The modern/digital fabrication thread

[slodat]

Thought I’d start a conversation on modern/digital fabrication. 3D scanning, cad/cam, CNC machines, 3D printers… all that stuff. I have a shop with growing digital/modern fabrication capabilities. I’m interested in sharing what I’m doing, seeing what others are doing, conversation about it all, etc.

My current project is getting the 3D scanning workflow sorted out. Test project is a door panel for my Nissan Frontier shop truck. This scan isn't super useful per se. Thought I might want it later. Scanner is an Einscan HX.




After deleting unneeded data:





More to follow!

 

[4 FN 27]

I love this kind of thing. Just added a Faro Arm to the mix about 4 months ago. Probing and Scanning. Certainly has helped in the reverse engineering area of my life.

I have played with the scanning but need to work on my skill set in taking a point cloud to a solid model.

So far the main focus has been on probing. Using Solidworks with Dezignworks Plug-in. This thing keeps me as busy as my Legos and Erector Sets did when I was a kid.





















Looking forward to seeing more and getting a few take a ways!!!

 

[slodat]

This is a recent post from m y shop thread that shows a very simple use of the scanner:

My good friend (the one that always helps me unload machines and a billion other things) stopped by today with a small chunk of aluminum and this in hand:





It's off a hydraulic manifold on a tractor or some such a friend of his has. There's some trading involved. Bottom line is.. can I get it made for him.. now. It's my pleasure to give him some time and I'm happy to work in my shop. He's a retired machinist, so all I have to do is make the body (OP1). He will machine the bore and the top threaded hole.

I stared at it for a while and decided to try the 3d scanner on this part. The scan is the easy part. Doing something meaningful with it is a completely different, not easy thing. All I cared about was the base flange. This is the mesh as imported into Fusion 360.



Took a while to figure out how to get the imported mesh aligned with the origin. Then, I made the base flange:


The modeled valve body on the mesh:


Modeled part:


Printed a 0.2" flange to compare with the original part.. It worked really well.

3d printed part was approved.



Finished machining the valve body. Turned out really well. The carrier (excess material on the bottom) is used for work holding. It will get machined off, then the holes bored, and top hole tapped. My buddy was really happy with it. He will do the rest of the machine work. There's plenty of material on the bottom so he can leave the bottom a little thicker.







The part worked well.

 

[slodat]

Back at it this evening.. The scanner is a little easier to use as I start to understand the process better.



The targets are stuck to inexpensive magnets. Makes the reusable and much easier to remove.



I bought Einscan's "reverse engineering bundle". This adds Geomagic Essentials to the package. It's not super intuitive (to me), yet. I did manage to align the mesh to an origin I can live with. Then, it's imported into Fusion 360.



I traced the outside shape, window crank hole, and arm rest mounting holes. This creates the base panel, as a solid.





More to follow.

 

[slodat]

I've been working on CAD stuff when I'm out of town more. Got that setup dialed in. I bought the keyboard because the keyboard on the Dell XPS17 simply doesn't do it for me and causes a lot of undo. I booked a consultation with a CAD specialist to see about getting some specific instruction in what I'm wanting to do in Fusion 360. I'll follow up with how that goes.

 

[TS3g]

Awesome thread idea! I'd love to have access to a good 3d scanner to reverse engineer some of my racecar parts easier. Following along

 

[APEowner]

I'm enjoying this thread. I've been watching 3d Scanners. The ease of use is a little to low and/or the price is a little to high for it to be worth it for me to take the plunge but at the rate things are going they'll converge in my happy spot in about five years.

 

[rmack898]

I’d like to know more about the CAD specialist and how you find one.

 

[LigouriRd]

I would start with whomever you got your CAD package from (Autodesk, etc.) They usually provide assistance and support as long as you have an active license.

I have access to a faro arm at work. Haven't messed with scanning much but the probing capabilities are incredible. You can develop surfaces in the software that can be directly imported in to CAD.

 

[4 FN 27]

I have access to a faro arm at work. Haven't messed with scanning much but the probing capabilities are incredible. You can develop surfaces in the software that can be directly imported in to CAD.

What Software are you using to interface between the Faro and CAD?

Probing is my newest time ****!!! And my Wife doesn't mind.

 

[slodat]

Went to a good buddy's shop yesterday to work with the scanner and help him with some Fusion 360 basics. This guy is one of the best upholsterers out there. He's working on a truck that will be a contender for top accolades. So cool to see it. No photos allowed.. This is the shifter section of the transmission tunnel.





I figured out how to use the mesh (scanned data) to create a sketch that follows the shape of the tunnel on a vertical plane.




The orange line below is where the vertical plane is on the panel. The rest is a simple (silly?) profile of a center console. Obviously not a pretty part, just getting the process sorted out.



That is used to make the console side panel.


Eyeballed a plane in the center of the shifter and mirrored the part.


Now we have two sides. The right side still needs to be trimmed to the floor using the same process as the left.


This is a good example of how the scan data is useful in design using Fusion 360. More to follow..

 

[slodat]

Awesome thread idea! I'd love to have access to a good 3d scanner to reverse engineer some of my racecar parts easier. Following along

Thank you. I'm glad there's some interest. I get somewhat islanded working in a small town on things like this. I'm glad I bought the scanner. LOTS to learn. I'm having fun.

I'm enjoying this thread. I've been watching 3d Scanners. The ease of use is a little to low and/or the price is a little to high for it to be worth it for me to take the plunge but at the rate things are going they'll converge in my happy spot in about five years.

It's definitely not cheap. I think your five years is right based on what I'm seeing.

I’d like to know more about the CAD specialist and how you find one.

I found him from his youtube videos.

Probing is my newest time ****!!! And my Wife doesn't mind.

That's funny!

 

[MadeByMiller]

Nice work! Mesh Section Sketch and Fit Curves to Mesh Section?

 

[slodat]

Nice work! Mesh Section Sketch and Fit Curves to Mesh Section?

Exactly! Next up is learning about T splines.

I’ve been hoping to pique your interest and get you in this thread!

 

[MadeByMiller]

Exactly! Next up is learning about T splines.

I’ve been hoping to pique your interest and get you in this thread!

The Form workspace is a fun one! The YouTube channel "Learn Everything About Design" is the best source I've found for tutorials on the subject.

I would love to be able to add to the thread in terms of 3D scanning, some day I'll be able to afford one! I'll settle for adding a few renders of my most recent project that utilized the Form space, since you brought it up.

 

[LigouriRd]

What Software are you using to interface between the Faro and CAD?

I was using faro cam2 to export an iges, then opening it in power shape. I imagine it could also be opened in solidworks.

 

[4 FN 27]

Have a little project for a guy in Michigan. Wants a front motor plate for a car he bought. Please if anyone buys a used race car buy it with the front and mid motor plates!!! Even if the Motor Plate won't work with your combination!!!! At least you will have a starting point for Crankshaft Centerline and the relationship to the chassis mounting locations.

He sent me a template made from pre-finished sheet stock .020 thick. A pain in the *** to probe (which I did a few weeks ago). This morning I swung by the plant fired up the Virtek laser Scanner. This thing works great for flat sheet metal. Took about 2 minutes from the time I logged in to the time I saved the DXF.



I imported it to an old version of Cadkey and have cleaned it up and added the cutout for the Jesel Belt Drive system (Jesel sent me all of their Belt Drive Covers which save a lot of time. Nice to have the connections). Now I can cut them a sample part to make sure their holes are in the right location before we cut the .250 6061-T6 plate. More on that in the future.

Here is the result of a little reverse engineering project wrapped up tonight.

Wanted a better tray I could attach a vacuum to on the Drill Grinder. Didn't get any pictures of the process other than the results.

16 ga Stainless Tray:



3D Printed Vacuum attachment:


Works as it should!!!

 

[4 FN 27]

Playing over the weekend.

 

[4 FN 27]

More playing tonight probing Wrenches.



Adding a new 3D printer to the mix too. Pursa i3 MK3. I want to under stand more of the options that go into printing. The Makerbot doesn't allow any latitude for changing things up. It makes it simple and easy but there are a few things I want more control over.



Time to go up to the house and download all the software.

 

[slodat]

I love my Prusa!!

I ordered a new CAD workstation over the weekend. Excited for it to arrive.

 

[MadeByMiller]

I love my Prusa!!

I ordered a new CAD workstation over the weekend. Excited for it to arrive.

Another vote for Prusa appreciation!

What's the specs on the new workstation?

 

[slodat]

Dell Precision 5820
Intel (R) Core (TM) i9-10980XE 3.0GHz,(4.8GHz Turbo, 18C, 24.75MB Cache, HT, (165W), DDR4-2933 Non-ECC)
128GB DDR4-2933
1tb NVMe drive
8tb 7200 hd
Nvidia RTX A5000, 24GB, 4DP

Dual BenQ PD3220U 32 inch displays

 

[4 FN 27]

Digging the new Pursa Printer.

First print? Why make it an easy one? Embedded a 1/4-20 Nut into the print. Worked slicker than ****!!!



Need to work on my settings a tad.

New black hole to spend time in...

 

[MadeByMiller]

Dell Precision 5820
Intel (R) Core (TM) i9-10980XE 3.0GHz,(4.8GHz Turbo, 18C, 24.75MB Cache, HT, (165W), DDR4-2933 Non-ECC)
128GB DDR4-2933
1tb NVMe drive
8tb 7200 hd
Nvidia RTX A5000, 24GB, 4DP

Dual BenQ PD3220U 32 inch displays

Going to be a great machine! Good call on the RAM, I'm looking to upgrade to 128GB as well from 64GB currently. Higher resolution meshes just eat it up

 

[slodat]

It’s unclear whether the Core motherboard can do 256gb or not. If it can, I may do that. Buying the additional RAM from Dell was stupid expensive. It can be bought for under half their price.

 

[slodat]

User interface portion of the new workstation is complete. Just waiting on Dell to ship the computer.

A GJ member is coming to the shop today to work on a 3D scanning project. Should be a fun day!

 

[slodat]

Had a blast scanning a fuel tank and seat pan for a very special motorcycle build for a fellow GJ member this morning.

Sorted out aligning the top and bottom scan of the tank. It all went really well. The scanning turntable worked well.







The scan data doesn't have an origin or relationship to 3D space until you define it. First the scans have to be aligned.


The software aligned the scans with no effort on our part. Amazing ****!


Final mesh.

 

[4 FN 27]

Starting a simple little project with the Faro Arm



This will require the Water Jet and Press Brake.

 

[4 FN 27]

Making progress...





Tomorrow fabrication.

 

[4 FN 27]

Finished the Heat Shields today. Took about an hour plus paint drying time.

Went to cut 2 blanks since I need 2 complete parts and they floated out of the sheet and got double cut. One at a taper and the other extra holes and pierce points. Note to self: .050 5052-H32 Aluminum needs Tabs or Hangers.

The 2 on the left got messed up.



Since we have set up part why not see if it fits before forming the other 2 pieces.



I am happy with the fit but the white might be a little too much. Looking for a color that will not absorb heat.



Twins...when I like a Rifle I double down when it comes to Prairie Dog Rifles.





I need @lilscorpion's Powder Coating System.

 

[loganb]

I am happy with the fit but the white might be a little too much. Looking for a color that will not absorb heat.

Love the process, the guns and the final product, great work and great taste!

As for paint, there are some high solar reflectance paints that reflect back a higher % of IR keeping the painted surface cooler than if painted with a standard part. Not sure what the options are in powder or rattle cans, but we use it in on door sills that are dark color but are painting high volume. Don't recall the exact numbers but I believe it was in the range of 20% cooler than a standard paint in same color

 

[4 FN 27]

Love the process, the guns and the final product, great work and great taste!

As for paint, there are some high solar reflectance paints that reflect back a higher % of IR keeping the painted surface cooler than if painted with a standard part. Not sure what the options are in powder or rattle cans, but we use it in on door sills that are dark color but are painting high volume. Don't recall the exact numbers but I believe it was in the range of 20% cooler than a standard paint in same color

Thank you.

I am going to reach out to a buddy who owns a Powder Coating Company and see what he suggests if anything.

He is an FFL also doing Cerakote on an paint line. I can send the parts to him if he has something that will reduce the heat absorption.

If we were walking with these things for miles on the Prairie I'd come up with a liquid cooled system.

 

[CapriMikeC]

I'm jealous of all this 3d scanning tech. I've seen it for years at IMTS, Westec, and SEMA but never had access to it myself.

Our CMMs at work have scan heads but I haven't tried to use one for reverse engineering.

 

[Jawn]

Damn, and I thought I was hot **** with my resin 3d printer (Elegoo mars 3).


(ok, I don't really think I'm hot ****... but you know what I mean)

 

[4 FN 27]

One more thing crossed off the list. I probed these tools over a month ago. Over the weekend I cut the foam on the Water Jet. Tonight I put the pieces of the puzzle together.



Next Drawer next week I hope...Have more Motor Plates coming in to get duplicated. Business first!!!


Over night printing again...was running both the MakerBot and the Pursa on the same project. The Pursa is way better than the MakerBot. Time to order another Pursa. Have another 40 +/- hours printing to go for the next project.

 

[4 FN 27]

Hitting the Faro Arm again tonight. Probing Wrenches...getting the profiles into Solidworks.



Should either be Water Jetting the Racks this weekend or Printing them. Haven't decided yet.

Leaning towards Fabricating.

 

[cycle61]

How am I just now seeing this thread!?

@slodat I'll post up some stuff here soon. Thanks!

 

[4 FN 27]

Reverse Engineering a Convertible Roof Bow. This took me to a different level in Probing and assembly. Learned a few tricks trying different things.

Save fast and save often!!! And make a Pack & Go on those big changes that you have no idea what is about to happen.







Have a few tweaks yet but it is pretty close...I think.

Next comes the Tooling to make this. Not sure if I'll be involved in that part of the project??? Time will tell.

 

[cycle61]

Cross post from the 3d printer thread. This is officially the first thing I modeled in Fusion 360 that actually works!

 

[slodat]

All the field technicians at work use a small Brother label printer. The pick apart foam that comes in Pelican/Storm cases leaves a lot to be desired. I downloaded a model of the interior of the case, brought it into Fusion, did a little design work and split it into layers equal to the thickness of the foam I have on had and went to the router.











Turned out pretty nice. The cable sits under the printer.