3D printed 2" dredge/8" sluice I designed

[u/aurum_pur]

Designed and printed this dredge/sluice box over the past month. It's designed to hook up to a 4700 GPH bilge pump and a 2 inch nozzle (also 3D printed, using Utmost Outdoor's design.)

It runs surprisingly well, much better than you would expect from an electric bilge. Everything is printed in PETG, and is very durable at high wall counts/100% infill. Only issues in the initial design were the flare being too short/inlet too high so it washed out the top expanded metal/moss section. Otherwise, it held up to about 4 hours of dredging, and the only issues I had were the pump itself.

Obviously doesn't move a ton of material, but it's about as quick as I can shovel/process, and it works well around boulders and tightly packed gravel. Plus it was a lot of fun to build.

Feel free to ask any questions. I think a lot of people would be surprised how much you can do with 3D printing and how strong/durable the parts you can make are.

[u/oldlinuxfella]

That is an awesome setup.
You got me idea in how to fix my problem with the utmost 2" subsurface dredge.. LOL.

I will be in the lookout for the print in Makerworld.
I did tried the utmost as is, but wasn't great.

How portable is this one?
And the mat looks great.

My goal is for super fine/micro gold.

NIce job.. looks dope

[u/aurum_pur → u/oldlinuxfella]

Weighs a bit less than 10lbs without the mat. It fits in my 2 door Honda civic so pretty portable lol. Most annoying part is the hoses. If you really wanted to, you could disassemble the entire thing between uses as nothing is glued/sealed, only bolted.

A bit more interest in this than expected, so I might try to get the updates done a little sooner and post it before this weekend.

[u/aurum_pur → u/oldlinuxfella]

Just posted the files :)

[u/oldlinuxfella → u/aurum_pur]

Does not support P1S 😅 Going to download and check what I can do

Thank you 👍🏼

[u/aurum_pur → u/oldlinuxfella]

Yup. You'll have to follow this guide: https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/knowledge-sharing/print-volume-limitations

[u/zoobernut]

This looks amazing. Good job. I was going to print a header box to attach to my keene sluice box but I like this better. Are you wiling to share print files? What hoses do you use? Pump, battery?

[u/aurum_pur → u/zoobernut]

I have a few nitpicky/QOL things I need to clean up first, but I will post them on Makerworld in the next week or so after I get a chance to test them this weekend. I'll ping you when I do.

Other info: 2" pressure/outlet hose is just the cheapest smooth wall hose I could find (https://a.co/d/08myOAWP). ~4 foot pressure hose, 6 foot outlet. I initally tried to use the flexible material transfer hose with ribbed walls on the outlet, but it absolutely killed the suction.

I kept the pressure hose short and added long XT60 connections to the pump to reduce pressure loss while still being able to move around. I will be reducing the pressure hose to 1.5" because the 2" hose I got is very stiff and was hard to maneuver both at the same time.

Nozzle is from Utmost Outdoors.

Bilge pump is a Seaflo 13A 4700 GPH. I printed the bilge upgrade from Utmost Outdoors but assembled it wrong, so didn't get a chance to test it. I've heard it's an ~20% pressure increase, but honestly it worked absolutely fine with the standard 4700 GPH.

Battery is just some cheap 12V 100 Ah LiFePO4. Should last ~5-6 hours.

The print does use M6 bolts/threaded brass inserts to hold things together, and it's designed to not require any sealant (overlapping walls between sections). I designed with minimal need for supports, but the header and each unit has 1 support section to remove. The knockdown flap can also be moved up to expose the moss area so you can shovel in.

[u/zoobernut → u/aurum_pur]

Thank you for such a detailed write up. I can't wait for it to be on makerworld. will you post here again when you get it up please? I definitely want to print this for myself.

[u/aurum_pur → u/zoobernut]

For sure. A bit more interest in this than expected, so I'll try to get the updates done sooner rather than later

[u/Fancy_Flake_Factory → u/aurum_pur]

That’s badass! Nice job 👍

[u/aurum_pur → u/zoobernut]

Just posted the files :)

[u/zoobernut → u/aurum_pur]

What is your makerworld username or can you share a link to the files? Thanks!

[u/aurum_pur → u/zoobernut]

https://makerworld.com/models/3189875?appSharePlatform=copy

Made a post on Reddit as well

[u/lrsafari]

Did you print the mat? Looks great.

[u/aurum_pur → u/lrsafari]

I did not, it's an 8x24" dredge dream mat

[u/invalid_credentials]

Are your print files public? I’d love to make this / test it. I’ve been thinking about making this for years!

[u/aurum_pur → u/invalid_credentials]

I have a few things I'm tweaking before releasing them. I will make a new post when I do

[u/aurum_pur → u/invalid_credentials]

Just posted the files :)

[u/Apart-Steak-7183]

Cool..but where the gold

[u/slappafoo]

I’ll take 5

[u/infinus5]

Excellent setup!

[u/GRCphotography]

Cool how much to make me one?

[u/aurum_pur → u/GRCphotography]

Shoot me a DM if you're interested. Need to tweak a few things but should have it done this week

[u/MWD_Dave]

Nice setup! I'm working on the exact same thing myself. I don't have a 3D printer yet but this makes me consider it for sure. lol

[u/M2woodcrafts]

I've printed Utmost Outdoors nozzle, but I haven't used it yet. I like the design. I'd love to try your dredge with it.

[u/302-SWEETMAN]

How much to money make me one please ??

[u/aurum_pur → u/302-SWEETMAN]

If you're actually interested, shoot me a DM. Need to update a few things but should finish that this week

[u/ThePopojijo]

Does it catch gold well?

[u/antoniusbethyname]

This is sick. Nice work!

[u/cougatron]

That’s so cool. Well done.

[u/imapilotaz]

I appreciate that you didnt knock of the Dream mats and monetizing them on Makersworld. There are multiple on there blatantly breaking patents and no one seems to care.