Official 3DP Thread

[Elbee]

I actually ordered a mk3 but after waiting 3 months they still didn’t ship I canceled it. I decided to upgrade my p3 steel with a duet WiFi controller and e3d titan extruder. Now that printer prints amazing next to my Kossel delta. There are a few guys here in the forums that do amazing work with 3D parts and I look forward to helping out here.

RcF, Yes, I had a similar thought about 60 days after ordering my Prusa kit. I had hoped this forum could be a great thread to share files and user knowledge. Perhaps with your experience and that of others, we could make this a better source for those who have 3D printers or want to get into 3DP. Most parts I have made are simply arranging basic shapes, but guys like DirtyDee have shown me how much I need to learn. I love designing/printing a part that used to take me a half a day to construct out of bits and pieces I had laying around. Great to have you onboard. Best, LB

[RCjetdude]

I takes TIME to learn 3D CAD software....something I find in short commodity lately. :(

[Alpha]

I'm very happy with my two Ender 3 printers. They consistently produce prints that rival other printers I've tried that cost 3x more. $15 of stepper motor dampers and an afternoon of printing free upgrades from Thingiverse, and they're printing like champs. I run both of them remotely, and they're networked with some of our other production partners for rapid prototyping.

For 3D software, I recommend trying Fusion 360. It's powerful, intuitive, and, for you guys as hobbyists, it's free. There are lots of videos online to help people get started. It takes a weekend to learn the ropes. Take a day off from flying and pour it into Fusion 360, and you'll have the beginnings of a lifelong skill.


Especially guys like you, RCjetdude, I can only imagine what kind of goodies you'd come up with if you worked in Fusion 360. I have a keypad next to my mouse, and it's as simple as a shortkey plus a value in the keypad for dimensions.

[Elbee]

I takes TIME to learn 3D CAD software....something I find in short commodity lately. :(

RCJD, Copy that. Best, LB

[RCjetdude]

I'm very happy with my two Ender 3 printers. They consistently produce prints that rival other printers I've tried that cost 3x more. $15 of stepper motor dampers and an afternoon of printing free upgrades from Thingiverse, and they're printing like champs. I run both of them remotely, and they're networked with some of our other production partners for rapid prototyping.

For 3D software, I recommend trying Fusion 360. It's powerful, intuitive, and, for you guys as hobbyists, it's free. There are lots of videos online to help people get started. It takes a weekend to learn the ropes. Take a day off from flying and pour it into Fusion 360, and you'll have the beginnings of a lifelong skill.


Especially guys like you, RCjetdude, I can only imagine what kind of goodies you'd come up with if you worked in Fusion 360. I have a keypad next to my mouse, and it's as simple as a shortkey plus a value in the keypad for dimensions.

I have Fusion 360 as well and what I have tried I have managed to work through. It can do sooo much! I recently made some X-Vert motors mounts for a young man we fly with who broke one of his. He gave me the good one as a pattern to go by and they turned out pretty good. I felt mildly accomplished on that one. I have tried some basic tutorials online. I need to do like you said and just dive in one weekend. Do you recommend any particular videos? I would love to do more with it for my F-117 project. I also use Simplify 3D for my slicer.

[Rcfiddy1]

Another great feature of fusion360 is the ability to share projects and collaborate on them. I’m working on a pylon attachment for the fw f14 to attach to original screw points and be able to mount up a action cam.

[Rcfiddy1]

Let’s see some printers. Here’s my p3steel in lack enclosure and my kossel delta along with flashforge creator pro. My p3 is printing the L39 parts as we speak.

[Elbee]

Let’s see some printers.

Rcfiddy1, Prusa i3 Mk3 with Lack Enclosure with LED lighting. Tamms thought I was nuts building the enclosure, she might be right, though I like it and it keeps the printer clean. What are the differences other than the delivery time between P3 Steel and the i3 Mk3? Best, LB

[Rcfiddy1]

The p3 is a diy frame/rods only kit. The mk3 does have a lot of improvements over the mk2/p3steel platform. The p3steel frame I ordered direct from orbello thru eBay. Shipping was fast and no issues and the frame is ultra stiff being steel and heavy. I sourced all the parts needed and printed the prusa mk2 parts from thingiverse. I upgraded to a e3d titan and bltouch along with a duet WiFi. I may have went a bit overboard on it but it prints great. The mk3 does have a nice magnetic bed and the auto level looks good but my p3 has auto level and I print on glass. The mk3 doesn’t use endstops which is nice, it other than that don’t see much improvement over a good diy homebuild.

[Elbee]

The p3steel frame I ordered direct from orbello thru eBay. Shipping was fast and no issues and the frame is ultra stiff being steel and heavy. I sourced all the parts needed and printed the prusa mk2 parts from thingiverse. I upgraded to a e3d titan and bltouch along with a duet WiFi. I may have went a bit overboard on it but it prints great. The mk3 does have a nice magnetic bed and the auto level looks good but my p3 has auto level and I print on glass. The mk3 doesn’t use endstops which is nice, it other than that don’t see much improvement over a good diy homebuild.

RcF, It is all about the prints. I didn't have the knowledge set to build from scratch, though I am handy. I bought the Mk3 in kit form to become familiar with the tech and 'dead-leveled' the table and then the enclosure to the print bed. I would buy a 2nd-hand Mk2 and upgrade to own another. I have not researched different drive motors or extruders as upgrades as yet. I use both Fusion360 and TinkerCAD and that's where I fall short sometimes though I am getting there. I would also like to learn more about working 2D into 3D though I think I will try the software approach first using Hi-Res camera settings for a start. Thoughts? Best, LB

[Rcfiddy1]

I’m still learning fusion myself. I get stuck sometimes but I never give up. There’s plenty of tutorials out to help out. I have not done any 3D scans yet.

[RCjetdude]

My printer. Modified aluminum frame Anet A8 in a heated enclosure. Heated self levelling bed, bowden. Bought it this way. Works good. I only print ABS on it.

[Elbee]

RCJD, I like your setup and I recall when you got it. Have you only printed with ABS? I bought a roll but have yet to print with it. I've been printing with PLA as that came with the kit and don't like the way it can sag afterward with heat and those parts don't 'polish' well with acetone. I think the MotionRC printed parts are PLA as those can be re-formed with heat but have a great finish. Best, LB

[RCjetdude]

I need to rework the print head as with PLA I get heat creep that causes the lower melting temp PLA to bind up. It works well with the higher melting temp ABS though. I think the Motion 3DPUP's may be SLA or equivalent as the resolution on them it incredible!

[Alpha]

We're optimizing the next round of 3DPUP files for FDM printing, to make it easier for the home hobbyist to print them on the more common FDM-type printers. That includes splitting up larger assemblies into sub-components so they can more readily lay flat on a print bed without the need for many supports. The Mirage cockpit tub, for example, will be about six smaller prints instead of one big one.

[RCjetdude]

That sounds wonderful!

[Elbee]

We're optimizing the next round of 3DPUP files for FDM printing,

Alpha, Which filament type is used for the 3DP parts from MotionRC? Best, LB

[Alpha]

Hey Elbee, the factory-printed parts are SLA, not FDM, so they don't use filaments.

[RCjetdude]

SLA stands for Stereolithography and FDM is Fused Deposition Modeling. Two similar but very different ways to create a physical object.

[Elbee]

SLA stands for Stereolithography and FDM is Fused Deposition Modeling. Two similar but very different ways to create a physical object.

RCJD, Is that similar to what I understand is 'resin printing' with a tank, photo-electric gizmos, UV light, et cetera? LB

ps: I'll look it up. Thanks for the info!! Best, LB