3D Printing Brackets?

So, the v1.2 Bill of Materials says that the Z-Axis Motor Mount, Horizontal CC Supports, Vertical CC Supports, Long CC Mount, CC Spacer Block, and Cable Guides can be 3D-Printed, and I was wondering what material you would recommend for that?

PLA or ABS will work just fine. The main thing you need to watch out for is if your FarmBot is in the sun then 3D parts could warp/deform in the heat.

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Just as a remark, I had no way got get all the aluminum parts so i have ordered them to be made from plexiglass :slight_smile:

Fantastic! Thank you so much for your help :smile:

I have done some tests on PLA, PLA +, PLA Tough, PETG and ABS and my favoured filament that comes closest to approximating aluminum tensile strength and stiffness for an ok price is Ultimaker PLA Tough. It prints as easily as PLA and is way stiffer than PETG. It is not as UV resistant as ASA so the part may need to be replaced over time.

I don’t have to thicken the brackets using this material it is very strong. I do however use CAD to reinforce the corners for corner brackets just because it’s easy and I want to be safe.

I haven’t tried Poly Carbonate mainly because it is around four times the cost of ESun PLA + which is the material I most use. PLA Tough is around twice the price. I also would be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried nylon or ASA.

I’ve got motor housings in PLA+ that are already that much deformed, that I can’t fit the motors in there again. Even the 3d printed tools that also were made of PLA+ completely bent while hanging in the tool bank while only being affected by gravity. So when the device is in the direct sun, I would not recommend PLA/PLA+. I don’t have any experience with PLA tough yet, but from what I’ve read it should behave similar like PLA in terms of temperature deforming.
I’ve got 2 tools and a endstop mounting bracket made of ASA and one tool made of PETG. The ASA ones are almost 2 years old and look like they were printed yesterday, but its really annoying printing these if you don’t have a printer enclosure. The PETG one is almost one year old, looks great and is easy to print.

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