# 3D Printing for the Woodworking Shop



## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

After watching a YouTube video by Marius Hornberger about 3D printing things for the shop, I finally started seeing an excuse to get myself a printer. I could make jigs, replacement or improved parts for tools, adapters, etc. so I decided to get myself a printer. I've had the printer about 2 months now and I've made a couple of useful items so I thought it might be fun to share what I have printed and see if anyone else has any useful ideas to share. This could also be a good place for anyone new to 3D printing like me to ask questions and share do's and don'ts. Share your 3D printer setup, software, etc. and the good and bad experiences you have had with it.

Here is a list of 3D printing resources I have discovered so far. I will add to the list as new ones are discovered.

Thingiverse.com. Thousands, if not millions of printable designs. Before you design something or just don't know how to, check here first to see if someone has already done it for you. These are generally STL files but sometimes they include CAD files. 
 Other sources for designs you can download and print
prusaprinters.org/prints 
Yeggi.com 
https://www.youmagine.com/



Marius Hornberger's designs for the shop on Thingiverse. 
Grabcad.com. Free CAD designs that you may be able to adapt to your needs. This covers a lot more than 3D printing but I've seen a few woodworking tools and jigs that might be worth printing. 
Sketchup STL Extension. This is needed to export Sketchup designs to STL format usually required by the 3D slicer software. 
Sketchup Solids Inspector. 3D printing can be a little picky when it comes to the STL files. This extension can help you find an fix things that can confuse the slicer software. 
Ultimaker.com. 3D printer maker but their free Cura software is a decent 3D slicer that is needed to convert STL files to the gcode needed by the printer.
Onshape.com. Web based parametric CAD system. Free as long as you don't mind your designs saved publicly to the cloud. Online tutorials are very good and parametric approach makes it easy to make changes. My first impression is that this will replace Sketchup for 3D printing and some CNC designs at least. There is also a free iPad app. 
Tinkercad.com. Free online design software designed for 3D printing. I have not tried it yet so cannot provid any review.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Here is my current setup:
SainSmart x Creality3D Ender-3 3D Printer
Sketchup 2017 (free) with STL export extension
Ultimaker Cura 3 Slicer

Note that The Creality 3D Ender-3 printer is made and sold by multiple companies. One nice thing about this one is that it can resume where it left off after a power failure which has already happened during a particularly long print.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

After printing a few simple tests, the first useful thing that I printed was a flexible segmented hose designed by Marius Hornberger and downloaded from Thingiverse. His design was for a 75MM hose size so I used the Cura software to scale it down to 63% of the designed size so it would fit the standard 2.25" shopvac hose. This was printed with PVA filament. Since taking this picture, I have printed a few more segments and a bracket to attach it to a base that I can clamp in place where needed. Even though the intake is a little small it actually works pretty well for sanding on my lathe and when place in just the right spot it works fairly well for catching sawdust thrown off my router table. .


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Interesting and useful for dust collection.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

My next project was a little more ambitious. I decided to try printing a cyclone similar to a Dust Deputy. I found a few different designs on Thingiverse including one that you could customize directly on the website but wasn't happy with the size or parameters of any of them. Instead, I spent a couple of weeks working on several different designs in Sketchup. Here is the first prototype printed at 1/10th scale. 









To get a little more height and to make it easier to print without tons of support structures. I opted for a 2 part design. The bottom section is a cone with the mounting flange and the top section is a cylinder that mounts on top of the cone that provides the input and output hose connections. This is where I discovered that Sketchup can be a little frustrating for a novice such as myself when trying to develop 3D prints. Any little gap can cause the slicer to get confused and create surfaces that aren't there. This is especially true when you use curves. Because Sketchup draws curves as a bunch of line segments, intersections with those segments can create microscopic gaps that sometimes even sketchup gets confused about. Because of the complexity of drawing cones and cylinders for the hose connections I nearly gave up but finally worked through all the little problems , starting over at least twice. I am sure that some of the problems I had were due to my inexperience with Sketchup. This is where I discovered the solids inspector extension that helps quite a bit but sometimes the only solution was to delete part of the design and redraw it.

After printing, I discovered that my hose connections were a couple of millimeters too small for my shop vac hoses, even though I had printed several test rings prior to printing to make sure that they fit. I suspect that the filament I used may have warped or shrunk slightly as it cooled but who knows. Since each of the 2 sections took about 24 hours each to print and used about about a a quarter of a roll of filament, I decided to just design an adapter to enable the hose and PVC pipe to fit.

I printed this one in some PETG filament that I read was suppose to be easy to print and a little tougher than the PVA that is most common. It seems to be a pretty tough but it is a PITA to print. It leaves tons of little hairs and one of my first prints started to warp pretty badly so I aborted and started over after adjusting some of the printer's temperature settings. But ultimately it worked out okay.



















The bungee cords are used to hold it on top of the shop vac and to prevent me from pulling it over when I drag the hose around the shop. One of these days, I will make a platform that sits on top of my shop vac to hold the bucket and cyclone.

I just emptied the HD bucket for the first time after a couple of weeks of use and checked the shop vac to see if anything is getting through, especially after running my Dewalt planer through it. The bucket was about half full but no chips made it through the cyclone into the shop vac. There was a light coating of really fine dust on the filter but not bad enough that I needed to clean the filter off yet.

If I were designing again, I would probably make the intake wall a little thicker. I made the walls about 4mm thick and it seems to be holding up so far but time will tell.


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## Tony1212 (Aug 26, 2013)

How much would you estimate for the cost of the filament for the cyclone? I figure it would be nice for things you can't buy like retro fitting dust collection on an old machine or customized tools/jigs.

But I would worry that the filament used would cost more than a dust deputy or flexible segmented hose or anything else that can easily be bought. Let alone the amount of time you spend printing it out.


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## gwilki (May 14, 2014)

I've wondered the same thing as Tony. If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate seeing your filament costs on your projects. Everything that I've read until now seems to say that the cost of the printer is sort of a loss leader compared to the cost of the filaments.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Tony, you are right that one of the strengths is in being able to make adapters and replacements for old tools that you cannot find anymore or things that no one else makes at all. But not counting the cost of the printer which will be recouped over time or my time to design and experienment, this actually was cost effective. The Cura slicer software calculates how much filament it will take when your run the slicer. I didn't write down the exact amount it computed but it was in the ballpark of 250 grams for each half (top and bottom) of the cyclone. A roll of filament is typically 1 KG and this roll costed about $20 on sale so not counting some of the small tests I did to check the diameter and fit between the upper and lower halves, I estimate that the filament cost me a little over $11 to print including the 2 adapters I had to make. An earlier design was going to be almost double that because of all of the support structures that would have been printed to deal with overhangs, etc. so paying attention to that during the design can save you filament costs, not to mention the extra time it takes to print,

Is it worth it rather than just buying a Dust deputy for about $50? Maybe not but this was as much about seeing what I could do and learning 3D printing as it was about making a usful tool for the shop. Frankly, my old $3 Theon baffle that this replaces worked just fine and probably as just as well, though I do think I get a little more suction. Another thing I noticed is that when I used to disconnect the pipe between the old separator and the vac, the pitch of the motor would change indicating a reduction in the airflow. Oddly enough, I don't detect a change when I do that with this one.


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## clagwell (Dec 20, 2018)

My experience on cost is like Nathan's. The filament cost is not too painful and compares well to what a similar commercial part would cost. Of course my experience level is also similar to Nathan's; I too am just getting started with this.

I've been making dust collection fittings and adapters for my upgrade to six inch hose. The fittings typically use about 250g of filament for a material cost of about $5 each. Print time is eight to ten hours each. Design time seems endless but I'm still learning Fusion 360 so lots of backtracking and Youtube viewing.

This 100mm to 6" DVW adapter and matching quick connect hose end could be made with a PVC coupling, a six to four HVAC reducer and some duct tape for about $15 but would not include the latch that keeps the hose from falling off when the DC is shut off.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

My youngest kid was gifted a Mini Delta but had zero interest in it, so my oldest kid set it up and got it running, then I figured out how to print but we have been dissatisfied with it. After only half a dozen prints it broke and it's been breaking before and after every print since. I have to fuss with it to get it to print, and more often than not it stops during the print, then it breaks after the print. Seems that it was just thrown together with substandard parts. It did get me interested in 3d printing and I've been thinking of selling off some equipment not being used and buying something better.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Rick, what's an example of something that is breaking? Is the electronic components or mechanical ones…or all of the above?


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Various things. There is a part on the extruder that keeps separating and causing jams. The SD card is junk. The board apparently just stops working. IDK, last time it just wouldn't print. Seems that many people upgrade these parts to make it more reliable but I'd rather spend the money on a bigger printer.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Well, knock on wood, my Creality Ender-3 design implemented by Sainsmart seems to be pretty solid so far. It actually came partially assembled. The X-axis, its stepper and the extruder/gantry were fully assembled and simply had to be slid onto the vertical rails and adjusted to make it tight and level so assembly wasn't too bad. X & Y axes are controlled with a toothed belt and the Z-axis uses a drive screw. It came with a micro SD card and a USB reader to use with the PC, that came preloaded with an older version of the Cura software plus some test g-code for the first run. The electronics are basically a black box with a separate display panel with control nob and the cables are all clearly labeled for easy identification. Cable management is mostly non-existent but after a little fiddling I've got them under control. There are plenty of cable management designs on thingiverse specifically for the Ender-3 if you want to make everything a little neater. The packaging it came in was pretty impressively padded as well. Every part was well padded by foam and would have taken a pretty major crush to bend or break anything. I think than mine was delivered directly from the local Amazon warehouse, using Amazon's delivery service so UPS and USPS didn't get a chance to try.

BTW, I also bought a couple of spools of Sainsmart filament from Amazon. They are a little pricey but compared to the Amazon Basics filament I bought, which is a tangled mess, it is a dream to use because it is neatly wound on the spool so you don't have to worry about tangles at all. That was pretty important on the cyclone which took about 24 hours for each of the 2 halves to print. Definitely worth a few extra bucks to avoid tangles from causing a long print to fail.


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## xeddog (Mar 2, 2010)

My only comments about 3d printing for the shop is to ditch Sketchup and go to something more robust. Sketchup can be a bit of a hassle when trying to make your parts "manifold" or watertight, and for 3d printing, not being manifold can result in non-printable parts. There is software to fix them but it's just another step you should go through. My preference is the AutoDesk Fusion 360 which is free for hobbyists making less than $100K/yr with it, and there are many YouTube videos to help you start using it. There are other free CAD tools also, like Blender, Freecad, TinkerCAD, OpenSCAD, and others.

There is a Facebook group for the Creality CR-10 series of printers and the Ender line is welcome since quite a lot of it has parts compatible with the CR-10 line. There is a REDDIT group just for the Ender 3.

Wayne


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks Wayne. I've been thinking about trying F360 again for the reasons you mentioned. SU was pretty infuriating while designing my cyclone. I don't know how many times I had to delete and redraw parts because I could not get the mesh to close. I tried F360 a couple of years ago and I really like it but I learned SU first so making the switch is tough. They are just different enough that it can be frustrating to use F360 so when I need to design something I tend to go with the one I know, but with the problems I had with SU for 3D, it cannot be any worse than that.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I almost forgot about this one. My wife bought a cheap Delta 10" bandsaw at an estate sale. I didn't like it so we decided to sell it but it was missing the table insert. I was going to just make one out of wood but it would have had to make it out of less than 1/8 wood or route a rabbet around the edge to which was going to be a PITA. I could not find a compatible one on all the usual web sources either and then it occurred to me to just print one. I found several for different saws on thingiverse. I tried to just modify one of those to fit but in the end it was easier to just design one from scratch in Sketchup. It took about 10 minutes to design and, if I remember correctly about 45 minutes to print. I printed with pretty low quality settings but was good enough to sell the saw (and make $100 profit).


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## clagwell (Dec 20, 2018)

Is that paper on your buildplate?


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

It is blue painter's tape-regular stuff not the Edge-loc stuff. I was actually having a problem getting items printed with PETG filament off the plate, especially if I waited until the plate cooled down. One piece was stuck so well it broke and I spent about 30 minutes carefully scraping all of the remnants off the plate. One of the tips I saw suggested that the painters tape was the preferred way to print PETG so I gave it a try.


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## clagwell (Dec 20, 2018)

Ok, thanks, I see it now. I was confused by the clips and the peeled edge.

I've only used PLA so far but the stickiness of PETG is well reported. I had problems with the PLA not releasing from regular (cheap) masking tape and recently tried this Frog brand tape. So far it's been releasing very easily after cool down.










Oh yeah, nice job on the insert plate. That's the kind of task that, at least to me, makes a 3D printer really useful in a shop.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Those clips are for holding the build plate to the platform and because the tape sometimes starts to lift around the edges when the plate heats up, I usually strategically place them at the seams so that only the corners release. I'm using the (nearly) 3" tape so 3 strips mostly covers the entire plate which is makes it quick to lay it down. I've got some frog tape sitting on the shelf so maybe I will give that a try next time just to compare.


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## Tony1212 (Aug 26, 2013)

> Tony, you are right that one of the strengths is in being able to make adapters and replacements for old tools that you cannot find anymore or things that no one else makes at all. But not counting the cost of the printer which will be recouped over time or my time to design and experienment, this actually was cost effective. The Cura slicer software calculates how much filament it will take when your run the slicer. I didn't write down the exact amount it computed but it was in the ballpark of 250 grams for each half (top and bottom) of the cyclone. A roll of filament is typically 1 KG and this roll costed about $20 on sale so not counting some of the small tests I did to check the diameter and fit between the upper and lower halves, I estimate that the filament cost me a little over $11 to print including the 2 adapters I had to make. An earlier design was going to be almost double that because of all of the support structures that would have been printed to deal with overhangs, etc. so paying attention to that during the design can save you filament costs, not to mention the extra time it takes to print,
> 
> Is it worth it rather than just buying a Dust deputy for about $50? Maybe not but this was as much about seeing what I could do and learning 3D printing as it was about making a usful tool for the shop. Frankly, my old $3 Theon baffle that this replaces worked just fine and probably as just as well, though I do think I get a little more suction. Another thing I noticed is that when I used to disconnect the pipe between the old separator and the vac, the pitch of the motor would change indicating a reduction in the airflow. Oddly enough, I don't detect a change when I do that with this one.
> 
> - Lazyman


Thank you for this. This is exactly what I wanted to know as I would not have factored either the cost of the printer nor my time into the cost of the project. Just like I don't factor in the cost of my table saw or my time when I build a cabinet.

The tool should eventually pay for itself by allowing me to make some things cheaper than buying them. And if I weren't working with the tool, I'd be sitting in front of the TV or - heaven forbid - talking with my wife. 

However, if I were making something for a customer, then yeah, I'd charge for all of that.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

What tiers are there in 3d printers? You can buy cheap ones for $150 but what is the price range of a mid-quality hobbyist level printer. At what point are you stepping up in quality? $500, $800, $1200? If I were interested in getting something bigger than the Mini Delta, and far more reliable (I don't want to constantly fuss with fixing/upgrading/replacing parts), what printer / price range am I looking?


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Here's a dumb question: As someone whose knowledge of 3-D printing is only from watching a few videos, I wonder if it would be feasible to 'print' hand plane totes. Using a good example, like one of the metal totes sometimes found on Stanley planes, would it be possible to scan it and make duplicates? Would it correctly duplicate the bore for the tote and toe screw? I'd be interested in making a few for replacements, if the cost is reasonable, and I have no idea what the cost might be either.

Can someone give me some insight on this?


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Poopie - there are 3D printers that print metals either by direct melt methods or by laser-sintering powdered metal. Those methods would work for a replacement tote I think. However those types of machines are not yet available at anywhere near the consumer market and the cost to use a service to have parts printed would likely be cost prohibitive.

You could try it from some of the plastics available to the hobbyist but my instinct is that the materials wouldn't withstand the forces applied to plane totes. It would replicate the screw holes properly as long as they're in the CAD model properly. 3D scanning isn't typically accessible but it would be pretty simple to use the template drawings on Lee Valley's site and create a CAD model pretty quickly.


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## SignWave (Feb 2, 2010)

I got an Ender 3 a couple months ago and it works very well. At under $200, it's perfect for someone who wants to get started in 3D printing. The only thing I didn't care for was the bed was not quite flat, so I bought a Creality glass surface which solved that problem. I know that people like the flexible beds that the parts just pop off, but I don't have a problem with the glass. I use glue stick to help adhesion and the parts pretty much pop right off after the cool down a few minutes.

I've printed many things from Thingiverse using Cura (recommended), including an MPCNC. I have also designed several parts in OpenSCAD, which is not for everyone because it's totally code-based. Still, it works for me, while I'm teaching myself Fusion 360.

I haven't printed much for the workshop so far. One thing I printed are knobs using standard hardware (nuts and bolts). I also printed some accessories for my shop vac. I'm working on some hose adapters to adapt PVC pipe to the standard shop vac hoses.

With an open machine like the Ender, PVA is the easiest material to use. I have been quite happy with Inland brand filament that I got at MicroCenter for $15/kg. PVA is decently strong, but can be a bit brittle when dropped or hit with something hard. For making quick parts that don't need to be particularly strong, it's decent.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

I have read that the Creality printer is one of the best on the market considering cost and performance. 
I assume that you can also use *filaments that look like wood*!


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

You can buy filament that has wood in it, though I am not sure if will actually look like wood after printing. I would think that it will look like it was made with wood filler? They also make filaments with metal and carbon fiber in it. Not sure how difficult those are to use and whether the Ender 3 can handle it well but might be an interesting test.

As for whether you could 3D print a tote, I would say yes but because of the stress, you would want to do some things different than you would with a normal print. When you print a solid object like that, you typically print it with a 10-20% infill, meaning that the inside is mostly hollow with a grid of material to give it some strength. This saves material but also greatly speeds up print time. If you tried to print a tote as a completely solid item, it would probably take days to complete. There is also a lot more chance for something to go wrong and I don't know if warping is going to be an issue. You could design and slice it to have a higher level of infill but might take some experimentation to figure out the right compromise between strength, time and material. Modelling the shape would probably be the hardest part (for me anyway) but but then again, you may not have to, since you are not the first person to think of that. Here is one on thingiverse.

BTW, I downloaded a 3D scanning app from AutoCAD for my iPad a while ago that uses the camera, though I am not sure how well it works and if it can easily import that into Fusion 360. About all I did when I got it was try scanning my own head, which I definitely don't need a print of, especially if is 90% hollow.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

> What tiers are there in 3d printers? You can buy cheap ones for $150 but what is the price range of a mid-quality hobbyist level printer. At what point are you stepping up in quality? $500, $800, $1200? If I were interested in getting something bigger than the Mini Delta, and far more reliable (I don t want to constantly fuss with fixing/upgrading/replacing parts), what printer / price range am I looking?
> 
> - Woodknack


As a newbie myself, I certainly don't have an answer but I think that the other part of the equation is how much you are going to use it and what for. Production quality machines are obviously a different animal than the hobbyist ones. I think that the Creality Ender-3 implementation seems to be a solid design. I have not seen many complaints in the online boards about them. The only problem I had was caused by an assembly issue and easily fixed once I figured out what it was (the instructions were on the Sainsmart website). FWIW, one thing that I like about the Ender-3 design is that there is not a lot of plastic like I see on some of the cheaper hobbyist machines. In fact the only plastic I can see is a clip that holds the cable for the bed heater to the bed, the nobs for the plate leveling screws and a couple of end caps to make the extruded aluminum V-rails look nicer. All of the other brackets and parts are machined aluminum.

As for wanting a bigger machine, the Ender can handle up to 235×235x250 mm (~ 9.25x.925×9.84 in.) which is actually a pretty big print. Oriented diagonally, you can print something over 12" long if it is not too wide. As I discovered when printing the cyclone, the shape may be a bigger limiting factor than the size. By breaking it down into 2 parts, I was able to both simplify the printing and achieve more height, so far without any issues. So I guess the question is what sort of thing would you want to print that would exceed the size of the typical cheaper machines and that could not be broken down into smaller components. A side benefit of printing smaller components is that if something does go wrong near the end of a large print, you have to print the whole darn thing again.

EDIT: I just looked at the Mini Delta. That is a pretty funky non-standard design and looks pretty cheap when compared to the aluminum rails of my Ender-3. For the extra $50-70 that the Ender-3 costs, I cannot imagine why someone would want to even design one like that.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Thanks, everyone for your insight regarding my query! I asked because I recall a few years ago some blogger/reporter brought a huge adjustable crescent wrench to a 3-D research laboratory, and not only did they replicate it after a simple laser scan, they made each component of it a different color. This blogger took the finished wrench right out of the tray of resin, and used it on a couple of bolts successfully.

This was the way I'd hoped to go, with no cad or sketchup involved. I need like, maybe 15 totes to change all the wrecked ones I have. I've reglued, or added wood to broken totes, it's just really tedious to bring them back unless the plane is of high personal value. I'd consider plastic totes for day-to-day utilitarian planes.


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

> Since each of the 2 sections took about *24 hours* each to print….
> - Lazyman


Wow! But still a very cool toy er… tool.  I'd love to be able to make that shop vac hose for my lathe. I'd even pay you to make one for me!


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

> EDIT: I just looked at the Mini Delta. That is a pretty funky non-standard design and looks pretty cheap when compared to the aluminum rails of my Ender-3. For the extra $50-70 that the Ender-3 costs, I cannot imagine why someone would want to even design one like that.
> 
> - Lazyman


It was a gift so I had no part in choosing it but I believe the auto-leveling and maybe some other features are what attract people. Plus it's like the 3d printer and has generally good reviews. What I've seen while hanging out in MD groups is they either tend to work great or they are junk, it's luck of the draw. Our luck was bad. But even the good ones seem to almost require new nozzles, upgraded board, upgraded plate, upgraded sd-card, tensioning belts, etc. I'd be $100 into this thing upgrading all the parts so I'd rather spend the money on a better/bigger printer.

To partially answer my own question. I found this guide on reddit that seems as good as any.

re: plane tote, I think it would be fine but you'd need a high fill, over 60%. That's my newb-ish opinion and not worth much.


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## SignWave (Feb 2, 2010)

Regarding the size, I can't see outgrowing my Ender 3 any time soon. Big prints take a very long time to print, and if there's a problem with a long-running print, it can take you days or weeks to retry until you get what you want. If you're wanting something larger, then I wonder if a 3D print is the best answer.

FWIW, the longest running print I've made so far took 14 hours and was one of the pieces for my MPCNC. It was well within the limits of the Ender 3, although I did print with a high amount of infill and thick walls.

As far as robustness, it doesn't take much to locate the print head in 3D space to deposit a small amount of filament. Many designs (e.g. the well-regarded Prusa) contain 3D printed parts and work with precision of fractions of a millimeter. Yes, the Ender works well, as do many others.

As for the price ranges, as you go up in price, you are likely to get a greater capacity, and additional features that while nice, don't necessarily mean better prints. These features include things like multiple extruders for different colors in the same print, automatic restart during a power outage, filament jam/outage sensors, etc. Some of the differences like extruder type can make a difference, when subtle quality differences matter. Having an enclosure probably means you can print materials that require hotter print temperatures. Whether these are worth it depends on what you want to do with the printer.

My research led me to believe that as long as you're talking about FDM printers (fused deposition modeling), the differences are marginal and it takes increasingly more money to get decreasing level of improvement. As you move to other processes such as FormLab's SLA printers, the quality goes up dramatically, but dealing with resins is a whole different level of effort.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Rick, I got to thinking about it and I don't think you would have to go as high as 60% infill for the totes. In the early days after I got my printer, just for fun, I used one of my sketchup drawings, exported to STL and then used Cura to scale it down to 1/10th scale just to see if it will print. This is a parts bin that happens to be the first woodworking project that I posted on Lumberjocks almost 5 years ago. Anyway, this is much less than 60% and it is pretty solid. Of course the horizontal dividers provide some extra stability but I can put my entire weight on it both horizontally and vertically and it doesn't deform at all. So I would guess that somewhere between 20 to 30 % would be plenty dense, especially if you also made the skin thicker than a typical print.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I found this write up on wood filament. The pictures actually look more wood like than I expected. Apparently, you can make the extruder hotter to get a darker color. It also goes on to say that you can stain it just like real wood. Might be something to try.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I saw this instructable about making some "gadgets" for wood working. A couple of good ideas in here, including a few that we've already discussed.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I saw these Stuart Batty angle gauges a while back and filed it away for making my own someday.








It just occurred to me to 3-D print one. The prints turned out a little ugly, I think it is the PETG filament, but the angles are spot on. I made the large one first and realized that it is a little big for my 6" bench grinder so made the smaller one for that, which is too small for setting an angle on my belt sander. I attempted to put numbers that are recessed into the surface to label each corner but they are barely legible so I used a bigger bold font on the smaller ones and you can read them well enough. I need to get a brighter color for making things for the shop as the black color is going to be hard to find if I mislay it somewhere. I just used the same angles that the Stuart Batty one did but I could see making some for frequently used table saw blade setups for example. 








I just made the center hole round, though I did consider putting various different radii to use for marking arcs for rounded corners and such but decided that I would probably want to print at a higher resolution to get arcs that are smooth enough to use in that fashion.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

I made one of those a few years ago from laminate flooring leftovers. I rarely use it.


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## CowanNavy (Feb 5, 2012)

I am just getting started in 3D printing myself. Although that might be because i have neither the time or the space for woodworking and 3d printing i can work on the designs while i am on the road and them test them out when i come home for the weekend (oh and the rare print that takes multiple days i can just start the night before i leave and have a finished product when i get back home.

Anyway… For anyone who is curious about this i finally found a Good, Inexpensive, and Reliable 3D printer. It is the "Alfawise U20". This was my 5th attempt to start 3D printing. All of the other entry level machines i tried required too much set up and tinkering time in order to get good quality prints off of them. This one was just like advertised… 15min setup and ready to print (might take 30 min if you are slow at routing the wires like i am due to being OCD about that kind of thing). But honestly i had my first print off of the printer within an hour of opening the box. There are all kinds of reviews and potential upgrades out there for those who want them and the online support on Facebook is really good.

Just thought i would put my 2 cents in… You know just in case anyone was curious and doesnt want to have to worry about tinkering on the hardware/software side before they can even start working on the actual printing learning curve.

Oh and if you can be patient the only website that i have found that sells them has them on sale every other month or so. I picked mine up on one of those sales for $260.

One more side note it will print up to 300mm (~11.75in) by 300mm; and 400mm (~15.75in) tall. I have tested this and it is incredibly accurate (although anything you print that big is going to use A LOT of material )


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## seadogmike (Aug 19, 2019)

Although I am not into 3d printing "YET", I have found some software that is designed for 3d printing and for me seems easier than Fusion 360.
It is called Design Spark 360.
Its free, Lots of videos on how to use it, and is a full package.

SDM


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

FWIW, if you have the ability to create models and .stl files of them, there are online services you can use if your needs don't justify purchasing a printer. I've used Shapeways several times because of the range of materials they offer. There are many others too though.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I recently stumbled upon a CNC machine at a garage sale that was too cheap to pass up. I am working my way up the CNC learning curve. I am currently working on a tool cabinet that has some grooves and mortises cut into a panel and I thought that I would see if I could do this on my CNC machine but I want to test my cutting paths before committing my glued up panels. The other reason I wanted to test it prior to cutting is that the CNC only has a 24×24" cutting area but the panel is about 46" long. Vcarve has the ability to tile the path so that I can cut it in 2 passes but wanted to practice the alignment process before cutting.

Anyway, I found this handy 3D printed pen holder that simply mounts into the router collet so that I can visualize the path on a sheet of cardboard prior to cutting as well as making sure that I understand how to move the panel between passes. This will also allow me to draw out full size templates when I don't want to or cannot use the CNC to cut them out. This works great.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

When I taught pre engineering before I retired the school bought a $28,000 dollar 3D printer. It had great resolution everything came out awesome. I used it for a 3D derby like the pinewood derby. They had size and weight limitations and needed to design a compartment with lid for the weights. I used it to make finishing pyramids and a jig for open segment bowls. The students did design some amazing things for the different projects they were assigned. That's one of the things I miss about teaching all the toys I had to play with and seeing how creative students could be when given free reign to design things.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Great idea. If I had not already bought about a dozen of the pyramids at a garage sale a few years ago for $1, I would probably be printing them right now.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Anything new in 3d printing over the last year? I sold some junk and am thinking of getting back into it with a better printer. I've been hearing about resin but haven't priced them or anything. For me it's all about less fiddling and more printing. I like stuff that just works.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Rick, I literally just posted a link that I did just for fun in response to someone asking about a router plate insert for their Bosch router table that could accommodate a a guide bushing for their Leigh dovetail jig. There aren't any and just for fun I designed one for 3D printing and posted it to Thingiverse. I didn't need one myself so I haven't actually tested it by printing one but this is the sort of thing that I find is the perfect application of 3D printing for the woodworking shop. You can see the thread and the Thingiverse link here.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Like buying a $40k bass boat for the savings on fish …


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Bad analogy Mark. More like buying a dingy so that you can catch fish so you don't starve. (And why are you always so mad BTW;-)

I have no doubt that my 3D printer will pay for itself and the cost of 3D machines continues to come down. For the things that I have already printed, I have probably saved at least half cost of my 3D printer, compared to buying what I made. Even if it was not proving to be cost effective (not to mention fun), in the Bosch router table insert example I posted about above, it is a simple and inexpensive solution to print a part that cannot be purchased (and never has) and has to be made regardless. Now that I have invested the time to create a configurable design, anyone will be able to to print one for the cost of filament which will probably be a couple of bucks at most. There are tons of free designs out on Thingiverse that anyone with a printer can print and whenever I need a part or something, I usually look there first to see if someone has designed one, sometimes even before I look to see if the part is even available to purchase.


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## stevepeterson (Dec 17, 2009)

My 3D printer gets about 10X as much use as my CNC router. It is inside my house so it can be used all year long without noise complaints from the neighbors if it is running late at night. It is super easy to print adapters for various shop vac hoses.

Here is an example of a clock I designed. It is 11" tall and took around 75 hours to print.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Here is the latest 3D print for woodworking. LJ HokieKen found an old Miller's Falls Buck Rodgers plane that is missing the front red plastic knob and I volunteered to print a mold so he could experiment with trying to cast a new one. He sent me a mold he designed and I also directly printed a knob for plan B in case the mold doesn't work out. We decided that a more flexible filament might be better to help release the mold so I printed it with clear TPU filament. I was hoping that the clear would make it easier to see whether there were any air pockets but it turned out to be mostly white. 








If he gets a good result from the mold, one of us will post a picture later.

Here are the knobs I directly printed with PLA. 








Since I didn't have any red filament on hand (and it would not have matched the tone and patina anyway), I decided to try to paint one of them. It was sanded to 1000 grit on the lathe and then primed with Rustoleum universal bonding primer before a quick coat of Rustoleum farm implement red just to see how well it will look. It probably needs a slightly different shade of red (too orange I think) and a clear top coat to make it less likely to scratch off but it looks pretty good. IIRC, the painted one was printed with about 10-15% infill but the blue one has 2mm wall thickness and 50% infill to give it a little more strength. If nothing else, if the printed mold doesn't work, he could use one of these to make a silicone mold. Note that on the printed ones the bore was printed into it but the cast one will need to be drilled out.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Mold is a cool idea. Year ago I mentioned buying a new printer and never did, still would like to get one though.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> Like buying a $40k bass boat for the savings on fish …
> 
> - Madmark2


Thing is the fish actually taste much better is what all those guys driving around pulling a boat don't tell ya. So if you don't know first hand they won't tell ya, they don't want ya grabbing up all the "fresh fish" 

Wanna buy my boat?


> ?


 LMAO…...

These printers do resemble a slippery slope though. Like I haven't slid down a few of them…..


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

I should 3D print a few inserts for my drill press table, the original is getting pretty torn up and was kind of junk from the factory.


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## mawilsonWCR (Feb 18, 2021)

> I should 3D print a few inserts for my drill press table, the original is getting pretty torn up and was kind of junk from the factory.
> 
> - darthford


Consider 100% infill for the inserts. 3D prints, like torsion boxes rely on the skin for strength. Or you could print a bunch with different diameters…


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## hotbyte (Apr 3, 2010)

No pictures but daughter has 3D printed me

Adapters to go on end of plywood strips to make parallel guides for Festool guide rail
Cover for the blade changing access hole on TS55
Storage bin dividers for the large cup shaped containers that come in Ridgid's Pro Tool cases


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I printed a couple of inserts for my Grizzly band saw last week (black one is the original that came with the saw). I used 20% infill and they are plenty stiff-stiffer than the original, actually. I didn't bother adding the alignment pins because I didn't want to fiddle with getting them in the right place.



















BTW, these are the first things I designed using a new (to me) CAD software. OnShape.com. It is free as long as you don't mind having your designs public in the cloud. I spent a few days going through some of their online tutorials (which are very good BTW) before designing this. Much easier than Sketchup for 3D printing and for me at least it seems easier to learn than Fusion 360. It is a parametric system similar to F360 so it is very easy to tweak the measurements of a design. For example, I originally designed the insert for a different saw that needed a 3" insert but in about a minute modified it for the smaller size of my saw. I also quickly modified it to remove the center drop down and add the holes. It runs in a browser window so there is no software to download and for me at least it works as if it is a local package, though it I think that means you have to be online to use it. There is also a free iPad app. It might be a little cumbersome to design from scratch on the iPad (haven't tried that yet) but using a stylus I did make a minor change and it was pretty simple to do.

I will add it to the list of resources at the top.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that OnShape supports attachments which can show you how assemblies go together and how moving parts work. Very cool and pretty easy to do.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Prusaprinters.org is a good site for free models. Yeggi.com is another.

Color-coded battery holders came from either one of the above sites or some other. The gray holder is an exception since I wanted a matching one for lithium 123 cells.










Vac sweep has a 30 degree angle for cleaning CNC beds and other high surfaces. Typical sweeps have a 45 degree angle which is awkward at bench height. The print was done in 3 parts then glued and friction welded together.










Untested pen holder for the CNC below. We have a job that will require routing and marking plywood parts and this will avoid the need to unchuck/rechuck bits in the spindle when starting a new sheet of plywood.

To the side are some thumbscrew caps for allen screws. We quit buying knobs of any kind and now print whatever we need using screws and bolts we already have.










Custom sanding heads for our brush sander. We have black and white heads for clockwise/counterclockwise and different color rings for different grits.


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## clagwell (Dec 20, 2018)

I don't have room in my shop to have a permanent location for my shaper. I need to move it out of the way sometimes. That means no permanent ducting and any fittings that I want to leave connected to the tool should stay within it's overall profile to avoid damage.

I couldn't come up with a solution using standard PVC fittings so I turned to the 3D printer. Magnetic couplings were a necessity here to keep the whole thing compact.





































The fitting combines the 4" outlet from the cabinet with a 4" hose from the fence into a 6" hose to the DC. Removing the two hoses allows me to store the shaper with the fitting somewhat protected by the cast Iron top.

A print like this doesn't have any fine detail so I was able to use a 0.8 mm nozzle, keeping the print time under nine hours.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Some great prints there that really show off the handy things you can do with a 3D printer.

I've added the Prusa and the Yeggi links to the list of resources in the OP.


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## mawilsonWCR (Feb 18, 2021)

Looking at my bandsaw, I need to design and print holders for the fence and miter gauge. More on those later.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Here's another source for 3D print models.

https://www.youmagine.com/


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks. Added to the OP.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I just got glass a build plate for my Ender 3 and love it. At first I had adhesion problems and tried using glue sticks but that left glue residue that would not come off of black PETG prints. It works better if you sort make a slurry with the glue and water so that the glass just sort of looks dirty but it was just a pain to have to redo it each time or move the prints around to different spots on the build plate. I more carefully leveled the bed and started using a brim and it works incredibly well with no glue or other adhesion aids The brims are thinner than onion paper and can be completely removed by just rubbing with you finger or fingernail-most of it just stays on the build plate. Pieces come off easily with no prying, especially if you wait until the build plate cools down. I use a putty knife or razor blade to quickly scrape any residue (usually just the brim) and quickly sort of polish the glass with a microfiber cloth and it is ready to go for the next print. The glass leaves a really glass smooth finish on the bottom and the only downside is that it is so much better looking than the sides and top. I was applying masking tape tot he standard bed which required me to remove the build plate. I had to re-level the bed or at least check it each time I did that which was sort of a pain. With the glass plate, I have printed dozens of times without removing the glass plate and have not had to re-level for quite a while so it is a time saver too. Overall I highly recommend the glass plate.

Note that the glass build plate that I bought has a textured surface on the other size that works well but removing prints from it was a PITA. If you use a tool to pry it off, you risk scraping off the texture. PLA also left a residue that I could only get off with acetone. Not sure if or how the residue would affect prints but it just didn't seem right to leave it on there. I will probably rarely use the textured side and I would probably just buy the cheaper one without the texture if I was doing it again. Also note that because the glass is thicker than the standard E3 build plate so you may have to raise the Z limit switch accordingly.

BTW, I am in the process of printing a fractal vise that I hope will turn out to be useful in the shop. I will post back when I know better how well it actually works.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

TinkerCAD is a cool, free tool. It is designed for kids to use as it has a Lego mode.

TinkerCAD is actually a series of web based programs for designing 3D parts, electronic circuits and even testing code blocks.

The basic program opens with a bare mm grid. You can change it to inches. in either unit it has steps or increments. 1/8", 1/16", 1/32" and 1/64" for inches and 1, .5, .25 and .1 mm for metric.

There are basic shapes that can be stretched or flattened to form structural elements. All shapes can be either solid or hole. In this way you can combine the various shapes into larger, more complex creations. The individual components are then fused (can be reverser) to form the final object.

One weirdness is that the default name of your object is something random like *Spectacular Gaaris*, you should change the name first thing. There is no save button, but returning to the menu saves automatically. Since it's web based it doesn't lose anything if your computer goes "blip".

Objects can be flipped from side to side and every which way. Dimensions appear as you move or modify objects by their grips. You can manually enter a dimension and the object will change.

Rotations are easy and intuitive. If your cursor is OUTSIDE the compass rose, you can move by small angles. INSIDE the compass rose and the object moves in 15º steps.

One tip that I got from tech support is that if you hold <alt> while changing a round objects size, it will maintain the center location. Without pressing <alt> each corner moves independently and shifts the center location as well.

Once the completed object is fused, you EXPORT it as an .STL file that can be read by your slicer program and then converted into the gcode your 3d printer knows.

While you can show dimensions in TinkerCAD, there is no convenient way to get them onto paper to document your object. Enter Fusion360. Fusion360 is an IMMENSELY COMPLEX professional level 3D modelling and CADCAM tool. Fortunately if all you want is a dimensioned drawing, its fast and not that bad to use. For non-commercial work its free but has a lot of "pay to upgrade" features. As luck would have it the basic 3 view drawing tool is free and not that hard to use. The automatic dimensioning tool is smart and really knows how to professionally dimension. It took me a bit to get the dimensions preset to fractional inches, but having saved my preferences it comes up right every time.

Between TinkerCAD and Fusion360 I've created and documented literally100's of designs.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks for the review of Tinkercad Mark. I've been meaning to check it out a little more closely after seeing your 3D printer thread. I am really liking Onshape.com though so it may be hard to switch. It is easier to use than F360, IMO, but still has the parametric design features which makes revisions super easy. Assemblies, including attachments for animation are included free and it is easy to create plan view and 3D renditions of designs for printing and documentation. I have used that feature to print full sized templates across multiple pages too. It too is totally web and browser based so there is no software to install plus has versions for IOS and Android tablets that actually work very well, though you really need a stylus if you are going to do complete drawings or major revisions to a design. Their online training and tutorials are excellent.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I keep meaning to check out Onshape and F360 but haven't so far. Mostly because I have Solidworks and can't imagine anything being better for me after using it almost daily for 15 years now. But should I change jobs at some point, I'll need to have something in my back pocket…

I just recently got an Ender3 and have mostly been experimenting with it's capabilities and learning all the settings. At Nathan's advice, I ordered the glass build bed also and any adhesion issues I had originally pretty much went away immediately with that bed. It's also much easier to remove the prints than it was from the original bed. Unlike Nathan, I've been using the textured side of the plate. So far I haven't needed any tape or glue. I just scrape the parts off and after every 4 or 5 prints, I wipe it down with acetone. So far so good.

I'm still working on dialing in my machine and settings but I have a long list of shop accessories on my short list to print


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## Keebler1 (Mar 15, 2019)

I just got the parts for my prusa mini plus ordered. Have been backordered for almost a year now


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Using a brim, I have had trouble free printing on the smooth side of the plate, Kenny. The brim is so thin that it mostly stays on the plate and the finish on the plate side is like glass








This was a piece I just did as a test to try using ironing (at Mark's suggestion) to get a smoother top surface. It is better than without ironing but still might need to tweak the settings.









BTW, if you want to see Onshape in action, here is the fractal vise in Onshape (from thingiverse) that I am currently printing. Not sure if you have to register just to view it but it is free.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

One of our fellow jocks had an idea for a box joint jig with swappable inserts for different sizes. Not only are the tongues different widths, but the offsets track to minimize adjustments. The resulting parts have a "perfect" fit in that they can swap vertically but there is zero play horizontally.




























You can clearly see the grain. The parts were printed on edge for strength. Normally you'ld print the piece on its back, but since we need the tongue not to easily snap, we printed them with, instead of across, the grain.


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## Keebler1 (Mar 15, 2019)

@Madmark2 do you have a link you can share for the box joint jig file?


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Actually it's not mine to give out. It was done as a "work for hire" and I don't own the copyright (notice it's not my name embossed.) I'll ask and if he sez OK I'll post the link.
...
Request & invite to join the thread sent …


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## Keebler1 (Mar 15, 2019)

Madmark2 I dont mind purchasing the file from whoever made it thanks for posting the pics


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Standby. He should be here shortly.


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## Keebler1 (Mar 15, 2019)

Ok thanks


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Most recent 3D printing fun. Just because I thought it looked cool, I printed a pair of these so called fractal vise jaws. Since the are plastic, they may not be able to take much pressure but they actually work fairly well so I added a couple of dog holes in my leg vise.


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

I love those fractal jaws....so different, interesting and useful.


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## memilanuk (Apr 15, 2008)

Finally pulled the trigger on a 3D printer today... hopefully I can be wasting time... errr... tinkering...  with it this weekend!


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## RyanGi (Jan 13, 2021)

I’ve seen the files for those vise jaws. I feel like it’s something I should print… lemme know how durable they end up being? What did you print them out of?


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## memilanuk (Apr 15, 2008)

Question on materials... I've seen some printers are able to print using 'flexible' materials like TPU. Would that be suitable for something that like a vacuum or dust collector fitting where you might want a little bit of flexible sizing?


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## IdleHandsWorkshop (3 mo ago)

I am so far into that 3D printer rabbit hole it's insane... I own 10 FDM ( filament ) printers and 6 resin printers ( one of which is currently printing an aircraft carrier ), the largest being the Peopoly Phenom which, pardon the girly phrase, OMG is incredible in that it lets me print things that are far more useful to me than I can get away with on the smaller ones. I've made everything from movie props, auto parts, home repair parts, I even 3D printed a 3D printer, and of course... hand tool stuff like the tote in this picture, I've also designed and made my own bench dogs, cookies, painter's pyramids, etc to help in the shop.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

memilanuk said:


> Question on materials... I've seen some printers are able to print using 'flexible' materials like TPU. Would that be suitable for something that like a vacuum or dust collector fitting where you might want a little bit of flexible sizing?


It should work. I've printed a bellows-shaped dust boot, straps and rubber feet using TPU and TPE and some of those have a little stretch. This was done on a stock Prusa MK3S+.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Fractal vise is badass Nathan! Good idea using dog holes too😎


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

RyanGi said:


> I’ve seen the files for those vise jaws. I feel like it’s something I should print… lemme know how durable they end up being? What did you print them out of?


I just used PLA on these. This might be one of those things that one of the filaments with carbon fiber or other additives might be good for if you printer can use them. So far I can actually crank them down pretty tightly and they seem to be holding up okay. I just used the printed dogs that were part of the design but I may make some wooden ones.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

memilanuk said:


> Question on materials... I've seen some printers are able to print using 'flexible' materials like TPU. Would that be suitable for something that like a vacuum or dust collector fitting where you might want a little bit of flexible sizing?


+1 on using TPU when you need more flexibility. 

I have used TPU to make a mold hoping being flexible would make it easier to de-mold.








3D Printing for the Woodworking Shop


I recently stumbled upon a CNC machine at a garage sale that was too cheap to pass up. I am working my way up the CNC learning curve. I am currently working on a tool cabinet that has some grooves and mortises cut into a panel and I thought that I would see if I could do this on my CNC machine...




www.lumberjocks.com





I also printed this custom gasket for to help seal the canister filter upgrade I added to a free dust collector. It did not actually seal well enough. I don't not think that I made it thick enough and I think it had too much infill so it did not compress enough to make a tight seal. I had to print it in sections and glue it together. 

EDIT: I forgot to add the picture of the gasket.










I also made a belt with TPU as an experiment just to see how well that might work. It is quite flexible but does not actually seem to stretch in length very much and seems quite strong. I didn't actually use it but it might be a good temporary belt at least. I used 100% infill. I am playing around with a DC treadmill motor and I might try printing thicker one with grooves to see how well that would work.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I like my Millers Falls tools so much that I decided to match the color scheme on my printer😆


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## memilanuk (Apr 15, 2008)

I'm curious... how many here do their 3D printing in the same space as they do woodworking? What kind of enclosures do you have for your printer(s)?


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Not me. The dust would pose serious problems for bed adhesion and keeping filament clean. There are enclosures you can buy and lots of plans for building one online. I’d highly recommend putting it in a different location if at all possible though.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

The woodshop is in the garage. My computer controlled devices are in the spare bedroom. I've got the 3D printer, a laser engraver/cutter, and a bench CNC, not to mention the electronics shop.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

My printer is on the desk next to my PC.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Ours is kept in the office which is directly attached to the shop. It's somewhat dusty but not terribly so as long as surfaces get the occasional wipe and vacuuming.


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## RyanGi (Jan 13, 2021)

Mine is in the shop. It’s covered with a nice static-free plastic cover. I do keep my shop pretty stinkin‘ clean, but I just blow off the cover with some compressed air before pulling it off, then gently do the same to the printer, then clean the plate. Hasn’t been a problem to this point…


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