3D Printed Sheet Metal Forming - Will it Survive?

[@BuckeyeStormsProductions]

I love how 3D printing is being used by people to cast, mold, etc. The ability to print plastic is cool, but then to move from a plastic printed part to things like metal dies, or concrete casts is amazing.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I agree, when I saw the Roadster Shop folks doing it I got REALLY excited about the idea and how to apply it in my projects in the shop.

[@TheOystei]

I love how some people are printing metal, thats unfortunatly not for us mere mortals yet. Papadakis Racing 3d printed inconel headers for their Formula Drift Supra in some parts (to suit the printbed size) and just welded the parts together.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

@@TheOystei I'd absolutely love that capability, maybe one day

[@tifhorn3311]

Most PLA printers can be used with wax-like filament, so you can make really detailed metal casts, when done carefully and properly... :)

[@tifhorn3311]

@Grim FPV Since that comment I have made some research and it seems that you don't even need a wax-like filament - regular PLA can work just fine, the key is to use liquid ceramics to make first layers of mold around our print and then the process is similar - PLA starts liquifying above 180C, so it melts quite easily :) Need to try that quite soon! :)

[@erikig]

Dont know why the algorithm recommended this to me but kudos on the prototyping success

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Glad to have you! Thanks for checking it out

[@mcaber]

@@GrindhousePerformance h

[@brokeandtired]

The warpage can be probably easily fixed with a ball peen hammer. It gets it most of the way.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

@@brokeandtired oh without a doubt, I'm still really pumped with my first attempt straight out of the dies, especially now that I've got ideas on improvements

[@JC-XL]

See you in 5 years, people, when the Algorithm meets us again 😂 😂

[@jvin248]

A couple of notes: cold rolled steel sheets have surface stresses that make for 'anisotropic' stretching resulting in wrinkles outside the die, sometimes changing orientation of the cut blank 90 degrees will change results. Too little or too much die pressure on the outside perimeter (clamping) along with friction high/low can cause wrinkles to not iron out. If you annealed (heated) the sheet to remove residual cold rolling effects and let it cool slowly you can have smoother bending too.

[@timdomes2301]

annealed soft aluminum probably would have come out perfect

[@jrshaul]

Would you want to re-anneal halfway through forming?

[@drhender6943]

@@jrshaul Mild steel doesn't work harden, so re-annealing shouldn't make that much difference. On the other hand, annealing and re-annealing aluminum would be for an interesting experiment.

[@tsstn]

@drhender mild steel won't anneal much, but if it cools very slowly (eg in vermiculite or similar insulator) it will soften enough to make more consistent bends and curves. I have done this with 14 gauge several times. It is a significant process. Not trying to knock you, just adding my personal experience. I agree that annealed aluminum would likely yield fantastic results.

[@jons5366]

I think the wrinking around the outside of the drawn part is because of a lack of pressure holding the blank tight around the draw die. A draw ring and die cushion would normally be used to keep that blank tight. As the forming dies close, the draw ring is already closed, with heavy springs or a die cushion creating upwards pressure on the blank, holding it tight around the draw dies. Any excess materail would then trimmed off. This is a very complex part to form without any wrinkles. The fact that these dies were3D printed out of plastic is utterly amazing.

[@seabreezecoffeeroasters7994]

Good job for a first go. With your 3D prints add a 'brim' in the settings it will help hold the first layers down. With your resin it is Polyester not Epoxy. Polyester shrinks a lot on cure compared to Epoxy so it is a poor choice for this application also as you found heat is not your friend with Polyester resins. Slow cure Epoxy while more expensive will get you a better result. Keep at it :)

[@4DIYers]

That's really impressive, would never expect that from a 3D printed die. Add a lexan guard to the press just as a safety precaution.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

This honestly opens up a big world of customization to me, I just need to work on it some more to get the design and process down a little better! Thank you!

[@oviwan42]

Impressed too! Just a few thoughts; mixing the epoxy with Sand, would try concrete as an even cheaper alternative. And using oil/grease to reduce friction, maybe this will keep the pressure up for forming out the Details. Now let's try a fender!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I REALLY want to get to doing larger panels and really intricate custom parts. Good advice with the sand, didnt know it would work that way in the resin!

[@nickopedia5669]

Putting in sand would also mean less resin and therefore less heat to warp the molds. Maybe also sand the roughness/high spots off the back of the molds to reduce cracking. And epoxy resin has a much higher strain limit so it could withstand flexing of the molds, even though it is also as stiff or stiffer than the polyester resin.

[@davids.6671]

I would mix in chopped glasfibers to stop shrinkage. that should work :) nicely done

[@KarriKoivusalo]

I would use chopped fiber filler too. It improves toughness and adhesion immensely. Plus the other benefits.

[@oviwan42]

@@davids.6671 worth a try, of course! My guess was that Sand will take the pressure better, if it's not grinded too fine.

[@betofukuji187]

For simple beverage can, they use more than 20 slightly different presses for precision. Like progressive stages from sheet to a can.

[@SwapPartLLC]

Engineerguy did a great video on how they make the soda cans. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nobLmqafZ6t1q9k

[@wingbolt]

Nice work! The resin you used is actually Polyester, not Epoxy. Had you used Epoxy, it would have probably not cracked as easily. Also, if you use a slow curing Epoxy systems, it won’t have that crazy exothermic reaction that the Polyester did, thus not heating and deforming your printed part. Epoxy will get warm, but nothing like the Polyester.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

You're absolutely right and thank you! Im hoping to try this again with actual epoxy soon to really see how durable the dies can be

[@Mr2winners]

@@GrindhousePerformance Hawk epoxy with normal cure hardener(slow) not the extra slow, takes about a week to fully complete the hardening process tho after a few hours you can move it Maybe add some lubricant in the mould when pressing

[@retel8r]

Same effect in the shrinking of steel as i have had on projects, my simple fix was 3-5mm thick rubber, you would be surprised, try add like a small section of 2-3mm thick rubber on those ends & you will notice a big difference! Best of luck

[@GrindhousePerformance]

That's a great idea, thanks for letting me know!

[@thesfreader3068]

using resin to fill the mold is such a great idea ! I think it adds some flexibility to the rigidity of the PLA, reinforcing the whole mold. Perfect !

[@bjarnivalur6330]

Something you might want to try is filling the inside with concrete instead of resin, you can add strands of fiberglass to it if you're afraid of it cracking. Also: leaving a gap between the dies is not at all silly, you should always take into account the thickness of the material you are forming/pressing, you should also always expect some bounce back, i.e. depending on the material you're using and its thickness, it might not want to hold its new shape and will "bounce back" (you press it to 90° and it goes back to 100°).

[@GrindhousePerformance]

The manufacturer of the resin had also recommended glass strands in the resin pour to strengthen the part. I wanted to try it without it first just to see how it would do. After seeing what this was able to withstand, I'm still interested in when to add sand, glass strand, or other media to the filler.

[@dekurvajo]

"i am impressed" Metal sheet: "you don't say!"

[@DIY-Forumorg]

haha love it

[@rpavlik1]

That's legitimately impressive. The resin filling was such a smart idea.

[@alestbest]

I would have tried a high performance mortar. Cheaper and no thermal problems

[@ignacioaguirrenoguez6218]

@@VooDoo_BlueResin is a thermoset and has a higher strength, that way the die is harder than with 100% infill

[@confused47]

I'm really impressed (see what I did there?) Dave, I'd never thought about 3d printing dimple dies - that's opened up a whole new world of fabrication niceness for me!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I'm really glad to hear that! I'm excited to start using this for practical applications

[@jack0cat]

Just saw this today and I am blown away. I’m a modeler and and engineer and making something like this for small scale using aluminum from soda cans or roof flashing would work awesomely. When in cad program making the male part I’d probably go at least 5% or 10% in reduction to give more room. I’ll definitely be looking into this for making RC parts

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thank you! This has a ton of potential applications, good luck!

[@sterlingdiaz6205]

That Z looks awesome

[@skyty0]

I can 1000% see this becoming common knowledge regarding 3d printing. Thanks for pioneering!

[@loopie007]

Next time, try spraying some mold release when pressing the metals. Try Pam, WD40, wax. You need to give some lube to let the metals move or slide over the mold. You will need the metal to slide over the mold instead of pinching. Possibly try generic blue "waterproof" grease. Just rub it on well after cleaning the mold. You don't want leftover dirt/metal shavings to stick to the new piece you are molding.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Good advice, I picked up some dry graphite spray to use next time, 👍

[@rodrigocozta]

when working with metal shape, the metal should not move, but stretch. when metal wrinkle that´s means the metal has moved, in his case, would be good screw metal on model board.

[@DeadLuckArchives]

Just a heads up fosscad has been using 3d printed jigs to make stamped sheet metal AK receivers for awhile now. No need to fill the plastic with resin epoxy, your thought process was perfect on the infill.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I'll check it out!

[@BJOHNSONVT]

I second this. Made a set of dimple dies out if pla, no issues

[@GrindhousePerformance]

@@BJOHNSONVT curious what infill %?

[@SuperDukie]

Great video. We just made our own dimple dies (I run a manufacturing company). We started out of PLA then went to steel but during the process we learned you have to design the dies with just enough gap for the material you plan to use. If you don’t, that’s where a lot of your wrinkling is coming from. It sucks but you really need a die for every material size it you want it to form properly and flatten the edges out Great work tho. Love the shape you did and it was a great video!!!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thanks so much! I learned a ton doing this the first time

[@1992longbeach]

This is the era we are so late to catch up on! Technology advancements only make our lives easier sharing this information even more detrimental! Thank you for sharing your experience as it serves as a template to get started on 3D printed parts

[@andrewrobotbuilder]

This is a fantastic idea! I'm restoring a car soon and this could definitely come in handy when replicating old parts - who knew plastic and printers could be so versatile?

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thank you! Im excited to do more with this

[@supergiantbubbles]

I'd use quick setting high performance cement for backing filler. That stuff has incredible compressive strength and it's relatively inexpensive vs epoxy.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I'll check it out 👍👍

[@ZipperOfficial]

ohhhh good idea!

[@drhender6943]

@@GrindhousePerformance If you decide to check it it, make sure you mix is very loose (runny) and use something to vibrate the print so the concrete can get into all of the smallest holes in the print.

[@drvnlp6269]

On 6061T6 might try annealing it first. I think it will go down to T0 at around 600 degrees. It will move like putty and next to zero stress on your dies. You might do that with a torch and temperature pen or cheap laser temp sensor. The 6061 temper will come back to like around T4 on it's own over time. Commercially they uses salts baths to re-temper but probably an expensive process.

[@leslarson2642]

Impressive solution. I would not have believed that press dies could be made with 3d printed plastic dies. 3d printing is truly a game changing technology, only limited by folks imagination. Good job!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thanks! 👍 I'm really excited to find new ways to push this concept and try new things with it. 3d printing is so much more than desk widgets and toys and it's only getting better from here

[@andreweyo-ita4970]

sixth 3D print... 👏. For a small casting project where I have needed a similar filler, I made a concrete out of epoxy and extra fine sand. I get the sand from the aquarium section at Petco. The consistency is just like concrete, you can handle and pack it. I liked it because it solves some issues around the epoxy spilling and being level to the top of your form. Also, it is a large decrease in the epoxy needed to fill the form, depending on what you are doing with it. Not a huge car guy, but I'd love to see where the finished part ended up. They look great. I plan to use 3D printed parts in a press just like yours, so thanks for this video.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Awesome piece of advice, adding aquarium sand is a really solid idea. I need to try this in the future. This part was actually just for testing- I've got some plans for the future but I wanted to make sure it was viable before committing to the design for functional parts. I'm also planning on following up to this video with a lot more tests on the concept as soon as I'm able. Thanks !

[@hughatkins]

That’s impressive! I think you may be responsible for me getting a 3-D printer. The thought to make a die set, then to use the epoxy infill is really cool!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I love it ! Filming some follow up content this week, be sure and check back!

[@idriwzrd]

We've all had that press experience where you stand sideways and cover your valuable bits. Really cool project. I wonder if the same could be done for louver dies.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

LOL that's exactly right! I've been really curious if I could come up with something to do louvers.. it certainly couldn't shear the sheet, but I'm not sure the cleanest way to slice it before forming

[@KickinAsh91]

Impressive 😎

[@sebvv5219]

You mean imPRESSive? 8-)

[@GrindhousePerformance]

🤣

[@GoodBoyCustoms]

Cool stuff, some advice: You should look into the spring coefficient, basically if you want to deform steel to a certain degree, your form needs to be overexaggerated a bit because it springs back a few % when you let go. You should also probably sand the back sides of the forms flat to avoid the force being applied non-homogenous. Lastly, when I test this out in a few weeks I will install guide rods and guide frame to make sure every piece is correctly positioned.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Thanks for the advice, good luck and be safe!

[@NimblyJimbly]

Dude, the second you left the bottom of the print open to accept a resin pour you blew my mind. Freaking brilliant. 1. I’d definitely go with a longer cure unless you’re using something like PC filament that has a higher heat deflection temperature. 2. if you pour the resin a bit proud, you could square the whole part on a jointer, or on a belt sander. Not sure if that level of precision is warranted, but it would probably make any OCD viewers very happy. 😂 3. Doesn’t look like the surface finish needs it, but could be worth experimenting with turning on ironing in your slicer for the top layers. It might result in a really sweet surface finish.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

One thing was interested was that the initial pour was proud of the bottom, but once it cured, it shrank pretty significantly. That was an unexpected reaction that I learned is common with polyester resin. I learned quite a bit about resin after this video, and came to found that it was a combination of the temperature softening the PLA as well as the shrink rate of polyester being pretty high. The combination definitely had done some distortion on the dies, but I couldn't believe how well they turned out regardless. I've had good success on dies without any resin fill since this, but I've also gotten a much larger nozzle for my printer now

[@NimblyJimbly]

@@GrindhousePerformance Sweet! You mean to say you've been doing new dies 100% 3D printed with no resin? If so, that's super cool. Are you using 100% infill? Would love to hear more about your settings & design considerations for printing these sorts of things. I'm about to do my first print with a larger nozzle (0.6mm) using some PAHT-CF. Going to send it through a medical autoclave to see if the part survives. :)

[@ChainsawFPV]

Just got my first 3d printer last week. As a shop owner, I was wondering how this idea would work. Great video. Thank you!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Exactly why I picked mine up, I'm glad that it helped!

[@Robothut]

Good job. I have been watching 3d printed metal forming videos on youtube for over 1 year but I think your results are some of the best. Thank you sharing with us.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Wow, thanks!

[@GordLamb]

This is incredible. I've been 3D printing non-stop for the last 6 months, and dreaming of translating my designs into metal parts. This looks like the way.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I left a lot of room for improvement, but I think there's a real viability to 3D printers being used to form metal. Im planning to perform durability testing on upcoming videos so be sure to check back 👌

[@arcadebit1551]

Look into lost pla metall casting. Basicly you enclouse your print, burn out the pla and cast metall into it. There are a lot of different ways to do it and the only thing you need is a furnace, which can be build for cheap.

[@cavedog1279]

Manufacturing Engineer here, nice work! Impressive results, especially on the thicker gauge steel! The reason you get less definition on the light gauge is because it is not filling up the gaps you designed in, if you reduce those I would expect to see better definition in light gauge and failure in thicker gauges. To improve the edges you can design in slight intentional interference. I also suggest adding some fastening tabs around the perimeter of the die so that you can fasten it to a flat surface when pouring in resin, to prevent warping. Nice job.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thanks for that explanation. Makes total sense. Tabs wouldve been really smart to do, wish I'd thought of that in the moment

[@madwilliamflint]

This is really interesting. I've had it in my head that making the primary part with a 3d printer is missing the point and flexibility of the thing. But this suggests a new (to me at least) line of tool creation possibilities.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

This really opens up a whole lot of opportunities for me, I've wanted to do a bunch of really small quantity run parts and this will let me do them while making them look way more professional

[@madwilliamflint]

@@GrindhousePerformance I know nothing about the material science behind these plastics, but I wonder if you get more rigidity out of an ABS print. Also, look around for a vid on "Salt Annealing." It's an interesting process for post-processing prints for strength. I haven't tried it yet. But it seems like it might be useful.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

The 'tough PLA' is supposedly very close to ABS in terms of strength although is subject to the lower glass transition temperature. Id like to retest this in the tough PLA with a different epoxy, then possibly try another one in ABS if that's something people are interested in

[@michaelliddy8490]

I set all sorts of progressive dies for a living, including roll mills dies and 800 ton press dies. I very much like this idea, a simple stamp press, along with a 3D printer opens the imagination up a bit. I'm invested 😁

[@GrindhousePerformance]

800T geeeeeze, that's awesome. Any recommendations for changes based on your experience?

[@michaelliddy8490]

Nothing you probably don't know already. Maybe, make sure the spacing between the two dies does not squeeze the material pass it's material thickness. Also it would help you if you made each blank a little bigger and add a shear edge around the upper die to trim the excess off the part. I don't know much about 3D printers, but I'm about to start learning thanks to you.

[@JB-xg7io]

I'm going to be trying something like this and I loved your video. FYI, SmoothOn makes a product called EpoxAcast that's formulated especially for making stamping dies. Their product is intended to make the dies, not reinforce 3d printed dies, but the fact that it is so strong should make it a good thing to use for this kind of work.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Very cool, good luck and thanks for the tip I'll check that stuff out

[@juankalsa]

Hey bro, awesome results. Few comments. When printing you need to avoid any cool wind while printing.. cold airflow cause the "bend" (called warping) in your prints. Lowet the infill setting, you can go as low as 50% but increase the "infill walls" to 4 or 5, the piece will be much stronger PETG or ABS will give you more tolerance to the high temp (PETG around 80⁰ and ABS around 120⁰) so you don't need to struggle yourself with the resin temp (at least not that much) Great work!!! Awesome job!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Thanks for the tips! When you're mentioning wall thickness, are you meaning 4-5mm, or 4-5 line passes?

[@bernard4007]

I'm definitely impressed! Especially given that this was a youtube suggestion and I have no idea why I was watching this...

[@GrindhousePerformance]

LOL! Thank you

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Thank you for sharing. This is an great application for the old 3D printer.

[@Wayne_Nero]

I’ve also watched ppl 3D print an image and then make a cast for exactly what you are doing. Nice video 👍

[@GrindhousePerformance]

That's wild hahaha, thanks!

[@johnengel3391]

I've been taking a weekly foundry night class at a local high school shop through a community college. The high school amazingly still operates a metal melting furnace that they melt aluminum and brass in order to make castings in sand molds (like how they've cast aluminum, brass, iron, etc. for 200+ years). If you wanted a harder die set and therefore theoretically more accurate finished stamping, the 3d printed dies could be rammed up in casting sand to create a sand mold of the die set in order to make an aluminum or brass die set. It's also possible to cast it in iron as well if you had a hot enough operating furnace. There's also a long-used casting technique called lost wax casting where the work piece is made of wax and is one-time use sacrificial. You ram the wax casting up in the sand mold and rather than removing the workpiece before casting you heat the sand mold, some use a hot plate, in order to melt the wax, creating a void where the wax once was. In recent years with the use of 3D printing becoming more common, this same technique has been used but with 3D printed items. This is referred to as lost PLA casting.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I'd love to try lost PLA casting sometime, it looks really promising as a process. I don't have anything to do it at the moment. That's INCREDIBLE that a high school is still offering those kinds of classes. I never would've guessed that melting metal was still taught in a high school setting

[@Aikano9]

I remember seeing a filament designed for cast making, it supposedly burns up completely leaving nothing behind

[@homemadetools]

Good use of 3D printing. We posted this video on our homemade tools forum this week :)

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thank you for sharing!

[@mitchellbaker4847]

Mike O'Brien is an absolute wizard, got to see his MA61 supra build being slowly updated in the early 2010-'s via his build thread. Dude started with hopes, dreams, a fair bit of knowlegde and a can do attitude.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

His eye for design is fantastic and I love the work he's done bringing 3d printing to the custom car community. I hope to get the chance to meet him one day after either of our datsuns are completed!

[@michelrail]

That was amazing! Perhaps if your dies were a bit longer... The edges might not have the capacity to give enough pressure. If the die was longer, you might be able to get a better edge pressure from the press.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I think so too

[@drewhodge3820]

Iv seen a bloke in the UK selling simple dimple dies on ebay that are 3D printed. You have taken this to the next level.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Very kind of you to say, thank you!

[@iiredeyeiiredeye1569]

Maybe if on the next project before the resin has completely cured you could sandwich the tools between a couple of slabs of Aluminium tool plate of about 10mm thickness and clamp them as they cure. This should help the tool remain flat. With regards to your pressings...first 6061 benefits massively if you anneal it first. Take an Oxyacetylene torch and black your part with the yellow flame. Now carefully remove all the soot with the blue flame. Do not go to far with it, if it gets too hot it will be in the scrap bin. Heat it with the blue flame until the soot just disappears...Then it's perfectly annealed. In this condition you will be able to shape it with your hands. It will regain it's hardness as it age hardens. The other materials all pressed quite well except the 16G...That wasn't because of it's thickness, it was because the surface finish was poor. A rough surface will grab on the tool and prevent it from flowing across the die, which is why you had good success with the stainless. You can help the situation by DA sanding the material first and also give it a spray with WD40. Looking at your tool I would suggest making it about 20mm wider on each end and cutting the blank to that length, that should help get rid of the pucker at each end. Also make sure that you don't have a rough saw cut finish on your holes. Grind them smooth and round with a spiraband in a die grinder. This will help stop hair line cracks developing at the holes.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

All very good comments, thank you for sharing! I think to prevent the warping of the dies, I'm best off looking at resins with lower shrinkage rates, and lower thermo reactions. I think that if I used the same poly resin, trying to force it to stay flat puts a lot of pre-stress into the dies that could cause a failure once its being pressed. I'll be doing a follow up series of tests on this in the future definitely check back in the future!

[@MrStarknekkid]

Awesome work for just starting out! For warping issues I found what works for me is glass beds and Aquanet hairspray. After mechanically levelling the bed the prints stick well and come off easily after a short time in the freezer. Glass is cheap and I keep a stack for swapping out after print runs, keeps machine down a minimum of time. Hold the glass in place with 3 small binder clips. Good luck!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey that's some solid advice thank you!

[@timmydirtyrat6015]

Would love to see a continuation on this idea, really interesting.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I've got some parts that I need to press for the Datsun project in a few videos. I'm planning to make a new set of dies, and use a handful of suggestions from the comments here to make a couple different styles to compare. I learned a TON on the first go and am excited to do more with it

[@superktmduke]

Excellent Dave, if you print the forms out hollow but bridge the interior to allow the resin to flow freely and maybe thicken up the resin with some filler to reduce heat/shrinkage?

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thank you! I'm not sure whether these forms could actually print with a hollow center, that's quite a large bridge for the printer to span. I do like the idea of adding some filler material into the resin mix to boost the strength though! I'll be posting a follow up video in the next week or so on this concept

[@CodeMonkeX]

Using PETG or other higher temp plastics might help with the deform in the future.

[@underwoodblog]

multiple layers of epoxy and longer cure time to

[@danielr9708]

Or heat-treating maybe.

[@estenberg2]

I did something simillar some years ago and you really don't need the epoxi. I used about 7-10 loops as walls and around 30% infill. The form was used to press metal rings into dust caps for rear ball bearings on BMW E28. Worked like a charm! :)

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Ive had reasonable luck with smaller things with 50ish percent infill and thick perimeters. I think this shape could be done with infill only if you separated out the individual round dimples, then also separated the slotted feature. I'll have to test it in a future video

[@ChineseSweatShoppe]

You could always anneal it, then heat treat it in an oven. It'd be super easy, you'd get hella better results with it being easier to do as well.

[@densamme1752]

Two things that can help you: 1. Lube the mold 2. You can print voids in the infill to let the resin flow from one chamber to the next. Bonus tip: print holes thru the mold and insert put pieces of rebar or something similar (put clear packning tape over the holes before pouring the resin), that helps with warping and load distribution.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thanks!

[@thestone3849]

Really a great idea and an extension of the application of 3D printing I would say, To avoid that pinch (a wrinkle actually) on MS you need to have a holding to flow the metal properly and in an ironed way. Should work better for the ductile metals like Deep Drawn or Extra deep draw material (DD or EDD types). The real surprise is that SS one. All features came out very well and sharper considering SS

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I was truthfully blown away with the SS, theres no camera trickery behind it, it really came out that good

[@odw32]

Super awesome! Not sure what 3D printer you have, but some tips for these kinds of functional prints: * Switch to a larger nozzle (0.6-1.0mm) for significantly faster prints. For casts/molds you usually don't need high resolution details offered by 0.4mm nozzles. * Even though PLA is already a really stiff & strong material, if your printer allows for it, you could try using carbon fiber polycarbonate (PC-CF), or otherwise PETG-CF filament.

[@stevenpolitte4628]

I like your resin filled approach!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Thank you! Id seen the roadster shop folks doing some testing with this, I just really wanted to try it myself

[@ZappyOh]

3 possible improvements: Use fewer Wall lines (because PLA is more compressible than resin) Use Gyroid infill (as an open structure, this will let resin flow everywhere naturally) Anneal your printed parts at around 70-80℃ for an hour (= resist thermal stresses better) ... If these things improve performance, I'm not sure ... But this is what I would do.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I was really close to doing this in gyroid and in hindsight probably should've. I really thought the layers would fail only being partially bonded to one another, but having the resin support everything could've made it massively much stronger. Would you think the gyroid would still need a staggered infill towards the press face?

[@ZappyOh]

@@GrindhousePerformance No, I wouldn't stagger the infill ... I believe the main strength for your parts stems from the resin, not the infill. Infill should only be enough to make the part's final surface easy for your printer, and perhaps to save you some resin volume. You could maybe even insert some scrap metal or similar, to save further resin.

[@TheBreaded]

You should change to a bigger nozzle man. Even .6mm nozzle with .3mm layer height. makes a huge difference to print time (and strength too!). I only use a .6mm nozzle or bigger now as my quality doesn't look much worse and it cuts my printing time in half or more. I like the idea of filling the infill with epoxy.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey that's good to know thanks! I'll look at nozzle options.

[@TheBreaded]

@@GrindhousePerformance No problem man. Also know that once you go too big (like .8mm or bigger) a lot of hot ends can't keep up with melting the plastic. But most hot ends will go from .4 to .6 without any other changes. And good rule of thumb is to print at half your nozzle diameter or smaller. (like .2mm or less for a .4mm nozzle; .3mm for a .6mm nozzle ect.)

[@GrindhousePerformance]

That makes sense, thanks again!

[@JP-xd6fm]

filling with epoxy is a terrible idea as he showed due the heat. Fill it with something that doesn't heat it up. Seriously, maybe use shell feature so it's just the wall layers and fill it with wet sand.

[@dcdvs1583]

Wow! I actually just recently bought a 3D printer and I am just sifting through videos to learn as much as I can before I get it and came across this and glad I did. I’m actually doing a renovation/restoration on a Vintage Airstream trailer where parts sometimes can no longer be found. I have one part I need that no longer exists, but with this video I now have a idea to print a die and should be able to make that actual part from aluminum myself. Thank you for this content and explaining how you designed the die initially at the beginning.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Very very cool to hear this, good luck with your project! I will be following this video up with some other modifications to the designs as well to test out so be sure to check back

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

Excellent process development, and super clever using the resin. Suggestions: Lubricant on the dies! that would help quite a bit. Obviously the epoxy exotherms; many times on a pour, if we took too long, the plastic (not styrofoam :-0 SMH) cup would start smoking, therefore using many smaller pours would be better, and maybe pouring one end with the form on a slant until cured (or at least until the temp drops, reverse slant then pour the other end, repeat, that way you would have alternating 'leaves' that overlap where they are thinner, allowing faster curing with thinner, but still structurally connected layers. Too me it seems that the next pour should be done when an overlapping layer is still a bit 'green' for best interlayer adhesion. Also, I think I would try printing a lip with a recess to allow the last layer to receive a rectangular plate of aluminum or steel (say 1/8"); fill the last 1/16" with resin, coat the contact side of the plate, and lay it on from an angle to exclude air which would give a nice final surface to receive the direct load and be the buffer for distributing pressure to the resin/print block. It seems to me, care in curing to avoid the temp warps in the print to maintain original shape would be key. Doing experiments (maybe on a non-part) to see what layer depth limits for temperature limits/rise might be beneficial. Also for the ends, creating deliberate 'waves' for control of excess metal bends so the compressive material at the ends is formed in a way beyond the part for the purpose of eliminating 'wildness' that affects the ends of the part.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

That's some really good insights thank you. I think there are other resins I can use with less of an exothermic reaction as well that will help mitigate that issue. I've got a few variations of this experiment I'd like to try in the future. The lip idea is interesting, I think it could be printed in 2 pieces to be more print friendly. Ive got another few ideas to expand on I think you'll like, thanks again👌

[@Ab0minati0n]

I certainly didn't think the stainless would form soo well given how hard it is. Nice work. 3D printing opens a works of oportunities for makers.

[@albygnigni]

Stuff Made Here made some good videos on using 3d printing for steel forming

[@GrindhousePerformance]

That dude's crazy smart, love his videos!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

@@DieselRamcharger For giggles I looked up Mike's old post, and it was posted almost a year and a half before stuff made here's video.

[@rpavlik1]

You can tell which one of you has more experience with sheet metal work, though 😁

[@critical]

This is so cool!! thought of doing this on thin alu for a logo and found this, now I'm very optimistic 😁

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thanks! Good luck 👍

[@lykourgosdenaxas8908]

If you get to print em 100%,use the salt method to remelt the plastic in an oven ,that way you wont have layers break on you.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I had to look up what you meant, that's insanely cool- have you done parts that way before?

[@welldoitlive675]

Those molds are going to be way stronger with actually less infill and more epoxy. I'd try again with thick walls and 5-10% infill, a high compression strength epoxy, and a very slow cure time. The beauty of the 3D printed plastic is the ability to create complex curvature, but it's got no strength compared to epoxy or (even better) epoxy with chopped fibers

[@lykourgosdenaxas8908]

@@GrindhousePerformance only once when i had the chance to use a half broken oven and had to grind the salt since i was not able to find "fine salt" ,there are no vapors as i know since the pla is in the salt but i would rather not use the same oven i cook food with. As far as pla after you remelt it can withstand a bit more heat before it starts losing shape.Pla starts going soft about lets say 60c or so after anealing in salt it can go over 100c without losing shape you can check CNC kitchen .Btw how about using the same method you used but with a more flexible resin that is of a lower durometer so that it will not crack as easy and prolong the life of the mold.

[@lykourgosdenaxas8908]

@@GrindhousePerformance maybe if you print it the same way with constant infill and the bottom open,you can fill the inside with salt as well like the outside ofc, that way the pla will be able to withstand more heat enought so it will not deform from the heat produced from the curing resin

[@drpipe]

3d printing in compression is Very strong as you see. Depending on orientation of the printing process can increase even more with careful planning. Type of filament is important factor. Pla is very brittle choice of filament, Great video showing it in a very positive light. Been using 3d printing for a few years now and it’s an incredible tool to have 💪👍

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thanks!

[@brucewilliams6292]

That was an impressive experiment. Thanks for the video.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thanks for watching!

[@Turbo2Pete]

Nice! - I was thinking a little more length on the dies and on the blank to fix that wrinkling, and trim thepart to size later. Also, lubrication would maybe help. Another thought is to try filling with Concrete, cheaper, and great under compression loads. (I Have got to find time to dig into my 3d printer!!!)

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Concrete's definitely an interesting option, I was worried about it being thin enough to get into the small crevices; I haven't really worked much with concrete to have any idea if I could get it thin enough to work out. I definitely think adding some length to the dies will help it, especially if I can get them not to warp.. The air gap was pretty significant. Be sure to check back, I'm actually just picking up materials to try this again with some other options to see how it fares! Thanks!

[@Turbo2Pete]

@@GrindhousePerformance CEMENT is what I meant to say - concrete has sand and rocks, Cement is a fine powder by itself... Try a "self-leveling" cement (home depot/etc.) mixed it's very fluid and will fill in well.

[@Runoratsu]

I‘m pretty impressed with this! 😁

[@GrindhousePerformance]

This does not get old to me LOL

[@mayoropl1]

Cool video! Surprisingly good results. Some improvements should be made in the second video: Two-stage forms; metal annealing before the last forming; thinner and lighter 3d printed part with permeable infill; smarter system to fill it with resin (pour some resin inside and drain almost everything as first step - to form temperature resistant layer?); may add some strong filler to resin (cement powder if you want to stay cheap).

[@ThalassTKynn]

Impressive! It'd be interesting to see how long it would last without the warping issues. Is it worth the effort for 100 parts made? 20? I dunno lol

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I really debated keeping on hole sawing and shearing plates until it failed, but maybe next time I'll get a bunch of plates laser cut to try a bulk run when I have a practical part to build rather than a proof of concept/ learning exercise

[@boprosplumbing]

ended up here by accident, blew my mind, 3D printing is working it's way into many industries and empowering the crafty! thanks for sharing your experiment, plasticxepoxy press dies for sheetmetal, was expecting 22+ gauge tin, impressed by 16 gauge steel...

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thanks for checking out my video! I couldn't believe how well it handled 16ga steel and the stainless

[@Glurgi]

I'm impressed!

[@mica4153]

the resin filling the gaps between infill idea is a stroke of genius. resins great under compression and the PLA is great under tension. so its like the 3d print equivalent of steel reinforced concrete.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Im definitely interested in further experiments, I just picked up a bunch of materials to retest the process and hopefully make some improvements!

[@rx1laser]

You might try Bondo Short Strand Fiberglass Filler. Len

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I'd be curious on how that'd turn out, that stuff's pretty thick to handle. I think you'd wind up having to print the shell with 0 infill or else you'd struggle getting it into all the crevices completely without air pockets

[@stevesloan6775]

Seriously good results for all, but that stainless steel was amaze-balls! The dies look outstanding

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I honestly couldn't believe the quality of the stainless, the 16ga mild was also pretty wild. Seriously thick stuff was pretty mind blowing to me

[@goontheracoon]

He pressed, and was really impressed.. while im watching this bloody depressed.

[@xxTheWhiteTiger]

if you wanna talk, im open

[@RestoCar]

Very cool. I wouldn’t have guessed that the 3D printed material would hold up to a press like that. Thanks for sharing!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey me neither haha, thank you for checking it out!

[@thesfreader3068]

I think the resin helped a lot too. My guess is 100% infill PLA would have been more brittle, and cracked under the pressure

[@sethg4584]

I've heard that meniacle laugh before, he lost his fingers.

[@georhodiumgeo9827]

That was awesome, I’m going to throw some ideas out there but really I think you know more than the rest of us, just some ideas to think over... So you increased your wall thickness and infill, if you are trying again you could try going the other way. The print is just a form to hold the resin. Thin walls and less infill. This would reduce warping on the print. Then use chopped up fiberglass or chopped up carbon fiber in the cavities and the hardest resin you can get. Something like vinyl. You might need to pull a vacuum on it quick to get the resin into the holes with the added reinforcement fibers. Slow the cure time and only one pour. You want the shrinking to happen on the bottom of the print away from the details of the die. Or none of that would work I have no idea. I’m going to give this a shot in the future thanks for the video.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

The resin manufacturer had recommended throwing chopped strands into the dies to help strengthen the resin. They cautioned that large pockets of only resin would be brittle and prone to cracking. The cracking I saw, though, I think was it trying to flatten out the warping from the heat of the resin. I do think a colder mixed resin in a single pour will make a big difference. Id be curious how much of the infill and wall thickness could actually be taken out since it's all supported with resin. Honestly this whole things pretty mind blowing to me in the first place so I was more on the "is this possible" mindset versus the optimization stage Haha. When I get practical uses for this, I'll be doing follow up videos testing people's theories and ideas though! Good ideas all around, give it a try!

[@usanomad]

This is legit.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Im seriously mind blown 😂

[@JimmyLLL]

You could print sections that allow some steel braces to be inserted before you pour the resin for extra rigidity. Great proof of concept.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I've been thinking of ways to really strengthen this thing out, the steel braces would need to be very carefully designed because they could generate stress risers (failure points) in the parts. I think it's definitely possible and I'd be interested to try it. I was thinking an angle iron frame might prevent the PLA from flexing, but the flexing might be doing it a favor 😅

[@lepompier132]

Hey, with the 16ga aluminum, you should have it put in the oven to annealed, once annealed the forming should be easier. And one other detail making die. The space between each of the forming die should be the thickness of the material you are pressing betweeen. Now instead of using a 3D printer with PLA, you should use a 3D metal forming printer. You would have better results and you could use light oil to help with the forming process. And to finish my comment, they are books on that subject that could have helped you instead of rushing the process. In real life the stamping process of metal is done in multiple succession with one or multiple dies.

[@5mmTech]

Resin Reinforced PLA: I can do this all day! The Resin: I'm tired, boss. Awesome video, man. Love the tests and enthusiasm 🎉

[@GrindhousePerformance]

🤣 thank you!

[@_MadFox]

Damn it... No, really, I was stunned... Now, in fact, you can make quite complex shapes for individual metal products at home. What previously would have taken dozens of hours and would have been unprofitable for one or two products, you can safely reproduce using a printed form. I'm thrilled!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

This was an eye opener for me, I just need to work on getting better

[@thom17043]

I had actually been looking into this a couple months ago, but wasn't turning much up online. Then this video showed up in my "recommended" videos on KZbin today. Ironically, after not seeing anything before, now I'm getting other recommended videos along these lines. Another thing would be once you have it dialed in, if you were going to make something in production, you could have it machined out of something more durable. But it also looks like the 3D printed versions stand up reasonably well and would likely work for small runs.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I just recently posted another video on this topic I think you'd also like checking out 👍 . I did look at having these dies machined and was quoted somewhere around $1000 per die to get them milled, I think this is a great option for low production requirements

[@thom17043]

I did watch the Z panel video too. That turned out great! And I saw your comment about the machining cost after I made my comment. I have access to a CNC mill, so I'm a bit spoiled in that respect. Still $1K seems high for the work involved.

[@markgiles8527]

Will you try the 3D Print using something other than PLA? I know you filled in the cavity with a resin but I'm amazed that the moulds hold up to this pressure. You take a design and from that you're making your own formed parts. Opens up a world of possibilities for the DIY. Brilliant!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I think there are bigger improvements to be made on using different infill settings, a different nozzle, blending in sand/fiberglass strand to the resin, as well as different types of resin that would be more ideal for this use. I think I would want to explore those avenues deeper before moving on to heavier duty filaments, as PLA does have really strong compressive strength on it's own. Thank you for the kind words!

[@Or_else_it_gets_the_hose_again]

I work in an emergent shop for a major aerospace company. We make die blocks for hydropress on a 3D printer. Works great for one-off parts!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Very, very cool, that's really promising

[@tod_with_one_d3055]

Would make a longer/wider die help? So the deformation would be outside of the work piece?

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I do think if the die was longer it would've helped the deformation on the ends, but I think the air gap from the warped dies was the biggest culprit there. Someone had recommended stuffing a small piece of rubber in the ends to help make up for that air gap, and that does seem to be promising if you had to work around the warpage. I do think I should've made the dies a little longer though

[@Tommy-B.]

Looks a heck of a lot better than when I go out of the box trying stuff. I’m pretty impressed.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey thanks! Luck was on my side with this one, usually not the case 😅

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Also I see what you did there 🤣

[@fasctic3922]

This gives me a lot of confidence my part is going to bend properly. I'm gonna bend 1mm thin stainless steel slightly in just one direction with 3d printed parts and a somewhat capable vice. Great content!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Hey I'm glad to hear that this helped! You'll want to consider having your dies to over bend past your desired angle so that it will "spring back" to where you actually want it to fall. I didn't notice it too much on these parts, but depending on your die geometry might be more exaggerated. I'd be a little worried getting sufficient pressure with the vice but you might get lucky since you're only bending slightly in one direction

[@PatrickHoodDaniel]

The press definitely racked which is going to cause that deformation on one side of the sheet. Excellent video and great idea on the infill using epoxy.

[@ariesomega5787]

Great vid. The flex in your press as you unloaded (on the second to last piece)was unreal. Great vid again thanks.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Yeahhhhh it definitely got me moving away from the press 😅 thank you!

[@m4vr1ck]

Have you tried concentric 100% infill with a .6 nozzle? And skip the resin pour?

[@GrindhousePerformance]

Since releasing this I've gotten larger nozzles and have had good success without using any kindve resin fill. Check out the heel plate video for some print only tests I'm really happy with 👍

[@m4vr1ck]

@@GrindhousePerformance I will check it out

[@shawnstrode3825]

What a fun experiment. A simple load cell will tell the pressures. There must be a chart showing material displacement based upon shapes. A lubricant will help the material flow. It would be interesting to see how leather would shape. You would need keep it in the die until it dried. How much draft is in the dies?

[@GoldenNuggetRec]

Seems like for those parts having the dies a little bigger than the part would help with shring lines. I found this video cause i wondered if you could do this with concrete filled molds. I watched a video of someone making a lathe with concrete filled 3d prints. What a time to be alive.

[@GrindhousePerformance]

That lathe video was incredible! I just saw it the other day. Definitely agree that larger dies would've done better to get the edges to cooperate.

[@bulwynkl]

I'm really impressed... with the warping/wrinkles, perhaps try clipping the edges

[@rootbeer666]

I like seeing people do functional prints (something that is serving a function, rather than being a visual prop).

[@JHK-dl9bx]

Try bigger steelplates as support for the die. There is no support on the end of the die where the deformation is on the pressed material. I'm thinking about the "v-shaped" cutout in the steel support plates. Maybe the pieces would come out perfect, could be worth a try!

[@GrindhousePerformance]

I noticed that too, there's actually a small stress crack beginning to form in the dies at the center of the gap there, so it's certainly flexing some in that area. Definitely worth addressing next time!

[@alwayscensored6871]

That 18ga stainless looks great. Got some Titanium as well I could try. Only got a 5 ton press but for jewelry size peices this looks like it will be very handy. Dude you have made all sorts of things possible with these plastic dies. CNC Delron dies are doable on the 3018.