SDG

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

The last place i worked and some nice 3d printers, the finish was very good and the dimensions were always spot on too. But at about 50K per machine I’ll settle for my £140 ender 3.

[@sdgelectronics]

For most things the Ender 3 is perfect. It's nice to have some options there for a special project though.

[@TMS5100]

$1k hobbyist FDM printer vs $100k industrial laser sintering printer.😃 maybe another 20 years and they will come down to within hobbyist budgets.

[@steubens7]

since the part height in your prints seems to come out wrong, calibrating/fixing z steps might fix the holes being out of round as well

[@Rejdukien]

To be fair, by spending a good amount of time dialing in settings, you can reach a happy medium between both prints. For example, the (what looks like to me) 2mm spaced lines all over the wall make me think your belts may be too tight. Using pressure advance / linear advance you can also get crisper corners and as a nice side effect, it'd also reduce stringing/oozing. Using fiber filled filament, such as PA12CF15, layer lines in FDM also almost disappear, visually. Realistically you still won't be able to match the quality of sintered parts, but there's room for improvement, even on cheap hobby grade printers. But in the end, it's up to each and everyone themselves how they value their time - therefore, just getting the parts professionally made is a very valid option, if you want high quality parts with no fuss.

[@sdgelectronics]

Thanks I will take a look at those plus the filament and see if I can improve on my own results.

[@matusekpetr7806]

​@@sdgelectronics Just to be aware, fiber filled filament actually ruining standart brass nozzle within hours of printing. There are hardened steel or ruby tip nozzles specialy designed for these kind of filaments.

[@gregclare]

Looks like the best solution is the combination of having your own 3D printer, for prototyping your print to ensure you have your design 100%, and then use the likes of PCBway to professionally print your final design.

[@sdgelectronics]

Exactly, I wouldn't want to send off a print for my 1st prototype unless I was certain it was perfect.

[@tubeDude48]

Very nice, Steve. I'm trying to decide weather to use PCBWay or JLCPCB.

[@sdgelectronics]

They both produce great quality items, so go with what suits your budget or whichever has the right specifications for your project.

[@tubeDude48]

@@sdgelectronics - Thanks

[@ohmschool]

One idea: For the back panel, you could create this part using PCB material (black) instead of 3D print. Advantages might be: greater accuracy with dimensions, silk screen text to label button functions, graphics, ultra smooth finish, copper pour on inside surface for EMI shielding, grounding, heat resistance, heat sinking, etc. Not sure about cost difference.

[@sdgelectronics]

That's probably a better option actually.

Those prints from PCBWay look really perfect but to be honest, it seems there is something wrong with your home FDM printer (maybe not-well tuned slicer settings or some mechanical issues, like loose belts). I own an Ender-3 printer with a couple of small upgrades (like BMG extruder and Capricorn tubing) and my results look much better compared to yours (of course not as perfect as PCBWay, but the surfaces are really flat/without any artifacts and also holes on my prints are perfectly round - no overhangs). I use PrusaSlicer instead of Cura and most of the time I print from mid-quality PLA or PETG filaments (like Fillamentum or Prusament brands), so maybe you could try it.

[@sdgelectronics]

I'll have another play with the printers but it's not isolated to just one of them - I have 4 and they all give similar results. On high quality settings they are all much better but at the expense of speed.

[@INFO_SELABX]

10hour is earlier than 25days😊 But respect the finish of JLc

[@louiel8711]

Might try using an Ultimaker S3 profile in Cura, paste in your ender 3 Gcode and modify the filament diameter, bed size and machine height and number of extruders, I get great prints all the time now. Great video .

[@sdgelectronics]

Thanks I'll try it.

[@IanScottJohnston]

Very, very nice!......and I notice PcbWay do CNC Laser cutting as well. I might give them a go for my front panels instead of using my K40....the cost of Acrylic is expensive at the quantities I buy at. hmmmm! PcbWay seem to be doing all the right things for the consumer/small biz these days!

[@sdgelectronics]

I was actually thinking of your products when looking through their capabilities - not sure how expensive it works out though. I wonder how the injection moulding works out instead of generic boxes as well for a custom chassis.

[@PCBWay]

Hey Ian, warmly welcome to have our CNC a try!🍻

[@IanScottJohnston]

@@PCBWay Having a look now.....I need a 50off 3mm acrylic panel laser cut and also laser engraved. Can't see how to order this on your site. If you supported LIGHTBURN files (.lbrn) that would be better as it contains data for both cutting and engraving, but it doesn't look like you do......any ideas, I guess I can export to a .DXF which will give cutting and engraving data?......but my design files are only .DXF or .LBRN so not sure how to upload as you CAD files upload doesn't support them?

[@allthegearnoidea6752]

Very impressive. Been thinking of trying these services myself so your video was great

[@sdgelectronics]

I'll try to get some things made in other materials for a fuller comparison

[@NivagSwerdna]

I think PCBWay should sponsor you to do some more options... very interesting service. Would love to see some machined parts.

[@ghwizz]

I'd love to see what the aluminium or stainless or titanium looked like!! Can you suggest PCBway sponsor the production of one? Would be great publicity for them, already you've got them IanSJ as a customer!

[@dcallan812]

Nice clean job. Way better than I could print. great video 2x👍

[@r4dius]

I didn't knew about sls, this is just crazy quality

[@TheDefpom]

That does look good, Nylon eh… is it glass bead filled ? (that would explain the dimensional accuracy and detail)

[@sdgelectronics]

No glass in this mix, I think it's just polyamide powder based

[@andreiciora2765]

JBC just lanced their new amazing two station . Will uou make a video with this two models

[@dieboodskapper]

I just did a price comparison for the above mentioned MJF (microjetfusion nylon powder based printing ) and it turns out PCBWay quoted me more than double the amount for the same print using USA based printers - just saying.

[@th3drizzl378]

have you tried their tpu printing? I have a few things I want to print but doing those here they only ever print okay

[@liboy34]

Hi The pcb way 3d printing is a carbon fiber?

[@gregclare]

3:53

[@sdgelectronics]

Yes, CF plus many other materials.

[@petermoore9504]

Teaching Tech an also CHEP have some very good videos on changing your stepper settings to get more accurate size prints. It looks like your z is too low. But those pcbway prints look great, much better than you could do at home. Cheers

[@ralphj4012]

Impressive print, though powder-based as far as I know. Perhaps use a right-angle pin header then you may not need to cut the pins.

[@dieboodskapper]

Hi I am curious to know how much you paid for the MJF part from PCBWAY??

[@sdgelectronics]

The large part was $35

[@bobweiram6321]

$35?! It's over for manufacturing in the west! That's waaaay cheaper than buying a stock enclosure!

[@Grucha1998]

Can you make rating of jbc clones? I mean compare as many clones as you can with c115/c210/c245 in one video?Pros and cons based on your experience?

[@sdgelectronics]

I'll do a round-up soon!

[@Grucha1998]

@@sdgelectronics Great! I'm very interested in c115/c210. Thanks!

[@SidneyCritic]

I watch Teaching Tech, and there is quite a bit to optimising prints. He has comprehensive guides using fairly simple tests, if you're interested in working it out. Either way, his optimised prints weren't as good as those Pro prints.

[@tablatronix]

wow this is impressive

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

I guess most people can prototype their hobby designs at home, and if they come up with something really nice... send it out and have it done professionally.

[@Mr.Leeroy]

1:07 do they offer mu-metal?

[@sdgelectronics]

Unfortunately not.

[@belsteed6050]

Do you stream sometimes or have a discord channel? I have a question and I'm sure you are probably the only guy who can answer me with the experience you have.

[@sdgelectronics]

No, but you can e-mail me if you like. Details on my KZbin page.

[@thomasvnl]

But isn't this the logical evolution? If you don't want to worry about anything other than sending the design files, it is rather nice to be able to print on your own cheap 3D printer beforehand as not to waste money on getting professionally 3D printed parts made that don't fit because you couldn't physically check them out beforehand. To me it would be a lot more worrisome if I hadn't checked the parts out on the cheap before sending the files to a fabricator. Those manufactured parts do look nice though, almost like they weren't 3D printed at all!

[@sdgelectronics]

Yes, I think it would make sense to prototype on your own printer first, though it's a similar evolution to PCBs. I used to prototype my own copper clad boards with a UV exposure box etc at home. I'd only send off for professional manufacture once I'd eliminated any bugs.

[@PatrickRankin]

Doesn't even looked printed... amazing

[@tpsintra]

Nota FMD! Laser

[@AlucardWulf]

Hi, I usually like your videos, but this time it's a very unfair comparison!!! You are comparing different 3D printing techniques and different materials in one part. MJF printing is a powder based process and NOT FDM. Next is the material, it is a material specifically designed for the MJF printer. The setup of the MJF printer requires a whole large room and not just 50x50x50cm. Also, the price of this material does not get cheaper when you produce more parts. Also, the walls are curved and not straight at your PCB way part, that would not happen with FDM. Sorry for my criticism, but you are comparing a bike to a Formula 1 car.

[@sdgelectronics]

True, I will be getting some PLA parts made very soon. The general point is still valid though - you can get some very professional items made at a decent price with equipment that is impractical for home use.

[@AlucardWulf]

@@sdgelectronics yeah maybe i to much on the diy 3d printer side, but my opinion is that every household must have a 3d printer. I know we are not really at a point were we can buy a plug&play printer, but its a tool like a cordless drill everyone should have... But you are right when you say: for a few parts a printing service is a very good option.

[@makewithmegma]

💕👌👍