Efferman's Custom Parts

[thestericho]

Hi

Since I have seen your topic, I Am very interested in 3D printing.

I was wondering, in Shapeways site, I don't see nylon material.

I Can see Detailed Plastic, Elasto Plastic, Frosted Detail Plastic etc... but nothing about nylon.

I guess the real name is not nylon. Can you tell me what is the exactly name of the material you are using.

Thank you in advance.

http://www.shapeways.com/materials/strong-and-flexible-plastic

Does this help?

thats the nylon plastic

[oracid]

Thank you very much. Yes your link help me very much.

[thestericho]

Very true, didn't think that far ahead But do you know how they do their metal work? I know you can order custom jewelry and stuff, but I imagine they are cast in one way or another.. Do you know if they do machining?

Basically its a metal power which is melted ontop of a layer.

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) Almost any metal alloy Electron-beam melting (EBM) Almost any metal alloy including Titanium alloys Selective laser melting (SLM) Titanium alloys, Cobalt Chrome alloys, Stainless Steel, Aluminium Selective heat sintering (SHS) ^[32] Thermoplastic powder Selective laser sintering (SLS) Thermoplastics, metal powders, ceramic powders

Its not the same as FFF or FDMtypes of 3d Printing

[Dafgek81]

Hé Efferman,

Could you design a MB logo in the size off the Technic steering wheel small #2819??

[efferman]

I can design a MB logo, but i dont do it. The Star is a official logo of Mercedes Benz and it is not allowed to duplicate it.

[oracid]

I received the gears racks, this is my feedback.

The red color is a bit pink, but it is not too bad.

The holes are a little tight, I have to expand them with an axle.

Otherwise, other things are very correct.

In the following image, you can see the gears racks in situation.

http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/168509Portique2.jpg

[Dafgek81]

About that rim Efferman, would you give it a try?

[efferman]

oracid, thanks for the feedback

dafgek, remind me in three weeks- my vacation on the backside of the moon is expanded to 3 more weeks

[Matthewslegotechnics]

hi efferman! which pogram made this parts?

[efferman]

brain 1.0 and autodesk inventor

[__________________________]

Has anyone used efferman's U joints? Would you recommend them? I'm considering using them for my custom 9398 because the U joints keep snapping under load

[z3_2drive]

I have used them and...didn't work for me. I guess in a portal hub it will fare better and I remember effe himself used them (correct me if I am wrong). The way I used it was different-power of two/four buggy motors in an independent suspension setup caused them to pop and eventually broke the thin hinges holding the center piece. I think the only way for u-joints to be strong at this scale would be if they were made of metal.

[AndyCW]

I used his u-joints inside of portal hubs and they have held up. Supporting both sides helps. I tried using them on drive shafts, but the lack of support resulted in broken joints. Placing them inside of the torque tube joints will help. Keep in mind that this is with 2 buggy motors running through the joints.

They are stronger than any alternative that I have heard of.

v/r

Andy

[Imanol BB]

hi efferman, have you ever tried to design or build your own custom pneumatic cylinder?

[Saberwing40k]

hi efferman, have you ever tried to design or build your own custom pneumatic cylinder?

I don't think you could 3-d print pneumatic cylinders. The material that Shapeways prints are made of is not actually that smooth, even polished. Also, for a strong cylinder, it would need a couple of rubber seals, and likely a metal rod. Custom pneumatic cylinders are discussed in further detail in these two topics: [topic='Thread"]http://www.eurobrick...423']Thread 1[/topic] [topic='Thread"]http://www.eurobrick...tic']Thread 2[/topic]

[Imanol BB]

oh, i hadnt any idea, thanks.

[Twelvebears]

I think that sometimes it is easy to forget and underestimate the amazing level of accuracy and strength of Lego parts. This has taken years and $m of R&D, and is only possible because of both the materials and the pressure moulding.

I would love us to be in a position to 3D print custom pieces, as some of those proposed here would be fantastic, but for now I think we need to remain realistic about what will be possible for quits some time.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/05/why-3d-printing-is-overhyped-i-should-know-i-do-it-for-a-living/

[bonox]

thanks guys

Balrog, to be exact i have to say this is the second physical iteration. the first one was very rudimentary actuator with only a pistonrod, the treaded pipe and a very simple holder.

this in the video was the version 1.0 with a to wobbly pistonrod and a to loose clutch. i have made a modification set to test the version 1.1 which is actually online on shapeways. When the new clutch is to tight, this will be changed in 1.2.

but first a small vid about the internals of v1.0

Hi efferman

I'm trying how to get your current revision together. Do you have an assembly, ldd file etc of what additional parts are required and how it goes together please?

The guts are a bit different to the 1.1 video.

oh, and is there a lubricant suggestion?

[Blakbird]

I'm trying how to get your current revision together. Do you have an assembly, ldd file etc of what additional parts are required and how it goes together please?

The guts are a bit different to the 1.1 video.

oh, and is there a lubricant suggestion?

LDD is impossible. It only has official parts.

From memory, you need:

• 4x 2L axle and 8 tooth gears for planet gears
  
• 1x 5L axle and 8 tooth gear (with some bushings) for sun gear
  
• 2x 4L axle for affixing cap
  
• 1x 12 tooth bevel gear for input
  
• 1x 20 tooth bevel gear to drive input with any length cross axle
  

I wouldn't recommend using ANY kind of lubricant on a 3D printed part.

[bonox]

thanks - I didn't have in mind a complete digital model, only the arrangement of auxiliiary parts on the 3 x 3 inner cap.

From your description of parts though I now know how it works. Do you think frictionless axle pins would be any better than 2L axles for holding the planets? Should at least keep them captive in the axial plane.

[Blakbird]

From your description of parts though I now know how it works. Do you think frictionless axle pins would be any better than 2L axles for holding the planets? Should at least keep them captive in the axial plane.

You can try it, but I had no problem with axles. In my experience, everything fits very tight so I would not assume that tan axle pins will actually rotate freely.

[bonox]

haha - a couple of hours with some light abrasives, a toothbrush and a compressor were required to deal with lots of "fits very tight", especially in the centre three quarters of the piston thread travel. A little more lapping won't upset me :) I'll try it with the axles first though as you've suggested.

[bonox]

update: the axle pins work very well - better in fact than notched 2L axles. Had to use two 20t bevels to drive though, or it kept skipping. Thanks efferman; it works but probably requires too much work for a large audience though.... I'd suggest making the thread tolerances quite a bit larger. I recall from one of their documents the FNS material has a 0.2mm resolution - the shrinkage is probably greater than that. The end cap that holds the planetary gears also had most of the tangs broken when mine was delivered. Perhaps a small redesign or some sprue to support them in transit?

[efferman]

Thanks for feedback.

some things are broken? do you have a picture of it?

[bonox]

Thanks for feedback.

some things are broken? do you have a picture of it?

I've glued the cap to the case now, so it's not obvious. The cap with the six tangs (red arrow) that exist to stop it twisting around the shaft had a few of those tangs broken. The part was placed diagonally across a zip-loc bag. The bag was probably a bit small and when closed, squashed the end cap up against the shaft and clutch rings. I guess it moved sideways and snapped some of the thin walled tangs.

I bought the two major parts seperately (one black one white). I don't know if you would get the same issue with the version that has all the parts connected.

My only other comment would be that while I think it's ok as is, I would prefer to pay a little more for a doubling of the wall thickness of the extending portion of the unit (what would normally be the polished shaft attached to the piston). Given the repeated cleaning, assembling and remachining, making this bit a little more resistant to handling damage would be well worth another dollar or few.

Edited April 19, 2015 by bonox