Sorry to ask such basic questions but,
1. What does being on this Ping List do for me?
2. I’m very new to 3D printing, but I had an idea to print out a kind of gear which I will describe, but I cannot understand how it would successfully print. So, for the sake of explaining, imagine you wanted to print a small wagon wheel. It has a circular interior hub from which spokes extend to an exterior, circular wheel. The spokes attach to the centerline of the hub and wheel. I can visualize how the hub and wheel would print, but the spokes are suspended above the printing surface, so how would I print such a shape? You could attempt to print it vertically, but it still wouldn’t work for some of the spokes, the ones that extend laterally.
When you read this, bear in mind I’ve been in manufacturing forever, but am not yet a 3D printer user, so this may just be all bs.
In molding, you have to design in flow paths for the resin if the shape of the part isn’t adequate, that get removed later. Similarly here, you might need to put little risers to support the spokes (maybe not full length, you can probably freespan a little), and trim them off later.
Another application for 3D printing is to make molds for the real parts, or a positive of the part which is then used to make a one-shot or a durable mold. (This is informational, to give you new perspectives on how to use 3D, not that it really helps in your scenario)
Print it horizontally with thin support structures for the spokes, or vertically with none of the wheel spokes exactly lateral. You should be able to position the wheel so that each spoke is at some angle, other than parallel, to the printing bed.
Your wagon wheel will print with support material under the spokes … you remove the support material after the job is complete
1. It will get you pinged to any article that strikes my fancy.
2. The wagon wheel, two ways, a) There are removable supports, either snapped off after the print is done, or washed away in a suitable solvent, often nothing more than water. b) You could print the wheel in two horizontal halves, and glue, melt, snap or pin them together after printing.