Our housings come from the 3D printer and are optimized for this purpose. This allows you to print the housings yourself or customize them as you wish. In this tutorial we explain our workflow and give you tips based on our experiences over the last 2 years.
1. CAD creation of the body
We use Autodesk Fusion360 to create our 3D data. A very comprehensive and widely used tool in the maker scene. However, you should keep in mind that your data is stored on external servers and could be used to train AI or other things.
We can now also recommend Shapr3D. It is also a very intuitive environment with numerous examples and is therefore easy to learn.
We recommend FREECAD as an open source program. This tool is now very comprehensive and is not a problem for smaller projects.
So if you want to edit our 3D bodies, you need a CAD software of your choice and you must also be able to use it. If anyone needs our Fusion360 files to make changes to our sketch, please write to us.
If you don't want to edit our bodies, you can simply download the STL files from Thingiverse.
https://www.thingiverse.com/pekaway/designs
2. Slicing
A 3D printer works with what is known as G-code. This code contains all the routes and settings for the actual printing.
Our printers are PrusaMK3S, so we use the PrucaSlicer to slice our STL data.
We use the following print settings:
Filament: Extruder PLA NX2
Printing temperature: 225 °C
Bed temperature: 60 °C
Infill of printed parts 25%
The Extrudr Filament is highly recommended. We have tested several and this one achieves by far the best results.
3. Print
The actual 3D printing is then very simple. Insert the SD with G-code into the printer and start printing. It is important that you clean the print bed again with isopropanol alcohol before each print. This will better ensure that the print adheres well. Since the printer does not have an enclosed print chamber, you should make sure that the location is not exposed to drafts or major temperature fluctuations. This could lead to stringing or warping of the component.
Here is an example of "stringing" during the printing of a dimmy case, which was only caused by a draft of wind.
4. Further information and tips
Construction tips:
When designing, think about how best to print the part. Try to build overhanging areas at an angle of 45°. Use lattice structures for better stability. Pay attention to stress peaks in the component.
Conversion from 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm nozzle
In order to significantly reduce the printing time, we use a 0.6 mm nozzle. However, this brought further challenges. The higher printing speed and the associated heat application caused severe warping of our components. This was so severe that even the steel spring plate pulled up from the print bed. This meant that we had to loosen up larger areas by making cutouts. Reducing the printing speed can also help. To increase adhesion to the print bed, we also print with a border. This increases the contact surface and can be easily removed after printing.
