Lets get Damian a 3D printer

[rstevens81]

I have started a gofundme page so we can get Damian a 3d printer, i'm hoping if we all chip in a few pounds (sorry it wouldn't let me do it in euros as im uk based) that collectively we can get him one.
https://gofund.me/93e1015d


I'm cashing this in now to get Damian his printer,
Anyone who wants to still make donations make them directly at https://evbmw.com/

[tom91]

Ofcourse a man like Damien deserves a printer. I would almost consider a 3d printer a right for a engineer.

[TheSilverBuick]

I'm trusting you....

[catphish]

I've added a little to the pot, good luck!

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

What a moral dilemma. I am struggling with my only-partially-justified infamous hatred of 3d printers and their proponents, with my mostly-justified love of Damien and the hard work he does.

*sighs*

Alright, I'll toss a few bucks in the hat, and that means a lot coming from me. If anyone can undo my decade of rage for 3d printers being an overblown technology no one actually uses except to make trinkets with the texture of ASCII art and the structural integrity of a puffed rice cake, it'll be Damien. Hopefully it helps him do some custom stuff he otherwise wouldn't have been able to with his mill and other machining tools.

[Jack Bauer]

I have to say this is one of the most humbling experiences in my years involved with evs. Thank you all who have organised and given to this endeavour. It's funny and also slightly sad to see that those who support me the most be it financially or on forum are those giving the most. I wish it could be more evenly spread.

I worked in injection moulding back in the day and shared your disdain Matt for 3d printing until about a year ago when my pal Dave (of panzer Tesla swap fame) got heavilly into it and showed me some of the results. Some of it honestly was as good if not better than some of the parts I had seen moulded. Anyway, we'll see how badly I can screw this up:)

[mjc506]

Done. Can you 3D print an entire open source M3?

(Haven't you hacked it all for free yet? hahah)

[Peter]

Once you have the 3D printer Damien.... Your first challenge is to print a 3D printer

[Ctwidle]

I’m looking forward to seeing an EV ‘benchy’!

[rstevens81]

I’m looking forward to seeing an EV ‘benchy’!

I think this is the most likely.....3d e31 miniature
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5028583

[Jack Bauer]

its.....its...a panzer!!!!

[Peter]

Whats happening with the fund raiser ? Has the target been reached ?

[rstevens81]

We got enough for a prusa i3 mk3s, so I'm cashing it in and ordering him the printer I think everyone who will donate has donated, and the donations seemed to trail off.
As stated on the top anyone who still want to donate, do it directly to Damian as I expect he will want to buy extra filament for something very long and boring .

[Peter]

Excellent, thanks for organising the fund raiser Robert, a great idea you had
I would like a Lambo, could you sort that please

[rstevens81]

Excellent, thanks for organising the fund raiser Robert, a great idea you had
I would like a Lambo, could you sort that please

I'm sure Damian might be able to print a small one from thingyverse

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

I worked in injection moulding back in the day and shared your disdain Matt for 3d printing

The first time I heard about 3D printers was about 10 years ago when someone was demo-ing one at a local Makerspace on my first day there.

The words they used were "It's a machine that can replicate itself! You can use it to make more of them! You know, like the machine on Star Trek."

And I was so enthralled. That's amazing! I wonder how long the line is for me to get mine made?" It creates all these metal rods and gears and bearings and bushings! Oh and the electronics! The rubber on the cord too? Well maybe you need to buy a USB cable. Neat it's making some plastic thing right now, looks like just a rectangular block.

All of this was in my head, I didn't say anything. But from the look on my face, someone who was setting up the lathe a few feet away came over and interrupted and said "It just makes plastic shapes. That's all. Just the plastic. And it takes all day."

And I was thinking "But, the only plastic parts are these shitty corner brackets? Those? The things I could have made out of a jigsaw and a hand drill in 5 minutes? The things flexing and crumbling apart?"

Those 3d printing enthusiasts had stolen a part of my soul. In that 10 seconds they had lifted me up on wonder and amazement and then dropped me in a shredder of lies. In those 10 seconds my brain had more ideas than the rest of my life combined.

And ever since, any time anyone there mentioned them in conversation, I never missed an opportunity to talk shit about them. Made something new up every time. I gave tours to newcomers to set their expectations accordingly.


"Oh yeah, 3D printers. You know 3d printers made the gun that shot Kennedy?"

"Yeah, 3d printers, you what the largest collaborative 3d printer project in history was? The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. Yeah, ask them about it, they can make anything with that machine."

"Did they tell you 3d printers can make anything yet? Yep, they even made Tom's wife leave him for his best friend. True story, just like everything else they've told you."

"3D printers, a machine that can make anything. Ours has only ever made disappointment, but it's made a lot of that, so, it's the most efficient machine in the shop if that's what you're looking for."

"Ever heard of 3d printers? It's basically a hot glue gun that poops where you tell it to and then falls apart."

"This is our 3d printer, it's a machine that can build itself. Right now it's in a shakedown test, which is where it's shaking itself and seeing what parts fall down off of it.", "How long until it's done?", "It's never done, this is all I've ever seen it do. Over here is the metalworking area where you can build something you might actually want."

...

True story, that's how I learned to use a lathe. I followed the guy who stopped by to clue me in back to his project and he taught me basics of turning steel.

Yeah yeah, I know 3d printers have gotten a lot better in the last 10 years as the technology has emerged. My disdain is more directed at the people than the machines themselves. And I'm aware I'm the one people are laughing at, not the people I'm making fun of, but I don't care. It's habit now.

[mark]

3D printers are currently pretty good at making plastic things. Looks like printing metal is just on the horizon: https://www.rapidia.com/about-us

If you're not familiar with the founder, Dan Gelbert, he's a pretty amazing inventor. Here's a playlist from his YouTube channel, mainly focused on prototyping.

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

If you're not familiar with the founder, Dan Gelbert, he's a pretty amazing inventor.

I interviewed Mr. Gelbart a few years ago. He's a wonderful person. He said those videos were supposed to be part of an MIT course on rapid prototyping, and the class never got off the ground so he just released them on his Youtube page instead.

He comes across as stoic but he's actually hillarious. My favorite line is about how, as a prototyper, most of your time is adding or removing fasteners, so if you spot weld captive nuts instead of needing two wrenches, it will save X% of your time, and this is the same amount that good diet and regular exercise will extend your life, so, eat what you want and skip the gym but spot weld captive nuts instead because it's easier.

There's a story about how he bid on a contract and was dismissed from the room, so he panicked because he knew he was gouging them and dropped the price a bunch. The actual reason he was dismissed from the room was because he was already at 10% the cost of his competitors and they figured he couldn't do it. I think he talked them into letting him make some to prove it could be done that cheap and then got the contract.

My favorite hack of his is using surplus sapphire supermarket scanning glass instead of your sandblaster's view glass, because it's only like $20 and lasts forever and you can actually see what you're sandblasting after 2 minutes still.

I could tell stories about him all day. His video series is fantastic. Lifetime of experience and it's dumbed down to tricks and tips a beginner would use when making stuff.

[Jack Bauer]

Want to say a big big thank you to everyone who contributed.

[mjc506]

More than welcome, especially after all you've done for the community over the years.

1st task - start printing 3d printer parts at ~10x scale, then power each axis with Prius transaxles. You'll be able to print entire cars! hahaha

[Bratitude]

well that was quick. over befor i got a chance! maybe we can setup a fund for some fancy filament like some of the glass filled fire retardant nylon

[arber333]

...
He comes across as stoic but he's actually hillarious. My favorite line is about how, as a prototyper, most of your time is adding or removing fasteners, so if you spot weld captive nuts instead of needing two wrenches, it will save X% of your time, and this is the same amount that good diet and regular exercise will extend your life, so, eat what you want and skip the gym but spot weld captive nuts instead because it's easier.

I actualy did that for my battery lugs. After schratching my head about how i would hold a nut with a wrench and twist the bolt on the other side - in a tight battery box! I remembered his comments. So i soldered the nuts directly to copper lugs. Now all i need is to closeup the terminals and torque the bolt. No need to worry about flash and thunder... unless you drop the wrench that is...

[rstevens81]

No need to worry about flash and thunder... unless you drop the wrench that is...

I'm now reminded of the damascus incident (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Da ... _explosion https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command ... rol_(book)) where guys servicing a trident missile droped a spanner and nearly blew up a small part of the states .... Makes what we are doing look a little bit safer ...unless your building one of these (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Nucleon)

[arber333]

I'm now reminded of the damascus incident (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Da ... _explosion https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command ... rol_(book)) where guys servicing a trident missile droped a spanner and nearly blew up a small part of the states .... Makes what we are doing look a little bit safer ...unless your building one of these (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Nucleon)

That one and exxon mobil accident clearly showed importance of safety procedures. Usually its our own complacency that bites us. It certanly did for me .
So now i try to make everything simple and field replacable.

[janosch]

Sent you some money for filament Damian.