Tpdingo
Member
I'm going to try something a bit insane. 3D printed TAV30 belt. Why not? It is just TPE or TPU, not sure which one. If I have enough material, I will try it, otherwise, I'm not buying some to make it. I should have enough.
3D printed belt?
- Thread starter Tpdingo
- Start date
- Status
anickode
Active member
Well that sounds like an awful waste of material.
Does your 3d printer also lay Kevlar fiber into the material? Because the strength of a belt comes from the fiber belting, not the rubber. (RUBBER not PLASTIC) And the toughness comes from the quality of the rubber and the vulcanizing process.
Basically, you're going to make a useless turd. Hopefully it breaks before it melts, or you'll be scraping melted plastic off your torque converter, engine, kart frame, and probably the back of your head too.
Does your 3d printer also lay Kevlar fiber into the material? Because the strength of a belt comes from the fiber belting, not the rubber. (RUBBER not PLASTIC) And the toughness comes from the quality of the rubber and the vulcanizing process.
Basically, you're going to make a useless turd. Hopefully it breaks before it melts, or you'll be scraping melted plastic off your torque converter, engine, kart frame, and probably the back of your head too.
tgus3
a member
yes i was gonna say you better put fiber in there or your just wasting plastic.
what kind of printer do you have?
what kind of printer do you have?
Tpdingo
Member
Well ok, good thing you warned me first. It doesn't, but I know one that does and it costs way too much. I'll just go buy a real belt because the one I have is fraying and dying. It doesn't grab too well any more. Does belt brand matter?
Bwdeaton
New member
A real comet/manco belts are the best. Model 203589 for the tav2. They will last the longest. You can buy three of the cheap knockoff ones and go through all three in the same amount of time as the comets will last.
mckutzy
Well-known member
Yes belt brand matters... Alot..
Long and short of it..
TPE or TPU are more of an injection moulding material instead of printed material... Yes They can be used in the 3dprinter... But the properties will not be the same as if they were processed by another type of manufacturing..
Long and short of it..
TPE or TPU are more of an injection moulding material instead of printed material... Yes They can be used in the 3dprinter... But the properties will not be the same as if they were processed by another type of manufacturing..
Actually no need to print the kevlar fibres, you can just insert that layer manually
..that is if you print the belt flat, which unfortunately will proove to be nearly impossible on a common 3d printer
(you'd need a fourth axis that wraps around the printbed, like the continuous belt bed from early makerbots)
but in the correct size for the belt length you need of course... (said it's nearly impossible, right?)
Then you could -in theory- print the backing,
and while the bed-belt moves along, you can add the kevlar enforcement on the edge of the printbed manually, as it loops around it should then fuse with the next printed layer.
It's still likely the worst possible belt you could install onto a TAV,
and not the cheapest either (considering a small spool is maybe good for two belts and costs around the same as two commercially made belts)
Ask Slic3r for the amount of material (or whatever slicer you're using) and do some math
you'll see what I mean
For small flexible parts it's actually fairly easy to reinforce the part with duct tape or such manually... long belts -or worse continuous ones- however are tricky to say the least.
'sid
..that is if you print the belt flat, which unfortunately will proove to be nearly impossible on a common 3d printer
(you'd need a fourth axis that wraps around the printbed, like the continuous belt bed from early makerbots)
but in the correct size for the belt length you need of course... (said it's nearly impossible, right?)
Then you could -in theory- print the backing,
and while the bed-belt moves along, you can add the kevlar enforcement on the edge of the printbed manually, as it loops around it should then fuse with the next printed layer.
It's still likely the worst possible belt you could install onto a TAV,
and not the cheapest either (considering a small spool is maybe good for two belts and costs around the same as two commercially made belts)
Ask Slic3r for the amount of material (or whatever slicer you're using) and do some math
you'll see what I mean
For small flexible parts it's actually fairly easy to reinforce the part with duct tape or such manually... long belts -or worse continuous ones- however are tricky to say the least.
'sid
- Status