I hope people aren't dismantling working 1st party SNES controllers for this. They are actually hard to find, and it's not like they're making new ones. Use a 3rd party clone please.
I hope people aren't dismantling working 1st party SNES controllers for this. They are actually hard to find, and it's not like they're making new ones. Use a 3rd party clone please.
1st party/ 3rd party, it's still all just plastics bits and PCB. Dismantling any is just lazy.
You could just 3D print your own buttons and use copper strip board for the circuitry.
I could build one sick-ass 3D printer for $1500 these days, and that's the bare minimum tooling price from Protomold. If you know you're going to need injection molded parts in a short turnaround at the volumes justifying that cost, get tools cut all day.
If you really are only making 10 of something... I can justify using the 3D printer for a few days to do that any day.
I have been looking into the practicality of making a single 3D printer motion system that would have 4 build trays and 4 extruders so I get 4X the parts in a given timeframe. With the availability now of hobby-level parts that are quite sturdy, capable, and affordible... it's not inconceivable.
With such a setup even a part that takes 10 hours to print could be made in some level of quantity with relative efficiency.
But what I'm really looking into now, that I have a CNC router table going together, is the ability to cut my own tooling out of materials like delrin, for doing resin casting. There are professional level polyurethane resins that are using for professional prototyping that can closely match the properties of an injection molded part, and you can get all the equipment to make and cut and form such parts yourself (from a benchtop CNC router to a vaccum system to mixing equipment) for maybe $3000
That would open up runs of 50-200 for most plastic-type parts at a ludicrously low tooling cost... my estimates put it at (if we exclude buying a CNC mill from cost and only factor in the hourly machine time to cut molds in the first place) at being under $50 a tool for something handheld in size, so for a run of 100 that's 50 cents per part to cover tooling, probably a few dollars to cover resin, and a few dollars to cover time...
That's only a costly process if you make less than 10, and even then it might be the best choice as the texturing and finish and mechanical properties of 3D printed parts still won't compare.
Resin methods get a bad rap because there's a lot of 'art-focused' 2-part resins out there which are great for making... bullshit things that look cool but are weak or rubbery or brittle. That can work OK for action figures maybe. But there are indeed ways to get stuff that has high tensile strengths, flex, hard durometers, even fiber fill for extra strength and hardness, or alumina fill for a metallic feel and finish... which allow someone to make some cool parts that might be perfect for a limited run high-end controller or a cool cosplay component or what-ever-else.
3D printing is very much a gateway drug to making stuff. I'm only hoping more elements and options open up to dovetail with the niche that 3D printing fills for the maker.
I use both, but mostly ABS. PLA tends to crack if you leave it exposed to air and light. It's kind of hard to say which is better, it's depends on what you're printing.
However PLA can be seen to be more environmentally friendly. Also, if you're really keen, you can make your own PLA from potato starch. I've not tried myself.
Or scratch ABS and PLA, shred plastic drinking bottles, and make filament from that. I know a few people who've made they're own extruders. They're not difficult to make, just takes abit of time and a workshop.
I print pretty regularly and I make a decent amount of waste support and the occasional failed print.
But I would have to be going through like 4 spools a month for months on end to justify buying one of these grinders.
For some power users who do run through a spool a week (or more) and/or have multiple printers, and are real concerned about pinching pennies, this might work for them.
And if I was to get to that scale, you know, maybe. I like the idea of just buying raw bulk pellets and getting whatever colors I need.
I'd generally though, prefer to buy filament that is from a source that I know has been making good stuff and has some kind of quality control? And probably has a much nicer machine doing the work to boot.
How long does it take your bed to get up to temperature (and what temperature do you go to?
The Up printer aka Alfina, the bed goes to about 90 degrees C in 5 minutes. It's better practice to preheat the bed for maybe 15minutes or more to have an even spread of heat.
@SWATrous Buying bulk pellets is actually more wasteful. Industrial extruders are far more efficient at larger bulks of material, due to the amount of pressure required. You'll be using a stupid amount of electricty just making plastic if you made entire spools yourself.
This type of recycler is perfect for the scale, for exactly the reason of not wasting support material and failed builds.
You don't have to be a heavy user, that fact that you can reclaim the material at all makes it worth it, even if you only keep single spools. It makes that spool last longer.
Any of machine, eg. CNC mill, the reclaim steel or aluminium, you have to just sell your collection of swarf to me melted down. For wood, you potentially could make woodchip board or I don't know what else you can do with saw dust.
Either case you don't have direct control in how you reclaim the waste. For polymers, it's very ideal.
Comments
I'm making a gameboy!
You could just 3D print your own buttons and use copper strip board for the circuitry.
That's not a bad idea for a business, though. 3rd party game controllers that are actually BETTER than the 1st party ones.
Great ergonomics, great design. (minus the dpad)
However if you've the CAD model, you could just have a batch injection moulded.
Protolabs
I could build one sick-ass 3D printer for $1500 these days, and that's the bare minimum tooling price from Protomold. If you know you're going to need injection molded parts in a short turnaround at the volumes justifying that cost, get tools cut all day.
If you really are only making 10 of something... I can justify using the 3D printer for a few days to do that any day.
I have been looking into the practicality of making a single 3D printer motion system that would have 4 build trays and 4 extruders so I get 4X the parts in a given timeframe. With the availability now of hobby-level parts that are quite sturdy, capable, and affordible... it's not inconceivable.
With such a setup even a part that takes 10 hours to print could be made in some level of quantity with relative efficiency.
But what I'm really looking into now, that I have a CNC router table going together, is the ability to cut my own tooling out of materials like delrin, for doing resin casting. There are professional level polyurethane resins that are using for professional prototyping that can closely match the properties of an injection molded part, and you can get all the equipment to make and cut and form such parts yourself (from a benchtop CNC router to a vaccum system to mixing equipment) for maybe $3000
That would open up runs of 50-200 for most plastic-type parts at a ludicrously low tooling cost... my estimates put it at (if we exclude buying a CNC mill from cost and only factor in the hourly machine time to cut molds in the first place) at being under $50 a tool for something handheld in size, so for a run of 100 that's 50 cents per part to cover tooling, probably a few dollars to cover resin, and a few dollars to cover time...
That's only a costly process if you make less than 10, and even then it might be the best choice as the texturing and finish and mechanical properties of 3D printed parts still won't compare.
Resin methods get a bad rap because there's a lot of 'art-focused' 2-part resins out there which are great for making... bullshit things that look cool but are weak or rubbery or brittle. That can work OK for action figures maybe. But there are indeed ways to get stuff that has high tensile strengths, flex, hard durometers, even fiber fill for extra strength and hardness, or alumina fill for a metallic feel and finish... which allow someone to make some cool parts that might be perfect for a limited run high-end controller or a cool cosplay component or what-ever-else.
3D printing is very much a gateway drug to making stuff. I'm only hoping more elements and options open up to dovetail with the niche that 3D printing fills for the maker.
You'll realise how much waste you'll produce if you own an FDM printer. These are essential.
However PLA can be seen to be more environmentally friendly. Also, if you're really keen, you can make your own PLA from potato starch. I've not tried myself.
Or scratch ABS and PLA, shred plastic drinking bottles, and make filament from that. I know a few people who've made they're own extruders. They're not difficult to make, just takes abit of time and a workshop.
But I would have to be going through like 4 spools a month for months on end to justify buying one of these grinders.
For some power users who do run through a spool a week (or more) and/or have multiple printers, and are real concerned about pinching pennies, this might work for them.
And if I was to get to that scale, you know, maybe. I like the idea of just buying raw bulk pellets and getting whatever colors I need.
I'd generally though, prefer to buy filament that is from a source that I know has been making good stuff and has some kind of quality control? And probably has a much nicer machine doing the work to boot.
I also print onto borosilicate glass.
http://www.amazon.com/Octave-Borosilicate-platform-Afinia-Printers/dp/B00BGNFEYM
This gives a nice flat surface, as other surfaces will warp or delaminate the print at the edges.
You may have to use some glue to stick your print down, but you get a neater result at the end.
Good calibration and setup is the key.
Also if you can thermally insulate the printer in an enclosure, that helps alot. Especially for larger prints.
This type of recycler is perfect for the scale, for exactly the reason of not wasting support material and failed builds.
You don't have to be a heavy user, that fact that you can reclaim the material at all makes it worth it, even if you only keep single spools. It makes that spool last longer.
Any of machine, eg. CNC mill, the reclaim steel or aluminium, you have to just sell your collection of swarf to me melted down. For wood, you potentially could make woodchip board or I don't know what else you can do with saw dust.
Either case you don't have direct control in how you reclaim the waste. For polymers, it's very ideal.
Makes a good t-shirt maybe.
Or go into your sub space to satisfy all the facets