Thinking about getting into 3D printing?

digitalscream

Shark_Eyes said:

digitalscream said:

Shark_Eyes said:

This is great. Such an obvious use for a 3D printer.

Indeed. I'm also trying to come up with a design for pedalboards - I've got a couple of designs, one of which requires the user to add the wooden slats themselves, and another which is 100% printed (with threaded rods for strength). Trouble is, the bill of materials for the latter is significantly higher, and would be difficult to just give away. On the other hand, the just-add-wood option lets the user decide the size of the board themselves, which may actually be an advantage.

There was someone at a synth festival that did 3D printed eurorack cases which they then added rails to, but I wondered if just creating 'end pieces' like your idea would be better. Especially if you could also create a variation which could act as a middle slot.

Something like this: https://i.imgur.com/I8fY7jK.png

Please excuse the crappy tinker cad concept.

Yep, that's the kind of thing I've got in mind. I'm working on a way to ensure that they're strongly attached in all three places, as well as ensuring rigidity for the overall structure (there's the "twisting problem" to deal with as well). I'll probably build up a couple to demo them, one with pedals and one without.

I'd also like to address cable management in some way, too - it'd be really nice if there was some form of cable routing in the printed parts to hide some of the mess away, even if it's just parts that slot in somewhere. I'm trying to avoid glue, so a snug fit would be nice - part of the design is that it should be possible to replace the slats and other parts as the board layout changes (eg the inevitable "I want another pedal, but now I have to budget for another board as well" situation).

I have this annoying voice in the back of my mind that says, "Just because they're freebies, doesn't mean you shouldn't put enough thought into it that it's as good as it can be". I suspect my weekend will be spent prototyping.

Shark_Eyes

digitalscream said:

Yep, that's the kind of thing I've got in mind. I'm working on a way to ensure that they're strongly attached in all three places, as well as ensuring rigidity for the overall structure (there's the "twisting problem" to deal with as well). I'll probably build up a couple to demo them, one with pedals and one without.

I'd also like to address cable management in some way, too - it'd be really nice if there was some form of cable routing in the printed parts to hide some of the mess away, even if it's just parts that slot in somewhere. I'm trying to avoid glue, so a snug fit would be nice - part of the design is that it should be possible to replace the slats and other parts as the board layout changes (eg the inevitable "I want another pedal, but now I have to budget for another board as well" situation).

I have this annoying voice in the back of my mind that says, "Just because they're freebies, doesn't mean you shouldn't put enough thought into it that it's as good as it can be". I suspect my weekend will be spent prototyping.

I wonder if you could print a back piece that slots together with the end pieces and provides clips and other holding functions it does however limit custom lengths.

A super simple solution would be to design a clip for the wood that slips onto it, but that does rely on the print being able to take the weight and remain small enough.

https://i.imgur.com/ceMdRrb.png ;

I did try and think about a way to do a true modular board that would only require end pieces and user supplied wood, but couldn't also get this to be slanted. I guess it would be possible to do flat sections of differing heights that can clip together or be screwed together, or one flat and one raised and slightly slanted.

I'm interested in what you come up with!

Roland

There’s a danger here in looking for a 100% printed solution. For example : Cables can held in place with cable ties or Velcro strips which wrap around the wooden slats.

digitalscream

Roland said:

There’s a danger here in looking for a 100% printed solution. For example : Cables can held in place with cable ties or Velcro strips which wrap around the wooden slats.

Actually, it occurred to me that I can use a scaled-down version of the cable tidies I made for my desk, and they can screw into the bottom of the slats. The slats are going to be 12mm thick, so 8mm self-tapping screws will do the job - I can easily absorb the cost of that.

There will be some drilling involved in the overall construction (pilot holes for the screws that attach the slats to the end and middle pieces), so I'll probably print a jig for that too, to save people messing up the final pieces.

Roland

Can you incorporate pilot holes and countersink depressions into the design?

digitalscream

Roland said:

Can you incorporate pilot holes and countersink depressions into the design?

The drill will only be required for the wood - the corresponding holes and countersinks will already be in the printed parts (hence the jig, to make sure the user's efforts line up properly).

roberty

The neck rest looks ace. Great idea @digitalscream ;

Btrcu

I've been reading this thread with great interest as I know absolutely nothing about 3D printing but my 12 yo is considering getting one with his Christmas money.

As beginners (as I may well have a go myself) what would the experienced members recommend please?. The Elegoo Neptune 4 and Creality Ender 3 have been mentioned here (towards the lower end of the price bracket) and I've also previously looked at the Bambu A1 mini and Ender-3 Max NEO.

Priority (aside from the actual printing) would be reliability so as to keep his interest. It's likely to be kept in a converted loft (if that is relevant).

Thanks

digitalscream

Btrcu said:

I've been reading this thread with great interest as I know absolutely nothing about 3D printing but my 12 yo is considering getting one with his Christmas money.

As beginners (as I may well have a go myself) what would the experienced members recommend please?. The Elegoo Neptune 4 and Creality Ender 3 have been mentioned here (towards the lower end of the price bracket) and I've also previously looked at the Bambu A1 mini and Ender-3 Max NEO.

Priority (aside from the actual printing) would be reliability so as to keep his interest. It's likely to be kept in a converted loft (if that is relevant).

Thanks

In your position, and you really want just a bed-slinger rather than spending £500+ for a Core-XY, I'd get the A1 or A1 Mini - if you need something reliable, then Bambu just can't be beaten as far as I'm concerned...they really do just work.

I definitely wouldn't bother with the AMS, though. At least, not for the first printer.

Btrcu

digitalscream said:

Btrcu said:

I've been reading this thread with great interest as I know absolutely nothing about 3D printing but my 12 yo is considering getting one with his Christmas money.

As beginners (as I may well have a go myself) what would the experienced members recommend please?. The Elegoo Neptune 4 and Creality Ender 3 have been mentioned here (towards the lower end of the price bracket) and I've also previously looked at the Bambu A1 mini and Ender-3 Max NEO.

Priority (aside from the actual printing) would be reliability so as to keep his interest. It's likely to be kept in a converted loft (if that is relevant).

Thanks

In your position, and you really want just a bed-slinger rather than spending £500+ for a Core-XY, I'd get the A1 or A1 Mini - if you need something reliable, then Bambu just can't be beaten as far as I'm concerned...they really do just work.

I definitely wouldn't bother with the AMS, though. At least, not for the first printer.

Thanks. Have opted for the standard A1 mini.

digitalscream

@Shark_Eyes - the eventual design for the pedalboard wasn't too dissimilar to your sketch. This is the end one:



And the middle:




The holes at the base are somewhat irritating, but you need them to be able to screw the slats on, without going in from the top - need to avoid that, because I'm using self-tapping screws to avoid the need for threaded inserts (need to keep costs down). That's not necessary on the ends, because the screws are braced both above and below the wood.

It's quite irritating that each board needs 30 screws (16 x 25mm for the ends, 6 x 16mm and 2 x 25mm for the middle, and 4 x 8mm for the cable management widgets) but unavoidable given that I don't think anybody wants their board falling apart at a gig.

Haven't nailed the power supply mounting yet, either. That may be an exercise left to the user.

Takes about 4 hours to print all three parts together, so if I get it right then I should be able to produce at least 40 by the show, which'll leave a bit more time for rest days and printing the ancillary bits (as well as potentially more neck rests).

Shark_Eyes

Ah it's good to see my idea wasn't totally harebrained. Looks like a sensible approach, the screws are a compromise I'd personally be happy with, especially since it will keep it much steadier than anything we could design and 3D print.

You should put it up on thingiverse (or wherever's good) I know a fair few people would be interested in giving it a go.

I'll have to come to the show so I can get my hands on one.

Currently designing the cheapest modular synth case I can that's also able to be created in a workshop. Trying to mix off the shelf hardware with 3D printed parts, but might end up just going off the shelf for ease of recreation.

Might change careers to product designer.

digitalscream

Shark_Eyes said:

Ah it's good to see my idea wasn't totally harebrained. Looks like a sensible approach, the screws are a compromise I'd personally be happy with, especially since it will keep it much steadier than anything we could design and 3D print.

You should put it up on thingiverse (or wherever's good) I know a fair few people would be interested in giving it a go.

I'll have to come to the show so I can get my hands on one.

Currently designing the cheapest modular synth case I can that's also able to be created in a workshop. Trying to mix off the shelf hardware with 3D printed parts, but might end up just going off the shelf for ease of recreation.

Might change careers to product designer.

Well, I'm gonna keep refining it before I make the STLs generally-available. However, in the spirit of open source, anybody who gets a board will also get the STLs on request With that said, since you were so close to my idea, I'll chuck 'em over to you so you can remix if you want.

Basically, the only things you need for this are some strip wood (45mm x 12mm, easily available from B&Q) and a drill for the pilot holes.

Shark_Eyes

@digitalscream That's very kind of you! It'd be a great learning experience to have a look at your work.

digitalscream

Shark_Eyes said:

@digitalscream That's very kind of you! It'd be a great learning experience to have a look at your work.

Don't get your hopes up, I'm no genius with this stuff. I still haven't got around to learning how to use Fusion 360 or Blender, so it's still all currently done in TinkerCAD.

digitalscream

Well, production of the pedalboard kits is in full swing...



(excuse the mess...)

I've tuned it about as far as I can so that I can print three kits per day, four at a push, without the printer keeping me awake when I go to bed.

I'm aiming to have 30 pedalboard kits to take to the show (I doubt we'll sell that many), so I should be finished by next Tuesday. Then I can print all the drill jigs and cable management bits, and I'll probably print up a bunch more neck rests.

Not to jinx it, but the P1S is an absolute workhorse - it just gets on with it, and doesn't seem to have any trouble running 12hrs/day.

digitalscream

Sooo...after printing out 30 pedalboard kits, I thought I'd try one with one of those patterned build plates just to see if they're any good.



Wow. They look great in the photo, but it really doesn't do it justice - far better in person. Only trouble is, I hear they tend to wear out a lot quicker than normal PEI sheets, which is a bummer.

Shark_Eyes

I've not seen these patterned plates before, but the output looks great. I'll have to do some research

paulnb57

On my Jared John Nicholls LPJr the way the soapbar is mounted to the carved top is laughable, the ends of the soapbar are proud of the the guitar top and although it doesnt affect playability, it looks bloody awful.
So I ordered a couple of fibreboard spacers, to try to fill the gap, not flexible enough, so I went on Thingiverse, downloaded a file and 3d printed a couple in PLA, an hour later job done…..

digitalscream

Quick PSA, for anyone who hasn't seen it - the Bambu A1 Mini is now down to £229 (without the multi-material stuff). The build plate is only 180mm x 180mm, but still...it's a ridiculously inexpensive way to get into it, at least now they've fixed the burn-down-your-house problem.

Standard-sized A1 is £369, which is still good value.

Of course, everyone knows that you'll end up with a P1S at some point, but at least this is a cheap way to dip your toe in the water.