Restoration of my 1/6 scale 3D printed HMMWV is done! It was broken up to million pieces when it was moving cross four States. It was in a really sad state when I opened the moving box. But now it is back in one piece.
HMMWV Restoration
- Thread starter goodduck
- Start date
Not as good as when it was newly printed. Parts don’t exactly line up anymore and it took me several months, but it is at least back in one piece again! Don’t know what cheap material the 3D printer company uses to printed my ammo belt. That is the only part that I can fix. XD
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- Apr 5, 2013
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That's a big problem with 3D printers. The ones that use plastic filament are somewhat useless. The ones that use a laser Diode in steel dust, which is later heated from 1500 to 2500 degrees, can make gears! 
All the plastic filament injection parts actually holding up very well. All the parts that broken are resin printed with Zcorp 3D printer. The tires and ammo belt are flexible resin and I forgot that machine they printed from. The ammo belt was printed at different time and looks like printed in lesser quality material. The 3d model need a little editing on the doors. They need some king of lock to help stay close. I will do away with the run flat rim in side the tires and make them hard and add some kid of support built into interior of the tires to give them strength.
- Apr 5, 2013
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You think it may get brittle with age, this particular resin? This is the biggest problem with the 3D printers, either they do not take temperature good, or stress. They would have to use a very hot tip and then something to cool the material once applied. I think injection mold machines will be around for a long time. Though, you could easily make parts for plugs and make molds, which could use very hard curing materials, and could be made like an investment casting.
On some of my design rotational molding could be good idea. Blow molding, plastic injection molding is very expensive for this big mode. I checked years ago, I do not have that kind of capital. I am not putting up the house and cash in all my investments and 401k. I will just start with a desktop printer print one at a time, sell enough and buy an office printer to print few at a time and so on, that sound better to me. Zcorp powder resin printers are not design to play with. Only for prototype design, look but no touchy. Touch too much and it will turn back into powder, or at least in million little pieces. Plastic injection printer is much stronger. The Cube printer looks like it is design to print stuff to kick around, so it is still my first choice right now.
- Apr 5, 2013
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I was a mold maker. I made molds or white metal, same process as plastic, molds are molds. High current EDM, using graphite plugs to make the negative. Very laborious, dangerous, and hard on the hands. We had to use ultrasonic polishers, hand held, to get a glass like finish. To be honest, I would never do that kind of work again. It tooks it's toll on my body, and I will never recover from it.
CNC machining centers are much more fun. The desktop 3D printers, and small injection machines are for prototyping. You can never make money off of them unless you are making an invention and need to make it yourself, otherwise, they are toys, in the near term. That could change if prices come down, materials get better and the machines get much bigger. If you know how, it is still better to make your own machine, as you can make a better one than you can buy, but you must have much tooling for this. I am the only person I know that has that kind of tooling, (within my group of acquaintances). Not many people have milling machines, lathes, Mig/TIg welders, etc, laying around. It's kind of sad when you see people in the mid 30's that have no idea what a Milling machine is, this country has lost a large fabrication base. Time to stop importing cheap crap and start making good stuff, or we will forget how to make everything. We will be a service based economy, that is to say, an economy of servants. May I take your order?
CNC machining centers are much more fun. The desktop 3D printers, and small injection machines are for prototyping. You can never make money off of them unless you are making an invention and need to make it yourself, otherwise, they are toys, in the near term. That could change if prices come down, materials get better and the machines get much bigger. If you know how, it is still better to make your own machine, as you can make a better one than you can buy, but you must have much tooling for this. I am the only person I know that has that kind of tooling, (within my group of acquaintances). Not many people have milling machines, lathes, Mig/TIg welders, etc, laying around. It's kind of sad when you see people in the mid 30's that have no idea what a Milling machine is, this country has lost a large fabrication base. Time to stop importing cheap crap and start making good stuff, or we will forget how to make everything. We will be a service based economy, that is to say, an economy of servants. May I take your order?
- Apr 5, 2013
- 13,876
- 10,214
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Yeah, I know, it's who will be building the stuff for those who can't do their own that makes me wonder. I have not purchased an exhaust system for any car I have owned in 30 years. I am always able to fix them for pennies on the dollar, and usually make them better. I haven't purchased a t.v. in 30 years, I grab them from the transfer station and fix the. I have a 36 inch Toshiba that has lasted 12 years and the I.C. cost me $100 bucks to put in. I did buy a LCD Projector, as I made really nice speakers for my 7.2 Surround sound set up. I try to spend as little as I can, because of being disabled and unemployable, and uninsurable, I have to hustle every dime I make. It is amazing how much you can do bartering. In that process of bartering, it amazing how much people gibe you. The town put in green fence posts in front of a school for 150' feet, the two years decided to take it down. I asked the what the where doing with the posts and said since I was a town resident I could have the. These were expensive, each with ornate caps, and nice gate hardware. They said I'd have trouble taking off the concrete off. I spend 5 minutes a piece with my Snap-On air chisel, that concrete popped right off. I live on a dirt road and the town won't put street signs on it. So that's what I did with them, I put up ornate street signs. My neighbors were really happy. The rest I used to repair sections of fence on my property. I have quite a few posts left. to me it's raw stock. I have some ideas for them, as supports for a big cloth Summer Sail shade I just purchased.