Why understanding the structure of wood can make stronger 3D prints

[@iTeerRex]

This why I’m very interested in non-planar slicer development. Added with “organic” design should increase strength, and decrease weight and bulk.

[@TeachingTech]

I agree

[@chickensfloat7427]

I learmed this pretty quick. One of my first prints was a parking brake handle for my jeep. When you pull on it it would split so i made the grain perpindicular and when pulled on rather then splitting and sliding off the threads it would hold onto the threads

[@squidcaps4308]

Same, among the very first prints i made the comparison to wood..

[@brothersoulshine]

I'm pretty new to 3D printing and I'd been having problems with a particular piece that had a bracket that was very weak and kept snapping off. You've really helped me to understand just why! Thank you so much for taking the time to make this stuff, it's so useful.

[@IlanPerez]

One of the best videos on 3d printing I have seen in a long time. Thanks!!

[@TheOneLifeRider]

It's always great to see a new video from CNC Kitchen ;) Seriously, a nice comparison :)

[@TommiHonkonen]

yeah but this is teaching tech

[@dustinmeier9753]

I recently learned about extrusion width over at CNC Kitchen and discovered that it plays a different role than the extrusion multiplier. A particular test he was doing showed that with some filaments, and extrusion width equal to 150% of the nozzle diameter is quite strong.

[@arniep740]

Very interesting as well as intuitive. Thanks for this video!

[@woodwaker1]

Really informative video. One of the best suggestions that you made was to print fewer parts at a time so they don't cool as much between layers. Would like to see more on this.

[@avejst]

great video as always 👍 good analogy thanks for sharing your experience with all of us 👍

[@2_stixs-fpv680]

Nicely done! love watching your content! did a vary good job at breaking down the importance of this when strength is CRUCIAL! I do ALOT of FPV freestyle flying, and I can tell you this is LEGIT! good job!

[@357Maxim]

Thanks for sharing !

[@AllanMacMillan]

On a woodworking forum I was explaining this similarity to someone, who remarked "A tree kind of 3d prints itself".

[@Duskbreaker1780]

I initially went into this thinking it would discuss wood based PLA filaments, and I was excited because I just bought some and was curious how to get started with using it. However, I left feeling hopeful with my experiments to come with wood pla!

[@Deses]

I hope you purchased hardened steel nozzles. The wood particles will erode away the normal tin nozzles pretty fast.

[@Wolfpup67]

The infill actually would make the parts similar to some thing that is made of plywood with an outer veneer. While this would not produce any difference with parts that are stood up the greater the infill and number of lines in the walls would help the strength of parts that are printed flat at the cost of using more filament and increased print time.

[@normanperkel139]

And greater weight.

[@Guardian_Arias]

About time someone with influence notices the similarities between 3d printed parts and wood

[@ronm6585]

Thank you. Very useful.

[@Thomllama]

that was cool! simple old info for me, but was fun to watch you break stuff, and for a newb, get demonstration! just an added note and something you might want to try.. Both Cura and Ideamaker have an "altering shell " setting. basically it zig zags the layers in and out of the shells count and over laps the infill locking it together, making for a MUCH stronger structure, more so flat, but seems to add to layer adhesion to some extent, Ideamaker you just type in a point five to your shell count, Cura actually has a separate setting you need to expose and turn on. (pretty sure Prusa has nothing like it) something you might want to play at for fun!

[@MikeMan21070]

man CNC Kitchen sounds different today

[@parthkorat2527]

good info, thanks for making this video

[@deuterium8236]

Great analogy. How about reinforced concrete. I use long SS bolts in my printed designs when I need serious strength. Don't print the threads but form them with the rebar bolt. Cheers -Peter

[@pirobot668beta]

I printed a Violin and emulated wood-grain to improve the tone. A few years back, I printed a violin. Sounded like a cardboard box. I took it to a Luthier, he made a proper Bridge and Sound Post, installed both for me. It sounded much better! Then I got some small rectangles of Maple, and dropped them on floors, tables, various hard surfaces. The wood rings with a characteristic tone! I printed dozens of PLA test panels: I was trying to find a combination of print parameters that made a panel that sounded like Maple when dropped on the floor. The pattern that worked best was simple: 1.5mm walls (0.75 x2), 20% 'Lines' infill @ 0.9mm width, 0.6 nozzle, 0.25 layers, PLA 4043D, printed a little hot and a little slow to get maximum bond strength. Stiff, rigid, no 'give' in any direction. No top or bottom layers, the infill is exposed on the edges of the panel. The density of the piece was kept close to that of seasoned Maple by playing with the wall thickness and infill line-width. Once I had a pattern that sounded OK, I reprinted only the back, and was rewarded with two of the strings 'filling the room' with very little bowing effort. Keep in mind, I have no idea how to play! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5S6kIKje9V9qNU The other two strings were shy, hard to get started and very muted. I called it quits after that.

[@tHaH4x0r]

Honestly I have a bit of a problem with the testing methodology. Sure you might drop the weight from the same height every time, but the place where it hits is crucial for peak stresses and moments in the pieces you tested. It might have been a better idea to just attach a piece of rope at the end, and keep increasing the weight until it breaks. This would reduce the dynamic stresses making the testing mostly applicable to static loads, which are much more controllable. Also, infill ratio probably doesn't have as much effect as you might think it does, as the main stresses from bending moment in the beam pieces are on the outside (as when the beam deforms, these are obviously most in tension (top) and compression (bottom). I like the rest of the video though! Definitely useful for beginner 3D printers. As you kind of mention, part strength begins with understanding how loads are applied and travel through your part, optimizing your design (keeping in mind print direction) and finally placing it properly.

[@ciarfah]

I pretty much treat infill as support material for the top surfaces, and vary the shell thickness to trade off strength and print time

[@tHaH4x0r]

@@ciarfah I believe that is the smartest way to print these kinds of objects. however, it doesn't necessarily hold for tension/compression loads, as there the infill can be in parallel with the walls sharing a significant amount of the load.

[@leonardocastaneda904]

Yeap, here's where the gap starts to be visible with some content, look at Stefan from CNC Kitchen for example. Consistent and replicable test for accurate scientific analysis

[@em21701]

As a basic demonstration to bring attention to the effect printing direction has on parts this is fine. If you want in-depth scientific testing of materials and print orientation go check out Stephan at CNC Kitchen.

[@tHaH4x0r]

@@em21701 True, for a demonstration it suffices, but using a string with weights would not have been any more difficult, but much more consistent and at least reliable in terms of outcome.

[@printingotb521]

Hi Michael! What filament brand did you use for the gold part?

[@TeachingTech]

Raw Sienna X3D recycled PLA: x3d.com.au/products/x3d-pro-recycled-filament-range-1-75mm?variant=35108267720859

[@eideticex]

The other thing, which I have been playing with is that you can also slice the model with different top, bottom and infil grain. I have done this in cura using "per model settings" and various shapes to slice out the infill directions to try out the ideal at one point. I gave up on the idea not because it wasn't working but simply like everything else I try to do it's too much of an inconvenience for me to actually do anything worthwhile.

[@Billybobble1]

Much like CNC Kitchen, this is a video with a ton of information that needs more than one viewing to fully absorb. I love the 3D printing community of KZbinrs, you all have a place as there is just so many facets to cover and you compliment each other so well. My burning question is, where does a punch force from a Michael compare on the scale of a full-Angus and a full-Joel? As you're into your cars, my guess is you may deceptively surpass a full-Joel, pound for pound XD Love you all and thanks for the continuous knowledge Michael.

[@TeachingTech]

My level is over 10,000 and this isn't even my final form.

[@martijnajanssen]

Nice comparison. Which slicer did you show. It looked like Prusaslicer, but it wasn't ;-)

[@TeachingTech]

It's SuperSlicer which is forked from PrusaSlicer (which is forked from Slic3r). Trying it out at the moment.

[@iAmTheSquidThing]

I am truly stunned that this video involved no karate chops.

[@TeachingTech]

Missed opportunity.

[@RinksRides]

Most slicers have the option of creating a draft shield around the part with the skirt, you can have it generated right to the highest layer of your print, effectively giving the part some tempering properties and improving layer adhesion. As a better alternative to the skirt, would be the heated chamber, that much more stable environment promotes better layer adhesion and reduces internal stresses, making a much better part. While you can design something functional and nice, it's more important to keep in mind how you're going to manufacture your parts. The exact way you plan to manufacture a part and the environment that part will need to endure will force your design constraints to best suit the process of manufacture ie material choice. Take the engine bay of your car for example. Temperature / humidity extremes from -40 to 120C / 0-99% humidity, varying levels of pH, petroleum, dust, and a variety of mechanical stresses. PLA is a great choice for checking part fitment but would never survive this environment. 3D printing a part for this environment out of sintered nylon or various metals will be a much better choice albeit an expensive one. But that's the price when something is bespoke, one of a kind.

[@chrisdixonstudios]

So, hypothetically: would it benefit to develop an upside down 3D printer with a turntable (top) base, most travel on Z-axis and x,y from one side?

[@RomanoPRODUCTION]

Our Vampire community loves your content brother Michael 🦇 💟💟💟

[@kjohnston1881]

I think comparing prints to composites is a little more accurate especially with differing ply orientations for solid walls on the print bed. Very anisotropic in nature

[@Bigdog1787]

Now will acetone which smooths/ melts the print will that be stronger for printing both ways or make it stronger and tie for both🤔

[@squidcaps4308]

The answer to that is: nope. CNC kitchen already did that test. You have to re-melt it again to get any advantages. I hope that this channel or CNC Kitchen sees my comments as i'm now developing a method how to use CNC to make wooden molds. First tests were spectacular success, which is rare. I haven't seen it done before and it is VERY promising. Details are immaculate, shape remains the same, dimensions are accurate. And it is fairly easy, the biggest hurdle is to model the mold, at least for me since it was the first mold i ever designed and machined.

[@Bigdog1787]

@@squidcaps4308 hmm I watch him don't think I seen that one going to go through to find it to see that. I'd like to one day get into cnc stuff, but that's harder to work with and for a good machine cost $5k

[@ismaelyu5]

If you think about it.. it's like melting the bark on a tree together.. wouldn't make the tree much stronger

[@ismaelyu5]

But I got an other idea, what if you print in a chamber with little acetone fumes, it must be just as much so the surface don't get hard before the next layer is printed...

[@Bigdog1787]

@@ismaelyu5 sounds like a cool idea to try out would for sure have to keep it away from the roll of filament. But it probably keep hard to keep dry filaments dry wile printing as well so could help with those material's.

[@davidjohnson8474]

Im printing a playable electric guitar as I write this and this was a question I had.And it seems my thoughts were right as I had no one to ask and used my own brain.My cousin is a pro guitar player for 25yrs and using him for my test.Ive got my end fill at 80% and its just as heavy and a whole lot stronger than wood Im just hoping it plays and sounds great.Im using PLA+ Silk copper and looks awesome!

[@Kalvinjj]

One good tip from Chuck from the CHEP channel is using more infill lines instead of a higher percentage, like if you use double infill lines, the same part is stronger at 10% 2x than 20% infill while using almost the same material. Another tip from CNC Kitchen is multiplying the wall count, this one does the most of the strength of the walls, I can imagine top and bottom layers too for the respective sections. Curious to see your project!

[@davidjohnson8474]

Lol me too!

[@weirdnewworld1736]

@MyTechFun Also had a series on orientation and strength - great to check out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJq0lp5mrMqcZ8k I had to print something that would have stress in multiple directions (using a brittle filament), so after a few breaks I decided to coat it in epoxy resin afterwards for extra strength based on one of his videos.

[@diegovd7215]

Thank you for sharing, that channel (new to me) has very interesting videos.

[@MaethorDerien]

Yep, one good tactic if you need something really strong that isn't going to deform in heat is actually a reverse resin print style. Pretty much you print it hollow with a plug and then fill the piece with two part epoxy/resin. Pretty much it will end up insanely strong as well as not deform in the heat.

[@weirdnewworld1736]

@@MaethorDerien Oooh, that's a fantastic idea!

[@PUBGX-nw9co]

Can You make A Marker And Eraser holder on Onshape plz I really need it in school it’s part of my project to make one so Plz can you show me how to make on Onshape.🥺

[@marka7958]

Hey Michael, interesting video mate but i was surprised you had so little infill, shouldn't the prints have been solid just like the wood they were up against to make it a fair contest? keep up the excellent video's mate.

[@Ludiks]

Same also for Jerky Beef, you can cut it along the fibers to get more chewy of through them to get moe soft meat ^^

[@tyreksimmons4167]

but if i print my parts inside a vaccume, there will be little chance at convetion or heat transfer right? 🤔

[@squidcaps4308]

Convection only does so much and you still get heat transfer in a vacuum. Enclosure is the best way to do it, keep the surrounding temps high.

[@tyreksimmons4167]

@@squidcaps4308 how does heat transfer in a vaccume? Is it from the part to the printer?

[@ismaelyu5]

@@tyreksimmons4167 it's called radiation and it's infra red. No need for air. Else the earth would be really cold on a sunny day

[@tyreksimmons4167]

@@ismaelyu5 i see, still might try it tho

[@muzkur]

If you like woodwork, 3d printing and barbecue, you really need to know about grains.

[@MarioFGarcia]

I print chop sticks for my girlfriend to put in her hair. At first I thought that it would print better standing straight up. It is a clean print but it is stronger when I print laying down.

[@ismaelyu5]

Right.. most times you just print standing for the detail but not for strength

[@NaterNorris]

I've been breaking my prints into sections based on the grain direction to maximize strength

[@FuzeHC]

How do you put it together?

[@whatif8741]

Idk if anyone else knows but when cutting wood put it upside down and itll split easier because of how knots or limbs form in a tree you'll be going with it instead of against it.

[@jtjames79]

Swing harder. Ain't nobody got time to orient firewood.

[@whatif8741]

@@jtjames79 I use machines so it's either I split it that way or get a half split block a wood to the face

[@TeachingTech]

The wood I was chopping at the start is in a big pile so I have no idea which way is up or down.

[@jtjames79]

@@TeachingTech the real pro tip is chop it in a tire. The pieces stay put so you can chop it into little bits without going to pick up the halves over and over. Works better if you got a lot of tires, and line them up. You also want a good splitting maul not an axe. Sharpness is basically irrelevant once you lock in the technique. It's the same swinging technique you use for the hammer game at the carnival. It's not how hard you swing it's how much centrifical force you produce, and where you put the fulcrum.

[@jtjames79]

@@whatif8741 a friend and I did four chords of wood when I was 12 with a hydraulic splitter. If you're out of shape it's easier, if you are splitting wood all season it's harder and slower. I use the tire trick for most firewood, then wedges for the big boys until they fit in a tire.

[@JB-yu1vv]

4:14 may we call you cura now?

[@JamieStuff]

+1 on CNC Kitchen for those interested in this subject. Stefan has done a LOT of testing on part strength.

[@makewithmegma]

🔥💕👍

[@p.9608]

Where are the news?

[@ayalabaleeiro8398]

You can do the same experiment with meat, you gotta cut along the lines to get a clean effortless slice.

[@NiklasStockhaus]

Missed opportunity to do karate chops (like in your ratrig vidd)

[@TeachingTech]

It did cross my mind but the power would have smashed the timber and ruined the tests.

[@brucemcdonald11]

Use a maul to split wood, not an ax.

[@TeachingTech]

Thanks Bruce.

[@speedstarchannel5110]

Сенна был крутым гонщиком

[@bonovoxel7527]

I'll be listening until we get to chainsaws. Chaisaws are awesome. :)

[@froquede]

senna?? brbrbrbrbrbr

[@David460]

Ayrton Senna...

[@jon9947]

So I dont have to watch this video to know the content, so let me summarize it for everyone....use common sense when orienting your prints. Done, didnt need to watch a video for that.

[@TeachingTech]

This video was created to help beginners. Many people have a background in woodworking and try 3D printing as a new hobby, so this is relevant to them, even if it's not for you. By the way, there's more in the video than just this.

[@jon9947]

@@TeachingTech If you say so, but reading the comments it seems I was spot on in what I said. I am sure it was a well produced video, but I am also sure there is nothing but common sense information in this video and if someone is capable of processing the information in the video, they picked it up without help shortly after they started 3d printing.

[@theincapable]

I liked the background info on how trees grow and also the thermal camera analysis. Can't remember what I like about your comment @Jon.