3D Printed Bracket for Ocean Signal EPIRB

[flightlead404]

I was trying to find a good place to mount my EPIRB. Couldn't really find one and didn't want to drill random holes in my interior trim, so I built this.

3D printed bracket with captive nut design for 1.25" OD tube.

Mounts over my nav station on a portion of grab bar unlikely to be used for "grabbing".

[Spot]

Nice job. Did you embed metal nuts for the (4) long machine screws as well? I have yet to try embedding hardware in a print.

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by Spot

Nice job. Did you embed metal nuts for the (4) long machine screws as well? I have yet to try embedding hardware in a print.

Thanks.

Yes 4 nuts are captive in the 4 "ears" you see on the sides, and 3 are captive in the "base" that attaches to the OEM bracket.

I'm now printing one that has an additional TPU (sort of a soft rubbery material) strip down the center to prevent sliding/rotation on the tube.

[goboatingnow]

What’s the base filament

Quality is nice what’s the printer ( Prussa? )

Looks like a long print job !!!

[meirriba]

Why not simply stow it in your ditch bag?
This what I do.
No need to take it off the wall, just take the bag that you want to take anyway if you need to abandon boat in a hurry.
If you have a non-abandon emergency, you can always take it out of the bag at your leisure.

[gregabbiss]

Sorry a little off topic, but I have wondered about 3d printing on a yacht at anchor, is it possible? is the movement going to cause issues?

Have wanted to get into 3D printing, very useful but I"m a live-a-board.

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

What’s the base filament

Quality is nice what’s the printer ( Prussa? )

Looks like a long print job !!!

This is a Qidi Tech 1 printer, essentially a Makerbot dual extruder clone. I've upgraded to all metal extruders and a borosilicate glass bed.

I'm using Hatchbox ABS and Sainsmart TPU. I actually prefer the Inland ABS filament however.

Its about 4:27 for both parts

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by meirriba

Why not simply stow it in your ditch bag?

Have not put one together yet, and don't have a good location. Wanted to at least have this close by in a grabbable place.

Originally Posted by gregabbiss

Sorry a little off topic, but I have wondered about 3d printing on a yacht at anchor, is it possible? is the movement going to cause issues?

Have wanted to get into 3D printing, very useful but I"m a live-a-board.

I print at home, however other than power issues I think the biggest issue would be firmly mounting the printer. I find the print quality is much better if you can solidly mount the printer to a bench. This helps prevent "ringing" which is caused by higher frequency vibration and movement of the printer especially where the print head stops movement or reverses. Also using acceleration/deceleration settings will help this.

the low frequency albeit higher amplitude movement of a boat at anchor or in a slip I don't think (have not experience) would have much effect.

When printing a material like ABS you may also have issues with over cooling or uneven cooling of the part as well.

Lastly, good ventilation is nice (and may conflict with the cooling issue)

[goboatingnow]

I have used my 3D printer on the boat ( ender 3) with no issues. Power requirements are minimal and boat movements at anchor or in a marina have no noticeable effects.

PETG is an excellent marine material. Waterproof , good to excellent layer adhesion make very strong solids. Good uv resistance too. I had PETG brackets outside now for three years with no obvious degradation

I don’t use ABS at all since moving to PETG. ABS is not practical on a boat due to strong smells.