Building a Large Format 3D Printer - Part 4: Printing
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 พ.ค. 2024
- Part 4: Large format printing of chairs, tables, and stools.
Files, Parts, and Info: www.drdflo.com/LF3DP.html
Large Format Printer Playlist: • Large Format 3D Printe...
D-Flo's Amazon Store: www.amazon.com/shop/dr.d-flo
📷 Follow Dr. D-Flo on the Gram: / dr.dflo
Resources:
Venturi Effect: makezine.com/projects/giovann...
Video Description:
Part 4 of the Large Format 3D Printer series dives into printing large complex geometries. From a 18 kg (40 lbs) chair to a step stool with gyroid infill, Dr. D-Flo explores the capabilities of his pellet extruder and massive 4’ x 4’ x 4' build volume. However, these large prints come at a cost, and the amount of material ($$$) and power ($) per print are evaluated in this video.
To keep the hungry extruder fed with pellets, a Venturi vacuum-based pellet conveyance unit is installed to "blow" pellets from a bin to the extruder when needed. This system has worked flawlessly for over 100 hours, but there was one catastrophic failure that had to be overcome (stay tuned until the end to see this blooper).
This video also touches on the mechanical recycling of failed prints, but a future video will go into much more detail on turning plastics destined for the landfill into pellets for the large format printer 3D printer.
Table of Contents:
00:00 - Introduction
00:26 - Tying Up Loose Ends
04:28 - Pellet Conveyance
05:26 - Venturi Vacuum
07:20 - Compressed Air Supply
10:32 - Installing Conveyance Unit
13:23 - Printing a Chair
16:05 - Operating Costs
19:32 - Step Stool
21:37 - Infill
23:31 - Recycling Prints
24:48 - Blooper
#Massive #DIY #3DPrinter - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
That moment when you enter the nozzle diameter and the layerheight and the slicer is not sure if it is a joke or not
Lmao
"error: you've forgotten the decimal places in your settings- want me to correct this for you?"
Ur indian
@@G-G._ If you went on stage at a stand up comedy gig, you'd be gifted a wheelchair by the kind audience.
Sit down, you're not funny.
@@machiii7394 if you went to India. The Indians would say. Hi Indian to you. Because of the Indian skin you have Chris
As a former furniture designer, I really have to say: I love the design of the chair. Extremely clear design language, very well done. If only my printer would be big enough 😜
Looking for a cost effective large scale 3D printer? Check out Filament Innovations. No no one can beat their prices!
Print a bigger printer. Build your own the future is now
@@NoBaconForYou Ur so real for that. Truly inspiring.
40Lbs though! Good for understanding form in the studio before production at least.
I'm glad you no longer design furniture. So I know what to avoid, which pieces have you made specifically?
There is a solution to your problem of not having enough support from the infill on the top layers, Cura can be set to increase the density of the infill as it gets closer to the skin, with variable parameters .
You could then get the light weight and the extra support.
PrusaSlicer has a similar thing with what it calls support cubic, as well as adaptive cubic that increases the infill density nearer to the walls of the print.
Lightning infill could also be incredible here!
@@quinnobi42 cura has lightning infill which is not even close to any other infill in prusa but it doesn give strength
@@ale6242 PrusaSlicer has that in the current alpha, I think Cura already has it
@DavidGarcia-nx2gj I really don't like lightening. Its been virtually worthless to me.. maybe some prints it'd work for rapid thin wall prototype but even at that it's been crap ime
I've worked with large format 3D printers as part of my undergrad. An interesting pellet extruder varient is to use a heated positive displacement pump instead of a typical feeder screw. This produces more consistent extrusion rates and, as a result, more uniform layers. As far as I'm aware there are no commercial extruders that provide this but you could design/manufacture your own if you are in need of content. Just a thought. Great work on this btw!
No doesn’t work. Also you sound Indian
shut up jeff
Just a random question that I'm curious of, do you know why no one makes 3d printers that prints above 2 meters? for some reason everyone tops out at 1 meter. I tried googling but couldn't find the answer to that
@@rajneshchapatikumar3924 tbh I'm not too deep in the rabbit hole to truly know the answers. I'm assuming it's a combination of lack of demand, bed adhesion issues due to higher moment arm of extruder, increase chance of defects due to larger print, and high cost of both printer and plastic.
All that being said, I've seen some results from hang printers that go well above 2m. Look up "hang printer tower of babel". It's made of wood PLA and reaches 4.5m
@@JNinMC thanks for the reply. Out of curiousity, what did you study? You seem knowledgeable in this sector
Please consider to put a big magnet filter before the plasticiser to catch any metal particles that might get into the pellet stream. I have seen simple bolts and nuts destroying nozzles of industrial injection molding machines in the past.
Congratulations for your project, I deeply enjoyed the video. I will stay tuned ;)
A desiccant-filled tube from the main compressor to the storage tank may help even more, especially if you use a large ~2" diameter acrylic tube to help reduce the impediment in airflow and increase surface area, or even on the inlet to the main compressor itself! Bulk silica gel is fairly cheap, and can be reused almost infinitely with a quick bake in the oven after saturation
Yeah, that's what I was about to say. It's relatively cheap to make yourself and a very effective solution.
look up "compressed air dessicant dryer": they use 2 collums of dessicant: 1 for drying, 1 for regenerating. This way you wouldn't need to bake it
I always appreciate TH-camrs who are willing to show their mistakes. It shows your viewers that you are not some mastermind who never makes a mistake or fails at whatever they are showing, or in layman's terms, you are indeed, human.
Almost to 100K! What a great video, so much great information and experience shared. I've had some bad print fails but now all of my fails seem like mild stringing in comparison. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing your Super Mega Ultra Dr. D-Flo Boat soon!
The air cooler doesn't look good.
Bursts of air used will entrain moisture droplets in the cooling tube walls past the collectors at the bottom.
You can get a car ac condenser cheaply to chill the air right out of the compressor.
Then use a coalessing filter to strip the droplets from the air. Both water & any oil.
An oil lubricated compressor would probably survived being on for that long.
This will store more cold air in the tanks & save them from the moisture.
Bursts of now dry air don't have any droplets in the tubes to push onwards.
Keep D content Flowing thanks :-)
Still no boat
Plastic injection moulded sprues usually go back into injection plastic as regrind. Not wasted.
Right up until you printed the chair, I thought this was nothing more than an incredibly interesting project to watch.
Now I want one.
Awesome series! I'm loving your videos!
Or, just send your designs to someone who has a large format printer, and wait for large boxes to arrive in the mail. 😀
Sat down to find something to listen to while I play Darktide. Ended up watching this whole series instead of playing the brand new game I just spent money on. These videos are informative, well put together, and most importantly a ton of fun to watch. Thank you for sharing this project
I look on in awe at what you are doing as well as the wealth of knowledge and helpful suggestions being provided in the comments. This is truly amazing and renews ones faith in humanity in these not so bright days.
FYI: on industrial machines, the indicator lights work the opposite way, with green indicating it's running and red that it's not, or that there is an error.
That was bugging me, too. There are 3-light options that include a yellow light that would be a perfect heat indicator.
Probably doesn't make a big difference unless you want a mill or lathe in the room as well.
Interesting. i was thinking the colour was right because mining industry here uses red to indicate danger - the machine is running. But as you say on production lines it is opposite
The lighting choice tends to be a matter of what is more important to communicate in the environment in question.
A lot of industrial machines work in pretty sanitized environments where no people are in the same room if its running. So green lights indicate a functioning machine more so than trying to communicate danger.
In something like the mining industry humans work in close concert with the machines rather than observing them from a distance. Often giving manual instructions during operation.
A red light indicates the danger of a functioning machine to trigger a cautious mindset.
Often times for industrial locations the doors have indicators opposite to the machines, red or yellow it dangerous to enter the room. While the machines would indicate green everything is running fine.
depends on the machine. in this case, you want a red because it is telling you to stay away from the machine while its hot enough to injure you and a green that tells you when its safe to engage with the printer. the green light isnt telling you its off, its telling you its safe to touch.
It's a safety light not a status light
Suggestion from my personal viewpoint, I would have build a small centrifugal dust separator vacuum unit, it's simple and 3D printable and you can easily power it with your shop vac via a hose. Doesn't weigh too much also which comes in handy
That's a really good idea! Way more affordable
I think it's called cyclone, right?
I was thinking the same thing, but it requires 2 hoses that go in different directions, one for the pellets (coming in from the side) and one for the vac (out the top), which means redesigning the printing mechanism to cope with the extra resistance of the pipework. Personally, I think it's a good idea, but extra work.
Check out RC Test flights video on these, its great!
Okay, these are the kinds of videos I need to watch. Push the envelope, predicting outcomes, design, and ingenuity. My projects don't even come close. Keep up the great work!
Great project and I’m happy to see that you’re gathering data on resource usage. Once the machine has run for a year or two it would be interesting to calculate the total costs per unit including the original build and maintenance.
The chair looks great - I like the the style and while it's got a cost associated for the materials, I would say it's worthwhile for the unique nature of the outcome.
Nice! Some thoughts:
Design the stool to be printed upside down?
Thinner skinned parts could have expanding PU foam poured in them as a structural core material.
Design chairs that are sort of scaffold / core for skinning with glass or carbon cloth.
Seems you could do some cool stuff using composites techniques - eg car parts, bike frames... :D
What I love the most about this is it can print using shredded recycled plastic. Essentially turning landfill plastic straight into "filament" without having to extrude the filament.
Your printer is more gorgeous and practical than any piece of equipment I've seen. From Gen sets to fire pump controllers. Your printer takes the cake
Contribute to the 100k Giant Benchy Fund by checking out my Amazon store ( dflo.info/Amazon ) or supporting this project's sponsors Openbuilds ( dflo.info/OpenBuilds ) and Massive Dimension ( dflo.info/MassiveDimension ). This will require a boat load of pellets 😂
Thank you to everyone who made it out to the premiere! Keep the conversation going in the comment section by posting your suggestions and questions.
Be aware that the benchy doesn't float upp right.. :)
@@c.hector5425 I’m going to modify the design!
@@DrDFlo I wonder what the modifications will be, and if it would be possible to print a smaller one.
Really want to see that video going over recycling. Love this series.
Dude....that was frigging amazing. The possibilities available with this machine is next level.
That thermal "fuse" resets itself which was shown in the video. This is a unique content on TH-cam great job.
For the problem of infill being too sparse, perhaps if it hasn't been thought about already, you could use a trick I like to use mainly for supports but that I feel could solve the problem here while remaining at the same percentage of infill.
The potential solution would be to decrease the line width of the infill specifically. This would decrease the sparseness of the infill by allowing for an increase in line count while still sticking to the same percentage of material weight. I have found success with this method generally even to the point of printing to a smaller diameter than the nozzle, so perhaps it's worth a try if you haven't already.
The most impressive thing to me in this video is how little power costs for you!
The re-definition of 'Multi-Step Process'! Salute
This is so awesome! So many possibilities. I'd love to see a voroni style chair print to see how much weight you could save while retaining strength and the unique look only possible through 3d printing. And man sorry you had to go through that mess when the hose clamp failed....that's a tough price to learn a lesson!
Nice machine! I definitely have a need for a few giant prints in the not so distant future.
Nice! I started making a 6-foot by 6-foot by 6-foot one, got everything together, start printing the pieces I needed to assemble and life hit me like a freight train. A lot of people were naysayers about if it would work. You and Ivan Miranda give me hope I will eventually finish it.
If you get it working you should upload a video for us!
@@mitlanderson I plan to. Already have a channel with some of it already uploaded.
@@DakotaActually what's the name?
@@mitlanderson th-cam.com/channels/3Smqjp0nZGtUJzFV9-WhCA.html
I am in east Tn. I use a dehumidifier set to 50% in my shop. It helps tremendously with the moisture of my compressor, helps keep the shop more pleasant, and saves on the AC bill also. Nice build.
from the moment I ever brought my first 3D printer, I wanted to build a big printer to print furniture. You waked me to reality. It's incredibly expensive and hard to do it... Kudos to you!
It doesn't have to be this expensive for instance you could get regular 24volt 600x600mm and make smaller furniture and cut down costs by using recycled pet plastic
For cooling, rather than adding a fan to the printhead, use a fan mounted to the frame and a tube just like your pellet feeder to get air to the printhead
Maybe just use the compressed air. Set the flow using a flow control valve or a bank of small solenoids.
I think it would be nice to refrigerate the air, so you can keep the CFM really low and avoid sagging your prints, but still cool them effectively.
good progress 👏
And congrats for the 100k 🎉🎉
That chair can be improved massively. You did a great job on that printer, congratulations!
Regarding the air dryer setup, one thing you might want to add between your compressor and secondary air tank is a cyclone/vortex-based water separator (like for example Atlas Copco WSD Series separators). These kinds of filters are used also in industrial systems before the chill air dryers. Cheaper than chill air dryers are either desiccant or membrane dryers which might also be suitable as your air usage is not so great.
I've really enjoyed this series. Is there any chance of posting the fusion model for the chair? It would be interesting to run simulations on that type of vase mode optimized design.
Excellent progress, looks like a dynamic density infill option in the slicer would help with these larger prints.
I wish there was a way to like more than once, I liked how you explained everything and then even went into the true cost of the whole chair!!!
The error is by far the best part! Why you say? Simply put. You learned! All the planning in the world does nothing for a variable not identified. The cost of learning about the hose uncoupling is define. I see at least three adjustments. Not to mention sending this information to your sponsor. Let alone all of us watching and learning. Thanks for showing the error. Laughing is funnier than banging your head. Besides the time spend with the wife.
I loved the story of the epic failure! It sounds like something that would happen to me. Misery love company ;) Sorry to hear you lost a compressor.
Such awesome work - very impressive man!!
For the hose problem, you can set a timeout to the pellet sensor on the hopper, if it is asking for pellets longer than X seconds this means that the hose got loose or there are no more pellets in the container or a blockage in the pellet system, and you can stop the vacuum and printing. Really nice video and machine!
This printer is very impressive. I’m not quite ready to build this yet, but very enjoyable to see your experiences.
I don’t understand why the comments are being so rude to dr d-flo this guys just trying to make a huge insane 3D printer and you guys are giving him shit for it. As someone who likes to take on massive projects, give him some time. These things take a long long time to do. If you’re upset with the time it’s taking him then spend the thousands of dollars and build one yourself.
I haven't seen many comments like this but I will agree the few I have seen are somewhat strange. I wonder what inspires them.
Cmon, I can't wait 2 freaking days :(
I can't remember when was the last time when i watched video from start to the end without skipping. Top tier my dude, top tier!
I watched episode one off a recommendation, then this episode the same way. Definitely earned a new subscriber!
Such a great video, from the lessons to the designs, to the music, to the blooper oh my god I was aghast watching those pellets spew!
Doesn't the high heat, 60°C, permanently affect the PLA? I recall hearing something like max 50°C for drying PLA?
I wouldn't really worry about it. The drying limit is mostly because somewhere slightly above 60C PLA (especially modern blends!) may start deforming and sticking to itself, thus ruining the filament. Since it didn't form a huge clump, this didn't happen here.
As for it changing properties: the internal structure does change a bit, but that really doesn't matter considering how the pellets are completely melted in the extruder.
You really shouldn't set these to premiere multiple days in advance, this won't even be on my front page of subscriptions anymore by the time it airs, and I will never see it again. Bit of a waste really. There is a reason why people normally limit premieres to 24 hours at max.
Hey man you can set a reminder 👍
@@DrDFlo I believe their comments goal was more in support of the future analytics success of the channel rather than one of personal convenience. More watchful/supportive fans of the channel may set reminders, but I do question how many subscribers of lesser dedication might. I say this as a few channels I subscribe to have echoed the same sentiments regarding the limited success of premiers and the effect they can have on channel viewership when set far ahead in advance.
Ultimately though, I of course say this without the privelege of accessing channel statistics so perhaps their situations were different or times have changed in those regards.
Extremely happy I found your channel! The printer is very impressive and the production quality is top notch.
Very interesting project, and feel your pain as you go through your process of making your printer function the way you want. When you are doing something no one else has done you learn as you go, hopefully your failures are cheap and nothing is damaged as you learn enough to achieve what you are striving to do.
This guy disappeared.
You should consider some kind of soft interface between the glass bed and the retention clips you made, maybe just flip them over so the plastic sits against the glass and the metal sits against metal. Its possible that heat over time could warp the plastic pins, its also possible that the glass could break at the metal clips with only moderate forces due to a very rigid connection.
This man would do very effective research on which kind of pencil to buy. And I LOVE him for it.
For mixing, you can add a mixer just before the nozzle. This is typically a metal piece that gets sandwiched just after the material is melted. Its usually a metal ring that consists of 4 veins attaching to a conical shape in the center. You can also add what's called a "screen pack" though that will require periodic cleaning.
I agree you should show failures, it makes you more relatable and gives teaching points.
This is super cool! I love how industrial it all is. This has many use cases
The last recycling part is amazing! Just cut and grind and print again!
Excelente, llegué no se como a este video, me impresionó sus sencillas explicaciones y su buen caracter. Se ganó un suscriptor. Un abrazo desde San Luis, Argentina.
for the infill, Cura slicer has a function ("gradual infill steps") that gradually increase the % with the height, so that the ceiling of the object has better support under it
20:45 That was incredibly satisfying to watch
This dude living the life,what a meal! And on top of the large prints , wow
Awesome progress! I'm surprised the bridging worked so well over such a long gap. Re: the "accident": at least you then had an excuse to upgrade your air compressor!
this project is just so friking cool man... to say that i a envious would be an understatement.
just found this series, so cool. congrats on 100k cant wait to see the life size benchy ;)
I have been really enjoying this series. Thanks for doing them
Your wife is a really good sport and really good on camera. It answered my question of is his wife okay with all his crazy inventions
Massively impressive build man!
I know what you mean about the water in the air in TN. I have a dehumidifer running in my printing room 24/7 and it removes roughly a gallon per day on days it hasn't rained. On rainy days it's easily 3 gallons.
And it's a small room!
Just found your vids randomly. Love your stuff! This is so cool, keep it up!
Wow! I really learned a lot! Very interesting. I enjoyed seeing your experience.
Keep at it mate, you need to find the right customers. Customers that need large prototypes!
I subscribed and I'm cheering from you from Alberta! Thanks again!
Outstanding project I just stumbled into the room and there you were 3D Printing with beads. I had written a white Paper for NASA regarding life in the Moon way back in the 70s. I thought plastic beads should be considered for spare parts instead of shipping up spare parts in cargo rockets. I felt the beads could be formed into any shape we need via templates. I was not thinking 3D Printing but i was thinking flexible forms assembled, then the beads pumped in, heated and cured to form the needed parts. When I saw this video I had the biggest grin and was so happy to see beads in your concept for large scale prints. In retirement I am using Fusion 360 and a Creality 10S Pro printer to reengineer parts for my 1950s Model Trains. For example I am converting AC wire wound motors into PM DC with fields that are 3D Printed frames and Super Magnets. Thank You so much for sharing your work, now i going to Part 5 Wowie! Such a great project. Dennis in Virginia
just watched your ultimate building guide and would like to say, yes I would like to see a video on that filament extruder
One really cool method you could also use is to increase the infill % right before it prints the top layer. Thanks for the great video!
You are the best 3d printing mate have I ever find on youtube!!!! Thanks looottt!!!!
Gotta love that gyriod infill!
Sick! Man you look so proud when you finish that chair 😁 Printing it in abs and smoothing it would be awesome 🤩
This is full mad science, I love it!
That bridge was pretty sweet
You need a cpap tube for cooling, when you close the printing compartment.
I do also recommend gradual infill steps, this helps to minimize plastic usage for infill and give high support before the top layer.
Thank you! So cool experiment! And i really like it that you give us all the information like used material, costs, used amount of pla, print time, etc.
Nice project :)
What where does he share costs
Really cool project!
I keep thinking about a way to make it print color on demand. If you can rout a small diameter tube all the way to the screw mechanism in the extruder, you could dispense precise amounts of coloring pellets using air of gravity. This could allow you to consistently color your prints without pre mixing pellets (and essentially dying whole batch of them), and with right dispenser design, you could also change colors mid-print.
I'm a process engineer, and I work with pneumatic transporters. I think an alternative to the venturi setup that may work is a simple vacuum motor pulling through a cyclone. So mount the cyclone on top of the existing nozzle. Put a filter inline.
those were some nice looking stakes! also the printer seems to work witch is nice.
Far out! I don't own a 3D printer and have no plans to get one either - but this was a fascinating journey from start to finish. Can't wait for the next video. Good one!👍😎
Amazing video. I am so envious.
And so close to 100k, I think it will happen this week. That massive benchy will be hilarious!
It's interesting to see that even huge prints apparently need the same calibration tests run before you can expect great results.
Dude that thing is a friggn beast.
D, awesome video as always. Just a say, you could solve the gaps over the low-density infill with the infill stepping option (which exists in Cura) in which you define a much higher density to the infill but also the number of times the infill density will double during the print in order to reach that density... in short you could have an 80 % density top infill layer and a 10% bottom layer and the infill density will gradually increase.
Always awesome content filled with loads of information! Thanks Doc
For a bag and funnel setup, you can use a hoist or winch to lift the bag after filling in the ground
Nice job on the bridging, no small feat with such huge extrusion volume.
Thanks! The part cooling fan is a beast at 30 CFM (total power draw of 13W), but I think I need even more cooling.
I’m so glad I found your channel!
I made something similar with a dryvac and some pvc. It worked well for my application and time needing it.
You are very talented my friend. You make my build look like childs play
absolutely incredible. amazing work!
Just imagine the waste casting opportunities this machine can provide 👏 👏 👏
Dude I want to build this so badly but money......I'm curious how fine of a layer this setup is capable of. I want to 3d print and entire new dashboard for my project car. I currently have an old tevo tornado frame but everything else has been upgraded. I'm gonna have to print in pieces. This beautiful beast could print in 1 piece in probably a couple of days. Im very proud of how far you've come. Keep up the good work.
Great video! One thing you could do to increase the quality of your top layers, is to decrease the line width for infill. This means that there will be more infill lines, with less space between them. This means that you will use the same amount of plastic but your bridges will be less difficult. For cooling, maybe look at mounting some big fans on the gantry, on the y extrusions. For example look at 24/7 printing’s voron 0.1’s cooling setup.
Absolutly incredible work! Thanks for sharing!