HowTo: 3D printing - The rapid prototyping service from PCBWay.com - nerdiy.de - DIY, electronics, 3D printing and more...

Currently I am working on a project that unfortunately exceeds the capabilities of my 3D printer.

So far, I have been able to print all the components I need on my 3D printer with the actually quite lush print bed dimensions of 235x235mm. When the projects became larger, I simply divided them into several small parts and then screwed them together later. This is how I did it, for example, with the 3D printable wind turbine "WinDIY" done in various places.

Unfortunately, this was not an option for the current project. The component should be a holder in which several boards can be installed. But the whole thing should also look "decorative" and preferably from "one cast". I did not want to use several individual components, which then have to be joined together later.

Conveniently, the PCB manufacturing service provider offers PCBWay.com now offers a CNC and 3D printing rapid prototyping service in addition to various PCB manufacturing capabilities.
That means you can send the CAD data of the self-drawn models to PCBWay.com send, select from various manufacturing processes and let print. The practical thing about it: This service also offers the possibility to print components that are larger than the standard dimensions (known from the hobby sector).

So I uploaded the STL of my model there and had the part made. The result of this and the few steps to get there I have described in the following post.

Note: The component shown below was provided to me by PCBWay.com provided free of charge.

The problem

The following picture shows the problem well. With a width of 276mm, the component is simply too large for the print bed of my 3D printer.

View of the placed part on the virtual print bed of my slicer. Clearly visible are the dark side areas which protrude over the area of the print bed.

Send the print job

In my case, the solution to the problem outlined above was the rapid prototyping service of PCBWay.com. There you can simply upload the CAD file and have it manufactured. You can find a small tutorial in the following paragraphs. At the end of the article you can also see the finished result.

To display the options of the rapid prototyping service you first have to click on PCBWay.com change

Click there on the section

cnc | 3D printing

in the navigation bar.

You will then be redirected to the overview page.

There you can choose from the different services. I have selected the "3D printing" service there.

By clicking on

Select CAD files

you can then upload the CAD file to be printed. You can use the common formats. For example, I uploaded the STL file of the model I created.

After uploading the model, you can now configure the manufacturing parameters. You should definitely configure the unit of measurement of your model in the "Design Unit" section. This is the base unit you used in the design process of your model.

Then it's on to the actual manufacturing options. In the "Material" section you can select the desired material. Here I have selected aluminum.

Based on the material, the manufacturing process is then also set automatically. In my case, this is the SLM process.

If desired and available for the respective manufacturing process, you can also select a surface finish at this point.

As soon as you have set all options as desired, the estimated production costs will also be displayed in the upper right area.

After clicking on the "Submit Request" button your model will be sent to PCBWay.com sent. They will then check your model and update the estimated production costs if necessary.

You will then receive a report and can order the component through your payment. In my case, the component was then manufactured within four days and arrived in my mailbox after just under a week.

In the following paragraph you can see the result 🙂 .

The result

In the SLM printing process, the component is sintered from metal powder. The particles of the powder are fused together at the desired location. This is how the object defined in the CAD file is ultimately created. The surface is slightly rough. It can be compared to the surface of a kitchen tile.

I had the component made from aluminum. This also made the finished printed object relatively light but still stable. The dimensional stability is comparable to that of a milled or CNC-manufactured component.

You can see the result in the following gallery.

Have fun with the project

I hope everything worked as described for you. If not or you have questions or suggestions please let me know in the comments. I will then add this to the article if necessary.
Ideas for new projects are always welcome. 🙂

PS Many of these projects - especially the hardware projects - cost a lot of time and money. Of course I do this because I enjoy it, but if you think it's cool that I share the information with you, I would be happy about a small donation to the coffee fund. 🙂