Custom 3D Printed Bus Bar Covers

[HRTKD]

For a little bit of extra protection against accidental contact, I drew up a bus bar cover and a friend of mine created it on his 3D printer. The covers were 12" long and I cut them to fit. He gave me three covers.

Before installation of the covers.


New covers installed.


Here's what the covers look like from the end. The covers are designed to snap onto a 3/8"x1" copper bus bar at two different heights, while leaving room for air movement above the bus bar. These aren't the dimensions as it was printed. My friend increased the wall thickness of the cover to give more strength.


I made cutouts in the covers to clear other components. The Dremel worked OK, but I can't seem to cut a straight line.


Because I had them handy, I put plastic cap nuts on top of the studs. It's overkill, I know. But if it keeps me from grounding out something, it will have been worth it.

 

[chrisski]

That is awesome. I can’t seem to find busbars covers for my six stud 1000 amp blue sea busbar.

-What program did you use to make this?

-Is the print material anything special?

 

[brb58]

I have 3d printed some copper bar covers as well but just low profile ones for between batteries. Snaps on.

 

[brb58]

That is awesome. I can’t seem to find busbars covers for my six stud 1000 amp blue sea busbar.

-What program did you use to make this?

-Is the print material anything special?

Should be super simple to design. I use Fusion360..it's free but has a little bit of a learning curve.

 

[BentleyJ]

-What program did you use to make this?

I've used Design Spark for designing a couple of PCB housings. Free, works well for me. Seems to be easier to use than Fusion360

-Is the print material anything special?

ABS seems to be a standard material used in low cost hobbyist 3D printers, its not that great from my limited experience. The lowest cost standard material at many professional 3D printing houses is PA12, or sometimes called Nylon12 or polyamide12. Its very durable and far superior to ABS.

 

[brb58]

ABS seems to be a standard material used in low cost hobbyist 3D printers, its not that great from my limited experience. The lowest cost standard material at many professional 3D printing houses is PA12, or sometimes called Nylon12 or polyamide12. Its very durable and far superior to ABS.

I use ASA..way better than ABS. Of course, for something like this, PETG or PLA is fine.

Polyamide12 is VERY hard to print. I am considering trying some but it takes a LOT to make it work.

Do you 3D print?

 

[BentleyJ]

Do you 3D print?

I don't have a 3D printer and really can't justify the cost based on limited need. I've been using a local 3D printer in Carlsbad.

 

[brb58]

I don't have a 3D printer and really can't justify the cost based on limited need. I've been using a local 3D printer in Carlsbad.

So...have you actually printed ABS or PA12?

 

[Pi Curio]

Weird, I can only view one of the images, the other four are blank.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Weird, I can only view one of the images, the other four are blank.

All but one are very long character strings.

 

[BentleyJ]

So...have you actually printed ABS or PA12?

I have not personally set up or used a 3D printer. Couple of years ago I had some ABS parts printed by a guy working out of his garage. The first run was interesting, when I went to pick up the items they were exactly the correct shape but about 40% too small. Something went wrong with the scaling. When I was working on a couple of small PCB's, I had some PA12 enclosures made at a local, professional 3D printer. Its actually kind of expensive but relative to the cost of a traditional injection mold and tooling set up, 3D printing is really the only option for a small run.

Certainly 3D printing has its own particular learning curve with heat profiles of the plastic etc but I would have to believe its similar in many ways to using a CNC router. I do have a Shapeoko XL and have done many wood projects as well as some aluminum and copper bus bar fab with it.

 

[HRTKD]

Photos updated in the first post. I didn't realize that there were problems with them.

I think the source material is Polyamide12. This was done on a commercial grade 3D printer I believe. It definitely wasn't a home brew setup.

 

[brb58]

I have not personally set up or used a 3D printer. Couple of years ago I had some ABS parts printed by a guy working out of his garage. The first run was interesting, when I went to pick up the items they were exactly the correct shape but about 40% too small. Something went wrong with the scaling. When I was working on a couple of small PCB's, I had some PA12 enclosures made at a local, professional 3D printer. Its actually kind of expensive but relative to the cost of a traditional injection mold and tooling set up, 3D printing is really the only option for a small run.

Certainly 3D printing has its own particular learning curve with heat profiles of the plastic etc but I would have to believe its similar in many ways to using a CNC router. I do have a Shapeoko XL and have done many wood projects as well as some aluminum and copper bus bar fab with it.

From what you have been saying about materials, I am kinda not surprised you haven't used a 3D printer before.

Fortunately, I use a heated enclosure for my 3D printer. PA12 is EXTREMLEY difficult to print since it warps very easily especially on large parts. You HAVE to use it with a heated enclosure. I have though about experimenting with it but a better option is PA11 with carbon fiber but then you have to use a hardened nozzle.

I make tons of circuit board boxes for my various projects. Never see a need for PA12 as PETG and ASA work just fine.

 

[brb58]

Photos updated in the first post. I didn't realize that there were problems with them.

I think the source material is Polyamide12. This was done on a commercial grade 3D printer I believe. It definitely wasn't a home brew setup.

I have made a few covers and wire guides. For me it's easier to actually make a few different versions with all the proper cut outs. That's the advantage of having the 3D printer at home.

So when are you going to buy one? They are a lot of fun.

 

[HRTKD]

So when are you going to buy one? They are a lot of fun.

It sure would be nice to have a 3D printer, but my wife isn't on board yet. Then again, I really don't need one more large tool that has to find a place to live in the garage/house. I have bigger purchases that are higher on my list.

 

[brb58]

It sure would be nice to have a 3D printer, but my wife isn't on board yet. Then again, I really don't need one more large tool that has to find a place to live in the garage/house. I have bigger purchases that are higher on my list.

I have mine in my office. I welded an enclosure for it. I got rid of one book cabinet that wasn't really being used so no extra room in the long run. I had it on my workbench in the garage in the beginning but cold drafts affect the print so it wasn't a long term solution anyway.

 

[HRTKD]

I have mine in my office. I welded an enclosure for it. I got rid of one book cabinet that wasn't really being used so no extra room in the long run. I had it on my workbench in the garage in the beginning but cold drafts affect the print so it wasn't a long term solution anyway.

Do you get any odors from the printer? My color laser printer isn't bad if I print a couple of pages but if I print 30 pages the ozone is is enough to chase me out of the room for a while.

 

[brb58]

Do you get any odors from the printer? My color laser printer isn't bad if I print a couple of pages but if I print 30 pages the ozone is is enough to chase me out of the room for a while.

Almost nothing, especially since I print ASA instead of ABS. I can be in my office after a 14 hour print with ASA(supposedly the worst filament for fumes I use) and I can't even tell it printed.

 

[brb58]

Do you get any odors from the printer? My color laser printer isn't bad if I print a couple of pages but if I print 30 pages the ozone is is enough to chase me out of the room for a while.

I have a Prusa MK3s+ and they just came out with the latest model MK4 at the same price as the old model! No better time to buy one. I am going to spending the $575 to upgrade mine to the new model specs.

fully assembled

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kit

Original Prusa MK4 kit | Original Prusa 3D printers directly from Josef Prusa

The MK4 provides high-speed 3D printing with ease and is ever so reliable like all Original Prusa 3D printers. It has all the best features of the popular MK3 – an open-source 3D printing workhorse with easy maintenance and advanced safety features – and adds much more! Orders will be enabled...

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[rhino]

Do you get any odors from the printer? My color laser printer isn't bad if I print a couple of pages but if I print 30 pages the ozone is is enough to chase me out of the room for a while.

Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds

A study has found the particles emitted from consumer-grade 3D printers could negatively impact indoor air quality, with the potential to harm respiratory health.

eandt.theiet.org