3D Printed Relay Holder

swooshdave · Jun 27, 2016

Using these relays but they don't have any way to mount them. Not to worry when you can just print your own.

gortnipper · Jun 27, 2016

Ooh! I smell a cottage industry. How well do you think they will hold up to the vibes?

Burgs · Jun 28, 2016

That's pretty cool, I have toyed with buying a small unit for doing jobs like that but kept shying of it, but looking at what you are doing it might be okay.
First 3d printers I saw years ago were spitting out potato mash, they certainly have come along way.
It would be really good for the plastic fantastic Japanese bikes, especially the older ones where you cannot get the plastic parts anymore, it always seem s to be the little bits?

Best Regards
Burgs

grandpaul · Jun 28, 2016

swooshdave said:

That's cool.

I detect a bit of inconsistency in the layering, that can be caused by evironmental temperature fluctuations like being near an A/C vent or fan. You should try surrounding the printer with a large box, smallish opening in the top. Or, if it's an open type printer, tape some sheets of paper to the sides and maybe a bit of kitchen trash bag loosely on top to allow the media feed to move about without snagging. I did that to mine and it cured layer inconsistency.

Deets55 · Jun 28, 2016

Dave,
That's awesome. Did the printer come with the software to design the pieces or did you have to buy a CAD program?

Pete

gtsun · Jun 28, 2016

All I can say is "wow Swoosh"... So F'n cool... I would think due to the lightweight nature of the relays it will hold up very well.

swooshdave · Jun 28, 2016

gortnipper said:
Ooh! I smell a cottage industry. How well do you think they will hold up to the vibes?

The prototypes are done in a type of plastic called PLA which prints well but it's not very durable. While it melts at around 200˚C it starts to get soft at around 60˚C. Not something you want around an engine. I'll switch to a hybrid nylon material for the final print as this should be much more durable and withstand any vibes. The other key is to mount it as solidly as possible.

swooshdave · Jun 28, 2016

grandpaul said:
swooshdave said:

Click to expand...

That's cool.

I detect a bit of inconsistency in the layering, that can be caused by evironmental temperature fluctuations like being near an A/C vent or fan. You should try surrounding the printer with a large box, smallish opening in the top. Or, if it's an open type printer, tape some sheets of paper to the sides and maybe a bit of kitchen trash bag loosely on top to allow the media feed to move about without snagging. I did that to mine and it cured layer inconsistency.

That was due to me embedding some type into the model (trying to get fancy) and I think the slicer didn't like it. The PLA is really forgiving of temperature. Plus it was printed at a high speed.

swooshdave · Jun 28, 2016

Burgs said:
That's pretty cool, I have toyed with buying a small unit for doing jobs like that but kept shying of it, but looking at what you are doing it might be okay.
First 3d printers I saw years ago were spitting out potato mash, they certainly have come along way.
It would be really good for the plastic fantastic Japanese bikes, especially the older ones where you cannot get the plastic parts anymore, it always seem s to be the little bits?

Best Regards
Burgs

This latest printer is a mere $200 and that's what finally prompted me to jump. It's about as plug and play as they get. People have had great success with this little printer. I literally made sure the bed was level and started printing immediately.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=15365

swooshdave · Jun 28, 2016

Deets55 said:
Dave,
That's awesome. Did the printer come with the software to design the pieces or did you have to buy a CAD program?

Pete

There are bunch of free CAD programs nowadays. They range from simple to use (Tinkercad, which is what I used here) to very powerful CAD apps (like Fusion 360).

With Tinkercad I was able to whip up a model in just minutes, it's very intuitive. And it exports out to the printing app (also free).

Deets55 · Jun 28, 2016

swooshdave said:
Deets55 said:

Dave,
That's awesome. Did the printer come with the software to design the pieces or did you have to buy a CAD program?

Pete

Click to expand...

There are bunch of free CAD programs nowadays. They range from simple to use (Tinkercad, which is what I used here) to very powerful CAD apps (like Fusion 360).

With Tinkercad I was able to whip up a model in just minutes, it's very intuitive. And it exports out to the printing app (also free).

Thanks Dave. I have been eyeballing them since they first came out. I think I am going to pull the plug soon.
Pete

swooshdave · Jun 28, 2016

Deets55 said:
swooshdave said:

Deets55 said:

Dave,
That's awesome. Did the printer come with the software to design the pieces or did you have to buy a CAD program?

Pete

Click to expand...

There are bunch of free CAD programs nowadays. They range from simple to use (Tinkercad, which is what I used here) to very powerful CAD apps (like Fusion 360).

With Tinkercad I was able to whip up a model in just minutes, it's very intuitive. And it exports out to the printing app (also free).

Click to expand...

Thanks Dave. I have been eyeballing them since they first came out. I think I am going to pull the plug soon.
Pete

They don't print very well if you pull the plug. :mrgreen:

I made the jump and that worked better. 8)

Deets55 · Jun 28, 2016

They don't print very well if you pull the plug. :mrgreen:

Probably explains why my last printer didn't work

:roll:

maylar · Jun 28, 2016

I have access to these 2 bad boys where I work...

But I'd have to learn SolidWorks to print to them, so... it's easier to give a sketch to one of our Engineering interns and let him do it for practice.

Powerful contraptions, they are.

grandpaul · Jun 28, 2016

Mine can do up to 9" x 9" x 9"

Got a great deal on e-bay, saved over $500 from typical retail.

I haven't even attempted to play with the design software, although I'm a fair hand at AutoCAD which can be imported...

swooshdave · Jun 28, 2016

grandpaul said:
Mine can do up to 9" x 9" x 9"

Got a great deal on e-bay, saved over $500 from typical retail.

I haven't even attempted to play with the design software, although I'm a fair hand at AutoCAD which can be imported...

For most of the things we need for bikes I bet that Tinkercad will be more than sufficient. Give it a try!

swooshdave · Jun 28, 2016

maylar said:
I have access to these 2 bad boys where I work...

But I'd have to learn SolidWorks to print to them, so... it's easier to give a sketch to one of our Engineering interns and let him do it for practice.

Powerful contraptions, they are.

We have some stuff at work too. But I can't show you 8) and I don't want to bother anyone to get something printed. The beauty of having one at home is that you can rapidly prototype a piece during the design phase. For example I printed out several of the relay holders before coming to a final design.

kerinorton · Jun 28, 2016

You can buy ready made relay adapters which bolt to the ''frame'' and in which the wires are fitted. The rely terminals just plug into it, just like modern cars.

Dereck

swooshdave · Jun 28, 2016

kerinorton said:
You can buy ready made relay adapters which bolt to the ''frame'' and in which the wires are fitted. The rely terminals just plug into it, just like modern cars.

Dereck

You must be fun at parties. :roll:

gortnipper · Jun 29, 2016

swooshdave said:
kerinorton said:

You can buy ready made relay adapters which bolt to the ''frame'' and in which the wires are fitted. The rely terminals just plug into it, just like modern cars.

Dereck

Click to expand...

You must be fun at parties. :roll:

You should read the NOCNZ newsletter (better than the old NWNOC nl). I think he holds his own...

3D Printed Relay Holder

Similar threads