Tolerance test
Description
Instructions
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My Makerbot is having problem to print parts to fit. I'm wondering whether I am the only one having such problem. So, I designed a simple test to test it.
In this page, there is a .stl file test.stl. test.stl has six pairs of plug and slot. The pairs are labeled with number 0 to 5 with decreasing tolerance. Pair#0 is the ideal case where its plug and its slot are edge to edge touching each other. If you printed Pair#0 and its a tight fit, your 3D printer is perfectly calibrated. With respect to the ideal case, Pair#1 has a plug radius 0.05mm smaller and a slot radius 0.05mm bigger, Pair#2~0.10mm, Pair#3~0.15mm, etc...
Please do me a favour. Print test.stl and reply to this page which pair is the first tight fit. The calibration of my Makerbot is probably way off, the first tight fit is Pair#2.
Thanks a lot.
PS: the six pairs for testing are also available individually, i.e. test00.stl to test05.stl. If you want to save some material, you may want to use them instead. All pairs are drew with Google Sketchup, and the source file is test.skp.
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I'm having #1 fit really nice with my Rep2. #0 is just not going to fit. #2 is a bit loose. Thanks for the files, a great idea!
My makerbot replicator also the first pair that is a tight fit is #2
Great Idea, I did somthing similar for my own use. The real problem is that when you scale parts, the tolerances change in the model, but not in real life. So after scaling, parts that were perfect before become too tight or too loose. If you have a 3D program that utilizes constraints then the tolerances wont change, but you still have to re-export it to a new STL.
Another great design aid is to print different wall thickness, even one that tapers to nothing, that way you can see how your printer manages different walls thickness. at some point it will fail to print, and if you add a printed scale to it, you can see exactly at what thickness.
Actually, I have done something a bit aggressive. I modified the Skeinforge inset plugin to add an extra inset. In this way, tolerances stay the same even after scaling.
By the way, infill density will also affect tolerances. For instance, printing 100% infill will make the object bigger by 0.05mm, which is subtle for appearance by devastating for tolerances.
Anyway, I really want to know how the other 3D printers doing. Can you print it and tell me about the first pair that fit?
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