Your 3D parts experiences

[rwordenjr 1890]

Got some 3D parts for my falcon runner today to preserve the original ones. All the 3D parts cracked just installing them. Bad supplier ? Or is this how it is with 3D stuff ?

[taffer 948]

I've used shapeways for ampro (and others) parts, never had any issues, ampro has installing videos on YT which sometimes remind you to drill out certain holes before installation, which is a handy reminder

[Snappy1 966]

I have never had a problem with 3D printed parts, Astute bulkheads  etc

this Losi JRX2 has just been fitted with 3D printed copies of Lunsford racing rear trailing arms, the wheels are 3D printed also, in 2.2 inch size

 

 

 

[Hobgoblin 1059]

Not all 3d printed parts are created equal, to sum it up. 

Laser sintered nylon behaves a lot differently compared to filament extruded PLA. Even parts in the same material printed in different orientations will behave differently (more true for fdm)

What parts are you using?

[Badcrumble 4201]

I've been bashing my Hornet round the garden a fair bit, using AmPro front end parts from Shapeways - arms, hubs and upper arm mount. I have had flexing from the upper arm mount but that is to be expected as I'm using the thinner 'for show' version. It has all survived jumps and a couple of collision s with the Dual Hunter.

[pastimesteve 49]

I have not had the same luck as others with Shapeways and AMPRO parts. I've found them to be fragile even with mild brushed models. My Hornet's AMPRO a-arms broke and so did an upright. Maybe it's just me though...

[Mrowka 494]

I've used 3D printed gears and A-arms without incident. Not my first choice, but they have worked so far.

For that matter, I know guys who 3D printed prosthetic legs and whatnot, so I'm pretty sure that it is possible to 3D print fairly robust and durable objects.

[rwordenjr 1890]

On these parts, it cracked as soon as the thread of the screw was turned into the part. 

[Lee76 638]

1 hour ago, Mrowka said:

For that matter, I know guys who 3D printed prosthetic legs and whatnot, so I'm pretty sure that it is possible to 3D print fairly robust and durable objects

Absolutely, provided you pick the right material and printing or sintering process, the discrepancy in strength could be in the build direction, since the material properties are different depending on the direction in which you grow the part if you don’t build the part in the correct orientation you’ll lose most of the strength.  So for example a rod grown vertically but printed in layers would be pants, but align the filament to the rod axis and you get a totally different part. I think auto optimisation software probably best fits a part for economy of structure and minimising undercuts, this isn’t necessarily the right thing to do for the function of a part. It’s always best to let the printer know what the load paths are if they are real people and not machine processors!

There are some great printed materials which are almost uniform in properties regardless of orientation, but my guess is most of the ones that’ll be doing our parts will be entry level home variety machines... 

[Dakratfink 967]

7 hours ago, pastimesteve said:

I have not had the same luck as others with Shapeways and AMPRO parts. I've found them to be fragile even with mild brushed models. My Hornet's AMPRO a-arms broke and so did an upright. Maybe it's just me though...

He says on his videos the suspension arms are not for hard runners.

I am hoping to have better luck with my battery door/ transmission brace combo 

those don’t seem prone to breakage from what I’ve heard

 

[J@mes 2326]

I broke an A arm from Ampro Shapeways. It was the heavy duty one with the metal bar through for strength. It happened driving a CW-01 Unimog in to a Heavy Dump Truck and it snapped, totally my fault. The parts have proven to be robust and long lasting under normal use.