Not my project but interesting nonetheless.

3D Printing
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1

Not my project but interesting nonetheless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKt5I0eQGXQ

2

That is amazing! What is the practical application for this? Not knocking it at all, just wondering how to apply this discovery for real use :wink:
Brook

3

I believe the intention is to show 3d printing has real world applications. Including applications requiring reasonably high forces. Of course this video doesn’t provide any information on longevity. Of course, lifting 1000lbs isn’t something to do without serious safety implications.

4

I think it’s great just to show the possibilities. One fun application would be an electric bike gear box that can be printed… pair it w a small inexpensive motor with a belt drive and it would get around the need for the metal fabrication usually present in those gear boxes. It would be possible to design and print different gear ratios to find the optimum performance for a given motor. Maybe an electric go cart motor… just dreaming.

I’ve also dreamed of designing an electric rope ascender like this:
https://changeyourelevation.com
Hint: off the shelf, metal fail safe brake needed here :wink:

5

Lifting/hoisting and human-conveyance applications are really wildly inappropriate for hobbyist/consumer 3DP at this point. Even solid milled/molded polymers require a higher caliber of engineering than metals because polymer physics are so complex. 3D printing ratchets that difficulty up several notches. There just isn’t good enough process control and inspection/testing standardization… aside from the risk of dumb stuff like layer delamination because the air conditioner kicked on mid-print, there’s no agreed standards or accepted engineering practice yet.

6

One of his earlier videos used a version of the gearbox as the joints in a robot arm. They are definitely not fast enough for transportation. Not really fast enough for lifting either, besides being of an inappropriate material. Later versions have an integral fan on the input to help keep things from melting.

The name of the channel is “Geared Down for What?” I don’t think he’s expecting a wide range of practical applications. He’s just playing with the design to see what he can make it do. As a fun and experimental exercise, I think it’s pretty cool.

7

@Ryan_Carlyle
no arguements here :wink: I’m testing a high temp hotend this week… it will print ultem and peek. Maybe I’ll try a robot arm gear train first before doing anything stupid like conveying my butt up a rope :wink: