Good idea, I hope in a near future a similar company will ask for the review, I can ask same parts manufactured with CNC and SLM. (or maybe again PCBWAY(?) )
I love all your tests, including the twist drill. I have the exact same types of questions you do! You can learn a LOT about important properties in just a few tests by choosing tests carefully, like you do! BTW, the results link in the video description is broken. Video 232 is the last one to have a working results page. Maybe a sync problem between your staging and production? Have a great day!
I love the addition of adding the twist drill to the test, just because. Know we the masses know of the durability of the 3d printed parts, in a general sense. Keep up this great work!
Consumer "grade" is definitely there already. The problem is consumer "price". It's only reasonable for high end consumers who need custom parts. E.g. if you wanted a custom sprocket for your bike with a nonstandard number of teeth, metal 3D printing could make it for you at a price that is reasonable in the context of bicycle building. I'm referring to ordering parts from 3d printing services. Metal 3D printers are too expensive for ordinary people.
Most of the powder printers tech is tied up with a patent so unless someone comes up with a method that they open source or one of the patent holders makes a consumer grade machine we will be waiting over a decade at least.
SLM printing is not and will probably never be a consumer grade process. Beside the lasers and high precision optics, the materials are inevitably expensive due to the powdering process and the machines consume a lot of Nitrogen or Argon gases. In terms of use it involves handling very fine metal powders that are potentially risky for your health and can explode if mishandled. You need safety equipments and very clean work practice as well. Finally, making good quality parta in SLM is not trivial. There are way more elements/parameters to think about (heat buildup/transfer, sag, residual stresses and thermal deformations, annealing steps) to make a good part. This is aerospace grade technology and thus come as a premium. For more consumer / lower cost applications, binder / sintering methods (fdm with binder/powder blend or binder jetting on powder bed) seem more appropriate. But due to the equipment required and complexity of the binder removal/sintering steps, those steps are ideally used as a service. Some filament makers have developped that strategy (buy filament, then send part to their partner for sintering).
@@jcugnoni Also there will always be much less demand for metal 3D printing. Normal people need an order of magnitude fewer metal objects than plastic objects.
@@frankbauerfula sprocket would make more sense to get laser or water jet cut, which I think is far cheaper than 3d printing metal. But clearly all of these things still aren't that cheap, even if it is less expensive than metal 3d printing.
Instead of printing a drill. You could totally print a tool holder, as in carbide insert holder, so replace the cutting surfaces with inserts. You could make a simple custom tool that way.
Great tests and discussion. Makes me want to try PCBWay services for some parts in the future. By the way, how much time does it take between the order and delivered part in your experience?
Maybe the drill is not something you would print, but there are absolutely cases where there are no commercially available version you can buy. If you need a custom milling bit for instance, or some other custom shaping tool. And some geometries might not be simple to make with regular processes, so regular custom manufacturing might also be impossible or really expensive.
Very interesting video))) The tests are very informative) I wonder what if we print cutters from aluminum, in which there will be grooves for carbide inserts, and check how they will drill and mill)
Good thinking, but stainless steel would be much better for this (with space for carbide inserts). But precise surfaces should be worked out. 3D printing don't have nice surface like CNC machined parts.
The one practical and critical measurement that you didn't make is the dimensions of the drill as if it is dimensionally accurate enough then custom cutting tools suddenly become a very real possibility......
If you take a closer look of the surface, you will see how rough it is. Not good for accuracy as it is now. If we really need an accurate tool, functional surfaces should be smoothed.
@@MyTechFun Figured as much but if the diameter is precise and concentric then custom flat-bottom countersinks, annular cutters and other things that are easy to sharpen could be a real possibility as for most cutters the shape/flutes tend to be the most complex part and the actual cutting edges tend to be relative simple by comparison.
Same thinking we have. I already wrote to PCBWAY about this request, I hope they will accept it. Alu and Stainless steel what I am curious about. At least 1-2 test objects (per material) shouldn't break the PCBWAYs budget ;-)
PCB is very expensive...i dont have an enclosure and i wanted a mini satsana air duct and i uploaded the file and i saw a price of around 40$ ! for ABS FDM 3d printing! Finally i made an enclosure and i printed mine with 1,4$ !
Yes, the cheapest option is if you can do it yourself ;-) But it is good to know the possibilities, if you really need something from Alu for example, you can do an order.
@@MyTechFun as a designer it's (PCBWay) a useful resource for prototyping. Never have used them yet, because we have most our own machines, but great to see their accuracy. i may have missed it, but what was the turn around time from ordering to delivered?
What was the temperature outside for the test? Curious because I had my only 3d printed metal parts fail last Winter outside with no stress besides temp. They just cracked in half when I wasn't watching. Curious if temperature makes a big difference for 3d printed metal failures.
@@MyTechFun Temperature tests would be awesome to see on your channel if you also find that an interesting question. Mine failed at about 4 days of 15°-20°F...not sure what that is about -6° or 7°C? Love the channel. Glad to see you still at it all this time later. Congrats!
Good tests again. Would be really interesting if you could have tested the same parts CNC from raw metal, you need to dig deep into your wallet and get that done! Just kidding although it would be really interesting to see. Do you know if they heat treated the tool steel?
I know these tests are expensive, but comparing these prints to CNC machined parts of the same materials would have been interesting.
Thanks!
Good idea, I hope in a near future a similar company will ask for the review, I can ask same parts manufactured with CNC and SLM. (or maybe again PCBWAY(?) )
The drill bit was impressive indeed
As always, thanks for the testing! Fascinating results.
I love all your tests, including the twist drill. I have the exact same types of questions you do! You can learn a LOT about important properties in just a few tests by choosing tests carefully, like you do!
BTW, the results link in the video description is broken. Video 232 is the last one to have a working results page. Maybe a sync problem between your staging and production? Have a great day!
Sorry about the broken link, I can fix this only in 4-5 hours from now, when I get home from workplace.
I love the addition of adding the twist drill to the test, just because. Know we the masses know of the durability of the 3d printed parts, in a general sense.
Keep up this great work!
Would love to see more of the process of how those were made. How far are we from metal 3d printing as a "consumer grade" product ?
Consumer "grade" is definitely there already. The problem is consumer "price". It's only reasonable for high end consumers who need custom parts. E.g. if you wanted a custom sprocket for your bike with a nonstandard number of teeth, metal 3D printing could make it for you at a price that is reasonable in the context of bicycle building.
I'm referring to ordering parts from 3d printing services. Metal 3D printers are too expensive for ordinary people.
Most of the powder printers tech is tied up with a patent so unless someone comes up with a method that they open source or one of the patent holders makes a consumer grade machine we will be waiting over a decade at least.
SLM printing is not and will probably never be a consumer grade process. Beside the lasers and high precision optics, the materials are inevitably expensive due to the powdering process and the machines consume a lot of Nitrogen or Argon gases. In terms of use it involves handling very fine metal powders that are potentially risky for your health and can explode if mishandled. You need safety equipments and very clean work practice as well. Finally, making good quality parta in SLM is not trivial. There are way more elements/parameters to think about (heat buildup/transfer, sag, residual stresses and thermal deformations, annealing steps) to make a good part. This is aerospace grade technology and thus come as a premium. For more consumer / lower cost applications, binder / sintering methods (fdm with binder/powder blend or binder jetting on powder bed) seem more appropriate. But due to the equipment required and complexity of the binder removal/sintering steps, those steps are ideally used as a service. Some filament makers have developped that strategy (buy filament, then send part to their partner for sintering).
@@jcugnoni Also there will always be much less demand for metal 3D printing. Normal people need an order of magnitude fewer metal objects than plastic objects.
@@frankbauerfula sprocket would make more sense to get laser or water jet cut, which I think is far cheaper than 3d printing metal. But clearly all of these things still aren't that cheap, even if it is less expensive than metal 3d printing.
Instead of printing a drill. You could totally print a tool holder, as in carbide insert holder, so replace the cutting surfaces with inserts. You could make a simple custom tool that way.
4:44 And they told you they're more expensive because they're higher quality? Higher than what?? How can that part go through QC?
He probs chose no QC
Very unique test. Totally baffled that it could drill steel 😮
Great tests and discussion. Makes me want to try PCBWay services for some parts in the future. By the way, how much time does it take between the order and delivered part in your experience?
In my case, it was 3 weeks (to EU)
I’m trying them out on an aluminum print. So far they’re a week overdue. They really have a way to go on QC looking at those deformed pieces
Yes, and I am sure, that they are not damaged during shipping. Packaging is great.
Would be interesting to see how much that drill bit can take before it needs sharpening
Maybe the drill is not something you would print, but there are absolutely cases where there are no commercially available version you can buy. If you need a custom milling bit for instance, or some other custom shaping tool. And some geometries might not be simple to make with regular processes, so regular custom manufacturing might also be impossible or really expensive.
Yes, I agree. Probably next time I will design some custom lathe cutting tool, with some shape on it (like waves or similar..)
Very impressive!
Not cheap, but damn, that's not expensive either!
Very interesting video))) The tests are very informative) I wonder what if we print cutters from aluminum, in which there will be grooves for carbide inserts, and check how they will drill and mill)
Good thinking, but stainless steel would be much better for this (with space for carbide inserts). But precise surfaces should be worked out. 3D printing don't have nice surface like CNC machined parts.
@@MyTechFun I was also shocked to see the deformation and warping in the parts. Must be from the sintering?? after file is printed?
Yeah... we spend hours printing things we could get for cents in the hardware store, so no worries about the drill haha
:-)
Why not ? SLS Metal parts are extremely hard (but brittle) so drilling is no issue.
The one practical and critical measurement that you didn't make is the dimensions of the drill as if it is dimensionally accurate enough then custom cutting tools suddenly become a very real possibility......
If you take a closer look of the surface, you will see how rough it is. Not good for accuracy as it is now. If we really need an accurate tool, functional surfaces should be smoothed.
@@MyTechFun Figured as much but if the diameter is precise and concentric then custom flat-bottom countersinks, annular cutters and other things that are easy to sharpen could be a real possibility as for most cutters the shape/flutes tend to be the most complex part and the actual cutting edges tend to be relative simple by comparison.
It may have been interesting to compare say printed Aluminum to CNC aluminum to determine what percentage powdered 3D printing is to solid metal.
Same thinking we have. I already wrote to PCBWAY about this request, I hope they will accept it. Alu and Stainless steel what I am curious about. At least 1-2 test objects (per material) shouldn't break the PCBWAYs budget ;-)
PCB is very expensive...i dont have an enclosure and i wanted a mini satsana air duct and i uploaded the file and i saw a price of around 40$ ! for ABS FDM 3d printing! Finally i made an enclosure and i printed mine with 1,4$ !
Yes, the cheapest option is if you can do it yourself ;-) But it is good to know the possibilities, if you really need something from Alu for example, you can do an order.
Thanks!
Thank you, I am glad that you find it interesting. I was curious too.
@@MyTechFun as a designer it's (PCBWay) a useful resource for prototyping. Never have used them yet, because we have most our own machines, but great to see their accuracy. i may have missed it, but what was the turn around time from ordering to delivered?
Can we make gun parts?
Impressive
What was the comparison for the "higher price" comment?
Average Chinese SLM 3D printing service, I tried several (not EU or US, they are more expensive)
What was the temperature outside for the test?
Curious because I had my only 3d printed metal parts fail last Winter outside with no stress besides temp. They just cracked in half when I wasn't watching.
Curious if temperature makes a big difference for 3d printed metal failures.
It was approx 16°C
@@MyTechFun Temperature tests would be awesome to see on your channel if you also find that an interesting question.
Mine failed at about 4 days of 15°-20°F...not sure what that is about -6° or 7°C?
Love the channel. Glad to see you still at it all this time later. Congrats!
Good tests again. Would be really interesting if you could have tested the same parts CNC from raw metal, you need to dig deep into your wallet and get that done! Just kidding although it would be really interesting to see.
Do you know if they heat treated the tool steel?
Already suggested earlier and wake up my curiosity, sooner or later I will test this. About heat threat, probably not.
🙂❤❤❤❤