QIDI Plus4 - 3D Printer

[XLR8]

The Manx dune buggy chassis is supposed to be printed out of Nylon, but I used Silver PLA instead, with a 0.20mm layer height and using the Strength preset.


Even the ugly side isn't too bad, and was pretty easy to clean the supports off of, for once.




That was all of the body parts, going to assemble and paint this all, and then work on a passenger and the suspension.

Looks fantastic. I reckon since you won't be jumping the car or slamming into curbs, PLA should be fine. 0.2mm layers makes a very nice print.

[GoMachV]

Was listening to some printer news and they were discussing a possibly problem with the qidi, something worth looking at to make sure you are not effected. Here is a topic on it showing the ssr module and how to access it. Bambu has a problem on their bed slingers that was discovered similarly and later became a recall so like I say it's probably worth at least taking a peek.

[silvertriple]

The Manx dune buggy chassis is supposed to be printed out of Nylon, but I used Silver PLA instead, with a 0.20mm layer height and using the Strength preset.


Even the ugly side isn't too bad, and was pretty easy to clean the supports off of, for once.




That was all of the body parts, going to assemble and paint this all, and then work on a passenger and the suspension.

While the result is nice, I would be concerned by PLA if you are living in an area where temperatures in summer are hot. If you don't intend to let your Manx in your car, that should be ok. But I remember saying a guy at the club that PLA for a rc car chassis was not really a good idea, and few weeks later he told me I was right and showed me a picture of his chassis in banana format : that was a normal summer, and we were supposed to meet at the club to run cars in the evening, and his rc material was stored in the car on his office car park. it was enough high in temperature in his car (white car) to allow the PLA to deform... And it was not even a particularly hot day... PETG is the strict minimum for this (and sometimes it is not even enough).

[GreenBar0n]

Was listening to some printer news and they were discussing a possibly problem with the qidi, something worth looking at to make sure you are not effected. Here is a topic on it showing the ssr module and how to access it. Bambu has a problem on their bed slingers that was discovered similarly and later became a recall so like I say it's probably worth at least taking a peek.

Thanks, will check in to this. QIDI has been really great with support, I told them I was having trouble with a particular print job, and they told me to email them the job, and they would print it in their lab, to see if it was a problem with my printer or the job. It was a problem with the design/job.

Luckily I have an old light weight electronics degree, shouldn't be an issue to fix this.

Thanks!

[GreenBar0n]

While the result is nice, I would be concerned by PLA if you are living in an area where temperatures in summer are hot. If you don't intend to let your Manx in your car, that should be ok. But I remember saying a guy at the club that PLA for a rc car chassis was not really a good idea, and few weeks later he told me I was right and showed me a picture of his chassis in banana format : that was a normal summer, and we were supposed to meet at the club to run cars in the evening, and his rc material was stored in the car on his office car park. it was enough high in temperature in his car (white car) to allow the PLA to deform... And it was not even a particularly hot day... PETG is the strict minimum for this (and sometimes it is not even enough).

Thanks! This Manx body will be a shelf model at some point, nothing serious here but a good time building and painting . Really just trying to figure this all out, and get some experience.

If I do build something serious, I'll use a different filament. I just want it to look good for now, and see if printing it in more expensive filament, is even worth it.

[GreenBar0n]

Lucky for me, @XLR8 created an incredible CAD model of the Tamiya SRB! This will go under the VW Manx body.


We are currently collaborating on a project to print as much of an SRB as possible; and out of PLA.

"PLA? You fool, but why??!" - That was my choice, it's Non-toxic, inexpensive, and allows for a demonstration of what's currently possible in 3d printing with a sub-$800 printer. If this all goes well, there's nothing stopping us from using a more durable filament on the next print. This will be a proof of concept trophy, for my shelf.

We started with the Front Axle pieces.


Before cleaning off the supports, hot off the sheet.






Cleaned and next to the real deal.




One of the Front Axles will need to be printed again, but as a first go, it was worth continuing.

Next was the hardest part, the gear case halves.


Back side before cleaning.








How they fit together.










Test fit under the Manx body.


The rear arms are printing now, then the front arms will get printed.


Thanks @XLR8!

[GreenBar0n]

Rear arms look good on top.




Bottom is bad, need to fix orientation on the next print.


The dimensions look good though.

[GreenBar0n]

In order to print both sides of the rear SRB arms cleanly, going to try printing them with the axle hub facing the plate.




A job like this that's tall and narrow, is more probable to get knocked over by the print head. We'll see how this goes, be back in 2 hours.

[GreenBar0n]

The side with the cutouts for the torsion bars, is a bit rough. I will use Adaptive Layers in the future to correct this spot in the print, thanks to @silvertriple for that tip.


Will be checking the printed parts against a reissue kit of the Rough Rider.


Bearings from the kit.


Tolerances looking good, well done @XLR8! Both sides of the print are really clean, even at the 0.20mm Strength preset.


This Manx body kit doesn't use the battery box, or the fiberglass plate from the Tamiya SRB kit, just the metal support plate that joins the transmission to the printed chassis.





Go Kart kit for the RC10?

[XLR8]

Yeah, the rear arms look great this time. What's the bearing fit like; do they drop in or require a push?

[GreenBar0n]

Yeah, the rear arms look great this time. What's the bearing fit like; do they drop in or require a push?

It was a tight fit, most likely based on the layer height settings, and the unfinished interior of the hub, the model looked great, the print could be better. Couldn't get that bearing back out, broke the part trying. Will print another.

[XLR8]

Yeah, the rear arms look great this time. What's the bearing fit like; do they drop in or require a push?

It was a tight fit, most likely based on the layer height settings, and the unfinished interior of the hub, the model looked great, the print could be better. Couldn't get that bearing back out, broke the part trying. Will print another.

Yeah, I thought that might happen as I have not adjusted bearing bore sizes on the SRB parts.

So far, I've only had my parts MJF printed by a service and the last time I ordered something that used bearings (Mid cases, I think) , I increased the bore size slightly and bearing fit was good. IIRC, the increase was 0.02mm but I'll need to confirm that.
Anyway, you'll likely run into the same problem fitting bearings into those trans cases.

[XLR8]

I was curious about adapter layers and found this video helpful. Skip to 7:20:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnujGcSmAjI

[silvertriple]

It was a tight fit, most likely based on the layer height settings, and the unfinished interior of the hub, the model looked great, the print could be better. Couldn't get that bearing back out, broke the part trying. Will print another.

Yeah, I thought that might happen as I have not adjusted bearing bore sizes on the SRB parts.

The worst case scenario, it's just a question of weight for the mass used to gentle push the bearing in the cage

[GreenBar0n]

Ordered a roll of QIDI PETG in white, and a roll of olive colored QIDI matte PLA. Should be here Wednesday. Have some fun things to print that could require the strength of PETG coming up.


Starting on the SRB front arms.

Have to orient the details facing upwards, printing on the underside, or overhang areas, causes deformity.


Tried using 100% infil rate for the interior and strength of the part, Orca informs you to use the Rectilinear setting for a 100% infil.


This should be as strong and pretty as can be with PLA, in theory. We'll see how it turns out. Be back in 2 hours with the results.