[Ian Brooks Posts: 3598 Status: Offline]

If the person had done the work to develop proper printing parameters and had good control of the quality of the material and the process, plus they had characterised the strength and used this to determine a safe working speed, and then tested all this by destructively testing a number of blades, then I would say go for it.

If they just bought a printer off eBay and some random Chinese material, I'd say they must be mad.

Some of the newer carbon filled nylon materials are pretty good and printed blades are a reasonable proposition now - but the work required to qualify the resulting parts for service would be enormous. However, not beyond the truly committed amateur.

[Al Posts: 1008 Status: Offline WWW]

Hopefully I'm far enough away from whoever it is to avoid the exploding plastic fragments embedding themselves in who or whatever is in the immediate vicinity when the blades let go.


On a more serious note, wouldn't it be cheaper to buy new genuine commercially available blades, than the cost of the DIY materials to make them?

[Nick Flint Posts: 5067 Status: Offline]

You got to die "some how" GAZ. 


or- -----WHY would you want to----?

[Gaz Posts: 2387 Status: Offline Cruising around Cornwall WWW]

I have just come across a post on Facebook regarding the poster 3D printing his own Multiwing style fan blades. Good or Bad Idea and why? I know what side of the fence I am on (The other one from whatever their fitted on sits!)


For clarity we are not talking about commercial high grade printing here, just the average off the shelf printer FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) most people with one at home would have.


So: Good or Bad Idea and why?