FT Pietenpol Model A

[Verris]

The instructions are very good. You should probably read through them once or twice ahead of time.

http://manual.prusa3d.com/c/Original_Prusa_i3_MK2_kit_assembly

Make sure to look through the comments too. They often provide great advice. A set of calipers is useful for a few steps if you have some, and if not you'll probably want some anyway for 3d printing. Building it is totally worth it and makes diagnosing problems a lot easier. Set aside a full day or a couple days and don't rush it and there shouldn't be any problems.

 

[TedroT]

Being an inveterate diyer, I expect it will take at least a couple of days to put it together, if not longer. I tend to lean to the cautious side when trying something I've not done before. I do, in fact, have some calipers with digital readout. Harbor Freight cheapos but they do the job. I know there are some YouTube tutorials on assembling the machine and I'll have some time to watch them before the unit arrives on my doorstep. And thanks for the link to the manual. I'll read through it, as suggested, and check for comments. I'm also sure there is a large support community on Facebook to take advantage of.

 

[97tj-neil]

I finally got mine finished and ready for maiden.

 

[TedroT]

At last!

I received an email from Prusa Research this morning informing me that my printer has shipped. According to accounts of others who have ordered one I should get it by the end of the week (I hope). With any luck I may be able to print the Pietenpol engine within the next week or two. For what it's worth, they shipped my order at least a week ahead of the original projected date so perhaps the lead time is dropping a little. Looking forward to joining the group as a maker, finally.

 

[MarcelGermany]

Hi,

first i want to thank Dan for the great plans, but i also have a question about the weight of the printed motor. I send the file to a friend, who printed it for me but i am very scared about the weight of the printed motor. It is so much heavier than the foam piece.

What was the weight of your printed motor? Are there any problems with the CG?

Best regards from Germany
Marcel

 

[agentkbl]

I don't know how much it weighs, but I'm sure you could fix the weight issue with infill percentages and exterior shells.

 

[TedroT]

The engine

My Prusa i3 MK2S showed up on the 17th of April and after a couple of days assembling and calibrating it I was finally able to try printing the Model A engine. The whole process is fascinating to watch, as everyone on this forum knows. I've been busy printing all the freebie stuff that comes with the printer as well as a few other odds and ends. This, by way of explaining my absence from this group for the last month, plus.

It is quite a bit heavier than the foam version so it will be interesting to see how it will work in the next Piet I'll build in the near future. It looks pretty cool, in any case.

 

[Maxstudio]

I love the 3d print!

 

[Maxstudio]

My Second Pietenpol Build is ready for maiden flight. the Creamsicle Piet....LOL

 

[TedroT]

Wow! The Creamsicle Piet is a work of art! I am impressed. Nice job.

 

[SP0NZ]

Maxstudio, coming from you that is quite the compliment. Thank you. I love your work. Your planes look absolutely stunning.

The Model A was my first stab at a 3D printed model. It took a lot of experimenting and I was under the gun to get it done for Josh in time for the FT Pietenpol release. I'm pretty happy with the results.

I love the 3d print!

View attachment 88641

 

[Maxstudio]

Maxstudio, coming from you that is quite the compliment. Thank you. I love your work. Your planes look absolutely stunning.

The Model A was my first stab at a 3D printed model. It took a lot of experimenting and I was under the gun to get it done for Josh in time for the FT Pietenpol release. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Sponz,
Thank You! couldn't have done anything if you didn't do the heavy lifting! I do a LOT of 3d printing, but I can't do the design work, at best i modify print files to suit what i need. I even mod'ed the model A radiator on the creamsicle to put screen in the radiator shell trying to get more visibility for my cam and more airflow. Even found some figures on thingyverse i could mod into pilot figures. but you're way ahead of me with your 3d design. I just print'em and paint'em, lol

 

[hendicool28]

MAIDEN FT PIETENPOL

 

[Batteryman]

Any ideas what went wrong.

Clearly the 3D printer reproduced the path file perfectly

 

[Batteryman]

I am currently printing them in two rotated versions, and they look ok in the toolpath view.

 

[jhitesma]

I've had the occasional bad slice just happen randomly sometimes.

Like the failure that inspired me to start the fails thread: http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?33284-3D-Printing-fails

Didn't notice it in the slicer - but when I loaded the gcode in a viewer sure enough the entire middle of the model was missing. But previous and later attempts to slice it all worked fine.

May have just been a bit of bad luck.

 

[SP0NZ]

I agree with jhitesma, looks like a slicer error. I've sliced and printed it many times and never run into that. Can you try running it through the slicer again?

 

[Batteryman]

I tried the slicer many times, and got the same results, good to hear it was only me and everyone else had no problems....

The ones where I rotated the model both worked perfectly. So now I have a spare if anyone needs it.

 

[Batteryman]

Interesting that the texture and colour are different. This must be due to being printed at different angles. I only have a fairly basic printer. (Flashforge finder) I suspect using better printers will give better results. I keep looking at the Prusa, I see a new MK3 just out

 

[sheppard]

Now I really want to build a Pietenpol! That's a sweet little print!