My attempt at 3D printing racks (1 Viewer)

Shew, this next test print is sure gonna take a while:

print time.JPG


:eek: :LOL: :laugh:

Sometimes those estimated print times are way off, and I'm hoping this is one of those times. The base of this print covers a lot of area, but it's only 2mm thick, and above that the print is quite thin and shouldn't take long. Once it gets above the base I hope that remaining print time drops a lot.
 
I better stop following this thread - I've come close to hitting the buy button on a 3d printer about 4 times this weekend.
Well, I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on a second printer and becoming a vendor on here so I can print and sell stuff, if you don't mind waiting a little longer... :tup:
 
Well, I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on a second printer and becoming a vendor on here so I can print and sell stuff, if you don't mind waiting a little longer... :tup:
I'm actually dreaming of all the other things I can use a 3d printer for - I have plenty of chip racks!
 
$170 for an Ender 3 on Woot right now! That's a good price. Not the lowest ever, but below average.
https://computers.woot.com/offers/sainsmart-x-creality-ender-3-3d-printer-23?ref=w_cnt_wp_0_45

You'd want to do 3-4 upgrades to this one right off the bat though, so plan on spending another $40-50 on top of the base package.
How much does filament/material cost? I'd really consider getting one, since I have a few customized racks I'd consider printing up.
 
How much does filament/material cost? I'd really consider getting one, since I have a few customized racks I'd consider printing up.
Check the local library. The one near me has a makers center. They have 2 3d printers, a small CNC machine, and lots of other stuff available to use for free.
 
$170 for an Ender 3 on Woot right now! That's a good price. Not the lowest ever, but below average.
https://computers.woot.com/offers/sainsmart-x-creality-ender-3-3d-printer-23?ref=w_cnt_wp_0_45

You'd want to do 3-4 upgrades to this one right off the bat though, so plan on spending another $40-50 on top of the base package.
Sold out! That was fast!

I've been doing some research and I was actually thinking about a Sidewinder X1. It seems to have a good balance of features without being horrendously expensive.
 
Check the local library. The one near me has a makers center. They have 2 3d printers, a small CNC machine, and lots of other stuff available to use for free.
That's a good idea. I was thinking that @One Eyed Dollar 's print tasks were taking over 18 hrs at times and not sure what the free use spaces would think of that. :confused
 
Sold out! That was fast!

I've been doing some research and I was actually thinking about a Sidewinder X1. It seems to have a good balance of features without being horrendously expensive.
I was looking at that one other night and reading reviews. The only thing that made me nervous was the CHEP review (great channel on youtube) where he talked about the possibility of the ribbon cables and connectors failing because they aren't designed for movement.
 
That's a good idea. I was thinking that @One Eyed Dollar 's print tasks were taking over 18 hrs at times and not sure what the free use spaces would think of that. :confused
At my library, you just submit what you want printed and they have people there who's job it is to print them. So they will get to it in order and you can then come back a few days later and pick it up.
 
I was looking at that one other night and reading reviews. The only thing that made me nervous was the CHEP review (great channel on youtube) where he talked about the possibility of the ribbon cables and connectors failing because they aren't designed for movement.
There seems to be some quality control issues (heat mat being unstuck, the bottom plate not being tightened fully etc) but that's gonna be the same for all Chinese 3D printers - some tweaking is expected. I like the 300x300x400 build volume - it'll let me do a Star Wars helmet in one piece.

I watched the CHEP review - he broke a piece due to operator error and he seems to be struggling to find something bad to say so went for the ribbon cable potential issue - there are ribbon cable stress relievers that you can print to mitigate this.
 
I have tweaked the card tray + dealer button model several times and replaced the models on this post and added some new photos:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/oeds-models-for-3d-printing-poker-stuff.50673/#post-967604

With the hole cutout in the bottom, the sidewalls flexed quite a bit if you squeezed it at the top. It was still surprisingly strong though - I tried to snap it by hand and couldn't. Even so, I made a new version with a pair of ribs on the bottom and they stiffened it up significantly. The ribs should fall right between the rows of chips below. Of course the flat bottom versions do not have these ribs, so they will still flex a bit. I adjusted some other dimensions too so that they stack better. The previous version was too tight to fit on top of my racks of ceramics.
 
I'm experimenting with multicolor printing to incorporate it into one of my rack projects. For a test I'm just making circles about the size of coasters. This one is printed with white->yellow->blue. I have to program it to pause at a certain height, change the filament color, then resume. Each color is 1mm thick. The result is pretty cool!

IMG_20200119_233233072.jpg
IMG_20200119_233431362.jpg
IMG_20200119_233502812.jpg
 
After seeing @One Eyed Dollar 's adventures, I've been researching 3D printers a lot and have come to the conclusion that the current home market printers are for tinkerers. The machines seem to need a lot of tweaking and optimization to get them to work well which if you're technically inclined, may be fine. Also, since the affordable ones are all coming from China, there's minimal after sales support so if something is wrong you may not get the rapid support you're used to. Having said that, there is a ton of information online about all the pitfalls and problems as well as solutions on how to fix them.

In conclusion, I'll probably get one but more as a toy to play with than something I'll be relying on for anything!
 
After seeing @One Eyed Dollar 's adventures, I've been researching 3D printers a lot and have come to the conclusion that the current home market printers are for tinkerers. The machines seem to need a lot of tweaking and optimization to get them to work well which if you're technically inclined, may be fine. Also, since the affordable ones are all coming from China, there's minimal after sales support so if something is wrong you may not get the rapid support you're used to. Having said that, there is a ton of information online about all the pitfalls and problems as well as solutions on how to fix them.

In conclusion, I'll probably get one but more as a toy to play with than something I'll be relying on for anything!

I gotta throw some love to OED here...

Knowing @One Eyed Dollar personally, I can confirm that 3D printers can be a giant pain in the ass. I've heard his trials and tribulations with his own printer for the last couple of years, and I know he's gone to great lengths, even purchasing aftermarket parts, to get his printer setup and working how he wants. He's been tweaking on his for a few years now, and he finally has it running how he wants.

That being said, if you are interested in some of these products, it's probably far easier (and cheaper) to just commission @One Eyed Dollar directly, than to try and duplicate the process yourself at home.
 

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