Sciencemadness Discussion Board - 3D print lab supplies?

3D print lab supplies?

I Like Dots - 11-6-2013 at 19:49

I have access to a nice 3D printer, Im wondering if anyone has 3D models of keck clips.

I checked the few databases, and nothing turned up. I have solidworks but it may take awhile to learn.

If anybody had a model that would be cool!

Funkerman23 - 11-6-2013 at 20:06

uhhhh this might not be a good idea. the strength of standard keck clips isn't to high to begin with. And , near as I can tell, those are injection molded. with a printed clip you form the part by layering& I can't say that the layering won't affect how stress is distributed. In short this could lead to brittle inflexible clips with the ,IMO, failure points being the "arms" that join the bottom ring from the top ring. what file type could you use for the model? But I could be very wrong and I apologise if my doubts are disheartening.

Variscite - 11-6-2013 at 20:14

I think this might actually work, that would be very convenient if it did. I dont think because they are 3d printied that it would reduce the structural stability. It depends on what plastic it is being printed in too, although im not sure what 3d printers print in...

mud - 11-6-2013 at 20:23

oooh oohh I need some things printed, but in a filament that comes close to GL 45 specs.

BCNOFNe - 12-6-2013 at 17:59

I think the current printers use ABS plastic and I think it could work if you printed it like a "U" meaning the bent edge on the surface of the printer and print little feet so that it stands up.

If they can print a Robohand http://youtu.be/WT3772yhr0o you should have a chance at clips lol

confused - 12-6-2013 at 20:01

ABS can hold up to hydrochloric acid pretty well, but is attacked by sulfuric and nitric acids
also ABS softens at about 90 'C and melts at 105'C, so it wouldn't be good to use it for any setups that involve heat such as distillation setups

[Edited on 13-6-2013 by confused]

argyrium - 13-6-2013 at 13:25

think big...

Navy Wants Aircraft Carriers to Manufacture Weapons On the Go
These days, the mention of 3D-printed weapons conjures up visions of people printing AK-47s in their garages (ok, that might just be me). But a recent story in the Armed Forces Journal brings word of a more systematic implementation of 3D-printed warfare.

According to one Lieutenant Commander Michael Llenza, the Navy's future lies in converting aircraft carriers into “floating factories,” each carrying a fleet of 3D printers to churn out weapons, drones, and even shelters at a moment’s notice. There’s money and time to be saved in the sheer logistical rationality of the scheme. For example, when cylindrical bullets are stacked, tiny bits of wasted space are created—which add up, when you're talking about millions of the things. Rectangular packages of powder, which could be printed into bullets when needed, are a far more efficient use of space.

Right now, research on such a scheme is being done in bits and pieces. Llenza points out a handful of examples, including Contour Crafting, the building-sized 3D printing system, as well as several recent projects in which complete UAVs were produced overnight:

[…] The University of Virginia printed a UAV controlled by a relatively cheap Android phone whose camera was used to shoot aerial imagery. Designed for a top speed of 45 mph, the aircraft crashed on its first flight. The students just went back to the lab and printed out a replacement nose cone, a capability envied by any squadron maintenance officer. The eventual goal is a drone that flies right out of the printer with electronics and motive power already in place. An organic ability to print replaceable drones from ships, forward operating bases or during disaster relief operations to serve as targets or observation platforms could be a huge enabler for sailors and Marines.
Of course, there are still huge gaps to be bridged, technologically speaking, before 3D printing can be adopted as a large-scale military inventory strategy. It’s supremely expensive right now, and more importantly, the structural stability of many materials is inconsistent—so replacing critical pieces of machinery is out of the question. Still, it’s an exciting idea, especially when you see it in the terms laid out by MIT’s Neil Gershenfeld, who describes the 3D printing as the ability to “turn data into things and things into data.” Llenza sums it up nicely by wondering how much simpler Apollo 13's mission would have been, had the crew been able to simply request the appropriate CAD model from ground control. [Armed Forces Journal via ExtremeTech]

A rendering of the Contour Crafting system, the University of Southern California program that's developed a technology to print at an architectural scale.

paw_20 - 14-6-2013 at 09:29

I got extremely (perhaps inordinately) excited over the AFM imaging of a graphene reaction (article's in Science, if you haven't seen it), but this is right up there in terms of "coolest things I've seen all year." Mostly because of the guy in comments who compared it to a Protoss Carrier.

Organikum - 15-6-2013 at 11:20

Plastics as they are now are just not goog enough for chemistry.

I dont think we will soon see a change here, but what we will see is the use of other materials in 3d printers...

Who builds the first sol-gel printer with instant silent discharge curing to print us things from real glass?

/ORG

[Edited on 15-6-2013 by Organikum]

MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong - 17-3-2014 at 18:41

I just finished CADing a 14/20 keck clip and uploaded to thingiverse:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:274395

Haven't really tested it besides repeatedly clipping it onto a joint.

I wonder if it'd be cheaper to send the .stl to shapeways and have them print it (maybe in alumide) than to buy the OEM Keck clips

BromicAcid - 17-3-2014 at 19:19

I have seen ceramic printers, now we just need to wait for printers using borosilicate to take off. Imagine being able to print a needle valve or joint adapter?

elementcollector1 - 17-3-2014 at 19:35

Now imagine a quartz printer.

MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong - 18-3-2014 at 02:35

Finished a 24/40 clip:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:274563

These printed clips actually seem to hold joints together pretty damn tight. When cold, at least. I'll see how well it holds up when boiling water.

Blergo - 18-3-2014 at 06:47

I will try and print some of the 14/20 clips tonight and see how they go, i was just about to order some more. Thanks for uploading the files!

jock88 - 18-3-2014 at 13:12

Any chance of a pictur of the clip you printed?

MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong - 18-3-2014 at 17:11

19/22 Keck clip is done:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:275257

14/20, 19/22, and 24/40 are the only Keck clips I have. If someone has a different size keck clip they want modeled and have a pair of calibers, post the inner diameter of both crescent pieces and the distance between them, in imperial units please.

Quote: Originally posted by Blergo

I will try and print some of the 14/20 clips tonight and see how they go, i was just about to order some more. Thanks for uploading the files!

Cheers. Post your print parameters and type of filament you're using. I was having mild delamination issues when printing the 14/20 clip in black ABS @ 250C. I switched to the white ABS that came with my Afinia printer and printed at 260C and the keck clip came out much better.

Quote: Originally posted by jock88

Any chance of a pictur of the clip you printed?

If you're asking me, pics are included in each of the thingiverse links I posted.

Here's a full set of pics (printed clips compared to stock Keck clips):

[Edited on 3-19-2014 by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong]

MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong - 18-3-2014 at 19:01

I made alternative keck clips that have eyelets for inserting safety wires. Now if your clip breaks, it hopefully won't take your expensive glassware with it and fuck up your day.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:275336

I've only printed the 14/20 clip for now.

Mr_Magnesium - 18-3-2014 at 19:43

They look really good!

How long do they take to print? What made you get into 3D printing and how does someone like myself get into it?

MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong - 18-3-2014 at 20:32

Quote: Originally posted by Mr_Magnesium

They look really good!

How long do they take to print? What made you get into 3D printing and how does someone like myself get into it?

23 minutes for the small, 40 minutes, and 47 minutes for the larger one. That's on the slowest speed and solid infill to make for a stronger clip. On fast speed and 75% infill it would probably take about 10, 20, 25 minutes respectively. Then it takes about 1 minute in labor to remove the plastic support material from the printed part.

I first got into 3D printing about 6 months ago for product prototyping work. What also really appealed to me was that it's possible to design things and print them in PLA (or even wax filament) and then do metal casting with them using the lost-wax casting method, which I still have yet to attempt. My first project for that will probably be casting a brass magwell and yoke for a 1/3rd scale .22cal gatling gun based on the D&E plans.

Personal printers have come down in recent years to about the same price as a decent laptop, but if you don't know CAD and you're only interested in printing complete products or a few parts here and there, then it might not be too economical for you since 3D libraries right now are still quite limited, and by the time they become populated the personal printers will have become even cheaper and better. But if you happen to come up with a good marketable product idea and want to start making prototypes for it, a personal 3D printer will likely save you time and money in the end. If you haven't learned CAD, in my opinion, one semester is all you'll really need in order to know how to design mechanical models. Learning to do mesh modeling for complex, artistic, undulating designs might take a little longer. There's also in-depth CAD courses now available on youtube. Autocad has an inbuilt export to .stl function, so as soon as you're done modeling you can export and start printing it immediately.

If money is not much of an issue, a 3D printer becomes a matter of convenience; to create or make parts on demand rather than going to a store or waiting for a shipment to arrive.

[Edited on 3-19-2014 by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong]

Oopsy_daisy - 19-3-2014 at 10:58

This subject is something i find very interesting and I'm actually in the process of building my very own Reprap. One project I've planned is designing a centrufugal fan, printing it and attaching a 120 W motor to it. This will then be used in a future fumehood. Hopefully the ABS will be resistant enough to hold up to the corrosive fumes.
Some might say that it's cheaper just to buy one of ebay but the cheapest fans that I have found are still pretty expensive (~60£) with shipping to Sweden. A printed fan will be a lot cheaper with a motor from a mixer or similar plus the plastic coming in at about 20 £ at the most.

MrHomeScientist - 19-3-2014 at 13:08

This is amazing work, MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong! I would not have expected printed keck clips to hold up very well, considering the spotty history of the "real thing". The safety wire eyelets were a good idea - do you just thread a wire through two of the vertically-aligned holes and tie it together?
I have a friend with a 3D printer that I sent these specs to - I might have him print me some if I break the ones I have!

MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong - 19-3-2014 at 15:22

Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist

This is amazing work, MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong! I would not have expected printed keck clips to hold up very well, considering the spotty history of the "real thing". The safety wire eyelets were a good idea - do you just thread a wire through two of the vertically-aligned holes and tie it together?
I have a friend with a 3D printer that I sent these specs to - I might have him print me some if I break the ones I have!

I was just as surprised as you were. The first 14/20 I made had a thinner section on the loop's radius, more like a real keck, and it separated as soon as I clipped it to a joint. I beefed the loops up and now the clips work like a charm. I think there's more room yet on the top and bottom of the loops to make them even sturdier and hold joints together tighter. But maybe it shouldn't be so tight as to stop joints from unlocking and venting in case a system becomes over-pressurized?

Yes, thread wire through the top and bottom holes. I don't know if the two sets are really needed but it couldn't hurt. The idea is that if all the suspension/spring loops sever, it will stop glassware from falling out of the taper. So, the connecting wire should be short enough to where, if the keck clip does separate, the bottom glass piece won't fall far enough to escape the taper, because if it did I think that glass piece might potentially become canted at an angle that would permit it to escape through the keck clip's entrance, and fall. Or spill contents.

Safety pins work even better:

[Edited on 3-20-2014 by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong]

MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong - 20-3-2014 at 01:23

Quote: Originally posted by Oopsy_daisy

One project I've planned is designing a centrufugal fan, printing it and attaching a 120 W motor to it. This will then be used in a future fumehood. Hopefully the ABS will be resistant enough to hold up to the corrosive fumes.

There is actually nylon and HDPE filament now available. Either of those would be a better choice for a fume hood fan.

I haven't tried printing in those plastics yet, but I hear it's a bit finicky to print with nylon until you find the sweet spot in temp and speed for your particular setup. You'd also need to get a phenolic platen for the nylon to stick well enough to.

Mr_Magnesium - 20-3-2014 at 06:33

I may take a look into this, my professor brought up 3D printing a while ago.

Is it possible in the future to print glassware pieces? beakers etc,

Metacelsus - 20-3-2014 at 08:14

I wouldn't trust any 3D printed glassware.

Blergo - 20-3-2014 at 08:52

Sorry for the delay, I did attempt this print a couple of times and then got distracted, had a bit of trouble getting my slicer to add any support material to the clip.

Then i got distracted printing some replacement parts for my printer because some of the parts that i bought to build it have over time de-laminated a bit and started to show signs of failing entirley.

Printer is back up and running properly now though so i will have another attempt at this tonight, i must have just missed something in the settings last time.

MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong - 20-3-2014 at 19:58

Quote: Originally posted by Mr_Magnesium

I may take a look into this, my professor brought up 3D printing a while ago.

Is it possible in the future to print glassware pieces? beakers etc,

Printed glass today is accomplished with selective laser sintering and then kiln firing. Just looking at some pictures of the glass pieces made by Shapeways, I'd say 3d printed glass won't be suitable for labware. All of it looks minimally translucent and I'm guessing it's not because of colorants but because of a spongy or heterogeneous structure to the glass. FDM glass would be better, but I'd think the build space would need to be enclosed and hold kiln-like temperatures, and that poses a big challenge for any precision linear slides and the extruder motor. The glass filament would have to be quite thin for flexibility, but having it thin would make it hard to extrude and take longer to print. They could use braided glass filament, but it might not homogenize completely during extrusion. I just don't see FDM glass being practical enough for any company to pursue R&D on. A skilled glassblower could make hundreds, or thousands of the same pieces in the same amount of time as it'd take to 3D print just one of them.

On the other hand, it's possible to make watertight plastic-ware with filaments like nylon, hdpe, pet, pei, pc, or mixes of those, with printers that are already available.

Quote: Originally posted by Blergo

Sorry for the delay, I did attempt this print a couple of times and then got distracted, had a bit of trouble getting my slicer to add any support material to the clip.

Then i got distracted printing some replacement parts for my printer because some of the parts that i bought to build it have over time de-laminated a bit and started to show signs of failing entirley.

Printer is back up and running properly now though so i will have another attempt at this tonight, i must have just missed something in the settings last time.

Are you using Cura as your slicer program?

[Edited on 3-21-2014 by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong]

Blergo - 21-3-2014 at 06:08

Quote: Originally posted by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong

Are you using Cura as your slicer program?

[Edited on 3-21-2014 by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong]

Hi,
I use Slic3r, never managed to get cura printing acceptably but i never spent much time on it as Slic3r has always worked fine for me in the past.

MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong - 21-3-2014 at 23:41

Quote: Originally posted by Blergo

Quote: Originally posted by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong

Are you using Cura as your slicer program?

Hi,
I use Slic3r, never managed to get cura printing acceptably but i never spent much time on it as Slic3r has always worked fine for me in the past.

Did you get it to work yet? If not, good. I just realized the upper crescent ring is off axis. If you look at the last pic I posted, you might see that the teeth are missing the glass by about 1mm. I also went ahead and made the loops thicker, and modified the internal loop radius to help prevent delamination at the crest.

I only have the 14/20 and 24/40 clips fixed. They've been uploaded to the same thingiverse links I posted earlier, and the old files deleted from them.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:274395
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:274563

Edit: I've since found out that these clips work better if you print with medium infill. I haven't had this issue with the 14/20, but on my 24/40 clips, one of the front loops (closest to the opening) always seems to split apart if I've printed it with solid infill, so I tried printing with medium infill and now it no longer splits, and it seems to hold joints together just as strong.

[Edited on 3-23-2014 by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong]

bwn - 28-12-2015 at 14:39

Quote: Originally posted by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong

I only have the 14/20 and 24/40 clips fixed. They've been uploaded to the same thingiverse links I posted earlier, and the old files deleted from them.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:274395
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:274563

Edit: I've since found out that these clips work better if you print with medium infill. I haven't had this issue with the 14/20, but on my 24/40 clips, one of the front loops (closest to the opening) always seems to split apart if I've printed it with solid infill, so I tried printing with medium infill and now it no longer splits, and it seems to hold joints together just as strong.

[Edited on 3-23-2014 by MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong]

I just got around to printing a couple of the 24/40 clips, thanks for sharing them!

mayko - 14-7-2016 at 08:23

I saw this and thought it was cute. I doubt that the materials would stand up to harsh fluids, but might be handy for filtering mild aqueous solutions:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Needed a Büchner funnel for some mosquito experiments. Cost about $40. 3D printed one instead! its <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/likemagic?src=hash">#likemagic</a>! <a href="https://t.co/hyeUHoOUwo">pic.twitter.com/hyeUHoOUwo</a></p>— Jason Rasgon (@vectorgen) <a href="https://twitter.com/vectorgen/status/753596442082701313">July 14, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sulaiman - 14-7-2016 at 12:02

Just to let folks know, these keck clips are GREAT !
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401133567975?_trksid=p2057872.m274...
and these are cheap and ok http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10Pcs-Laboratory-Plastic-Green-Kec...

probably keck clips are not a good subject for 3d printing due to stress and temperature.