was measuring the skeleton part of the keys. They got printed as two halves that got glued together. That worked surprisingly well.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I am not in a hurry to do another print that long.  I find the longer they take the more my anxiety of a blob or spaghetti monster grows!   

Def

[AzteCypher]

Not sure if anyone's done one of these so I hope y'all don't mind me trying to contribute.

https://www.printables.com/model/824674-multitoolorg-logo

[Grant Lamontagne]

Very cool!

I will have to give it a shot!   

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Again, not a 3DC type print, but definitely another long one.  This one has been printing since 8pm last night, and it's currently around 9am now.  It's still going.   

And this is only half the print- there's still a base that needs to be printed, but my printer wasn't big enough to print both at the same time.   

And, this has been reduced to 80% of the original size, again because my printer is too small.

But, given the texture and color of the filament I have been using lately, how could I not print this?  My lack of faith would be disturbing.....

Any guesses? 

Def

[Vidar]

I guess Darth Wader for anything bust like and black...?

[FrenchEOD]

That's so cool 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I guess Darth Wader for anything bust like and black...?

The Force is strong with this one!

Def

[AzteCypher]

That looks real good!  I'm printing some dividers for my wife's bathroom drawers.  Basically nothing exciting.

[Grant Lamontagne]

As I understand it, that's what a 3D printer is for.  Using a $300 machine to make the odd $5 part!   

The base for Darth Vader went a lot faster.  I'll post a pic shortly, but first I have to file down the connection point as it doesn't quite fit.  That's what I get for scaling it down to fit my machine I guess!

Def

[Vidar]

As I understand it, that's what a 3D printer is for.  Using a $300 machine to make the odd $5 part!   

You forgot to include the $50 work

I used to have a prototype workshop for machinery, and every now and then someone "civilian" would drop in and ask to have some part made. The conversation usually went like this: "Surely you can make this? For some reason is silly expensive from the dealer or manufacturer". So many belived that we would be able to beat a manufacturer, who has specially made setups for mass manufacture and quality control, at the price for a single part. Totally disregarding work with replicating/ 3D CAD, the work setting up fixtures and machinery tools for the part, programming the machine(s), and then finishing and quality control...

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I had been looking at a machine a while back that I thought would (might) work for that kind of thing.  It was a 3D scanner and printer all in one.  I figured, put the old part in, scan it, pull it out and the machine prints out a duplicate.

But, since chances are the part you want to replicate is broken, that would involve some work on the computer to "repair" the part or the machine would just print another broken one!

Neat idea, but limited use, at least at this point I think. Still, it's getting us closer and closer to Star Trek replicators! 

Here is the finished print of Darth Vader.  It came out pretty good I think- now I just need to decide if I want to paint the switches on his chest or not.

Def

[AzteCypher]

That looks pretty good!   

I've mostly used mine to print brackets for cables, drawer dividers, and party favors for the kids' birthdays.  My daughter wanted a dino themed party last year.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Those are great!

I'm trying not to print too many decorative type things as I have too much useless crap around the house already.  I'm trying to stick to useful things, but the color of this particular filament pretty much begged for a Darth Vader print.

Def

[Vidar]

Another victim of the dark force! It works in mysterious ways.