Quote:
Originally Posted by bs7280
For those teams out there with 3d printers, how did you guys use them during the year (offseason and build season)? And more specifically, how did you use them with your robots during the build season?
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Our FTC team used our 3d printer (uPrint SE) to print out a bucket for Ring it Up, due to the fact that it was three days before competition and they had couldn't get the legos to hold the weight of the rings without collapsing. I think it was about a 18 hour part, with the white build material running out halfway through. Our teacher then switched it to red, making it look like a magnet. The team won the design award at competition because of it, at least that's what they say.
As for FRC, we have yet to really use our 3d printer for anything.
During offseason, people have made cases or stands for their electronics using
thingaverse.com, as well as someone using it to make parts for a hexapod and a 3d scanned toy lion. My school also says that they 3d printed a part that broke somewhere that would have cost $$$ for about $1 of material.
I personally have used it to:
*Make two lithophanes for my sisters for their birthday (found software online, can't remember where. Came out really well, especially when I remembered that lithophanes work better when held up to the light
)
*Sculptures that were artwork from my aunt that I traced in Inventor
*A small print to ask a girl to homecoming last year (she said yes and really liked it. Someone else then copied it and also got a yes)
*Pieces for a tic-tac-toe game
*Two roller coasters of my own creation, one found online (see my instructions and pictures I posted to
themeparkstudio.com:
http://forum.themeparkstudio.com/index.php?topic=108.0) I mess with this a bunch because I want to be an Imagineer, fyi.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thunder910
How did you get one (Is it your sponsors', your school's, your team's, etc.)?
What model is it?
What can it do? (Features- multicolor printing, what materials does it print in?)
What features do you find essential for making parts for robots?
What other uses do you find for the machines?
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*Our school bought two when it opened, one more when a new department opened.
*uPrint SE is the main one we use, a powder one that doesn't have strong material that is used by the bioscience department for printing of dna strands that we have no access to (also not sure if the software on it supports inventor models or anything else we would want to make). The other (another department has it and doesn't like us using their stuff, but if ours is broken or is running something big, they will occasionally let us) is a uPrint SE plus. Our high schools have makerbots
*Support material (big thing for complicated parts that some don't do!)
*I personally think support material is a must, since it can make really complicated parts and models, like roller coasters
*See above