Leading Edge knife sharpening system - 3D printed

so, if someone got say the Ender 3 V2 printer for his birthday, could he without any at all previous experience in 3D printing, print this cool toy ? I have written bugs for a living for past 30 years, so coding is no problem at all, but other than programming I know nothing about 3D printing and yes, I know Gcode is different than C++.

It looks like I would need slicing software down the road, would I need anything to print this if I downloaded the code ? Can it really be this easy ? I do have some other items I want to print which is why I am looking into a printer. Is the Ender 3 V2 good enough for this ? I did see it earlier in some posts in this thread, budget would be $250-350 if there is a different printer I need to look at, I guess I need to budget some software too for other things. And sorry for getting off topic of knives.
 
mikey_r said:
Can it really be this easy ?
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Absolutely! That's why I designed this system for anyone to make for themselves. With a little bit of reading, watching videos and experimenting, you'll get the hang of it in no time at all.

As long as you print my sharpener parts with no bigger than a 0.4mm nozzle and no more than 0.2mm layer height, then your Ender should print everything accurately enough.

I would, however recommend a printer with automatic bed leveling hardware and good online support like a Prusa Mini with optional bed leveling probe, or even better - a Prusa MK3S+.

The Ender 3 is a great printer, but if you're new at this, it may give you a bit of a headache to solve initial teething problems which need manual adjustments. Once it's tuned and set up correctly, it's a good printer.

Printing wise, PLA plastic is perfect for my sharpener, no need for any fancy plastics. For the parts that need to be stronger, like the clamps and main platform, make sure you print with at least 4 walls / shells, at least 4 top and bottom layers and maybe up to 60% infill. Your miles may vary, depending on settings. For the other parts, basic settings and around 20% infill is ok.

You will definitely need some good gcode slicing software, and it's available open source and free. As an example, have a look at Slic3r, or if you get yourself a Prusa printer then use Prusaslicer.

And remember, if you mess up any part during assembly, then it's as easy as just printing another part!

Beware though....once you have a 3D printer, you'll see the whole world differently and you won't ever want to be without one again. :-)
 
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777 Edge said:
And remember, if you mess up any part during assembly, then it's as easy as just printing another part!

Beware though....once you have a 3D printer, you'll see the whole world differently and you won't ever want to be without one again. :)
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Where's Billy Mays when you need him?
 
One of my latest optional updates I'm working on for my Leading Edge sharpening system. A 3D printable rack and pinion option that can slide right over the existing vertical bar.

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I posted about this in WDYST, but it is relevant here.

I used some Hapstone R2 Lite clamps mounted on a clamp bar I designed for my Leading Edge rotatable clamp system, and I used a floodlight mount I also recently made to re-profile and sharpen my set of Laguiole steak knives to 15dps.

IMG_20220201_201254.jpgIMG_20220201_201440.jpgIMG_20220201_201530.jpg
 
777 Edge, this looks great! I think I might know where you got the idea for the floodlight mount from :)
If I ever buy a 3D printer it is entirely your fault ;)
By the way: What kind of sharpening stones are the ones in the pictures?
 
gksg said:
777 Edge, this looks great! I think I might know where you got the idea for the floodlight mount from :)
If I ever buy a 3D printer it is entirely your fault ;)
By the way: What kind of sharpening stones are the ones in the pictures?
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:-) LOL. 3D printers are awesome.

Yep, after using my Kazak Pro Black with the light system which I got from Gritomatic, I love the lighting system so much that I now use lights on all my sharpeners. It's a real game changer.

The stones in the pics are "SY Tools" branded aluminum backed diamond plates from China. It is pretty much the same diamond plate supplier as TSPROF and many other companies use. Often times they come plastic backed, but they now also have aluminum backed options on AliExpress. They're about 5 bucks a piece with the aluminum backing.

I've been experimenting with these stones exclusively for the last couple weeks now and they work well. If anyone was interested, I would recommend getting only the #150, #600, and #1000 grit stones. The #220, #400 & #600 are all the same stone and same grit, just with different labels on (I confirmed this under a microscope and scratch pattern) them so not worth getting them all.

As with all diamond plates (including from China and elsewhere), I would recommend dish soap water as a lubricant and light pressure - let the diamonds do the work for you, no need to force the knife steel to grind away. Most diamond stones are marketed as "dry use", but they tend to last a lot longer when used with soapy water and light pressure.
 
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I am very impressed with you, 777 Edge!

I don't have a 3D printer, but seeing all that you've put out here it makes me want to get one!

Unfortunately, I lost all desire in those types of sharpening systems after I got my Tormek. I like flat bevels and extremely precision, but it just takes too much of my time. So much that I don't want to use the blade because I don't want to put more time into keeping it extremely sharp.
 
777 Edge said:
Wow, that's a lot of great and fast research bucketstove! I didn't even know city libraries and some UPS locations offer 3D printing services.

Most of my parts need high accuracy in printing. As an example, the magnet holes are exact size and they fit in tight, perfect and flush in their recesses without space for crud to collect. The ball and ball bearing holder for the sharpening rod is designed to be a perfect fit too, I don't want any movement when sharpening and the bearing action needs to be exact, with no play. The fine tuning adapter is a 2-part unit with male and female thread inside, so the threads are also important to print accurately. All the accessories fit and slot in perfectly and their holes need to line up exactly too. The 3-point knife guide slides together and fits nice and smooth in its grooves. I normally print every part of this sharpener in high detail, because I am a little obsessive about fit and tolerance when it comes to sharpening systems.

There are some other 3D printable sharpeners on thingiverse, I have tried most of them just to see if they are any good. Most are terrible. I designed mine to be a different beast altogether, so printing in fairly high accuracy (with no more than a 0.4 nozzle) is very important. The end result is a Great sharpening system.

I would highly recommend getting your own 3D printer, a decent quality one like the Ender 3 Pro is only about $200, and a spool of PLA plastic is about $22 per 1kg.

A huge step up would be getting a Prusa Mini or MK3S+. They are awesome. I now use a Prusa MK3S+ and I am very happy with it.

Trust me, having a 3D printer is worth its weight in gold. There is SO much you can do with them, and hundreds of thousands of free models on websites like thingiverse to download and print for free. Just about everything you could think of that can be made from plastic, you can 3D print. The printer pretty much pays for itself after only 1 or 2 prints.
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Hi 777
What you think about printing it with PETG?
I am about to give it a go!
 
gipsy said:
Hi 777
What you think about printing it with PETG?
I am about to give it a go!
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It works, but I've found it has too much shrinkage and the occasional blob while printing to give the same accurate results as PLA gives.
 
777 Edge said:
It works, but I've found it has too much shrinkage and the occasional blob while printing to give the same accurate results as PLA gives.
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OK, thanks for advice, I will go with PLA....just to add, thanks for sharing your project, it is nice thing to do, hope it will come out OK.
I will try to build it and give it a go while waiting for TooHR system which I am about to place the order .
 
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