With a background in engineering, Dave units out to design, mannequin, and 3D print customized made bike pedals utilizing NylonX.
Up to date on April 25, 2023
by
Alec Richter
Regardless of being famend for the site visitors and sprawling cities that mix collectively, there are quite a lot of parks and mountain climbing trails all through Southern California. Not too removed from our workplace is a motorbike path, the place you’ll be able to typically discover Dave doing a fast circuit round it on his lunch break. With most shopper items, it is common to search out one thing that matches most of your standards, however not all of them, and bike pedals should not completely different. With an engineer’s modeling toolbelt, Dave got down to create the bike pedal that was good for him utilizing NylonX.
Why NylonX?
Whereas different supplies would possibly print effectively sufficient, they do not normally have sufficient energy to carry as much as main forces; a hat hook is simple, one thing you stand on is not. NylonX is a composite mix of a nylon 6 base infused with chopped carbon fiber strands, creating a cloth that is as sturdy as nylon however as robust and inflexible as carbon fiber. Once you want one thing that’s going to be dealing with some pressure and must be powerful, NylonX is our materials of selection. Relying on the terrain of a path or the specified exercise, at instances Dave may have to face on his pedals whereas biking, so he wants one thing rock stable to assist him.
What Printer Can Deal with NylonX?
There’s just one printer that may print NylonX out of the field with out damaging the machine: The Pulse XE. Most different 3D printers in the marketplace will want some modification, from minor adjustments like a brand new nozzle to main adjustments like a brand new extruder and hotend system, however the Pulse XE has been designed and tailor-made particularly to be the absolute best expertise when 3D printing with NylonX. Most 3D printers have a brass nozzle for thermal conductivity, however it’s additionally very smooth and wears shortly with the abrasive chopped carbon fiber stands, whereas the Pulse XE has an Olsson Ruby nozzle which has an precise ruby within the tip of it for wear-free printing. When you’re considering studying extra concerning the Pulse XE, test it out right here.
The Olsson Ruby solves the issue of abrasiveness, however what about mattress adhesion? Nylon is notoriously warpy (though not as unhealthy as ABS), so mattress adhesion is extraordinarily necessary to maintain the correct form and dimensions as soon as your modeled half is printed. Garolite solves that downside; an interwoven glass fiber cloth impregnated with epoxy resin, making a construct plate simply textured sufficient to grip onto your nylon or NylonX print. And if you pair garolite with the Flexplate system, you could be completely sure that your half will stick and launch with ease.
The Pulse XE does a superb job at printing NylonX with its particularly chosen elements
Creating the Bike Pedals
As soon as the fabric and printer had been decided, Dave began modeling the pedal for his particular design constraints, just like the bearings, shaft, and threaded studs it might want to connect to it. With a pair take a look at prints to verify the form and performance had been proper, he printed a pedal out and assembled all of the components and took it out for a take a look at spin.
On the fundamentals, Dave printed NylonX with an extruder temperature of 255C, a mattress temperature of 70C, 50mm/s, and the layer cooling fan utterly off.
NylonX and the Pulse XE had been the proper mixture of fabric and machine to deal with what Dave wanted.
To learn concerning the particular settings, suggestions, and greatest practices when printing with NylonX, learn extra in our article all about Succeeding with NylonX.
