3D Printing and RVing

[Neal]

This is one of my favs and highly useful in the RV. A nice battery tray/holder:

Thingiverse - The community for Open Hardware

Thingiverse - The community for Open Hardware

www.thingiverse.com

 

[Neal]

I was thinking, if I was a fulltimer and wanted to be able to do 3D printing when my house has limited space available, how could I do this? For those that want to dabble into 3D printing and make their own gadgets and have fun with 3D printing I suggest taking a look at Prusa's newest 3D printer, but smaller in size:

Original Prusa MINI+ | Original Prusa 3D printers directly from Josef Prusa

Big 3D printer in a small body! MINI is a compact 3D printing workhorse with all the bells and whistles of larger Prusa machines. Made in EU, worldwide shipping.

www.prusa3d.com

On another note, those of us using Fusion 360 have seen or heard of changes to the subscription that we've been enjoying for free - personal use. They further limited it but not sure it would have affected me. However, I really enjoy Fusion 360 and have no problems paying for something I think deserves my money as a thanks for a job well done. Today I decided to pay for a subscription as they are offering 40% off and in fact I paid for a 3 year subscription which came out to around $266/yr. Not bad for something of this caliber. I pay far more for my developer tools annually. I also may actually make something and sell it someday so I want to ensure I have the full functionality to enjoy. So if you're a Fusion 360 user you may want to take advantage of the current 40% offer you'll see when you run Fusion 360 next. FYI

 

[BuckyII]

Thanks @Neal! Ouch...guess I’m in for a surprise when we get back from our trip! I had every intention of honing my Fusion 360 skills while on the road...not once did I log in. All good things must come to an end...

 

[Neal]

No, don't get me wrong, nothing will change for you, it will still work fine. I probably shouldn't have forked over the money (a little remorse) but I also want to enjoy the full version without restriction. I'm reading quite a few opinions on Facebook in the Fusion 360 group, many seem to still not be buying. I guess Fusion offered free for a long time and are trying to change that but it seems for our simple use all should remain fine. Didn't want to startle anyone, just paying my dues forward for the great product I've been using for free.

 

[MapNerd]

I was thinking, if I was a fulltimer and wanted to be able to do 3D printing when my house has limited space available, how could I do this? For those that want to dabble into 3D printing and make their own gadgets and have fun with 3D printing I suggest taking a look at Prusa's newest 3D printer, but smaller in size:

Original Prusa MINI+ | Original Prusa 3D printers directly from Josef Prusa

Big 3D printer in a small body! MINI is a compact 3D printing workhorse with all the bells and whistles of larger Prusa machines. Made in EU, worldwide shipping.

www.prusa3d.com

On another note, those of us using Fusion 360 have seen or heard of changes to the subscription that we've been enjoying for free - personal use. They further limited it but not sure it would have affected me. However, I really enjoy Fusion 360 and have no problems paying for something I think deserves my money as a thanks for a job well done. Today I decided to pay for a subscription as they are offering 40% off and in fact I paid for a 3 year subscription which came out to around $266/yr. Not bad for something of this caliber. I pay far more for my developer tools annually. I also may actually make something and sell it someday so I want to ensure I have the full functionality to enjoy. So if you're a Fusion 360 user you may want to take advantage of the current 40% offer you'll see when you run Fusion 360 next. FYI

This seems like a really great little package. The only hesitation I have is the small package limits the print size. Not that I want to print something 7”x7”x7” but I might want to print something 10” x 4” x 2” for example. Is it possible to just buy a larger print plate and rails and put them on this little guy and reconfigure through the menu so that the printer understands that it has a bigger print area? If so, I’d be sold on a highly configurable printer like that.

 

[Neal]

If you want a larger print volume you'll need a larger printer. Bigger plate won't work if the extruder can't go to those bounds. You can also build pieces and weld them (acetone) together if needed or design them as well to be connected. The only limitation is your imagination.

 

[MapNerd]

Bigger plate won't work if the extruder can't go to those bounds.

That’s why I said larger rails too. That would allow the extruder to get there assuming the wires long enough.

maybe I’ll 3D print my own 3D printer.

 

[Neal]

 

[Neal]

 

[BuckyII]

 

[Neal]

Some may recall recently I had to remove the washer for a repair and putting the dryer back on top by myself, a struggle, I broke the knob off the washing machine. You can't buy a replacement knob for this machine as you have to buy the complete top control board assembly which is over $300 so it was time to 3D model and print! Took a good part of two days between modeling, test printing the fit against the machine, then 2 x 4 hour prints to get the knob right. Done, came out great, works great.

Had to model the washing machine "male side" first so I could use that as a cutting tool to cut into the knob for the fit. A bit of a challenge as measuring on the machine wasn't easy and the knubs got a little damaged from the knob being knocked off.

 

[Retired]

I have looked the other way when it comes to 3D printing. If I want to gain a hobby, I have to give up a hobby.

In my universe, time, space and money are maxed out.

 

[BuckyII]

I have looked the other way when it comes to 3D printing. If I want to gain a hobby, I have to give up a hobby.

In my universe, time, space and money are maxed out.

I added 3D printing to my hobby list to enhance another hobby...woodworking. I’m now able to design and print jigs that previously took more time and were less accurate. It also saves trips to the hardware store for small miscellaneous items like washers, screws, brackets, etc.

 

[Neal]

I have looked the other way when it comes to 3D printing. If I want to gain a hobby, I have to give up a hobby.

In my universe, time, space and money are maxed out.

I think anything that finds one's interest you make time for. CAD design and 3D printing is not for everyone, no doubt about that. I have a mechanical engineering undergrad degree I never used, it's fun to put that to some use with this and I love creating things. 3D printing has a lot of great uses in the RV realm with storage, mounts, repairs. If not inspired or no interest then yes, it's not going to be something anyone will enjoy or find time to do.

 

[Neal]

I've seen YouTube videos of content I watch where some use SolidWorks so I figured I'd check it out. I paid for a 3 year of Autodesk Fusion 360 and love Fusion 360 because I've learned the basics of it and used it for 2 years now. SolidWorks for Makers is pretty cheap and I really haven't used it yet. I dabbled in it this morning just figuring out how to launch it as my Windows 11 install may have needed an updated install of it which I did this morning. It's interesting for sure, I have no real clue how to use it but it's something for some to look into that are into 3D printing. I'll stick to Fusion 360 as it works well for me but I'll continue to explore just for pain and suffering purposes.

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