3D Printed Parts for AFM

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/williecustoms

Just wanted to share this with the community.

A few of the martian brackets for AFM are no longer available online; I decided to try out 3D printing as an alternative. I found an excellent shop online.. their prices are based on the size of the part, making 3D printing ideal for small parts. This is especially ideal for parts that are hidden, and not seriously load bearing.

I have all four martian brackets online as well as the saucer coil cover. I'm working on a prototype for the VUK tube, the alien armature, and the motor bracket.

I've set up this online shop with shapeways. It's convenient and you can get the parts shipped right from the company.

Update: The coil cover is now available via 3D printing. http://shpws.me/nfCT
Alien armatures are now available: http://shpws.me/ndh3

p3-1.GIF

#2 11 years ago

WJE

gorgar007

I didn't have a #3 or #4 to copy, so I copied #2 and re-sized appropriately.

p4-1.GIF p3-3.GIF

#3 11 years ago

BJS

DrStarkweather

Pinside member

Chicago, IL

12y 59,300 2,002 3 26

uh oh.

#4 11 years ago

WJE

gorgar007

Perfect fit, with martian attached.

p4-3.GIF p3-6.GIF

#5 11 years ago

USA

jayhawkai

Pinside member

13y 102K 5,446

Quoted from DrStarkweather:
uh oh.

I highly doubt these are patented, if that's what you're thinking. They also wouldn't be protected under copyright or trademark law.

Nice job, gorgar.

#6 11 years ago

BJS

DrStarkweather

Pinside member

Chicago, IL

12y 59,300 2,002 3 26

Quoted from jayhawkai:
I highly doubt these are patented, if that's what you're thinking. They also wouldn't be protected under copyright or trademark law.

Nice job, gorgar.

Exactly what I was thinking. Its definitely a good idea, but some of these guys that hold the patents on games can be a bit zealous.

Looks great though.

#7 11 years ago

ZAP

Zzap

Pinside member

11y 45,650 304

I wonder if the slight shape differences would be sufficient not have a patent impact?

#8 11 years ago

MLK

Silver_Bullet

Pinside member

Chico, CA

11y 52,400 227 19

This is fantastic Gorgar, please keep up the good work. I was wondering about the feasibility of printing replacement pinball parts. Please let us know about your observation regarding long-term durability.

And please put me down for one saucer coil cover!

#9 11 years ago

ERJ

tracelifter

Inactive member

12y 80,300 6,318

I have made these by hand out of metal and had to make the sheepsfoot punch for the spade that holds the Martian in place.
Are these plastic or metal?

#10 11 years ago

MBG

Marten

Pinside member

12y 77,550 878

Quoted from tracelifter:
Are these plastic or metal?

They are 3D printed so they must be some sort of plastic.

#11 11 years ago

ERJ

tracelifter

Inactive member

12y 80,300 6,318

Quoted from Marten:
They are 3D printed so they must be some sort of plastic.

That is what I figured, if these break from metal fatigue how long will plastic last?

#12 11 years ago

Half_Life

Pinside member

Suffolk, VA

12y 62,650 1,102 10

Quoted from tracelifter:
That is what I figured, if these break from metal fatigue how long will plastic last?

True, but with these in plastic they are available for replacement.

#13 11 years ago

TSR

TaylorVA

Reese Rails

13y 116K 8,893 11 7

Excellent work. With that being said I don't see these holding up for long but hope they do.

#14 11 years ago

JDS

swinks

Swinks Pinball

12y 136K 10,563

Some of these printers print in ABS plastic which is fairly strop but at that price just buy a spare of each one.

Good on you gorgar for helping the community.

A cool AC/DC cannon should be done to replace the crappy folded metal one.

#15 11 years ago

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

It looks like you can choose Stainless Steel at $10

#16 11 years ago

WJE

gorgar007

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/extras/extras/nextengines-3d-scanner/

Quoted from Marten:
They are 3D printed so they must be some sort of plastic.

I know jack about materials but the specs are here: http://www.shapeways.com/rrstatic/material_docs/mds-strongflex.pdf

#17 11 years ago

JAM

Wolfmarsh

Pinside member

12y 134K 10,956

The material you are using is just fine. I imagine you will see a long life out of them.

#18 11 years ago

???

Shoot_Again

Pinside member

Vancouver, WA

12y 83,400 8,453 2

Good work. The more parts floating around the better.

#19 11 years ago

JM.

catboxer

Pinside member

12y 54,300 1,865

Looks like a Zcorp printer made it. Powdered resin that's made solid by heat from a fine point laser.
Then they dip the part in a superglue like substance to make it more durable.

I just did something similar for Star rollovers, but with ABS. I've have a clearcoated game that accidentally had 2 tabs break off on the roll over. I modeled the stem, and printed it out. Now I just have to snap off the other 3 tabs and glue on the new stem.

#20 11 years ago

RDH

rommy

Pinside member

Springdale, AR

12y 79,150 3,706 16 15

This technology is SO cool. And y'all rock for putting the specs together.

#21 11 years ago

MAB

pinballlooking

Inactive member

12y 54,650 1,400 5

It is great this technology is to the point our hobby can benefit from it.
Good work.

#22 11 years ago

RUS

Russo121

Inactive member

12y 41,400 760 6 23

Perhaps the 'new MM' thread would benefit from this knowledge. Lots of unobtanium required for that one too.

#23 11 years ago

GPK

DeeGor

Pinside+ Frequent

Meridian, ID

11y 125K 1,495 19

Nicely done Gorgar. That looks awesome.

Just out of curiosity. How did you get the part scanned in to begin with? Or did you simply use the measurements from the #2 and design it in software?

#24 11 years ago

SMH

diaowee

Inactive member

Trondheim

11y 12,150 22

Quoted from Marten:
They are 3D printed so they must be some sort of plastic.

You can 3D-print different metals

At my last job we had a 3D-printer capable of making parts out of steel and titanium.

#25 11 years ago

WAZ

wallybgood

Pinside member

12y 90,900 987 10

This has to be one of the most incredible things that I have ever seen to help with pinball restoration or repair! The ability to create NLA parts at a low cost is super important. I have seen one of Gorgars AFM brackets and it kinda resembles ABS. Strong yet flexible. Good choice of material in my opinion. I believe that it will last as long if not longer than the original metal part.
Thanks for leading the way. I think that the possibilities are endless. Great idea and nice job. Wally

#26 11 years ago

DWR

rancegt

Inactive member

Rio Rancho, NM

11y 34,650 799 5

3D printing is just getting started. There are all kinds of possibilities that will start to come up as the costs come down. We are very close to being able to duplicate parts on a one-off basis at a reasonable cost.

Here's a video with Jay Leno demonstrating a 3D scanner that he uses to reproduce car parts. This scanner is $3000 and I'm guessing we'll see one or more start to be used in pinball sooner or later.

#27 11 years ago

MAB

pinballlooking

Inactive member

12y 54,650 1,400 5

Quoted from rancegt:
Here's a video with Jay Leno demonstrating a 3D scanner that he uses to reproduce car parts. This scanner is $3000 and I'm guessing we'll see one or more start to be used in pinball sooner or later.

I saw that when they produced it.
I am glad the cost is coming down so all of us can benefit from it.

#28 11 years ago

WJE

gorgar007

http://www.marcospecialties.com//images/products/01-14171.2/detail.jpg

Quoted from DeeGor:
How did you get the part scanned in to begin with?

Used a digital caliper to measure the #2, and a picture from marco to determine the hole offset.

They are pretty easy to modify also - so if someone wanted a custom offset or a longer/shorter bracket it would be no problem.

#29 11 years ago

WAZ

wallybgood

Pinside member

12y 90,900 987 10

Thanks for setting up the on line shop where everyone can order these NLA parts. Great job drawing the parts. I'm looking forward to seeing the coil cover. Wally

#30 11 years ago

PKM

Pablomck

Pinside member

11y 43,700 72 16

What modeling software did you use?
If you are looking to DIY, there's a great read on the state of the market at http://www.makershed.com/Make_Ultimate_Guide_to_3D_Printing_p/1449357377.htm

#31 11 years ago

MBG

Marten

Pinside member

12y 77,550 878

Quoted from diaowee:
At my last job we had a 3D-printer capable of making parts out of steel and titanium.

Did you 3D print the metals directly or first make a mould to cast the metal?
Because that seems to be how they do it in Jay Leno's video above.

#32 11 years ago

RAS

Matt_Rasmussen

Pinside member

11y 64,300 2,388

Excellent idea, you deserve the rewards you get for your entrepreneurship.

#33 11 years ago

BRI

gweempose

Pinside Moderator

13y 154K 20,207 37 1

Super cool stuff!

#34 11 years ago

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Quoted from Marten:
Did you 3D print the metals directly or first make a mould to cast the metal?

On the Shapeways website, it shows they print the parts, then use the part to cast it in stainless steel.

#35 11 years ago

SMH

diaowee

Inactive member

Trondheim

11y 12,150 22

Quoted from Marten:
Did you 3D print the metals directly or first make a mould to cast the metal?
Because that seems to be how they do it in Jay Leno's video above.

The parts were made directly, no mold.
The machine made the parts out of metal powder. A thin layer of powder was spread out, and a laser melted/welded the powder. Then a new layer of powder was spread out, and the laser went to work again. This was going on for approx 20 hours to make a 2inch high part. The machine was quite expensive, 1000000usd

#36 11 years ago

WJE

gorgar007

Quoted from Pablomck:
What modeling software did you use?

I used Solidworks. Google sketchup is a free alternative but I wasn't able to figure it out quickly so I dropped it.

#37 11 years ago

WJE

gorgar007

I'm looking forward to seeing the coil cover.

Well you're in luck then my friend.

I finished a 1.0 version this morning. I don't have a sample so I designed this by measuring the saucer bracket with the coil and wiring attached. I'm using Kerry Stair's saucer bracket.

The end result has a few differences which I can modify on the next version. The armature hole is smaller and that entire side is angled to match the angle the coil. I omitted the dip on the backside for this version.

It's not exactly like the original.. I can work on getting it closer to the original if it's a major turn-off to people.

Also added the other two martian brackets (upper left, upper right) to the shapeways shop. The coil cover is a bit more expensive ($66) so I might look for alternative shops in the future.

11.jpg 22.jpg

#38 11 years ago

JDS

swinks

Swinks Pinball

12y 136K 10,563

looks good, you might have it covered, what is the thickness of the coil cover at the corners as the under view shows angular corners and on the outside has a radius - might be getting thin.

great work

#39 11 years ago

WJE

gorgar007

that's a good point i'll double check. usually this software barks at you if youre doing something that wont work.

I made the thickness of the walls 0.1 in

1 week later

#40 11 years ago

WJE

gorgar007

Coil cover is done and fits great. It turned out almost perfect but I need to make one minor adjustment -- in my pictures and video there are two #8 washers under the front two screws because the plunger hole was just a tad too low. I should be able to update the file and toss this on the shapeways store in a few days. I think it will look good in other colors too!

Here is a really bad video of the coil cover in action:

More pictures here for those who may want to buy one for themselves: http://s1160.beta.photobucket.com/user/gorgar007/library/AFM%20Project/AFM%20Coil%20Cover

DSC01728.JPG DSC01732.JPG DSC01753.JPG

#41 11 years ago

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

You are bad assed for real!

#42 11 years ago

TSR

TaylorVA

Reese Rails

13y 116K 8,893 11 7

OP
Quoted from gorgar007:
Coil cover is done and fits great. It turned out almost perfect but I need to make one minor adjustment -- in my pictures and video there are two #8 washers under the front two screws because the plunger hole was just a tad too low. I should be able to update the file and toss this on the shapeways store in a few days. I think it will look good in other colors too!
Here is a really bad video of the coil cover in action:
» YouTube video
More pictures here for those who may want to buy one for themselves: http://s1160.beta.photobucket.com/user/gorgar007/library/AFM%20Project/AFM%20Coil%20Cover

Excellent work.

#43 11 years ago

NAT

NathanP

Pinside member

Lenexa, KS

12y 45,150 986 11 8

awesome!

#44 11 years ago

MAB

pinballlooking

Inactive member

12y 54,650 1,400 5

It looks incredible.

#45 11 years ago

XAP

oropuro

Pinside member

11y 91,800 1,698 168

nice improvements..

#46 11 years ago

MAL

Angyalpor

Inactive member

MaglÃ³d

12y 50,900 965 2

Excellent job.
Nice, clean, 100%.

#47 11 years ago

JAY

jrobinso99

Pinside member

11y 63,950 494

Absolutely brilliant gorgar, great work! It was a matter of time for us to head down this path but I'm glad to see we have already started. With the new materials becoming available in 3D printing and increased competition for pricing of printing, I think this is the start of an entire shift in the community. If part designs continue to get released by developers we could get to the point where almost any part on a playfield is available for printing. Plastics are one thing and clearly we are there, but when we are able to print out those custom steel subway parts, complex brackets, stainless ramp flaps and hole protectors, etc, it is really going to be exciting. Over time this should drive down the cost of maintaining our machines significantly and make finding all those obscure parts a lot less of a headache.

#48 11 years ago

WAZ

wallybgood

Pinside member

12y 90,900 987 10

Will, great job! Wally

#49 11 years ago

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member