[Staubsauger17]

Originally Posted by angryBits

I think I want to try it just for fun. It would be very useful if I can get good at it.

The printer is programmable. I've considered learning the programming language so that I could deliberately have it print one color, then pause for me to swap the filament then resume another color, then back and forth etc.

It will be a lot of work but it can lead to much cooler prints.

I think I want to try printing some toys for my daughter and I'd rather print her toys in color rather than paint them. She's going to be 3 so paint doesn't last long

EDIT: 3 hours later ... I've just taught myself how to program in G-Code, the 3d printer instruction generated by the slicer (Cura). I can now modify the print instructions to pause and resume a print at any layer I want. I should be able to color mix and match now. I even added instructions to print some garbage on the side of the printer to flush out the previous color material still in the nozzle

Welcome to the 3D Printing world! I have an Ultimaker 2+ Extended at home I use for the past few years. Cura is awesome with its capabilities.

I'm a mechanical engineer and have been creating 3d CAD models (SolidWorks & NX) and 3d prints for my work for different prototype builds. I also print (piece by piece) huge scaled models of different machines for companies (boilers, ovens, granulators). Designing parts to be 3d printed and how the parts will be attached is a huge designing/engineering challenge. Sure, you can download stuff and just hit print - but to design your own content like what you did is the real deal.

My secret project for the past few months has been creating a 3d CAD Assembly file of my 2017 ZL1. Not some stupid graphic image (they already exist). I'm designing it for 3d printing capabilities at 1:12 scale. Best part is that as I customize my own ZL1, I customize my own scaled model of it. Once I start printing it, I'll create a Thread to document the progress.

[angryBits]

Originally Posted by Camaro_QC

I wish I was a programmer to so I could easily modify everything that way haha.

Nice job !

If you're just wanting to hack something together, anyone can learn with a few youtube videos and some practice.

[angryBits]

Originally Posted by the_swiSS

Wonder how until the first 3D-printed car. Nice work with the badge man!

haha I'm sure someone is working on it right now.

And if you buy a 3d printed car, you can 3d print a new fender when you get a ding

[angryBits]

Originally Posted by Labol

Hi angryBits,

Can you send me the STL files please.

Thx

Let me iron out the kinks first, but I'll definitely share them once I'm done.

[angryBits]

Originally Posted by Staubsauger17

Welcome to the 3D Printing world! I have an Ultimaker 2+ Extended at home I use for the past few years. Cura is awesome with its capabilities.

I just googled the Ultimaker 2+ Extended. Wow you're definitely ahead of me haha! I bought the Creality Ender 3 and loved it for a week and already felt like I needed a quality boost. So I bought the Creality CR-10s PRO (which just arrived today). It's $600, definitely not at the level of the Ultimaker 2+ but I like that it's very tinkerable and lots of community support for upgrades and such. I've decided to keep the Ender 3 in addition to the CR-10s PRO rather than return it. Being able to print 2x sounds like 2x the fun.

Originally Posted by Staubsauger17

My secret project for the past few months has been creating a 3d CAD Assembly file of my 2017 ZL1. Not some stupid graphic image (they already exist). I'm designing it for 3d printing capabilities at 1:12 scale. Best part is that as I customize my own ZL1, I customize my own scaled model of it. Once I start printing it, I'll create a Thread to document the progress.

3D Printing your own car sounds like a really fun project.
I found on Thingaverse, someone has created a Camaro SS. It's not a ZL1 but it can save you a lot of work for the shared parts. But like you said, it will be much more satisfying having designed it yourself.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2052548

Originally Posted by Staubsauger17

I'm a mechanical engineer and have been creating 3d CAD models (SolidWorks & NX) and 3d prints for my work for different prototype builds. I also print (piece by piece) huge scaled models of different machines for companies (boilers, ovens, granulators). Designing parts to be 3d printed and how the parts will be attached is a huge designing/engineering challenge. Sure, you can download stuff and just hit print - but to design your own content like what you did is the real deal.

I'm a software engineer, but I began college as an Aerospace Engineer and covered some mechanical engineering basics. I'm not a pro but I recall enough to have fun I definitely appreciate the "design and engineer it myself" approach. It's been fun learning about the strength of the filament and how much stress the printed parts can take. Using basic engineering knowledge can save you a lot of material, weight and print-time. I'm working on building a stand for my headphones -- I want it to be light and strong, so it's been fun experimenting.

I also spent a lot of time in Autocad and 3D Studio back in the day, and spent some time with Maya and Blender over the years. I'm using Blender now but it's hard to get the precision I want, Autocad was better for that. I'll check out SolidWorks and NX, I don't mind paying a few bucks if its the right tool.

Something else I've found to be amazing --
I recently bought an Oculus Rift VR setup and there are modeling apps that let you model in VR! It's extremely difficult to be precise but if you're looking to make something more like art then it's really fun to build in VR and then bring your VR creation to real-life.

[OneWheelPeel]

VR modeling with my iPhone and Google cardboard would be cool.

[kropscamaro16]

lol youve got too much time on your hands