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I noticed that Dremel had 3D printers in the Home Depot stores. Anybody tried using one to make plugs for molds?
3D Printer
- Thread starter Mike Cathey
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Help Support Intlwaters:
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yes and no.. I have never used the Dremel but have a bunch of time with others.. they are nice and I have used them for Vac form molds.. they are however quite rough for any other kind of molding.
Bob Kensill
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Better yet, I have access to the plastic printer and the aluminum printer. Imagine making a crankcase, a carb, or even a lower unit?
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I do not have any information on the Dremel 3D printer but I do have experience using 3D printers to make fiberglass molds plugs. Works real well.
For the making mold plugs, I use PLA as the plastic. Also using the FDM type of printers. These are ones that extrude a thin layer of plastic over and over to form a part. This type of printer seems to be more "hobby" oriented vs the SLS type. After the part is 3D printed, there will be "ridges" from the plastic layers - kind of looks like an old vinyl record surface. I will lightly sand and then do a thin coat of body putty or similar material. This will fill in the low spots between ridges. Sand smooth after this to get the final surface that is then ready for finishing into mold plug.
One thing you find is the many 3D printers do not have large print envelope. If the part that you are trying to make is too big for the printer, slice it up into small section that will fit the printer and then glue together to form the final part. I have done larger RC boat size parts this way.
Another item to consider is some of the 3D printer services available on the internet vs buying a printer. This is the route I went with. I used a printing service called 3Dhubs.com to find a local guy to my area with a printer. Prices for parts were very reasonable. With this route I drew up the part in a 3D CAD program, saved it to the appropriate file format, and then uploaded it to the local printer hub. The printer then quoted the final price, etc. Overall a very easy process.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Mike
For the making mold plugs, I use PLA as the plastic. Also using the FDM type of printers. These are ones that extrude a thin layer of plastic over and over to form a part. This type of printer seems to be more "hobby" oriented vs the SLS type. After the part is 3D printed, there will be "ridges" from the plastic layers - kind of looks like an old vinyl record surface. I will lightly sand and then do a thin coat of body putty or similar material. This will fill in the low spots between ridges. Sand smooth after this to get the final surface that is then ready for finishing into mold plug.
One thing you find is the many 3D printers do not have large print envelope. If the part that you are trying to make is too big for the printer, slice it up into small section that will fit the printer and then glue together to form the final part. I have done larger RC boat size parts this way.
Another item to consider is some of the 3D printer services available on the internet vs buying a printer. This is the route I went with. I used a printing service called 3Dhubs.com to find a local guy to my area with a printer. Prices for parts were very reasonable. With this route I drew up the part in a 3D CAD program, saved it to the appropriate file format, and then uploaded it to the local printer hub. The printer then quoted the final price, etc. Overall a very easy process.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Mike
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