Ink pad stamp prototypes

603 Views 36 Replies 4 Participants Last post by RT3360, 2 mo ago

Oscar56

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago

Two prototype stamps. Around 4 inches across.

Printed the lotus flower one and have to make it shorter. Made it 1.5 inches tall but it can be 3/4" and be fine.

Petal Plant Creative arts Art Wing

Petal Amber Creative arts Art Gas

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Oscar56

Discussion Starter · #21 · 2 mo ago

lol. You pretty much can. I make sure the first layer goes down and then walk away. I do check on it every once in a while but not too much. Have a lot more confidence in the machine now.

A lot of times I just start it when I go to sleep so it will be ready when I wake up.

I also have an entry level machine. That is why the bambu labs printer is so impressive though it is > 4x the cost of mine.

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difalkner

· #22 · 2 mo ago

Oscar56 said:
it is > 4x the cost of mine.

Is it four times the speed, quality, or at least close?

A friend I play guitar with in our Praise Band wants to buy one of those small desktop CNC machines so he can cut his own electric guitar bodies. He isn't interested in making many but the one he showed me gave an estimate for cutting front/back/pockets/profile at somewhere around 8 hours. I have the file and I can cut the same thing at higher quality in 30-40 minutes. My machine is 12-15 times faster than the one he plans to get but since I built it myself, didn't cost 12-15 times as much. I'll take my much heavier, more rigid, and more expensive machine over the desktop any day.

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Oscar56

Discussion Starter · #23 · 2 mo ago

It is probably 3 to 4 times faster (guesstimating off the top of my head). Quality of print should be similar. That has more to do with the heating element, cooling after adhesion and flow rate of the filament. As long as they are dialed in to your machine the prints will look good.

I have zero complaints about my prints. Any issues are primarily my doing thanks to sloppy modeling.

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MadMark

· #24 · 2 mo ago

Generally, you wait until they get well started and then let 'em run from there. 3D printing's forte is customization. Being able to make a bunch of different parts, not knocking out production items (although short, under 100, runs are quite possible, albeit over several days). I make engineering prototypes, and the 3D printer is a godsend for development. The cycle time goes from days or weeks to hours, and the direct prototype costs close to zero. Then, we can make enough parts to deliver sample volumes without tooling costs other than the NRE to CAD design the part.

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RT3360

· #25 · 2 mo ago

So what CAD are you guys using? I’m using Autodesk Fusion 360 Personal Use (free) software that continues to amaze me every time I look deeper. I had used ProE at my last job and can’t find anything I can’t do in Fusion 360 except for a few things they lock out for personal users, but it’s minimal. Started using AutoCAD many years ago and used a light version at home. Lost it when my old computer crashed. Then found this and have enjoyed every minute of it. The nice thing for me is it makes the transition to hardware very easy.

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Oscar56

Discussion Starter · #26 · 2 mo ago

This batch finally done. All are around 4 inches wide. Of course as I proudly handed them to my wife, she goes, well for the next batch can you make me....the list went on and on. lol

Black Wood Font Triangle Pattern

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difalkner

· #27 · 2 mo ago

RT3360 said:
So what CAD are you guys using?

Paid version of Fusion 360 - great software!

Oscar56

Discussion Starter · #28 · 2 mo ago

Second batch I made before starting to drink good beer and grill some nice steaks. Wife requested old timey keys and gears plus Chinese laterns and motif shapes.

Font Material property Symmetry Pattern Circle

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Oscar56

Discussion Starter · #29 · 2 mo ago

Some Chinese lantern stamps.

Product Balloon Gesture Font Pink

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Oscar56

Discussion Starter · #30 · 2 mo ago

Second batch complete. Still need to clean up all the strings but need to find my rotary tool.

Brown Wood Material property Font Art

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difalkner

· #31 · 2 mo ago

Oscar56 said:
Still need to clean up all the strings but need to find my rotary tool.

Would Walnut shells in a tumbler remove the strings and still keep the detail in place, sort of a deflashing tool?

When I worked with injection molded plastics years ago we used Walnut shells in a tumbling machine that deflashed plastic parts and it took all the handwork out of the equation.

RT3360

· #32 · 2 mo ago

I would think most could be just brushed off (with a gloved hand or a small brush like a toothbrush); cut off with an Exacto knife or using a deburring tool or an Exacto knife handle with a chisel blade. Worst case low wattage soldering iron or wood burning tool with tip that has an edge. You won't want to be too agressive.

You may also find some simple model changes will eliminate them also.

Oscar56

Discussion Starter · #33 · 2 mo ago

David, I don't think a tumbler would work. It really does feel just like rubber. Snips and an Exacto knife is the way to go. But this falls just behind sanding on my "loved" things to do.

RT3360, brushing won't work. Its rubber (TPU filament). Snips and exacto knife plus a ton of time and they will be cleaned up. I know you can program the slicer to not go over empty space but haven't used that yet.

I use CURA and just looked that up. They call it Combing mode. Will have to try next time I print with TPU.

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MadMark

· #34 · 2 mo ago

RT3360 said:
So what CAD are you guys using? I’m using Autodesk Fusion 360 Personal Use (free) software that continues to amaze me every time I look deeper. I had used ProE at my last job and can’t find anything I can’t do in Fusion 360 except for a few things they lock out for personal users, but it’s minimal. Started using AutoCAD many years ago and used a light version at home. Lost it when my old computer crashed. Then found this and have enjoyed every minute of it. The nice thing for me is it makes the transition to hardware very easy.

I use NanoCAD, it's a free, AutoCAD "work alike". I wrote a page of PHP to convert blocks in a .DXF file into a gcode file for the desktop CNC. One of the reasons I choose the model I did was that all three axes have stainless steel leadscrews instead of belts. More/better accuracy/repeatability.
For the 3D printer, I use TinkerCAD (a free AutoDesk product). I export to Fusion360 to create a dimensioned drawing. I used to teach AutoCAD, (sometimes in Spanish), but find Fusion360 overwhelming for what little I need done.
The laser runs off any bitmap file for engraving or cutting. Normally, I use the free paint.net program.

RT3360

· #35 · 2 mo ago (Edited)

Oscar56 said:
David, I don't think a tumbler would work. It really does feel just like rubber. Snips and an Exacto knife is the way to go. But this falls just behind sanding on my "loved" things to do.

RT3360, brushing won't work. Its rubber (TPU filament). Snips and exacto knife plus a ton of time and they will be cleaned up. I know you can program the slicer to not go over empty space but haven't used that yet.

I use CURA and just looked that up. They call it Combing mode. Will have to try next time I print with TPU.

I was just going by the part my friend made for me. Kind of a big arc. Didn’t have any of those strings across that area, but in some of the open spaces further up, you bet. Most pulled loose, but inside some holes, what a pain. Tried running a drill through them, but only cleared some so I used it to my advantage to hold some pivot pins in. Longer term, I’ll probably make the holes bigger and make some plugs to push into from the outside or just screw a screw in. The rubbery feature should hold them in place without adding anything else.

Original part with tape on it is in the front.
First attempt at a TPU version of a steel replacement part is on the left. Very flexible, but maybe still usable. Also printed one out of a harder material, but it was brittle. However, I could drill the holes to size.
Modified the model based on my friend’s input. Second two behind the original part are final test parts. Third one printed slightly short, but was still usable.
Back piece was the tear away piece down the center (underside).

Waiting on a friend to test them out on his tractor cab.

Rectangle Office equipment Font Musical instrument Musical instrument accessory

Big takeaways were:

You have to know the application very well so you can make the part easier to print, but still function as intended, even though it may be bigger than the original part.
TPU can be made stiffer by adding structure.
Structure can be gained by hollowing out a solid and letting the software add the webbing which gives the fastest print time. I chose to shell the part and then add known webbing to be assured of the strength that I was trying to keep.
Knowing the print surface plane is crucial to making a good clean part.

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MadMark

· #36 · 2 mo ago

Oscar56 said:
Second batch complete. Still need to clean up all the strings but need to find my rotary tool.

View attachment 236

A lighter will melt most of the strings into blobs that are easier to knock off and less apt to "unravel" by pulling ...
Excessive strings are a sign that you're a little hot extruding, and/or aren't retracting enough.

RT3360

· #37 · 2 mo ago

MadMark said:
A lighter will melt most of the strings into blobs that are easier to knock off and less apt to "unravel" by pulling ...
Excessive strings are a sign that you're a little hot extruding, and/or aren't retracting enough.

Didn’t I see where someone used one of those butane torches on low?

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