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Cost - 3D printed enclosure vs Project box?
sleemanj:
--- Quote from: ag123 on May 19, 2022, 06:02:32 pm ---and for my very 'average' 'low cost' 3d printer (a Creality Ender 3 variant), it gives an estimate of 6 hours 18 minutes to print that.
--- End quote ---
On my ancient printer with my current settings it would take 2h 42minutes according to Prusa Slicer, so probably about 3h in my experience on my printer. And that's with ironing.
The difference is I use a 1mm nozzle and default to 0.65mm layer height.
That box also has pretty thick walls, if I was designing it for my printer I'd make the walls a single perimeter probably, and that would be a lot quicker to print since an entire 17m is spend on gapfill alone due to the wall dimension, not to mention the extra perimeter.
Now certainly at 0.65mm layers the layer lines are very evident but personally, I like the aesthetic and the speed gain is worth it.
CatalinaWOW:
I design and print my own boxes. They usually are designed to snap together and have appropriate apertures for connections, switches, displays and the like, and sometimes I design in incised or raised labels. Cost is hard to evaluate. They use a dollar or so of filament and a few cents electricity. And take several hours to design, usually involving a couple of iterations to get them "perfect". At standard engineering labor rates that makes them incredibly expensive. But the time is usually less than I would have spent purchasing and modding a standard box. Long print times don't matter to me. I don't;supervise the oven, coffeemaker, clothes dryer, dish washer or furnace and see no real reason my printer is more hazardous than those devices.
The real magic is that when I need a second copy of the project the enclosure takes only a couple of minutes of my time. I now rarely do anything other than print project boxes.
ag123:
Thanks all !
I think xrunner's hybrid approach is a nice touch.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/cost-3d-printed-enclosure-vs-project-box/msg4184563/#msg4184563
It looked nice and 3d printing fills in for things that are flat with openings etc. in particular the panels part. And as well as the supports.
I'd also attempt a print for a full box to see how things goes, the dimensions are similar to that posted earlier, but that I've included all the windows and openings (e.g. drill holes) that i needed for my box.
long print times is inevitable with this approach, but that the openings are built into the design.
long print times and *large parts* significantly increase the risks of failed prints, hence these are concerns. This is in addition to the irritation of long print times.
There is one thing i might explore is to place more ventilation openings in my design as holes are literally 'free' with 3d printing, as compared to machining drilling etc.
It seemed with 3d printing, the more 'holes' there are in your application / box, the greater is the benefit, e.g. small support structures etc.
mawyatt:
--- Quote from: ag123 on May 20, 2022, 07:36:54 am ---
I think xrunner's hybrid approach is a nice touch.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/cost-3d-printed-enclosure-vs-project-box/msg4184563/#msg4184563
--- End quote ---
Agree, that's the same approach we took with the LCR Bias Adapter. We cut the Al extrusion in half (~65mm) and 3D printed the end plates with text. The supplied Al end plates were drilled for the 4 BNC connectors and mounted under the 3D printed plates. These Al plates aren't necessary but provide a higher degree of shielding for the adapter. The PCB slides on the extrusion guides and held in place by the BNC connectors.
Overall this approach provides a rigid mechanical and electrical environment for sensitive electronics :-+
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/bias-network-for-lcr-meter/msg4170607/#msg4170607
Best,
sokoloff:
--- Quote from: thm_w on May 19, 2022, 10:23:58 pm ---
--- Quote from: ag123 on May 19, 2022, 06:02:32 pm ---hi all,
I'm bouncing this old thread to ask a different question and to get a feel of the state of the art. It has been quite a number of years since this thread started.
Today 3d printing is a rather mature tech, many people probably have a 3d printer compared to back then.
However, my biggest peeve about 3d printing is that it can take a long time (hours) to print even rather modest enclosures.
--- End quote ---
I don't really care about time to print. Make sure your printer is fire safe, and let it run overnight if you need to.
--- End quote ---
Same here. I regularly print project boxes, RPi enclosures, RPi DIN rail mounts, and a custom box for a low-volume tool I sell.
I've almost never worried about the print time, because my involvement in the process is around 5 minutes total and the robot (3D printer) can take as long as it needs; I can check on it from my phone if I'm really worried about when it will be done (which is almost never). Once the first layer goes down correctly (on one of my printers), I can walk away. On two other printers, they are dialed in and reliable to the point that I just take a look at the webcam pointing at them [to make sure the bed is clear], and send a print job to them without even walking downstairs. 5 or 10 minutes later, I'll look at the webcam again just to make sure everything started correctly, but it almost always does.
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