Really appreciate the input. They let you select a finish for the product so I went with “deburred glossy.” The parts should arrive in a few weeks. I’ll post some pictures.
You are right. We tested in office 3D printed striker for car side door latch and result was impressive. Just as You mentioned, probably some rework o will be needed. For example groove for keyway.
Please share result:) Here in EU it is still expensive to have metal 3D printed parts
Definitely will do.
It may not be as expensive as you think. Here is the site I’m using. They seem to work with a lot of big businesses. Another cool thing is they just need an STL file, no technical drawings or anything like that.
if it’s just a printing service, that’s all you really need.
3d printing, no matter the method, is still 3d printing, so unless there are specific features, additions, or the likes that require extra processing, all you need is an stl to be input into the slicer
(3mf is better than stl btw)
Good to know. I uploaded the motor pinions in 3mf and the driven gears in STL. Will be curious to see the difference in quality.
there is 0 difference in the end quality,
3mf just retains some information like dimensional units, more efficient with file size, is open source, add file watermarks, and isn’t outdated. unlike stl
Mind sharing your costs for the parts you ordered?
Not at all, but I kind of screwed up with the first order and had to put in a second.
First order was 10mm height motor pinions, I uploaded the wrong file and had to place a second order. Cost per unit goes down as you add more.
This second order is the correct height with titanium instead of stainless. I basically wasted $70.
Ok money bags
How did you decide on the metals you chose?
Fuck I wish. Dude I was getting quotes in the thousands locally, granted this was before making the files.
Price goes way down as you add more units too. We want to get 5 sets. If this wasn’t an experiment and I ordered everything at once it would be $920 USD including 3 day shipping for 10 driven gears in 17-4ph stainless and 10 pinions in titanium. Under $200 for each upgrade.
Googled the SLM method of production, read about the hardness and how each one handles shock load. Also specifically googled if each material is suitable for gear drives in industrial applications when 3d printed.
Somehow I’m always the new parts tester in our group so if they don’t explode on me we’ll be getting more.
The response from @Ac53n is giving me a little more confidence in these.
I’m just teasing. Hope it goes well, seems like a fun experiment
Got links to your sources? I’m always curious about stuff like this, and I may be following your footsteps with printed pinion gears at some point.
I didn’t save anything because it was a few hours of Google searches. I was focused on the HRC rating of each material 3d printed when compared to chromoly steel. Then went with the more specific searches on each material.
Couldn’t find anything saying that it shouldn’t work and that’s what I was looking for.
Hate to respond with “Google it” but that’s all I got at the moment. Maybe you’ll find something saying it’s a bad idea but I couldn’t.
Edit, here’s a quick screenshot. I googled “strength of slm printed titanium vs milled titanium”. Links next to each bullet point go into a lot of detail.
It’s going to be fun or very painful. Time will tell!
It always does!
Anyone making parts I recommend checking Fractory for quotes on lasercutting and cnc milling etc, I think it spreads machining over a couple different places sometimes in one order for the cost.
Shipping will be complicated depending on where you are, if anyone’s very desperate and it’s not hugely expensive or huge parts I can order and ship myself.