Sheet Metal Forming With 3D Printed Dies

January 9, 2025 by Maya Posch 16 Comments

Sheet metal is very easy to form, including the pressing in of intricate shapes with dies and a hydraulic press, but the dies themselves are slightly harder to come by. What if we could 3D print custom dies to stamp logos and more into sheet metal? This is the premise of a recent video by the Stick Shift Garage channel on YouTube in which dies are printed in PLA+ (solid infill) and used to stamp 1 and 2 mm thick sheet metal with the channel’s logo.

As can be observed in the video, the results aren’t bad at all after a couple of tweaks and adjustments to the pressure, but of course there is room for improvement. Some helpful commentators suggest improving the dies with properly rounded edges on the die’s shape and paying attention to K-factors and kin so as not to overstress or tear the sheet metal. In terms of die longevity, the PLA+ dies began to wear out after about a dozen tries but not the point of failure. Here other filament types might work even better, maybe even to the point of competing with a CNCed metal die.

Considering that this was a first attempt without a lot of pre-existing knowledge it went pretty well, and a future video was promised in which improvements will be shown off.

Continue reading “Sheet Metal Forming With 3D Printed Dies” →

Toner Transfer, But Not For PCBs

January 9, 2025 by Al Williams 16 Comments

It is old news that you can print PCB artwork on glossy paper and use a clothes iron to transfer the toner to a copper board, which will resist etchant. But [Squalius] shows us how to do a similar trick with 3D prints in a recent video, which you can see below.

The example used is a QR code, although you can use anything you can print in a mirror image. Of course, heat from a clothes iron isn’t going to be compatible with your 3D-printed plastic. The trick is to use some acrylic medium on the part, place the print face down, and apply more medium to the back of the paper.

Continue reading “Toner Transfer, But Not For PCBs” →

Dress Up Your 3D Prints With Toner-Transfer Labels

January 2, 2025 by Dan Maloney 25 Comments

We’ve always found the various methods for adding text and graphics to 3D prints somewhat underwhelming. Embossed or debossed characters are fuzzy, at best, and multi-color printers always seem to bleed one color into the next. Still, the need for labels and logos is common enough that it’s worth exploring other methods, such as this easy toner transfer trick.

Home PCB makers will probably find the method [Squalius] describes in the video below very familiar, and with good reason. We’ve seen toner transfer used to mask PCBs before etching, and the basic process here is very similar. It starts with printing the desired graphics on regular paper using a laser printer; don’t forget to mirror the print. The printed surface is scuffed up a bit, carefully cleaned, and coated with a thick layer of liquid acrylic medium, of the kind used in paint pouring. The mirrored print is carefully laid on the acrylic, toner-side down, and more medium is brushed on the back of the paper. After the print dries, the paper is removed with a little water and some gentle friction, leaving the toner behind. A coat of polyurethane protects the artwork reasonably well.

[Squalius] has tested the method with PLA and PETG and reports good results. The text is clear and sharp, and even fine text and dithered graphics look pretty good. Durability could be better, and [Squalius] is looking for alternative products that might work better for high-wear applications. It looks like it works best on lightly textured surfaces, too, as opposed to surfaces with layer lines. We’d love to see if color laser prints work, too; [Squalius] says that’s in the works, and we’ve seen examples before that are reason for optimism.

Continue reading “Dress Up Your 3D Prints With Toner-Transfer Labels” →

An animated GIF of Engineer Bo's Precision Bluetooth Scroll Wheel wirelessly, and effortlessly scrolling down the Hack A Day blog with a single finger

Doomscroll Precisely, And Wirelessly

December 31, 2024 by Michael Shaub 18 Comments

Around here, we love it when someone identifies a need and creates their own solution. In this case, [Engineer Bo] was tired of endless and imprecise scrolling with a mouse wheel. No off-the-shelf solutions were found, and other DIY projects either just used hacked mice scroll wheels, customer electronics with low-res hardware encoders, or featured high-res encoders that were down-sampled to low-resolution. A custom build was clearly required.

We loved seeing hacks along the whole process by [Engineer Bo], working with components on hand, pairing sensors to microcontrollers to HID settings, 3D printing forms to test ergonomics, and finishing the prototype device. When 3D printing, [Engineer Bo] inserted a pause after support material to allow drawing a layer of permanent marker ink that acts as a release agent that can later be cleaned with rubbing alcohol.

We also liked the detail of a single hole inside used to install each of the three screws that secure the knob to the base. While a chisel and UV-curing resin cleaned up some larger issues with the print, more finishing was required. For a project within a project, [Engineer Bo] then threw together a mini lathe with 3D printed and RC parts to make sanding easy.

Scroll down with your clunky device to see the video that illustrates the precision with a graphic of a 0.09° rotation and is filled with hacky nuggets. See how the electronics were selected and the circuit designed and programmed, the use of PCBWay’s CNC machining in addition to board assembly services, and how to deal with bearings that spin too freely. [Engineer Bo] teases that a future version might use a larger bearing for less wobble and an anti-slip coating on the base. Will the board files and 3D models be released, too? Will these be sold as finished products or kits? Will those unused LED drivers be utilized in an upcoming version? We can’t wait to see what’s next for this project.

Continue reading “Doomscroll Precisely, And Wirelessly” →

Full Color 3D Printing With PolyDye And Existing Inkjet Cartridges

December 28, 2024 by Maya Posch 35 Comments

The PolyDye system installed on an Elegoo Neptune 2 printer. (Credit: Teaching Tech, YouTube)

Being able to 3D print FDM objects in more than one color is a feature that is rapidly rising in popularity, assisted by various multi-filament systems that allow the printer to swap between differently colored filaments on the fly. Naturally, this has the disadvantage of being limited in the number of colors, as well as wasting a lot of filament with a wipe tower and filament ‘poop’. What if you could print color on the object instead? That’s basically what the community-made PolyDye project does, which adds an inkjet cartridge to an existing FDM printer.

In the [Teaching Tech] video the PolyDye technology is demonstrated, which currently involves quite a few steps to get the colored 3D model from the 3D modelling program into both OrcaSlicer (with custom profile) and the inkjet printing instructions on the PolyDye SD card. After this the 3D object will be printed pretty much as normal, just with each layer getting a bit of an ink shower.

Although it could theoretically work with any FDM printer, currently it’s limited to Marlin-based firmware due to some prerequisites. The PolyDye hardware consists of a main board, daughter board, printed parts (including inkjet cartridge holder) and some wiring. A Beta Test unit is available for sale for $199, but you should be able to DIY it with the files that will be added to the GitHub project.

Even for a work-in-progress, the results are quite impressive, considering that it only uses off-the-shelf translucent filament and inkjet cartridges as consumables. With optimizations, it could give multi-filament printing a run for its money.

Continue reading “Full Color 3D Printing With PolyDye And Existing Inkjet Cartridges” →

Open Source Lemontron 3D Printer Is Ready To Build

December 26, 2024 by Tom Nardi 19 Comments

In this era of cheap turn-key machines, the idea of actually building your own desktop 3D printer might seem odd to some. But if you’re looking for a challenge, and want to end up with a printer that legitimately sets itself apart from what they’re stocking on Amazon these days, then take a look at the Lemontron.

We’ve been keeping tabs on the development of this open source 3D printer for some time now, and just before Christmas, the files finally were released for anyone who wants to try putting one together themselves. There’s currently no formal kit available, but once you’ve printed out all the parts, there’s a very nice bill of materials you can find on the website which will tell you everything you need to complete the assembly — and critically — where you can get it.

Continue reading “Open Source Lemontron 3D Printer Is Ready To Build” →

Camera Slider Uses Repositionable Rail To Do Rotational Moves

December 23, 2024 by Lewin Day 2 Comments

You can buy motorized camera sliders off-the-shelf, but they’re pretty costly. Alternatively, you can make one yourself, and it’s not even that hard if you’re kitted out with a 3D printer. [Creative 3D Printing] did just that with a nifty design that adds rotation into the mix. Check it out in the video below.

Why should a camera get all the fun? Try your phone.

The basic slider is built out of 3D-printed components and some good old aluminum extrusion. A small 12-volt motor trucks the camera cart back and forth using a leadscrew. It’s torquey enough and slow enough that there isn’t much need for more advanced control—the motor just does the job. There’s also a limit switch set up to trigger a neat auto-reverse function.

The neat part, though, is the rotational mechanism. A smooth steel rod is attached to the slider’s housing, which can be set up in a straight line or aligned diagonally if desired. In the latter case, it rotates the mounting on the camera cart via a crank, panning the camera as it moves along the slider’s trajectory.

It’s a mechanically sophisticated design and quite unlike most of the camera sliders we feature around these parts.

Continue reading “Camera Slider Uses Repositionable Rail To Do Rotational Moves” →