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I have an old air conditioner and most of the vent flaps/louvres are missing. I've modelled it in Solidworks, but can it be printed? Are the tips too small for 3D printers? It's about 14 cm long end-to-end.

enter image description here

Here's the drawing sheet (dimensions are in mm):

Air conditioner Louvre door

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    $\begingroup$ What 3d printer do you have? What is the smallest sizes? What filament are you using? $\endgroup$
    – marcellothearcane
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 12:45
  • $\begingroup$ @marcellothearcane I'll be taking it in my local library and they've got a UPBox using ABS. I've just added the drawing sheet in the OP. $\endgroup$
    – John M.
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 15:57
  • $\begingroup$ Hi @JohnM. Almost anything can be printed with enough support material. Are you asking for a design review and an analysis of the best printing plan? It really isn't possible to answer this question in a way that would be helpful without more information about your goals and constraints. $\endgroup$
    – cmm
    Commented Feb 25, 2020 at 14:31

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Dimension-wise it's probably ok.

If you want to print it as a single piece it would be quite challenging because of the cylinders, overhangs and bridges present in multiple directions: overhangs and bridges result in lower quality and precision, while cylinders can be printed nicely only when their axis is vertical.

However I see that you could easily split the component into multiple parts, each one of which could be printed optimally.

You can glue the different parts together and you are done, see What glues for PLA? and What glues to use for PETG?

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    $\begingroup$ This could be printed with minimal supports if printed standing slightly canted by around 30° on the right side in the picture. $\endgroup$
    – towe
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 13:14
  • $\begingroup$ Interesting. I'll split the part into 3. I suppose the cylinders should face up when printing? $\endgroup$
    – John M.
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 17:03
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    $\begingroup$ Into 3 parts? Why not split it in half then you get 2 half Louvre doors of about 2.5 mm thick which you can glue together. ABS might be challenging to print it upright or slanted under 30 degrees. PLA/PETG is less prone to warping, I would prefer that over ABS. $\endgroup$
    – 0scar ♦
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 17:49
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    $\begingroup$ Printing in two parts seems a good solution to me $\endgroup$
    – FarO
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 17:54
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    $\begingroup$ Printing it cut in 2 parts upright also allows to directly access the internal area through the "center" cut, and insert a stiffening piece of metal along the whole length. $\endgroup$
    – Trish
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 19:27

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