Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

We bought my son a 3D printer to maybe get something going on the side. its just over 1 day printing time on his machine for the big one like this There is a little tweaking that can be done to speed up the printing time, but not by much.
He is going to have a look at it today and print one out to make sure it works and functions.
He is also going to customize it a little (there is a website address on the .stl files that he is going to change on mine to show ED FORCE ONE ( it's an Iron Maiden thing incase anyone was wondering )
I'll give you some feedback as soon as it is done.

Cedric, I hear you - one can reduce printing time considerably by using less filling, thinner outside edges, tops and bottoms etc. And speeding up the hot end travel speed. But all these things come at a trade-off. Speeding up the hot end means poorer finish quality. Less filling and thinner sides mean the structure is not as solid. Etc.

On my old, home-made printer - configured with what I would consider the minimum required sidewall thickness and filling, I'm looking at about 36 hours of print time - and about 70 metres of filament in case anybody wondered...

The other thing that worries me about printing it is the material. PLA becomes very soft with heat, and can even deform. In our summer months, I can imagine a PLA printed object deforming considerably in a hot car parked in the sun - especially if one has printed it for speed (not as solid - as mentioned earlier).

As such, it would probably be better to print something like this using ABS or PETG - which create harder-wearing prints and can withstand higher temperatures. However, both of these materials are also much more difficult to print with.

Anyways, if load-shedding stops on Friday as promised, I'll see whether I can print one. I've got a roll of black filament which is not doing anything. I just don't want to start a 36-odd hour print only to lose power halfway through and have to start over again...

Ian, yeah I agree to get far into a print only to have it go pearshaped due to load shedding is not going to be fun.

He is going to reduce the wall thickness slightly and play around with the infill, but still sitting on 24 hours.
I agree with you on the PLA filament, and that's why I thought it better to print one out and then give it a good testing before saying hey guys I can print one out. I'd rather get it to look good and be strong, than reduce the quality to slap one out in record time.

My son just needed and excuse to go buy rolls of different ABS colours..... ahhhhh there goes the bank balance..... again

Yeah, my mate did mention the long print time and the choice of materials with regards to the heat issue. Let's see how it goes.

iandvl wrote: ↑13 Apr 2022 14:28 Anyways, if load-shedding stops on Friday as promised, I'll see whether I can print one. I've got a roll of black filament which is not doing anything. I just don't want to start a 36-odd hour print only to lose power halfway through and have to start over again...

Ian, you can always bring the printer here for a while. Our place is load shedding free and I don't mind looking after the printer for you until Eskom get their act together

Can't wait to see the results!!!

ChristoSlang wrote: ↑13 Apr 2022 19:56 Ian, you can always bring the printer here for a while. Our place is load shedding free and I don't mind looking after the printer for you until Eskom get their act together

Thanks Christo, but that printer will suck your batteries dry in no time...

Ek wag ook in spanning... sal dit LOVE om 2 lekker Cappucino's op 'n road trip te laat staan in daai cup holder!

ricster wrote: ↑13 Apr 2022 13:29 We bought my son a 3D printer to maybe get something going on the side. its just over 1 day printing time on his machine for the big one like this
cup big.JPG

There is a little tweaking that can be done to speed up the printing time, but not by much.
He is going to have a look at it today and print one out to make sure it works and functions.
He is also going to customize it a little (there is a website address on the .stl files that he is going to change on mine to show ED FORCE ONE ( it's an Iron Maiden thing incase anyone was wondering )
I'll give you some feedback as soon as it is done.

This one looks pretty nice, I have some grey filament at home and it almost matches my interior trim. I think I'll print one out this weekend and see how it fits. Let you know!

Ok, so we printed one out, customized it slightly (I'll take some pics and post them), but want to test it out in a hot cabin for a while first as we used a black PLA filament, which may go a little soft in the heat when parked in the sun and in a closed cabin.

Printing time took 34 hours of continuous printing. It's incredibly slow going and I didn't want to reduce the infilling too much due to using PLA. Like I said, I'll give you feedback once I've tested it out for a few days.