We have done some of our own work with early DIY 3D printers that for new users showed failure rates as high as 20%. I know from our own experience it is much lower now - but have you seen or published average failure rates of plastic 3D printers - either in industry or from your own labs?
I don't know what you mean by early 3D diy printers. My own experience coming from patenting a 3D printer (2001), and not concerning plastic but the material plasticity seems to be nearly the same, (the pure gold film was supported by a plastic film resistant to high temperatures) At the beginning I've had over 80% failure decreasing to 1% at the end. Several problems were encountered mostly with brushless motors and the difficulty to set properly the required temperature at 0,1°C. the main problem is that the errors are difficult to reproduce because the conditions are necessarily different. To free ourselves from the problems related to the outside temperature, we placed the system in a transparent but hermetically sealed enclosure( seeing what’s happened during the printing process, and being able to stop it) We then realized that the problem was with the PT100 type sensor which was unable to provide and maintain a high temperature. We replaced it with an inductive sensor that we have specifically developed. Then we encountered problems with the materials of the heating element which were not sufficiently isolated from the rest of the material and which led to errors. Every day was a source of new errors, and we could not expect any help on the principle itself. It took two years to obtain results which made it possible not only to patent the product but also to turn it into an industrial machine which was no longer a prototype but could be marketed. Feel free to ask for detailed explanations if needed.
Dear Joshua,
That really depends on the definition of "failure" as stated in your functional and technical specifications. For instance, slight printing issues in a few layers may not affect the functionality and durability of your 3D-printed part; however they may not be acceptable for an hypothetic client due to perfectible aesthetic features.
Dear Joshua M Pearce ,
I've been doing 3D FDM (PLA) printing since 2012. In this particular case, main flailure ou flaws are misalignment of mechanical assembly, from housing to gears and bolted parts. Besides, of course, wear of the extruder nozzle and its cleaning, which we must remember is not eternal. I recommend changing the nozzle every 50-60 hours of printing, having gone through many cleanings.
One thing that cannot be overlooked are gear head fixing screws on stepper motors, these are called cotter pins, they are headless screws inserted into gear body. Due to the "jumps" of printing pieces with right angles (Dirac delta effect - unit step impulse). These tiny screws loosen over time and can often "disappear" given their tiny size. I always recommend retightening along with the rest of structure.
As for 3D printing failure, I think main reason is quality and color of PLA plastic used. I've noticed during these 10 years that I have fewer problems with transparent (natural), white and light gray plastics. Colors with a lot of pigmentation more often clog the extruder nozzle. I also prefer to use unheated tables.
I realized over time that 3D printer needs to stay in a power-on with no air circulation. Mild air displacement temperature changes during a long print (30-60h) change quality of finish.
Another important factor is alignment adjustment of assembly and extruder with table. It must be calibrated every 20 hours of printing, including a raft on first layer to check if the alignment is still good!
I think these are the tips, and it really is sad and annoying when a crash ou failure occurs, but keeping in mind what I said earlier, it's easier to avoid failures!
Good luck!
My best regards,
Filipe