General > General Technical Chat
Cost - 3D printed enclosure vs Project box?
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ChrisLX200:
3D printers are good for making those really awkward shapes that you don't want to spend time/effort making in some other way. They can be a time saver if you're proficient with SketchUp (or similar) and also the design can be quickly modified and re-printed if required. Personally, for something I which intend to keep I prefer to machine metal, but having said that I have an awful lot of those 3D printed enclosures lying around which I couldn't be bothered upgrading to something better. The 3D printer in not my first go-to device to solve a support/enclosure problem, but more of a last resort if I can't think of anything else :)

Oh, and I should mention Thingiverse - a fantastic resource to trawl through, the 'awkward' enclosure you seek may already have been designed and posted by someone..
 
brucehoult:

--- Quote from: Mjolinor on October 30, 2017, 10:52:21 am ---This is about as rough as they get with no effort put into cleaning the bed or levelling it, just draw (15 minutes using Openscad) and print (20 minutes). Control panel for my spot welder.

--- End quote ---

That's pretty rough. Home (and home made) printers can do far better than that.

Commercial services such as Shapeways produce excellent quality, and can 3D print in metals as well as plastics, and with fewer design restrictions. They do cost quite a bit more than the materials cost though.

I second the use of OpenSCAD. As a programmer -- and for the kinds of things I make --  I find it far more comfortable to use than a click-and-drag GUI design program.

You can find the source code for one of my more complex OpenSCAD designs here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:135065
sokoloff:

--- Quote from: Mjolinor on October 30, 2017, 10:52:21 am ---This is about as rough as they get with no effort put into cleaning the bed or levelling it, just draw (15 minutes using Openscad) and print (20 minutes). Control panel for my spot welder.

--- End quote ---
Agree with @brucehoult; that's rougher than most of my prints, though perfectly functional.

It looks like you might be over-extruding versus what your slicer is expecting/planning on. Try googling a calibration guide for your particular slicer/printer. You may be able to permanently eliminate some of the surface finish lumpiness with a couple hours of wall clock time (less human time).
sokoloff:
Took me a little searching to find the guide I used to guide my first calibration.

It's here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:52946
Mjolinor:

That is printed with a 0.5 mm layer height. It was always going to be rough but it is perfectly functional and strong. The point is that it is so easy and does not take huge amounts of time. It has all the supports you need to mount the PCB and tags to screw it to the top of the welder. Such a thing done any other way is a massive cost in £ and in time. Once proven it is just a matter of levelling the bed and setting the height then doing a finished print with a smaller layer height.

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