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FYI...

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Thank you for the information!.

73, Ray, KE5VJH

Awesome! Thanks Kelly for the info.
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73
William Collier
KG5SVM

Hey, Ray --
73
William Collier
KG5SVM

Help me understand, is this a different stand alone repeater from our UAARC/Upshur ARES repeater since the frequencies and tones are different?

Thanks and 73,
Ray, KE5VJH

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Here is a link to a Google earth map showing the repeater network links including the ETECS repeater in Gilmer?

Jason

Welcome to both the area and the club.

It was nice meeting both you and Cat tonight.


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73,

Rod
KN0WER

Success, and failures.

Getting started with the Ender 3 was easier than I expected. Included with it was a small roll of white PLA filament, and considering that PLA is supposed to be one of the easiest material to print, I figured I'd start there.

I stumbled upon "test cubes" during my search for printers some time ago. However, I was impatient, and didn't want to wait hours for the large test prints to complete. That's why I printed a TinyTester from Thingverse. () It only took about a half hour and gave me some idea as to what this printer could do.



The white one is my first print, using all default settings, except for 100% infill per the designer's instructions.
I must admit that I was quite shocked when I saw how far this thing can bridge between two points unsupported. I was not expecting that. Also, all 6 holes on the white model are within 0.001" of each other, ignoring the slight bump on each due to the path of the print nozzle.
The brown version (print attempt 3) was printed in Overture matte chocolate PLA, using a slightly lower print quality. It seems to me that the temperature may have been too high, or that the print cooling fan wasn't working, which I discovered sometime later... Mind you that none of these were printed on the highest quality setting of 0.16 mm per layer. (It may go thinner, but my slicer stops there.)? Most of these were at 0.2 mm or 0.22 mm.

Print attempt 2 was also a success. I printed a mini snap together case which I expected to be larger.



It won't even fit a full-sized SD card. Oh well. It looks cool. I do regret not printing one that looked like a cookie....
This was printed at (I believe) 20% infill. That means that in the solid portions, any volume within a specified number of layers (passes) of filament is infilled with a geometric pattern to reduce the density of the print, printing time, and material consumption. Both flats seem somewhat weak, and I could probably break them with my fingers. The sides do have some give, but are not flimsy by any standard. These are solid PLA and are about 1/16" thick, except for the one half which has an additional lip around the top edge. (This makes it noticeably more sturdy.)

I lost count past this. I started using some Overture PETG filament to print the smaller parts for Cliff's projects. Take one failed miserably. Another print, which was a two at once print I combined from two files, got about half way done before the two pieces got stock together somehow. I have reason to believe that the print cooling fan was not on (a g-code output error, perhaps). Another print looked funny, so I paused it to clean around the nozzle.

That was a bad idea. Liquid plastic oozed from the nozzle into a puddle and deformed the top layer of the print. Since I was only minutes in, I canceled the print and started over.

Once I manually set the fan speed PETG printing was much better. Two sliders and a plunger printed just fine. Then, I started on a case for my transistor tester, which I designed in FreeCad.



(The print finished as I uploaded the picture. Hopefully I show it with the tester inside soon.)
Well, it doesn't fit. I overestimated the accuracy of the printer here, and the case is a few thousandths off.
Inside width: 2.465"
Design width: 2.485"
PCB width: 2.483"
Okay, I guess 0.002" tolerance was a little ambitious....

But guess what? My specified wall thickness was 0.050". The print shows an average of 0.0495", high of 52 thousandths, low of 47. Interestingly, there is a slight lip on one edge, about 0.006". The sides should have been smooth. Apparently there are some limitations to precision and accuracy on this unit, but to be fair, I haven't performed any thorough calibrations, and the bed could be slightly uneven as well.

I think I can make this work with some sanding and filing. I don't have much material to work with though, so I may shrink the PCB rather than the side walls of the enclosure.

I noticed that I really need a filament guide. It wants to bind a little because of the sharp angle into the extruder, No worries, that's an easy to print upgrade.

Great. I'll try and see what I can do. I'm looking at the slicer data now.




This could take a while....

HA HA

Hi folks.
Since Cliff prompted me, I thought I'd share one of my newest projects.

Last week I got a Creality Ender 3 3D printer. This seems to be what most people consider an entry level printer, but it seems really good for the price. The build was simple, and the quality impressed me. All the needed tools were included in the box, too. So far I have made three prints for a total of two finished assemblies, and I have been happy with how easy the slicer software was to use, in addition to the fact that there are a great number of free files online that are essentially ready to print.

I'm using Linux based software, and that includes FreeCAD for modeling and Ultimaker Cura as the slicer. I highly recommend both. FreeCAD was a bit of a challenge for me to get started with, but once you understand constraints, it seems to work quite well. I think that both are available for Windows, and I believe FreeCAD can be installed on MAC OS as well.

My main reasons for getting this printer were to print parts and enclosures. If you've ever gone shopping for project boxes, you'll know they aren't cheap. I felt confident that I could produce my own and save some money in the long run. In the parts category, I have plans to print things like knobs, shafts, mounts, and antenna parts. Sometimes the little odds and ends that take a project from mediocre to professional grade lie out of reach for the creative ham because of cost, or unavailability. Or, the construction techniques demand tools and equipment that aren't worth getting for one or two projects. While 3D printing doesn't seem to be plug-n-play like an inkjet printer, I think there is a lot of potential for the tool. For one, many soldering hobby kits come without cases. The same applies to home-brew equipment like QRP transmitters or crystal sets. Being able to print enclosures for whatever project you make allows them to store easier, and protect them from mechanical damage or accidental contact with live conductors. This removes several excuses for not building and using your own homebrew equipment. One can print spacers for open wire line, or even open coaxial cables. Antenna insulators, spacers, mounts, coil forms, each of these could be printed. Lastly, it provides an opportunity to experiment with a variety of engineering and mechanical techniques in an inexpensive and customizable way that doesn't require the likes of a milling machine and years of training on its use.

3D printing does have limitations. For one, plastic isn't as resilient as steel or aluminum. Equipment that needs shielding would require this on the PCB level, or a conductive liner inside a plastic case. Moreover, the design work needed to produce custom enclosures may be more complex than necessary if the project fits in something like an Altoids tin or an outlet box that is readily available. I also think that in some ways, a balance needs to be had between utilizing what materials are available around you and custom manufacturing what is needed. There is also some inherent limitations on what temperature ranges 3D printed parts can be exposed to without deformation, as well as resistance to chemicals or hazardous environments.

Lord willing, I'll make some posts concerning my projects with this tool, including any snags or difficulties I encounter in the design and manufacturing process.

I'm still trying to decide what to print next. Everything I can think of will take a very long time to print.
A time long enough that it makes me slightly hesitant to press the button I'm talking hours of printing. Hours of time for something to go wrong, leaving me meters of printer filament in a tangled web or a giant pile of smoldering, flaming, off-gassing, goo that was once a functioning 3D printer. Might my first three successful prints have been an abnormality? Might it get worse from here on? Ought I print only small things until I develop confidence? Must I keep a close eye on it whilst printing? Should I put it in a fireproof enclosure and purge it with Argon? A deep vacuum? Should I mount a smoke detector near by? Ought I to mount a camera near by so I make sure I can see what the fire looked like before the room caught fire?
.

Or, should I throw caution to the wind--showing no fear for what could happen, looking only to the future with hope and ambition--and initiate the printing of the largest, most complex, awe-inspiring object I can contrive so that I can work FT8 for an hour and then go horseback riding, knowing (well, hoping...) that I'll come back to something great?


Yes, these are the things I contemplate when I plug in the cord.
Call me crazy.

I probably am.

But it was a fun read, no?


Okay, I probably went overboard on that....

73 all, I hope somebody thinks that's funny.

Tommy,
That was?Avon Bateman KD5KIY that gave us the presentation on 3D printing April 12th 2021. I think he lives in the Big Sandy area.
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73
William Collier
KG5SVM

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Hi Tommy,

I'm glad to have you join us, Jason. It looks like you're quite an ambitious fellow!
I admire your clubs work on getting those sirens tested. I think emergency preparedness is overlooked by a large number of people, and its great to see folks paying attention to the "little" details like whether or not self tests actually reflect the status of critical infrastructure.

As for the events, I also hope we'll continue adding them to our agenda. In the last few years we've had some traffic training days, NCS training days, a recent repeater project (which took about a month of sporadic work--someone correct me if I have that wrong), at least one remodel day for the old repeater site, a Field Day event last year, and the recent POTA event. Weekly nets generally have a short training activity somewhat targeted at the ARES members, and in my opinion, encourage the participating stations to do more than drop their call in and run.

There has been limited discussion regarding a Winter Field Day activation, but that was still in the works last month.

Each club meeting has a short presentation, sometimes its more of a recap on recent club activities and plans, other times its a full presentation on something ham related. The last one was on SWR, by a guest from Shreveport. We've seen hams speak on DMR, transmission lines, 3D printers, and other topics. We've had a few folks bring show-and-tell projects, and the last one was an RDF antenna display brought by Jerry, WA5OKO.

Anyways, folks, if I mistyped anything, jump in and correct me.

73's all

Yeah, I may know someone....
I got a Creality Ender 3 last week. I'm still burning it in (ha ha) and haven't blown anything up yet, but I can give it a shot.

My test prints worked well, in my opinion. It stuck to the bed and did exactly what the code told it to, so I can't complain. If I was making an enclosure for something really nice I would probably sand the outside to make it smooth, but I don't know if that will get better as I make adjustments. Texture is nice sometimes anyway.

You can send me the files however you like, or post them on here and let everyone else see what you're up to.

I can't remember who it was that did the presentation on 3D printers. Sorry. But if that fellow should see this, I'm sure he can produce a higher quality print than I could considering that he has done more with it than I have.

73 de KG5ZSU

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Sorry, meant to delete the copied last person's text.

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Does anyone know of someone that might be willing to do a simple 3D print job if I paid for the materials? I got a little power/SWR/Dummy load gadget and a enclosure would be nice to have. I have the stl files for the enclosure.