New 3D Printer

[SikSemper]

So I just bit the bullet and bought a Prusa i3 MK3. This 3D printer will be capable of printing excellent quality parts with just about any filament type known. That includes flexible filament, carbon fiber infused filament and even wood and metal infused filament. I look forward to making flashlight parts out of Nylon X (20% carbon fiber infused nylon) and experimenting with practical uses of all of the other filament types. I’m not sure if I’m going to offer a printing/design service for this yet but I can 3D model to an extent. I think some of the practical uses could be:

1 - Custom diffusers made from either pure white PLA material or possibly a semi transparent white.

2 - Battery adapter tubes (26650 to 18650 would be a good example)

3 - Lens caps made from many different materials including semi flex.

4 - Flashlight stands, holders etc.

5 - (Maybe) Extension tubes made from the carbon fiber infused nylon. (This would depend on the size of the threads and the pitch needed. 3D printers aren’t great with very small machine threads but I think with this printer I’ll get usable results.

I’m sure there’s more and if anyone has some ideas post them here and I’ll get to tinkering. Sadly the printer is on backorder so I should see it early march.

[GRAY_LITNIN]

The lamp shades (instead of the normal diffuser) for flashlights would be sweet. Kinda like these that BOAZ has as an avatar of and mentions in post #26

A tale of two Convoys (S2+ vs S2+)

I recently received two Convoy S2+ flashlights. One is the newer desert tan with a warm XPL-HI U4-7A and 7135 x 8. The other is a grey $6.99 bargain that I bought to modify. That one has a cold white XML2 U2 1B and 7135 x 6. I was surprised how different they are. The build quality is similar. Both have good fit and finish, for the price. Both use the same UI with two modes. I’ve put both of them into the no strobe mode for now. Now for the differences: PWM on the grey one is audible. I can’…

Seems every diffuser i have doesnt do much better than a plain ol ceiling bounce and it would be neat to also have some that let little to no light out the top and illuminate only the surface immediately under and around the tail of the light.

[gi.lumens]

Custom flashlight stands, sounds interesting keep us posted

[hellokittyhk]

My mk3 is coming in next week
With the multimaterials too.

I think you are overestimating the usefulness of 3d printers…
3D printed parts are inferior and in general just not that great.

I have 2 mk2s and a handful of much more expensive printers and I’d say the only thing I would try to print is lens caps and battery adapter tubes.

[SikSemper]

@hellokittyhk

My mk3 is coming in next week
With the multimaterials too.

I think you are overestimating the usefulness of 3d printers…
3D printed parts are inferior and in general just not that great.

I have 2 mk2s and a handful of much more expensive printers and I’d say the only thing I would try to print is lens caps and battery adapter tubes.

Good to hear that someone else here is getting one :+1: While there is many cons about 3d printed parts, I think that it is still quite useful. I will be experimenting to see if it’s possible to print threads small enough for use on tailcaps and extension tubes when I get the machine. With the plethora of strong filament out now I think 3d printing it’s feasible for some of the things people on this forum would need.

[SikSemper]

@GRAY LITNIN

The lamp shades (instead of the normal diffuser) for flashlights would be sweet. Kinda like these that BOAZ has as an avatar of and mentions in post #26

A tale of two Convoys (S2+ vs S2+)

Seems every diffuser i have doesnt do much better than a plain ol ceiling bounce and it would be neat to also have some that let little to no light out the top and illuminate only the surface immediately under and around the tail of the light.

I think the shades would be possible!