Clear PLA Diffuses LEDs

February 20, 2023 by Al Williams 11 Comments

[Chuck] often prints up interesting 3D prints. But we enjoyed his enhancement to a cheap LED Christmas tree kit. The original kit was simply a few green PCBs in the shape of a tree. Cute, but not really something a non-nerd would appreciate. What [Chuck] did, though, is printed a clear PLA overcoat for it and it came out great. You can see how great in the video below.

You might think transparent PLA would be really clear, but because of the layers, it is more translucent than transparent. For an LED diffuser, though, it works great. There are a few things to consider when printing for this purpose. First, you’d think vase mode would be perfect for this, but he found out it didn’t work well — possibly due to something in the model, which was a download from Thingiverse.

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The underside of the rotational base of the Gen5X 3D printer. A belt connects a pulley on the bottom of the stage to a stepper motor on the right side. The carriage for the stage looks organic in nature and is printed in bright orange PLA. The stage can rotate within the carriage which is mounted on two stainless steel rods connected to teal mounting points on either side of the printer (ends of the X-axis).

5-Axis Printer Wants To Design Itself

February 14, 2023 by Navarre Bartz 41 Comments

RepRap 3D printers were designed with the ultimate goal of self-replicating machines. The generatively-designed Gen5X printer by [Ric Real] brings the design step of that process closer to reality.

While 5-axis printing is old hat in CNC land, it remains relatively rare in the world of additive manufacturing. Starting with “a set of primitives… and geometric relationships,” [Real] ran the system through multiple generations to arrive at its current design. Since this is a generative design, future variants could look different depending on which parameters you have the computer optimize.

The Gen5X uses the 5 Axis Slicer from DotX for slicing files and runs a RepRap Duet board with Duex expansion. Since the generative algorithm uses parametric inputs, it should be possible to to have a Gen5X generated based on the vitamins you may have already. With how fast AI is evolving, perhaps soon this printer will be able to completely design itself? For now, you’ll have to download the files and try it yourself.

If you want to see some more printers with more than 3-axes, check out the RotBot or Open5X.

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3D Printing Support Gets Down To Tacks

February 10, 2023 by Al Williams 9 Comments

If you use supports for FDM 3D printing, you might find that some designs are more amenable than others to automatically-generated supports. [Slant 3D] , for example, shows a cool-looking eagle with a downward-curved beak that comes to a point. Using traditional supports would allow the print to succeed, but didn’t allow the beak to form correctly. To combat this, he uses something called a “thumbtack” in the design. There are several flavors, as you can see in the video below, and it widens out the small part yet has a tiny contact with the actual part so you can easily remove it.

One of the thumbtacks looks more like a Hersey’s kiss to us. It makes sense. The point can touch the part to support and the fat base gives a nice target for the automatic support feature in your slicer to grab. There’s also a spherical base so you can rotate to odd angles. The final thumbtack looks like an alien spacecraft and provides multiple contact points.

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Brass Hardware Makes For Pretty Potentiometer Knobs

February 2, 2023 by Lewin Day 18 Comments

Knobs and switches can make or break the aesthetic and tactile appeal of a project. Fine hi-fi hardware goes hard on these details, while cheap knock-off guitar pedals often go the other way. If you’re looking for a unique, cheap, and compelling solution for potentiometer knobs, you might like to consider using converted brass hardware for the job.

The idea comes from [Kevin Jordan], who realized that some simple 3D printed parts would enable him to repurpose brass hardware for use with common split-shaft potentiometers. He grabbed a bunch of brass flare caps intended for use with gas piping, and got to work.

The result is the simple 3D printed cap converter. It has a threaded outer portion, which screws neatly inside a brass flare cap. Inside, it features a hole to mate to the potentiometer shaft. While this could be done with a spline, it also works with a simple hole since the plastic is soft enough to simply push the potentiometer shaft into.

The flare caps look great when pressed into service as knobs. [Kevin] uses them on a tennis racket guitar he built, and the brass knobs beautifully set off against the natural wood finishes of the build. If you’re looking for some unique adornments for your own projects, you might like to experiment with this concept yourself! Alternatively, you can try making your own knobs from scratch.

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You Can Help Build A Resin Printer Review Database

January 24, 2023 by Maya Posch 16 Comments

Picking the best resin (SLA) printer is not an easy task. Every large and small 3D printer manufacturer offers a range of models covering many features that are backed by an equally extensive range of customer support. Although review sites and user feedback on forums can help with making a decision, especially for beginners it can feel like just a wild guess. Even for advanced users, it is a chore to stay on top of all the goings-on within the world of resin printers. This is why [VOG] (VOGMan, formerly VegOilGuy) has started a resin printer review site that asks for feedback from the community.

In the video, [VOG] explains the goal behind the data gathering, how to use the form to submit experiences with a specific resin printer, as well as any communications with the customer support behind these printers. Ultimately this should result in a pretty solid, community-sourced data set that can be used to figure out trends, pin-point issues with specific printers and make statements about which printer manufacturer offers the best customer support.

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Ask Hackaday: Do Kids Need 3D Printers?

January 23, 2023 by Al Williams 72 Comments

Mattel holds a fond place in most people’s hearts as they made many of the toys we played with as kids. You might remember the Thingmaker, which was essentially an Easy Bake Oven with some goop and molds that let you make rubbery creatures. But back in 2016, Mattel had an aborted attempt to bring 3D printing to kids under the Thingmaker label. You can see a promo video of the device below. You might not have seen one in real life, though. The product was delayed and eventually canceled. Even so, we frequently see press releases for “kids printers” and we’ve been wondering, should this be a thing? Continue reading “Ask Hackaday: Do Kids Need 3D Printers?” →

Wear Your Fave Cassette Tapes As A Necklace With This 3D Printed Adapter

December 29, 2022 by Lewin Day 47 Comments

While packing merch for a recent gig, I realised I had the opportunity to do something a little fun. I’d released an album on tape, and spent a little extra to ensure the cassette itself was a thing of beauty. It deserved to be seen, rather than hidden away in a case on a shelf. I wanted to turn this piece of musical media into a necklace.

Of course, cassette tapes aren’t meant to be used in this way. Simply throwing a chain through the cassette would lead to tape reeling out everywhere. Thus, I fired up some CAD software and engineered a solution to do the job! Here’s how I built an adapter to turn any cassette tape into a cool necklace.

Find the design on Thingiverse, and more details below!

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