Experimenting with 3D Printing

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Ray P
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#1 Experimenting with 3D Printing

Post by Ray P »

I've been reworking my Transcendent 300B headphone amplifier and building a preamp to drive a MoFo amp. Both are re-using chassis from previous projects and I had the problem of hiding holes, text etc. so I decided to try having some 3D panels printed to cover the offending area. Ut works well.

Before:

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After:

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Before:

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After:

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Sorry, I couldn't resist!
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Ray P
No idea why I do this anymore
Posts: 6294
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:18 pm
Location: Somerset

#2 Re: Experimenting with 3D Printing

Post by Ray P »

If it's of interest, I designed these using the free Front Panel Design software, exported the drawing to a STEP (.stp) file and submitted the files to an on-line 3D printing company. I used https://3dprintdirect.co.uk.

Material is Graphite SLS https://3dprintdirect.co.uk/materials/.

The panels are glued on with a very thin industrial adhesive film (like double sided tape except it comes as a sheet). Max strength is achieved after a couple of days so I just left them under piles of books for the period.
Sorry, I couldn't resist!
gninnam
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#3 Re: Experimenting with 3D Printing

Post by gninnam »

Look pretty good - was it expensive using the 3D printing company?
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Ray P
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#4 Re: Experimenting with 3D Printing

Post by Ray P »

gninnam wrote: Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:20 pm Look pretty good - was it expensive using the 3D printing company?
It depends on what you consider expensive to be but to me no, This one cost about £25 including VAT and delivery.

Image

That's cheap compared with having the same panel machined from aluminium by Schaeffer (Front Panel Designer).
Sorry, I couldn't resist!
gninnam
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#5 Re: Experimenting with 3D Printing

Post by gninnam »

Ray P wrote: Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:49 pm
It depends on what you consider expensive to be but to me no, This one cost about £25 including VAT and delivery.

That's cheap compared with having the same panel machined from aluminium by Schaeffer (Front Panel Designer).
Not too bad a price that - thanks and something to think about for future projects (finish looks good to) :D
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