Re: 3D Printers

From	DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com>
Newsgroups	sci.electronics.design
Subject	Re: 3D Printers
References	<10cs7i9$pvtg$1@dont-email.me> <qag*H0ipA@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk> <10ctn05$1671r$1@dont-email.me> <xnjz0rec0h.fsf@delorie.com> <10d1rh2$29aqe$1@dont-email.me>
Date	2025-10-20 00:53 -0400
Message-ID	<xnfrbedvhx.fsf@delorie.com> (permalink)

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>> Some non-curio things I've 3D printed:
>> * Many brackets and custom mounts for my electric motorcycle
>> conversion,
>>    including reproduction light mounts.
>> * Repair parts for ABS body fairings (model, print, glue in place, paint)
>> * Gears and pulleys for my 1922 Southbend Lathe and Avid CNC custom
>>    build
>> * Custom oil filler cap for a friend's dodge challenger
>> * dashboard fill plate for a different friend's 1972 Nova conversion
>> * Repair parts for my old fridge
>> * Rain guard for the house's stink pipe
>> * Countless washers, spacers, funnels, shims, cable mounts, etc.
>> * Countless shelf brackets, tool hangers, wall mounts...
>> * Many custom project boxes for electronics projects
>
> But, how many did you *need* that capability vs. making use of
> a capability that you had?

Most of the things in that list were not available commercially.  For
the rest I could get something close, but not quite exactly what I
needed, or I needed it ASAP and didn't want to wait for shipping.

>  Tool hangers?  Shelf brackets?  There really was nothing "acceptable"
> (even if not ideal) available OTS?

I was responding to the "curios" part of your rant, not the "need"
part.  But most of the things I print are things I can't buy on Amazon,
for example.

> The Dodge *needed* a special oil filler cap?

It had a custom oil fill, so yes.  No, I don't know why.  He couldn't
buy one that fit.  No, I don't know why that either.  Car people can be
funny that way.

> I would much prefer purchasing an OEM *replacement* part than
> fiddling around trying to design and make one.

Fridge part: a few cents worth of printing.  OEM?  A few hundred dollars
to buy the complete module, individual parts not available, with the
same badly designed part that would have just broken again.

> Printing enclosure prototypes lets me sort out the issues I
> may have before investing in hard tooling, etc.

Printing something because you need it now and you want to see if your
design works... typically, in my case, leads to learning that your print
is good enough and you just use it forever ;-)

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3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-16 18:53 -0700
  Re: 3D Printers Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> - 2025-10-17 09:45 +0100
    Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-17 02:05 -0700
      Re: 3D Printers Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> - 2025-10-17 12:11 +0100
        Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-17 04:53 -0700
  Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-17 13:20 +0100
    Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-17 08:22 -0700
      Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-17 19:24 +0100
        Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-17 13:27 -0700
          Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-18 11:02 +0100
            Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-18 06:20 -0700
              Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-18 15:36 +0100
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-18 07:58 -0700
              Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-18 18:01 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-19 08:37 +0100
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-19 01:04 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-19 11:11 +0100
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-19 04:26 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-19 04:52 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-19 16:46 +0100
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-19 13:22 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> - 2025-10-20 01:33 -0400
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-19 23:44 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> - 2025-10-20 14:04 -0400
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-20 16:15 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> - 2025-10-20 21:07 -0400
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-20 18:38 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> - 2025-10-21 11:58 -0400
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-21 09:47 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> - 2025-10-21 13:28 -0400
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-22 01:22 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-20 15:19 +0100
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-20 07:50 -0700
        Re: 3D Printers albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl - 2025-10-18 09:17 +0200
      Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-17 20:22 +0100
        Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-17 13:42 -0700
          Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-18 11:25 +0100
            Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-18 07:39 -0700
              Re: 3D Printers Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2025-10-18 17:17 +0100
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-18 09:41 -0700
          Re: 3D Printers antispam@fricas.org (Waldek Hebisch) - 2025-10-18 12:36 +0000
            Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-18 06:52 -0700
              Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-19 02:03 -0700
      Re: 3D Printers albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl - 2025-10-18 09:12 +0200
      Re: 3D Printers DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> - 2025-10-19 00:44 -0400
        Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-18 22:04 -0700
          Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-18 22:08 -0700
            Re: 3D Printers liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) - 2025-10-19 10:34 +0100
              Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-19 03:44 -0700
          Re: 3D Printers DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> - 2025-10-20 00:53 -0400
            Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-19 22:08 -0700
              Re: 3D Printers DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> - 2025-10-20 01:50 -0400
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-19 23:59 -0700
                Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-20 00:01 -0700
    Re: 3D Printers john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> - 2025-10-17 08:32 -0700
      Re: 3D Printers Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> - 2025-10-19 02:10 +1100
        Re: 3D Printers john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> - 2025-10-18 09:09 -0700
          Re: 3D Printers Lasse Langwadt <llc@fonz.dk> - 2025-10-19 03:46 +0200
            Re: 3D Printers john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> - 2025-10-18 20:11 -0700
            Re: 3D Printers liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) - 2025-10-19 10:34 +0100
              Re: 3D Printers Lasse Langwadt <llc@fonz.dk> - 2025-10-19 14:41 +0200
                Re: 3D Printers liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) - 2025-10-19 15:29 +0100
                Re: 3D Printers Lasse Langwadt <llc@fonz.dk> - 2025-10-20 17:35 +0200
                Re: 3D Printers liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) - 2025-10-20 17:22 +0100
                Re: 3D Printers Lasse Langwadt <llc@fonz.dk> - 2025-10-21 01:17 +0200
          Re: 3D Printers Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> - 2025-10-19 16:32 +1100
      Re: 3D Printers Lasse Langwadt <llc@fonz.dk> - 2025-10-19 03:41 +0200
        Re: 3D Printers Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2025-10-18 20:38 -0700

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