Collaboration on a 3D printed threading dial for a SouthBend 9C

RWanke said:
I was thinking of you earlier this morning while reading some info on the very expensive change gears for cutting metric threads on an inch lead screw lathe and was wondering if printed gears would be an economical alternative, even if they only lasted for a few projects. ?? Again I know nothing about 3D printing and am having a hard time wrapping my head around melting globs of plastic on top of each other and it holding together. I guess I'm having flashbacks to my younger days attempting to melt model car plastic together to form "custom" parts. :eek:
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Brino had a link to another thread on printing change gears in his first post.

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/if-you-need-gears-print-them.65634/

MrPete222 printed some to try out. He has the metal ones but wanted to see how the plastic version worked.

The HM thread contains a link to MrPete222 video, but for folks who want to see the video, I will repeat the link.

MrPete222 printed change gears video
 
Today I upgraded my extruder bracket from the original plastic to aluminium, so I had to try printing something. I went to the model link in the initial post and printed the number dial. I wanted to see how well the numbers came out. Not perfect, the walls are not quite sealed with the top but useable. This would look better if I painted in the letters.

SB_9_thread_dial_8714.jpg
 
Hukshawn said:
A surprising amount of waste. I didn’t think there would be so much.
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Shawn I did weigh the parts. Here's what I saw:

The three parts plus all the supporting material was 71 grams (2.5 oz.). (Exactly what the Cura slicer predicted!)
Without the supporting material the three parts weigh 56 grams (1.98 oz.)
So the waste material is only 15 grams (0.52 oz.).

-brino
 
@RWanke, I was away this past weekend, but did get the parts wrapped up and shipped out yesterday. I believe it was a "7-day" estimate. I do have a tracking number if we need it.

Dave Paine said:
This would look better if I painted in the letters.
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Great idea Dave! I could see filling the recessed digits and lines with a high-contrast paint, letting it dry, and then carefully sanding the top face flat. I bet that would look great. Maybe black or red paint for yours and white paint for the one I printed in black PLA.

-brino
 
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The painting idea did not work out as well as desired. I printed another dial of better quality. I then painted the top and sanded off the surface.

The surface is not smooth due to the many layers used to fill the surface.

I would likely remove most of the letters and lines if I sanded off to remove the streaks in between. If I had the model I would increase the depth of the numbers, but I do not have the model.

Southbend_9_thread_dial_painted_8732.jpg
 
brino said:
@RWanke, I was away this past weekend, but did get the parts wrapped up and shipped out yesterday. I believe it was a "7-day" estimate. I do have a tracking number of we need it.



Great idea Dave! I could see filling the recessed digits and lines with a high-contrast paint, letting it dry, and then carefully sanding the top face flat. I bet that would look great. Maybe black or red paint for yours and white paint for the one I printed in black PLA.

-brino
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I'll be looking for it. Thanks Brino. I'll also turn my son loose on the dial. He's pretty handy with fine detail with a paint brush.
 
We could try doing up the model in Fusion360, and using a different font that would be more detailed and pronounced.
Here's another pict of one I stumbled on over @Thingiverse. Fonts didn't come out well.
Need to go at least .050" deep I believe.

EDIT: or perhaps reverse them... https://www.ebay.com/itm/South-Bend-9C-Metal-Lathe-Thread-Dial-3D-Printed-Kit-New-/182982078435

EDIT-EDIT: Can anyone get me the OD of this dial? I'm looking around for dimensions but have come up empty.

((this is really, really making me want to fire up the printer I've laying in the shop...))

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RWanke said:
He sent me a text with an interesting link that addresses strengthening PLA printed parts by annealing them in a heated bath. Might be something to try.
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Thanks for the link. That is interesting.

It would be great to try some controlled experiments of printing several identical objects, going thru the strengthening process, and destructively testing and comparing the parts. My only problem is lack of time.

For this project the part I am most concerned with is the gear. It will be running against the steel lead screw, but it is very low torque.
If you find it does wear quickly just let me know, I've been looking for a reason to try printing ABS and nylon.

-brino
 
My concerns too and the reason for my original thread. He also mentioned an article on reinforcing with some type of resin or polymer or such. We shall see how it all works out.
 
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