3D Printing Repair: How to Use Your Printer to Fix Everything

3D printing has become a widely used technology. It is spreading a lot and sooner it will be an important part of many industries. It has gain it’s popularity due to its efficiency, low waste generation and high precision. You can find one of the best 3D printer around you or in an online store. Many industries are using it while some will introduce this technology sooner. Medical industry, aerospace industry both are using it now and manufacturing their products with the help of 3D printing technology. This saves their time and makes it real quick as compared to the older processes. It has alos reduced the labour which save lot of money of yhe manufacturers.

It has several use in daily life also. It is said that it is a technology for the industries but, it is not so as one can use it for their casual need also. You can use it to repair any damages in your house or can fix an appliance with the help of 3D printing technology. There are many more things you can do with the help of 3D printing technology but we are here going to discuss some of them only. In the following brief guide, we’ll discuss what types of things have been printed, how you can get started, what tools you should use, how to make your prints look smooth and finished, tips and tricks for printing useful things, legal and health questions, as well as some examples of successful projects.

Things that can be fixed

You might have heard that 3D printed parts are excellent for rapid prototyping, but they can also help you around the house when you need the required part to fix that thing you want to get fixed but somehow are not able to do.

So the immediate question is, what types of fixes can be done by 3D printing? And the immediate answer is, a lot of things! Everything from curtain rod mounts to leaky garden hoses to an ice cream maker lid to refrigerator clips to car brake line clips can and has been 3D printed.

There are really few limitations to what 3D printing can do as long as the application doesn’t encounter extremely high temperatures or excessively heavy loads (when most filaments are concerned).

Things you need

Before going to repair your things it will be better if you collect all the things you will need to repair your object.

Tools

In order to model a customized part to fix anything you want to fix, you will need a few tools. While it is certainly possible to scan your parts, 3D scanners can cost you several hundreds of dollars for best 3D printer and do not always give the most accurate dimensions for a final functional part. Therefore, the most accurate way to print a part is to use measurement tools and make a model of your own part in 3D modeling software.

1. Calipers: A pair of calipers is quite helpful for measuring the critical dimensions of an object since they can measure length, inside diameter, outside diameter, and depth of holes with ease and with less error. You can also get a digital one for easement.

2. Protractor (digital): Many objects will not simply be a square or rectangular object and may contain angular parts that need to be designed within a tight tolerance. A digital protractor can help by giving you an idea of what angles are used on an object in order to recreate the object as a 3D model.

3. 3D scanner (optional): 3D scanners allow for an individual part to be scanned and directly converted into a 3D file. Unfortunately, most consumer-grade 3D scanners do not have a resolution better than 0.5-1 mm, therefore, extremely small parts can not be scan well. Additionally, the tolerance on your parts will be off by around as much as a whole millimeter, which may be unacceptable in a functional application.

Knowledge

Once you have identified the part you would like to recreate and you have decided that you can not find any existing file to print, you should take a look at these Instructables, as they will give you a general overview of the process of creating a 3D printed replacement part and the types of considerations you should obviously take into account.

Focus on the material you are going to use for you model and it should be long lasting and hard which should not break easily wasting all your hardwork.

One thing you should keep in mind that the product you printed must not be same as of someone because it will be considered as illegal and the owner may fine you for this. So be careful when you are making one.

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