I did some research on Lynkoa regarding 3D printers but I couldn't find an answer to my problem.
I would like to propose to my management the purchase of a 3D printer so that we have control over the production of control templates (which are currently made of aluminum) or other parts such as models of our products. (I work in a company specializing in wood and metal staircases).
The investment in such a machine will be linked to the gain it will allow us to obtain. So the more different pieces I can make, the more advantageous it will be.
In addition to the control templates that I would like to make, of which here is an example,
I would like to make suction cups to hold parts. Its suction cups have a diameter of about 160 mm for a thickness of 30 and to hold a piece, they can be 6 or 8 depending on the length (also currently made of mass-cut aluminum). of which here is a view.
My question is therefore will this kind of part made with a 3D printer be strong enough to be fixed on a machine, absorb the shocks related to the installation of heavy wooden parts and the blow of the mallet that an operator could give.
How often do you plan to make parts? One per month, 4 per day,... ?
What precision do you expect on your templates (dimensional and geometric)?
When I see your first piece, depending on its size, I would fear that the 2 wings (bottom right), at their ends, will come apart or closer.
And for the second part, the suction cup, the risk is flatness to guarantee good suction, and... the general tightness of the part (porosity), although on wood your suction system must work at the flow rate, and not waterproof (vacuum pump and not venturi).
I estimate that we currently have about twenty different ganarits on 7 to 8 workstations, i.e. 160 templates spread throughout the factory.
This template is remanufactured at a frequency that I don't know at the moment either because of loss, or because it fell and suddenly no longer ensures its functioning.
Our degrees of tolerance oscillate between +- 0.3 mm so an accuracy of one tenth for the template is sufficient.
As for the suction cups, they work under a vacuum pump. In the drawing of the suction cup I did not represent the seal on the periphery.
I regularly use 3D printing to prototype. I'll tell you how I feel. The printer we use is made of plastic wire. In other words, the printer deposits a continuous thread until the part is created. For you I recommend powder printing. The difference is that the part is not porous. Wire prints allow water, air to pass through (the wires are not 100% soldered together. I paid the price when I wanted to do IP tests). In your case, you will not be able to use a suction cup.
For the material to use, go to a 3D printer seller, he will answer you. (I've heard that printer manufacturers were starting to print metal too. But I didn't inquire about it.)
I don't know the cost of a printer. I couldn't help you with that.
In terms of accuracy, it's very reliable with + or - 0.2mm
As for your template parts, I will have a piece of advice, if you have to put guide pins like on your first drawing, replace it with a hole. Once the printed part has been printed, it will be necessary to place an axis on it. In wire printing, the axle cuts at their base when there is a force on it.
I was thinking of a machine like the one you use (by ABS type fused wire).
As for the stud, currently even on our aluminum templates we already use screwed studs which allows us to change them if we want to modify the tolerances (by playing with the diameter).
As for porosity, it doesn't bother me....... because it is the post that costs us the most.
Apparently last year, we spent almost 20,000 euros on suction cups.
I'm going to see with suppliers if there are other materials than ABS that would be less porous for example.
Thank you again for this information, which will be useful to me.
Ah! I would have thought that the material melting process would avoid this porosity. For my part, 3/4 years ago I had pieces made in powder frying (PA6.6 if I remember correctly). I think they were porous, because we had to paint them (so that it was less messy), and we had to go through several coats for it to be correct: the material drank the paint!
To continue with suction cups, what kind of gasket do you use? In the past I used Schmalz SPU suction cups (http://fr.schmalz.com/np/pg/produkte/ansicht?hier=155-171-191-82&art=2689&meta_tag_robots=true) and having changed the seals a few times, I can say it's not a walk in the park and you have to use screwdrivers or any other tool to remove them and put them back on. I'm not convinced that a powder fryer or FDM part often withstands this treatment.
There is a parameter not to be neglected either: a 3D printed part can have a very different behavior depending on how the interior is produced (powder sintering experiment): I have already had solid parts and others hollow and the resistance is totally different!
In short, all this to say, that to start, I would launch a few representative parts into manufacturing, just to see the rigidity of the parts and the maintenance of the desired tolerances. And this in several processes.
As for metal printing, I think it must be ideal, but the investment cost will certainly be too high compared to the gain, and moreover the material must be quite heavy (no possibility, certainly for a desktop machine).
Then it is obvious that I would have prototypes made by the manufacturer of the machine in the event that I myself have this study.
Thank you again and feel free to continue to provide me with your help on this project.
For precision, it is not so much that the machine is not precise, it is more that depending on the shape of the part, we can see shrinkage phenomena (as in welding, all things considered).
