I’m wanting to get into 3d printing in order to make parts like belt gaurds rec enclosures and battery enclosures printedand assembled piece by piece for the larger enclosures. My question is what kind of material am I wanting to print with to make this kind of stuff that will be tough enough? I’ve heard of people making pulleys and such as well, do I want different material for different things? Tia
If you want the best get an e3d printer and Watercooled print head so you can print PEEK or PEKK
1 Like
While Tech is technically correct in the fact that PEEK and PEKK are probably the best plastics you can 3d print with a FDM type machine, you almost certainly won’t ever want to use them for the applications you mentioned. They are EXTREMELY, eye-wateringly expensive at 5-600+ us dollars per kilogram, and require an extremely high-end and expensive printer to even have a chance of actually being printed.
Moral of the story, technically correct is not always the best kind of correct. Try again bud.
For belt guards and enclosures, you will need high impact resistance and reasonable strength. Nylon fits the bill for this pretty well, and is only about 1/10 the cost of PEEK or PEKK.
You will still need a somewhat more capable printer than a stock Ender 3, preferably with direct-drive and/or double-gear extruder, a (preferably heated) enclosure, and an all-metal hot end capable of reaching at least 250-260c, as well as some kind of way to keep the filament dry, as nylon is hygroscopic and will absorb moisture out of the air, which ruins the print quality.
Nylon can’t be glued easily, as it’s quite slippery and chemically unreactive with most solvents and glues, so you’ll need to either be able to print your parts in one piece, or use mechanical means to connect sections together rather than glue.
PETG is also fairly tough and is quite a bit cheaper and easier to print than nylon, but it’s not nearly as impact-resistant so you would need to take that into account for your designs.
6 Likes
You’re definitely correct. Nylon is a saint in terms of strength and cost. I have 2 ender 3’s that print it just fine after building enclosures, new hot ends, and direct drives. I think I’m only $300-400 into them and they are fucking awesome.
4 Likes
if you want to print fast, get a delta. I’ve been loving my FLSUN Q5 this thing can go so fast.
1 Like
if you want to print fast, get a core xy*
5 Likes
You can print the enclosure from any material you want except maybe TPU and then just slap a layer of fiberglass on the outside. Works well and its loads stronger than any pure plastic enclosure.
4 Likes
Thnx that is basically 2hat I was thinking I’d need to do is make it into tongue and groove sections with bolt holes or something to assemble it together. I was thinking nylon would work, but I’ve never even seen a 3d printer, but since finishing my first diy build while knowing nothing and learning so much I’m pretty confident I can learn 3d printing with online resources. But as for the things like hot ends and such that I’ll need I did not know. So that is for that. I’ll have to do some more research into what I’ll need before I buy it. I was thinking of spending about 600 on a printer and 4 500 on add ons
1 Like
I’ll add that if you want to print fast or off the box get an Artillery printer (x1 or maybe x2 if it got updates?)
This machine = stupid fun and reliable I fucking love it.
30x30cm heated bed is cool. Many upgrades readily available when you’re ready to ask for more.
I don’t print past 245°c with it tho. Still got the stock hot end on it.
Knocking wood it is flawless in my experience!
Printed so far TPU PETG PLA PLA+ ASA (ah you need an enclosure for that last one it’s a real bitch to print)