3d printer for bike parts

[Serge_K]

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[Sakizashi]

Short answer is that if you want to be making parts that are reliable your price of entry is going to be a $30K printer. If you are willing to check them periodically and live on the edge, you can just use what you have. Like any part made with additive methods, voids and delamination are problems to manage.

Long answer: Use what you have to prototype, learn how to retolerance and have a 3d printing shop localish to you do your production runs. The higher end machines those folks use cost as much as $500K/year to run and service, but the quality difference is substantial.  I use a Prusa for prototype work and then have the shop to a fit run using the cheaper standard nylon if i am worried about it. For something that holds preload like a headset cover or even an ISP shim, the workflow is PLA fit/form prototype (maybe, depending on my confidence)->PA12 prototype->PA12GB production run. So if I were starting over, I would just get a basic Bambu labs printer for the prototyping as I neither need a large print bed nor to use anything but PLA.

[Chiyou]

I have used the AliExpress-equivalent of 3D printing shops, JLC 3DP (https://jlc3dp.com), with good success; printing quality was fine, tolerances were good, several different materials/processes to choose from. As with Ali, there are various coupons that you can use; shipping of course takes time especially if you choose the cheapest option.

[Sakizashi]

I have used the AliExpress-equivalent of 3D printing shops, JLC 3DP (https://jlc3dp.com), with good success; printing quality was fine, tolerances were good, several different materials/processes to choose from. As with Ali, there are various coupons that you can use; shipping of course takes time especially if you choose the cheapest option.

JLC3DP doesn't offer the engineered nylons you might want for applications where you are worried about creep or water absorption. What they do have is great for accessories, though! In the US, at least, local printers and some of the larger shops are cheaper and faster than having parts made in China.

I have used UnionFab and a few others in China for metal, though, where there is a huge cost advantage for 17-4 and TC4

[rockerplates.de]

Party people, slightly off topic, but I know several of you print bike parts. I do too.
I've had my ender 3 for donkeys years, it was cheap, and it shows. It does print, but I'm increasingly running out of patience to baby sit it so that it prints properly.
What are you guys using? What should I buy?
I don't want to spend much (I don't sell prints), but I like the idea of something that just works when I turn it on, and prints clean  my ender 3 has issues with the z axis and it's supremely annoying to me.
Thanks in advance

Well, if you want to tinker go for prusa...if you want to have peace and use technical filaments like nylon....you would need to go for H2S from Bambu.
Avoid carbon fiber materials..the are usually not better, just easier to print...
It all comes down to material choice for your use case...
but invest in a bambu and you good to go....(heated chamber is a must)

[Blueberry]

I'm spoiled by the 3d printers I've had at work. Right now we've got a little Prusa i3 MK3S that's been fantastic. When worked as a lab mechanic at a university we had a whole little army of them for the students to use for their projects so I knew they were reliable. When my current work was looking for a new printer, I recommended it. They're not the cheapest FDM printers, when we got ours it was 999 USD. It's been rock solid for at least 3 years though. I've predominantly used them to make headset transition spacers so I can put whatever barstem I want on whatever frame.

We also have two Form3 resin printers from Formlabs. I usually prototype with the Prusa and then use the Forms for the final part. I've heard Prusa has a resin printer that's pretty good but resin printers in general are hella messy. Dealing with all the dirty isopropyl alcohol from cleaning that parts is annoying. I've heard you can leave it out in the sun so it evaporates and just leaves cured resin behind that can be thrown in the trash but we have hazardous waste pickup at work so we send our dirty IPA off with them.

[JJx]

Short answer is that if you want to be making parts that are reliable your price of entry is going to be a $30K printer. If you are willing to check them periodically and live on the edge, you can just use what you have. Like any part made with additive methods, voids and delamination are problems to manage.

I have made tons of reliable, functional parts on my bikes (mostly mounts) using my 250$cad Bambulab 3D printer (and countless things around the garage and the house). While I wouldn't rely on a printed item for something that would make me crash if it failed, I have no issues with other parts. My A1 mini was super functional for the price - PLA+, PETG, and TPU were very printable and can make functional parts. Upgrading to printer with an enclosure is worth it to be able to print ABS - it has a much better tolerance for heat. You can get around a lot of the limitations of printed parts with good design (make things thick), and choosing the correct print orientation and material.

At work we recently got a couple Bambulab H2 printers for prototyping and tooling. We have a machine shop, so 99% of production stuff is machined, but for fixtures, Jigs, and even functional prototyping, 3D printing works great. We still have a ~30k printer that we bought a couple years ago, that can make stronger parts, but 95% of the time I go to the H2S/D printers for their speed, size, and convenience.

I'm not exactly "into" 3D printing - but a lot of my hobbies and work benefit from printing, and so far my experience with Bambulab has been plug and play, super reliable and shockingly cheap. I've had many paper printers that required more fiddling/hr than my 3D printers.

Anyways, I think now is a good time to get into 3D printing, as the tech has reached a point where you can use it without having to fiddle with it. The Bambulab P1S combo is on sale for a very impressive price right now, but I've also heard good things about Elegoo, and Flashforge. I'd ensure the printer has auto bed leveling, and can print the filaments you want.

[Sakizashi]

I have made tons of reliable, functional parts on my bikes (mostly mounts) using my 250$cad Bambulab 3D printer (and countless things around the garage and the house). While I wouldn't rely on a printed item for something that would make me crash if it failed, I have no issues with other parts. My A1 mini was super functional for the price - PLA+, PETG, and TPU were very printable and can make functional parts. Upgrading to printer with an enclosure is worth it to be able to print ABS - it has a much better tolerance for heat. You can get around a lot of the limitations of printed parts with good design (make things thick), and choosing the correct print orientation and material.

At work we recently got a couple Bambulab H2 printers for prototyping and tooling. We have a machine shop, so 99% of production stuff is machined, but for fixtures, Jigs, and even functional prototyping, 3D printing works great. We still have a ~30k printer that we bought a couple years ago, that can make stronger parts, but 95% of the time I go to the H2S/D printers for their speed, size, and convenience.

I'm not exactly "into" 3D printing - but a lot of my hobbies and work benefit from printing, and so far my experience with Bambulab has been plug and play, super reliable and shockingly cheap. I've had many paper printers that required more fiddling/hr than my 3D printers.

Anyways, I think now is a good time to get into 3D printing, as the tech has reached a point where you can use it without having to fiddle with it. The Bambulab P1S combo is on sale for a very impressive price right now, but I've also heard good things about Elegoo, and Flashforge. I'd ensure the printer has auto bed leveling, and can print the filaments you want.

I was explicitly talking about bike parts that you care about failing. If you want to make mounting brackets or smth for tools you don't mind losing, or brackets for a basket or something where if one fails, it's not a big deal, that's one thing. But if you want to make headset parts or TT armrest spacers, you still want to go with a higher-end process.

Some of the really cool filaments, like NylonX carbon, can be made really strong even on cheap machines if you are really meticulous about printing. They perform really well in specific directions when tested-to-failure when new. However, in my experience, even "professionally" made parts with those filaments fail sooner than basic nylon 12 made on a good SLS or MJF machine. And a Bambulabs H2 setup with a dryer and stuff will still cost you close to $5K. I have no experience with the Markforged stuff, and see that they now have options in the $15K range that could do the trick. Either way, for most people, buying a cheap machine to prototype and then using a service to make the actual bike parts is still the way to go.

[armada]

I am going to pigiback on this thread and ask what stuff are all of you printing? Apart from a few tools and the ocasional headset spacer, I dont really have that many ideas

[Blueberry]

I am going to pigiback on this thread and ask what stuff are all of you printing? Apart from a few tools and the ocasional headset spacer, I dont really have that many ideas

I don't think you meant it this way but, "few tools and the occasional headset spacer" comes across as a little dismissive as that is a huge category that includes an absolutely massive range of opportunities for cool shit and creativity. To add a few more things to it, I have a spider that I prototyped with the printers at work and then sent out to get machined. I also had a rear light that the back broke off so I designed and printed a new one. Some people make aero fairings for various bike parts. I remember one person on this forum was printing an aero tool case that fit down by their seat tube/downtube junction.

On the industrial end, we're seeing more and more saddles and derailleur hangers that are 3d printed too.

[armada]

It wasnt meant dismisive at all. I am looking for ideas

[plocnik]

Tools, disc brake spacers, light mounts, headunit mounts and different attachment points are what I use my 3d printer for on bikes.
My next projects are an interface for a bearing press (until now I always pressed headsets with a threaded rod and a washer, but I'd like something better fitting for bottom brackets) and a mount to put a Varia on the screw on the Ergon seat (or the Specialized SWAT system).

[armada]

has anyone tried to 3d print something to face the brake mounts?

the original tools is extremely expensive and to my knowledge there are no real alternatives.