25 replies to this topic

[rabidh]

Thanks, that's a really handy post. I just kind of assumed that ABS was more or less the same wherever it was Totally agree about the use. I wouldn't particularly mind making brackets/fittings out of it, but wouldn't do it anywhere where it has to stand up to serious amounts of force or where a failure might cause serious problems. I think quite a lot of the suggestions so far are pretty achievable though. I reckon if covered in leather/alcantara it could make pretty good internal trim though, and I'd be surprised if it caused any problems when used for mostly decorative stuff. The mould-making is a good idea. I have plenty of fibreglass mat so I'll have to have a play with that when I get some time.

[fezzasus]

Thanks, that's a really handy post. I just kind of assumed that ABS was more or less the same wherever it was

ABS is made from three different chemicals and the ratios the chemicals are added define the characteristics of the material, however because it's an exothermic chemical reaction (rather than simply cooling), it shouldn't be any more difficult to use a different grade of ABS to the one you are using, providing you can actually source it.

[JohnTurbo]

Toughest rapid prototypes are Selective Laser Sintering - in "nylon ex". That's actual nylon and you could throw it at the wall. I keep a close eye on the technologies - Fast-ad13 on here and I had a meeting with one rp company today. Weve used all the big ones. We have our own in house stuff too. -FDM which is the proper version of the cheap home kits system plus support material which is vital. It's getting cheaper but it's still thousands not hundreds you need to spend to get consistently good results. Look at Objet. If you have 20k to spend, thats a wicked machine.

[FAST_aD13]

I believe you can buy "cheaper" build it yourself fdm machines that use abs off a spool - they're called Reprap, or something similar. They're quite basic and from what you've said your after maybe not.upto scratch, but worth investigating. Also checkout a website called Shapeways, you can upload your CAD model and they host it in a shop format with a "print it now" option, quite a nice idea for smaller parts.

[davemate]

I believe you can buy "cheaper" build it yourself fdm machines that use abs off a spool - they're called Reprap, or something similar. They're quite basic and from what you've said your after maybe not.upto scratch, but worth investigating. Also checkout a website called Shapeways, you can upload your CAD model and they host it in a shop format with a "print it now" option, quite a nice idea for smaller parts.

I was having a good look on shapeways the other day, it looks amazing. Some of the things created on there look brilliant, and seem to be very accurate as well.

[theolodian]

I have had a makerbot for a while. The abs parts are really strong, worlds apart from sla. Have done boost gauge mounts, etc. works quite well if you can get the part to print in the first place. Still very fiddly to use, but getting better very quickly.