Basic Mechanics for 3D Printed Parts

Hi all,

Does anyone know of good books / web pages with basic information on how to design mechanically sound components to be 3D printed?

I'd like to be able to design "stuff" so it doesn't snap or fall apart after I try to use it. In particular I plan to build new a X and Y axis for my 3D printer, and I don't want to make structures that would make a mechanically-inclined person look at me like this or this

I'm not trying to be too complex with the math, but I would welcome some techniques were I could draw up a sketch, calculate the forces and whatnot by hand + scientific calculator, then compare the numbers it spits out to the mechanical properties of ABS. Essentially I'm looking for the mechanical version of looking at the stuff between the (EDIT: wall outlet) and heatbed, estimating losses through the whole thing with Ohm's law and P=VI, and deciding whether you should beef up the connections or not. A "cook book" of different types of structures would be nice too, like knowing how things would react if I used a round or square piece.

Thanks!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2013 09:52AM by frontier204.

I would say about the most consise book you'll find regarding properties of materials, and Mechanical Engineering is :


[www.amazon.com]



My 1942 edition, has served me well since the 50s.

Tbh i just wing it, in terms of if parts actually are strong enough, it seems to work well enough. I have a bachelors in physics, but i think other people (can)do the same. Geometry and stuff i do exactly though. I can do most of it with openscad w/o paper, but i get paper if some geometry problem doesnt come fast enough. However usually that just seems to indicate i have to take a step back and rethink how to design the object.

Of course this intuition might work better if you have actually messed around with printed results, start small. And that book does sounds like it is interesting to have..

Thanks for the replies!
@Metalmann - Thanks for the note - it's available in PDF format in my university's library, so I'll go download a few of the chapters.

@Jasper1984 - Yep for sure I won't calculate forces and all of that for every piece I make (e.g. that's way overkill for a electronics box). I'm still trying to get a firm grasp of OpenSCAD: if something has more than a union and a difference, I have to work it out on paper.

With OpenSCAD you work exclusively in the abstract - the 3D view is not interactive. It's good for people "programming-minded", not so for other people (and I'd wager we are the majority compared to the former). You have many other options of CAD or design software which have a full GUI. Some are parametric too.

Just sayin'.