Mouse wheel with a grid (Crazy hard)  

RE: Mouse wheel with a grid (Crazy hard)

Put the project file in 3mf here, we'll take a look. File -> SaveAs -> *.3mf. Then pack it in *.zip, otherwise the forum won't accept it. But at first glance, the grid construction seems a bit subtle and weak.

RE: Mouse wheel with a grid (Crazy hard)

Hi thanks for the reply ive done what you asked me MouseWheel_170mm_Lighter_Complete v1

RE: Mouse wheel with a grid (Crazy hard)

Oof now there's a torture test.

You haven't said what material you plan on printing this in, but I'm not sure it would even matter.

With a .25 nozzle you're still only barely getting 2 perimeters since the 'netting' is only 1mm thick. Then every overhang is curved (multiple vertices at every overhang section, not a single straight shot) which means you need support under every single little bit, not to mention the top. If you tried to bridge it instead, then half of your 1mm probably won't have good inter-layer adhesion making it even weaker. Even more, the best orientation for printing is the worst orientation for its use because forces applied from a mouse running inside of it would be against the print's inter-layer bonding strength which is usually the weakest part of a print.

Even if this was successfully printed as shown on an XL multi-tool using soluble supports, I don't think it'll hold up to actual use. But this is the MK3 section which means multi-material is out of the question, so even if it printed successfully you'd likely break it while removing supports.

If you absolutely had to keep it in these tiny dimensions then I think the only way to get a usable product would be to:

1. Print the netting as a flat sheet
2. Heat and mold the flat sheet around a cylinder
3. Somehow attach ends to create circle. Dowels and glue for the thicker borders? Manually melt netting together with a solder iron?
4. Dovetail in the cross-part

But with that much post processing work I'm not sure its really worth 3d printing. You'd prob have a better time buying some hardware cloth to use as the netting and 3d printing just the frame to hold it, basically the thicker parts of this model.

All that being said, I'm just a random guy who doesn't print .25 nozzle related things often, nor have I interacted with [lab] mice before. So I could easily be wrong.

RE:

@fabio-ricci

I have your model printing on an MK3 now it's a 10h43m print, at the time of writing it's 7h and 39m in, and so far has printed flawlessly, yes there is some stringing but not bad.

Here's the project file if your interested in how I tuned this.

Mouse Wheel_170mm_Lighter_Complete v1_Snuff.zip

When promoted if you want to turn on bridging perimeters select "NO" and continue.

I'll check back in when the print has finished and let you know how it did over all.

While it is printing great, I agree with @baconfase, my first thought was this should be printed in pieces the mesh could be printed as two flat parts, and I think the rings top and bottom could also be printed at two parts with a very thin grove all the way around the perimeter to accept the mesh. if printed from ABS, PETG or PLA the material at this thickness would be flexible enough that you could simply bend and insert the mesh into the groves on the rings and use pretty much any type of cyanoacrylate to glue it together it would hold up very well, and print faster. I may have more to say about this after I examine the finished print, however currently it looks clean and I don't think a mouse would have any complaints.

Regards

RE:

@fabio-ricci

The results.

If you change the Angle of top ring slightly you could get ride of supports entirely, and knock 3 hours off the print time.

The stringing is very fine and easy to mitigate, I didn't bother, this was just a test.

I would say it printed very well, however I would still recommend a redesign along the lines mentioned above for better strength and longevity. 

Printed this way it feels strong enough to hold a fat mouse, but not anything larger. I printed this with PLA, ABS or PETG would be a better choice in my opinion.

It was a fun print, Good luck.

RE:

Plus 1 for printing flat sections (probably 3 or 4) and bending into channel rings. Absolutely no issue bending even at 3mm thick. This would be stronger too I believe as the vertical sections of the square holes would have poor strength and would probably break under robust use. 

The other option is to print with holes rather than sq openings

RE: Mouse wheel with a grid (Crazy hard)

@john-6

I still believe the flat sections would be better, fewer is preferable to more, however I also can see after holding one in my hand and playing with it that ABS or PETG would do the job as is, PLA is not the best choice. ABS and PETG or higher have much better bonding capacity and would not necessarily have a strength issue relative to a mouse, and the usage over its lifetime & that yet again, weighed by cost of manufacture. (Myself leaning towards ABS)

When we look at the considerations of the project it could work.

Just my Opinion.

Regards