LED Bracket / Mount - (Cad + 3d Printing)

[R_Mc]

Hey, just found out that 3d printing for rapid prototyping is now widely available and fairly. This is awesome.

Onto the project. I have a Fluval EBI that I'd like to suspend a 20W LED over.

I'll be using a multichip driver like this:

Mounted on a socket 1555 heatsink:

I designed a prototype in sketchup:

Unfortunately, at 114 cubic centimeters of material the prototype would cost $161 to print.

After a few iterations of weight reduction It's down to 85 cubic centimeters of material and $118.

If anyone has any suggestions for either minimizing the materials or parting up the design plz let me know. I've never really given plastic fab/design a shot - so this design is more of an educated guess than a finished piece.

Thanks for looking,
Rob

 

[R_Mc]

I'm not sure if I can lean the structure out anymore, and the cost is still at $103. 3d printing may not be the answer =/ Yet

 

[RocketEngineer]

1) You need to make sure this is fabricated in the correct direction. If they built it in layers like you have it shown, the arms will break at the base. Instead, you want the arms layered front-to-back.

2) While the wide spine in the middle looks nice, it should really be on the outside. Instead of looking like a cross, the arms should look like an I-beam in a building. Its stronger that way.

3) Consider building it in two pieces instead of one. The plastic in between the arms isn't gaining you much. By building a left and right hand version you get the same result using less material and they are more likely to both be made at the same time if the size of the machine envelope is big enough.

What material are you looking at?

 

[Willistein]

Rapid prototyping is cool but still a little pricey unless it's justified by later production. Have you considered bending/gluing black acrylic?

 

[Willistein]

Never mind the acrylic suggestion, it would likely bend over time. The i-beam approach is a good suggestion.

 

[mcgyvr]

3d printing is NOT suitable (no where near it at this time) for structural components like that (especially components that hand electricity over water).. That WILL break. Guaranteed

Professionally.. I've had many 3d printed parts done for prototypes (SLA/SLS/FDM,etc..) and there is NO way I would use them for this application. NO WAY

 

[Willistein]

That is a bit of an exaggeration. You could take a hammer to the FDM parts I've had made. It's ABS plastic. Or SLS - it's nylon. Yes, some 3D tech is not suitable but a lot has changed in the last 10 years. Of course you don't want it to fail, but it's also a low-voltage application...I think. Instead of shooting him down, why don't you give suggestions?

 

[mcgyvr]

Instead of shooting him down, why don't you give suggestions?

Even if that part is FDM based on the geometries you won't be taking a hammer to it.. Yes FDM parts are drastically stronger than the "silly string" ABS printers but the cost is higher also which is going in the opposite direction.
Not to mention he hasn't provided enough details to give any "valid" suggestions. We don't even know the weight of the "hung assembly" nor any other dimensional information.
I can drop any model into my FEA program but without the proper data/input its useless.

My suggestion is that if price is a concern and structural safety is an issue then a 3d printed part is a NOT suitable manufacturing process.

However "First Cut" http://www.firstcut.com/ can machine the part out of real plastics for roughly the same or less cost.

 

[Bxer]

Awesome design R Mc!

Sucks the prices are so high. Most companies offering 3D printing services have huge price multipliers because they have a niche market. They're usually focused on providing prototypes to companies needing to see new designs before permanent tooling is cut. Many companies are willing to pay more upfront during the design process"¦.helps weed out any design errors, saving them money in the end.

I currently have direct access to a 3D printer (ABS string type) so I'm able to get around much of the cost adders. Material costs are not that high. My latest design was a couple of media trays that fit into my Biocube 29 HQI middle chamber (easy access and no more stock filters!). Not much strength but perfect for this application.

Keep the creative ideas flowing!....I know I will be.

 

[R_Mc]

This is what I ended up building - Just used a piece of wood and bent it with steam. This system ran for another year but I ended up tearing it down after the betta died

you can see the full build here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=6575090#post6575090

 

[aiq25]

How did you secure the wood? I was actually thinking of a similar idea to hang my LED's (although i was thinking about laminating the wood) but I'm not sure how to secure the wood. Very nice project!!

 

[R_Mc]

The wood was attached directly to the stand.

I wouldn't recommend the bending approach as I found that it slowly lost shape over the course of a few months. Looked great before that point though