Where can I acquire, or build a 3d printer without a huge multi $k investment. I’m looking at it as a hobby, but also to design and print patterns for “lost wax” casting of custom to semi custom rings
For jewelry you probably would need the resolution of a resin printer. Those are still expensive, at around $3k. You can build your own, but DIY resin printers are just starting to get off the ground right now, so expect a lot tinkering the frustration.
There’s a link in the first box there (about this community) that says “which 3D printer should I buy?”
That lists a lot of printers, their prices, and Some other information, plus lots of links. I’d start there and then post here with the ones that look the most appealing to you. We may be able to help you a bit more.
There are lots of printers available under the $1000 mark. A nice, reliable, easily supported one is still going to cost a pretty penny though.
I would argue that, for most of us, the printer is the hobby, and as such they tend to take some time and love.
I do silver casting for rings, belt buckles, cufflinks, etc
Looking to get right tool to speed up mold making. Hand carving is slow, time consuming and labor intensive. Eventually want to help clients get custom jobs (either limited quantity, or 1 if a kind heirloom pieces)
May draft a pattern to fit, and validate it meets client needs. Then before casting, instruct printer "adjust everything by +3% and reprint to use that as the mold, so the thermal condensation can happen and the silver is still correct size. Is that hard to do?
I’d probably cover the resin in something like plaster of Paris, and before it solidifies, vacuum out the air, while vibrating it to get bubbles that form around it as much as possible, then burn out the resin, and centrifuge in molten silver or gold, or what the customer needed.
I don’t know much about it, but it seems to me it would be easier to build a small CNC router to cut wax moulds out of aluminum or plastic
I’d prefer wax 3d printing, but wax, plastic, or resin will work, as long as I can burn out original, and create the proper cavity to centrifuge metal into, have considered CNC route as well, but haven’t tried it either.
@Shachar_Weis dont forget the new $100 peachy which will be available soon also abs and vapor smoothing with .1 resolution looks like injection molding quality
I don’t mind investing later in higher quality unit, just need a starter unit to learn basics of how it all works.
Us Linux system decent for “programming”
I’ve done a little green sand casting using alu. (man of many hobbies) do some black smithing too. have you considered multi -part molds? or alternatively take any FDM/FFF printer with abs (vapor smoothed parts) and make a latex/silicone mold. Lots of youtubes on this. with said rubber molds you could then cast wax into them and even detail and modify the wax with dental tools after you remove them and then do lost wax molding. I believe this process, though a little more involved, would achieve the best results.
@D_Rob the peachy is a fun project, but don’t expect quality prints from it. It would be very sensitive to vibration. Also I wouldn’t call next summer as ‘soon’.
@Shachar_Weis true next summer is a long way off for us do it your selfers as we want to build it now by nature. But in the examples they showed did look promising especially at the cost. And the water displacement method of z allows the ability to use less resin at a time which is cool. Don’t have to always have more resin than you need just to have the z raise unlike most resin printers. As to vibrations yes special consideration for earthquakes and other unforeseeable events would be made. But low on possible mechanical issues and no filament stripping or flow and adjustments to calibrate. No belts or steppers although it will have its own calibrations and hassles I’m sure. This technology removes a lot of variables and opportunities for mechanical malfunctions, and also a lot less cost on parts
I’ve never seen a system that prints wax directly. I think there are material restrictions to 3d printing, and I’m not sure if any kind of wax can meet those restrictions. I dint know if the plastics will liquify with a low enough viscosity to absorb into the sand, and if they don’t, I imagine they’d leave a unwanted residue within the mould if you just tried to burn it out. I think PLA is hot water soluble and ABS is soluble in acetone, so you might be able to use those plastics as lost molds with another step (hot water bath instead of burn out)
The high resolution printers (which sound more like what you’d need for the molds) aren’t super cheap. Sounds like using a printer for prototyping and showing the customer to get approval is perfect, but making the molds might be tricky.
Have you heard of Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)? It’s a huge investment in machinery and training, but it might be something to consider.
I’ve done multipart sand casting, that’s fun (especially for bells)
Want to try to cover original cast with polemrized rubber, and then cutting original out and injecting wax in, to use the wax as a mold to duplicate original but haven’t tried that yet. Want to find a unique
pattern to attempt that on.
@Michael_Austin sounds like you could print with abs then smooth with acetone vapor, and then make a rubber mold with the plastic part. then cast the wax copy make any needed modifications and then do the lost wax casting. several techniques for that. Some you can effectively pour the metal in on top of the wax. Of course you could use lost foam as well by casting foam in your rubber mold
@D_Rob that depends on the size of the objects. He mentioned casing rings, acetone vapor smoothing would erase all detail from something as small as a ring.
Is PLA not the preferred plastic to use??
Still new here, so I might be wrong.
This video http://youtu.be/WWVVSZP3Au4
has a guy going through the casting steps w/PLA.
@David_Cushing Each plastic has its own characteristics some desirable some not so much. Abs is temperamental when it comes to warping when it cools too fast in areas but not others. But it has the awesome characteristic that if you introduce it to acetone it dissolves. That alone is so so information. But acetone vapor can remove the layer ridges and give smoothness to the print akin to injection molding. However at the cost of finer details on the print ymmv which is why I recommend that he make modifications directly to the wax with dental tools to fine tune before casting in metal.
@Shachar_Weis true and that is the trade off I mentioned in my reply to @Michael_Austin also why I mention fine tuning details on the wax with the dental tools. This way the main body is produced with as much detail as possible by the bot and the details are fine tuned by hand tools. Most ring makers of any quality used to carve the wax model by hand entirely. This gives a huge jump and a second Rubber mold could even be cast after fine tuning for future recreations
Actually most of my molds I get from nature. For example bumble bee earrings, scorpion cuff links, … But I get your point; I was trying to evade hand carving the entire thing is all