3d printed pulley

[galp]

I just upgraded my 3d printer with heated bed so now i can print ABS plastic. I will try to print a pulley. I don't think it would be possible to print a small pulley (on motor) but i think it would be possible to print a larger pulley like 60 or 80 tooth. What do you think?

 

[Murfix]

I think you should try it out

 

[torqueboards]

I personally don't think it's safe enough. However, there are a few people I can recall that have tried it and said it does work. I think nylon would be a bit better in quality. I do think harder plastic like Nylon and Polycarbonate plastic would work well. SDP-SI and other pulley companies sell pulleys in Polycarbonate plastic although I believe they are injection molded. I use their polycarbonate plastic pulley and it works well.

 

[galp]

What is the worse case scenario when riding with this pulley? I'm intending to use it on rear drive on mb.

 

[torqueboards]

It will break and your motor won't be connected to your wheels to stop. If you already know how to stop then you should be fine. I use the poly-carbonate pulley from SDP-SI and use a 3d wheel adapter which I made for my ABEC wheels. You can check my threads to see it if you wanted too.

 

[galp]

No problem then. I have mechanical brakes on my mountainboard. Thanks.

 

[galp]

I had time today to print it.

First impression: GOOD!

Looks and feels really strong. But only time will tell how good and strong it actually is.

Pros:
-Custom shape; I can print any shape of pulley making it easy to mount.
-Cheap; Its weight is 80 grams and 1 kilo of ABS plastic is ~20€, so 1.6€ per pulley.

Cons:
-Long printing time; 4 hours and 20 minutes

Here are the pictures:

 

[theprodigyp]

That's pretty damn cool. It guess strength really depends on how much power you plan on putting into it. I mean for a cruiser, it might last a while, but if you are looking for speed and long travel I am not sure. ABS is good buy Torq is right, Polymer is a hell of a lot stronger. Most modern weapons and things like airsoft guns are made with polymer plastics to reduce the weight and keep the strength. A buddy of mine fell straight on a rock on top of his airsoft gun and it only got a scratch. ABS is best when you are doing things like costumes and cosplay stuff. Props I mean, its not really meant to take a lot of abuse. If you could mold or print it in some poly you would be set!

 

[torqueboards]

Looks good. Let us know how long it lasts. ABS is definitely pretty good but 3d printing ABS is not as strong as a real ABS injection molded object.

 

[galp]

Yeah it really feels solid.

 

[daverobson08]

Nice job mate, it looks really good. Have you got a picture of the hub insert by itself? What's the definition like on the teeth of that pulley? Did it need much cleaning up straight out of the printer?

 

[galp]

I will post it when i get home. It took me about 30 seconds to clean the brim on bottom layer and drill the holes because they were a bit smaller. It is T5 60 tooth pulley. I made the 3d model myself in solidworks.

 

[killisch]

How'd this end up?
I'm currently looking at printing my own pulleys in either abs, nylon or polycarb.
trying to keep the polycarb from curling up 50% of the way through a print is a challenge.

 

[voodoojar]

I have at least 100 miles on some of the pulleys I've printed. My setting are 30% infill hex and I use abs slurry on a 115 degree bed in an enclosed printer with 220 degree hot end. I've never had a failure.