Best 3d priter

[bruh]

@tseary, how well do the elements you make hold up? I have thought about using 3D printers to bolster my collection, but haven’t decided on a good one, if I plan on getting one. It seems like the ender3s are quite, good, but which one?? I don’t want to (and can’t) spend a TON of money on one, around 150-275 US dollars is what I’m looking for.

Edited October 30, 2024 by bruh

[tseary]

3 hours ago, bruh said:

@tseary, how well do the elements you make hold up?

I haven't had any prints fail, but they aren't seeing hard use either. Perhaps someone who builds RC cars can remark on 3D printed gears or other parts in a tougher environment.

I'm not up to date on the different Enders, unfortunately. We recently got a Bambu at work - I'm not the one running it, but the print quality is great, and it's fast!

[2GodBDGlory]

6 hours ago, HorcikDesigns said:

Aurapol has quite matching red, blue, green and yellow PLA in their L-EGO product line. Light gray is acceptable but not exact. Not sure if it is available worldwide, again, manufacturer is located in central Europe. 

@Krzychups Thanks for recommendation on DBG filament, have to try it instead of c-tech PLA that is really brittle over time and does not match perfectly.

Thanks!

Their website seems to be broken for me right now, but I think I've found some good info.

This website here:
https://filamentcolors.xyz/colormatch/
allows you to search their library of filament samples using a Hex code, and I was able to find the Hex codes of all Lego colors using Sariel's Colors Table app, so after searching for 969696, I found a few different close options. They're not always as cheap or as Canadian-accessible as I'd like, but there's some good options to look at. I think the best one at the moment is this one here from Amazon.com, which I'd have to ship to a US address to get a good price on (thankfully, that's pretty easy for me right now): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BXLQ26X/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=AFZQIF3WLZ4BA&psc=1

4 hours ago, bruh said:

@tseary, how well do the elements you make hold up? I have thought about using 3D printers to bolster my collection, but haven’t decided on a good one, if I plan on getting one. It seems like the ender3s are quite, good, but which one?? I don’t want to (and can’t) spend a TON of money on one, around 150-275 US dollars is what I’m looking for.

I'd say it's not realistic to expect parts of equivalent quality to Lego, but with the right tuning you can get things to work fairly well. Some parts will print quite strongly; others not so much--it's just the nature of 3D printing that some shapes work better than others. Even if it's not just for Lego, there's lots of everyday things that printers are good for, so I would recommend one! Here's three different recommendations:

1. (Classic) Ender 3. These are available from $60 USD from this site: https://www.creality3d.store/products/used-ender-3-ender-3-pro?variant=42293787623477 This is the printer I have, and it's shockingly cheap to get into these days! Fair warning, though, these are maintenance-heavy machines, and you'll probably want at least a few upgrades, so I'd only recommend this one if you're interested in 3D printing as a standalone hobby, and aren't afraid of a steeper learning curve.

2. Ender 3 V3 SE. This one is currently available from $169 USD: https://store.creality.com/products/ender-3-v3-se-3d-printer?spm=..collection_90778a1d-d845-4ff0-a8c4-48fded4b7d74.albums_1.1 This one seems like the best all-around deal for a new printer today, in my opinion. Lots of great features that one would have to seriously upgrade the classic Ender 3 to get, in a ready-to-go machine!

3. Bambu Labs A1 Mini. This one is a bit smaller than the Enders, but is about as close to having appliance-grade reliability as you can get! I'm surprised to see it on sale for only $200 USD, so it's not too expensive either. https://us.store.bambulab.com/collections/a1-series/products/a1-mini This is the one to go for if you want 3D printed parts, but aren't interested in tweaking/modifying your printer. This isn't my personal taste, but for a lot of people it's a good fit. Also, this one notably has a $150 multi-color unit that can be added to it, for about the slickest multi-color print system available these days. That's not necessarily important for what you're doing, but it is cool to have the option!

Edited October 30, 2024 by 2GodBDGlory

[Aurorasaurus]

2 hours ago, tseary said:

Perhaps someone who builds RC cars can remark on 3D printed gears or other parts in a tougher environment. 

I made a few 12t clutch gears from esun petg, and the teeth broke. I also tried a 28t clutch gear from pla and the internal clutch teeth broke, same with 24t and 2 module long clutch ring. So for gearboxes IMO there's no substitute for injection moulded ABS. But something that did work well for me was printing a 28t gear that slipped on top of a 16t clutch gear, using the strong clutch interface of ABS, and the good enough teeth of PLA, since at that distance from the axle the torque in my application was managable by the teeth.

As for other things, I tried short reinforced cv joints, so I could make a 5l independent suspension system. Making those from PLA worked fine, but maybe wouldnt in a high wear environment like sand.

Something that has worked great for me is 3d printing rims and body panels. For rims, I recommend printing in TPU so that the abrasive effect from the layer lines is mibimised. With PLA or other harder filaments, when you put the rim on and take it off many times you can wear down the pin and it will not hold the rim so well. Body panels from PLA have been fine for me. I just spend some time sanding and filling before painting and they come out just fine for my eyes.

I've also made extremely specialised parts, but I'll talk about those another time.

[dr_spock]

I tried Solutec grey ABS for connecting rods on my Bley Night version of LEGO's Emerald Night.

 

 

[Mikdun]

Part strength is one thing, but what about dimensions?

I tried to print few elements (no tuning, just checked how it will go out) and the holes tolerances were way off - they will either not accept the pin or fall off without any resistance.

Any tips in this area?

[Krxlion]

23 minutes ago, Mikdun said:

Part strength is one thing, but what about dimensions?

I tried to print few elements (no tuning, just checked how it will go out) and the holes tolerances were way off - they will either not accept the pin or fall off without any resistance.

Any tips in this area?

I followed the dimensions from this video. I have also looked through some different sources of dimensions of Lego Technic bricks, and they are accurate to me. I am printing on Bambu Lab A1 mini:

 

[Aurorasaurus]

34 minutes ago, Mikdun said:

Any tips in this area? 

Design a test piece with holes in multiple orientations, and test hole size in increments of .1mm. If its still hard to get a good fit, try increments of .05mm. If you don't have access to CAD software I could make one for you.

Another thing could be you need to dry your filament and/or somehow temperature control the environment for your printer. Maybe external factors are impacting print accuracy.

[HorcikDesigns]

4.8mm is too small IMHO. I design holes up to 5mm, and some of them are still too tight. Depends on orientation and position during print, stringing, oozing, supports placement, part warping and seam position. And printer accuracy. Material properties put aside, heat shrinkage and water absorbtion make whole new level of mess in part accuracy. 

For axle holes is also very important the radius in corners near the intersection of the cross segments. 0.5mm is according my experience good choice for 0.4mm nozzle. 

[2GodBDGlory]

5 hours ago, Mikdun said:

Part strength is one thing, but what about dimensions?

I tried to print few elements (no tuning, just checked how it will go out) and the holes tolerances were way off - they will either not accept the pin or fall off without any resistance.

Any tips in this area?

I'd say just keep tweaking values until you find something that works well for your printer. Unfortunately, this often means that you can't use designs shared by other people, and have to design things yourself.

One thing I've done fairly often is export obj. files from Stud.io part designer for printing. Typically I can't edit these to change pinhole sizes, but at least pinholes can often be manually drilled out afterwards. (Axle holes would be more of a problem)

[bruh]

Ok thanks for all the input! It sounds like the ender 3 v3 se is probably the right one for me. I’ll definitely remember when I start buying!

[Zerobricks]

Usually holes are around 0,2 mm too small when printing stuff, for which you can compensate in the 3D model or the slicer.

Edited November 1, 2024 by Zerobricks

[tseary]

On 10/30/2024 at 10:31 PM, Aurorasaurus said:

But something that did work well for me was printing a 28t gear that slipped on top of a 16t clutch gear [...]

This is a good idea! I recently discovered the trick of using a 12T gear as a hub inside another printed part. The teeth are engaged with a matching spline, so there is little risk of damage.

For hole size, I've found that 5.0 mm makes a firm fit for friction pins (when printing vertically). Axles will go through, but it's too tight to spin freely.

I use a 6.2mm diameter x 0.8 mm deep counterbore on each side to fit the collar of the pin.

[Aurorasaurus]

1 hour ago, tseary said:

I use a 6.2mm diameter x 0.8 mm deep counterbore on each side to fit the collar of the pin. 

I also use 5mm to be a good size for the holes, and also use 6.2mm diameter for the counterbore. But I make my counterbore 1.05mm deep. Maybe this was only necessary for me because I typically print in high layer heights for speed.

[dr_spock]

I run a reamer through my 3D printed holes to get them to the desired size.

[Mikdun]

On 10/31/2024 at 3:14 PM, 2GodBDGlory said:

Unfortunately, this often means that you can't use designs shared by other people, and have to design things yourself.

That's exactly why I'm asking.

I can design pieces myself, but why reinvent the wheel?

I also used reamer (drill actually  ) for holes, but for the cross axles it's not possible.

[dr_spock]

I run a linear broach through the 3D printed cross axle openings.  Metalworking techniques can be used for 3D printing.