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Hi guys

I’m new to 3d printing and would like to begin printing personalised tennis dampeners (rubber like object that sits between the tennis string of a tennis racket to reduce vibration).

What machine and filament would be the best to use? Please remember I am new to this and would like to keep costs low initially so i can test the concept.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Fabio

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If you just want to do this project, design your model and order it to a hub. I think PLA++ is a good choice for absorbing vibration and not damaging the strings. For a few prints it shouldn’t cost much.

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Hey Fabio,

If you do have a design you could already upload it to Online 3D Printing Service | Instant 3D Printing Quotes | Hubs and find a suitable service provider nearby :slight_smile: Indeed if you print PLA or PLA++ it should be costly at all

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Hey, I want to turn it into a bespoke service for a fan base so looking to do this myself as outsourcing it would be too expensive.

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Do you mean PLA or PLA++ would be costly or not costly? I’d like to be able to print these myself on demand rather than outsource the print as its a low priced item and would end up too expensive

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A simple prusa i3 or variant like the wanahoo would produce what you are looking for sub $500.

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You should check out the 3d hubs printer guide Best 3D Printer Guide 2023 | Hubs Once you find the printer you are interested in you can order a print from a hub to check the quality before buying the printer. Keep in mind a lot of 3d printing is not really consumer ready. Most of us spend a lot of time tuning maintaining and repairing our printers. You have to weigh the time it spent on the machine as well as the capital against the savings compared to ordering from a local hub. Also a lot of hubs can give you some preferred pricing for volume orders and ongoing order agreements (like at $x per month your rate is lowered to half of the normal cost).

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Many people buy a 3d printer to prototype their idea/invention only to learn very quickly that it’s not the star trek replicator that they thought it would be. Getting a quality print from a machine, regardless of the price/quality of the equipment is not easy and NOTHING is plug and play. Most printer demos you see are designs off thingiverse specifically designed for easy 3d printing. Printing your own designs is an order of magnitude more difficult. On top of that most printers cannot extrude soft materials like rubber/ninjaflex/etc without modification and even then are much more difficult to print than materials like PLA.
I’m saying all this because I want you to know that all these people telling you to hire someone are not just looking for business they are genuinely trying to save you money and frustration. I really do not recommend going down this path unless you are really into 3d printing and have an almost unlimited supply of patience and time.

-Jesse

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Hey @MindFuLL

Many thanks for this info. It is true that most we are sold the dream and how easy is it to print a product. Its something i want to give a go but will not pull the trigger unless I am very sure I can print a good product (I know it wont be easy).

I will look into hire someone to see if they can print the product and if they can’t then i sure wont be able to with my limited experience.

Thanks for the warning :slight_smile:

Fabio