On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 4:43 AM, <silverdr@wfmh.org.pl> wrote: >> I think this is a perfect example of something that should be cloned and 3D printed. 3D printers start at $500 these days and can easily reproduce almost any plastic part. It would probably take less than 10 cents in plastic for a replacement lever. While there is less than $0.10 in plastic in a lever, a $500 printer is not likely to deliver the surface finish most people would find "nice". Functional? Sure. Aesthetic? Not really. > Like the notorious sprocket wheels on the stepper axis of 1520.. I have several of the 1520s, all broken in the very same way :-( Me too. >> I'm actually looking into purchasing a 3D printer (either Replicator2 or Mendel Prusa). I think there might be a market for cheap replacements for vintage computer parts... There is. DEC PDP-8 and PDP-11 front panel toggle paddles are another fiddly part that breaks often (due to the small plastic pegs that are the pivot points and take the stress when the toggles get snagged). > Replicator2 looks good in the announcements but the biggest concern so far is that it seems not to work with ABS. Only with PLA, which as someone commented "makes the parts water soluble" ;-) PLA is not particularly water-soluable. PVA is (poly-vinyl alcohol). PLA (poly-lactic acid) is somewhat bio-degradable but over decades, not merely because it got moist. The newest rounds of firmware for low-end (sub $5K) 3D printers has brought 100-micron layers to filament printing. This is three times thinner than the standard settings of even recent models of hobbyist 3D printers. Of course, it takes three times longer to print items, but the surface smoothness is quite remarkable by comparison. The Replicator2 is making a name for itself with 100-micron PLA, but there are other ways (including a Replicator1 with newer firmware) to get 100-micron ABS. -ethan Message was sent through the cbm-hackers mailing listReceived on 2012-11-26 18:00:05
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