Size isn’t everything - 4 ways to print LARGE parts with a 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 3D Printer!

[@xylopal]

Tom you should do more of this sort of videos, your great at explaining these concepts in a clear and concise manner, to be honest though I would always watch your videos any way but they are better now than the channels that are just reviewing printers all the time, it's the reason I follow you Chris's basement and Stefan. I have a 3d printer I want to get better at using it as a tool

[@blockhead3654]

Agreed

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

Putting together smaller parts also gives you the opportunity to orient the parts in different directions so that the assembly has more isotropic strength characteristics.

[@Cyromantik]

Oooo that's an excellent idea!

[@rklauco]

This is one of your most valuable videos of all time! The ability to use these cuts to print bigger parts easily in PrusaSlicer is absolutely great. Thanks!

[@izzydo3494]

Can you save the parts as individual STL files after you spilt them in PrusaSlicer?

[@TheSerialCableKiller]

@@izzydo3494 Yes you can. Right-click on the part and select "Export as STL/OBJ"

[@scottrini6889]

LuBan3D is software originally created for splitting up models for large printing. You provide the build volume of the printer(s), the desired final scale of the model, and it will size to the specified scale and then split the model for printing. It even automatically generates different types of connectors and can even add numbers to hidden edges of the parts to make assembly easier...

[@StevesDIYProjects7]

thomas i want to say thankyou. i learned how to 3d print around 10 yrs ago cause of you. and things i have learned from you and few other channels :) has made it so i can help other people. you are a great man and thank you for your years of dedication on helping teach people.

[@henrymach]

I'd like to suggest implementing a new form of dovetail for PrusaSlicer: puzzle. It's the same dovetail but rounded (like a puzzle piece) so it's easier to print.

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

I'd like to suggest a tool which breaks your part into hundreds of little 3d puzzle pieces for extra fun in assembly!

[@BeefIngot]

I recently saw something awesome on Robert Cowans youtube channel about using automotive plastic rivets to join 3d printed parts to things, but that got me thinking and I later found out about one of the best things ever: R Type Nylon Rivets, which come in a massive array of sizes, are reusable and require far less effort than hot melt inserts or screwing right into plastic. They are dirt cheap (cheaper than auto plastic rivets) and I imagine you can think of all sorts of ways to use them from connecting seperate parts of say a mold, to pcbs attaching to their enclosures and more.

[@ShawnChristopher10101]

Tom, I've been struggling with the zero clearances, hearing that you put that type of a scale helps me feel better. I wish dovetail and keyways were more automated in Fusion 360, but I definitely feel better about how I've been approaching this as well. Thanks!

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

Once you are getting big you may be looking to use the print for structure but gain strength through other methods such as a skin of chopped glass fibre and epoxy for tensile strength or a fill of resin concrete for compressive strength.

[@jhbonarius]

I'm using freecad and the fasteners workbench for threaded holes. I usually generate a threaded rod, increase the diameter (only!) 5-10% for tolerance and subtract that from my shape. Had been working great. In other cases I just added a threaded nut shape to my shape. Also works, but you again need to scale it up or tap it afterward for a good fit.

[@anthonystownsend]

3D builder is very underrated for Boolean operations. It will smash even the most challenging operations that would choke up something like meshmixer for hours.

[@MadeWithLayers]

To be fair, MeshMixer isn't a great benchmark to compare against 😅

[@biziluxgames8924]

Fusion360 straight up wont perform join/cut comands a lot of times. Its hands down the most infuriating thing ever and takes a 10 second job and turns it into 30+ minutes job

[@KaidoLP]

My Fusion 360 Screw workflow: For screws I like to create a sketch on the head side, perpendicular to the bore. In the sketch I make sure to have a point line end or center point where my screw will end up being. Tangentially constrained circles work quite well for that. Next I use the bore tool and select the points on the sketch for placement. The depth will be to object with the cut surface selected. Head type is up to the individual design, hole type is through hole and hole point is flat. The hole dimensions now can be selected based on screw dimensions with the drop-downs below. Loose tolerances work well. Confirm the first operation. Next turn the sketch back on but instead of stopping at the cut go to the desired depth of the threads on the second part. Change the hole type to threaded, remove the head and check the size (it often gets smaller when changing the hole type). As the threads are smaller than the already formed through hole only the second part will be modified. For modeled threads even the loosest tolerances are to tight, some post processing with a tap might be necessary. Alternatively the model geometry can be adjusted. Lastly the sketch can be hidden again. Pro tip: the screw positions can be added to a sketch already on use in the model, but it should, to keep an overview of the process, be one of the basic geometry sketches.

[@davydatwood3158]

I'm sure I knew about the thin extrude option in Fusion before, but it hadn't sunk in. I'd been making dovetails the hard way, by drawing them in the sketch. Hopefully I remember the option exists for the next thing I do! Also, I've found that sometimes, splitting an STL doesn't work well in CAD and even a couple times in PrusaSlicer - but when that happens, the Windows modeller thingy will get the job done. It feels like a kind of brute force option, but it seems to work when all else fails.

[@AndrewWorkshop]

For PLA butt joints nothing works as well as Weld-On 16. Just use it in a well ventilated area.

[@FrankGraffagnino]

i really wish there was a simple 3d recipe website where I could say stuff like "I want to press fit a M8 nut into PLA" and it would tell you the recommended amount of tolerance to put on the shape in fusion. Or like in your example, "I want to print the threads for an M8 screw" and it would tell you click this in fusion, add this amount of scale to the horizontal dimensions, etc. And similarly for what operations to use if you want to tap the hole. And as people try and do things they could rate each recipe and maybe add comments about what worked or didn't work for them. That same website could have amazon or aliexpress links for all the parts used in a recipe and could probably do quite well to fund itself. I don't have time to build this stuff Thomas so you need to do it!

[@benkeller3]

Well done Tom. I liked the revolve on the screw. Had not thought of that!

[@aidanastigarraga206]

I tend to fillet my dovetail corners. In my experience corners warp the most and sharp dovetail corners have failed me in the past because of it. But, having a dovetail cut option in prusaslicer and now bambustidio is so convenient

[@RogueZeroYT]

Thank you so much, there was a gun from the game rust that I’ve wanted to print for so long. I downloaded 3d builder and it was super easy to scale it and split it. Thanks for showing me how

[@poodlescone9700]

Thank you for this! The dowel connector option and the idea of using bouncy pins just opened a whole new world for me!

[@adamcrum99]

These are some great tips. Always great to see new ways to tackle this issue that I hadn't thought of previously. My go-to solution these days is using threaded inserts but can be a time consuming endeavor. Will definitely be using some of these solutions in the future. Thanks!

[@buster1023]

Thanks!

[@MadeWithLayers]

Thank you!

[@KarasCyborg]

really good practical suggestions. I like the fact that you are using your 3D printer as a manufacturing assistant rather than printing a bunch of benchies and weeble wobbles.

[@craigpuetz7020]

For screws I like to extend the clearance hole about 1/2 diameter into the threaded side. This does two things - first it makes getting the parts aligned and the screws started very easy. Second, it prevents having the screw from pulling a small amount of plastic above the mating surface creating a small gap between the parts as it is tightened. You could easily do this by off-setting the original plane you used to create the features.

[@merkatorix]

Sounds trivial, but I really didn't think about thin extrude to separate parts in Fusion 360. Maybe, it is because I sometimes don't pay attention to videos I watch in the background, but I think Mastermilo tought the progress with the split parts tool, which also doesn't seem to work very well. I learned more than I expected. And I didn't know about the nice features of Fusion 360 :)

[@renxula]

Wow, your Fusion 360 looks like it's handling the high DPI display correctly! One of the main reasons I rejected it was that it looks blurry on my 160 DPI monitor, just like most garbage software did 10 years ago.

[@robertmorey4104]

Excellent video. I'm running into this issue now w parts way bigger than my mk3s. I break em in cad and align with dowels. Works great. I need to play w Fusion more. Thanks for this!

[@peterfelecan3639]

Just for reference, there is a very good cutting module in BOSL2 library for OpenSCAD; there also a good assortiment of joiners and screw modules too.

[@SwissplWatches]

Awesome tutorial!!!!!! Holy cow, this solves an issue I'm dealing with. Thank you.

[@Bob94390]

Thanks, this was useful. Compared to many woodworking joints, the joints presented here were rather basic.

[@nathanielcrutcher]

Excellent video, but it raises a question. Ever since watching the Voron videos you and Stefan made, neither of you seem to be using or talking about The Voron printers. If the Voron is bigger and faster, it seems like the logical choice for large parts. I have this suspicion that nobody wants to say anything bad about the Vorons, but that they have problems. If I were to guess, I suspect they require too much tuning and the build plate takes too long to heat and cool.

[@edevans5991]

Thanks for this. In the past I was able to use 3D builder to make simple cuts but my latest project isn't warhammer terrain and might need some extra strength. Your video headed me in the right direction at the very least.

[@crazyethanyeahyeah]

Thanks a ton for sharing this video! It was a lifesaver. I had a large part that wouldn’t fit on my Prusa MK4, but using the PrusaSlicer dovetail feature solved the problem perfectly. Much appreciated! New subscriber, Ethan from Australia.

[@rmfeld]

Danke!

[@MadeWithLayers]

Danke auch!

[@mdbssn]

For printing threads in Fusion, I've had good luck with the offset face tool. You make your hole, thread and model it, then select the upper and lower face of the thread and offset the face (hotkey Q by default) by 0.1mm. I've been very happy with results to about 0.15mm layer heights for M10 and larger threads (where both parts are plastic) that feel almost like nylon or metal machine screws, but for single-use threading 0.20mm layers work alright - I just find that you get enough of an arc in the circle between layers that you get some bridging in the bore of the hole that ends up gunking up the threads when inserted. I've found it's also helpful to add a 0.5 mm or 0.25 mm chamfer to the leading edge of the exterior of the hole, as it seems to help the threads engage on a flat face. Oh, and if those threads are binding a little, just a rub of paraffin wax on the male threads should make it much easier to assemble (the classic woodworkers' soap trick works the same way, but the wax is less of a potential problem for most of my applications.)

[@97hondacivic]

9:30 shouldn't you cut into the parts a bit more than the key height to account for bridges sagging?

[@HoiPolloi]

Great video! I am starting to think about making larger prints and this information is exactly what I needed. Thanks :)

[@GRainwater13]

Well done!! Very helpful! Great idea showing how to do this via a slicer and also a CAD program. This solved a problem I was having trying to make long wagon wheel spokes.

[@AlexanderTrust]

Very interesting. A bit fast in the show and tell part, if you ask me, but other than that, I can just rewind and rewatch it. Added this to a playlist of mine, because I bought myself a 3D printer. It is astonishing what kind of creativity is possible with a tool like this. Thanks for doing the video.

[@JonsAschan]

Thomas, I printed a shoe sole on the mini using flex and a dovetail. I wanted to have the sole consistently soft using flex filament and avoiding perimeters on the cut surfaces. It seems in prusa slicer, that there is no option for fewer or no perimeters at all on one of the horisontal walls.

[@ifell3]

This is great, from my experience on searching through different wood working joints the box or finger joint tends to rule. Maybe this could be inspiration for @CNCKitchen to video test on his strength rig 😉

[@RegularOldDan]

It's great to see what went into your form for the subwoofer - I appreciate the behind the scenes look at the process. :-)

[@jgkobus]

Excellent video!! Keep up the great work. I will definitely use these techniques. However, I just bought a Neptune 4 Max so I wouldn’t have to cut large prints in half. haha

[@Goldwaschen-mit-Tom]

Danke dir. Gute Tipps. Wenn jetzt noch mal das Kleben behandelst, wäre super. Gerade PTEG, gibts da ein Allheilmittel? Gruß Tom

[@gamehaus3643]

thank you for this. it will help me loads in the future. until now i was just doing cuts on tinkercad (no joke) and it takes some time to do because i was creating shape, making it 0.2 thick then repeating and aligning to make the dove tail. i never knew i could just do it in prusa

[@ogradus]

04:48 Whoa man are there a few specific settings that you changed to get your print speed down to 5 hours with good quality? I'm using cura and it seems like that's a 19-hour job with my Anycubic Kobra 2 Neo If I'm trying to print something as big as my build plate. I see that you said it to 0.2mm, rather than the 0.15mm that I'm set too, but I wonder if there's anything else that's so significant?

[@michaelbarbone9310]

I'm doing a large print split into 4 pieces. At first I tried to design using dovetails. Was getting messy. I'm a noob at all this, so don't really know what I'm doing. Then I decided to mate the 4 pieces with bolts. I added holes in the pieces and I am hoping it will print easily. Thanks for the confirmation.

[@ryancarlson9680]

I’ve never actually modeled threads. I just cad a hole and then I use a drill to get a screw to “self tap” in. I’ve done it without a hole too, a screw with a drill will melt any plastic in its way and it re-solidifies well. Can’t do it without a power tool though

[@Cyromantik]

I like using Blender's Boolean tool to make snap-together parts. I do this by first modeling my object as it would look complete, then make my cuts, I put notches and protrusions on one part, then move the protruding parts into the other object and do a boolean "difference" and scale the parts to give the completed print a margin for error so hopefully dont have to do any sanding to snap them together. I made a skateboard stand this way, it has great rigidity and can be disassembled when needed. I probably need to learn On Shape one of these days, but I learned my 3D stuff on Maya and Blender so that's a process I'm most comfortable with. 😅

[@andrewmartin1926]

Like the way of creating screw clearance using a scaled up male cutting object. I've been pushing the surfaces of the thread out which is far trickier.

[@ezruarn]

Can You show us your settings of the fusion 360 you have? my video card (4070 ti) does not connect with the software and that is why the software works slowly

[@manekdubash5022]

Great stuff: there's a lot more in the Prusa Slicer than I realised. Thank you.

[@dougbas3980]

I use 'Onshape', so need to see how to do there for CAD. I also use CURA for slicing, so homework there to. One thing for sure, you are way better at CAD. Thank you very valuable.

[@punishedprops]

Fantastic solutions Tom!

[@orange-micro-fiber9740]

Ooh. I didn't know about thin extrude in Fusion.

[@mariairina6143]

This video is what I was missing in Fusion360, I started learning it by using (which I don't recommend...), and I was pulling my hair trying to do things like this. Also, I had success printing a M3 screw hole. Not the sturdiest, but worked in my application. I got excited and tried printing a M3 screw but... yeah, haha, didn't work sadly.

[@MadeWithLayers]

For small stuff like M3, you can also skip making threads entire and just jam the screw in there - it'll hold pretty good!

[@mariairina6143]

@@MadeWithLayers haha yeah, totally. In my application (holding parts together for a butterfly knife), just fitting wasn’t enough, it actually needed to let the parts spin. With the screw solution, the screws get looser as the parts spin, but I think replacing the 3d printed hole with an actual nut would solve the problem (with a nut-shaped hole to keep it in place) 3d printing makes engineering/designing so much fun haha, actually making the parts and seeing where they fail and why

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

Fusion has a create thread tool that works on existing holes. It will even try to guess the closest standard size. I've printed M3 bolts to mount fans to my printer when I didn't have the right length in my parts bin. The metal nuts thread right on w/o issue and have good fit. YMMV.

[@eugene3d875]

Great set of tips and slicer features evangelism! One more option for the screws - you can do a negative volume part in slicer. This works perfectly with wood screws. One just needs an appropriate stl of a screw!

[@c3diy]

The new logo was a leap in the right direction, i love it!

[@merkatorix]

Concerning the screws, what if you want a non-uniform positioning of multiple screws? Is there a way to position 5 screws in a free pattern?

[@MatthewEncina]

This was great. Thanks for sharing.

[@ivangutowski]

Thin extrude, wonderful ! Never knew about it and would spend ages doing annoying sketches with offset lines that never seemed to match Thank you,. super useful

[@d.i.d]

What about LuBan ? There is so easy, 1 click and all its auto cutted 💪

[@MadeWithLayers]

Does it do any of the "fancier" joints than a butt joint? The main thing that turns me off LuBan 3D though is that's sooo expensive... $18 per month or $450 for a permanent license. That's enough to add two whole Ender 3 to your printfarm!

[@sl322]

3dbuilder also works well in making models manifold and making them hollow so you don't need to use infills.

[@justsomeguywashwd_jbm821]

Another idea - it's sort of a variant of what you did with the last way with the screws/bolts. You know that thing some people do for including metal parts in prints, where they design the part with a cavity for the inclusion, & have the printer pause or stop when it gets to the top of the cavity so the inclusion can be inserted, then letting the print finish? You could do the same thing, but use a nut or 1 of those longer spacer type things (like a tall nut). If you put that on 1 side of the joint, then on the other side (where the bolt would be screwed in from) you could add something like a square washer as an insert to reinforce the hole that the head of the bolt would be pressing up against.

[@mitchib1440]

huh! I didn't know PrusaSlicer could do so much of this! I'm working with a model I bought online but I only have the STL file and not the CAD file (i believe the author made it in blender) so this is really useful! Thanks, Tom!

[@Dave-gf3kd]

What an informative and well done clinic!!!! Thank You!

[@littlehills739]

just tested the offset plane split in onshape that nice for quick split thank you

[@christoskaragiannis7973]

It's such a bummer that export as stl cannot export the holes for the part connectors in split parts. It throws some boolean opeartion failed error. Orcaslicer fails at this too. I'd love to be able to split parts, add connectors and save them as ready to assemble stls.

[@MadeWithLayers]

Seems like they're already on it! github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/issues/10265

[@christoskaragiannis7973]

@@MadeWithLayers Yes, but the issue was opened in early April and we are nearing end of the year. Don't know how long they usually take to sort bugs, but I'm starting to lose hope. Ps. Thanks for the reply. Loving the extra effort put on the channel lately. Hope that sub count goes to the moon 🌙!

[@SaitoGray]

Thanks so much ! i just ruined a print because the thread where crazy tight, you just save me a lot of trouble. My plan was to scale the part by 2% in the slicer and to retouch the dimentions taking that into account, that would have been hell.

[@cassiuslives4807]

really useful video, especially the fusion 360 sections. Ingenius, thanks for sharing!

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

My very first functional part was actually too big for my printer (before I realized I could downsize it 😅), so I had to split it in two and used the dovetail (with rounded corners, bc 3D printers) and it worked out pretty well; I actually used that for something I was just working on as well (tho with opposing out and in tabs so I can just print the same part twice). I've also used friction fit for parts that I couldn't come up with anything else for, butt I can't say I've ever used the buting up connection method.. I feel like at a minimum a part should have at least some kind of alignment groove so you don't have to worry about positioning and all that..

[@TheMarpat]

1:41 best videogame style adhesive pistol reload ever

[@B0A2]

Came back to this video after about 9 months as I’m working on a project that needs some connections. Welding prints together is also a good option sometimes.

[@TorsteinMittet]

Excellent video Tom, would love to see more tips and tricks in Fusion360

[@ahmedal-modaifea4457]

Well these methods work great on big parts, how about stuff like large boxes/cases? Too thin for screw, pins and a dovetail may work but I doubt it will have sufficient strength.

[@troncooo409]

Well done, for smaller part heat inserts are the solution

[@raresnagy3476]

Do you use other techniques when trying to mate using smaller size screws, say m4? My current solutions are either putting a nut on the other side of the part if the part is thin enough, or pausing the print to put a nut in where i want my screw to go, but that's pretty annoying

[@JonathanRiley-mw2nc]

I usually print smaller parts separately and use 3d printed threads to lock them together downside is that the threads usually need to be printed at 50 microns - 100 microns layer height.

[@sleepib]

Depending on situation, the adhesives I use are E-6000, jb-weld, and superglue(cyanoacrylate)

[@AllanMacMillan]

That method of cutting a dovetail with a thin extrusion in Fusion was pretty neat. I tried it out in Onshape, but unfortunately when you add a draft it doesn't behave the same way, rather than angling the cut out and maintaining the same kerf as you show in Fusion, it drafts the kerf instead. Off the top of my head I think you could make it work by duplicating the part with a copy in place, then performing the cut to each part using opposing draft angles, I suppose that means duplicating the sketch from the opposite face of your part too. There's probably a simpler way to do it that I'm just not seeing.

[@lazyman1011]

Wonderful Tutorial with superb editing! Thanks!

[@Devills_hill]

Step 1, print a bigger printer 😂

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

Lulzbot moment

[@tuskegee87]

Step 1: print a lot of money Step 2: use that printed money to buy an industrial 3D printer. Step 3: make a business surrounding your industrial 3D printer Step 4: use money from that business to buy injection molding machine Step 5: wake up and realize it was all a dream! Step 6: live out the dream

[@fitybux4664]

Is there a way to automatically add screw holes to PrusaSlicer? Seems like there should be!

[@MadeWithLayers]

You can use the boolean tools and subtract a cylinder, but it's not too practical as you need to place each one manually.

[@B0A2]

Super interesting, it sounds like I should learn fusion! I’ve been using onshape and while it has some of these features fusion seems better aligned with additive manufacturing

[@NickyNiclas]

I don't understand why the slicers don't allow us to make multiple dovetails on the same cut? I need two dovetails on the cut because I'm printing a frame. Any trick for that or do I need to get CAD software?

[@MadeWithLayers]

What I could think of as a workaround that could be done directly in the slicer: - Lengthwise split the part in half (or into multiple segments) without creating dovetails - Create a dovetail split individually for each of the new segments - Reassign the split segments into a single part for each halve Lining up the dovetail splits from the individual segments may be a bit tricky that way if you're joining a solid piece, but shouldn't be an issue with already separated geometry like a frame!

[@NickyNiclas]

@@MadeWithLayers That works, thanks! I did see a feature request to have them add some more parameters for the dovetail cuts so hopefully it gets implemented soon.

[@Caldoric]

But does the microswiss thing work for the Anycubic Vyper?

[@WallyJ2K]

Absolutely what I needed! Thanks so much!!!

[@fantazmagorium]

Great solutions and explanations, thank you!

[@jakeMTSU]

seems like the long way to make it work... but it works! I use fusion in my day job and this is not that hard... I did enjoy a different way

[@bzqp2]

I'm selling 3D printed helmets on Etsy. Originally I would lean towards more smaller parts but each joint produces a very obvious line on the final part. These lines need a ton of post-processing. The models I'm working with are quite organic and complex so it's very hard to split them in a meaningful way. Lately I feel like printing largest parts possible is the best approach for me. Honestly I prefer to add 50% of printing time (for the failed prints) than spend 200% more time trying to manually hide the seams with sanding, plaster, putty sprays, epoxies and other fillers.

[@Billybobble1]

At 13:30 up to where Tom says "..and that's good enough!" did anyone else suddenly feel like they were watching ESA Marathon and Tom was doing an ANY% run on CAD? 😂 Jokes aside, really useful video and I hope you do more like this Tom, your methodical approach is great for tutorials.

[@fakumadda1632]

What type of adhesive do you use for PLA?

[@LTCDRRAZOR]

Try either a little acetone between the pieces, maybe via a spray bottle, and holding them together, they melt and become one basically. Or, have a glass bottle that that you have pre melted some scrap 3D print and acetone into, then just use that as your “glue”.😊

[@Duckers_McQuack]

I don't recommend hot glue. I tried that on a print where a ball joint 9lug was separate, hot glued it in and print melted. I recommend gorilla glue instead. The one that doesn't expand/state watertight. My heavy ish figurine sits dead shut and doesn't budge with the gorilla glue

[@TecSanento]

You can also just use the cutting operation for the recuring operation

[@ItsMeLuke69]

Export as STL in prusa slicer? omg great tip thanks buddy

[@hanswurst9866]

Does anyone know a way to fill up a hollow (very complex) STL mesh so that it can be printed as a full solid and sliced easier?

[@thomasheisler]

Have you seen Luban, another cool software that can split models, but it has alot more things it can do

[@NoizieWorks]

I was literally looking for this! Thanks bud

[@peterwroberts]

Really cool, thanks for sharing! I definitely learnt some things 😊