Thanks mrpete this was just the test I was waiting for. I did not believe that PLA would have the strength to print Gears; it just goes to show how effective 3D printing can be. Many thanks.
Garry Dufford yeah that would happen on the small gears but on the big ones I think most of the body would be hollow, I would recommend 5-8 perimeters based on how big the gears look
@@mitchellstrobbe7779 I am currently playing with these settings to produce a set of change gears for a Jet 9x20. I don't have it dialed in yet but my initial tests with increasing the number of perimeter shells is promising. I am getting solid teeth but I still need to dial in the speeds and overlap to get it where it needs to be.
I think I catch your excitement because it's kinda like watching a kid getting a toy and really enjoying it. That exuberant joy of creating and discovery. Keep at it. It's fun to see what you get into
The 3D gear was impressive, in fact it was unbelievable that it would be that durable. It would be interesting to know how much quiter the lathe would be with all 3D made gears? It is evident that you have been using the 3D printer a lot by the progress you have made in the quality of the product since the first video you made with the printer. Keep up the great videos.
Really cool test! It's really cool to see older machines and newer machines come together. I would have never guessed that PLA gear would have held up like it did.
2018 is shaping up to be a good year; Mr Pete has a 3d printer and is dropping Ave references. Brings a tear to the eye, lol. As always awesome video Mr pete!
I am impressed. I am seriously looking at getting a 3D printer to make small replacement parts we use at work. Good test and very applicable due to the shortage of those replacement gears. Thanks Lyle!
I know this is an old video but this just proves how versatile PLA can be for function parts, despite many people downplaying the strength and heat resistance properties (I know, next to no heat resistance when compared to other engineering grade filaments, but it’s not like it’ll become a puddle of plastic during the summer). I printed a handlebar adapter for my Ducati almost 2 years ago and it’s still holding up in the Texas heat.
Wow! What an extraordinarily useful video. I am impatiently waiting for my 3d printer (same model as yours) & this provides some of the most useful information of any I have seen. Folk say this plastic is better than this etc & I get very confused, but here you are a practical demonstration with the easiest plastic & it works, stronger than machine can cut. It is extraordinary. The potential to make gears for my Myford in the UK is a great counter to my fears of breaking them & I can see loads of other applications that I now believe this simple plastic will be suitable for. Certainly one of the most useful videos I have seen on 3d printing, making me yet more excited for mine to arrive. Thank you for sharing!
That was a fascinating experiment, just shows how much I had mentally underestimated the strength of PLA. Thank you Lyle for doing this and making the video.
Thanks for the testing. I have a complete set of the 3D printed gears I use on a Atlas 10f lathe that were printed over a year ago at my local Library from gadget049's files. They do indeed run quite and run true. When I got the lathe only gears were the ones on the lathe. Now I have the complete set of gears for thread cutting and I think the cost for them was around $20. Keep up the great videos, I watch them all.
Michael did you print the gears solid ? I had a 40 T printed for my 10" atlas the gear did not last 5 minutes the teeth stripped of. If the only last 1 year that would mean you make new ones every year ???
Just to finish out the experimentation, you should put the 20% gear on the machine and try it under load. It may fail but it might be surprising how far you can push it before it does. It might even make it all the way to the “belt slip” stage.
Thanks for the demo Mr Pete. Love your vids, keep the good work up. Seeing what you can do with a 3D printer is great. In my younger years I was one of the first to get ahold of the latest technology, they use to call me the guru where I was last employed. Now I am older and on about 1/5 of the wage I use to be on it has become a lot harder to keep up with the latest. I am so glad that I set up my workshop with almost everything I needed whilst I was receiving a high wage. Your many videos have encouraged me, I have been a woodworker for 45 odd years and am starting to delve into metal work. Thank you from the depths of my heart, with the videos you have put out and a few others I regularly watch on TH-cam I hope that I can become, whilst not up to your level of expertise, at least good enough to achieve some of the goals I would like to get to. Kind regards Rossco
Really enjoyed this video. Great test. About 14:47, when you stalled the lathe the 2nd time, the top gears flex when you turn the power off. These top gears may experience more stress than the one you replaced. Also agree with the comments about longevity/durability. But the only way to test this is to replace the metal gears with 3D printed gears and use it for a while. Thanks Again!
I am so glad you did this!! Too many people say NOT to print gears. I understand why they say not to but in the case you were to need a gear for a shot time ie waiting on shipping you would be able to do so. Thanks so much Mr. Pete
Great Video Mr Pete! My wife and I manufacture tin cookie cutters. I design and make all the tooling for our machines. It takes me about 8 to 12 hours to make a set of tooling out of cold roll steel. So we decided to get a 3D printer to help make the dies and save so time. The thought was it was like having an employee And I could be doing something else. Our first print took 35 hours! It was like watching paint dry. But I do think that is much faster LoL. The print held up from the force that was applied to it but it only lasted for 2000 to 3000 pieces. It tended to wear out from putting the tin on and off of it. Needless to say we scrap that idea and stuck with the tried and true method of the steel. I have some tooling that is well over 10 years old and have run thousands and thousands of cutters on them. But I do find the 3d printer to be a fascinating machine. Thank you for printing the gears and posting a video on them. I often wondered if the would hold up.
Amazing work, not only they are fairly resistant but also act as a great fuse for the not always so careful hobby machinist. I just had to replace the bull gear on a 50yr logan clone on which I'm definitely going to put a couple plastics on easy to reach spots after the rebuild. One cool project is casting your own gears, you can print your gear with sprues and gates, cover it in plaster and heat the mold to get rid of the plastic, you can then cast zamak on the mold, it flows much better than aluminium. It's an easy "investment casting" tecnique, and as long as your mold is dry and preheated to a temperature close of the Zamak you're probably going to get a usable gear on your first try.
Thanks Mr. Pete - interesting test of the plastic gear. The 6" Craftsman (Atlas) also used stamped gears made out of the Zamac material and I have seen the teeth on the bull gear for the back gears break away on the one I now own - my dad bought it new in 1962 from Simpson Sears here in Canada. He did a lot of starter and generator armature commutators with it and had hopes of doing heavier tasks but the lathe was just not made for that as he sadly found out as the back gear set up just could not handle some of the tasks he asked it to perform. I was able to purchase a new bull gear from Clausing Service Center in Goshen Indiana back in the early 1990's and it was all steel and has stood up very well over the years. I believe that Clausing Industrial still offers a lot of repair parts such as gears for the Atlas brand lathes - they are now located in Kalamzoo Michigan (you probably already know this but thought I would share it in case you or other viewers were not). The items they supply are not inexpensive but definitely good quality as I got a new lead screw for the lathe a couple of years ago - sometimes being able to purchase a quality manufactured repair part is more important than the price of the item - just my opinion. The plastic gears appear to stand up surprisingly well but I assume their downfall would be the same as the Zamac material - any chips caught in the gear train teeth will eventually destroy the tooth profile - just my thoughts. Have a great day.
This 3D printing is amazing, it opens up a whole new world ! Oh if the machine makers & the machinists of the industrial revolution could see this process, can you imagine their amazement and reactions !! 🤗
I have just begun researching 3D printing change gears for my 8x mini lathe and this video was very encouraging to continue my research. Also thankyou for the infor for links to get the files I need to complete this.
I have both a lathe and dividing head that have stripped gears. This is a real chicken and egg problem, as I could easily make the gears if I had a working lathe and dividing head. My plan is to do exactly this and use my 3d printer to make temporary gears to allow me to fix the broken tools. Thanks for the test, makes me much more confident my plan will work. Also, excellent idea with the threading dial. I will have to try that myself!
Very interesting video and results. I am considering getting a 3-D printer and this is helping me justifying it. I have an atlas lathe that I purchased new in 1971 very handy tool.
Mr. Pete, I wanted to share a consumer tip about your precision Toledo scale. You didnt have to pay top dollar for the Toledo brand name and the fancy label. Instead you could have gotten the same scale at Harbor Freight. Even better, wait until a holiday sale and use the 25% off coupon. Keep turning, milling, casting and printing. Your enthusiasm and energy while sharing your adventures is wonderful.
Great video, particularly the testing of the gears. As far as I know, ABS is harder but PLA is tougher, so it is the right choice for printing gears. The problem with PLA is its plasticity rising early when temps go up, so that was the reason to use ABS in extruders and would be a reason here.
great Job. Yes I do enjoy these videos and appreciate the time it takes. I am impressed on the gear held up. but In a pinch I am sure it would be a good stop gap solution
this is awesome. I'm loving the new technology with old school knowledge. plus making practical things with a 3d printer. usually you only see useless nic naks being printed.
Fun and Thought provoking Mr. Pete, Thanks. As about half the 153 commenters below recommend not using oil and I agree however an alternative is lithium white grease...even with PLA it has a hi lubricity and pressure resistance and should not degrade the PLA as fast as sulfur based or detergent based lubes...works on ABS as well like my mini has & never broke or barely any wear for 4 years. The coolest thing about this to me would be the ability to create additional gear ratios for all kinds of purpose...metric threading, more threading options (i.e. 5-40) higher lower feed rates, etc. Thanks again for rattling the BB's.
Cool experiment. I have an old abused Atlas 10F that the previous owner dropped while moving and broke the motor mount and the main drive pulley, so I got it cheap. It didn't come with many change gears, just enough to drive the lead screw for basic turning (96 tpi and 24 tpi IIRC). Wanting to have a capable lathe and do some threading I went to ebay and the premium price you mentioned drove me to seek alternatives. So I searched and found several people that had printed their own sets out of nylon and were pleased with the performance and the noise reduction. I don't have a 3D printer so I looked into having them done by one of those online services. The price was something like $85 for the biggest gear - 1 gear. Well, that made the ebay premium price look much more attractive so I went that route. But, if you didn't have to pay for machine time on someone else's printer (and as they become more and more common the time-cost will drop) I think it would be a very acceptable solution, especially with the more durable plastics available.
"Rip 'ems"! AvE will be giddy. This was a very interesting video. I was expecting the gear to split while under load in your lathe. I'm sure it would soon become prone to increasing backlash and chatter after a day or two of use. However as a temporary fix to get your lathe running again while waiting for a replacement Zamak part to arrive in the mail, this seems to be a viable solution. Thanks for doing this imaginative experiment. I would probably have assumed this would never work and not tried it, you proved me wrong :)
I would suspect that these gears will hold up well unless there is a bind in the train, as there really should not be much load on them. A bind in the feed train would break a zamak gear as well. You might see loads sufficient to damage the gear when milling on the lathe, though. The gears don't even need to be very precise, even for cutting threads. At about $US0.05/g for PLA filament, the 100% gear has direct cost under $US2.00 including the raft, and 9 hours of machine time with associated wear. Not bad. I would probably not go with ABS for this application as, though tougher, the harder surface of the PLA will wear better. ABS, or nylon (more$$$ and trouble to print) would likely be quieter.
That was impressive. Having printed with PLA I am surprised it held up against forces that stalled the lathe. Just a little heat with PLA will make it fold like a cheap lawn chair, so I am impressed the gear made it as far into the test as it did. Great experiment - sometimes you have to ignore assumptions and forge ahead.
This is promising results for those of us with small machines that are prone to lose their gears, i.e. tape decks, turntables, VCRs etc. If 3D printing can extend useful life, YAY!
I've been following 3D printing, and this is a very informative (and entertaining) video! I'm adding 3D printing to a PCB Router that I'm building. Also adding a laser. Thanks for posting.
I have not tried these yet, but I have seen the videos using GCarbon PETG filament that is showing good strength, and Some experimenting with annealing PLA parts in the oven for added strength.
For whatever it may be worth, I certainly enjoy seeing the stuff you do. It makes me wish high schools still had shop class so I could change careers and become a shop teacher. :D It seems to me those gears are perfectly serviceable in a bit more than a pinch! Indeed, I imagine that - provided a person already had a 3D printer in the shop - it's probably far simpler to replace broken gears with PLA copies than it is to source the original Atlas/Craftsman zamak parts.
I'm printing the set of gears designed by Gadget047 right now. I made some adjustments like printing them with a 30% infill and a little more layers in the shell. After watching you run these gears on the lathe, I think they will work just fine, and when they break, I'll print more maybe out of ABS instead of PLA. Thank You for the video and demonstration.
Nice video and analysis! Impressive knowledge of 3D printing. Was thinking about buying a metric transposing gear for my SB 10K. Now, I will print one. Keep up the good work!
Mr Pete, I think it was a big success. I would have liked to see the used plastic gear removed and cleaned to see if any wear patters were made in that time. I also wonder how PLA plastic holds up to oil and grease exposure.
Excellent job Sir! As a graduate of Mt. Vernon, IL. High School vocational thank you for continuing my education via TH-cam. You do yourself proud with every lesson. I think the 3d printing is very cool and opens doors for us home shop folks previously reserved for Industry. Would the pro had peices lend themselves well to casting patterns for the home foundries?
I love this. I do have a question. I have hit and miss engines. I'm guessing that you could make gears and then get them cast from them. Because I have some parts that you cannot find .
Very impressive proof of PLA 3D printed gear Should be most interesting to replace all the gears and try some parting and other heavy cut operations So this is a very interesting option for future experiments. I'd love to see more. Good luck with these! Saar
Great video. I second some other comments asking for some heavy interrupted cuts (after all, I don't have to pay for the carbide inserts). Incidentally, if this material can handle the gear train, then something like a thread dial indicator must be a really sensible application - no real load and they are overpriced.
We all may have a sentimental attachment to metal but there are some pretty good possibilities out there with plastics and 3D printing. Finding parts for older machines is one example. Of course if one is trying to restore an old machine to original condition using parts that are at least made from the original material, as close at least as possible, would be desirable but if you just want to return an otherwise reasonably good machine to functionality this could be a very good option.
Mr Pete... I just made some gears for my mini lathe... if you want lower infill I would suggest increasing the wall thickness so you get 100% infill on the teeth but the body can have less fill.. helps the bore as well... good luck
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 65 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "จ้าวเสือใหญ่ vs ผึ้งหลวง"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TDpOh5eEJKw/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks mrpete this was just the test I was waiting for. I did not believe that PLA would have the strength to print Gears; it just goes to show how effective 3D printing can be.
Many thanks.
Stronger than anyone would think
Use more perimeters so the teeth are solid but the main body can be hollow
That's what I was thinking, but then the body of the gear will be nearly solid as well, might as well do the whole thing at 100%, ya think?
Garry Dufford yeah that would happen on the small gears but on the big ones I think most of the body would be hollow, I would recommend 5-8 perimeters based on how big the gears look
@@mitchellstrobbe7779 I am currently playing with these settings to produce a set of change gears for a Jet 9x20. I don't have it dialed in yet but my initial tests with increasing the number of perimeter shells is promising. I am getting solid teeth but I still need to dial in the speeds and overlap to get it where it needs to be.
I think I catch your excitement because it's kinda like watching a kid getting a toy and really enjoying it. That exuberant joy of creating and discovery. Keep at it. It's fun to see what you get into
The 3D gear was impressive, in fact it was unbelievable that it would be that durable. It would be interesting to know how much quiter the lathe would be with all 3D made gears? It is evident that you have been using the 3D printer a lot by the progress you have made in the quality of the product since the first video you made with the printer. Keep up the great videos.
Really cool test! It's really cool to see older machines and newer machines come together. I would have never guessed that PLA gear would have held up like it did.
Most impressed with the 3D printed gear. thanks for sharing you test.Don from Oregon
Great video Mr Pete. Thanks for putting the time in for us viewers.
2018 is shaping up to be a good year; Mr Pete has a 3d printer and is dropping Ave references. Brings a tear to the eye, lol. As always awesome video Mr pete!
Another excellent video. It is great to know that we can reproduce these machine parts inexpensively and keep these old shop tools working.
I am impressed. I am seriously looking at getting a 3D printer to make small replacement parts we use at work. Good test and very applicable due to the shortage of those replacement gears. Thanks Lyle!
I know this is an old video but this just proves how versatile PLA can be for function parts, despite many people downplaying the strength and heat resistance properties (I know, next to no heat resistance when compared to other engineering grade filaments, but it’s not like it’ll become a puddle of plastic during the summer). I printed a handlebar adapter for my Ducati almost 2 years ago and it’s still holding up in the Texas heat.
Thank you for the comment. Yes, many people told me the teeth would break off of the gears. But they’re still going strong.
@@mrpete222you are using those 6 years later with no problems?!
Wow! What an extraordinarily useful video. I am impatiently waiting for my 3d printer (same model as yours) & this provides some of the most useful information of any I have seen. Folk say this plastic is better than this etc & I get very confused, but here you are a practical demonstration with the easiest plastic & it works, stronger than machine can cut. It is extraordinary. The potential to make gears for my Myford in the UK is a great counter to my fears of breaking them & I can see loads of other applications that I now believe this simple plastic will be suitable for. Certainly one of the most useful videos I have seen on 3d printing, making me yet more excited for mine to arrive. Thank you for sharing!
That was a fascinating experiment, just shows how much I had mentally underestimated the strength of PLA. Thank you Lyle for doing this and making the video.
A practical experiment by a practical man showing performance under practical conditions. WELL DONE!
Anything you show on youtube, I enjoy. Always a thumbs up.
Hey, make your wife some tablespoons, with your 3D printers.
Thanks for the testing. I have a complete set of the 3D printed gears I use on a Atlas 10f lathe that were printed over a year ago at my local Library from gadget049's files. They do indeed run quite and run true. When I got the lathe only gears were the ones on the lathe. Now I have the complete set of gears for thread cutting and I think the cost for them was around $20. Keep up the great videos, I watch them all.
Michael Banak have/do you oil your printed gears? (That have lasted a year?)
trialnterror no I run them dry. Run so much more quietly then the stock gears.
Michael did you print the gears solid ? I had a 40 T printed for my 10" atlas the gear did not last 5 minutes the teeth stripped of. If the only last 1 year that would mean you make new ones every year ???
Just to finish out the experimentation, you should put the 20% gear on the machine and try it under load. It may fail but it might be surprising how far you can push it before it does. It might even make it all the way to the “belt slip” stage.
very impressed with the results of your test , these things could hold up very well under home shop type use !! thanks for sharing !!!
Even though I don't have a 3d printer, I thoroughly enjoy these videos!
Wow that's impressive! Thanks for the video Mr Pete...
That's pretty impressive; looks like it could be a viable option. Thanks for the video Mr. Pete!
Great video! Apparently, the 3D solid pla printing of the gear, proved to be very well made and demonstrated, good job as usual. Thanks
Great video idea, and much appreciated. The results support my overall feelings on 3D printing -It's the new frontier for replacement parts.
I printed half nuts for my atlas I was surprised at the results. Typically A lot cheaper then replacements parts if it’s a part that will work plastic
Half nuts is an interesting replacement print. Is it holding up?
John Strange so far so good, but it’s of course just a hobby machine. I made a video of it th-cam.com/video/ap5Tgf2TLlg/w-d-xo.html
One major problem with PLA is that once it gets HOT, it melts! So I would not recommend for production quality use!
Great for us hobbyist, though!
@@driversteve9345 Move to Nylon! Much better heat tolerance.
Thanks for the demo Mr Pete.
Love your vids, keep the good work up.
Seeing what you can do with a 3D printer is great.
In my younger years I was one of the first to get ahold of the latest technology, they use to call me the guru where I was last employed.
Now I am older and on about 1/5 of the wage I use to be on it has become a lot harder to keep up with the latest.
I am so glad that I set up my workshop with almost everything I needed whilst I was receiving a high wage.
Your many videos have encouraged me, I have been a woodworker for 45 odd years and am starting to delve into metal work.
Thank you from the depths of my heart, with the videos you have put out and a few others I regularly watch on TH-cam I hope that I can become, whilst not up to your level of expertise, at least good enough to achieve some of the goals I would like to get to.
Kind regards
Rossco
Thank you for watching, and I wish you the best as you tackle metalworking. And yes it is an expensive hobby
Really enjoyed this video. Great test. About 14:47, when you stalled the lathe the 2nd time, the top gears flex when you turn the power off. These top gears may experience more stress than the one you replaced. Also agree with the comments about longevity/durability. But the only way to test this is to replace the metal gears with 3D printed gears and use it for a while. Thanks Again!
I'm not surprised. Modern plastics are strong. I would probably use a silicone lubricant with a set of polymer gears.
Good job Mr. Pete
Great Vid Mr. Pete. In Tubalcaine style, informative as always. Keep up the good work.
Really enjoy all your videos, and sense of humor, very interesting physics experiment!
Excellent Sir thank you for taking the time to make this video, from one machinist who is learning off you. Thanks again.
I enjoy your videos. Thank you. I think the 3d gears are great for replacement and cutting metric or odd threads
I am so glad you did this!! Too many people say NOT to print gears. I understand why they say not to but in the case you were to need a gear for a shot time ie waiting on shipping you would be able to do so. Thanks so much Mr. Pete
Thanks for watching
Another very interesting video. This 3d stuff is new to me . Thanks Mr. Pete.
Mr. Pete, thanks for trying 3d printing, you inspired me to try it.
Interesting as always.. Thanks for sharing sir....
Great Video Mr Pete!
My wife and I manufacture tin cookie cutters. I design and make all the tooling for our machines. It takes me about 8 to 12 hours to make a set of tooling out of cold roll steel. So we decided to get a 3D printer to help make the dies and save so time. The thought was it was like having an employee And I could be doing something else. Our first print took 35 hours! It was like watching paint dry. But I do think that is much faster LoL. The print held up from the force that was applied to it but it only lasted for 2000 to 3000 pieces. It tended to wear out from putting the tin on and off of it. Needless to say we scrap that idea and stuck with the tried and true method of the steel. I have some tooling that is well over 10 years old and have run thousands and thousands of cutters on them. But I do find the 3d printer to be a fascinating machine. Thank you for printing the gears and posting a video on them. I often wondered if the would hold up.
I sincerely enjoy your videos and appreciate your experience and knowledge.
Thanks for watching
Curiosity is a great gift that means we are never bored. Well i for sure enjoy watching your videos. Fun, and informative. Keep at it please.
I seldom if ever get bored
Amazing work, not only they are fairly resistant but also act as a great fuse for the not always so careful hobby machinist. I just had to replace the bull gear on a 50yr logan clone on which I'm definitely going to put a couple plastics on easy to reach spots after the rebuild.
One cool project is casting your own gears, you can print your gear with sprues and gates, cover it in plaster and heat the mold to get rid of the plastic, you can then cast zamak on the mold, it flows much better than aluminium. It's an easy "investment casting" tecnique, and as long as your mold is dry and preheated to a temperature close of the Zamak you're probably going to get a usable gear on your first try.
Thank you, that was Interesting about casting metal gears
Thanks Mr. Pete - interesting test of the plastic gear. The 6" Craftsman (Atlas) also used stamped gears made out of the Zamac material and I have seen the teeth on the bull gear for the back gears break away on the one I now own - my dad bought it new in 1962 from Simpson Sears here in Canada. He did a lot of starter and generator armature commutators with it and had hopes of doing heavier tasks but the lathe was just not made for that as he sadly found out as the back gear set up just could not handle some of the tasks he asked it to perform. I was able to purchase a new bull gear from Clausing Service Center in Goshen Indiana back in the early 1990's and it was all steel and has stood up very well over the years. I believe that Clausing Industrial still offers a lot of repair parts such as gears for the Atlas brand lathes - they are now located in Kalamzoo Michigan (you probably already know this but thought I would share it in case you or other viewers were not). The items they supply are not inexpensive but definitely good quality as I got a new lead screw for the lathe a couple of years ago - sometimes being able to purchase a quality manufactured repair part is more important than the price of the item - just my opinion.
The plastic gears appear to stand up surprisingly well but I assume their downfall would be the same as the Zamac material - any chips caught in the gear train teeth will eventually destroy the tooth profile - just my thoughts. Have a great day.
Thank you for an interesting comment. I agree with everything you said.
Always informative. Thanks.
This 3D printing is amazing, it opens up a whole new world !
Oh if the machine makers & the machinists of the industrial revolution could see this process, can you imagine their amazement and reactions !! 🤗
Couldn't agree more!
Neat. allowing for shrinkage you could print these out and cast them.
I love watching this stuff.. Garry
Oil will probably dissolve or soften the gear over time. it was a great test and I was impressed.
I submerged a PLA part in non detergent 30W oil for over a year. No problem. PLA is not petroleum based,
In ur dreams bro.
thanks for another great video mrpete222 those threading dial gears are a great idea as well.
Thank you
I have just begun researching 3D printing change gears for my 8x mini lathe and this video was very encouraging to continue my research. Also thankyou for the infor for links to get the files I need to complete this.
👍👍
You never know until you try. Great video!
Another most excellent video, Mr. Pete! I will share this video with my Tool and die buddy, who happens to need a special gear for his DoAll lathe.
I'm glad you liked it
I have both a lathe and dividing head that have stripped gears. This is a real chicken and egg problem, as I could easily make the gears if I had a working lathe and dividing head. My plan is to do exactly this and use my 3d printer to make temporary gears to allow me to fix the broken tools. Thanks for the test, makes me much more confident my plan will work.
Also, excellent idea with the threading dial. I will have to try that myself!
I honestly laughed out loud when your brought out your "Toledo" scale!
@Gadget047 @Mrpete222 Thank you both very much. This certainly helps my Atlas 9" build immensely.
Yes
Very interesting video and results. I am considering getting a 3-D printer and this is helping me justifying it. I have an atlas lathe that I purchased new in 1971 very handy tool.
You do not need to justify anything. Buy what pleases you
great experiment! great video! thank you, mr. pete!
Impressive ... thanks for the materials test!
Best Wishes
Mr. Pete, I wanted to share a consumer tip about your precision Toledo scale. You didnt have to pay top dollar for the Toledo brand name and the fancy label. Instead you could have gotten the same scale at Harbor Freight. Even better, wait until a holiday sale and use the 25% off coupon. Keep turning, milling, casting and printing. Your enthusiasm and energy while sharing your adventures is wonderful.
Great video, particularly the testing of the gears. As far as I know, ABS is harder but PLA is tougher, so it is the right choice for printing
gears. The problem with PLA is its plasticity rising early when temps go up, so that was the reason to use ABS in extruders and would be a reason here.
Very interesting and surprising. Thank you for creating the video and experiment.
Loved the test
great Job. Yes I do enjoy these videos and appreciate the time it takes. I am impressed on the gear held up. but In a pinch I am sure it would be a good stop gap solution
Thanks for watching
Nice and interesting work!
Thanks Lyle. I have a 12" Altas/Craftsman that's missing some change gears... Now you give me some ideas.
Yes, print them
this is awesome. I'm loving the new technology with old school knowledge. plus making practical things with a 3d printer. usually you only see useless nic naks being printed.
Good video Mr Pete, I think for a mini lathe this would be perfect.
great test. I have the exact printer cr10 s4 The solid gears worked well.
Thanks for watching and trying out
Thanks for the video mr pete great as all ways i think it will work
Fun and Thought provoking Mr. Pete, Thanks. As about half the 153 commenters below recommend not using oil and I agree however an alternative is lithium white grease...even with PLA it has a hi lubricity and pressure resistance and should not degrade the PLA as fast as sulfur based or detergent based lubes...works on ABS as well like my mini has & never broke or barely any wear for 4 years. The coolest thing about this to me would be the ability to create additional gear ratios for all kinds of purpose...metric threading, more threading options (i.e. 5-40) higher lower feed rates, etc. Thanks again for rattling the BB's.
I was surprised to see that the oil didn't have any effect on the plastic. Thanks for a good test of the plastic gear.
It looks like the PLA gears are a success! Looks like you could easily use all plastic gears on a light lathe like the Atlas.
All the best!
Mike
Cool experiment. I have an old abused Atlas 10F that the previous owner dropped while moving and broke the motor mount and the main drive pulley, so I got it cheap. It didn't come with many change gears, just enough to drive the lead screw for basic turning (96 tpi and 24 tpi IIRC). Wanting to have a capable lathe and do some threading I went to ebay and the premium price you mentioned drove me to seek alternatives. So I searched and found several people that had printed their own sets out of nylon and were pleased with the performance and the noise reduction. I don't have a 3D printer so I looked into having them done by one of those online services. The price was something like $85 for the biggest gear - 1 gear. Well, that made the ebay premium price look much more attractive so I went that route. But, if you didn't have to pay for machine time on someone else's printer (and as they become more and more common the time-cost will drop) I think it would be a very acceptable solution, especially with the more durable plastics available.
"Rip 'ems"! AvE will be giddy. This was a very interesting video. I was expecting the gear to split while under load in your lathe. I'm sure it would soon become prone to increasing backlash and chatter after a day or two of use. However as a temporary fix to get your lathe running again while waiting for a replacement Zamak part to arrive in the mail, this seems to be a viable solution. Thanks for doing this imaginative experiment. I would probably have assumed this would never work and not tried it, you proved me wrong :)
Great vid, Mr. P. Thanks!
Impressive, I need a set of metric gears for my old Atlas. good idea. Regards, Ted.
I would suspect that these gears will hold up well unless there is a bind in the train, as there really should not be much load on them. A bind in the feed train would break a zamak gear as well. You might see loads sufficient to damage the gear when milling on the lathe, though. The gears don't even need to be very precise, even for cutting threads. At about $US0.05/g for PLA filament, the 100% gear has direct cost under $US2.00 including the raft, and 9 hours of machine time with associated wear. Not bad. I would probably not go with ABS for this application as, though tougher, the harder surface of the PLA will wear better. ABS, or nylon (more$$$ and trouble to print) would likely be quieter.
gracias!! es muy util su trabajo. gracias
Thanks
Mr Pete I so appreciate when you cut things up to pieces and as those gears go a full set would probably be a lot quieter great video thanks again
Nice vid, good job on your PLA gear.
That was impressive. Having printed with PLA I am surprised it held up against forces that stalled the lathe. Just a little heat with PLA will make it fold like a cheap lawn chair, so I am impressed the gear made it as far into the test as it did. Great experiment - sometimes you have to ignore assumptions and forge ahead.
haven’t got a lathe haven’t got a 3-D printer but found the video very interesting happy watching from Scunthorpe keep up the good work
Thanks for watching
I always learn from you. Thanks.
This is promising results for those of us with small machines that are prone to lose their gears, i.e. tape decks, turntables, VCRs etc. If 3D printing can extend useful life, YAY!
I've been following 3D printing, and this is a very informative (and entertaining) video! I'm adding 3D printing to a PCB Router that I'm building. Also adding a laser. Thanks for posting.
Glad you like it, good luck with your project
I'm going to have to buy a 3D printer Very cool thanks Mr Pete for sharing
Thank you
mrpete222 how hard was it to setup and get going. I'm just now starting to look into the 3d printers.
I appreciate your effort sir! It’s got me thinking I need a 3D printer sooner rather than later 🤔
I have not tried these yet, but I have seen the videos using GCarbon PETG filament that is showing good strength, and Some experimenting with annealing PLA parts in the oven for added strength.
REALLY, REALLY OUTSTANDING!!
Thank you
For whatever it may be worth, I certainly enjoy seeing the stuff you do. It makes me wish high schools still had shop class so I could change careers and become a shop teacher. :D
It seems to me those gears are perfectly serviceable in a bit more than a pinch! Indeed, I imagine that - provided a person already had a 3D printer in the shop - it's probably far simpler to replace broken gears with PLA copies than it is to source the original Atlas/Craftsman zamak parts.
Yes I enjoy this very much keep it up
I know nothing about 3d printing. Thanks for explaining the basics. I had no idea.....
Glad you liked it
that is awesome great many uses
I'm printing the set of gears designed by Gadget047 right now. I made some adjustments like printing them with a 30% infill and a little more layers in the shell. After watching you run these gears on the lathe, I think they will work just fine, and when they break, I'll print more maybe out of ABS instead of PLA. Thank You for the video and demonstration.
👍
Thanks again. Looks like you have a great alternative to expensive gears. I would think plastic gears would work even better on the 6" model.
Nice video and analysis! Impressive knowledge of 3D printing. Was thinking about buying a metric transposing gear for my SB 10K. Now, I will print one. Keep up the good work!
Glad it was helpful!
Mr Pete, I think it was a big success. I would have liked to see the used plastic gear removed and cleaned to see if any wear patters were made in that time. I also wonder how PLA plastic holds up to oil and grease exposure.
Excellent video, my new to me South Bend is missing change gears and I plane to design and 3D print a replacement set.
Excellent job Sir! As a graduate of Mt. Vernon, IL. High School vocational thank you for continuing my education via TH-cam. You do yourself proud with every lesson. I think the 3d printing is very cool and opens doors for us home shop folks previously reserved for Industry. Would the pro had peices lend themselves well to casting patterns for the home foundries?
I love this. I do have a question. I have hit and miss engines. I'm guessing that you could make gears and then get them cast from them. Because I have some parts that you cannot find .
Very impressive proof of PLA 3D printed gear
Should be most interesting to replace all the gears and try some parting and other heavy cut operations
So this is a very interesting option for future experiments. I'd love to see more.
Good luck with these!
Saar
Great video. I second some other comments asking for some heavy interrupted cuts (after all, I don't have to pay for the carbide inserts). Incidentally, if this material can handle the gear train, then something like a thread dial indicator must be a really sensible application - no real load and they are overpriced.
We all may have a sentimental attachment to metal but there are some pretty good possibilities out there with plastics and 3D printing. Finding parts for older machines is one example. Of course if one is trying to restore an old machine to original condition using parts that are at least made from the original material, as close at least as possible, would be desirable but if you just want to return an otherwise reasonably good machine to functionality this could be a very good option.
Mr Pete... I just made some gears for my mini lathe... if you want lower infill I would suggest increasing the wall thickness so you get 100% infill on the teeth but the body can have less fill.. helps the bore as well... good luck