Well, I bought a...

[glendam]

Yeah the first few versions out was clear from the preview that it wouldn't come out right at all, there were gaps and weird uneven bits... what I've done so far to try to help it are to set the print resolution quite fine, adjust the thin walls setting, and get it to 'iron' the top surface of the model after printing - it's improved the preview version at least!
I've been having lots of fun looking at the planned print path to understand how it will move, but I'm sure when I actually start printing things there'll be a massive learning curve. Which is great, that's what keeps me going

Great idea on having a fine print resolution to fix that issue. What I have opted to do lately is to print the top part separately with a thin base, and do the larger base with lower infill percentage. Later I glue these two with gorilla glue

 

[Tara_H]

Great idea on having a fine print resolution to fix that issue. What I have opted to do lately is to print the top part separately with a thin base, and do the larger base with lower infill percentage. Later I glue these two with gorilla glue

You know, I always seem to forget that glue is an option, lol!

Although I have been wondering if maybe the best thing to do would be make a square panel which slides into a wooden frame and do away with the bayonet fitting entirely.
Something like this, which you often see with rubber stamps:

I guess I still have a week to make a final decision

 

[earlene]

Another option is to use the stamp without a handle. You can use a flat backed stamp and a soft mallet.

 

[glendam]

You know, I always seem to forget that glue is an option, lol!

Although I have been wondering if maybe the best thing to do would be make a square panel which slides into a wooden frame and do away with the bayonet fitting entirely.
Something like this, which you often see with rubber stamps:
View attachment 58171

I guess I still have a week to make a final decision

That’s definitely an option, I tried that once

You know, I always seem to forget that glue is an option, lol!

Although I have been wondering if maybe the best thing to do would be make a square panel which slides into a wooden frame and do away with the bayonet fitting entirely.
Something like this, which you often see with rubber stamps:
View attachment 58171

I guess I still have a week to make a final decision

I did try making a sliding one once, but forgot to allocate enough space for the sliding section. And I was also concerned about the filament shrinking after the print and not fitting properly. (They don't shrink a whole lot, though). I look forward to seeing all the stuff you make with it!

 

[TashaBird]

3d printer!

I was so close to getting a cricut machine... Then I took a step back and thought a bit more. I've been wanting a 3d printer for many many years, whereas I only heard of cricut on this forum recently. Also I have some pretty decent 3d skills, and I think in the long run I'll be able to achieve more with the printer that I couldn't do by just applying extra time and patience.

It'll be a couple of weeks before it arrives, but I'm so psyched! I have a model done up already for a soap stamp with detachable handle, so I can make many different designs without wasting too much filament. Husband has been browsing the online library and there's a bunch of things for the house and animals that he wants to print also.

I can't wait!

Super exciting! Congratulations.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

But my new 3d printer arrived! So yesterday I got to try out a test stamp for the first time - I'm pretty pleased with the outcome:
View attachment 58414

The soap was probably a bit old to stamp perfectly, and some of the details need tweaking, but as a first attempt, I'm thrilled

Told you so, the counters will give you issues.

Seriously, I'm really impressed how this came out. I had feared a lot worse. Is the 3D-printed stamp itself a top secret prototype, or can we convince you to show it off?

 

[Tara_H]

Is the 3D-printed stamp itself a top secret prototype, or can we convince you to show it off?

Not secret, I've just been far too busy playing with things to take photos

I do have a video of it printing the stamp, hopefully not too big to upload...

 

[Tara_H]

Right, here's a better picture - I tweaked the text a bit and made a new stamp which is working better. I also made a holder for the stamp, and the holder will hopefully fit onto a handle which is currently printing.


An amazing thing I found is a CAD library of hardware components, so the handle should be able to accept an M3 threaded insert, which I can use to fix the holder to it.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

I see what you did there. Clandestine iteration 2. The stamping looks much more precise and reliable already. And I love the plug-in holding system, can't wait to see when it's mounted on the handle!

 

[Tara_H]

Clandestine iteration

I did say I made a new stamp!

The handle came out great and the threaded insert fits perfectly but then I had to stop for dinner and the chicks are asleep in the workshop, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow for the final test.

 

[Tara_H]

Right, all the basics are now good! I did one more version of the initials stamp plate with the curves of the letters tweaked a bit for clarity, and made it to fit more snugly into the holder. It doesn't slip out under its own weight, but doesn't take too much pressure to remove. Also reduced the height of the print per @ResolvableOwl's recommendation so that I can press the plate all the way to the soap face rather than trying to eyeball it.

Very happy with the result, now I just need to design about a million more plates

 

[earlene]

Excellent! Also beautiful. Your dedication to detail and mastering a project is remarkable.
So what's it cost to print a million of these plates?

 

[ResolvableOwl]

So what's it cost to print a million of these plates?

Several weeks, at least, of hypnotically staring at a robotic arm dancing in a weird rhythm.

 

[GemstonePony]

Several weeks, at least, of hypnotically staring at a robotic arm dancing in a weird rhythm.

I think you misspelled "months."

 

[earlene]

Several weeks, at least, of hypnotically staring at a robotic arm dancing in a weird rhythm.

I was talking currency (dollars or whatever brand), not time. But time is important of course. Materials pricing varies with locale, I know, but I suspect the investment of currency is large for millions of these plates.

I think you misspelled "months."

Right... I don't own a 3D printer, but I have worked in repetitive assembly work in my youth; large scale production takes a lot of time whether it be human or machine doing the majority of the labor. We used to talk of man-hours; now I wonder what it's called when machines are doing more of the work; is it machine-hours?

 

[GemstonePony]

I was talking currency (dollars or whatever brand), not time. But time is important of course. Materials pricing varies with locale, I know, but I suspect the investment of currency is large for millions of these plates.


Right... I don't own a 3D printer, but I have worked in repetitive assembly work in my youth; large scale production takes a lot of time whether it be human or machine doing the majority of the labor. We used to talk of man-hours; now I wonder what it's called when machines are doing more of the work; is it machine-hours?

Lol, I think it's just called "hours," but I'm not sure. Even completely automated systems still require someone around to quickly fix things when equipment malfunctions, or you end up with falling behind schedule whenever something breaks, stops working for no apparent reason, defaults to previous programming for unknown reason, won't recognize the thing it's been working with for the last year, etc. So, since your equipment needs a supervisor, you end up with "man-hours" anyways. You can manufacture more with fewer man-hours using technology, but eliminating man-hours altogether usually doesn't work out in the long run.
One of my brothers has a 3-D printer business, selling 3-D printers but also he has a bank of 3-D printers printing parts for people who just want things printed but don't want the hassle of owning and setting up a printer.
If Tara really wanted to print a million pieces in a hurry, she could simply get more printers, and have them all printing pieces at the same time, without really changing her time commitment from having one printer print things.
But of course, none of this addresses the cost of printers and material, which is usually a bigger consideration from a hobbyist perspective.

 

[Tara_H]

Materials pricing varies with locale, I know, but I suspect the investment of currency is large for millions of these plates.

I'll have to figure this out! As a baseline it costs me around €25 for a kilo of filament (printing material). There's a certain amount of wastage, I'd guess maybe 5% for a small model like this, to pull a number out of the air. The printer wipes off its nozzle before starting a new print to make sure it's clean and that leaves some behind (not counting wastage caused by printing prototypes while trying to get the design right).
I can check in the morning how much went into the plate part of the stamp but I'm sure it's only a couple of grams. At a wild guess the electricity cost to heat the print bed and nozzle would be higher than the cost of the filament, but I'm in no way sure of that, maths not being my thing at all.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Another question still remains unanswered – with one million stamps needing their space to be stockpiled, is there still enough space for other most important things in your house, like sous-vide ice cream vibrating plates, hubby, or chicken? I'd suggest that you better re-evaluate this project at, say, 500.000 stamps in (at latest). That half-time would be in 60 years, with cautiously estimated 1 minute per stamp (sooner but with more CAD stress if you use multiple 3D printers).

 

[Tara_H]

sous-vide ice cream vibrating plates

1 minute per stamp

Ah yes, this would seem to be the limiting factor - more like 30 mins per stamp at medium quality print settings.

 

[Tara_H]

Well, I had my first failed print! Bought some cheaper filament from Amazon and while it's pretty good, the adhesion isn't quite the same as the Prusament, and I pushed it to its limits by trying to print a cylinder standing on end as part of a set to make a roost bar for the chicks...


Still, it gave me an excuse to design and print this bin for waste filament