3D Printing for Discontinued SMT "A" Slide?

[atgcpaul]

Lee, how did the slides work out? Since we are looking at printing some, please let us know if you have suggestions for changes or improvements or if you had any issues with them.

What material was used for the printing?

If these were the slides I printed, I used PLA.

[cwsmith]

Pappy,

I just sent you a private message!

CWS

[Pappy]

Thanks for the replies, Charlie and Paul. I called the local library yesterday and they don't have printers at this time. I'll look for a local company next week that could print some for me.

[atgcpaul]

Pappy,

I just did the drawings and have no way to print, then or now. I worked with "atgcpaul" on this little project as he had the 3D printing capability available to him at the time. As you know, he's been moving around the world since then.
got back to it.

Sorry Pappy. I used the 3D printers at our lab but the space they were in has been long reconfigured and the printers moved out after I moved away (they weren't "mine" anyway) And now that I'm back, I no longer have access to them. They're actually being used for a higher calling now supporting one of our labs that is 3D printing organs--yes, you read that right, but don't expect spare hearts or livers anytime soon.

I just found several "3d print services" in Facebook marketplace and there are several online services that will give you a quote based on your STL (I have not used one myself). IIRC, I fit several of these in an envelope for CWS for 2 postage stamps. They are really easy to print and cost pennies but I'd imagine someone would have to charge at least $5-10 to make it worth their time.

I've been debating whether to buy my own 3d printer for a while now, too, but I can't justify one.

Paul

[woodturner]

OFF TOPIC:

Charlie,

I apologize as I have not had time to test the slides that I received last month.

Lee, how did the slides work out? Since we are looking at printing some, please let us know if you have suggestions for changes or improvements or if you had any issues with them.

What material was used for the printing?

[cwsmith]

Pappy,

I just did the drawings and have no way to print, then or now. I worked with "atgcpaul" on this little project as he had the 3D printing capability available to him at the time. As you know, he's been moving around the world since then.

At the time I was pretty enthusiastic about getting a 3D printer myself, but there was so many "fake" start-ups out there advertising what looked like really great printers that never came to fruition and we have only one retailer in my area with anything. At the time I just shelved the idea and frankly never got back to it.

The drawings that the final pieces were printed from are available for download on Post 81 above. It has been a few years so I've just about forgotten the details. I'm really sorry that I can't print these for you personally.

CWS

[Pappy]

CWS, are you still able/willing to print these? I am getting back into woodworking after a long layoff and need to rebuild both my SMT's.

[cwsmith]

Hank,

Please, no apology is necessary!

Your work is by far more important than anything I can imagine us doing here and I salute your tremendous efforts in helping all those in need.

May God bless you and those who both work for and/or are in need if such relief,


CWS

[leehljp]

OFF TOPIC:

Charlie,

I apologize as I have not had time to test the slides that I received last month.

I posted a new thread on what I have been doing for the past 4 weeks.
http://www.sawdustzone.org/showthrea...4-weeks-for-me!

[cwsmith]

Note: I tried to do a slight edit of an error and somehow managed to delete the whole post. So, here is the same post, word-for-word, with the slight edit done. However, since I deleted the first, this is now out of sequence order and would have been place at #80, just in front of the last two responses to that original post.

So Sorry,

CWS

*****************

Well it has just been a little over a week of trying the new Slides out on my SMT and they seem to be working well. I'm not really doing any cutting as the shop is down, waiting for relocation to the new building in the backyard, but still I've run the SMT back and forth several times, a few days this week, with a moderate load on the table and see no binding, wear, etc.

I was hoping to get some feedback as to how the old slides wore out or broke, but there have been no responses.

To sum up our little adventure here,

Hank Lee posed the question that if the original slides were difficult to get, out of stock, etc, could they be 3D printed? The discovered answer was that Slide A could and Slide B could not. Slide B has some protrusions that simply didn't lend itself to 3D printing.

While we were playing around with that attempt, the thought of redesigning both A and B came to mind and I redesigned them so they could be printed. That was successful but showed some weakness in the required locating pins.

Paul (atcgpaul) suggested that we might be able to redesign the parts replacing the individual designs of A and B to one single design that could be used in both positions. He then made a rough sketch of what he saw as a solution. I took a bit more complicated approach and again found some problems with pin protrusions being weak and also some manual rework required to make my design work.

Paul's design proved the best solution and the 3D printed parts worked very nicely... and those are the parts that I've played with this past week. Bottom line is that I think Paul's (atcgpaul) design is a perfect candidate for anyone who might want to 3D print this part locally.

While the original Ryobi design required two different design pieces, this is a single design, which would be used in both top and bottom positions. While the Ryobi design could be rotated 180-degrees for two wear edges, the new design can be rotated 90-degrees, providing four wear edges. And, since they can be exchanged top-to-bottom, you actually have eight wear edges... I think a big advantage.

As Ballard pointed out (message #77 above), these parts are still available and fairly cheap. I'm not so sure you can print them that cheaply even if you have your own 3D printer; but the initial thoughts were that they may not be available (I guess one of them wasn't at the time) forever.

I did some checking in my area and found a couple of sources for 3D printing. I have not looked for a cost estimate though.

In any case, here are some final photos, and the "STL" file that anyone can copy for their further use. You would simply give that file to whatever local source you may have for their printing. The file is listed as an attachment below.



Note, if you notice that little extra fiber strand in the first picture, it can be flaked off. However, it isn't consistently on all the parts and it didn't bother the installation. I decided to leave it there, simply to show that no re-work was required and what you see is the final printing quality from the MakerBot that Paul was using.

If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask,

CWS

[Black walnut]

Well it has just been a little over a week of trying the new Slides out on my SMT and they seem to be working well. I'm not really doing any cutting as the shop is down, waiting for relocation to the new building in the backyard, but still I've run the SMT back and forth several times, a few days this week, with a moderate load on the table and see no binding, wear, etc.

I was hoping to get some feedback as to how the old slides wore out or broke, but there have been no responses.

To sum up our little adventure here,

Hank Lee posed the question that if the original slides were difficult to get, out of stock, etc, could they be 3D printed? The discovered answer was that Slide A could and Slide B could not. Slide B has some protrusions that simply didn't lend itself to 3D printing.

While we were playing around with that attempt, the thought of redesigning both A and B came to mind and I redesigned them so they could be printed. That was successful but showed some weakness in the required locating pins.

Paul (atcgpaul) suggested that we might be able to redesign the parts replacing the individual designs of A and B to one single design that could be used in both positions. He then made a rough sketch of what he saw as a solution. I took a bit more complicated approach and again found some problems with pin protrusions being weak and also some manual rework required to make my design work.

Paul's design proved the best solution and the 3D printed parts worked very nicely... and those are the parts that I've played with this past week. Bottom line is that I think Paul's (atcgpaul) design is a perfect candidate for anyone who might want to 3D print this part locally.

While the original Ryobi design required two different design pieces, this is a single design, which would be used in both top and bottom positions. While the Ryobi design could be rotated 180-degrees for two wear edges, the new design can be rotated 90-degrees, providing four wear edges. And, since they can be exchanged top-to-bottom, you actually have eight wear edges... I think a big advantage.

As Ballard pointed out (message #77 above), these parts are still available and fairly cheap. I'm not so sure you can print them that cheaply even if you have your own 3D printer; but the initial thoughts were that they may not be available (I guess one of them wasn't at the time) forever.

I did some checking in my area and found a couple of sources for 3D printing. I have not looked for a cost estimate though.

In any case, here are some final photos, and the "STL" file that anyone can copy for their further use. You would simply give that file to whatever local source you may have for their printing. The file is listed as an attachment below.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]22803[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]22804[/ATTACH]

Note, if you notice that little extra fiber strand in the first picture, it can be flaked off. However, it isn't consistently on all the parts and it didn't bother the installation. I decided to leave it there, simply to show that no re-work was required and what you see is the final printing quality from the MakerBot that Paul was using.

If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask,

CWS

Bravo to You and Paul. The abilities and resourcefulness as well as knowledge keeps amazing me.

[d_meister]

"I was hoping to get some feedback as to how the old slides wore out or broke, but there have been no responses."


My slides broke when I dropped the SMT years ago. I bought replacements and spares at the time. My SMT has a lot of slide-miles on it, but there has been no need to adjust or compensate for wear since replacement after the gravity incident. I would guess that would be the likeliest failure mode. The redesign is inspired, congratulations to the design team!

[cwsmith]

Thanks Lee,

That's good information to have. I've thought about ordering spare parts, but honestly for the significant (to me anyway) amount of time and wood I've put through my BT, it is holding up very well. My particular SMT was well aligned right out of the box, and it is still running true.

About the only thing I use my SMT for though is for making a few Quaker-style raised panels which I made a jig for. I do all my cross-cutting on my RAS which is pretty much dedicated to that task; I leave the BT dedicated to ripping and in that role it is a most satisfying tool.

Still, for anyone worried about having a spare this or that, they would probably best get their orders in for whatever parts they might need. I have no idea how long Ryobi or the other suppliers will continue to stock such parts; and, as we already know, parts like "Slide A" may well be gone. That is why I think this little 3D project was important. If we can print these then no BT3 owner should ever have to worry. Personally, I would not be opposed to drawing any plastic part for this purpose, if the membership felt it necessary. Personally, it would just be a matter of finding the time to do this.

CWS

[ballard770]

I just ordered 10 slide (B) at .97 ea + $6.00 S&H for order <$10.00. Computes to $1.57 ea. (RYOBI 800-525-2579 option 1)

FYI, they have over 200 in stock and apparently 1,000 on order. I may have ordered when not needed but if they sell the 200 parts and the info about 1000 o order is not correct then I would be SOL for the future. So as a 'belt and braces' type of guy I ordered 10 ea.

PS If you are ordering parts and have a S&H plateau to meet the special T-Nut P/N 969251001 @ .97 is handy to have if you are going to attach anything to your Ryobi saw.

Also 1/4-20 t-bolts (may be separate or with locknuts as used for battery clamps in cars) available at some auto parts stores are handy to go in the narrow slot at the back of the saw for attaching a outfeed table extension. They may be too long but just cut them to length as desired.

[cwsmith]

Paul,

I'm looking forward to seeing the new part. I don't know that 'slightly taller' should matter too much, but we'll see. The big question from my perspective is the wear/durability issue and I don't know if I can answer that. The test would be to have someone in need, who could mount these in all four positions and then use the saw for whatever extended time necessary to satisfy their own usage. (One of the things I just learned from this project is that things like "pins" and small holes don't work well for 3D printing. First the resin isn't strong enough to give structural integrity to skinny little protrusions and little holes appear to contain little strand webs.)

Perhaps the real issue here is that the parts are durable enough to justify their printing at a local level, where one doesn't have to depend a distant supply chain that is subject to inventory and marketing whims.

If this proves workable, then that opens up the possibilities of other plastic or non-metal parts being available for local "3D printing".

That is where I see that technology's main advantage in the very near future. One of the problems I had in looking at 3D printers was that much of what is touted in the market is simply NOT available yet... most of the really attractive models are still in development or pre-startup stage.

The readilly available units, like the Dremel and the MakerBot are great machines, but relatively costly. The biggest hang-up that I have with those at the moment is that they print only in PLA plastic, which is somewhat brittle. Printing with ABS requires a heated build plate and I understand that it has a lower resolution. What I think is needed is a printer that will use any one of a variety of filaments so that when making a part you have a choice between durability, strength, lubricating qualities, or even flexibility or softness. Having the ability to print in nylon, ABS, carbon fibre, and other materials for particular applications is a necessity for really true applications.

So far, almost everything one seems to be focused on is printing toys of one type or another. Even $500 would be an absurd price for a 3D Printer if all that can be printed is key-chain bobbles and similar curiosities that seem attractive to many buyers. Most of the good printers are $1,000 or substantially more.

In any case, the new design slide looks really good and I look forward to seeing it.

On a last subject, I just discovered new 3D software from AutoDesk. It's not new, but a new discovery for me. The program "Fusion 360" is a full-blown 2D/3D drawing program that offers a variety of first-class tools. I have no idea what it costs, but for hobbyist, students, and instructors, it is free. For myself, a hobbyist, I just downloaded and have license to use it for one year at no cost. My understanding is that I may be able to renew that on a yearly basis. While there are no limitations of the program, the limitations for it's free hobbyist use is that I cannot use it in any commercial way. That certainly makes it viable for someone like me, I'm retired and just enjoy drawing stuff. Here's a link for anyone wishing to explore their own CAD: http://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview


CWS