3d printer

The cats wrasse · Jan 19, 2020

Ok so I'm not sure if this is where to post this but I'm looking into 3d printers to print filters (for sale) for reef tanks would anyone have any info on a good 3d printer capable of printing at a fast enough rate for distribution purposes I'm looking for something in the 5k price point that has a build height of around 13 inches any help would be appreciated

Larry L · Jan 19, 2020

I don't know of any single printer that's fast enough to do what it sounds like you are trying to do. Most folks have several (sometimes many many) printers that are all going at the same time.

Thub · Jan 19, 2020

3d printing is not a good fit for production work. Even with a huge nozzle, you're building layer by layer. Laser cutting or routing acrylic is probably a better, and more marketable product. (Lots of people question 3d printed stuff in their tanks)

Larry L · Jan 19, 2020

Thub said:
3d printing is not a good fit for production work.

It depends on what you are trying to do. Lots of people are just fine with 3D printed stuff in their tanks (just ask the folks at e.g. @Vivid Creative Aquatics). If you're just getting started, you might want to send your design to one of the online places that run 3D printer farms and contract out jobs.

Thub · Jan 19, 2020

Larry L said:
It depends on what you are trying to do. Lots of people are just fine with 3D printed stuff in their tanks (just ask the folks at e.g. @Vivid Creative Aquatics). If you're just getting started, you might want to send your design to one of the online places that run 3D printer farms and contract out jobs.

I've been 3d printing stuff for years, built my own printer even. A single 3d printer of any kind is not going to produce products fast enough to build a business around, especially if the parts are 13" tall. However, a $5K laser cutter or CNC router might be.
For personal use, 3d printed aquarium parts are great. My tanks have all kinds of stuff I designed and printed in them.

burnetb1 · Jan 20, 2020

Going to jump on the wagon here. I agree, it sound like your looking more for a laser cutter or CNC router. Printing something that's 13" tall is gonna take anywhere from 12 hours to 12 days depending on how big the model is.

I think for a better response we need to know more information about what you plan on building. The term "filter" can be taken pretty loosely as far as reef tanks go.

The cats wrasse · Jan 20, 2020

Thub said:
I've been 3d printing stuff for years, built my own printer even. A single 3d printer of any kind is not going to produce products fast enough to build a business around, especially if the parts are 13" tall. However, a $5K laser cutter or CNC router might be.
For personal use, 3d printed aquarium parts are great. My tanks have all kinds of stuff I designed and printed in them.

Hey thanks for the reply! I'll attach an image of my design (upflow algae scrubber/protein skimmer) I just acquired a patent for it and am excited to get copies made that aren't the 3d printed ones I'm using now I got a quote for injection molding and they wanted 20k for the cavity anyway here she is

The cats wrasse · Jan 20, 2020

burnetb1 said:
Going to jump on the wagon here. I agree, it sound like your looking more for a laser cutter or CNC router. Printing something that's 13" tall is gonna take anywhere from 12 hours to 12 days depending on how big the model is.

I think for a better response we need to know more information about what you plan on building. The term "filter" can be taken pretty loosely as far as reef tanks go.

Hey thanks for the reply! I'll attach an image of my design (upflow algae scrubber/protein skimmer) I just acquired a patent for it and am excited to get copies made that aren't the 3d printed ones I'm using now I got a quote for injection molding and they wanted 20k for the cavity anyway here she is

Vivid Creative Aquatics · Jan 20, 2020

The cats wrasse said:
Ok so I'm not sure if this is where to post this but I'm looking into 3d printers to print filters (for sale) for reef tanks would anyone have any info on a good 3d printer capable of printing at a fast enough rate for distribution purposes I'm looking for something in the 5k price point that has a build height of around 13 inches any help would be appreciated

If the largest section if your product is around 13in tall then there are only a few consumer-level 3D printers that can create something that big. The first one that comes to mind is the Creatliy CR-10 MAX. Given your budget, you could probably get 4 or 5 of those for that 5k price range. On the industrial side, there are many printers that can print this size and much larger, but i don't know of any under the $5k price point.

the biggest challenge will the size of your parts. Both from a print-time standpoint and reliability for the print itself. There are ways to deal with both of these issues but it would definitely take some work to get it right with consumer-level hardware.

From a production volume stand point, you'll need a large number of printers to produce any real numbers. We run between 20 and 30 printers (depending on current production schedule) that will print for about 16 hours a day. That's enough volume to product enough product for our needs, where the average print-time per part is between 60 and 120 minutes.

Finally, I think a good question to ask yourself is if 3D printing is the best technology to produce the product you have planned.

As others have stated, depending on what you have designed, a CNC router and/or laser cutters might be a better choice. Of course that all depends on what you have planned.

For instance, our primary product, which is the Random Flow Generator™ Nozzle, is best suited to 3D printing because it is less expensive than machining it out of a solid piece of plastic and , so far , have yet to find someone who could actually injection mold the RFG due to it's unique internal design.

hope that helps you in some way. If you ever have any quesions abtouy 3 printing, I like talking 3D printing as much as i do reefing, so call us anytime

Antonio...

Thub · Jan 20, 2020

The shape itself actually lends itself to 3d printing fairly well, so for prototyping, it might be a viable option, especially if you can tolerate super high layer thicknesses and a large nozzle.
That said, FDM 3d printing is pretty bad at making transparent parts, so the algae scrubber portion of the idea would be in jeopardy immediately. Also, each layer line would serve as a place for algae to get really good and stuck to, so cleaning it would be a nightmare.
(I print new stuff rather than trying to clean anything for that reason)
Resin based prints don't tolerate bright light, especially UV well at all, turning brittle and yellow pretty quickly. I'd avoid that method altogether.
A multi piece design, made from vacuum formed lexan might be a viable method for your idea.

Vivid Creative Aquatics · Jan 20, 2020

The cats wrasse said:
Hey thanks for the reply! I'll attach an image of my design (upflow algae scrubber/protein skimmer) I just acquired a patent for it and am excited to get copies made that aren't the 3d printed ones I'm using now I got a quote for injection molding and they wanted 20k for the cavity anyway here she is

If you got the quote States side, then 20k is inline with what i would expect.

I like @Thub's idea of vacuforming Lexan for the main body fo the product. There may still be a place for some 3D printed parts in your design, tha if done rightm may be less expensive that molded parts, if you amortize the cost of the the tooling into the individual part cost.

The cats wrasse · Jan 20, 2020

Thub said:
The shape itself actually lends itself to 3d printing fairly well, so for prototyping, it might be a viable option, especially if you can tolerate super high layer thicknesses and a large nozzle.
That said, FDM 3d printing is pretty bad at making transparent parts, so the algae scrubber portion of the idea would be in jeopardy immediately. Also, each layer line would serve as a place for algae to get really good and stuck to, so cleaning it would be a nightmare.
(I print new stuff rather than trying to clean anything for that reason)
Resin based prints don't tolerate bright light, especially UV well at all, turning brittle and yellow pretty quickly. I'd avoid that method altogether.
A multi piece design, made from vacuum formed lexan might be a viable method for your idea.

i couldnt thank you enough