Jump to content
Premium Aquatics Aquarium Supplies

3D printed frag plug designs


spinycheek

Recommended Posts

I think these are a neat idea, however I don't see them ever being economical vs the chinese cast plugs. Keep up the invocation and ingenuity though!

Thanks for the compliment! My goal is to get these to around 50 cents. They're not meant to be the cheapest plug out there, so they won't interest the penny pinching crowd, they're just meant to be the most versatile. I do have some other fragging related ideas, I just wanted to finish this thing before I move to the next.

Link to comment

Finished up the new glueless design (stick clip 2.0), so again, just have to wait...should be cool though! Working on a way to also make these magnetic, no special magnetic attachment needed.

 

In the meantime though, I just purchased an injection molder :eek: Should arrive next week. I've been wanting one for a while and this plus another motorcycle project I'm working on gave me the final push. So once the printed designs are worked out, I can start making these much faster and cheaper. I'll have to play with some different materials to see what works.

Link to comment

Regarding to the dissolving frag plugs could you somehow make them out of the same material animal stitches are made of? Of I'm not mistaken they dissolve within a week. Wouldn't that be enough time for a frag to encrust to the frag plug?

Link to comment

Regarding to the dissolving frag plugs could you somehow make them out of the same material animal stitches are made of? Of I'm not mistaken they dissolve within a week. Wouldn't that be enough time for a frag to encrust to the frag plug?

 

No. They typically take atleast a week to recover from the fragging. 3-4 for good growth.

Link to comment

 

No. They typically take atleast a week to recover from the fragging. 3-4 for good growth.

I ment to say woukdnt the coral just attach to the plug not fully encrust. Just be enough to for the dissolving clip to be gone and it won't fall off of the frag plug
Link to comment

I looked into the material, Glycolide, and it is a thermoplastic elastomer that can be injection molded. So there is definitely potential here, I just have to find a decent supply for it. It breaks down using a combination of water and animal enzymes and typically takes about 1-4 weeks to break down, which should give coral plenty of time to grow.

Link to comment

I looked into the material, Glycolide, and it is a thermoplastic elastomer that can be injection molded. So there is definitely potential here, I just have to find a decent supply for it. It breaks down using a combination of water and animal enzymes and typically takes about 1-4 weeks to break down, which should give coral plenty of time to grow.

 

Ya my dog got spayed 3 weeks ago. I can still feel her stitches under the skin. They are almost completely gone though.

Link to comment

I looked into the material, Glycolide, and it is a thermoplastic elastomer that can be injection molded. So there is definitely potential here, I just have to find a decent supply for it. It breaks down using a combination of water and animal enzymes and typically takes about 1-4 weeks to break down, which should give coral plenty of time to grow.

 

 

Totally want credit for the dissolving thing if this takes off :lol:

  • Like 3
Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Spent some time playing with the injection molder and some different plastic types. I am so far really impressed with it, but certain plastics are really difficult to force into the mold. Still to have to get a mold made for my parts, but I've started that process, so hopefully it won't be too much longer. I have a couple pre-made molds I used to practice with, a seahorse and a little fishing lure, the cool thing is how much faster this is than 3D printing, definitely requires more physical effort though.

 

P9260173.jpg

 

P9260176.jpg

 

P9260179.jpg

 

P9260180.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment

This is pretty cool. For prototyping have you thought of buying your own little 3d printer? I know some smaller ones can be had for $3-400, this would make things a bit easier with ideas for new designs you can quickly pop them out compared to having to wait days for this company to pump out a new design you wanted to test.

Link to comment

This is pretty cool. For prototyping have you thought of buying your own little 3d printer? I know some smaller ones can be had for $3-400, this would make things a bit easier with ideas for new designs you can quickly pop them out compared to having to wait days for this company to pump out a new design you wanted to test.

I have definitely thought of it! I actually just toured the Lulzbot factory and was pretty impressed. I am planning on getting one soonish, as I am definitely feeling the limitations of waiting so long. Plus I really want to be able to use all the cool filament types Shapeways makes great stuff, but they are so slow.

Link to comment

I've thought about some of the $3-400 units but I don't have the knowledge of designing stuff in programs to be able to make something that was actually useful.

I only started 3D modeling a few months ago, never did anything with computers before. I just downloaded 123D design (which is free) and then watched a few tutorials on you tube put up by the Colorado Springs Library. It takes maybe 2 hours of your time and then you're perfectly capable of making all kinds of cool stuff. The program automatically fixes your models to make them 3D printable, which can be a PITA in some of the other programs, but is seamless in 123D. I'm a fan for life!

Link to comment

It seems that the winning plastic is going to be polypropylene or a polypropylene mix. ABS is terrible to work with, I have no idea why that's a default plastic, it's sticky, hot, smells bad and releases carcinogenic fumes. The rubbery resins are pretty cool, might come in useful for the glue less fragging. Still no call back on the biodegradable plastic places, I'll keep trying.

Link to comment

Finally got the new SPS glueless clips. I added a mechanism to the main disc so the little clips don't slide up so freely and I raised the hands up higher while decreasing the gap, so it should work better for skinny frags now.

 

DSCN0070.jpg

 

DSCN0071.jpg

 

And just as a proof of concept, here is the coral being held on with the glueless clip upside down. Even shaking wouldn't let it budge. It only comes off when you take it off. Hard to see the background, but I'm a sucky photographer and can't get both in focus :(

 

DSCN0073.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Thanks guys! I finally tracked down the biodegradable/bioabsorbable plastic, but that stuff is pricey! Would cost about $1 per clip in materials. That's medical grade though, there might be a cheaper source out there somewhere...

Link to comment
  • 4 weeks later...

Finally broke down and got my own 3D printer. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the precision to print my plugs and maintain the clipping on ability. But it's come in useful for other projects of mine and it's just fun to use :lol:

 

DSCN0426.jpg

 

DSCN0422.jpg

 

DSCN0421.jpg


However, I'm still working on the plugs and am fairly confident I'll have these being produced by mid December. It's taken a lot of back and forth to reconcile the 3D printed design and the molded design. Right now, I'm pretty excited about successfully switching the bottom post clip to a threaded one.

 

DSCN0419.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Wow, this is an epic concept. I have a kenya tree that keeps fragging itself. I've never been able to glue a frag to a plug because they slime their way out within a day! I've been drilling a hole into a small rock and stuffing the base of the branch down into it. that's been working but what a pain. This clip idea of yours is stellar. When you move from prototyping to production I definitely need to buy some.

 

I haven't had a chance to read the full thread, but have you given any thought to material toxicity? I know that standard egg crating leaches into the water so an abundance in a tank is not good.

Link to comment

Wow, this is an epic concept. I have a kenya tree that keeps fragging itself. I've never been able to glue a frag to a plug because they slime their way out within a day! I've been drilling a hole into a small rock and stuffing the base of the branch down into it. that's been working but what a pain. This clip idea of yours is stellar. When you move from prototyping to production I definitely need to buy some.

 

I haven't had a chance to read the full thread, but have you given any thought to material toxicity? I know that standard egg crating leaches into the water so an abundance in a tank is not good.

 

I have definitely thought of this and I'm trying to stick with tried and true reef safe plastics. For prototyping with 3D printing I'm pretty limited with what is available, but once these are molded, there are many more options for safe plastics.

Link to comment

3D printing has exploded in recent years and has rapidly gone from something in research labs to something people do at home, but some of the objects produced by commercial 3D printers could be toxic to your health and to the environment, according to new research.

 

http://www.itworld.com/article/3002111/hardware/3d-printed-objects-may-be-hazardous-to-your-health.html

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...