Anyone good at 3d print design?

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I have an idea for a MD accessory that could be easily 3d printed. I don't know how to design such things in a file for this.
It is not very big. Maybe within about 6"X2"X7". Hard plastic material.
I want it specifically for a Minelab Equinox, but could be designed for other similar machines.

Who here is good at this stuff. If I give you a drawing and some parameters, can you do it for me?
 
I'd consider giving it a shot if it isn't too complex. Heck you might try doing it yourself. I mostly use an online design tool -- tinkercad -- which lets you add and subtract solids in 3-space. It creates a part file that anyone with a printer can slice and print.

PM me your napkin drawing or whatever. I have an eq600 so I should catch on pretty quickly to what's involved...
 
I'd consider giving it a shot if it isn't too complex. Heck you might try doing it yourself. I mostly use an online design tool -- tinkercad -- which lets you add and subtract solids in 3-space. It creates a part file that anyone with a printer can slice and print.

PM me your napkin drawing or whatever. I have an eq600 so I should catch on pretty quickly to what's involved...

Thanks for the reply. I think you are right that I can do it myself. I've been watching tutorials, and I think I need to learn this. I have lots of ideas, or needs for hard to find parts, etc. that this would be great for. I plan to check out some local places to print my model(s), and weigh costs, etc.
That tinkercad looks like a decent beginner's program.
Always open to advice...
 
Thanks for the reply. I think you are right that I can do it myself. I've been watching tutorials, and I think I need to learn this. I have lots of ideas, or needs for hard to find parts, etc. that this would be great for. I plan to check out some local places to print my model(s), and weigh costs, etc.
That tinkercad looks like a decent beginner's program.
Always open to advice...

What are you up to?? Is this new highly secretive idea you speak of going to lead us to that elusive patches of giant green nuggets??:laughing:
 
Thanks for the reply. I think you are right that I can do it myself. I've been watching tutorials, and I think I need to learn this. I have lots of ideas, or needs for hard to find parts, etc. that this would be great for. I plan to check out some local places to print my model(s), and weigh costs, etc.
That tinkercad looks like a decent beginner's program.
Always open to advice...

Tinkercad has done 99% of what I need it to do, and it's easy to learn. It can also import complex objects and you can edit them with the rudimentary tools as well. I found it works better on a Win 10 i5 machine with a decent amount of RAM (8+ GB) vs a Win 7 dualcore machine with 4GB. Either works fine for simple things, but it seems the more complex the parts get, the more local resources it needs.

Printing ... as many have said your public library may do it for you at super low cost, like a few pennies per gram of filament. Before long you'll be jonesing to have your own, though. I'm super pleased with my Ender 3 pro and it was under $200. Best hobby (like I have time for another) ever! Oh wait, know your audience -- SECOND best hobby ever! :)

Yeah, what is this (looks left, looks right) secret project anyway...? Yooper? Like a snow shovel/ice pick/flamethrower attachment???
 
Yeah, what is this (looks left, looks right) secret project anyway...? Yooper? Like a snow shovel/ice pick/flamethrower attachment???

Darnit! I knew I shouldn't have given it away with the Yooper hint! :mad:
(it's got mudflaps too!)


Thanks for the tips. It seems 3d making has gotten easy and cheap enough that even I can join the fun. :yes:
 
Would y'all happen to have any recommendations for a bang for the buck 3d printer?

I am looking into this myself. Torquemaster says he is super pleased with the Ender 3 Pro, that cost under $200. I have been looking at reviews, etc. and that is a good basic machine that works good for a lot of things. That's very popular, and one of the best, if you want to keep your initial cost low, and don't need maximum everything.
Of, course, you can get bigger, better, faster, etc., but it will cost more.

Any other good recommends for us beginners?
 
I am looking into this myself. Torquemaster says he is super pleased with the Ender 3 Pro, that cost under $200. I have been looking at reviews, etc. and that is a good basic machine that works good for a lot of things. That's very popular, and one of the best, if you want to keep your initial cost low, and don't need maximum everything.
Of, course, you can get bigger, better, faster, etc., but it will cost more.

Any other good recommends for us beginners?

I almost bought a monoprice printer, they have good "open box" prices sometimes, and seem to have a decent following, but decided the Ender 3 was a better path.

No regrets -- it has a huge user/support base which is critical since it is a hobby level printer and the machine and settings need a fair amount of adjustments and tweaking to get the best results. Unless you are really trying something crazy, somebody's been there before and can help out if the machine acts up. Check out the ender reddit.

I recall frequent comparison to the much higher priced Prusa machines if you're looking for something more like "great printing straight out of the box." But a well adjusted Ender can print extremely well for way less cost.

Know what max size objects you think you'll want to print. Prices seem to go up exponentially with bigger printbed sizes...

Some printers can handle, or be modified to handle more filament types, which may require hotter melting temps, but may be stronger, more flexible, or more weather/temperature resistant.

This is all for FDM (plastic filament) printers. There's a second type that uses a tank of liquid resin, but they seem to be more aimed at printing smaller objects with even higher detail. I've printed some 1 inch tall fantasy figurines with my fairly well adjusted Ender 3 -- they turned out "fair" -- definitely usable for gaming purposes, but not as good as a resin printer could do. FDM is a good "all purpose" type printer type.

I did my research maybe 18 months ago...there may be a "new hotness" out there by now...but as I said, no regrets with my decision to test the waters with the Ender 3.
 
Have been considering an ender 3 pro or 5 but really just need a couple of parts, an Explorer arm cuff in PETG and an Equinox 15x12 coil ear support.

If anyone wants to do these, let me know how to compensate for your time, trouble, and shipping.
 
I am looking into this myself. Torquemaster says he is super pleased with the Ender 3 Pro, that cost under $200. I have been looking at reviews, etc. and that is a good basic machine that works good for a lot of things. That's very popular, and one of the best, if you want to keep your initial cost low, and don't need maximum everything.
Of, course, you can get bigger, better, faster, etc., but it will cost more.

Any other good recommends for us beginners?
If you decide to buy 1 i sure could use a ear support thing a ma jigger bob for my 15 & stock coil . Just let me know the cost. Thanks
 
I just re-acquired my printer and am in process of setting up and tuning it. I can print these off from a design on Thingiverse, but I need to make sure that's allowed by the creator -- selling them that is. Further, I only have an 11" coil, so I can't test fit any other size. Lastly, unless I'm off base, USPS is cheapest for shipping small irregular objects like this, and it's looking like $4.05 minimum. To ship $0.25 worth of plastic. Sorry, if I was in china it would cost fifty cents to ship it out, lol.

Anyway, that's the score. I'd happily eat the cost if it weren't for shipping. I'll followup when I have more concrete details. I may just design my own, and avoid dealing with copyright restrictions or whatever 3d objects have.
 
The author of this part specifically requested no selling, but implied non-profits would probably be allowed with permission. To further the confusion, another person claims this design is stolen. Anyway, for selling just a few at cost, I'll try to get permission, but likely will be designing my own, to avoid further complications.

However...I'm not really happy with the design. The support ears are 5mm (~ 3/16") thick each. That subtracts 10mm from the amount of useful threads on the bolt, only leaving about 4mm -- or only 3 full threads worth. Ok for metal but this is a plastic bolt. It really needs to be longer.

I modified it to have 3mm (1/8") thick ears, and that seems like a happy medium. This got 6-7 full threads engaged.

I'm curious if you folks wanting these care that the thicker 5mm ears pretty much requires buying a longer plastic/nylon bolt, or if the 3mm thick ears will be good enough...
 
The author of this part specifically requested no selling, but implied non-profits would probably be allowed with permission. To further the confusion, another person claims this design is stolen. Anyway, for selling just a few at cost, I'll try to get permission, but likely will be designing my own, to avoid further complications.

However...I'm not really happy with the design. The support ears are 5mm (~ 3/16") thick each. That subtracts 10mm from the amount of useful threads on the bolt, only leaving about 4mm -- or only 3 full threads worth. Ok for metal but this is a plastic bolt. It really needs to be longer.

I modified it to have 3mm (1/8") thick ears, and that seems like a happy medium. This got 6-7 full threads engaged.

I'm curious if you folks wanting these care that the thicker 5mm ears pretty much requires buying a longer plastic/nylon bolt, or if the 3mm thick ears will be good enough...

That's a good idea about thicker ears as long as things will snug up well and add extra support. I bet some of the other poly bolts would work. The FBS bolts or others may be longer and I can check.

Here's a site with a bunch of models which you may have seen. For some reason the thingaverse search hasn't been working well at all for me.
https://www.yeggi.com/q/minelab+equinox/
 
Here's a site with a bunch of models which you may have seen. For some reason the thingaverse search hasn't been working well at all for me.
https://www.yeggi.com/q/minelab+equinox/

Thanks for the link, I hadn't looked around that much. Many of the yeggi links are pay models, but it did point me to another Thingiverse that integrates many features I was considering.

Firefox just ate my reply. Twice. Here's the long story again.
I'm not sure how much these brackets really help. Research confirmed that it's more likely the stress on the ears from tightening the bolt causing the problems, and these brackets just transfer the same force and the ears bend the same amount to snug the coil at the desired angle. Some thin shims, that allow the ears, when tightened, to be at their "natural" position, make more sense. It's possible a poor fitting support bracket could even make this stress worse.

If the ears are breaking due to banging the coil on trees, pole, stalks, or even water resistance if swinging underwater -- then these brackets should help, especially if they are gripped well to the coil body. But it seems that the ears are mostly breaking in normal use, or even found to have broken between uses.

So...this isn't a simple bolt-on solve-the-problem issue. The brackets *might* help some but don't solve the problem.
 
yooper69 and shellhouse,

The owner replied it was ok to print for "club members." Was appreciative that I asked at all. I re-asked, repeating that it was for Forum members, not club members, but got no response to that part of my message. Is it Tom in CA who says not getting a no is the same as getting a yes? lol So the picture is what I have handy. Two printed directly from the file, and one I modified with thinner ears so it could use the stock nut and bolt. They fit my 11" equinox coil, and should fit 15" as well, but untested. These are for "thin ear" coils, I'm told Minelab is now making them with thicker ears?

Printed fast and solid, not pretty, but functional. I recommend not just jamming these on your coils -- make sure they don't force the ears inward. A tiny bit of filing where I've circled in red (on both sides) is strongly recommended. I'm not responsible if these cause your ears to break!

Anyway, these three are up for grabs, __to you two__, who previously expressed interest in getting one or two. LMK what you want. I could print off either style again. Not my design, so I'm not profiting off them -- A buck each, plus the painful $4 USPS shipping. I'll have to scrounge up shipping materials, but should get them out pretty quick.

Oh yeah, I can print some thin spacers to go behind the rubber on your coil shafts if you are interested, no charge. They're roughly 0.010" thick virtually no plastic cost.

For the future, and anyone else interested in these items, I'm in process of designing a new slightly larger bracket that distributes forces to the coil body, and doubles as a repair bracket. But that's down the road a ways.
 

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yooper69 and shellhouse,

The owner replied it was ok to print for "club members." Was appreciative that I asked at all. I re-asked, repeating that it was for Forum members, not club members, but got no response to that part of my message. Is it Tom in CA who says not getting a no is the same as getting a yes? lol So the picture is what I have handy. Two printed directly from the file, and one I modified with thinner ears so it could use the stock nut and bolt. They fit my 11" equinox coil, and should fit 15" as well, but untested. These are for "thin ear" coils, I'm told Minelab is now making them with thicker ears?

Printed fast and solid, not pretty, but functional. I recommend not just jamming these on your coils -- make sure they don't force the ears inward. A tiny bit of filing where I've circled in red (on both sides) is strongly recommended. I'm not responsible if these cause your ears to break!

Anyway, these three are up for grabs, __to you two__, who previously expressed interest in getting one or two. LMK what you want. I could print off either style again. Not my design, so I'm not profiting off them -- A buck each, plus the painful $4 USPS shipping. I'll have to scrounge up shipping materials, but should get them out pretty quick.

Oh yeah, I can print some thin spacers to go behind the rubber on your coil shafts if you are interested, no charge. They're roughly 0.010" thick virtually no plastic cost.

For the future, and anyone else interested in these items, I'm in process of designing a new slightly larger bracket that distributes forces to the coil body, and doubles as a repair bracket. But that's down the road a ways.

Thanks TorqueMaster! PM'ing for details.
 
I will agree with Torque on the Ender line. I have a 3 as well, although it has been modified, that has served me beautifully for the money. They are a fun thing to have around and play with and can also help you out in some situations where you "just cant find that one right piece". If you have the slightest bit of technical ability you can fumble through Tinkercad and a slicer software like Cura and have parts, pieces, toys, trinkets that will fill whatever holes in your life you have. Sites like Thingiverse are full of free files that others have designed for a world of applications and all you have to do is download, import into slicer software, and send to printer.
 
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