First post. After using 3D printers for the past 4 years, I'm in need of another way. Actually a less expensive way. I design and produce professional pitching horseshoes. I use 3D software (MOI) for my design work and output .STL files for 3D printing. I generally have two copies printed. My cost -- $238 out of pocket. There are no 3D printing service bureaus able to come close to that price. I am considering a CNC instead. This seems to be a fairly simple task for a CNC as I assume a single cutter would do the entire job with the exception of engraving the name of the horseshoe.
I began this search looking for a method to convert .STL to GCode and see that there is this capability available. I would like a recommendation for a simple desktop CNC to cut my patterns out in some hard form of plastic. The plastic itself becomes the mold used for the foundry and the horseshoe is submitted as a split pattern with dowel pin registration indicators. 3D printed ABS works well for this process. I would probably use a sheet 8" x 8" and 1/2" thick plastic for each split.
I would appreciate a recommendation from those familiar with CNC cutting and what one might expect to pay for one. A YouTube search for Photon713 will display a variety of examples of horseshoes in production.
Do you own your 3d printer, Do you own your 3d printer, or do you go through a service?
I will admit that I’d never try to print horseshoes for sale to a customer from a 3d printer without a lot of finishing or a much better printer than I’ve ever seen. What do you use your two printed copies for?
Good luck. I wouldn’t have thought that there were enough professional horseshoe players around anymore.
Inexpensive hobby routers may not have the precision or accuracy you need.
I am guessing you are having a service like shapeways print your parts for you now.
You might consider using one of your printed sets to make a mold to make plastic replicas. That would be cheaper in the long run, of your horse shoes are even partially similar.
Thanks for the comments. I do not own a 3D printer. I have been using one used by an engineering firm in Maryland. I have two copies printed to be used in the master mold by the foundry. Using two copies permits a pair of horseshoes created at one casting. That insures a matched weight set of horseshoes. I do not use Shapeways. Their prices are far too expensive for me. I originally used a Zcorp SLA printer a few years ago, but, the material was so brittle it would not stand the molding process and had to be used to create an aluminum master ($900). The ZCorp printer was replaced by a Stratasys FDM printer capable of printing ABS plastic. The use of ABS eliminated the need to create the aluminum master and the ABS prints after cleanup which involved spraying with an Acrylic Primer and following up with a special plastic filler called Super Red Putty. The horseshoes were sanded smooth and sent to the foundry for casting. The resulting models were sent to the National Horseshoe Pitchers Assn. for specification approval. After testing by various NHPA pitchers, shoes that passed muster were put into production and licensed to pitch in NHPA sanctioned tournaments.
There are about 100 different models of horseshoes sanctioned for pitching in NHPA tournaments. There are still thousands of pitchers pitching in every state and several foreign countries. There is an annual world tournament lasting two weeks somewhere in the U.S.
I have been manufacturing professional horseshoes for the past 5 years and using the output from a high end 3D printer. Unfortunately, access to this printer is no longer available and I need to try to find an alternative to replace the printer. Quotes from service bureaus typically run between $500 to $1500 for a pair. I’ve been paying $220 for a pair. I am very familiar with 3D printers. Unfortunately, most can’t print in the size I need and the size that I need is > 8x8x1. I’m scrambling trying to find a replacement method. As far as making plastic replicas…I still need to create the master for mold making. What I printed from the 3D printer becomes the foundries master mold. There is no need to create additional masters or copies.
At this point, it seems my only alternative is to output files to drive highend CNC machines. Fortunately, there are a number of them in my geographic area.
I’m currently in the process of salvaging a busted-up old Makerbot Cupcake, with which I’m designing and printing my own mega-sized Reprap Darwin clone. Knowing what I know now, I could build you a Darwin too, with all the newest gadgets, for six or seven hundred dollars. If you’re interested, drop me a line!
