Here's the story.
You have an idea in your head, a mod, not just any mod, THE mod. The one you want. The one you're determined to build.
Anxiously grabbing pen and any paper like substance that takes ink, you sketch out a disaster of a concept. Then start sourcing parts. Then start taking measurements. Then...
Brick wall. Maybe it's that chip that doesn't fit in a hammond or cnc. Maybe the shape is all wrong. Maybe nothing will fit those cool new sanyo 20700s you need. There are many factors that may stop you from building your box with "off the shelf" parts.
So where do you go from here?
There are 3 main options you have.
1)fire up your cnc mill and get a big chunk of aluminum(had to say it, because someone would eventually point out that they have a full machine shop sitting in their basement)
2)contact a cnc shop and have them cut a 1 off part, at unknown cost-hint, it'll be high
3)fire up your 3d design software and hit print???????
Wait, seriously? Is it that easy? Can I really make anything I want at any time?
We'll, yes, and no, strangely at the same time. Here's a brief(boring) overview of how 3d printing is changing the world of manufacturing.
It all started when an old patent ended(weird right?). in 2009 S. Scott Crump's patent on fused deposition modeling expired, and the world of 3d printing became a world. As soon as the patent expired, an open source movement called reprap started, and manufacturing as we knew it took a drastic change. The principal of reprap is that a 3d printer can 3d print another 3d printer. Note-some people mistake reprap to mean open source(the concept of creating a product and publishing every bit of it's design for others to duplicate, modify or improve), but it does not directly mean open source, even though almost all reprap projects are open source. Now, there is no 100% reprap printer(yet), because circuitry, stepper motors and wiring have yet to be 3d printed from 1 machine, but I believe the closest anyone has come has been 78% 3d printed parts. Break out the tin foil hats people, machines are starting to reproduce!
But the reprap movement, with it's open source philosophy, caused a very desirable consequence, 3d printers are now more affordable than good cell phones.
More boring stuff-but hilariously simplified:
There are many forms of 3d printers, ones that can melt metal powder together using lasers, ones that fuse plastics together while suspended in goo(watch the movie "face off" and look how the ear was made. It's exactly like that), even ones that 3d print electrical circuits and food(#downloadabigmac is in the future), but these are still unobtainable to the 99%ers due to heavy price tags.
Enter FDM- Fused deposition modeling.
Fdm is a very complex process of loading a reel of purified weed wacker line into a hot glue gun mounted on a carriage that moves it on 3 axies(hence 3d, clever, right?) The filament gets liquefied in the hot end and precisely extrudes it, one layer at a time, in a very precise shape, where it hardens.
This changes manufacturing from subtractive(cutting out your product, making your scraps a waste of money) to additive manufacturing(no loss of material, because you only add what you need)
Obviously not a scientific explanation, but it'll suffice for the 3d printing for dummies book.
So, how precise are we talking? It varies by the 3d printer, but mine can print at dimensional accuracy of 0.01mm(maybe more, but that's the best my calipers can measure).
What plastics can we print? Again, varies by printer, but PLA(corn cellulose filament, for the tree huggers), abs(the dashboard in your car), nylon(toothbrush bristles), Poly-carbonate(safety glasses and cds), copper infused, bronze, infused, wood infused, aluminum infused, carbon fiber infused, and a bunch of other crazy stuff, available in almost any color and transparency that you could want.
So, what's the catch? well, since you deposit 1 horizontal layer at a time, some shapes that leave unsupported layers in the middle of nowhere fall victim to that ....... gravity(seriously, I hate that guy sometimes), and some filament can be expensive(I saw a carbon fiber filament for like 300 euros a kilo, or a crap ton in dollars), but expect to pay between $10 and $30/lb for filament on average.
Another downside can be cost. My printer has cost me about $400 so far, and it was far from plug and play. Plug and play machines that come right out of the box swinging start around $700. Of course, you get what you pay for.
So you would have to ask yourself if making just one battery box is worth the price tag. If you want to print anything your mind can think up, it's probably worth it. If you just need one specialty part, there are other options.
Windows 10 users- Go into the start menu, and open a program called 3d builder. Comes standard on windows. design a piece, and hit print. It'll take you to one of many places that will print out your custom piece(for a fee of course). There are other websites that offer this service as well, even ones that'll print your part in steel, aluminum, even gold(If you have to ask how much a gold piece costs, you can't afford it).
In conclusion, if you are a serious modder, 3d printing is definitely, hands down, something you should investigate. If you just have an idea you want to try out, it's worth designing a model and sending it to a 3d printing service to get a quote, and decide if the price is worth it to you.
You have an idea in your head, a mod, not just any mod, THE mod. The one you want. The one you're determined to build.
Anxiously grabbing pen and any paper like substance that takes ink, you sketch out a disaster of a concept. Then start sourcing parts. Then start taking measurements. Then...
Brick wall. Maybe it's that chip that doesn't fit in a hammond or cnc. Maybe the shape is all wrong. Maybe nothing will fit those cool new sanyo 20700s you need. There are many factors that may stop you from building your box with "off the shelf" parts.
So where do you go from here?
There are 3 main options you have.
1)fire up your cnc mill and get a big chunk of aluminum(had to say it, because someone would eventually point out that they have a full machine shop sitting in their basement)
2)contact a cnc shop and have them cut a 1 off part, at unknown cost-hint, it'll be high
3)fire up your 3d design software and hit print???????
Wait, seriously? Is it that easy? Can I really make anything I want at any time?
We'll, yes, and no, strangely at the same time. Here's a brief(boring) overview of how 3d printing is changing the world of manufacturing.
It all started when an old patent ended(weird right?). in 2009 S. Scott Crump's patent on fused deposition modeling expired, and the world of 3d printing became a world. As soon as the patent expired, an open source movement called reprap started, and manufacturing as we knew it took a drastic change. The principal of reprap is that a 3d printer can 3d print another 3d printer. Note-some people mistake reprap to mean open source(the concept of creating a product and publishing every bit of it's design for others to duplicate, modify or improve), but it does not directly mean open source, even though almost all reprap projects are open source. Now, there is no 100% reprap printer(yet), because circuitry, stepper motors and wiring have yet to be 3d printed from 1 machine, but I believe the closest anyone has come has been 78% 3d printed parts. Break out the tin foil hats people, machines are starting to reproduce!
But the reprap movement, with it's open source philosophy, caused a very desirable consequence, 3d printers are now more affordable than good cell phones.
More boring stuff-but hilariously simplified:
There are many forms of 3d printers, ones that can melt metal powder together using lasers, ones that fuse plastics together while suspended in goo(watch the movie "face off" and look how the ear was made. It's exactly like that), even ones that 3d print electrical circuits and food(#downloadabigmac is in the future), but these are still unobtainable to the 99%ers due to heavy price tags.
Enter FDM- Fused deposition modeling.
Fdm is a very complex process of loading a reel of purified weed wacker line into a hot glue gun mounted on a carriage that moves it on 3 axies(hence 3d, clever, right?) The filament gets liquefied in the hot end and precisely extrudes it, one layer at a time, in a very precise shape, where it hardens.
This changes manufacturing from subtractive(cutting out your product, making your scraps a waste of money) to additive manufacturing(no loss of material, because you only add what you need)
Obviously not a scientific explanation, but it'll suffice for the 3d printing for dummies book.
So, how precise are we talking? It varies by the 3d printer, but mine can print at dimensional accuracy of 0.01mm(maybe more, but that's the best my calipers can measure).
What plastics can we print? Again, varies by printer, but PLA(corn cellulose filament, for the tree huggers), abs(the dashboard in your car), nylon(toothbrush bristles), Poly-carbonate(safety glasses and cds), copper infused, bronze, infused, wood infused, aluminum infused, carbon fiber infused, and a bunch of other crazy stuff, available in almost any color and transparency that you could want.
So, what's the catch? well, since you deposit 1 horizontal layer at a time, some shapes that leave unsupported layers in the middle of nowhere fall victim to that ....... gravity(seriously, I hate that guy sometimes), and some filament can be expensive(I saw a carbon fiber filament for like 300 euros a kilo, or a crap ton in dollars), but expect to pay between $10 and $30/lb for filament on average.
Another downside can be cost. My printer has cost me about $400 so far, and it was far from plug and play. Plug and play machines that come right out of the box swinging start around $700. Of course, you get what you pay for.
So you would have to ask yourself if making just one battery box is worth the price tag. If you want to print anything your mind can think up, it's probably worth it. If you just need one specialty part, there are other options.
Windows 10 users- Go into the start menu, and open a program called 3d builder. Comes standard on windows. design a piece, and hit print. It'll take you to one of many places that will print out your custom piece(for a fee of course). There are other websites that offer this service as well, even ones that'll print your part in steel, aluminum, even gold(If you have to ask how much a gold piece costs, you can't afford it).
In conclusion, if you are a serious modder, 3d printing is definitely, hands down, something you should investigate. If you just have an idea you want to try out, it's worth designing a model and sending it to a 3d printing service to get a quote, and decide if the price is worth it to you.
