Show me your: Innovation prototypes!

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by katkinkead, Jul 30, 2015.

  1. katkinkead
    katkinkead Well-Known Member
    Hey shapies!

    We see so much here on the forums: so many amazing pieces of jewelry, trains, characters etc. I really love it all! However, over the last week I've been thinking about another category of items made here at Shapeways that gets a little less time in the spotlight: innovation prototypes!

    What does 'innovation prototype' mean? Well, many times Shapeways is used for prototyping specific pieces of hardware, tools, replacement items, etc. These models are typically not public or for sale because they aren't stand alone products, but that doesn't mean they aren't awesome!

    So, if you have a prototype that you've made with us, maybe it's a specialized hinge for a piece of furniture, or an adapter for your skateboard, or a new handle for your paintbrush, please share your item and story here!

    Looking forward to seeing what you're all out there prototyping!
     
  2. Youknowwho4eva
    Youknowwho4eva Well-Known Member
    I uploaded this 6 years ago today, on my first page of uploads to shapeways :p http://shpws.me/JhZD
    It was an attempt to raise water through capillary action.
     
  3. rolandgs
    rolandgs Member
    This is the prototype I created for an University Project. Its a Writing Aid, which can be adapted to different utensils (like a drill to drill bits). The shape of the body would need to be customized for each user, but will only need one for all your pens and pencils. (I will add pictures soon, even though this project is over a year old).

    The Model comes in 3 groups (for multi color printing).

    Writing Aid Body
    http://shpws.me/Ji67

    Writing Aid Claws
    http://shpws.me/Ji6c

    Writing Aid Trims
    http://shpws.me/Ji5C

    Maybe I will make a version that is for sale, now I think about it again, this could just be a product....hhhm.
     
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2015
  4. katkinkead
    katkinkead Well-Known Member
    Wow this is so cool! Can you tell me more about the background of it and what interested you in devleoping some new writing aids? I'd love to hear the back story

    Also would love to see photos of them in action!
     
  5. stonysmith
    stonysmith Well-Known Member Moderator
    This is a test I've been working with for a while. http://shpws.me/GSg9
    It is basically a bicycle chain wrapped around two gears and surrounded by a box... at only 1/2 inch across.
    I've attempted to print it in FUD several times, but each time, its frozen up.. won't turn properly.
    I have yet to figure out which piece of it is locking up.

    If I can get it to work, then the small pins sticking up will be changed out for various train cars and I'll motorize the thing.
     
  6. katkinkead
    katkinkead Well-Known Member
    Woah! Stony that's awesome. Any ideas why its freezing up? Maybe the wax is having trouble escaping the box that surrounds the chain?

    Also, whats your intent with this product? I'm so interested!
     
  7. stonysmith
    stonysmith Well-Known Member Moderator
    Here's another one.. http://shpws.me/JiaY
    This one is to test the viability of gears in FUD. It works well if you rotate the small gear.
    The box here is about 3/8 of an inch across.
     
  8. stonysmith
    stonysmith Well-Known Member Moderator
    I can't tell if it is support material jamming it or if I made a mistake somewhere and let two parts overlap.
    I've searched it a number of times, and I've broken the physical print open.. the bicycle chain flexes properly (even though its only 1mm across!!!!!) and the big gears seem to be free to rotate.. there is still something that I'm missing.

    As I said.. this "links box" is to animate a micro-scale train layout... on a model train layout... :)
    You've seen many other scales here on Shapeways, 1:87, 1:160, etc.. this one would be 1:10560

    Many discussions held between model railroaders is which Local Hobby Shop (LHS) they believe to be the best place to buy materials. Many LHS have model train displays within their shops. I thought.. why not put a LHS onto my layout.. with a working layout?

    The desire is to make a moving version of this: (click to see the model in my shop)
    [​IMG]
     
  9. kaadesign
    kaadesign Well-Known Member
    I like my custom made propeller balancer.

    Without SLS-printing it would be nearly impossible to make this axis.

    http://shpws.me/CnGe
     
  10. katkinkead
    katkinkead Well-Known Member
    hey @kaadesigns

    I dont know much about drones and balancers. can you shed a little light on what this does for your drone? what does it balance? Excuse my ignorance on the topic... but I am genuinely interested in knowing more!
     
  11. MrNibbles
    MrNibbles Well-Known Member
    Somewhere in my prototype box I have sitting the cone part of a sand timer manufactured in FD and different end caps versions made it WSF. I should probably put it together, I guess. The FD wasn't really that clear and transparent, particularly after cleaning off all residues. Sand won't flow with oily or waxy residues. I can't remember if production in clear acrylic was rejected or if it was just more expensive than FD at the time. I know the acrylics can have lots of residue so I may never have tried it in the first place.

    The switch to FUD/FXD really wasn't going to help the pricing so I figured I'd set it aside until a better/cheaper material rolls around somewhere. I wan't really planning on hitting the market competitively with sand timers because instead of a DIY $20 printed version it's more practical to get a comparable one at the mall for $1 that works extremely well.

    625x465_1043288_10280690_1430948819.jpg

     
  12. mkroeker
    mkroeker Well-Known Member
    1. Fill with another $20 worth of glow-in-the-dark pigment
    2. sell for $100
    3. profit
     
  13. mkroeker
    mkroeker Well-Known Member
    @stonysmith I wonder if inverting the model to see just the voids in the chain-drive channel would help ? (Boolean difference with a solid slab or something like that)
     
  14. katkinkead
    katkinkead Well-Known Member
    Hey @MrNibbles

    That's really cool! If you have all the peices, it would be really cool if you could take a photo and share with us here. Also, I actually think @mkroekers ideas about putting glow in the dark fluid isn't such a bad idea. or rather, it just points to the idea that perhaps theres another way to make the inside of the sand timer without going through means of transperancy

    another idea would be to print it in FUD/ transperent resin in two halves, and then assemble it together. Printing it in two halves would give you more flexibility to clean out the top and bottom, and apply polishing to it to get off extra residue and increase the transperancy.

    Or maybe, what if it was like caged somehow that you could see through it but it didn't allow the fluid out? Seems impossible, but you never know!
     
  15. MrNibbles
    MrNibbles Well-Known Member
    I can't say I've done much with the acrylics so I don't have a good feel for the transparentness variabiliy. Transparent acrylic would actually be about $5 cheaper than FUD so it's a possibility. Maybe I should send off for another test piece but I have no clue about cleaning it well or after effects of the cleaning, as with isopropyl or that Bestine stuff.

    Here's an image of a part I did in transparent detail many years ago, one of my early designs in fact, so I'm not sure if the process is still equivalent. If I can at least get transparency looking through it in one direction that would be great, using sand or a nasty glow in the dark concoction. But I think the thing would require a specific orientation in the printer so getting good and consistent results would be a hit or miss proposition.

    old_trans_acrylic.jpg

    Anyone have any experience with this transparency issue in transparent acrylic (aka transparent detail)? Or how about polishing? Is that possible?




     
  16. mkroeker
    mkroeker Well-Known Member
    Ask the keeper of the kraken if the polishing/buffing hints still apply.
     
  17. MrNibbles
    MrNibbles Well-Known Member
    Release the Kraken!

    It would be a lot easier to polish on a lathe but the support rods would need to be removed and then it would wobble. Perhaps a nominally straight cylinder section design is the ticket. Maybe the inside can't be polished as easily but the outside can. Maybe I'll go broke re-inventing the wheel!


    *DOH update*

    I checked the production history and I did have the part manufactured in both FD and transparent acrylic. I really must sort through my stuff and find it.

     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2015
  18. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    I designed this Photographers Quadropod & Selfie Stick Case to be used mainly as a tripod for taking pictures with an iPhone 6. The tripod, or quadropod because it actually has has 4 legs, is always attached to the iPhone case so you always have it when you need it. When needed, it folds out and lets the iPhone rotate 360° in one direction and about 160° in the other direction. It can also be used as a short selfie stick by simply using the base as a handle. When Shapeways printed this they didn't print it at a high enough resolution in Strong and Flexible for detent mechanism to work properly. The detent mechanism is what holds the stand to the case while in the fold it up position. I found out that Shapeways prints in different resolutions when it comes to Strong and Flexible and there is no way to know which resolution they're going to print in. That, combined with the price restructuring that happened right in the middle of when I was designing this causing the profit margin on this to be next to nothing caused me to give up on it for now. However, as soon as I can get this printed somewhere at a decent price and at a high enough resolution or as soon as I finish building my SLS 3D printer I will put this up for sale.
    unfolded-large.jpg
    folded-large.jpg
    Sinterbox.jpg
     
  19. katkinkead
    katkinkead Well-Known Member
    Hey Universebecoming!

    This is really cool - do you have photos of the print? or any examples of reslution change in SLS? We typically have all of our SLS printers set for the same resolution so that problems like this dont occur. Also, if you have any pics of how the mechanism work then maybe we can all pitch in some ideas on what kind of tolerance is needed in order for it to work?

    Looking forward to seeing!!!!
     
  20. katkinkead
    katkinkead Well-Known Member
    Hey Universebecoming!

    This is really cool - do you have photos of the print? or any examples of reslution change in SLS? We typically have all of our SLS printers set for the same resolution so that problems like this dont occur. Also, if you have any pics of how the mechanism work then maybe we can all pitch in some ideas on what kind of tolerance is needed in order for it to work?

    Looking forward to seeing!!!!