Advice wanted - Supports  

Happy to

Posted by: @reddawg

Mind sharing the STL/3MF?

Sure. It was just one of a series of test prints.

Rails

The types of railed used are semi standard - 1010 (1 inch) and 1515 (1.5 inch) T-slotted aluminum extrusions and galvanized steel Unistrut (ceiling mounts for warehouses).  Rollers are too heavy.  Each pound counts and two rollers will quickly add weight to make a rocket unstable.  

1010 extrusion

1515 Extrusion

Unistrut

Posted by: @reddawg

What are the specifications for these rails? Sources/vendors/links? Surely these rollers are available for simple purchase. (of course, that takes all the fun out of it.)

Great Idea!

That is a great idea!

Printed these yesterday before my first post to verify orientation.

They printed fine.

I think with the addition of a small paint brush and Acetone you'll have what you need.

Good Luck

Swiss_Cheese

RE:

Maybe a different extrusion? This shows parallel 20 x 45 extrusions used on a Shapeoko 2 desktop CNC router that has plastic (therefore light-weight) grooved rollers that are used many places on the assembly. I don't have a source link but they have to be available .

Settings

Filament whisperer you surely are!  Can you upload your 3MF?  I would like to see your settings.  

Posted by: @swiss_cheese

Printed these yesterday before my first post to verify orientation.

They printed fine.

 

I think with the addition of a small paint brush and Acetone you'll have what you need.

 

Good Luck

 

Swiss_Cheese

 

threaded version

@reddawg and @bobstro and the rest

Thanks.  I have some to a solution which I will follow up and post.  I had decent results with rotations but it was not ideal.  Each of you has helped me think outside the box.  Think about breaking it up was key.  I have combined some of what you suggested to make it work.  I have designed a threaded version that is broken up.  It was so simple that it did not occur to me.  

Confused

@cwbullet

Just to be clear, you asked for suggestions for supports. you stated that this was for your business, "for a paid customer". you did not post a .3mf , and then changed the scope of the request to print orientation only, after several offered to help with supports.

I was offering, based on your altered request, my suggestion as to orientation of the part for printing, and I only posted to show you that the orientation is valid and completely printable.

It is never my intention to do work for free for those who are professionals making money. My intention on this forum is that of education and I am willing to offer that in solidarity. Posting the adjusted .3mf that I did to get this printing properly would be to do your job for you.

I would have been willing to work towards helping you to learn how to use supports properly if you had shown a willingness to listen and go that route however you appeared to go 180 degrees the other direction.

So, instead I'll wish you luck in your endeavor, and I'll try to be more careful how I respond in the future.

Swiss_Cheese

Looking forward to seeing what you've come up with

Posted by: @cwbullet

[...] I have some to a solution which I will follow up and post.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I appreciate the fact that although you may be making a few cents on this one, you've been so willing to share with our community over the years. I'm always inspired by your missile battery model rocketry techniques.

 I had decent results with rotations but it was not ideal.  Each of you has helped me think outside the box.

In general, lower layer heights and wider extrusion widths will help with overhangs... to a point. Just remember you can go up to 200% of your nozzle width if you're using quality nozzles, and experiment. Adding a perimeter to three can also make a big difference.

 Think about breaking it up was key.  I have combined some of what you suggested to make it work.  I have designed a threaded version that is broken up.  It was so simple that it did not occur to me.  

I'm all for doing things in one print, but there are times when breaking a print up just makes sense. You can whisper and/or curse at a problem for so long, but at some point, breaking it up makes sense and may produce a superior result. If nothing else, the ability to print individual parts in varying rotations for print strength can be useful. Also, it'sa way to do poor-man's multicolor prints. I think mastering both the slicing/printing challenge and the design challenge is worth the effort.

RE: Soln

Posted by: @bobstro

Posted by: @cwbullet

[...] I have some to a solution which I will follow up and post.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I appreciate the fact that although you may be making a few cents on this one, you've been so willing to share with our community over the years. I'm always inspired by your missile battery model rocketry techniques.

 I had decent results with rotations but it was not ideal.  Each of you has helped me think outside the box.

In general, lower layer heights and wider extrusion widths will help with overhangs... to a point. Just remember you can go up to 200% of your nozzle width if you're using quality nozzles, and experiment. Adding a perimeter to three can also make a big difference.

 Think about breaking it up was key.  I have combined some of what you suggested to make it work.  I have designed a threaded version that is broken up.  It was so simple that it did not occur to me.  

I'm all for doing things in one print, but there are times when breaking a print up just makes sense. You can whisper and/or curse at a problem for so long, but at some point, breaking it up makes sense and may produce a superior result. If nothing else, the ability to print individual parts in varying rotations for print strength can be useful. Also, it'sa way to do poor-man's multicolor prints. I think mastering both the slicing/printing challenge and the design challenge is worth the effort.

 

Good stuff.  I will try an additional layer too.  I think cursing the printer is half the fun!  Then again, maybe I need to curse in Czech so the printer understands.  

I am out of town for a few days.  I am going to make apple butter on my family farm.  It is a nice break from COVID (job) and stress.  

A few more thoughts on multi-part designs for functional parts

I've been experimenting with multi-part prints for larger functional prints. A few more thoughts:

• A multi-part design allows not only for different colors but also different materials. This can be handy if particular features are needed for one part (extra stiffness for the center rod).
• The addition of threads also adds internal perimeters which can greatly strengthen a printed part, particularly when printed vertically. You get additional reinforcement without changes to the external part appearance.
• A multi-part design allows additions to the print before assembly. If desired, you could add a rubber ring or other treatment to that center piece. It also makes finishing (sanding, coating) simpler in some cases.

The ability to design your own prints to meet specific needs is one of the best things about 3D printing, IMO. The ready availability of good 3D design tools really opens up a lot of opportunities.

Acetone

Great points.  I might PC blend eventually.  The good news is that this type of design might avoid the need for an acetone bath.  

Posted by: @bobstro

I've been experimenting with multi-part prints for larger functional prints. A few more thoughts:

• A multi-part design allows not only for different colors but also different materials. This can be handy if particular features are needed for one part (extra stiffness for the center rod).
• The addition of threads also adds internal perimeters which can greatly strengthen a printed part, particularly when printed vertically. You get additional reinforcement without changes to the external part appearance.
• A multi-part design allows additions to the print before assembly. If desired, you could add a rubber ring or other treatment to that center piece. It also makes finishing (sanding, coating) simpler in some cases.

The ability to design your own prints to meet specific needs is one of the best things about 3D printing, IMO. The ready availability of good 3D design tools really opens up a lot of opportunities.