Engineering books for 3D printing

[Anonymous]

Good folks,

I am rather new here, and not quite sure where to fit my question - although I assume many of you might be able to help me.

I mainly use Fusion 360 for 3D print design (of variable usefulness) - just as a hobby. I see however many other designers, perhaps with more engineering background, using seemingly already existing universal structural elements and concepts (f.ex. captive nuts, ways of designing load bearing structures, or a lid that can keep itself in place...)

I am wondering, where can I learn more about this more or less intangible “the way we usually do it”?.. Some design guidelines? Commonly used structures?

All suggestions appreciated 😉

[I_Forge_KC · Accepted solution]

Look for resources that are aimed at traditional plastics manufacturing and you'll get 95% of the right info you're looking for. The major differences start to appear around the concepts of draft and undercut - which have more restrictions in injection molded parts.

The concepts of wall thickness, ribs, transitions, webs, snap fits, etc. are all directly transferable.

My favorite resources tend to come from the materials manufacturers themselves. I've attached two from Bayer that are definitely worth a trip through. It's also good to look at design guides from the machine providers (well, the big machine providers). For example, HP has a fantastic design guide for their MJF systems. Since you said hobby I assume you're using an FDM machine, so looking to guides like the Ultimaker or Stratasys FDM guides can be helpful (one from Stratasys is attached).

[Anonymous]

Aaah, of course, that makes a whole lot of sense - thank you for the attachments and tips, I will definitely check them out!

[johnanger]

@I_Forge_KC Thank you for the great references. I wonder if you (or anyone!) could also point out some beginner/intermediate links or books to more general design conventions for engineered parts & machines. Shafts, gears, threads, fasteners, springs, bearings, basic mechanisms like rotary to linear conversion, mechanical design basics. I have a few used mechanical engineering text books - I need more basic info

[TheCADWhisperer]

@johnanger 

Technical Drawing with Engineering Graphics by Giesecke, et al.

I have modeled nearly every mechanism in that book.

[wersy]

Caution is advised when it comes to strength calculations.
All formulas refer to homogeneous material.
The strength of printed parts is greatly reduced and depends on the layer adhesion and the printing direction of the perimeters.

[MRWakefield]

Here are a few others you could try. They'll undoubtedly cover way more material than you'll ever want and might be less beginner/intermediate than you're looking for. You'll also find they're mostly on the expensive side!

• Marks' Standard Handbook For Mechanical Engineers. ISBN: 1259588505
• Mechanical Design Engineering Handbook. ISBN: 0081023677
• Mechanical Engineer's Data Handbook. ISBN: 0750619600
• Mechanical Engineer's Handbook. ISBN: 012471370X
• Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design. ISBN: 978–0–07–352928–8
• Springer Handbook of Mechanical Engineering. ISBN: 978-3-540-49131-6
• Manual of Engineering Drawing: British and International Standards. ISBN: 0128184825

Hope this helps.