bent 3 forks on my atc the other night, the atc tray alignment was off when i started the machine, and i ordered 5, and new plastic bolts, but is it viable to 3d print them out of ABS, solid of course and with smaller layer heights and stepover, but if anyone has done this and it works let me know. Or what plastic i could use if i would just make new ones, UHMW i presume, they are kinda expensive and shipping is too. luckily only one got bent to unusable status and i had one tool slot i could change that tool to, but i see now it would be nice to have extra on hand or be able to print some while i sleep.
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ABS printers are usually only in serious shops as it gives off toxic fumes when heated. I think you can print them from lots of other things though. Nylon is probably next best and then TPU or PLA. Not sure how long the pla will last if it gets coolant on it though. I know people have been printing replacements though.
Well it only gets heated when printed anyway, opening a window solves that problem, seems like Petg and nylon are the best for coolant exposure, i have a good bit of petg on hand so ill try that. Thanks
Hobbyists 3D print with ABS all the time. It gives off annoying fumes you don’t want to breathe on the regular but people that print it mostly use a filter or vent it outdoors.
That said, I’d use nylon for ATC forks because printed ABS seems too rigid. PETG might work.
IIRC the factory ones were made on a Tormach 1100 for many years, so that’s an option too.
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I know for sure someone(s) has printed replacements, though specifically who, I couldn’t say. Couldn’t really say which material would be best. Nylon is certainly stronger than PETG but suffers from moisture absorption over time which causes swelling and may or may not affect performance. Best bet would be to buy some UHMW and machine your own since you already have the machine. I’ve done quite a lot of UHMW and it’s super easy to deal with. You could get a reasonable size plate, clamp it down to the table, and do a bunch of nested parts in 1 or two ops pretty quickly.
There is a guy on Etsy selling replacement forks. They look pretty interesting.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1624407739/improved-tormach-atc-tool-holder-fork
Years ago I printed forks out of ABS on my ender3 with a trash bag to keep the heat in. And the garage door open. The forks work great. I used a stl off of thingiverse or maybe this one.
Andy
Awesome, i wasent sure if they would hold up if i printed them, glad to know someone actually has tested them. Thanks