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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | Has anyone here used a 3D printer for fast prototyping? I am seriously thinking about buying one but just want to see if anyone has any good, bad or ugly feedback for the current technology. I already have a really good artist that can punch me out design after design in the correct file format for 3D printing too so I am just a 3D printer away 
Thanks
James
PS-And the answer will be YES for helping others with new designs if I get one. Share the technology
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Posts: 496
| We had one at my old job , pretty #*^@ cool that's for sure . It was a Maker Bot , That being said, get one that prints multiple plastics so that you can get closer to what a production bait will weigh etc . But, if was in the bait making game "other than the basement" it would be first on the list . The ability to test different lips/tails alone would be worth it in my mind . |
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Posts: 121
Location: Forest Lake, MN & Bemidji, MN | I had zero experience with any design or manufacturing of anything and I have 3d printed 10 small and complex items in high detailed stainless steel and brass through a company. I have not had anything printed in plastic. I taught myself basic design techniques in a few different free 3d design programs in order to get my designs started and hired a designer to clean up my preliminary files so they could be printed. Saved some cash and was fun and challenging. I learned a lot along the way and also experienced plenty of frustration. While 3d printing is really cool, from a DIY perspective there is a lot to consider if you are not familiar with the technology. If you plan on buying a printer I would make sure you get a really good understanding of the design limitations of the printer, the types of materials the printer can print in and their limitations. If your prototypes are printed in plastic that snaps if you get a backlash or they are not able to be printed because of complex geometry the printer cannot handle it would really stink to find out after the fact. When I started my projects I thought that a 3d printer could print basically anything. That is simply not the case. Some of the primary limitations to consider in your designs and printer will be wall thickness limitations (these vary greatly with materials and printer capabilities), minimum details, maximum object sizes, connected or moving parts, finishes etc. These are just few things to consider as the printer or materials you will print in will all have different tolerances with respect to the items above. Feel free to send me a PM. Good luck! Jeremy |
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Posts: 1529
| making us bait builders obsolete?. while I live alongside new technology I just cant see the value cost prohibits the old style builders.. I see so much Chinese crap that's mass produced now.. just my thoughts |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | Don't worry George. You won't be obsolete But for my business I have to be able to make baits in similar (if not the exact) type of raw materials I use and wood is simply not a viable raw material for making 100,000+ lures a year per SKU. I am talking about bass and walleye baits in general. I would use this for making some new musky baits too but my bizzz is moving quickly to other markets.
On a side note, I can't wait to rid myself of my day job. I do miss making wood baits one at a time in front of my wood working equipment and testing them. Just been too busy with two full time jobs and a 9&10 yr old running me ragged... 3-4 more years and I will retire to a 40 hr work week!!! Coming soon and I can't wait...
woodieb8 - 1/15/2015 9:34 AM
making us bait builders obsolete?. while I live alongside new technology I just cant see the value cost prohibits the old style builders.. I see so much Chinese crap that's mass produced now.. just my thoughts |
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Posts: 653
Location: Moses Lake, WA | What's the length limitation on current 3D printers? It may not be an issue if you're moving to bass and walleye sized lures but it has to be a consideration if you continue a line of muskie lures. |
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Posts: 496
| AS I have seen there are not many limitations of what you can print or the size, the limitation is what you want to spend on the machine. I saw one that would print almost any material you could think of and you could put the end piece in a liquid bath and certain parts would dissolve . So for instance, I saw it print a skull , so above the eye socket the material had nothing to rest on ....so it printed the eye socket but in a material that dissolved once it was put in the liquid. They also had a lid that they printed for Tupperware , it was one piece but all four sides of the lids was a different material , so they could see what material was most flexible and worked best . The shoe industry is using them a lot too , printing soles at different hardness. Pretty cool stuff , wish I was smart enough to program them .
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| James.
Quit your day job, make wood baits, buy a fancy 3d laser scanner, scan the wood baits, then send that file to your fancy 3d printer to rip the laser scanner file and print the baits. Ez as 1,2,3....ha! |
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | mnmusky - 1/15/2015 12:50 PM
James.
Quit your day job, make wood baits, buy a fancy 3d laser scanner, scan the wood baits, then send that file to your fancy 3d printer to rip the laser scanner file and print the baits. Ez as 1,2,3....ha!
Found a 3D wire bender today. Its on my list for through wire wood baits when I can get back to the wood shop in a few years. Very cool. |
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Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | If you had a TechShop near you then you could just pay their monthly membership fee ($129 last I checked) or get an annual membership ($1,200) then you can use all of their high-tech million dollar equipment (3D printers, CNC machines, plasma cutters etc.). TechShop is partnered with Ford Motor Company to provide training & other stuff. They have close to a dozen current/future locations in the US.
http://www.techshop.ws/ I have a TechShop about 5 miles from me here in Michigan & have been wanting to get a membership. My brother-in-law is an engineer at Ford & he could of had a free membership there when the Michigan location first opened but he didn't think he would need to go there (IDIOT!!!). Had he taken Ford up on their offer he could have taken me there & I could have used his membership. You might want to check to see if there is something like this near you. |
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Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | Gringo Loco - 1/15/2015 12:37 PM What's the length limitation on current 3D printers? It may not be an issue if you're moving to bass and walleye sized lures but it has to be a consideration if you continue a line of muskie lures. Recently in the news they reported a story about someone using a 3D printer to print a fully operational handgun. |
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Posts: 556
| Nothing like a WOOD BAIT----While I have had all the Types and brands of Lures---I will NOW basically only fish Wood Lures---just a personal choice, but also a choice that many in my fishing club now also follow. So to the TRUE BASEMENT BAITMAKERS OUT THERE--Don't give up---the Chinese plastic junk is just that JUNK!!! Keep on building them 1 at a time--those are the baits that will be collected and sought after over time. Ever use a New plastic custom X lure---and Compare it to their OLDER WOOD VERSION ? Quite a difference !!! Wood is where its at !!! |
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Posts: 411
Location: Waconia,MN | I make baits out of plastic, and i don't live in China. I also consider myself to be a true basement bait builder. I spend the same amount off time making a plastic bait that i would on a wooden one. I choose plastic to keep the same consistency. Wood it's no better than plastic, and plastic is no better than wood. It's all about how the bait works, they both catch fish and in the end that's all that matters. |
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Posts: 58
| Yes sir, I think the 3d printers are absolutely a must when it comes to prototypes! Just the dif. Designs and capabilities to alter or change so many aspects of each lure is amazing! I'm a plastic injection molder, been doin it for 11 yrs! The one we have is a Fortus 400 series and if you can dream it we can make it! We can design and process anything up to as large as a milk crate! I no you guys make sum seriously giant lures but doubt you would need the maximum material allowance for the 400 series! There are a lot larger printers out there as well. If you would have any questions or need anything that I would be able to help you out with just PM me and I'd b glad to help! You can look up my employer. The name is Custom Molds and Plastics! Were out of Red Lion PA! The limits to what you can do are endless and if your a lure maker I would def. Recommend the purchase you'll have alotta fun and will just be thinkin constantly of something to try next! Love the technology! Fortus I makes a great machine, I've been told they are one of the better printers out there for price and quality plus there are alotta dif. materials that you can use with it! Hope this helps!
Brandon Urey
Custom Molds and Plastics |
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