3D printing is constantly saving my belongings when something goes wrong. It’s just about the handiest hobby around, and in this video I’ll share a bunch of functional prints, as well as show off some exciting new flexible filaments!
3D Printing
How a 3DBenchy can tell where your 3D prints need improvement
The 3DBenchy is a tremendously popular item to 3D print. In this video we look at why this is, as well as how to use it as a serious benchmarking tool to improve your 3D printers. We also touch on the #speedboatrace challenge, a competition to print 3DBenchy as fast as possible.
Experiments with Metal 3D Printing Using a Welder
To make metal 3D printing accessible, YouTuber Integza is experimenting with metal 3D printing with a welder.
3D printing has come a very long way in the past decade, particularly in the consumer market. But all consumer 3D printers produce plastic parts and metal 3D printing is out of the reach of hobbyists. Today’s metal 3D printers utilize the SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) process, in which a laser melts and fuses metallic powder. But SLS 3D printers are very expensive — often hundreds of thousands of dollars. If we’re lucky, more affordable options will hit the market in the future. In the mean time, YouTuber Integza, AKA Joel, is experimenting with metal 3D printing with a welder.
3D Printing Myths I used to believe…
In this video we’ll cover 3 common Myths and Misconceptions about 3D Printing! What misconceptions did you have about the technology when you started?
‘Hey Google, piss off the neighbors’ – A mad genius built a ‘TallyWhacker’ that noisily activates via Google Assistant command
Do you recall when you were a kid, and there was nothing quite so fascinating as an old-fashioned spring doorstop? You know, the kind that goes “sproi-oi-oi-oing” with any errant tap? A Reddit apartment dweller, having presumably endured one late-night Riverdance rehearsal too many, decided to weaponize this experience.
He attached said sproinger to an activation arm, mounted it to the ceiling, and powered it with an Arduino microcontroller to give it voice activation powers via Google Assistant. Now with the voice command “hey Google, turn on the TallyWhacker,” the arm bar rolls, the tally is thusly whacked, and the upstairs neighbor presumably begins drafting an email to the landlord. To add a bit more fun to the process, the arm bar will oscillate randomly for between five and thirty seconds.
3D Printed Joystick Using Spherical Flexure Joint
One of the many advancements brought about by 3D printing is the rapid development of compliant mechanisms and flexure joints. One such example is [jicerr]’s joystick, which uses a pair of spherical flexure joints recently developed by researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, See the videos after the break.
Both flexure joint designs make use of tetrahedron-shaped elements, allowing an object to pivot around a fixed point in space like a ball-and-socket joint. One of the joints, named Tetra 2, is perfect for printing on a standard FDM printer, and the 3D files were uploaded to Thingiverse by [Jelle_Rommers], one of the researchers. [jicerr] took the design and created a base to mount an HMC5883 3-axis magnetometer a short distance from the focal point, which senses the rotation of a small magnet at the focal point. An Arduino takes the output from the magnetometer, does the necessary calculation, and interfaces to a PC as a joystick. Demonstrates this by using it to rotate and pan the design in Solidworks. One thing to keep in mind with this design is that it needs a fixed base to prevent it from moving around. It should also be possible to integrate the design directly into the housing of a controller.
How to 3D Print Dimensionally Accurate Parts
I ran into a problem this week with a 3D-printed part that came out slightly too small and didn’t fit. This is a common problem with 3D printers. Today we’ll take a look at the problem, talk about what causes it and show how to solve it.
Hybrid Rocket Engine Combines Ceramic Aerospike with 3D Printed Fuel
[Integza] has worked hard over the last year, crafting a variety of types of rocket and jet engine, primarily using 3D printed parts. Due to the weaknesses of plastic, all of which conflict with the general material requirements for an engine that gets hot, he has had less thrust and more meltdowns than he would have liked. Undeterred, he presses on, now with a hybrid rocket aerospike design. The goal? Actually generating some thrust for once!
Maz_Baz’s RaspberryPi-Powered, 3D-Printed Cyberdeck Gives the Rebel Alliance Pathfinders a New Tool
3D-printed chassis, inspired by Star Wars aesthetics, houses an off-the-shelf Raspberry Pi touchscreen, Bluetooth keyboard, and USB battery.
Redditor Maz_Baz has built a Raspberry Pi-powered cyberdeck that any Star Wars fan would love to lug around, inspired by the aesthetics of the Rebel Alliance Pathfinders and near-completely 3D-printed.
“Pathfinders are the special forces troops of the Rebel Alliance,” Baz explains of the inspiration behind the design, “and I wanted to create something that one of their techs might lug into battle — Field Terminal — for quick hacks into Imperial systems or airstrike coordination. Or in my case, a tactical way to go from my desk to my couch.”
A Mini Bluetooth Dot Matrix Printer
This ATmega328P-powered device is like a tiny modern-day telegraph printer.
YouTuber Et Discover built a miniature printer that’s controlled by his phone over Bluetooth. The device uses a pen as the marking device and a micro servo and linkage system to move it back and forth. The small strip of paper is advanced by a 24BYJ-48 stepper motor, along with a ULN2003 driver, allowing for sequential control over pen placement.
What’s interesting from a mechanical standpoint is that the pen doesn’t descend to the paper to make each dot, but instead the rig employs an electromagnet to bounce the paper up to hit the pen. A neodymium magnet is embedded in the small printed platform that rises up to receive a dot, and a boost converter is used to produce 24 volts for actuation.