Eurorack Panels and 3D Printers

somonochrome · Post by **somonochrome** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 11:51 am

Hey guys,

i love to diy but i suck at drilling holes exactly where they have to be. has anyone tried the ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¼berhip way of 3d printing to make panels?
i thought this could be a good way to compensate my disability.

cheers
benny

kurodama · Post by **kurodama** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 1:03 pm

Well CNC or laser cutting might be a more efficient way of making panels for you, but 3D printing might be a nice challenge to make something weird and otherwise pretty impossible to make.
Been wanting to try that for a long time...

waggles · Post by **waggles** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 1:16 pm

You know, I was thinking about this a while back. I was thinking how crazy a sort of 3D relief panel would look. Someone could get pretty crazy with it, like make it really sculptural.

nigel_mck · Post by **nigel_mck** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 2:07 pm

I had a 3D printer for awhile. You could definitely do some real funky stuff, you could do something with topography or storm mapping like this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:11080 with Jupiter Storm. I donno about how rigid the panels would actually be though.

waggles · Post by **waggles** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 2:32 pm

I'm not sure quite why -because my own design preferences are towards the minimal- but I can't stop thinking about how tripped-out having panels like these would be:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/s ... skull-.gif

http://www.unifiedmanufacturing.com/blo ... -front.jpg

You could make knobs with Sugru with brass inserts to look like eyeballs and stuff

Hakan01 · Post by **Hakan01** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 2:37 pm

Hi
Im 3D-printing Euro panels to my modular. It works perfekt with round anf square holes and also for getting post at the right distance Im to new to the forum so Im not allowed to upload any pictures yet. 3 more posts to go.

waggles · Post by **waggles** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 2:37 pm

the logical end to this train of thought is imagining myself 10 years in the future, tickling squelching sounds out of a box-shaped muppet.

Looking forward to seeing examples Hakan01!

windspirit · Post by **windspirit** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 3:25 pm

Hakan01 wrote:Hi
Im 3D-printing Euro panels to my modular. It works perfekt with round anf square holes and also for getting post at the right distance Im to new to the forum so Im not allowed to upload any pictures yet. 3 more posts to go.

Can you link us to an instagram or photobucket picture of this?

ersatzplanet · Post by **ersatzplanet** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 3:27 pm

I say spend a title money on a table drill press. They can be found at less than $100 and then your drilling accuracy in increased quite a lot. WELL worth the money. I have done hundreds of holes on mine and with the right jigs holding the stock well, you hardly make mistakes.

okelk · Post by **okelk** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 5:49 pm

I don't think 3d printing panels makes things much easier nor do I think that PLA or ABS are ideal panel material (assuming you use FFF/FDM) but if you like the look and think 3d printing is fun, go for it!
If it is just about making things easier, try to get your hands on a lasercutter...really fast and easy way to make acrylic panels....

There are a few things I like about the idea:
For non panel mounted pcbs it would be nice to integrate a bracket with integrated pcb mounting holes or standoffs (like that: http://www.newark.com/productimages/sta ... 308660.jpg )

If you have a dual extruder you could print the labeling in a different color.

It would be nice to make a OpenSCAD script for panels.
You could easily define HP size as a parameter. Align holes in a pre defined grid etc...

...You could of course also print your own knobs...not exactly worth it money wise...but it would fit the look of the panel

It would also be nice to print short plastic rails for small cases ...or even design a mini-case printable in one piece...

Neutron7 · Post by **Neutron7** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 5:54 pm

nigel_mck wrote:I had a 3D printer for awhile. You could definitely do some real funky stuff, you could do something with topography or storm mapping like this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:11080 with Jupiter Storm. I donno about how rigid the panels would actually be though.

As long as you use ABS is should be strong enough, i doubt PLA would stand up well.

Hakan01 · Post by **Hakan01** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 11:03 pm

Both ABS and PLA woks fine. I make patterns on the back to reinforce the panel. 3mm thickness is fine. I have made an Anushri panel without any problems. One benefit woth 3D printed panels is that you can make the lettering and decorations in the design.

Hakan01 · Post by **Hakan01** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 11:10 pm

Some examples of panels I have made.

Ginko · Post by **Ginko** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 11:48 pm

Those are pretty nice actually!

Neutron7 · Post by **Neutron7** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:05 am

That is very cool, i cant tell from the pictures, did you incorporate brackets for the boards on those EGs?

Hakan01 · Post by **Hakan01** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:10 am

Hi
In the case of the EG's the potentiometers holds the small boards.
The other front is for a filter and I will mount the board flat to the front.
But yes it is easy to create holders and holes for the circuit boards.
That is the big thing for me. I can design the front inclusive holes and holders + I can get some 3D look on the front.
And I can make prototypes and change things easily if I'm not happy with the result.
My examples here are white but all kinds of colors are available incl light in the dark and plastics that changes color depending on the temperature

NS4W · Post by **NS4W** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:32 am

Thanks for sharing Hakan01! What 3D printer are you using?

Hakan01 · Post by **Hakan01** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:54 am

Im using a Lpfrg Creatr www.lpfrg.com but really, the Euro format
is not so big so I think any printer is usable in terms of printing space.

Also if you don't have a printer you can order prints via http://www.3dhubs.com/ or any other printing service.

A panel does not take such long time to print so its not so expensive.

I use Tinkercad to design my panels

synchromesh · Post by **synchromesh** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 10:47 am

I like the idea that, rather than just making the "front panel" you could design an "enclosure" that fitted the controls etc. at one end, and the PCB in the middle with its own standoffs.

You could have them stackable sideways, like a big version of the LittleBits format.

I have a Sumpod 3D printer kit that I must get around to assembling; you can mount a Dremel (or a 1000mW laser diode) on it, so there are all sorts of possibilities...

somonochrome · Post by **somonochrome** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:28 am

hakan01,
this is so cool and exactly what i was looking for. i found a template for a simple turing machine panel but your stuff is really stunning!

how hard is it to get started with designing panels?

it would be amazing to have a template that you just need to adapt to the module you want to build! the lack of a panel often keeps me from building something.

daverj · Post by **daverj** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:03 pm

Looks great! Can you change the color of plastic half way through so the background and the raised stuff on the front are contrasting colors?

Hakan01 · Post by **Hakan01** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:35 pm

The printers are not yet plug and play. You need to be a mechanic to run then properly. The cad software Tinkercad is fairly easy to learn. In my opinion the easiest design sw. It is limited but for synth panels its fine.
The nice part is that you have a ruler in the sw and you can measure and calculate where you want all holes and patterns. After a while you will have a little library that you can reuse for your designs.
When it comes to color changes it is possible to stop a print change color and continue printing but it takes some practice.

Maco · Post by **Maco** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:41 pm

or get a dual or quad color printer

MitchGtz · Post by **MitchGtz** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:41 pm

hakan01, Did you share your files on Thingiverse? I have a Makerbot Replicator 2 and was thinking about making blank panels, but lack modeling skills, I was hoping that someone would have posted some .stl files for blanks or enclosures for that matter, but haven't found anything yet.

spotta · Post by **spotta** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:03 pm

Wow. They look so much better than I expected. Great job

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MUFF WIGGLER

Eurorack Panels and 3D Printers

Eurorack Panels and 3D Printers