Design like a pro with shadow lines - 3D design for 3D printing
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- Опубліковано 3 чер 2024
- Check out my 2nd channel, TT Racing: / @ttracingyt
To get the best out of 3D printing, it helps if you can design your own parts. In this tutorial series, we will learn to use a free 3D CAD program to do just that.
In this episode, I demonstrate how to alter the mating surfaces of multi part designs to include a shadow line. This technique is used in most professionally produced injection molded parts and offers a range of benefits.
3D design for 3D printing source CAD: cad.onshape.com/documents/b54...
0:00 Introduction
3D design for 3D printing playlist: • 3D design for 3D print...
0:40 Injection molding recap
1:32 Injection molding design features to ignore
3D printing vs injection molding video: • Why 3D printing is ama...
Sumitomo bottle cap video: • 96 Caps moulding in un...
2:50 Shadow lines
3:23 Simple example - box
PEO patterned bed on Aliexpress: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DCT...
7:15 Complex example - curved mating surfaces
Lumimate torch video: • I designed this light ...
11:38 Summary of benefits
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This is exactly the type of content that I subscribe for.
KONO POWA
same
Michael, thank you for all the great content. You are a fantastic teacher. I have wanted to tackle so many projects over the years but did not know how to find what I needed to learn. I have overcome many hurdles like that one simply watching your videos. I have learned a substantial amount from you sir. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
can't agree more.
And he likes racing😁
There is a fifth advantage too - if you wish to bond the parts together - e.g. with an MS-polymer, the shadow-gap creates a uniform thickness for the sealant, thereby giving a strong and consistent bond.
Great tutorial! Cheers :)
Was just thinking it would be good for bondo… are shaddow lines good for plane wings?
@@BABALOOEY46 I would have thought mitred edges would be better, shadow lines would affect the aerodynamics
@@AndrewAHayes One would sand it flat, i imagine... (the entire gap would get filled up, so there should be no "gap" visible after bonding)
The strength of an elastic joint (like an MS-polymer seam) comes from the fact that it shares its load over the entire seam instead of point-loading at one "hot-spot". To enable this, the cured "glue" needs to have some compliance. a thicker joint-line has more compliance; a paper-thin glue-seam would be very stiff. (analogous to how a longer noodle has more 'give' than a shorter noodle). By having a uniformly thicknessed fill-gap, you create a uniform and consistent compliance, but if you do it correctly, there should be not much visible seam afterwards ;)
PS - this rationale does not work when your cement has a higher modulus of elasticity than your base material (e.g. bondo and PLA). It is intended for soft bonders on a hard base - e.g. silicone and bathroom-tiles .
I personally use a similar technique to embed a custom o-ring for part that requires a better seal 🤌
I feel like I'm in a university level industrial design course and my tutor actually wants me to pass.
You're an unbelievably good dude, thanks so much for putting this stuff together for everyone to learn!
This is one of those processes that at first seems too complicated or time consuming, but after trying it a few times and learning the steps, there is no going back. Makes aligning/mating two halves easier AND hides imperfections in the seam? What's not to love!
Old design adage: if you can't hide it, emphasize it.
And if you want to reduce the sliding around further, I've found 0.1 mm to be a good offset for friction fit, otherwise 0.2 mm if you want them to slide but not necessarily lock (unless the parts are really small, than it needs to be bumped up a tad)
even as a designer I still find these videos helpful and giving inspiration!
If you use Solidworks the "Lip and Groove" tool can make these features mostly automatically based on a parameter set. I've used it on a few little enclosures and unless you're working with really manky imported polygon geometry it works quite well.
Thanks didn’t know even the ribs tools looks easy.
I think I've been using shadow lines instinctively for a while now. I'm having trouble getting in the mindset for countersunk screws, sacrificial bridging and modeled internal structure. Once again, great video. I'm learning stuff I need to learn that isn't always the subject of your video by simple fact that you always include such concepts as part of your design process. Thanks for your great content.
Just a possibility but the gap in the butt joint might be due to the screw pulling the material up as it starts to cut the thread. A chamfer helps but isn't always enough.
I've found that extruding a hole slightly larger than the thread diameter for the first 1mm gives that material somewhere to go.
I do like the look of the shadow line though.
That is a good idea. Have you experienced any issues with the threads pulling out when there is less total material to cut into? I haven't had any issues with self tapped threads but I've seen a lot of discussion of captive nuts, vs heat inserts, vs self cut threads and just wondering about your experience.
Love the patterned bed, had to order some for myself
where did you order from? I cant find them anywhere
The shadow line is always used in car manufacturing. You can notice it the most around the glove box, the shadow line points downwards.
This is usually a good practice, well done.
I know these examples are made with loose tolerances, but this is the correct way of designing an assembly. You can even 3d print a gasket (with a flexible material) to put it in the interface. I see a lot of people here on UA-cam 3d printing parts and using glue or other questionable technics for connect parts. Thank you for teaching (tech😁) how must be do it.
You're just constantly putting out this amazing content. Thank you so much!
They do it in molds to give some tolerance. In 3D prints we usually have higher precision so I extend the outer wall 0.2mm higher than the cut and get a perfect snap between 2 parts and no line.
Exactly. Understanding why they do something when using a different manufacturing method is very useful rather than just copying it and thinking it must be better because other people do it. A lot of what needs done for other manufacturing methods doesnt apply to 3D printing. Yes this concept works in 3D printing too and has some benefits but there is no need to do it the same way that it is done for injection moulding. As you say 3D printing is generally more precise and consistent so the tolerances dont need to be anywhere near as loose. With 3D printing on a decently well calibrated machine or just if you know the accuracy of your machine you should be able to get a near perfect outer surface and a pretty good friction fit.
Injection moulding, when done right, has a much higher precision than 3D printing. You just have to use a manufacturer who knows what they are doing. At my company we order injection moulded parts where any error above 0.02mm is unacceptable which would never work with 3D printing. Additionally, injection moulding is much more repeatable because the environment is easier to control than for 3D printing.
That's why one can easily find injection moulded parts without any shadow gaps, if one moves toward more premium products.
@@philippk736 you clearly have never worked with 3D printing then. It is absolutely possible to reach that level of precision, even with FDM, if you properly calibrate the machine, and you can get even better results with resin printing.
I have boxes behind me with hundreds of unique structural/functional ABS printed parts that need tight tolerances. 3d printing is very fiddly and reaching consistent accuracy across varying scales is very time consuming from my experience. Even a highly tuned small format printer like a Voron V0 will have a lot of inaccuracy if you calibrate to say, a 20mm x 20mm x 10mm object with thread cut bores 2mm deep then switch to a 140mm x 140mm x 100mm object with bolt/nut tightened friction holds 40mm deep. I print a lot of functional parts at varying scales with tight tolerances and excellent dimensional accuracy requires a lot of wasted prints. This is especially true with materials like ABS which have differential rates of expansion and contraction. You can't just throw any print in -- you have to sit there and modify everything. A "well calibrated machine" is only really calibrated for one specific type of print (say, ABS / no-supports / no-overhangs / thread cut vertical bores / 0.6mm layers / < 100mm square ).
One last thing is that tight tolerances on what is basically a lap joint can be a major point of failure in 3d printing, especially for functional parts that will be exposed to stresses. ABS and PLA are both fairly brittle and different rates of expansion against thin, tight joints will fail over time.
@@philippk736lol 0,02mm at which temperature? Raise it by 5 Kelvin and the smallest part would usually expand by more than 0,02.
You're not talking about ABS or anything alike.
I didn't even know that this was what I had been doing but I'm glad to know that it's actually something proper. lol. But based on what I saw here there are definitely some things I can tweak to do it in a more effective manner. Thank you for this.
Great lesson as always, Michael. Another huge benefit that I don't think you mentioned is how this strengthens mated parts. With your box example all the shear stress between the two sides would be on the bolts, but the shadow line spreads that force out over the entire circumference, probably greatly reducing material fatigue and failures over time.
With distances like he used most of the stress will still be on the bolts, the shadow line only starts spreading out that force after it has already deformed by the horizontal gap between the parts. Yes it may help with strength but it most likely will not help much with material fatigue.
I'll definitely consider shadow lines when I design from now on. Great video Michael. Another good use for shadow lines is to incorporate a gasket of some kind if you need to make your container water tight.
Me too
I like to tighten the shadow line tolerance up a bit but chamfer the leading edge to give it some clearance. This channel has been a great learning tool and is also entertaining. Thank you for putting this much effort in to the content.
Another big benefit is you could feasibly add a gasket for an even better seal/compression seal on the edges.
In addition to shadow lines I sometimes add a 0.5 or 1mm TPU gasket in-between the two surfaces, glued to one of them.
I studied product design but this is one of those less "important" design rules you forget (unlike draft/wall and rib thickness/...) Thanks for reminding me 👍👍
Very nice video. Taking useful things from a similar industrie that's doing plastics and manufacturing for years and showing us how to do it.
Though, 3d printers should remember not to cargo-cult solutions from injection molding, if they aren't really needed for printing. One example is cutting large holes in order to reduce weight. We can get better results with just infill (it can be faster to print and look better).
Thats is a GREAT advice for product design for 3d print that a lot of ppl ignores.
Also, theses videos using OnShape are great! I want to pivot to Fusion to Onshape for a long time, and content like this is slowly convince-me to do so. Just will wait for my overpriced-already-pay subscription to end.
ONCE AGAIN ABSOLETULY FANTASTIC THANK YOU SO MUCH
That's simply a single best advice that moved my designs on the next level in 2023! Thanks TT!
The offset technique is op! Tysm for this video!
This is fantastic! Keep it up.
You talk about the shadow line like that's the important feature, and the mating lips are secondary, but it's really the other way around.
The inside and outside lips overlap from a side perspective, so there is less opportunity for ingress, and more stability of the mating edge. However the shadow line is purely aesthetic, it hides the fact that a draft angle is present between the two halves. As far as I can recall from my classes, and a tour of an injection molding facility nearby, that's it. And it makes sense, it's just a break between surfaces.
Amazing video! Could you please tell what build plate this is? Triangles looks so good…
Wowzers - I knew there was something not right about the design I've been working on, but didn't know the solution. My design wasn't a simple shape like this, but based on your steps I worked out what was necessary to give me case a shadow line in the right spots. This was golden! Thank you. Printing now to test fit...
Great content. Definitely looking forward to trying the shadow line technique in my next project.
I've been a 123D Design guy for years (and I've been making the lips and troughs for mating parts in it for years too). Tried onshape, fusion, freecad. Was never really worth the effort of re-learning because I was fairly proficient in 123D (and knew how to work around all the bugs). That curved offset though, I think that might just be worth it to dive back into onshape and actually learn it this time. Thanks Michael.
You are really smart. I learn a lot from you
Great tutorial! Love the offset extrude trick!
Love to see you’re a MCM fan!
It's amazing that such helpful content is available for free!
Love your tutorials for onshape, I've learned how to design my own things now with your help. Thank you.
great stuff man, love onshape/cad content
I'm definitely going to be using this! Thanks so much!
This the over center mechanism and the cam video are my favorites. You do a wonderful job of presenting how to use engineering and design principles in part design and manufacturing. I also really love your cad tips and tricks as someone who is self-taught. I'm always learning when watching your videos. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for this video. I ran into this a lot with mating surfaces in my design. I will most definitely give it a try
Great video, with a great effect, thanks, keep them coming!!
I have been searching for the Why and What shadow line since that day you mentioned it. Thank you for finally answering my question, I'm gonna try it on my next project.
This is awesome! Definitely gonna use this technique in my projects from now on, and modify past projects too for fun
I'm currently designing a model as we speak that this addresses and solves my questions. PERFECT timing. Thanks for all the informative content and excellent tips.
Great idea! Now, to brush up on my OnShape skills...!
So cool ! Thanks again!
Great video, some CAD software might have built-in commands for making lips and grooves, but this demonstrates how this can be done if this is not available and also nicely demonstrates why this can be important when trying to design something that might need to be reproducible or manufacturable.
i didnt know those slight overlaps wer called shadow lines and i can see the benifits.. i would definitely choose tighter toleranes but the example tollerences you chose were very easy to see . i will definitely be using them on my keyboard cae.
Great advice, thank you!
This is my favourite kind of content. Thanks! :)
Awesome video! I will be giving it a try!
thank you Michael for bringing this technical, it is so practical. I would have needed that for printing molds to make plaster parts.
Definitely going to try this Mike, thanks!
wow, I learned some new onshape techniques in addition to the shadow lines. Thank you.
I literally know nothing about 3D modeling or printing but this was a super interesting video!
Just made my first design with shadow lines! Printing it now : )
Great video! I definitely have a project in mind that would be perfect for implementing this!
Thank you for the excellent tutorial. Cheers 👍😎🇦🇺
This is very nice. I am certainly going to use this technique. Thank you very much!!
Yay more plastic. Mother Earth smiles down on this. So glad there’s a whole channel devoted to little pieces of plastic. What a blast
Great channel, new to 3D and your info is easy to understand.
Great tips and video!
Definitely I will use them in next project.. 👍
You are an excellent educator
Great content, thank you Michael
Yes. I will use this. Thank you.
Love these helpful videos!
excellent tip, I make quite a few multi-part designs this is going in the toolbox for sure!
Thanks Michael. I used this technique to improve water resistance for the parts I 3D printed for the bike. Seems to work great.
Thank you a lot for this amazing educational content!
This is such a good way for understanding how to make an oring seal. Thank you!
Wow. Loved this. Learned about offset and use tools with this!
In woodworking we use a reveal. If you try to line up your trim piece flush at the edge to be trimmed it will end up looking bad due to the normal undulations in the wood. But if you offset the trim piece 3-6 mils, to the eye, all of that disappears.
EXTREMELY USEFUL
This is a super cool tip! However your method to create the shadow line seems a bit complicated. In Fusion360 I would have modelled the raised portion of the shadow line on one side, of the box then done a boolean subtraction with keep tools on the other side, then use offset surface to create the clearances.
That way the shadow line is actually dependent on the model geometry and easy to edit, instead of requiring multiple sketches and tolerances defined in a sketch.
Agreed, not the most efficient way of doing it! On the flat box, it can be done with two features and no sketch in Onhshape: "extrude thin" the edges of the box (Onshape allows direct selection of edges for extruding, they just have to be planar), then boolean with offset to create the groove on the other part.
@@airwick5083great tip, thanks!
That is brilliant and something i wouldn't have thought of doing. I was a little lost in the technical slicing steps of the video, tangents and geometry etc, but i think when i begin attempting this myself it will make more sense to me as I'm doing it.
THANK YOU
This is a very cool little design trick for mated surfaces; i don't design a lot of this type of parts, but i will certainly keep this in mind the next time that i do.
Fantastic as always. Would you consider a follow-up video to show making a snap fit connection? Especially if you used the same model. Love the channel.
I like this type of joint, it reduce a lot the visual effect of surface imperfection.
Thank you for this amazing video !
Thank you! I will be adding these toy parts in the future!
i'm usjng this immediately. thanks!
Glad you are getting some views for this high quality demonstration. 👍🏻
Definitely useful info!
Great video!
Great information, and I couldn't help but notice that build plate and how it transfers the pattern to the print.
Great video. Thanks
thank you for that video, really nice work.
Things I see everyday not realising… Thank you! Great content.
Nice build plate!
I'll definitely be using that! :) Thank you
Thanks Michael for sharing! Nice to learn about shadow lines! Would be nice to learn more about onshape designing tutorials. Thanks!
Thanks for the vid. Now I'm excited to try out the shadow line in my next project!
I like it, great video I will definitely be considering this next time I make mating surfaces like this.
really helpful. same amazing new understanding for me in how to use onshape in this video
I wish I had done something like this when I was printing a TUSH yesterday! I'll have to try this next time, but with tighter tolerances 😊
This is amazing. I have used this before but I did not know about the feature to select all the edges at once, I was clicking each one separately. The best part of all these videos is even if you know how to do something, it may not be the most efficient. Learning a different way to accomplish the same task can make the design process so much faster and professional looking.
A very nice idea.
Makes perfect sense when joining 2 surfaces together you have surface area joining together. With just a flat printed surfaces there will only be the highest points touching leaving a gap. This can be minimized by sanding the 2 surfaces before joining or clamping but still not as much contact area as using a shadow line and like you also mentioned the lining up of parts becomes easier. I’ve watched your videos before but this video made me realize I need to sub, I don’t have anything against adults printing superhero busts or toys but this is the kind of content I seek. Thank you.
Great video.