3D printed detector

[The Urban Prospector]

Thanks for the info UP, I do plan on getting one of these 3d printers they look a lot of fun, it would be so much easier to print a coil former than spend a long time with the jig saw, just downloaded sketch-up so will check that out to see if it makes any sense, how is the sand scoop holding up ?

I think about the sand scoop a lot, its on my thinking bench lol, I still don't think a decent size 3D printed sand would work unless printed in titanium or something, I was watching Fredrick Barnes on YouTube with his plastic shovel turned into a detector invention and he snapped about a 1.5 inch (hard wood?) handle on that thing which gives you an idea of the stress involved on a beach scoop, then I met a guy down the beach the next day with a popular brand stainless steel scoop which looked fantastic but after 2 hours in the water he was complaining about how heavy it was and that he was tired and going home, and no doubt a scoop that size would have to effect the field of his detector as well, so it reinforces my idea of a non metal light weight beach scoop, also while I was testing the 3D printed scoop I made the non metal design had huge advantages over metal, mainly because you can swing detector over scoop without washing and check you have the item, which is probably pretty obvious, but it has to be nearly as strong as steel, so I keep going back to maybe carbon fiber as the only obvious solution, maybe its time that I learned to work with carbon fiber, that might be a good topic to start a new forum, I have also noticed metal detector companies have been using carbon fiber on detector shafts for a while now which also makes sense.

[6666]

Thanks for the info UP, I do plan on getting one of these 3d printers they look a lot of fun, it would be so much easier to print a coil former than spend a long time with the jig saw, just downloaded sketch-up so will check that out to see if it makes any sense, how is the sand scoop holding up ?

[The Urban Prospector]

Hi Tec how do you think your 3d machine would go makeing the former for this type of coil ?
http://www.geotech1.com/forums/attac...1&d=1414104068

Hi 6666 I noticed Tec didn't reply to some comments so thought I would answer, 3D printing is a perfect solution for things like the 'spider coil", I intend to try one myself soon, and I can do it in an oval shape to or any shape for that matter, as long as the coil is smaller than my 8" print bed, however it could be done in quarters for a bigger coil, things like than can be drawn up and start printing in like 15 minutes, my coil housing used about $6 in plastic and doubt more than about 50 cents to a dollar in electricity, have not noticed any increase in my power bill since I started 3D printing.
In regards to PLA plastic from what I have read and been told it won't just start bio-degrading after a few months, it needs chemicals, PLA was designed with artificial implants for the human body in mind, like bone implants that break down as the bone heals and replaces the implant as the implant degrades, its needs to be subjected to body fluid or chemicals that mimic body fluid to start the process, none of my models printed 8 months ago when I bought my printer have any signs of degradation, how salt water affects it well time will tell with my testing, PLA has some great positives and is a very interesting plastic to work with, it seems more rigid than ABS, but yes can also be very brittle especially along the print lines, they are also developing better grades to like hemp fiber reinforced PLA, Recently a conductive ABS was released which may be useful for self shielded coils, board casings and things like that, I read it was designed to actually print circuit boards into the model as its being printed. Cold printing heads are also being developed which could be used for printing silicon, chocolate and other materials. If PLA or ABS isn't strong enough then you can use your 3D models in a different way, like using your 3D model for sand or lost wax casting in various metals, or maybe you can use the model for vacuum forming?, be much easier than making a wooden model, and if that won't do you can just take your CAD model to someone with more expensive printer and get them to print it in titanium dust which is then sintered into a solid, probably get your wallet out for that sort of thing to. Owning a 3D printer at home really revolutionized my home work shop, one of the best tools I have ever bought. Next goal would be a CNC router or milling machine at home to, maybe even a laser cutter would be a good DIY project.

[The Urban Prospector]

Well done Tec, nice job!
I have also recently finished a complete 3D printed detector build which came out good, functions as intended, I am about to start tweaking my design and make it even better, I can't imagine a better and easier way of making home made detector especially when you become competent at making 3D models in CAD.
I noticed we had some similar idea's like our housings and some totally different idea's!
Here is a pic of my project.

http://www.geotech1.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=32241&d=1421816670

And lots more pics and info in this thread.

http://www.geotech1.com/forums/showthread.php?21883-search-coil-housings-3D-printing&p=200684#post200684

[mortician8018]

Awesome job!

[6666]

Something useful to print
Garrett 5" x 8" (14x20cm) DD search coil cover and an arm cuff
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:359602/#files



http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:324913/#files

[sinclairuser]

3D printing used outside of hobby purposes are certainly not only used for prototyping:

The International Space Station is now making 3D-printed tools
British company Mealysis is 3D printing auto parts from ...

Printing the steering wheel | BLOODHOUND SSC

exactly, in manufacturing, but in hobby terms i was correct, they will improve and get cheaper and better formulas of printing media will come along.
but in a hobby context, at the moment there are cheaper more useful tools available for hobbyists to build projects at home, IMHO.
no offence intended, tec's detector looks great.

[Qiaozhi]

for all the chatter about 3d printing, its still only of use for prototyping,

3D printing used outside of hobby purposes are certainly not only used for prototyping:

The International Space Station is now making 3D-printed tools
British company Mealysis is 3D printing auto parts from ...

Printing the steering wheel | BLOODHOUND SSC

[sinclairuser]

for all the chatter about 3d printing, its still only of use for prototyping, i have a makerbot replicator(older model with laser cut plywood case), and for small plastic parts its ok, but for long lifespan parts, its better to use the made part as a pattern, and cast parts from stronger materials.
pla degrades too quickly, and abs is harder to print and noxious too, i have experimented with nylon, but illness cut my experiments short, i have not been in the workshop for months.

[6666]

Ignorant I am. What type of plastic's do you use?

From searching they seem to use, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) thermoplastic,
and PLA (Polylactic acid) is derived from corn and is biodegradable. PLA is not the recommended plastic to print with, as the material starts breaking down after a few months and printed parts are brittle.
The material is very sharp when broken and can be a hazard when removing support material from the printed parts.

[6666]

Hi Tec how do you think your 3d machine would go makeing the former for this type of coil ?

http://www.geotech1.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31591&d=1414104068

[homefire]

Ignorant I am. What type of plastic's do you use?

[joop]

I can imagine that 3D printing could easily become an obsession.

Is this a PI detector?

This must be TEC's SPI-MX, see http://www.geotech1.com/forums/showt...ses-Arduino%29

[Polymer]

I really like what you have done! Thank you for sharing.
For me 3D printing represents becoming more independent and flexible ...
I have yet to take this jump.

Do you have any idea how well the 3D printing plastics used today hold up to the elements
like UV, salt water, moisture absorbtion etc. ?

[bernte_one]

that was a dream for me the last half year
but it is still expensive
my favourits are the da Vinci from xyz or the prusa i3 xl from jelwek

i think it take a lot of time to print all parts too?

is a complete coil shell cheaper than a prebuild Commercial one if you calculate the material and the power consumption?