Random comment, it's pretty fascinating how the YT compression totally removed the square grid from my graph paper footage. Definitely use graph paper as it makes transferring dimensions and alignments WAY easier than blank paper. 😂
Back in the day, the blue grid on graph paper was chosen so it wouldn't reproduce on photostats and Xeroxes, and the drawings would look like they were done without guides. I guess UA-cam is just trying to make your drawings look cleaner.
Noticed you mentioned carbon fiber as a material. There were some videos making the rounds pointing out how dangerous printing with it at home can be. Seems like being safe with it can be pretty tricky, would love to hear your thoughts!
YT compression is a little bit agressive since a couple years ago, makes a lot of details just disappear :/ I noticed it on Laura Kampfs tumbleweed disco ball too, in a lot of shots the tumbleweed just turns into a fuzzy brown ball...
A prototyping tip I like is to just print a small part of a model to check if it fits a real-world part. Just printing 3 or 4 layers to see if a hole pattern matches with reality saves a heap of time and filament.
I just made a PC case and used this technique to check if the front panel IO fit. would suck to print a big part just to find a hole is a few MM off and having to modify or worse re-print.
Same, I print small parts of every model. Rather have a lot of small prints less than 10min than have to wait hours just to find out a small part of a model doesn't work.
15:28 And, if you ever need to remove hot glue, a little bit of denatured alcohol and it will completely and cleanly release from whatever it is attached to almost instantly! It's truly amazing, one of my favorite tips, and i like to share it every chance I get. (Other solvents work as well, but I find denatured alcohol to work the best. I keep some loaded in a syringe, and whenever I need to remove some hot glue, grab the syringe, douse it with a little alcohol and it peels off in seconds.)
You nailed it. I've been building complex electro mechanical prototypes for the toy industry for nearly 40 years. Everything you lay out in the video is absolutely key to making a complex thing work well and work reliably. This video is must watch for hobbyists and professionals alike. Nice job!
@@MakersMuse Airhogs Robotrax. By far the most complex prototype I've done. Most challenging and fun! Also Spinmaster Owleez and many more Toy RC cars, planes and helicopters for the majors.
One cool thing I see james bruton specifically use in a lot of his assemblies is when printing larger parts that need other parts put through them (rods, bearings, etc.) he prints the larger part and then a bushing sort of part that fits into the large part, that the bearing/rod/whatever goes into. That way if the hole for the inserted bearing/rod/etc. is the wrong size, you don't have to reprint the entire large part. Really cool way of doing it
As a self-taught student who does primarily electromechanical designs with my printer your videos are absolutely essential! I see lots of mistakes I've made in the past in here and from now on I'm gonna do my best to follow these (admittedly obvious-sounding but rather forgettable) pieces of advice for my future projects. Many thanks from Greece!
To be fair, most things sound obvious once you already know them 😅 But I do agree that videos like this are so valuable as we get to learn from mistakes secondhand. Folks like Angus that are so generous with their knowledge are definitely my favorite sort of people.
So great to have all of these tips in one place. Thank you! I wish I knew these things when I got started instead of figuring them out through the frustration of scrapping a build and starting over. All because I didn't consider how my parts would come together. It took a while to get the hang of keying and proper screw placement. I tend to use screws and nuts instead of inserts. I just design the part to hold the nut and it works pretty well. Hot glue is great as strain relief. Keeping things rough inside is great for long-lived builds. Easier for maintenance and upgrades or replacement parts. "Design for maintenance" could probably be a whole video. So many little things that make life easier. Thank you so much for that graph paper idea! I can't believe I didn't think of that. I used to do that for other things a million years ago.
If someone like me has worked with design & engineering for a few decades, your tips are standard procedure. So, what you say are absolutely top tips for 3D printing people who are not engineers, excellent! The first part about sketches on paper, absolutely. We say PAD/MAD before CAD/CAM. What PAD/MAD? Pen Aided Design/Model Aided Design. That is the way to go…..and as said in the video, prototypes are important, even the best engineers don't usually get it right….or best possible on the first try. Very good video! 👍
With regards to fastener choice: not only do you need to make sure you design around fasteners you can actually get, it behooves you to design around the same diameters and lengths for the whole project if you can, especially if you expect to disassemble and reassemble it at some point (and if you think you’re not going to do that, think again). This is often overlooked in “real” products where the cost savings can be meaningful when dealing with production runs of thousands of units, but for the home hobbyist the difference in a project’s cost will be at most a few dollars.
Hey Angus. Aus based maker here, if you arent already aware Bolt and Nut has a spectacular online catalogue of fasteners and for much MUCH less than bunnings. I get all my fasteners from them. Pretty much any size/length/head type you could ever possibly want
Hey, yeah! They're great for sure. I'm usually way too disorganized to allow for the delivery time unfortunately😂 . Got a good local place for the boxes though if I need lots.
@@MakersMuse I personally use almost exclusively M3 with the occasional M4 in my designs so I just keep a large stock of a bunch of M3 stuff. Bulk ordering online through them works best for me. I got a big set of sorter drawers from jaycar(I think 120 drawers total) and it's basically overflowing
For heat inserts: while prototyping, I would recommend taping directly into plastic. I usually print a 80% dia holes and quickly tap em with drill bit. On final model, just change holes diameter to accommodate heat insert. Yes, inserts are cheap, but with multiple iterations the time to install them into each prototype piles up quickly.
When you talk about using fusion and playing with tolerances. With all the additions of configuration wizards for the commercial side, and the much more powerful script and expression system for variables. My choice is to control tolerances from "Change Parameters" I specifically create user variables for tolerances. I then take my measurement either as a Parameter or just a general defined dimension, and add it to my tolerance in the defined dimension. This is so quick and easy, and since often my projects can get put on the back burner for months at a time. When i come back and sit down to refine a project for myself. Its much easier to find and tweak things quickly.
Your tip about finding fasteners you can get is a HUGE one. I've designed a bunch of things that require fasteners, and I learned the hard way to design around the actual fasteners you can get and don't rely on preexisting CAD models or dimensions of what they should be.
I like that 3 prototype rule... I need to pay attention to that. I don't do 10k prototypes, but I've certainly had some moments of "ok... another test print... maybe this one will fit together right". As for clearance, I would maybe say to add it when a part is done. I've had more then one case where by the end of a design, I'm like "I got everything done, now to print" and I've forgotten some clearances. I tend to make the clearances parametric, so if something doesn't fit, I can adjust everything at once instead of that one spot/change. Often that fixes it, sometimes I get extra clearance... but as you said, that is often fine (or even good). The "leaving the inside rough", prior to the speed printers we have now, I remember trying to come up with how to modify a slicer so unseen parts (or maybe my "painting" it), internal parts could be printed with less polish and thus faster, saving time. Never really got around to it in the end. Material choice: preach! I have a lot of stuff printed in PETG simply because I went "PLA is nice, but I need something with X property" and the options are usually "everything except PLA". Even with PLA's temperature challenge, some extra walls do wonders. So long as it's not stressed and is simply sitting there (a Garden Gnome...), do PLA. But I think a holistic approach is needed... what are you trying to accomplish... does it need to look a certain way... that gets you started on what material to use. Then sketch it, make a prototype. Seeing how that are fits together and works, now refine the material choice... if you need strength on a spot that has a couple small layer lines, carbon fiber and similar aren't going to do it so avoid those even if it will give that cool look. Etc. Etc. It's not a one off choice, and you nailed the bonus of "don't need to 3D print everything". There's a well known spat that happened online between some cosplay makers where one printed a giant prop, another said "do that in foam or something so it's less taxing on the arm", they argued... and then someone else interjected themselves to say they weren't a real cosplay maker if they used a 3D printer. And even though that 3rd person was unrelated, that kinda killed the mood and I think cemented the bad blood between them and their fans. But, like... think about the use and what goal you're trying to reach as it defines so much more of the design. Awesome set of tips.
Hot glue is surprisingly strong, I recently printed a rough draft of a wizard's staff to get a sense on the scale and check how details look IRL. It's basically 6 cylinders hot glued together and it held really well, even standing up to a bit of abuse. In the final I was planning on adding locating features and will probably print it from ABS and weld it with acetone just to be extra sure
So THAT's why I have around 120 different types of nuts, bolts and washers! Nice video, I really liked it :) Concerning material choice, one thing to note with PLA is that it tends to deform permanently under pressure. So any screw you put in, will become loose over time. I had that happen with many things i printed for my workshop in the olden days. With PETG (my by far most used material), you don't have that problem. But print quality and stringing/oozing is something to be taken care of. I can confirm the heat issue with PLA, I printed some sun filter mount for my telescope and in the summer heat in the car it got soft and deformed just by touching it. Another print held up surprisingly well, a cup holder in my car. I guess it automatically annealed it in the heat when changing seasons. Lastly, it may be different in your area, I found the screw selection in my hardware store comparatively expensive and quite lacking. Ordering online (on ebay or shops specialized for screws) for me is way cheaper. Most of the times, the price for 10 screws is only marginally lower than for 50 or 100, so I tend to get the bigger package just to have a few ready in the future.
Wow this is EXACTLY the video I needed to see today. I could watch another 10 minutes on each of these techniques (especially indexing your models to fit together). Thank you so much!
@@jtparm2 just fyi... I don't print them.... I use them in CAD to get the proper clearances and lengths needed for builds. Thank you for posting and not reading properly. This guy should tell AutoDesk too, since it's actually been integrated into their Fusion360 software.
One of my favorite personal designs uses the bare minimum of 3d printing/filament to augment cheap small binder clips so they reliably hold filament on the edge of spools in a clean arc, embracing the fact that metal always makes a better spring than plastic, the trick (like screw-lengths)is finding a readily available spring everyone has access to! I'm still using my released version to this day 'forever filament clip' on printables.
@@icefox13 it's always understandable there will be some issues when trying to make things 'universal' thanks a bunch for letting me know there's edge cases on thicker spools I wasn't aware of prior.
"Never use solid wire".. Most of my projects are done with kynar/wire wrap wire! Silicon and PVC wire are all SO THICK and get in the way! Little blobs of hot glue and everything is wonderful. Wire wrap is so thin that it rarely fatigues. :) Edit: Never mention hot glue without reminding people that IPA undoes hot glue. Makes it so much more versatile, especially during prototyping.
For hot glue usage: pouring a lot of hot glue will deform your printed parts, unless you use a plastic with good heat deflection, like PA-GF. Silicone sealant will be better if you need more than two drops. RTV silicones will also be better mechanically.
I've actually managed to get several things right the first try, tho they tend to be simpler things and don't usually have tons of interaction with other stuff, so things like tolerances aren't a fail point; butt making prototype prints for things that do need to interact is definitely helpful, that way you can get an idea of how they're going to interact without spending so much time or filament making something you're not sure is even going to work
Paper sketch at the beginning is a great idea. I find it so easy to lose track of the real world scale of things I'm working on because I'll have an M3 bolt take up the whole computer screen.
My tip, which I'm sure you already use. For parts with complex geometry, take a picture with a scale and import to you CAD software to use as a template for modeling. Then, if you have a 2D printer, you can print scale images to check the fit.
Love your channel, and a great video. For me the 'locating features' was the best tip. Since I"m using FreeCAD, I'm not super sure how I'd do it like your example, but the whole idea of doing something to help align parts is a nice tip in general. I have a small request; could you not add that subtle high toned tune in the background? I don't mind a little background music, but this is too repetitive for my taste.
I love that the three prototype idea is a real thing. I made peace a long time ago that my first try is inevitably never correct, and will be a reference tool for the next iterations. I’m glad that’s not (at least fully) just from lack of skill
Really good advices! Thanks! But I try to avoid heat inserts, when it comes to weight: They are bulky and heavy. I try to design my models with nuts, bolts and additionally maybe washers instead. Cheaper and lighter.
That is pretty true. Even for simple stuff it is amazing how it almost never works on the first try and then I am often embarrassed and doing a facepalm for something stupid I forgot to update in the second version (or new problems that arise)
I recently designed a enclosure for a 7inch touch screen, deej audio controller and phone stand for use on my desk. I followed all these tips but failed to remember the real world has physics and made the base way too slim and it turned out top heavy and tips over.
@@MakersMuse You can also get other colours of hot glue sticks, they come in just about as great a variety of colors and finishes as filament these days.
Small TPU parts are my favourite to design, like prints to hold radio receivers & antennas on racing drones. When creating small prints, working 'with the grain' of how a part is printed helps ensure its strength, look at the 5th picture of Thingiverse 5743370 of mine to see what I mean.
I know why you don't like tapping plastic directly for machine threads, it's because you don't use petg. I switched from petg to pla+ the other week and found the pla really doesn't like the tap at all compared to the petg which is just a bit fiddly. (Caveat, my projevts are mostly enclosures that just go together once or twice, not in and out a bunch)
interesting, i usualy design the same project 2-3 times, not because of the rule i didnt know, more because the first atempts are mostly hard confusing so i HAVE to design it new after some days pause xD
The first version sounds like a fast fail attempt but also trying not to boil the ocean. Get something out. Minimal lovable product to figure out which direction you're going in.
@@MakersMuse With Split Bodies you can use sketch lines as your tool and it doesn't create a thickness or gap. But I also see how you can create more complex splitting geometry by first aiming for a surface. thanks!
I thought maybe the sword had a chain that spun around the edge of the blade. but to you 'electromechanical' is another word for 'blinkey things that don't fall apart'?
If possible, isn't it better to design the use of inserts to go in from the backside, so the tension of the screw will have to pull the whole insert through the printed part? That's MUCH stronger than the tension pulling the insert out from the same way it was inserted. You can even get away with using nuts inserted from the back or even the side, rather than inserts in many situations.
God I wish it only took me three iterations to build things. I have aphantasia so I can't visualise things easily in my head. I have to start really basic and add things piece by piece, 3d printing each part and seeing it in the real world.
you mean the 6 prototype rule? 1) Oh it works but I made this tiny mistake. \0/ 2) Oh it works but in fixing it i caused another mistake 3) Oh it's perfect now, but I ran out of SRAM/FLASH and now I gotta upgrade to a new microcontroller 4) Oh crap I accidentally connect PB7 and PB8 to PA7 and PA8 5) oh wait that pin was only PWM capable on the old MCU, I had the wrong documentation open 6) Finally.... please... just work... (Not based on a real story at all) I've had projects be perfect on the first try tho... and I'm always like "this is... REALLY suspicious"
Random comment, it's pretty fascinating how the YT compression totally removed the square grid from my graph paper footage. Definitely use graph paper as it makes transferring dimensions and alignments WAY easier than blank paper. 😂
Back in the day, the blue grid on graph paper was chosen so it wouldn't reproduce on photostats and Xeroxes, and the drawings would look like they were done without guides. I guess UA-cam is just trying to make your drawings look cleaner.
Noticed you mentioned carbon fiber as a material. There were some videos making the rounds pointing out how dangerous printing with it at home can be. Seems like being safe with it can be pretty tricky, would love to hear your thoughts!
@@zeikjtNathan builds robots video
lol
YT compression is a little bit agressive since a couple years ago, makes a lot of details just disappear :/
I noticed it on Laura Kampfs tumbleweed disco ball too, in a lot of shots the tumbleweed just turns into a fuzzy brown ball...
A prototyping tip I like is to just print a small part of a model to check if it fits a real-world part. Just printing 3 or 4 layers to see if a hole pattern matches with reality saves a heap of time and filament.
yeah! That's a super useful trick for big parts. Hope you're doing well :)
I just made a PC case and used this technique to check if the front panel IO fit. would suck to print a big part just to find a hole is a few MM off and having to modify or worse re-print.
Same here, I do it all the time. Most of the time with some cuts made in the slicer
Same, I print small parts of every model. Rather have a lot of small prints less than 10min than have to wait hours just to find out a small part of a model doesn't work.
That's how I do it. I protype portions to get fitments down right before I do a full print.
15:28 And, if you ever need to remove hot glue, a little bit of denatured alcohol and it will completely and cleanly release from whatever it is attached to almost instantly! It's truly amazing, one of my favorite tips, and i like to share it every chance I get. (Other solvents work as well, but I find denatured alcohol to work the best. I keep some loaded in a syringe, and whenever I need to remove some hot glue, grab the syringe, douse it with a little alcohol and it peels off in seconds.)
Oh my, you just saved me quite some trouble good sir!
You nailed it. I've been building complex electro mechanical prototypes for the toy industry for nearly 40 years. Everything you lay out in the video is absolutely key to making a complex thing work well and work reliably. This video is must watch for hobbyists and professionals alike. Nice job!
That's amazing! I wanted to go into toy design after uni but jobs were slim in Aus. Are you able to share one or two of your favourite designs?
@@MakersMuse Airhogs Robotrax. By far the most complex prototype I've done. Most challenging and fun! Also Spinmaster Owleez and many more Toy RC cars, planes and helicopters for the majors.
@@BigC799 So much respect for those designs, they look incredible. Thanks for the comment!
One cool thing I see james bruton specifically use in a lot of his assemblies is when printing larger parts that need other parts put through them (rods, bearings, etc.) he prints the larger part and then a bushing sort of part that fits into the large part, that the bearing/rod/whatever goes into. That way if the hole for the inserted bearing/rod/etc. is the wrong size, you don't have to reprint the entire large part. Really cool way of doing it
As a self-taught student who does primarily electromechanical designs with my printer your videos are absolutely essential! I see lots of mistakes I've made in the past in here and from now on I'm gonna do my best to follow these (admittedly obvious-sounding but rather forgettable) pieces of advice for my future projects. Many thanks from Greece!
To be fair, most things sound obvious once you already know them 😅 But I do agree that videos like this are so valuable as we get to learn from mistakes secondhand. Folks like Angus that are so generous with their knowledge are definitely my favorite sort of people.
This is really great advice, thanks Angus!
Thanks guys! I'm sure you have a huge amount of additional tips 😉
Threaded inserts and silicone wire were such a game-changer for me in my antweight combat robots.
So great to have all of these tips in one place. Thank you! I wish I knew these things when I got started instead of figuring them out through the frustration of scrapping a build and starting over. All because I didn't consider how my parts would come together. It took a while to get the hang of keying and proper screw placement. I tend to use screws and nuts instead of inserts. I just design the part to hold the nut and it works pretty well.
Hot glue is great as strain relief.
Keeping things rough inside is great for long-lived builds. Easier for maintenance and upgrades or replacement parts. "Design for maintenance" could probably be a whole video. So many little things that make life easier.
Thank you so much for that graph paper idea! I can't believe I didn't think of that. I used to do that for other things a million years ago.
If someone like me has worked with design & engineering for a few decades, your tips are standard procedure. So, what you say are absolutely top tips for 3D printing people who are not engineers, excellent! The first part about sketches on paper, absolutely. We say PAD/MAD before CAD/CAM. What PAD/MAD? Pen Aided Design/Model Aided Design. That is the way to go…..and as said in the video, prototypes are important, even the best engineers don't usually get it right….or best possible on the first try. Very good video! 👍
With regards to fastener choice: not only do you need to make sure you design around fasteners you can actually get, it behooves you to design around the same diameters and lengths for the whole project if you can, especially if you expect to disassemble and reassemble it at some point (and if you think you’re not going to do that, think again). This is often overlooked in “real” products where the cost savings can be meaningful when dealing with production runs of thousands of units, but for the home hobbyist the difference in a project’s cost will be at most a few dollars.
Hey Angus. Aus based maker here, if you arent already aware Bolt and Nut has a spectacular online catalogue of fasteners and for much MUCH less than bunnings. I get all my fasteners from them. Pretty much any size/length/head type you could ever possibly want
Hey, yeah! They're great for sure. I'm usually way too disorganized to allow for the delivery time unfortunately😂 . Got a good local place for the boxes though if I need lots.
@@MakersMuse I personally use almost exclusively M3 with the occasional M4 in my designs so I just keep a large stock of a bunch of M3 stuff. Bulk ordering online through them works best for me. I got a big set of sorter drawers from jaycar(I think 120 drawers total) and it's basically overflowing
Im gonna need to design an enclosure for a project as soon as i get the insides working, so this video came in at the perfect time for me
For heat inserts: while prototyping, I would recommend taping directly into plastic. I usually print a 80% dia holes and quickly tap em with drill bit. On final model, just change holes diameter to accommodate heat insert. Yes, inserts are cheap, but with multiple iterations the time to install them into each prototype piles up quickly.
Good tip, saves time too
I love the three prototype idea, great idea for programming as well
I’ve been tinkering and 3d printing for the last 8 months and I swear you nailed every issues and frustration I’ve been having
When you talk about using fusion and playing with tolerances. With all the additions of configuration wizards for the commercial side, and the much more powerful script and expression system for variables. My choice is to control tolerances from "Change Parameters" I specifically create user variables for tolerances. I then take my measurement either as a Parameter or just a general defined dimension, and add it to my tolerance in the defined dimension. This is so quick and easy, and since often my projects can get put on the back burner for months at a time. When i come back and sit down to refine a project for myself. Its much easier to find and tweak things quickly.
Your tip about finding fasteners you can get is a HUGE one. I've designed a bunch of things that require fasteners, and I learned the hard way to design around the actual fasteners you can get and don't rely on preexisting CAD models or dimensions of what they should be.
Great stuff. Mostly my stuff is only mechanical, not electronic, but a lot of this still applies.
This was perfect advice. Best I’ve seen.
I got a prusa as my first printer a few months ago so Ive been watching a lot of these printer tip videos
I 3D print my new designs first with only 1 or 2 perimeters and only 5%-10% infill.
I've learned my lesson.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
I like that 3 prototype rule... I need to pay attention to that. I don't do 10k prototypes, but I've certainly had some moments of "ok... another test print... maybe this one will fit together right". As for clearance, I would maybe say to add it when a part is done. I've had more then one case where by the end of a design, I'm like "I got everything done, now to print" and I've forgotten some clearances. I tend to make the clearances parametric, so if something doesn't fit, I can adjust everything at once instead of that one spot/change. Often that fixes it, sometimes I get extra clearance... but as you said, that is often fine (or even good). The "leaving the inside rough", prior to the speed printers we have now, I remember trying to come up with how to modify a slicer so unseen parts (or maybe my "painting" it), internal parts could be printed with less polish and thus faster, saving time. Never really got around to it in the end.
Material choice: preach! I have a lot of stuff printed in PETG simply because I went "PLA is nice, but I need something with X property" and the options are usually "everything except PLA". Even with PLA's temperature challenge, some extra walls do wonders. So long as it's not stressed and is simply sitting there (a Garden Gnome...), do PLA. But I think a holistic approach is needed... what are you trying to accomplish... does it need to look a certain way... that gets you started on what material to use. Then sketch it, make a prototype. Seeing how that are fits together and works, now refine the material choice... if you need strength on a spot that has a couple small layer lines, carbon fiber and similar aren't going to do it so avoid those even if it will give that cool look. Etc. Etc. It's not a one off choice, and you nailed the bonus of "don't need to 3D print everything". There's a well known spat that happened online between some cosplay makers where one printed a giant prop, another said "do that in foam or something so it's less taxing on the arm", they argued... and then someone else interjected themselves to say they weren't a real cosplay maker if they used a 3D printer. And even though that 3rd person was unrelated, that kinda killed the mood and I think cemented the bad blood between them and their fans. But, like... think about the use and what goal you're trying to reach as it defines so much more of the design.
Awesome set of tips.
Hot glue is surprisingly strong, I recently printed a rough draft of a wizard's staff to get a sense on the scale and check how details look IRL. It's basically 6 cylinders hot glued together and it held really well, even standing up to a bit of abuse. In the final I was planning on adding locating features and will probably print it from ABS and weld it with acetone just to be extra sure
So THAT's why I have around 120 different types of nuts, bolts and washers!
Nice video, I really liked it :)
Concerning material choice, one thing to note with PLA is that it tends to deform permanently under pressure. So any screw you put in, will become loose over time. I had that happen with many things i printed for my workshop in the olden days. With PETG (my by far most used material), you don't have that problem. But print quality and stringing/oozing is something to be taken care of.
I can confirm the heat issue with PLA, I printed some sun filter mount for my telescope and in the summer heat in the car it got soft and deformed just by touching it. Another print held up surprisingly well, a cup holder in my car. I guess it automatically annealed it in the heat when changing seasons.
Lastly, it may be different in your area, I found the screw selection in my hardware store comparatively expensive and quite lacking. Ordering online (on ebay or shops specialized for screws) for me is way cheaper. Most of the times, the price for 10 screws is only marginally lower than for 50 or 100, so I tend to get the bigger package just to have a few ready in the future.
Wow this is EXACTLY the video I needed to see today. I could watch another 10 minutes on each of these techniques (especially indexing your models to fit together). Thank you so much!
I don't yet print complex parts, or anything with electronics, but this is incredibly informative for the future.
Many of your 3D printing tips apply to electro-mechanical design in general. Thanks for sharing...
100% everything spot on. Great video.
Side note McMaster-Carr has cad files to pull in and help in your designing. Lots of fasteners available.
You should definitely NOT download McMaster STEP files and 3D print them yourself, as this is against the terms of the site ;)
@@jtparm2 just fyi... I don't print them.... I use them in CAD to get the proper clearances and lengths needed for builds. Thank you for posting and not reading properly. This guy should tell AutoDesk too, since it's actually been integrated into their Fusion360 software.
One of my favorite personal designs uses the bare minimum of 3d printing/filament to augment cheap small binder clips so they reliably hold filament on the edge of spools in a clean arc, embracing the fact that metal always makes a better spring than plastic, the trick (like screw-lengths)is finding a readily available spring everyone has access to! I'm still using my released version to this day 'forever filament clip' on printables.
Nice! I checked out the design and posted a make, sadly with a bit of an issue I had
@@icefox13 it's always understandable there will be some issues when trying to make things 'universal' thanks a bunch for letting me know there's edge cases on thicker spools I wasn't aware of prior.
@@Roobotics no worries, I have made a few models myself and waiting for the backlash ;) all's good, mate
"Never use solid wire".. Most of my projects are done with kynar/wire wrap wire! Silicon and PVC wire are all SO THICK and get in the way!
Little blobs of hot glue and everything is wonderful. Wire wrap is so thin that it rarely fatigues. :)
Edit: Never mention hot glue without reminding people that IPA undoes hot glue. Makes it so much more versatile, especially during prototyping.
Excellent tips! Bonus ltt hoodie and screwdriver :D...thanks for sharing.
For hot glue usage: pouring a lot of hot glue will deform your printed parts, unless you use a plastic with good heat deflection, like PA-GF. Silicone sealant will be better if you need more than two drops.
RTV silicones will also be better mechanically.
True! I've done that to myself before. Good tip for RTV silcone I'll have to give that a go.
I've actually managed to get several things right the first try, tho they tend to be simpler things and don't usually have tons of interaction with other stuff, so things like tolerances aren't a fail point; butt making prototype prints for things that do need to interact is definitely helpful, that way you can get an idea of how they're going to interact without spending so much time or filament making something you're not sure is even going to work
Very good video, thanks for sharing your experiences you've gained over long times.
Funny how I also came to "3 prototype rule" intuitively :)
Magically informative
Paper sketch at the beginning is a great idea. I find it so easy to lose track of the real world scale of things I'm working on because I'll have an M3 bolt take up the whole computer screen.
My tip, which I'm sure you already use. For parts with complex geometry, take a picture with a scale and import to you CAD software to use as a template for modeling. Then, if you have a 2D printer, you can print scale images to check the fit.
A 2D scanner also works even better, since it is basically taking a near orthographic picture
LTP: M5 x 14mm are rare in Australia. Every other 2mm increment nearby is easy to find from 6 to 20+ but not 14mm.
Same with m4! What's with that ...
Love your channel, and a great video. For me the 'locating features' was the best tip. Since I"m using FreeCAD, I'm not super sure how I'd do it like your example, but the whole idea of doing something to help align parts is a nice tip in general.
I have a small request; could you not add that subtle high toned tune in the background? I don't mind a little background music, but this is too repetitive for my taste.
Badass video, Angus! Thanks for the tips!
Even better - glitter hot glu.
Plus 10 robot style points!
As an engineer, we use the "Alpha, Beta Development Cycle". But, it basically comes down to the 3 Prototype rule.
I love that the three prototype idea is a real thing. I made peace a long time ago that my first try is inevitably never correct, and will be a reference tool for the next iterations. I’m glad that’s not (at least fully) just from lack of skill
the wisdom shared in this video cannot be overstated. Might want to bookmark and review this video often!
Really good advices! Thanks! But I try to avoid heat inserts, when it comes to weight: They are bulky and heavy. I try to design my models with nuts, bolts and additionally maybe washers instead. Cheaper and lighter.
Great tips and video! Mahalo for sharing! : )
Perfection is the enemy of progress! I like the 3 prototype idea, just accept you're not going to get it perfect first go.
Hot glue is the Best Tip 👍
That is pretty true. Even for simple stuff it is amazing how it almost never works on the first try and then I am often embarrassed and doing a facepalm for something stupid I forgot to update in the second version (or new problems that arise)
I have tried PCTG last week and I like it much more than PLA. It is not as fast too print, but it looks better and is more temperature resistant;-)
Thanks for the reminder to print Voron parts by uploading a 3D printer video.
I recently designed a enclosure for a 7inch touch screen, deej audio controller and phone stand for use on my desk. I followed all these tips but failed to remember the real world has physics and made the base way too slim and it turned out top heavy and tips over.
Black hot glue? Mind blown!! Where does one obtain such awesomeness?
Yeah! I got em from core electronics "Steinel Glue Sticks Black 11mm Pk 10" not cheapest but seem tougher than the normal stuff
@@MakersMuse You can also get other colours of hot glue sticks, they come in just about as great a variety of colors and finishes as filament these days.
Small TPU parts are my favourite to design, like prints to hold radio receivers & antennas on racing drones.
When creating small prints, working 'with the grain' of how a part is printed helps ensure its strength, look at the 5th picture of Thingiverse 5743370 of mine to see what I mean.
I know why you don't like tapping plastic directly for machine threads, it's because you don't use petg. I switched from petg to pla+ the other week and found the pla really doesn't like the tap at all compared to the petg which is just a bit fiddly. (Caveat, my projevts are mostly enclosures that just go together once or twice, not in and out a bunch)
Why you are not a fan of PETG? This is basically my material of choice most of the time :D
interesting, i usualy design the same project 2-3 times, not because of the rule i didnt know, more because the first atempts are mostly hard confusing so i HAVE to design it new after some days pause xD
prototyping: you can fix a lot with a hot soldering iron or a drill 😂
printing slices also helps a lot to verify stuff
Hot glue is the first additive building material.
I have some devious plots for this one
I also bought black hot glue a few weeks ago, don't know why it took me so long to get a decent hot glue gun 😅
The first version sounds like a fast fail attempt but also trying not to boil the ocean. Get something out. Minimal lovable product to figure out which direction you're going in.
You can split a body with a line you don't need a surface
love this!!!
IS there a reason you prefer using a surface versus the solid "split bodies" command?
0 thickness, so I can assign clearances where I want them. Either approach works though !
@@MakersMuse With Split Bodies you can use sketch lines as your tool and it doesn't create a thickness or gap. But I also see how you can create more complex splitting geometry by first aiming for a surface. thanks!
@@lunaumbra5179Ah yeah I keep forgetting you can do that now, it's a good time saver !
Great video!!
I thought maybe the sword had a chain that spun around the edge of the blade. but to you 'electromechanical' is another word for 'blinkey things that don't fall apart'?
If possible, isn't it better to design the use of inserts to go in from the backside, so the tension of the screw will have to pull the whole insert through the printed part? That's MUCH stronger than the tension pulling the insert out from the same way it was inserted. You can even get away with using nuts inserted from the back or even the side, rather than inserts in many situations.
God I wish it only took me three iterations to build things. I have aphantasia so I can't visualise things easily in my head. I have to start really basic and add things piece by piece, 3d printing each part and seeing it in the real world.
What is wrong with the great Aussie pro tip: if it does not fit, hit it with a hammer. If you don't have a hammer handy, hit it with a block of wood?
I noticed you've also used a lot of chamfers, and avoided rounded overhanging in your designs.
Also, isn't PLA+ able to be heat annealed?
Heat annealing only increases strength, not temp resistance. But yes you can
Black hot glue!? 🤯
I am judging you for the hot glue
Nooo
Hot glue forgiveth a multitude of sins
Do other CAD SW have push-pull besides SolidWorks?
Onshape allows you to extrude remove whatever face you want.
you mean the 6 prototype rule?
1) Oh it works but I made this tiny mistake. \0/
2) Oh it works but in fixing it i caused another mistake
3) Oh it's perfect now, but I ran out of SRAM/FLASH and now I gotta upgrade to a new microcontroller
4) Oh crap I accidentally connect PB7 and PB8 to PA7 and PA8
5) oh wait that pin was only PWM capable on the old MCU, I had the wrong documentation open
6) Finally.... please... just work...
(Not based on a real story at all)
I've had projects be perfect on the first try tho... and I'm always like "this is... REALLY suspicious"
If I stopped my projects after my third prototype, I'd never finish a project.
Hot glue is absolutely great for everything, embrace the jank.
I thought you changed CAD program? 🤣
Nah, and I tested a lot... , 😞
Angus, it would be awesome if you offered 3D prints & battle not classes on Udemy or some other platform
I have some plans for a few guides and courses on the community page :)
👀
ppl who want to do this but are too impatient to print anything over 3 hours👇
heloooo airplane project whenbnb 😊
So many great tips! Thanks!!