On 23/02/2017 17:10, jim wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.


Do you have to work that stuff whilst it's boiling hot? How?

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.

--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

There used to be some wonderful epoxy that did this kind of thing.Iyt was OK
at high temps but I found that over time it tended to shrink and knobs fell
off or the grip on the spindle stopped.

Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"GB" wrote in message
news
On 23/02/2017 17:10, jim wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.


Do you have to work that stuff whilst it's boiling hot? How?

GB Wrote in message:
On 23/02/2017 17:10, jim wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.


Do you have to work that stuff whilst it's boiling hot? How?



"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again. Directions of
use: 1. Prepare a container for the pellets - this can be a mug,
a bowl, etc. 2. Add pellets into container 3. Pour boiling water
into container 4. Wait for the pellets to become transparent 5.
Carefully remove from hot water, drain, and squeeze out water
trapped in beteween the pellets 6. Start moulding!"

I didn't use boiling water, just bloody hot :-)
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

"Brian Gaff" Wrote in message:
There used to be some wonderful epoxy that did this kind of thing.Iyt was OK
at high temps but I found that over time it tended to shrink and knobs fell
off or the grip on the spindle stopped.

Brian


We'll see :-)
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On 23/02/17 17:21, jim wrote:
GB Wrote in message:
On 23/02/2017 17:10, jim wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.


Do you have to work that stuff whilst it's boiling hot? How?



"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...


Directions of
use: 1. Prepare a container for the pellets - this can be a mug,
a bowl, etc. 2. Add pellets into container 3. Pour boiling water
into container 4. Wait for the pellets to become transparent 5.
Carefully remove from hot water, drain, and squeeze out water
trapped in beteween the pellets 6. Start moulding!"

I didn't use boiling water, just bloody hot :-)



--
Canada is all right really, though not for the whole weekend.

"Saki"

On 24/02/17 08:25, jim wrote:
The Natural Philosopher Wrote in message:
On 23/02/17 17:21, jim wrote:
GB Wrote in message:
On 23/02/2017 17:10, jim wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.


Do you have to work that stuff whilst it's boiling hot? How?



"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...


Yeah I hear it boils at 100deg C!

How hot do you have your shower?

Well current premises are equipped with a combi. so about 27C

I was talking about REAL hot water


--
"Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social
conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the
windows of my apartment. (I live on the twenty-first floor.) "

Alan Sokal

The Natural Philosopher Wrote in message:
On 23/02/17 17:21, jim wrote:
GB Wrote in message:
On 23/02/2017 17:10, jim wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.


Do you have to work that stuff whilst it's boiling hot? How?



"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...


Yeah I hear it boils at 100deg C!

How hot do you have your shower?

--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On Thu, 23 Feb 2017 17:10:26 +0000 (GMT+00:00), jim k wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.

Anything that works and lasts can be considered 'a result' I'd say.
;-)

Had the relative diameters had a slightly bigger I think I would have
3D printed a converter collar [1] and PLA is probably good for 150
DegC (it's extruded at 200 DegC).

That said, if these were splined (rather than with flats / D section)
I'm not sure you would get sufficient detail to print the splines
without going down to a very vine nozzle (currently .5mm).

A metal spindle would probably cut it's own into the inside of the
collar but the collar to plastic knob might need gluing (or melt
tacking) in to be sure.

You could print a complete new knob of course. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] For those interested in what it would take to design and print an
adaptor (and assuming you have access to a 3D printer of course), it
typically takes the following steps.

Open (free) Sketchup (Windows and Mac only I'm afraid), open a new
template and use the circle tool to draw a circle to the inner
diameter (spindle OD). Draw another circle over the first to the OD.
Select the inner circle and erase it. Use the drag tool to drag the
washer shape into a tube of your desired length (about 20 seconds so
far). 'Export STL' to filesystem.

Open RepetiorHost (free Win / Lin / Mac), load the .stl file and
'slice' the object to generate the .gcode file (another couple of
seconds). Hit print and watch while your adaptor appears in a few
minutes. ;-)

Yesterday I did very similar in that I designed and printed 30 off
very small (12 mm OD x 3mm thick) plastic 'feet' to screw underneath
our daughters large rabbit cage / run so it can stand just out of the
water where it sits on the concrete (hoping it will then wood will
last longer).

Cheers, T i m

On Friday, 24 February 2017 04:59:51 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...

62 C is about the temeprature of a cup of 'hot' tea.

I've used this.
https://www.rapidonline.com/major-br...-1000g-87-0093

one of a new generation of polymers with all the characteristics of a tough, machinable engineering material, yet fuses and becomes easily mouldable between 30°C and 62°C.

I used a hot air blower to heat it up.

The Natural Philosopher Wrote in message:
On 24/02/17 08:25, jim wrote:
The Natural Philosopher Wrote in message:
On 23/02/17 17:21, jim wrote:
GB Wrote in message:
On 23/02/2017 17:10, jim wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.


Do you have to work that stuff whilst it's boiling hot? How?



"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...


Yeah I hear it boils at 100deg C!

How hot do you have your shower?

Well current premises are equipped with a combi. so about 27C

I was talking about REAL hot water

That would be irrelevant then.
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

whisky-dave Wrote in message:
On Friday, 24 February 2017 04:59:51 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...

62 C is about the temeprature of a cup of 'hot' tea.

I've used this.
https://www.rapidonline.com/major-br...-1000g-87-0093

one of a new generation of polymers with all the characteristics of a tough, machinable engineering material, yet fuses and becomes easily mouldable between 30°C and 62°C.

I used a hot air blower to heat it up.

That would appear to be the same stuff.

--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

T i m Wrote in message:
On Thu, 23 Feb 2017 17:10:26 +0000 (GMT+00:00), jim k wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.

Anything that works and lasts can be considered 'a result' I'd say.
;-)

How long is "last"?

Had the relative diameters had a slightly bigger I think I would have
3D printed a converter collar [1] and PLA is probably good for 150
DegC (it's extruded at 200 DegC).

That said, if these were splined (rather than with flats / D section)
I'm not sure you would get sufficient detail to print the splines
without going down to a very vine nozzle (currently .5mm).

Splined (as per op).

A metal spindle would probably cut it's own into the inside of the
collar but the collar to plastic knob might need gluing (or melt
tacking) in to be sure.

It would need to be removable for the next time the valve fails...

You could print a complete new knob of course. ;-)

In chrome?

Interesting but sounds like a lot more work & kludge along the way?

Open (free) Sketchup (Windows and Mac only I'm afraid)

Eh? I run Sketchup on Ubuntu with Wine
;-)
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On Friday, 24 February 2017 12:08:13 UTC, jim wrote:
whisky-dave Wrote in message:
On Friday, 24 February 2017 04:59:51 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...

62 C is about the temeprature of a cup of 'hot' tea.

I've used this.
https://www.rapidonline.com/major-br...-1000g-87-0093

one of a new generation of polymers with all the characteristics of a tough, machinable engineering material, yet fuses and becomes easily mouldable between 30°C and 62°C.

I used a hot air blower to heat it up.

That would appear to be the same stuff.


So I wouldn't use it where the temperature is likely to exceed 30C

whisky-dave Wrote in message:
On Friday, 24 February 2017 12:08:13 UTC, jim wrote:
whisky-dave Wrote in message:
On Friday, 24 February 2017 04:59:51 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...

62 C is about the temeprature of a cup of 'hot' tea.

I've used this.
https://www.rapidonline.com/major-br...-1000g-87-0093

one of a new generation of polymers with all the characteristics of a tough, machinable engineering material, yet fuses and becomes easily mouldable between 30°C and 62°C.

I used a hot air blower to heat it up.

That would appear to be the same stuff.


So I wouldn't use it where the temperature is likely to exceed 30C



Maybe it's not the same stuff then :-)
Time will tell...

--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On Thu, 23 Feb 2017 17:14:39 +0000, GB
wrote:

Do you have to work that stuff whilst it's boiling hot? How?

http://remaponline.org.uk/remapedia/...tic-polymorph/

On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 09:28:50 -0000, T i m wrote:

On Thu, 23 Feb 2017 17:10:26 +0000 (GMT+00:00), jim k wrote:

bar shower developed a continuous drip from the 1/4 turn flow
valve. Got a tuit so pulled out the old to measure & get a
new.

Oh dear. No online source had the same spec. Nearest was very
close but the splined head of the spindle was 7.6mm, diameter of
my original dud was 9.8mm....

For 7 quid posted I ordered one yesterday & it arrived today (tap
magician, eBay).

So out with the polymorph

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017SA92O4

and ten minutes later I had moulded myself a bush to enable the
smaller replacement spindle to fit snugly & exactly into the the
shower control knob.

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.

Anything that works and lasts can be considered 'a result' I'd say.
;-)

Had the relative diameters had a slightly bigger I think I would have
3D printed a converter collar [1] and PLA is probably good for 150
DegC (it's extruded at 200 DegC).

That said, if these were splined (rather than with flats / D section)
I'm not sure you would get sufficient detail to print the splines
without going down to a very vine nozzle (currently .5mm).

A metal spindle would probably cut it's own into the inside of the
collar but the collar to plastic knob might need gluing (or melt
tacking) in to be sure.

You could print a complete new knob of course. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] For those interested in what it would take to design and print an
adaptor (and assuming you have access to a 3D printer of course), it
typically takes the following steps.

Open (free) Sketchup (Windows and Mac only I'm afraid), open a new
template and use the circle tool to draw a circle to the inner
diameter (spindle OD). Draw another circle over the first to the OD.
Select the inner circle and erase it. Use the drag tool to drag the
washer shape into a tube of your desired length (about 20 seconds so
far). 'Export STL' to filesystem.

Open RepetiorHost (free Win / Lin / Mac), load the .stl file and
'slice' the object to generate the .gcode file (another couple of
seconds). Hit print and watch while your adaptor appears in a few
minutes. ;-)

Yesterday I did very similar in that I designed and printed 30 off
very small (12 mm OD x 3mm thick) plastic 'feet' to screw underneath
our daughters large rabbit cage / run so it can stand just out of the
water where it sits on the concrete (hoping it will then wood will
last longer).

How much was your 3D printer, what model is it, and what are its limitations if any?

--
The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in aviation a
"Why is it doing that?", "Where the hell are we?", and "Oh ****!"

Peter Parry Wrote in message:
On Thu, 23 Feb 2017 17:14:39 +0000, GB
wrote:

Do you have to work that stuff whilst it's boiling hot? How?

http://remaponline.org.uk/remapedia/...tic-polymorph/


That's a nice link w pics.
Cheers
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On Friday, February 24, 2017 at 12:53:32 PM UTC, whisky-dave wrote:
On Friday, 24 February 2017 12:08:13 UTC, jim wrote:
whisky-dave Wrote in message:
On Friday, 24 February 2017 04:59:51 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...

62 C is about the temeprature of a cup of 'hot' tea.

I've used this.
https://www.rapidonline.com/major-br...-1000g-87-0093

one of a new generation of polymers with all the characteristics of a tough, machinable engineering material, yet fuses and becomes easily mouldable between 30°C and 62°C.

I used a hot air blower to heat it up.

That would appear to be the same stuff.


So I wouldn't use it where the temperature is likely to exceed 30C

Hmmm , usually Polymorph is PCL, Poly Capro Lactone with meting point of 62C

http://remaponline.org.uk/remapedia/...tic-polymorph/

an ebay vendor also offers a low temp version at 42C

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coolmorph-...-/201560479897

Never heard as low as 30C, standard polymorph certainly wont become soft in the hands.

PCL has very high impact strenght and can be used as press tooling.

On Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 8:43:54 PM UTC, Adam Aglionby wrote:
On Friday, February 24, 2017 at 12:53:32 PM UTC, whisky-dave wrote:
On Friday, 24 February 2017 12:08:13 UTC, jim wrote:
whisky-dave Wrote in message:
On Friday, 24 February 2017 04:59:51 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

"Polymorph plastic is a Nylon-like plastic that can be softened
in 62°C (140°F) and shaped by hand. Once set, it is extremely
strong - so if you're fixing something with it, it will last
forever. Plastic can be melted over and over again.

Shame that hot water can be over 62C...

62 C is about the temeprature of a cup of 'hot' tea.

I've used this.
https://www.rapidonline.com/major-br...-1000g-87-0093

one of a new generation of polymers with all the characteristics of a tough, machinable engineering material, yet fuses and becomes easily mouldable between 30°C and 62°C.

I used a hot air blower to heat it up.

That would appear to be the same stuff.


So I wouldn't use it where the temperature is likely to exceed 30C

Hmmm , usually Polymorph is PCL, Poly Capro Lactone with meting point of 62C

http://remaponline.org.uk/remapedia/...tic-polymorph/

an ebay vendor also offers a low temp version at 42C

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coolmorph-...-/201560479897

Never heard as low as 30C, standard polymorph certainly wont become soft in the hands.

PCL has very high impact strenght and can be used as press tooling.

er the other rep rap link

http://reprap.org/wiki/Polycaprolactone

On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 12:14:28 +0000 (GMT+00:00), jim k wrote:

snip

All back together & job done! Assuming the shower doesn't get
above 60deg all should be ok :-)

Result IMHO.

Anything that works and lasts can be considered 'a result' I'd say.
;-)

How long is "last"?

The same length as a piece of string I guess but for most people that
would be long enough that re-doing the job wouldn't be considered
worse than the alternatives?

Had the relative diameters had a slightly bigger I think I would have
3D printed a converter collar [1] and PLA is probably good for 150
DegC (it's extruded at 200 DegC).

That said, if these were splined (rather than with flats / D section)
I'm not sure you would get sufficient detail to print the splines
without going down to a very vine nozzle (currently .5mm).

Splined (as per op).

Yes, it's called 'thinking out loud'. ;-)

A metal spindle would probably cut it's own into the inside of the
collar but the collar to plastic knob might need gluing (or melt
tacking) in to be sure.

It would need to be removable for the next time the valve fails...

It would be though wouldn't it, the knob and insert pull off the metal
splined shaft, as per the original?

You could print a complete new knob of course. ;-)

In chrome?

It has to be chrome to function?

Interesting but sounds like a lot more work & kludge along the way?

To you I'm guessing. Do you have or have you used a 3D printer OOI?

Open (free) Sketchup (Windows and Mac only I'm afraid)

Eh? I run Sketchup on Ubuntu with Wine

I was talking of Officially supported OS's and weren't you the one
talking about kludges? ;-)

Sounds encouraging ... (not).

https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManag...sion&iId=34500

"Rating: Garbage

What works: Install

What does not: Running the program"

I guess that counts as a result in the Linux world weg (and you
started this remember). ;-)

Now if only someone could help me install Logview on Mint 18 (Mate) 32
bit I wouldn't have to run Windows 8 on my Acer netbook ... ;-(

Cheers, T i m

On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 22:30:53 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

snip

Yesterday I did very similar in that I designed and printed 30 off
very small (12 mm OD x 3mm thick) plastic 'feet' to screw underneath
our daughters large rabbit cage / run so it can stand just out of the
water where it sits on the concrete (hoping it will then wood will
last longer).

How much was your 3D printer,

It's not mine (yet) but my mate paid about £600 for the complete kit
about 18 months (possibly more) ago as the deluxe version with twin
extruders and .9 degree stepper motors.

what model is it,

It's a MendelMax 1 - 1.5 as I don't think any two d-i-y built printers
will be the same (that's part of the point / fun / benefit of them).

Something like this:

http://www.achatzmediaserver.com/sup...-introduction/

and what are its limitations if any?

The print volume can be a limit (200(x) x 200(y) x 150(z) mm) and the
cost, but that is partly the function of being a very good (rigid)
design.

Yesterday it ran one print job for nearly 7 hours. Today it printed
another 2 hr job and several shorter ones.

When my mate was looking into getting one he asked me for my advice
but as I hadn't dealt with one before, I did some research and came up
with the following points I understood to be worthy of note.

UK based kit supplier (for support and quick access to spares / addons
etc).

A very rigid frame.

All open source.

Reliable in use.

Good reviews.

His Mrs actually landed on the MendelMax and we still believe it to be
a good decision. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On Sat, 25 Feb 2017 22:54:17 -0000, T i m wrote:

On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 22:30:53 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

snip

Yesterday I did very similar in that I designed and printed 30 off
very small (12 mm OD x 3mm thick) plastic 'feet' to screw underneath
our daughters large rabbit cage / run so it can stand just out of the
water where it sits on the concrete (hoping it will then wood will
last longer).

How much was your 3D printer,

It's not mine (yet) but my mate paid about £600 for the complete kit
about 18 months (possibly more) ago as the deluxe version with twin
extruders and .9 degree stepper motors.

Not too costly then, and I assume they will have come down a bit by now.

what model is it,

It's a MendelMax 1 - 1.5 as I don't think any two d-i-y built printers
will be the same (that's part of the point / fun / benefit of them).

Something like this:

http://www.achatzmediaserver.com/sup...-introduction/

"Furthermore the printer can reproduce its own plastic parts." - oh now that's cool!

and what are its limitations if any?

The print volume can be a limit (200(x) x 200(y) x 150(z) mm) and the
cost, but that is partly the function of being a very good (rigid)
design.

Yesterday it ran one print job for nearly 7 hours. Today it printed
another 2 hr job and several shorter ones.

When my mate was looking into getting one he asked me for my advice
but as I hadn't dealt with one before, I did some research and came up
with the following points I understood to be worthy of note.

UK based kit supplier (for support and quick access to spares / addons
etc).

A very rigid frame.

All open source.

Reliable in use.

Good reviews.

His Mrs actually landed on the MendelMax and we still believe it to be
a good decision. ;-)

It sounds like fun, but I'm not sure I'd make enough use of it. What sort of things have you printed? I'm thinking replacements for broken parts on other things. Or you need an odd shape to form part of something you're building, and cutting wood/metal into that shape would be difficult. How strong is the material it prints?

--
The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese
-- Billy Wilson, Tough Guy, http://www.toughguy.co.uk

On Sat, 25 Feb 2017 23:38:57 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

snip

http://www.achatzmediaserver.com/sup...-introduction/

"Furthermore the printer can reproduce its own plastic parts." - oh now that's cool!

It is indeed (we have two sets ready and waiting for mates).

snip

His Mrs actually landed on the MendelMax and we still believe it to be
a good decision. ;-)

It sounds like fun,

It's fun, fascinating, productive and money and time saving. ;-)

but I'm not sure I'd make enough use of it.

I'd have to say it's been running nearly all the time (reasonably)
since we built it.

What sort of things have you printed?

Loads of cases for Arduino, Raspberry Pi and other projects.

Some round 1" diameter axle to square section chassis adaptors (for a
garden chipper re-work).

A mount to allow us to fit a flat wall PIR lantern to the external
wall / corner of a building.

Some mounts to carry trailer cover support poles (thanks to John Rumm
here).

A 'U' type hook / bracket to hang a strimmer on the wall.

Some plastic feet to raise some boarding off the floor in a garage to
stop stuff getting wet if rain gets in.

Some smaller plastic feet to raise a rabbit run off the ground
slightly to help keep the wooden frame aired.

Some PC case hard drive mount sliders.

4 large 'feet' to raise a sofa to make it easier for my Mum to get on
and off.

Numerous Logos and badges.

Shoulder strap mounts for a 5F torch (originals broke and identically
weak replacements were £10 each).

Makeup mirror stand.

Hamster water bottle holder.

Ornate Chinese Hand fans (printed directly onto paper).

Tools for undoing Vape parts without marking.

Holders for vape bottles and spares.

Ducting and fan holders for a clean cabinet.

PC 5-1/4" - 120mm cooling fan bay with front vent.

A 'Cyclops' 3D image scanner plastic parts.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:740357

Numerous drilling and marking templates.

Virtual goggles for smartphone.

Various cooling fan grilles.

Upgrades for the 3D printer.

And there are still loads more things in the pipeline (like a round to
square dinghy mast step foot and adaptor).

I'm thinking replacements for broken parts on other things.

Yup, if you can design it and fit it on the bed then pretty well
anything is doable. ;-) (The idea of dual extruders is you can use a
water soluble support filament to make it easier to print hollow
shapes). The printing software can automatically add easily removable
support material when printing long horizontal overhangs and bridges.

Or you need an odd shape to form part of something you're building, and cutting wood/metal into that shape would be difficult.

Whilst that makes it far more rewarding and there are many things I've
printed rather than fabricating or turning, you can also use it for
the plain and simple stuff, because it's cheap and easy to do.

How strong is the material it prints?

I'd say 'surprisingly, when you consider what and how light it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid

When we made the split ring shaped clamps that went round the 5D torch
(think Maglite) we were given the wrong diameter and they were printed
too small (easy to re-scale and re-print). Because the first ones were
of no use and about 10mm wide and 3mm thick (flexible enough to flex
and clamp round the torch with a bolt and inset nut), we let the torch
owner bend the unwanted ones to destruction. He was *very* surprised
just how much effort it took to both bend and finally break. It feels
like a reasonably resilient but also fairly stiff plastic?

You also have control to print them solid (100%) down to 5% (honeycomb
infill), depending on the requirement. For most things, 50% is a good
compromise between weight / material used and strength.

A 1kg roll of 1.75mm diameter filament (£10-20) will produce just
under 1kgs worth of objects as there is generally very little wastage
(other than design mistakes or printer hiccups etc).

Everyone who has seen it running will stop and watch it and is
fascinated to find out how it works (to varying degrees etc).

Nearly as much fun as watching a fish tank. ;-)

This is a fairly laid back overview of a MendelMax in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytxTRv9vAU8

In spite of having access to the printer for ~18 months now, the idea
that I can think of something I need / want in the morning and often
have it (or many identical copies) in my hand that afternoon (in one
of many colours) and without having to do much more than use a mouse,
is still pretty amazing. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 01:28:32 -0000, T i m wrote:

On Sat, 25 Feb 2017 23:38:57 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

snip

http://www.achatzmediaserver.com/sup...-introduction/

"Furthermore the printer can reproduce its own plastic parts." - oh now that's cool!

It is indeed (we have two sets ready and waiting for mates).

snip

His Mrs actually landed on the MendelMax and we still believe it to be
a good decision. ;-)

It sounds like fun,

It's fun, fascinating, productive and money and time saving. ;-)

but I'm not sure I'd make enough use of it.

I'd have to say it's been running nearly all the time (reasonably)
since we built it.

What sort of things have you printed?

Loads of cases for Arduino, Raspberry Pi and other projects.

Some round 1" diameter axle to square section chassis adaptors (for a
garden chipper re-work).

A mount to allow us to fit a flat wall PIR lantern to the external
wall / corner of a building.

Some mounts to carry trailer cover support poles (thanks to John Rumm
here).

A 'U' type hook / bracket to hang a strimmer on the wall.

Some plastic feet to raise some boarding off the floor in a garage to
stop stuff getting wet if rain gets in.

Some smaller plastic feet to raise a rabbit run off the ground
slightly to help keep the wooden frame aired.

Some PC case hard drive mount sliders.

4 large 'feet' to raise a sofa to make it easier for my Mum to get on
and off.

Numerous Logos and badges.

Shoulder strap mounts for a 5F torch (originals broke and identically
weak replacements were £10 each).

Makeup mirror stand.

Hamster water bottle holder.

Ornate Chinese Hand fans (printed directly onto paper).

Tools for undoing Vape parts without marking.

Holders for vape bottles and spares.

Ducting and fan holders for a clean cabinet.

PC 5-1/4" - 120mm cooling fan bay with front vent.

A 'Cyclops' 3D image scanner plastic parts.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:740357

Numerous drilling and marking templates.

Virtual goggles for smartphone.

Various cooling fan grilles.

Upgrades for the 3D printer.

And there are still loads more things in the pipeline (like a round to
square dinghy mast step foot and adaptor).

I'm thinking replacements for broken parts on other things.

Yup, if you can design it and fit it on the bed then pretty well
anything is doable. ;-) (The idea of dual extruders is you can use a
water soluble support filament to make it easier to print hollow
shapes). The printing software can automatically add easily removable
support material when printing long horizontal overhangs and bridges.

Or you need an odd shape to form part of something you're building, and cutting wood/metal into that shape would be difficult.

Whilst that makes it far more rewarding and there are many things I've
printed rather than fabricating or turning, you can also use it for
the plain and simple stuff, because it's cheap and easy to do.

How strong is the material it prints?

I'd say 'surprisingly, when you consider what and how light it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid

When we made the split ring shaped clamps that went round the 5D torch
(think Maglite) we were given the wrong diameter and they were printed
too small (easy to re-scale and re-print). Because the first ones were
of no use and about 10mm wide and 3mm thick (flexible enough to flex
and clamp round the torch with a bolt and inset nut), we let the torch
owner bend the unwanted ones to destruction. He was *very* surprised
just how much effort it took to both bend and finally break. It feels
like a reasonably resilient but also fairly stiff plastic?

You also have control to print them solid (100%) down to 5% (honeycomb
infill), depending on the requirement. For most things, 50% is a good
compromise between weight / material used and strength.

A 1kg roll of 1.75mm diameter filament (£10-20) will produce just
under 1kgs worth of objects as there is generally very little wastage
(other than design mistakes or printer hiccups etc).

Everyone who has seen it running will stop and watch it and is
fascinated to find out how it works (to varying degrees etc).

Nearly as much fun as watching a fish tank. ;-)

This is a fairly laid back overview of a MendelMax in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytxTRv9vAU8

In spite of having access to the printer for ~18 months now, the idea
that I can think of something I need / want in the morning and often
have it (or many identical copies) in my hand that afternoon (in one
of many colours) and without having to do much more than use a mouse,
is still pretty amazing. ;-)

Thanks for all the info, I may just get one soon.

--
It is preferential to refrain from the utilization of sesquipedelian verbiage in the circumstance that your intellectualization can be expressed using comparatively simplistic lexicological entities.

On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 01:55:32 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

snip

In spite of having access to the printer for ~18 months now, the idea
that I can think of something I need / want in the morning and often
have it (or many identical copies) in my hand that afternoon (in one
of many colours) and without having to do much more than use a mouse,
is still pretty amazing. ;-)

Thanks for all the info,

No probs.

I may just get one soon.

Depending if you are talking a ready made solution or a d-i-y kit,
with a kit you can start with something like a Prusa and a few plastic
clamps (that you can buy) and then use that to print the bits you need
to build a better model (like the MendelMax).

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/3...el%20Prusa.jpg

It uses cheap threaded rod and you can get the electronics (Arduino
Mega + RAMPS (controller addon board) cheaply from eBay / China and
similar with the Nema 17 1.8 / .9 Deg stepper motors.

I use the Marlin firmware on my Arduino Mega:

http://marlinfw.org/

This give a good overview of the general process and options:

http://marlinfw.org/docs/basics/introduction.html

Cheers, T i m

On Sat, 25 Feb 2017 23:38:57 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

snip

What sort of things have you printed? I'm thinking replacements for broken parts on other things. Or you need an odd shape to form part of something you're building, and cutting wood/metal into that shape would be difficult.

I forgot to add the following to the list of things you could print
with it ... ;-)

https://www.thingiverse.com/

Cheers, T i m

How strong is the material it prints?

I'd say 'surprisingly, when you consider what and how light it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid

When we made the split ring shaped clamps that went round the 5D torch
(think Maglite) we were given the wrong diameter and they were printed
too small (easy to re-scale and re-print). Because the first ones were
of no use and about 10mm wide and 3mm thick (flexible enough to flex
and clamp round the torch with a bolt and inset nut), we let the torch
owner bend the unwanted ones to destruction. He was *very* surprised
just how much effort it took to both bend and finally break. It feels
like a reasonably resilient but also fairly stiff plastic?

Can also print with PET, ABS , Polyolefins ..range is expanding all the time

http://shop.3dfilaprint.com/


You also have control to print them solid (100%) down to 5% (honeycomb
infill), depending on the requirement. For most things, 50% is a good
compromise between weight / material used and strength.

Try more shells and less infill, lot of hollow objects will print fine with 0% infill, rarely go above 25% myself now.



A 1kg roll of 1.75mm diameter filament (£10-20) will produce just
under 1kgs worth of objects as there is generally very little wastage
(other than design mistakes or printer hiccups etc).

Everyone who has seen it running will stop and watch it and is
fascinated to find out how it works (to varying degrees etc).

Nearly as much fun as watching a fish tank. ;-)

Semi seriously thought about an app that downloads random items from Thingiverse and starts printing them , leaving people to guess what its printing.

Like watching potters wheel or something , is quite satisfying to watch ;-)


This is a fairly laid back overview of a MendelMax in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytxTRv9vAU8

In spite of having access to the printer for ~18 months now, the idea
that I can think of something I need / want in the morning and often
have it (or many identical copies) in my hand that afternoon (in one
of many colours) and without having to do much more than use a mouse,
is still pretty amazing. ;-)

Makes prtotyping a lot lot easier, physical shape in hand is lot easier to work out next stage than even best rendered graphics on screen.

Cheers, T i m

Have a Wanhao i3 , prints fine straight out of the box, paid for itself within a fortnight.

https://www.technologyoutlet.co.uk/c...ant=4410312453

Technology Outlet have a good reputation, other vendors abound.

On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 02:26:40 -0800 (PST), Adam Aglionby
wrote:



How strong is the material it prints?

I'd say 'surprisingly, when you consider what and how light it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid

When we made the split ring shaped clamps that went round the 5D torch
(think Maglite) we were given the wrong diameter and they were printed
too small (easy to re-scale and re-print). Because the first ones were
of no use and about 10mm wide and 3mm thick (flexible enough to flex
and clamp round the torch with a bolt and inset nut), we let the torch
owner bend the unwanted ones to destruction. He was *very* surprised
just how much effort it took to both bend and finally break. It feels
like a reasonably resilient but also fairly stiff plastic?

Can also print with PET, ABS , Polyolefins ..range is expanding all the time

Whilst I understand they can ... and we have a roll of ABS on the
shelf, we haven only ever used PLA so far.

http://shop.3dfilaprint.com/

Bookmarked (although we generally buy off eBay).


You also have control to print them solid (100%) down to 5% (honeycomb
infill), depending on the requirement. For most things, 50% is a good
compromise between weight / material used and strength.

Try more shells and less infill, lot of hollow objects will print fine with 0% infill, rarely go above 25% myself now.

Good tip. Many of the things we print are 'structural' and so often
need a reasonable density to give then any internal strength. Then you
have the things so small they end up 100% in any case. ;-)



A 1kg roll of 1.75mm diameter filament (£10-20) will produce just
under 1kgs worth of objects as there is generally very little wastage
(other than design mistakes or printer hiccups etc).

Everyone who has seen it running will stop and watch it and is
fascinated to find out how it works (to varying degrees etc).

Nearly as much fun as watching a fish tank. ;-)

Semi seriously thought about an app that downloads random items from Thingiverse and starts printing them , leaving people to guess what its printing.

Random. ;-)

Like watching potters wheel or something , is quite satisfying to watch ;-)

It is ... especially something smaller and naturally complex, rather
than just a big box etc.


This is a fairly laid back overview of a MendelMax in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytxTRv9vAU8

In spite of having access to the printer for ~18 months now, the idea
that I can think of something I need / want in the morning and often
have it (or many identical copies) in my hand that afternoon (in one
of many colours) and without having to do much more than use a mouse,
is still pretty amazing. ;-)

Makes prtotyping a lot lot easier, physical shape in hand is lot easier to work out next stage than even best rendered graphics on screen.

Yup.

Cheers, T i m

Have a Wanhao i3 , prints fine straight out of the box, paid for itself within a fortnight.

https://www.technologyoutlet.co.uk/c...ant=4410312453

Looks a good price for an OOTB solution and only showing how the
prices have been coming down.

I was watching something on Youtube where the guy was discussing a
Pruser i3 and said it couldn't really be called a Rep Rap machine
because few of the parts could be made by the machine itself.

Technology Outlet have a good reputation, other vendors abound.

Thanks. It's good to get a recommendation of / for a UK supplier.

The x-carriage on our MendelMax is printed in ABS (the only thing on
there that is) and was designed for dual (direct drive) extruders.
Because I believe they increase the mass of the x axis to above that
of the Y ... and we have never had both extruders in action, I think
I'm going to modify the carriage by adding an ally plate to:
re-position the single extruder in the middle, to distribute the
weight centrally over the carriage and create more of a heatsink for
the cold-end (rather than relying on the extruder body fan).

The ABS is good as it is more flexible than PLA and we use it with the
X-carriage just sitting on the X-rod bearings, making it very easy to
lift off and disconnect even two extruders for maintenance etc.

One of the issues with the original Prusa was the lack of rigidity in
the frame, especially in the Y plane (meaning if you moved it you
might have to re-calibrate it) but that Wanhao i3 looks pretty rigid.

It doesn't look quite so easy to work on (especially the x-carriage)
as can be seen here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZJyWjoseI8). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On 26/02/2017 02:30, T i m wrote:
On Sat, 25 Feb 2017 23:38:57 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

snip

What sort of things have you printed? I'm thinking replacements
for broken parts on other things. Or you need an odd shape to form
part of something you're building, and cutting wood/metal into that
shape would be difficult.

I forgot to add the following to the list of things you could print
with it ... ;-)

https://www.thingiverse.com/

Cheers, T i m



I have been printing n scale (1:148) ww1 tanks from there for a
fortnight now.

I have been giving them away to people at the railway club who are
modelling ww1 trains.

You can buy them in white metal but they are just too heavy.

On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 15:38:01 +0000, dennis@home
wrote:

On 26/02/2017 02:30, T i m wrote:
On Sat, 25 Feb 2017 23:38:57 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

snip

What sort of things have you printed? I'm thinking replacements
for broken parts on other things. Or you need an odd shape to form
part of something you're building, and cutting wood/metal into that
shape would be difficult.

I forgot to add the following to the list of things you could print
with it ... ;-)

https://www.thingiverse.com/


I have been printing n scale (1:148) ww1 tanks from there for a
fortnight now.

Cool. Fun innit. ;-)

I have been giving them away to people at the railway club who are
modelling ww1 trains.

And the beauty of having a 3D printer in that you can often (and often
easily) make things you can't get, or get easily or cheaply and cheap
enough to be able to give away. ;-)

You can buy them in white metal but they are just too heavy.

And if you wanted 'weight' in a plastic printed model you could print
it hollow and fill it with lead shot.

What printer do you have OOI?

Cheers, T i m

On 26/02/2017 16:58, T i m wrote:

And if you wanted 'weight' in a plastic printed model you could print
it hollow and fill it with lead shot.

Or print in a metal filed plastic.


What printer do you have OOI?

Cheers, T i m


A CTC dual.

On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 21:12:06 +0000, dennis@home
wrote:

On 26/02/2017 16:58, T i m wrote:

And if you wanted 'weight' in a plastic printed model you could print
it hollow and fill it with lead shot.

Or print in a metal filed plastic.

Have you done that?


What printer do you have OOI?


A CTC dual.

Ooo, a wooden one. ;-)

I guess they would be pretty rigid and the fact they are partly
enclosed (and easier to fully enclose) better for printing ABS and the
more temperature / cooling sensitive plastics?

What about noise / resonance though. The MendelMax is pretty quiet.

Cheers, T i m

On Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 1:43:16 PM UTC, T i m wrote:
On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 02:26:40 -0800 (PST), Adam Aglionby
wrote:


Whilst I understand they can ... and we have a roll of ABS on the
shelf, we haven only ever used PLA so far.

http://shop.3dfilaprint.com/

Bookmarked (although we generally buy off eBay).

TBH buy anywhere with best price ;-) Filaprint is reasonable for price, just used as an example of range of materials.




You also have control to print them solid (100%) down to 5% (honeycomb

https://www.technologyoutlet.co.uk/c...ant=4410312453

Looks a good price for an OOTB solution and only showing how the
prices have been coming down.

In line with UK DIY practice , what persuaded me on Wanhao is Aldi Australia have had them as the Coccoon Create before, with Aldi`s attitude to warranty reckoned wouldn`t be total junk.

Rigidity much improved by Z brace, printed brackets and 8mm threaded rod to create triangle at front of machine, like bracing on your Mendel.





I was watching something on Youtube where the guy was discussing a
Pruser i3 and said it couldn't really be called a Rep Rap machine
because few of the parts could be made by the machine itself.

Always wondered about the RepRap purists , what eaxctly were they going to print hot ends and steppers with ;-)

Josef Prusa is the guy who designed the i3 and open sourced it , hence lot of Chinese variations like Wanhao. Even so about 6 week wait for kit version of Prusa i3 , he has over 300 Prusa i3 running 24/7 making the parts for Prusa i3

http://www.prusa3d.com


Technology Outlet have a good reputation, other vendors abound.

Thanks. It's good to get a recommendation of / for a UK supplier.

The x-carriage on our MendelMax is printed in ABS (the only thing on
there that is) and was designed for dual (direct drive) extruders.
Because I believe they increase the mass of the x axis to above that
of the Y ... and we have never had both extruders in action, I think
I'm going to modify the carriage by adding an ally plate to:
re-position the single extruder in the middle, to distribute the
weight centrally over the carriage and create more of a heatsink for
the cold-end (rather than relying on the extruder body fan).

The ABS is good as it is more flexible than PLA and we use it with the
X-carriage just sitting on the X-rod bearings, making it very easy to
lift off and disconnect even two extruders for maintenance etc.

One of the issues with the original Prusa was the lack of rigidity in
the frame, especially in the Y plane (meaning if you moved it you
might have to re-calibrate it) but that Wanhao i3 looks pretty rigid.

It doesn't look quite so easy to work on (especially the x-carriage)
as can be seen here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZJyWjoseI8). ;-)

Thin alloy y carriage is a known issue with all the cheap i3s , replaced it with a dibond one :

http://tehnologika.net/Wanhao-duplic...-plate-reprap/

works a treat.


Cheers, T i m

On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 04:21:42 -0800 (PST), Adam Aglionby
wrote:

On Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 1:43:16 PM UTC, T i m wrote:
On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 02:26:40 -0800 (PST), Adam Aglionby
wrote:


Whilst I understand they can ... and we have a roll of ABS on the
shelf, we haven only ever used PLA so far.

http://shop.3dfilaprint.com/

Bookmarked (although we generally buy off eBay).

TBH buy anywhere with best price ;-)

Ah, ok. I mentioned that because I know some people go to a particular
supplier because they have had issues elsewhere. For example, we had
one roll of (admittedly cheap) PLA filament that would snap off at the
extruder if left overnight and another where the thickness was pretty
inconsistent (affecting the effective deposition rates).

Filaprint is reasonable for price,

Ok.

just used as an example of range of materials.

Understood. We have resisted trying other materials as we wanted to
learn to walk before we tried to run and even ABS (the second main
choice for material it seems) requires better thermal control during
the printing process.

We don't even have a fan on the extruder or bed and seem to be able to
print ok, not sure you could get away with that on my other materials
(but would be nice of you could). ;-)


You also have control to print them solid (100%) down to 5% (honeycomb

https://www.technologyoutlet.co.uk/c...ant=4410312453

Looks a good price for an OOTB solution and only showing how the
prices have been coming down.

In line with UK DIY practice , what persuaded me on Wanhao is Aldi Australia have had them as the Coccoon Create before, with Aldi`s attitude to warranty reckoned wouldn`t be total junk.

No, I saw that and agree 100%. That said and outside of warrantee, I
wondered if the controller electronics was unique to them, as one of
the key requirements of the printer we were looking for was that it
was 100% available in the general supply market (Arduino Mega / RAMPS,
generic motors, stock ram sections etc).

Rigidity much improved by Z brace, printed brackets and 8mm threaded rod to create triangle at front of machine, like bracing on your Mendel.

I see there are different versions of the Wanaho i3 machine and I
though the latest one had what looked like a pretty rigid (wide sheet
metal) link between the main frame verticals and the supports for the
Y axis?

I was watching something on Youtube where the guy was discussing a
Pruser i3 and said it couldn't really be called a Rep Rap machine
because few of the parts could be made by the machine itself.

Always wondered about the RepRap purists , what eaxctly were they going to print hot ends and steppers with ;-)

Hehe.

Josef Prusa is the guy who designed the i3 and open sourced it , hence lot of Chinese variations like Wanhao. Even so about 6 week wait for kit version of Prusa i3 , he has over 300 Prusa i3 running 24/7 making the parts for Prusa i3

http://www.prusa3d.com

This 3d printing thing really fits we me as both an interest and
solution. Before building the MendelMax I'd had some experience with
Arduinos so that was quite comfortable, same with general electronics,
electromagnetics and mechanics (Kodak / personal etc).

We were able to get on with the Marlin firmware ok and the first 20mm
test cube came out pretty close (19.97x ... etc) so proved all our
belt pulley / stepper motor step figures) were all ok.

I also quite enjoy a bit of fettling and modification / improvement
and that's something that is easy to do on something so open and
accessible as the MendelMax (and building it from a kit means you get
everything you need and have everything guaranteed at component
level). So, the last little mod I did was to design and print a pair
of pointers that clip over the hex nuts at the bottom of the Z axis
rods that should indicate that the Z drive rods are staying in sync
(like lorry wheel nut pointers). It's very reassuring to see them
point in exactly the same direction, every time the Z axis homes and
amazing to think they could at all when they are 0.9 Degree stepper
motors being driven with 16 sub steps by the electronics with no
mechanical synchronisation between them!

What is also lucky is that all the software we need runs on Windows so
we didn't have the extra hurdle (as it would often be for us,
non-Linux geeks) of that to deal with at the beginning. We have since
tried some of it on Linux and had varying levels of success (just for
the S&G's, not because we have needed to). We also have OctoPrint
running on a Raspberry Pi but again, not really used it as such.


snip

It doesn't look quite so easy to work on (especially the x-carriage)
as can be seen here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZJyWjoseI8). ;-)

Thin alloy y carriage is a known issue with all the cheap i3s , replaced it with a dibond one :

http://tehnologika.net/Wanhao-duplic...-plate-reprap/

works a treat.

At 243g, and with the addition of the heated bed and glass, doesn't it
end up adding quite a bit of inertia to it all?

The Y axis build table on ours is the same basic geometry as yours
with 3 bearings but no cutouts (it's just a square of probably 1.5mm
thick ally). In each corner is a upstanding bolt and on those bolts
support the fibreglass heated bed (with thumb wheel adjusters under
the bed and nylocks nuts above). Clipped to that (4 bulldog clips) is
the mirrored glass build surface.

The only issue I can say we have had with that is not running the bed
quite hot enough and experiencing some end / corner lifting on some
bigger objects.

Cheers, T i m


p.s. Seeing this closeup picture of the bed and the Y axis belt idler
with it's cable-tie 'reinforcement ( http://imgur.com/dawwInv ) makes
me realise even further how well designed the MendelMax is (the
equivalent bearing mount is both vernier tension adjustable and
supported on both sides).

https://cdn.thingiverse.com/renders/...w_featured.jpg

On 26/02/2017 23:05, T i m wrote:
On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 21:12:06 +0000, dennis@home
wrote:

On 26/02/2017 16:58, T i m wrote:

And if you wanted 'weight' in a plastic printed model you could print
it hollow and fill it with lead shot.

Or print in a metal filed plastic.

Have you done that?


What printer do you have OOI?


A CTC dual.

Ooo, a wooden one. ;-)

Yep.
laser cut plywood.
That is better than an acrylic one.


I guess they would be pretty rigid and the fact they are partly
enclosed (and easier to fully enclose) better for printing ABS and the
more temperature / cooling sensitive plastics?

Mine is enclosed now, cheap behind the radiator foil at the sides and a
2mm plastic front held on with magnets, all topped off with an asda
brand 30l storage box.


What about noise / resonance though. The MendelMax is pretty quiet.

The biggest noise is the stepper motors, that's worse when printing at
low speed.

I need to upgrade the firmware to sailfish at some time to get it to
print very fast as there are known bugs in the firmware that cause print
errors if you drive it too fast.

I also changed the heated bed thermistor to the correct one so it gets
to the right temp when you set it.


Cheers, T i m

On 27/02/2017 12:21, Adam Aglionby wrote:


Josef Prusa is the guy who designed the i3 and open sourced it ,
hence lot of Chinese variations like Wanhao. Even so about 6 week
wait for kit version of Prusa i3 , he has over 300 Prusa i3 running
24/7 making the parts for Prusa i3

All he needs is a quick run on an injection moulding machine and he will
have better, cheaper parts.

I could have printed a better extruder but it only cost £5 for an
injection moulded part set. It arrived next day too so it would have
taken nearly as long to print.

On 27/02/2017 14:09, T i m wrote:
On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 04:21:42 -0800 (PST), Adam Aglionby
wrote:

On Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 1:43:16 PM UTC, T i m wrote:
On Sun, 26 Feb 2017 02:26:40 -0800 (PST), Adam Aglionby
wrote:


Whilst I understand they can ... and we have a roll of ABS on
the shelf, we haven only ever used PLA so far.

http://shop.3dfilaprint.com/

Bookmarked (although we generally buy off eBay).

TBH buy anywhere with best price ;-)

Ah, ok. I mentioned that because I know some people go to a
particular supplier because they have had issues elsewhere. For
example, we had one roll of (admittedly cheap) PLA filament that
would snap off at the extruder if left overnight and another where
the thickness was pretty inconsistent (affecting the effective
deposition rates).

Filaprint is reasonable for price,

Ok.

just used as an example of range of materials.

Understood. We have resisted trying other materials as we wanted to
learn to walk before we tried to run and even ABS (the second main
choice for material it seems) requires better thermal control during
the printing process.

I have been printing in ABS.
You need a heated bed if you expect it to stick.
You need a heated chamber if you don't want it to warp.

For the model stuff I print the heated bed is enough and it does warm
the enclosed CTC.


We don't even have a fan on the extruder or bed and seem to be able
to print ok, not sure you could get away with that on my other
materials (but would be nice of you could). ;-)

You don't want a fan on ABS, I found that PLA was almost a molten blob
without a fan. It remained squishy for ages.

On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 15:23:41 +0000, dennis@home
wrote:

snip

I have been printing in ABS.

Cool.

You need a heated bed if you expect it to stick.

Got, check.

You need a heated chamber if you don't want it to warp.

Ah, though so.

For the model stuff I print the heated bed is enough and it does warm
the enclosed CTC.

So putting a bit of a cover / cubical round what we have could be good
enough, especially as an experiment?


We don't even have a fan on the extruder or bed and seem to be able
to print ok, not sure you could get away with that on my other
materials (but would be nice of you could). ;-)

You don't want a fan on ABS, I found that PLA was almost a molten blob
without a fan.

Oooerr? What temperature were you printing it at OOI. We have the bed
at about 60-65 DegC and the extruder at about 200-205?

It remained squishy for ages.

I'd say most (PLA) stuff is hard above the few layers that are heated
by the bed. In fact, pulling a couple of layers off the bed whilst hot
(Stanley knife blade to get an end up) has it nearly solidified before
you can put it down anywhere?

Ah, how hot is it where you run your printer ... ours is in a room
that's typically around 22 Deg?

Cheers, T i m

On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 15:12:00 +0000, dennis@home
wrote:

snip
A CTC dual.

Ooo, a wooden one. ;-)

Yep.
laser cut plywood.

Yeah, it looks pretty neat.

That is better than an acrylic one.

Thermal stability / flexibility?


I guess they would be pretty rigid and the fact they are partly
enclosed (and easier to fully enclose) better for printing ABS and the
more temperature / cooling sensitive plastics?

Mine is enclosed now, cheap behind the radiator foil at the sides and a
2mm plastic front held on with magnets, all topped off with an asda
brand 30l storage box.

Yeah, it doesn't have to be airtight as such just keep some
temperature in. So you manage the cabinet temperature somehow?


What about noise / resonance though. The MendelMax is pretty quiet.

The biggest noise is the stepper motors, that's worse when printing at
low speed.

Yeah, you do get some strange noises sometimes, like it's playing
music. ;-)

I need to upgrade the firmware to sailfish at some time to get it to
print very fast as there are known bugs in the firmware that cause print
errors if you drive it too fast.

What are you running atm on what hardware?

I also changed the heated bed thermistor to the correct one so it gets
to the right temp when you set it.

Ah, that helps. ;-)

Cheers, T i m