3D printing... yea or nay?

[jvin248]

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That bobbin fracturing has more to do with hole tolerance from the squish of extruded thread as is builds the part. Make the holes slightly larger to allow for the print. Basically running a caulk gun and anything that changes the gap between tip and plate will squeeze more material out the sides. Then pressure goes way up when the slug is forced in there. If all your cracks are on one side of the bobbins you might have the base plate slightly higher on that side, won't take much. Easiest solution is adjust the hole a little larger to compensate for the 'manufacturing' process. I have a small 3D printer and have had to adjust hole sizes this way.

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[CheopisIV]

Nah, it's best to keep tolerances at dimensional accuracy instead of tweaking here and there chasing print anomalies. I used PLA which isn't elastic in the slightest; plan is to use ABS or PETG which will keep tolerances tight but has a bit more give. This is my third year running these machines and they're tuned to perfection for the most part BUT there's always room for a hiccup once in a while!

[copperheadroads]

Old thread but been planning to try it for a while. Designed up a humbucker set in 49.2 sizing and printed with what was loaded. PLA is too brittle but next set will be tweaked some and be done in PETG or ABS to avoid breakage.

Chewed out by a Squirrel ....lol ...Just kidding .they are still kind of rough but can work for r & d .
This may save me some trial & error when I get one of these for oddball pickups so thanks . Great job

[jvin248]

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How much force to press in the slugs? That will tell you if you need to back off the sizing or not. You should keep your model at target size for injection molding but resize for 3D printing with PLA. Injection molding with standard materials will have some % shrinkage depending on the material that helps with this issue.

Even simple things like room temperature you are printing in can effect your print size. Automotive supplier I worked with in the early 90's had problems with molding parts after environment changed from moving a machine from the center of a plant to the outside wall.

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[CheopisIV]

Chewed out by a Squirrel

Hahah! Absolutely These were taken straight from the machine with no cleanup just to see how they'd survive the rest of the process. Changing print orientation would tidy up the top and even an Acetone vapor bath on ABS would make them more presentable. Ultimately, a split design would give much nicer results and appearance but still nothing close to injection molding. Cost wise, you'd still be much better off buying the mass produced stuff but for those weird design ideas, 3D printing is a much more cost effective method for prototyping.

[David Schwab]

My friend, who has a very expensive 3D printer at his job printed out several PAF style pickups. Then I wound them for him.

Even with the expensive printer, the surface texture on the parts isn't very good. But I've used it a few times to make bobbins.