Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
@ Andy
The flange itself adds a lot of strength to the board. By the way, my next project is to print a back for my 5 X 7 Linhof Kardan Bi. I've lost track of my 5 x 7 to 4 x 5 reducing back so just for fun I thought I'd try to print one - I'd have to make it in two pieces due to the size. I have a couple of 4 x 5 Technika backs floating around here so all I need is the square plate and light trap.
Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
By the way I found some information that looks like the ECO-ABS starts to soften in the 60 - 65 C range so it should be OK for normal use - unless you live in Death Valley
Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
Good question, Peter. The short (and long) answer is that I don't know. Hygroscopicity is a known issue with Polylactic acid as is relative intolerance to extended exposure to high temperatures. (I live in Southern AZ so this is something of a practical concern.) It won't be long until I can test the parts - we usually have our 1st 100 degree day by mid-May. I'll soon know how well it retains its shape in the back of my car outdoors. I've measured temperatures in the car of 122 degrees when parked and maybe even a bit more anecdotally - I've heard of 130 -140 degrees in parked cars in Phoenix which tends to be a few degrees less "chilly" than Tucson.
The PLA I'm using ios called Eco-ABS so it's a modified PLA, but I haven't been able to find any specific information about how it differs from basic PLA. I do know that they set the temperature of the extruder to 230C for their Eco-ABS
Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
That's up in the PETG range-- so you'll probably be alright. I haven't had much issues with PLA and Florida humidity, but then again, I don't leave my prints outside as a rule. The filament, pre-printing, will absorb moisture, and this can cause problems with printing. The usual issue with PLA filament is it becomes highly brittle, and snaps while going through the printer's bowden tube (or before).
Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
Moisture is one thing we don't have to worry about too much in Tucson. Outside of a few weeks during Monsoon season in July/August it's pretty dry - often single digit dry.
Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
I've used AutoCad for many years but have very little experience with the 3D side of the package. I just checked and it will export to STL.
I've also never looked seriously into a 3D printer but have spent a lot of time mulling the possibility, especially with several cameras to restore.
So my question is: Is this a good package (AutoCad 3D) to use with a yet to purchase 3D printer?
Thank you.
Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
Any decent 3D CAD package is fine - once you have an STL (or other supported file type) you input it to the slicing software for your printer and it basically calculates the path for the extruder to follow on each plane that it has sliced the model into.
Doesn't have to be STL but I found that STL preserves the X Y Z orientation of the Rhino model. Some other formats seem to disagree about which direction is "up" and the model cones out rotated. Sort of a standard problem in the 3D software world - some packages assume Y is vertical and Z is in and out of the display, others think Z is vertical and Y is in and out of the display screen.I have the same problem when exporting Rhino models to Cinema 4D.
Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
Quote:
Originally Posted by
_Karl
I've used AutoCad for many years but have very little experience with the 3D side of the package. I just checked and it will export to STL.
I've also never looked seriously into a 3D printer but have spent a lot of time mulling the possibility, especially with several cameras to restore.
So my question is: Is this a good package (AutoCad 3D) to use with a yet to purchase 3D printer?
Thank you.
As a daily driver of 3D modeling for my day job as an engineer; the ones I like for free are onshape.com and fusion360. That being said, there are a ton of 3D modeling softwares and you just need to find the one that works for you. I'm ~$300 into a basic 3D printer, and I think it's amazing the tech is available so cheap!
Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
One question is how well does the software import STL files? I mentioned DesignSpark the other day-- I was able to load an STL file for a technika board, convert back to "solid", remove the hole, and create a new hole of a custom diameter fairly easily (once I knew how, about a minute), and export back to STL.
In blender, which will edit STL files, I'd have spent a considerable amount of time deleting the hole.
Re: Just 3D printed a technika board
I designed the model so that the part of the board inside the light trap is a separate file so I just have to "punch" holes for the lens and mounting screws into a copy of the separate part. Load the part, make x cylinders intersecting the part, select them, do a Boolean subtraction, and save. Takes a couple of minutes. The file is in Rhino native format so I save the "punched"version as both 3DM and STL files. I could reconvert the STL file, but just as easy to save bot file types IMHO. If I get lazy I'll write a script or something to do it.