Are there any companies for hire out there that will do 3D printing for Joe Schmoe's like me? Cheaper for me to hire out to make a couple of small parts vs. buying a printer myself that I don't have space for anyway.
When I was a kid they used to have heat/vacuum forming machines (sort of like gaming consoles / claw machines) in shopping malls etc., that would spit out formed toys/figures from a small sheet of plastic. I would like to find a place that does something similar for 3D prints if I provide the print file(s).
Yes there are. Just do a search for 3D printing companies. At some point Strasys transitioned from being a 3D printer supplier (machines) to offering 3D printing services. emachineshop is just one of several machine shop suppliers making their services available on line.
Thanks Stan. I found a place somewhat local to me and I put in a request for a quote, but I'm not sure if it's going to work out.
First off, they want a 3D CAD file uploaded. All I've got is a .stl file.
Then they only give 3 choices for material. Standard, Flexible or Durable. The maker file specifies PLA. So which category does that fall under?
I guess I'll wait to see how badly they berate me for being an idiot before I request any more quotes from other places.
Standard would be a form of PLA. Durable would probably be ABS.
You're smart, they're dumb. You have specifics of a design and material requirements, they use generalized undefined terms for materials in their advertising.
If they can't work with an STL file they're not worth messing with.
Ed
Out of curiosity, what is it you need printed? I may be able to print it for you.
Ed
I took a look at Xometry's page too. They have a material choice of "Prototyping PLA (FFF)"
OK, cool! They even accept a .stl file to work from - even better!
Then you have to pick a "process". Under 3D printing they list 8 different types.
Binder Jetting
Carbon Digital Light Synthesis (DLS)
Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)
PolyJet
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
Stereolithography (SLA)
I can't seem to find a choice that says "hey - I just want a small plastic tray".
Looking further it turns out FDM is the only process that offers PLA as an option so that pretty much narrows it down. I guess now I just have to decide if I want to spend 100 bucks after sales tax and shipping on a 7 inch square piece of plastic. I have a feeling the local place will want even more.
(02-27-2022, 08:17 PM)EdK Wrote: [ -> ]Out of curiosity, what is it you need printed? I may be able to print it for you.
Ed
It's a small tray to sit on top of a wet grinder to catch water drips and funnel them back down into the water trough the stone runs in. It's got a 5 inch long 'down spout' that sticks down from the back corner of the tray. Pretty slick idea from whomever came up with it. Definitely not a 'must have' but it would be nice to not have stray water running down into the machine's housing.
[
attachment=17773]
Can you post the STL file and I can take a look at it.
Ed