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Northtek

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I know my subjects have been controversial so I have agreed to tone down things with the moderators. With that in mind I will keep it to just questions with milder themes. One is that I found is that some of the products I like, I cant find here, and found its easier to 3D print them. So I am sure I am not the only one with a 3D printer and hoping we can share models and ideas. 

So far I have models for a folding mop, Milk jug, Hydro cover, and other small items I find helpful.

Anyone else ? As it takes time to build models so I am hoping that we can save each other time by sharing.

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I would be interested in developing a dialog along these lines. I am almost completely old school. Sculpting models in oil clay, a quick mold, then cast in polyurethane resin with glass bubbles ( machinable). The secret is to work with cut screeds, not by eye. The eye only works a few years, even for the best of us.

So now you have your plastic model. For me, that is always where the system begins to fall apart. You can't do a digital scan, resulting in a perfect Autocad replica. No, it requires hours of highly skilled programming until you can produce anything close to what a 3d printer can output. Saying that, I was, and am still interested in creating a line of fishing lures, which sell for a fortune in Mexico, imported from Japan and the USA.

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Sounds good. 3D printing is very good for several reasons. 1 its very good for the environment, as the amount of plastic products we buy is crazy, so its not only reducing the shipping needed, but also eliminates tons of packaging. 2 its much more convenient. As I know I can but most products online and have it shipped fairly cheaply, but I can not only print at a fraction of the cost, but I can print it faster than I can have it shipped. 3 I often need things I simply cant find, so I can jump into an AutoCAD program and quickly design exactly what I need.  For instance, I needed a tamper resistant cover plate specific to this house and within 2 hours I had it printed. 

I also have to admit I love designing things, so if you need help, just let me know, as I can generally create a 3D model from just a picture, as that's all I normally can find.

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ok, I'll jump in, head first.

If your looking to print 3D,locally, advertise,advertise.

I was looking for a part, fairly specific to raspberrypi cams, thought I had found the specific part and SEEMED to describe what I wanted, ordered, and paid thru OXXO, it was printed in Guadalajara, delivered via estafeta, within four days, the price was reasonable, and the shipping fair, sadly, the camera did not fit the printing, there where numerous errors within the printing instructions, or the camera was a different model, I'm unsure at this point.

If you are able to provide some form of SPECIFIC specifications as to what is being printed, tolerances allowed, and probably, the SPECIFIC ITEM, with drawings, or links to drawings, your in for a bumpy ride.

I wish you the best of skill, knowledge, and planning, some would wish you luck, but thats what the three deal with.

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22 minutes ago, mexjerry said:

ok, I'll jump in, head first.

If your looking to print 3D,locally, advertise,advertise.

This just a hobby for me, it gives me a break from coding.  In the future I might decide to start a business here, but for now I already have a business venture on the go and have an income. 

But I appreciate the advise. 

I think 3D printing could do very well for people here, as 3D printers are cheap now and not that difficult to use. Less than $300. Plus a lot of models can be found online for free. Its only difficult if you need a custom model. For instance, I am printing off a popsicle mold for the kids. 

 

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On 3/10/2021 at 5:15 AM, mexjerry said:

No, I didn't, I used another method.

Thanks

Unfortunately, I dont know much about Raspberry Pi. But its still pretty cool that you are and able to find ways to get your project done. As it takes a lot of ingenuity and courage to try new things. I say courage as there is a lot of people that discourage independent thinkers and if you are experimenting with Raspberry, you probably are one. So my hats off to you.

It sucks that you were unable to get a part done, but you are pretty much into prototyping, which has a very high failure rate. Even when you know exactly what you want. I probably build and test 6-10 copies before 1 works.  That's why it was just easier to buy the printer, as I expected there would be countless revisions.

But what alternative did you use?

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My idea for the pi and camera was for a security camera, the camera has removable night vision, and that is what I needed printed, a mount board for the camera module.

Because it was not the correct mount, I ordered a dummy camera from amazon, just big enough to house the pi and camera module, but no night vision. The case is large enough to house the pi, camera and a battery pack, works very well.

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22 minutes ago, mexjerry said:

My idea for the pi and camera was for a security camera, the camera has removable night vision, and that is what I needed printed, a mount board for the camera module.

Because it was not the correct mount, I ordered a dummy camera from amazon, just big enough to house the pi and camera module, but no night vision. The case is large enough to house the pi, camera and a battery pack, works very well.

Nice, that's some great out of the box thinking. 3D printing is barely a hobby, as most of the time its simply downloading a file and printing, not much skill required. But I have to admit the Raspberry Pi system is very interesting and opens a lot of possibilities. Was this your only project? or are you planning more? 

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Been tinkering with stuff for more years than I care to recall. Built a wood router cnc, computer controlled, mostly scrounged parts, a piece of garage door acme thread for driving, tapped pieces of UHMW, for the drive nuts,  was three axis, stepper motor driven, CAD to gcode, I had fun with that, it was about 20x30 inches,5 inch height, usable, space. Another project, converted a Jet lathe from AC, to DC drive, made it so much better to work, reach over and dial in the required speed, rather than stopping, change belt locations, and restart. I'm a tinker, trying to make it better.

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4 minutes ago, mexjerry said:

Been tinkering with stuff for more years than I care to recall. Built a wood router cnc, computer controlled, mostly scrounged parts, a piece of garage door acme thread for driving, tapped pieces of UHMW, for the drive nuts,  was three axis, stepper motor driven, CAD to gcode, I had fun with that, it was about 20x30 inches,5 inch height, usable, space. Another project, converted a Jet lathe from AC, to DC drive, made it so much better to work, reach over and dial in the required speed, rather than stopping, change belt locations, and restart. I'm a tinker, trying to make it better.

The pursuit of a better mouse trap is what moves us all forward. So good on you, as I was hoping to see more of this here. Ideas from people to inspire. But that's awesome, I am not sure if you would benefit from a 3D printer, but also can see where it could help. Mine is not used as much as it should be, so if you need a quick print, feel free to ask. That way you can see if its worth the investment for you. Until then keep creating. 

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yes, kinda toying with the idea of a 3d printer, just not sure at this point. Whats the development for a one off part, no STL available, the need for CAD, send to what?, then print?

I currently have need for a lid to the electrical box, for the pool, I stepped on it, it broke, needless to say, like herding cats.

thanks

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Well here in lies the problem, once you have a printer, you will find your needs explode, as you will start seeing needs everywhere.

But the process usually only goes in 2 ways. More often or not it will go the easy way, as there is a huge community online for 3D models, ranging from the everyday use, such as flower pots and cellphone covers, to more one off things from other people working with raspberry systems. One of the biggest is https://www.thingiverse.com/. From there you can download the file as STL and it will automatically open the printers software. There you just need to tell it what material you want to use and what quality you want it in. Then copy the file to the printer and wait.  It really is simple.

The not simple way is if no one has the same need as you, which is rare. In that case, you will need a one off. Because I have a lot of experience in 3D modeling, I sometimes take this route, simply because I can and because I already own Lightwave 3D. I dont recommend this software as it is very expensive and requires years of learning. But there is a ton of other free software like Tinkercad from Autodesk Tinkercad | Create 3D digital designs with online CAD | Tinkercad. And others that you can try for free. Such as Autocad"s Revit. 

More often than not, you can simply edit others designs in Tinkercad to suit your needs. As they are free for personal use. 3D printing will be in everyone's future at some point, simply because it is becoming easier to use everyday and because it is the most environmentally friendly thing a person can do.

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