Ethan Gao

i'm ethan, just graduated high school. i build 3d printers and other hardware. this is where i'll be posting it.

@Shockwave_App Let me check it out, I'm assuming you're using amazon?

@ga0_lab I see carbon filliament for $25 per kilo, the same price as high end PLA. But I never 3d printed so you should probably listen to the experts in the comments.

The two bottom right gears’ D bore got stripped because the motor gets too hot. What material should I print it in instead?

@Karl_der_Knust I didn't even think of that. Does it have to be PA? this option is about 70 dollars a roll

@ga0_lab Carbon reinforced PA, do not use glass reinforced material for moving parts. The carbon abrasion will also improve lubrication, glass will do the opposite.

@10_X_eng @wasserstein_rao Thats a little pricey though. Might just tweak geometry instead

@ga0_lab @wasserstein_rao Printed Nylon also has heat creep problems, at least the PA 6 and PA 12 I have tried with. Prusa solves this with their PC-CF material in their printers. Probably lean on their engineering - they have been making 3d printed printers for longer than anyone else.

@10_X_eng @Aluminumovercst Actually that just gave me an idea. I could clamp a dedicated stepper motor metal pulley on the shaft and press fit into the actual gear profile.

@ga0_lab @Aluminumovercst He is saying to put a heat shield on the part by adding extra tolerance for the aluminum tape

@Shockwave_App out of my budget 😂

@ga0_lab Carbon fiber.

@ShadowlessLabs I think PETG is even less stiff than PLA and might deform more easily

@ga0_lab What filament material did you use here? We’ve previously used PETG in high temperature and and high UV radiation without having it significantly degrade on us. Perhaps PETG can work for you depending on the temperatures the motor generates

@Aluminumovercst can you explain the last thing

@ga0_lab Couple things I bet would help Try annealing the print. ABS or ASA could probably work too. Maybe even if you printed it with some room for a barrier like a piece of aluminum tape or something.

@en_diz But the entire robot is printed. Only motors, bolts, and bearings are not

@ga0_lab Sheet metal

@TheLighthouse @_baldtires Thanks lol

@ga0_lab @_baldtires Handling it

@wasserstein_rao Do they have similar ones on amazon? Also isn't nylon not rigid at all which would make it even more prone to rounding out

@ga0_lab Nylon PA12 from Craftcloud you can probably get it for $20 in 5 days straight from Shenzhen

@MoonL88537 yeah maybe some sort of key would work. The overengineered solution would be to have a hole on the gear for a bolt to clamp down on the shaft

@ga0_lab ouch, that's a tough one, tons of force in there. bigger key? reduction would be the one, but looks like you have it packed nice and tight already! pla is pretty mushy, shouldn't be too hard to get something better.

@_baldtires Thanks I’ll get some. Currently have a way too much PLA

@MoonL88537 The teeth aren’t the issue though, its the bore that isn’t rigid enough to hold onto the motor

@ga0_lab not sure about material but could go for a bigger tooth profile and herringbone, will improve service life across the board too. for printed gears the bigger the teeth the better.

@_baldtires You can print that on fdm? I thought glass was a resin thing

@ga0_lab i would go for glass filled ASA if u dont mind the stink

@_baldtires PLA

@ga0_lab wat is it now

Can’t wait!

@repkord @MandicReally @sendcutsend @Prusa3D @LDOmotors @Positron3d @Voron_Design @E3DOnline @printrbot @RailCoreLabs @Steve_Builds @CanuckCreator @maks_zolin @Adam_V3D @Anthony_Prusa3D @ratrighardware Yeah I’m ready to take it on. Will teach me so much about engineering beyond just make it work once

@ga0_lab @MandicReally @sendcutsend @Prusa3D @LDOmotors @Positron3d @Voron_Design @E3DOnline @printrbot @RailCoreLabs @Steve_Builds @CanuckCreator @maks_zolin @Adam_V3D @Anthony_Prusa3D @ratrighardware It is a MASSIVE challenge but you got this man. 💪 I promise you there's no way better to learn product design and sales than to just do it. Everybody learns faster on fire.🔥

Would you prefer a fully printable kit, or a sheet metal machine that’s stiffer and more refined but has to be purchased? Accessibility vs rigidity. What would you pay for either?

@wasserstein_rao yeah good point. people interested in this machine probably wouldn't be buying it as their first printer though

@ga0_lab Reasons: 99% of people cant make 3D parts themselves anyway, and 99% of the ones that can are working with materials that basically cant bear any load without creeping over time

@MoonL88537 quality bearings, rails, motors etc are not debatable for any 3D printer build. 2020 extrusions are kind of outdated and definitely would take up too much space in this design. Was sort of wondering your opinion on sheet metal vs 3DP plastic

@ga0_lab for nice parts it's bearings/rails first and foremost, good connectors and cables, quality motors. for printable if the parts fit standard extrusions 2020 or whatever that would be perfect.