The new perpetual 3D Printing Thread

Aurich

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It is - in this printer's opinion - really wonderful material that is highly underrated. But my use cases are probably different from yours. I'm a fixer, and you're an artist.
I really only share my high effort stuff here, the truth is most of my printing is functional.

I would say most of what I print are things I model myself to solve some kind of problem. And TPU feels like a pretty awesome problem solver, I just haven't had a use case yet to motivate me to experiment.

I rather suspect though that once I do I'll suddenly find all kinds of other uses. That's pretty much how 3D printing works I think, you don't really see the possibilities until you try it, and then your brain adds a new node that keeps finding use cases.
 

Aurich

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Jokes apart, it's interesting to see each person that I know IRL that has a 3d printer using theirs in a different way.

I'm playing around with different filaments and learning drawing / design on the side. One is doing minis and terrain for tabletop. Another prints stuff that help visualize their work stuff. And the last one is using theirs to build small architecture and decoration models.

And none of us is even touching the industrial stuff, car parts, technical design ...
In a world that can feel crummy, or like everything keeps getting worse, maker tools are the one really bright spot.

I think when we manage to pull ourselves out of some of these messes, and I choose to believe we will, that part of it will be this continued revolution of what's possible for individuals to do that simply wasn't before.
 

PlasticExistence

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Ah, I see. Well I'm actually happy to hear that. Seems like you get a lot of use from your printing then!

TPU is such a tough material that even if you don't need something flexible, it can be a great option. I have a coworker who kept breaking his ID badge holders by cramming his badge in his pocket. I replaced the holder a couple of times with a PETG print, but he broke those too. My third shot was making it out of TPU, and that's still going strong.

And speaking of badges and TPU: the first project a manager at work asked for me to take on with the new Prusa XL is to design a shroud/hat/hood of some sort to help protect the badge readers that get rain exposure. They frequently fail, and it causes no lack of problems. TPU is pretty great at waterproofing stuff.

I just got my license for AutoCAD Mechanical today, so I'm going to attempt to use that to design the part. I requested Fusion, but we had a license for this already.
 
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breubreubreu

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In a world that can feel crummy, or like everything keeps getting worse, maker tools are the one really bright spot.

I think when we manage to pull ourselves out of some of these messes, and I choose to believe we will, that part of it will be this continued revolution of what's possible for individuals to do that simply wasn't before.
It reminds me so much of how PC building was in the 2000's to late 2010's ... There was always a whack company doing something insane, silly, or both.
 

Aurich

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Speaking of modeling and CAD software, I've been thinking of giving learning Plasticity a shot.

It's pretty much the polar opposite of Fusion: Not parametric, direct modeling, aimed at artists more than engineers, no material stress modeling etc. Also, no cloud, no subscriptions, buy it once and own it.

I've thought about it before, but this video had me really considering it again.


View: https://youtu.be/kvZrFYIQrUI

I do almost all my modeling in Fusion. I'm okay at it, I get by. I don't enjoy using it for the most part. Something different is attractive. And I'm not doing this on a professional scale where the benefits of all the extra tools, or even parametric modeling, are that important.
 

Aurich

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Hmmm... also has a native Linux version. And a free 30 day. And it's a perpetual license, updates for 12 months. At least how I'm reading it. That's pretty nice.
Yeah, it's just regular ol' software. You buy it for $175, you own it, you get updates for a year. Mac/Linux/Windows

https://www.plasticity.xyz/
 

Aurich

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At least you actually print stuff.

I hand my designs over to the minions at the local library and get them to print it for me!
I don't think that makes you a poser at all!

But I could never. Part of the joy of 3D printing is the immediacy. I can design something, often something small, and print it right now. And then discover that I didn't account for the diameter of the drill bit on the little print to set the right depth for my dowel jig, adjust it wider another .1mm or whatever, and reprint it. Then use it, right then, never having to leave my house.

That's a good real world example of the kind of simple print I do all the time.

1790184578458.png


A base, with three different extra tubes that snap into it for ½", ¾" and 1" depths, the sizes modeled into the side for quick reading. Brad point drill bit sits in it, and then I can screw on the drill stop collar and know I have the right depth to drill the dowels. Accounts for a little extra space for glue, super easy to use.

Probably 20 minutes of measuring and modeling, and not that much longer printing. Saves time and headaches.

Could I just measure with a tape measure against my drill bit? Sure. But this is more accurate, repeatable, and easier. I love solving tiny problems like that.
 

DB63

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Speaking of modeling and CAD software, I've been thinking of giving learning Plasticity a shot.

It's pretty much the polar opposite of Fusion: Not parametric, direct modeling, aimed at artists more than engineers, no material stress modeling etc. Also, no cloud, no subscriptions, buy it once and own it.

I've thought about it before, but this video had me really considering it again.

(snip)

I do almost all my modeling in Fusion. I'm okay at it, I get by. I don't enjoy using it for the most part. Something different is attractive. And I'm not doing this on a professional scale where the benefits of all the extra tools, or even parametric modeling, are that important.

I bought myself a Plasticity Indie license for Xmass last year. I'm still not really proficient because my main driver (Designspark Mechanical) is also a direct modeller and the UIs are similar enough but still different enough that it gets a bit confusing o_O. The UI is based heavily on keyboard shortcuts, which is not really my preference, but the payback is that once you're good at it, it sort of becomes invisible from the cognitive path between idea and drawing.

Some ops are very quick/nice and it has a way of keeping the right objects selected such that you can chain commands together. Eg you might have a circular plate and a smaller cylinder ... then clickity-click, plate now has six holes in a rotary pattern.

If you do go ahead with the trial, you need to forget your F360 experience, get used to nuking your sketches etc. Also, before you start the trial, I would recommend listing out the things you want to do with it and try and find some youtubes that walk you through them, so you are reasonably primed before you start.

The Pixel Fondu youtube channels shows what it can do, but IMO runs too fast to learn from. The Learn Everything About Design, 3D to 2D, and Take Refuge 3D channels have more paced tutorials.

It's good software, and it's evolving at a very rapid pace. The lead dev is on the forums and takes suggestions on board. Sometimes if a user suggestion is good enough it will be in the beta within days and fully implemented by the next version which drops every 4-6 months. That's one of the reasons I bought my license - it's the sort of project that rewards its supporters.
 

Aurich

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I bought myself a Plasticity Indie license for Xmass last year. I'm still not really proficient because my main driver (Designspark Mechanical) is also a direct modeller and the UIs are similar enough but still different enough that it gets a bit confusing o_O. The UI is based heavily on keyboard shortcuts, which is not really my preference, but the payback is that once you're good at it, it sort of becomes invisible from the cognitive path between idea and drawing.

Some ops are very quick/nice and it has a way of keeping the right objects selected such that you can chain commands together. Eg you might have a circular plate and a smaller cylinder ... then clickity-click, plate now has six holes in a rotary pattern.

If you do go ahead with the trial, you need to forget your F360 experience, get used to nuking your sketches etc. Also, before you start the trial, I would recommend listing out the things you want to do with it and try and find some youtubes that walk you through them, so you are reasonably primed before you start.

The Pixel Fondu youtube channels shows what it can do, but IMO runs too fast to learn from. The Learn Everything About Design, 3D to 2D, and Take Refuge 3D channels have more paced tutorials.

It's good software, and it's evolving at a very rapid pace. The lead dev is on the forums and takes suggestions on board. Sometimes if a user suggestion is good enough it will be in the beta within days and fully implemented by the next version which drops every 4-6 months. That's one of the reasons I bought my license - it's the sort of project that rewards its supporters.
Thanks for the tips, that all makes sense to me.

I think I'll wait until I have a good sample project, I'm better at being motivated with a goal than just dinking around. But I did download it.
 

Aurich

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Speaking of modeling and CAD software, I've been thinking of giving learning Plasticity a shot.

It's pretty much the polar opposite of Fusion: Not parametric, direct modeling, aimed at artists more than engineers, no material stress modeling etc. Also, no cloud, no subscriptions, buy it once and own it.
Ooof, I'm having flashbacks to when Solid Edge started to cram "Synchronous Modeling" down everyone's throat. I don't know what the current state of it is, but it was not well received by the community of engineers used to parametric modelers. An interesting tool, but marketed to the wrong crowd.

I wonder if Plasticity has fixed some of the major drawbacks.
 

DB63

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I can't say if it's exactly the same as Synchronous but I'm a big fan of Direct Modelling. I think it's an especially good fit for objects destined for the printer. If a print is a bit tight/loose somewhere, you just adjust the faces directly and print again. Works great.

As things get more involved, with teams of people working interacting assemblies and such, then the Big CAD approach is better. But that's not what I do.

PS. They are quite nice for editing STP files too. But they can do more tricks in their native file format.
 
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Aurich

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Ooof, I'm having flashbacks to when Solid Edge started to cram "Synchronous Modeling" down everyone's throat. I don't know what the current state of it is, but it was not well received by the community of engineers used to parametric modelers. An interesting tool, but marketed to the wrong crowd.

I wonder if Plasticity has fixed some of the major drawbacks.
Like anything there are tradeoffs.

There are things with direct modeling that MUCH easier to do than in parametric. And working with parametric in a way that properly takes advantage of it means being very rigorous in constraining your sketches and working in a certain way. That can feel very constrictive.

On the other hand, for complicated engineering projects, especially with a lot of parts, parametric is almost essential to not go insane.

Even for simpler 3D printed parts there are certainly upsides. Using a variable to set all your heat set insert hole sizes and changing them all at once when you discover the fit isn't quite right etc.

But parametric modeling is essentially creating a set of instructions. You make a list of steps, and the timeline lets you go through them. That's kind of the opposite of being more organic and trying things.

There's a reason Plasticity is billed as "CAD for artists".
 

DB63

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(snip)
Using a variable to set all your heat set insert hole sizes and changing them all at once when you discover the fit isn't quite right etc.
(snip)

Something like your example can be done just as quickly.

EDIT. Doing it in plasticity version to keep on subject

Shift+Ctrl+Alt-click on one of the holes

1790203013991.png


Type =[New Value][Enter][Enter]. You're done

1790203191338.png

Select one hole.

1790201890337.png


Select faces with same area

1790201977150.png


Type in the new value. You're done.

1790202043351.png
 
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DB63

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So in Plasticity in your example those holes are all linked? If you change one it changes the others too?

I think the Shift+Ctrl+Alt modifier just selects similar things (same diameter etc), then when you change the size, it affects all selected faces. Designspark has more options/control over that.

They both have linked body features though, Components in Designspark and Instances in Plasticity. Change one, change them all. In Plasticity the Instances are sort cosmetic versions of the master, but you can 'Realize' them into normal bodies when you need to. You can also scale, mirror & rotate Instances and they stay linked. It combines well with their Duplicate tools that make it easy to places them on the drawing.
 
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Aurich

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I think the Shift+Ctrl+Alt modifier just selects similar things (same diameter etc), then when you change the size, it affects all selected faces. Designspark has more options/control over that.

They both have linked body features though, Components in Designspark and Instances in Plasticity. Change one, change them all. In Plasticity the Instances are sort cosmetic versions of the master, but you can 'Realize' them into normal bodies when you need to. You can also scale, mirror & rotate Instances and they stay linked. It combines well with their Duplicate tools that make it easy to places them on the drawing.
Sweet.

I really want to try it out.
 

DB63

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Sweet.

I really want to try it out.

Sometimes it works brilliantly, you've got some hairy edit and you're thinking it won't work, but it just nails it. Other times it can't do something that seems simple and it can be very frustrating.

Part of the 'contract' with this sort of modeller is that it has to weirdly know what you want and do more of the former than the latter.
 

Aurich

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Sometimes it works brilliantly, you've got some hairy edit and you're thinking it won't work, but it just nails it. Other times it can't do something that seems simple and it can be very frustrating.

Part of the 'contract' with this sort of modeller is that it has to weirdly know what you want and do more of the former than the latter.
Yeah I get it, but I am curious to give direct modeling a shot. As much as I respect parametric I don’t really need or enjoy the bulk of it.
 

aldwin

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Hmmm... also has a native Linux version. And a free 30 day. And it's a perpetual license, updates for 12 months. At least how I'm reading it. That's pretty nice.
Damn, now I'm tempted to check it out. Although I'm still kinda burnt after paying for Lightburn in part as they had Linux support ... only for them to drop it very shortly afterwards
 

aldwin

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I try not to spam this thread with combat robot pics, but given the magic of TPU has come up I figured I'd show off the range of bot sizes I use it in.

For 150g (antweight in Australia/UK or fairyweight in the US) I'll often print the whole chassis in TPU, only using ABS if I need the extra stiffness or the weight saving. This is Ripper, a 150g (ignore the scales!) vertical spinner. As well as the chassis being TPU, the metal weapon (laser cut AR steel) sits around the brushless weapon motor with a TPU layer in between, protecting it from shock on hits.
PXL_20260801_112519739.jpg


The next weight class up in Australia is beetleweights, which are 1.46kg/3lb. This is Bunyip, the original version of which on the right was built pre-COVID using a mix of aluminium square tube, HDPE sheets, and nylon 3D prints. It did OK, but was always taking a lot of damage. On the left is the rebuild I'm finally doing, which uses TPU for the wheels/gears (the smaller gears are printed in nylon though), front/back parts that the HDPE sheets bolt to, and also the weapon drum which has M8 bolts as impactors.
PXL_20260907_070425715.jpg


The biggest weightclass here is featherweights, 13.6kg/30lb. This is Terror Australis, which was also originally built pre-COVID, using a mix of HDPE, aluminium, and AR steel. I'm currently rebuilding it for a competition next year in NZ featuring teams from around the world (where I expect to get annihilated, but it'll be fun!), and a large part of the upgrade is replacing the HDPE with TPU, as well as going to TPU wheels (the pictured ones have bike tread screwed on them, but the plan is to cast the tires in polyurethane) with printed nylon gears bolted to them.
PXL_20260913_075545626.jpg
PXL_20260921_095951499.jpg
 

sajurcaju

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Some of these uses can benefit from harder TPU, like travisthehuman mentioned. I'm using 72d TPU from CC3D for a lot more now, especially things in the shop. I had a PETG hex bit holder, dropped something on it and it broke in half; now it's 72d TPU and just will not break. I print it with the same TPU profile as 95A. Many of my workshop prints are going to be hard TPU from now on.
 
Like anything there are tradeoffs.
Absolutely. I use both parametric (NX) and non-parametric (Rhino) heavily. There are many times I'm using one and wish I were using the other.

Siemens tried to integrate Direct modeling into NX and Solid Edge and give you both options. In general I found that a part created this way actually ended up with the worst of both worlds.

IMO what would bridge the gap is the ability to apply constraints in 3D to your direct-modeled parts at any point/as you go. The problem I always had with the Siemens variants was you had poor/limited visibility of what "rules" the software was using when you made changes to your model. It had a very clunky way of trying to apply these, but it was super limited. Hopefully that's one of the things addressed be these other modelers. What I'm seeing above from DB63 looks very similar to how Solid Edge Synchronous operated about 15 years ago.
 
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sajurcaju

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"And speaking of badges and TPU: the first project a manager at work asked for me to take on with the new Prusa XL is to design a shroud/hat/hood of some sort to help protect the badge readers that get rain exposure. They frequently fail, and it causes no lack of problems. TPU is pretty great at waterproofing stuff."
The J1772 connector on our EV charger got frozen onto the truck last winter. It wasn't the connector itself, but the lock button wouldn't move. I made a TPU sleeve to fit over it; single layer so you can push the lock button without removing it. Took a couple of iterations to make it fit right, but works fine.
 

aldwin

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Some of these uses can benefit from harder TPU, like travisthehuman mentioned. I'm using 72d TPU from CC3D for a lot more now, especially things in the shop. I had a PETG hex bit holder, dropped something on it and it broke in half; now it's 72d TPU and just will not break. I print it with the same TPU profile as 95A. Many of my workshop prints are going to be hard TPU from now on.
Huh, I tried printing some of that stuff with a standard 95A profile but had layer adhesion issues, figured I needed to print it hotter but hadn't got around to experimenting. Maybe I just need to dry the filament more.
 
Huh, I tried printing some of that stuff with a standard 95A profile but had layer adhesion issues, figured I needed to print it hotter but hadn't got around to experimenting. Maybe I just need to dry the filament more.
My TPU prints that I just did stuck very well. I did dry it longer that what the sheet said and had the dryer going the entire set of prints. They seem to be pretty tough. Can you over dry TPU very easily?
 
I really only share my high effort stuff here, the truth is most of my printing is functional.

I would say most of what I print are things I model myself to solve some kind of problem. And TPU feels like a pretty awesome problem solver, I just haven't had a use case yet to motivate me to experiment.

I rather suspect though that once I do I'll suddenly find all kinds of other uses. That's pretty much how 3D printing works I think, you don't really see the possibilities until you try it, and then your brain adds a new node that keeps finding use cases.
My wife was like this. Why do we need a 3D printer to now asking how to design stuff to print because she has so many ideas now. Mostly gardening stuff and art for the travel trailer.

She started doing some very basic stuff in SketchUp (I think) and was looking for something with a little more power. On all y'alls recommendation I sent her the link to Plascticity.
 

Aurich

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My wife was like this. Why do we need a 3D printer to now asking how to design stuff to print because she has so many ideas now. Mostly gardening stuff and art for the travel trailer.

She started doing some very basic stuff in SketchUp (I think) and was looking for something with a little more power. On all y'alls recommendation I sent her the link to Plascticity.
I feel like this is an almost universal experience. You don't really grasp how awesome 3D printers are until you have one. And then you just start looking at problems or the things around you different when you realize "I could print something to solve that".
 
Just the ability to immediately problem solve like you said. My latest, the trucks for the caboose used M2 bolts and the existing were M3. Print M3 threaded rod and put in with some super glue and redrill for the M2. Done. Didn't have to get a wooden dowel or plastic rod to size, glue in, wait, file smooth then drill.

The caboose was swapped out in less time that it would take to measure and go to the local hardware store.

Was missing a couple coupler clips for some units I got at the local antique store. Hey look, someone designed some to print ($8.50 for two OEM metal clips by the way) and in a short time I had new couplers in. Paid $3 for the car. Might replace the trucks one day on that too as they only cost $12.50 a pair. A new car like it is $40.
 
Just the ability to immediately problem solve like you said. My latest, the trucks for the caboose used M2 bolts and the existing were M3. Print M3 threaded rod and put in with some super glue and redrill for the M2. Done. Didn't have to get a wooden dowel or plastic rod to size, glue in, wait, file smooth then drill.
Yeah, I bought a Bambu H2C for the office to have our 3D CAD summer intern experiment with a bunch of stuff. I was amazed at how well it does with threads.

How fast did you have to work when threading in your M3 rod?

I'm also pretty amazed at how well it does with hinges.
 
I threaded by hand until it bottomed out like I would any other bolt. Once I was sure it threaded properly I took it out and put a drop of super glue on it and ran it back in with my fingers. By the time I got the package opened with the new trucks and the drill and bit out it was ready to drill and assemble. If I really wanted to work fast there is a kicker you can spray on superglue, but that also get hot. I didn't need it set in 1 second so I did not use it.

We used to use it all the time (back in the 90s) with our RC cars and the Imex tires since the tires would wear out pretty quickly. Cut the old off with a razor, glue new ones on with some kicker and they were ready to go right now. Sometimes the glue would boil, so be careful on that.

The tires were so soft they would squeal just like a full sized car. Tires have come a long way since then.
 
I threaded by hand until it bottomed out like I would any other bolt. Once I was sure it threaded properly I took it out and put a drop of super glue on it and ran it back in with my fingers. By the time I got the package opened with the new trucks and the drill and bit out it was ready to drill and assemble.
I was worried about the opposite problem, e.g. the glue hardening before you could get it screwed all the way in. It sounds like that's not a issue.
 

DB63

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How chemical proof is TPU? I have a gas can nozzle with a bad gasket. The new ones are all pretty thin and tear easily so you don't want to overtighten and create a tear. So the choice is under tighten so it leaks or overtighten so it leaks.
It's fairly inert I believe. I've seen videos of it being used as air filter and fuel tank gaskets on lawn mowers. Maybe a bit of caution needed with modern cars though - they tend to be fussy eaters. Try searching youtube for TPU Gasket.