Reprap Forums - Things to Print

Howto print a hollow half-sphere/helmet (10 replies)

MarcusWolschon — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:19:24 -0700

Hello,

for an helmet-like object I require a hollow half-sphere.
Any ideas how to print such a thing because of the
restrictions on overhang?

My best idea at the moment is to segment it. Have
the outher side of each segment round and the inner
flat (because the inner side sits on the printing bed).
Then combine them with screws and either rips or small
helper-objects that go between 2 such segments.
This would essentially create an outher sphere with
an inner dodecahedron-shaped hole.

Any better idea?
I guess supports are still way too experimental to be used?

New Objects web service (14 replies)

JoeMcGuire — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:32:04 -0700

I've been working on a web service and interface to help people browse and select objects that they’d want to print.

It’s in a really early stage but would be awesome to hear if anyone has ideas of what they'd like. So far it just shows (relatively poor) renders of objects at certain angles. But I have plans to improve the renders, add user reviews and ability to upload your own objects.

I'm hoping to be adding allot of new features in the next few weeks

http://new-objects.com/objects/latests/reprap

casting aids for metals (1 reply)

Mark Van den Borre — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:04:50 -0700

With a 3d model of an object in plastic as a starting point, one might be able to create a casting mold for metal things...

Dutch Handcuff Key (no replies)

JohnWasser — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:02:17 -0700

[blackbag.nl]

German SSDeV member Ray is known all around the world for his impressive collection of handcuffs and his fun ways of opening most of them. On top of that he gives great presentations and always manages to add a lot of humor into them!

At HAR he pulled another stunt: He used a 3D printer [link to picture of RepRap Darwin] to print handcuff keys. And not just any ordinary handcuff key … no, it’s the official handcuff key from the Dutch police! At first the police officers at HAR were a little reluctant to event try out the plastic key he printed. But he found another way to verify the key he printed was the correct one. I guess these officers never thought about wearing keys concealed, especially when talking with Mr. Handcuff himself. Given the megapixel camera’s on the market today it was not so difficult to verify the key he printed was the correct one.

At the end of the day he talked the officers into trying the key on their handcuffs and … it did work! At least the Dutch Police now knows there is a plastic key on the market that will open their handcuffs. A plastic key undetectable by metal detectors….

And Ray made it easy for you. For those of you wanting to print your own Dutch police handcuff key … the STL file is available online at [ke.y.nu]

Daleks (no replies)

ceti331 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:22:07 -0700

anyone tried to construct dalek casings yet ? in whatever scale this would demonstrate feasability, even if the temperatures & nanocatalysts for polycarbide/dalekanium material cannot yet be handled

atoma ring (3 replies)

Mark Van den Borre — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:48:30 -0700

[images.manufactum.de]
[www.allinwonderland.eu]
[images.manufactum.de]

I'd love to see a reprap printable version of the rings that keep Atoma notebooks together. Extremely popular in Belgium, and extremely practical.

Airsoft guns?? (1 reply)

ceti331 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:20:17 -0700

would reprap have the precision to construct external custom parts for Airsoft guns - stocks, foregrips. maybe magazine clamps.

the best are metal of course#

EDIT:
(pending local legal issues of replica firearms!)

Dremel-Holder (1 reply)

MarcusWolschon — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:23:29 -0700

Does anyone have a design of a dremel-holder?
Something with the right meassurements for the
part where you can screw-attach tools to it.

Interresting contruction technique (3 replies)

nophead — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:42:46 -0700

These parts looks like something we could print: [www.electronicsweekly.com]

robot parts (1 reply)

MarcusWolschon — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:38:36 -0700

I see a lot of trivial parts on thingiverse and objects.reprap.org .
Is there anyone using a RepRap to build more "interesting" devices
like the parts of a mechanical arm or robot-legs or something like
this?

Cogs, sprockets etc. (3 replies)

pinkbits — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:41:46 -0700

I'm currently restoring a 1976 F250. Trying to find parts is a pain in the behind.

For example, I can't purchase new/aftermarket the drive for the end of the speedometer cable.

I'd like to know if constructing something like this using a Reprap is possible. I can provide pictures if required. (I'll just have to pull the buggered one out of the ute).

Also as a side note, has anyone tried using the Reprap to reproduce warhammer figurines?

Rotary Rolamite Bearing, files on thingiverse (no replies)

Gene Hacker — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:39:54 -0700

Here's a rotary rolamite bearing I designed:
[www.thingiverse.com]
It's primarily designed as a replicapable alternative to skate bearings.

Multipurpose Plug-n-Spin Hand-Crank with replaceable gear mechanism (no replies)

Kartturi — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:57:52 -0700

If one can realistically reprap a hand-crank with a simple gear mechanism
like this:
[attachment 1640 FP_gears_exposed1.jpg]

(See more photos given as FP_*.jpg attachments at the bottom of my
previous posting [forums.reprap.org] )

then one could use it, apart from a manual "food processor",
also in numerous other tools that would make life easier in
many parts of the world.
The following tools come to my mind:

- hand-powered spinning reel?
(See e.g. [en.wikipedia.org] )

- small-scale honey extractor (centrifuge)

- some variant of the butter churn
(see [www.webexhibits.org] )

- fishing reel (maybe not the best choice for tuna or barracuda fishing,
but probably good enough for small catch?
The problem seems to be that normally you need
a reasonable fast spinning rate, but when the
fish catches the bait, you suddenly need some
torque, without gears jamming.)

- even some kind of drill?

- also as a part of hand powered electric generator,
and any other light tool where a simple hand crank with
plastic gear mechanism suffices.

Because making the hand-crank & gears with RepRap would
in any case be expensive (for many of the poor people),
it would make sense to make just one or two of them,
but with some standard modular design, that would
allow them to be used in all of the above tools.
(Just plug-n-spin!)

Also, the design would be OPEN in a very concrete
sense, that one could easily replace the gears, for

a) to get different gear ratios appropriate for different tools/applications,

and

b) to replace the worn-out gears. (I reckon that the currently
used ABS-plastic wears out more quickly than the nylon used in the
industrially made plastic gears?)

So, if somebody likes this idea, please create a prototype,
and publish it here, before some crook patents it.

Thanks,

Antti Karttunen

Manual food processor/chopper with a simple gear mechanism (no replies)

Kartturi — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:33:24 -0700

Dear Reprappers!

Some months ago I bought "Swift Chopper", a "manual food processor"
with 21,90 euros from a promotional sale at the up-scale
department store here in Helsinki:

[www.alibaba.com]

I also recently saw a similar looking product from Tupperware
in a local second-hand shop.

Note that the only metal (non-plastic) components are those three
blades, and those three screws which keep bottom and top parts
of the lid closed, hiding the gear mechanism inside it.
(See the attached photos.)
And no, I don't intend that would make an exact copy of this machine,
but just as a suggestion, what you can do with even a simple gear mechanism.

Now the question:

When do think it would be realistic to print the plastic components
of this kind of thing (somewhat simplified) with a RepRap?
(I.e. already with Darwin or not until Mendel is ready?)
And how long it would take (in hours), and what would be the expenses, for

a) the whole thing,

b) only the gear mechanism, the top part and the component (axis)
where the blades are attached, if we pragmatically choose to employ
some standard plastic bucket or such as the bottom-part (the bowl),
and the hand-crank were made from, say a wood or bamboo.

As for the blades, I guess any skilled third world village blacksmith
could make them from old knifes, for example.

The gear ratio is 40/18 * 38/20 = 38/9 = 4.222... rotations of
blades for each full rotation of the hand-crank.

The texts in the underside of the top-part say:

ATTENTION:
This Product is Protected by
Copyright and Worldwide Patent

U.K. Design Reg.No.2048632
U.K. Design Reg.No.2029823
China Design Reg.No.ZL 93 3 06181.1
U.S. Design Patent No.Des. 361,694
H.K. Registered Design No.9700643.9

(So, they are just design patents, nothing real.)

--------------------------------------

Yours,

Antti Karttunen

Portal Gun (5 replies)

MarcusWolschon — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:15:43 -0700

Hello.

My RepMan-kit should arrive in about 6 weeks and
until then I'll try to get a reprapable model
of the different parts of a Portal Gun (as a prop
for a custume) going.

Is anyone else interested in this and willing
to cooperate?

Apart from <45° overhangs and the resolution,
what else do I need to worry about when doing
the model?

Details:
I think I'll construct the front out of 2 flat parts
per arm and make all the rings separate objects
to be glued together after fabrication.
I'm not sure about the large white part that makes
the back of it yet.

What are you printing (7 replies)

MarcusWolschon — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:11:19 -0700

So...what is everyone here using his/her RepRap for?

Just to get some discussion going and to get a feeling of
that people are doing once their RepRap is up and running...

Things i create and enjoy (1 reply)

Nanakisan — Sun, 03 May 2009 05:41:10 -0700

I just recently learned of the RepRap machines and being a 3D graphics artist makes it even more interesting to me. but honestly my first real thing i'll probably print out is a working tetris board with some pieces. :P go ahead say it i'm a tetris head but who isn't.
if your interested in seeing what i make please go to
[nanaki-murasaki.deviantart.com]

if you have a working reprap machine and would like to play around with my stuff please let me know. I also also open to requests. granted they are not crazy designs and stuff.

Molecubes (3 replies)

ErikDeBruijn — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:39:48 -0700

See [www.molecubes.org]

These are open source modular robots. The cubes can be connected and can reconfigure based on their detected physiology. This can then be transferred to a computer simulation, evolved and then transferred back into the physical domain.

Video:
[www.youtube.com]

You can save a lot in the rapid prototyped parts by making them yourself, moreover there's the option to change a few things in a couple of iterations without breaking your piggy bank.

Here are the STL files:
[128.253.249.235]

Carbon nannotube enhanced plastics (5 replies)

Matthew Hykes — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:11:46 -0700

I read about the RepRap some time back, but haven't the time to build one. Still, the RepRap sprang instantly to mind when I read an article here: [www.nanowerk.com]

Seems there will be some new thermoplastics on the market as soon as PolyOne and Zyvex can work out the details of mixing carbon nanotubes into the plastic at industrial scales. The new plastics will be either very strong for their weight, or electrically conductive, or both. Sounds ideal for making things out of with a RepRap, particularly RepRap parts with the circuitry embedded into the structural components.

Of course, it will probably be a few years until these hit the market, but it's something to keep in mind.

Possible choice of a "printable" game (4 replies)

Lethosos — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:27:22 -0700

[www.piecepack.org]

Mind you, a CNC that's well-designed can work on something like this; using that idea of melding different colors into one solid unit, we might be able to come up with something. It'll require some work and testing, but it's doable.

*eyes a CNC Instructable and wonders when he can get space to build it*

Mendel Keyboard (1 reply)

Soralin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:32:17 -0800

With v2.0 Mendel planned to be able to print conductive material, wouldn't it be possible to print out nearly everything necessary for a complete working keyboard? You would have to get a microcontroller and a usb cable or such, but the rest of the actual keyboard itself could be printed out. Although a couple of different types of plastic, or at least one that's flexible enough might be required.

Custom Fresnel satellite Dishes (2 replies)

TomC — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:13:28 -0800

I think the potential for personal production will be best demonstrated by things that MUST be customized.

Here's one idea:

Flat, fresnel-principle satellite dishes, customized to your location and the surface you want to mount it onto (typically your roof, but it could be a wall).

Accurately measure the orientation and angle of the surface you wish to mount the "dish" on. Software calculates the precise 3D angle the dish needs to aim at. Enter your precise longitude and latitude, as well as the geo-synch satellite's longitude. Software then calculates and generates a fresnel reflector design, then segments it if it has to be made in smaller pieces. Print the parts. Fasten the parts to a weather proof backing and fasten the whole in place.

Note: surfaces must be smooth at microwave wavelengths!

A telepresence 'bot... (2 replies)

Forrest Higgs — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:54:48 -0800

...capable of doing manual labour over the internet.

I'm pulling together the technologies needed to do just that. I'm taking a basic air muscle approach and leveraging a lot of Japanese and American research that's been done over the past 5-10 years.

Cookie Cutters (2 replies)

degroof — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:22:28 -0800

A discussion on a completely unrelated site got me thinking about printing custom cookie cutters. Something like these:

[attachment 1406 cookiecutters.jpg]

It should be fairly easy to create the contour, assuming there's an easy way to convert a height map to a 3D model. All you'd need is to take a line drawing (with maybe a few shaded areas for contours), make a negative and import that as a height map. These types of cookie cutters tend to have a handle on the back as a convenience, though. Not sure that'd be possible without a decent support material.

Keys (3 replies)

le_chiffre — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:28:42 -0800

I think that a nice printing for RepRap could be keys. They are simple objects which people tend to loose very often, so it would have an universal appeal. I don't say that this will be THE killer app for RepRap as MsOffice was for Windows, but it's something that could be as useful as notepad. So... can plastic keys work in regular locks, or are they too weak?

Strap Perfect (4 replies)

degroof — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:52:54 -0800

I just saw a commercial for these things: [www.strapperfect.com]

Including shipping and handling, these will run you just over $3 a piece. $3 for what's essentially a disc of plastic with some cutouts. It's unclear why anyone would need more than one, or even why the color matters, given that it's worn under the clothing.

I figure the disc is about 2mm thick and 40mm in diameter, so about 2.5cc. So, about 350mm of filament and about 30 minutes print time instead of "2 to 6 weeks for delivery".

Actually, it'd probably come out better as a laser cut job, if that's an option.

Toys (30 replies)

degroof — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:36:25 -0800

Last night, I designed and printed one of these: [www.thingiverse.com]

I had to create a support object to keep it from sagging. That was done in Art of Illusion by tracing the outline of the toy, extruding upward to the height of the wings, then subtracting the shape of the toy. You can't see it from the Thingiverse pic but there's landing gear underneath.

I used a single-head support technique I've been playing with. Details here: [blog.reprap.org]

The print I did was scaled to about 20mm long. The resolution of my machine resulted in a pretty decent (if somewhat lumpy) print. That size is probably the smallest it could be printed and still be recognizable. I probably need to use a denser infill to get the wings to look right too. Overall, though, the toy came out OK.

Puzzle Printing (11 replies)

DaveR — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:22:44 -0800

This guy
(http://puzzlepalace.com/index.php5) uses 3d-printing to prototype puzzles and has some excellent designs. This is an great use of prototyping.

There is an open-source puzzle design program called Burr Tools with STL output at [burrtools.sourceforge.net]

Looks great - I can't wait to try some of these.

DaveR

Tissue engineering molds (9 replies)

caston — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:58:22 -0800

Could the reprap make something like a mold in shape of a body part? for example a ear, nose or even something like a bladder... molds like this are used in tissue engineering. For example the ear mouse which used an ear mold and cartilage producing cells (from a cow) to grow an ear on the back of a mouse.

I have even read about people using inkjet printers to print out solutions containing stem cells in certain patterns. Such an idea could potentially by used with the reprap.

If we can get a convergence of the tissue engineering crowd and the reprap crowd one day an nth generation reprap that can work with proteins may even be able to print an extra cellular matrix.

smd -> DIP (3 replies)

Neil Graham — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:14:49 -0700

Something that could make building electronic devices more accessible would be a way to make a dip package that could contain a surface mount chip. It would be a bit of a challenge with the device and pins part of the construction but it's worth someone thinking about if it is doable.

A possibility is to make a clip together upper and lower section, sandwich the surface mount device in the centre.

Maybe it's impractical, maybe not. I'll leave that to someone smarter than me to figure that out.