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3D printed side pocket

A

A5555

Well Known Member
I have a metal side pocket that is simply an "L" shaped alum piece. Sometimes it is a pain to get something out of the corner or a piece of paper falls thru. it's not a big deal but could be better. I'm working on my 3D skills and made a printed side pocket with angled access and big radii at the bottom, weight = 160 gm.

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the mat'l is PLA. my first print. will try some other material when the design is final. the big radii at the bottom are printed with 30% infill to reduce weight. I think I can get the overall weight down from 160 gm to 120 gm.

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That's really cool. Nice job.

There is a video on the eaa hints for homebuilders site by the guy from Rainbow Aviation that shows dozens of cool parts made with a 3d printer.
 
dtw_rv6 said:
The part looks really good, but you may find that PLA will start to sag if your airplane spends any time out in the sun.

The materials with higher glass transition temperatures like ABS and Polycarbonate are a little trickier to print with, but the parts are much more robust than PLA.

The downside is that I've had to build a heated enclosure around my printer before I could get anywhere with ABS. Polycarbonate requires much higher temperatures than even ABS - chamber is 70C, bed is 140C, and nozzle is up around 285C. ABS works with a bed temp around 110C with the same heated chamber.
Click to expand...

Maybe consider the PLA piece to be your prototype and, when you've got it the way you like it, send your file off to one of the print houses to be printed in ABS or PC.
 
The TAZ 6 has no problem with ABS. It my default material. Just use the supplied profile for ABS. Also, ABS is lighter than PLA.

For those new to 3D printers, different printers will have different strengths and trade offs. The TAZ 6 is a reliable and accurate workhorse. It's also priced accordingly.

Steve - I hope you will post the installed part. This looks like a great way to finish that side pocket.
 
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