3D Printing Discussion

[-BEZ-]

Having a look about I cant see a thread for general 3D printing discussion so now we have one lol

 

I know a few of us are into the technology and it would be a good place to share experiences with machines, and materials ....... not to mention the dark art of printer setups for printing different materials

 

I use a Ultimaker 2 Printer, currently running a mod material feeder and my own spool box ....... I have a design for a enclosure im just waiting on getting cut out ..... more on that down the line.

 

Materials ive printed with include, PLA :: PLA/PHA :: Nylon :: ABS :: PET+ :: XT :: Ninja Flex

 

 

Please feel free to share you joy and frustrations

 

For those who run 3D printers here are a couple of links to some VERY good guides online from the guys at 3DVerkstan.

 

Getting better prints

Designing for 3D printing

[turok007]

i saved

[-BEZ-]

Ultimaker have a really good rep for printers. they recently upgraded their UM Origional to the same overall spec as the UM2 just in the same box as the UM1 lol

 

https://ultimaker.com/en/products/ultimaker-originalBut yeah I feel your pain, so much choice out there. I spent ages reading a ton of reviews before going for an ultimaker. So far im really impressed with it been using it for around a year and done some really cool things with it. 

 

It can be tricky to get to grips with but its an awesome tool to have

[turok007]

do all printers work the same sort of way.

[johninderby]

Proper 3D printing thread is an excellent idea.

The Makerbot clones are deservedly popular and lots of choice out there. Main thing to look for in the lower end models is what types of filament can they use? Lot of them don't have a heated platform. Also what size platform.

Basicly same old story. Do your homework before parting with any money.

John

[-BEZ-]

There are 2 main consumer types FDM and SLA

 

FDM : Fused deposition modeling - This is when you get a material melt it then extrude the melted material to make your 3d printed object. More info on wiki here Machines that use this technology include Ultimaker,  reprap,  makerbot etc. The best way to look at these printers is sculpting with toothpaste. Its a pretty simple approach and you can use a vast variety of materials to print with. Its by far the most supported and versatile way to print.

 

SLA : Stereolithography - This is when you get a laser and fire it into a solution to solidify it to create your 3d image. More info on wiki here. Machines that use this technology are few and far between in the consumer market but one to look out for is the Form Labs Form1+. SLA printer can outshine FDM printer with higher quality of a print that is more "end product" however the materials are very expensive (around

[Tamiyacowboy]

getting good work is a balance between speed you lay down you material and how hot it is from the extruder. 

 

different materials have different properties , ie superflex is used to print rubber tyres. abs and pla moreso modeling

then the more expensive stuff is used for its loadbearing. 

 

filling, as you print you have to fill to, 75% 100% 25% all different. and you can use a lot of filiment.

most printers a single color ie one extruder , bu models are made with dual extruders and quad extruders giving multicoloring.

 

the first month is where you work out your problems, and testing. checking the bed is level. the extruder runs and heats correct.

and how fast you can laydown. your first few prints may not be the best but your learning. a few nanoseconds slower speed or a 2c drop in temp.

 

heated beds are better to run with, having a warm bed also aids removal of the end product, some products will break on removal

usually its down to heat or speed issues. not the plastic itself its just not hot enough to bind or its to fast a lay and to thin a spread.

 

 

 

Scanning, you can scan with the likes of a xbox 360 kinect running the microsoft sdk package and propierty software

gain a 3d scan image and import it to gcode then run it in the printer. better for soilid models like scans of head and shoulders 

or models on a desk. 

[-BEZ-]

I received something awesome yesterday in the post:

 

 

Wont be a week till I finish 100hrs of printing a new body for chaser that I will have time to play with it properly though

 

On a side note just to clear up a couple of points from above:

 

• Infill can be 1-100% depending on what the user requires, think of it like a honeycomb structure inside the part being printed. The higher the percentage the tighter the mesh becomes and the more material it used. On reflection the same can be said for support structures (for overhangs or holes) on the outside of the part being printed.
• A heated bed isn't for making part easier to remove but for adhesion to the build plate while printing. A hot plate hold the material better and stops the print from deforming due to rapid cooling (particularly with ABS and Nylon). Parts should only be removed when the printer has cooled down to ambient temperature for ease of removal.

[Vr5fx]

The feeling that you "want" a 3D printer just because.

 

But then that voice that says. "Do you really need one?"

[turok007]

when i first heard about 3D home printing my head just went crazy with all the things i could make.  lol

[Thunderwolf]

The feeling that you "want" a 3D printer just because.

 

But then that voice that says. "Do you really need one?"

 

i'd like one, and although i don't NEED one, think of the things you no longer have to buy because you can just print it out.

[johninderby]

For me one of the biggest pluses to having a 3D printer is when you're working on some project and find you just don't have the right part is being able print one out right away and not having to wait for it to be delivered. Also being able to customise a part to suit.

For example needed a battery box but nothing was available to buy in the right size that would fit into an awkward space so printed one out to the exact dimensions needed. Also a mate needed a part for his TX and no one had stock so made him one.

Waiting for 3D scanners suitable for small parts copying to come down in price. They're way behind 3D printers in developement but will catch up very soon.

What I'd love to have though would be one of the new molten aluminium 3D printers that can print out proper aluminium parts. Unfortunately not going to be cheap

[NitricRC]

Just a quick question, so a printer says it prints with PLA and ABS but states it can accept material other than the proprietary material what does this mean?

[johninderby]

Basicly it means filaments such as Nylon etc that can be printed on most printers that can use PLA or ABS. Bed temp and print speed will need setting to the requirements of the new filaments.

 

You can get carbon fibre, bronze or other metal effect, wood, stone etc. These filaments contain a percentage of powdered metal, wood etc. Some of them can be tricky to print with though. Your settings have to be spot on.

 

    John

[NitricRC]

But not all printers can do this or is it dependent of the settings of the printer i.e max/min temp/spec.

Edited February 28, 2015 by NitricRC

[johninderby]

If your printer can be set to the manufacturers requirements then yes you should be OK. Usually it's just bed temp and printing speed. A lot of printers don't have heated beds so that can limit what filaments they can use. Some filaments do have other requirements such as extruder nozzle size and layer thickness etc. but they tend to be the really specialised ones.

That's the one thing that would concern me about the magazine printer if it has only one layer setting as some types of objects and filaments print better at different settings.

John

Edited February 28, 2015 by johninderby

[NitricRC]

Ahh I see what you mean I am looking at buying one either as kit form or built already, I will still carry on with the magazine build aswell as it will be good to see the final result..... that's if I get there.

Edited February 28, 2015 by NitricRC

[johninderby]

Magazine kits can be good but can take some chasing up with the publisher to get hold of the last few issues as well.

 

Something I built from a magazine a little while ago. All solid brass (except for the sun and moon of course) and very, very nice. Stands about 16 inches high and motorised. Didn't build it untill I had all the isuues though.

    

        John

 

[NitricRC]

Now that is something I would like to build aswell. How many issues was it?

[johninderby]

Earth, Moon and Sun Orbiter, 52 issues. Came to about 300 quid which I thought was a bargain considering what I ended up with. No longer available from the publisher although there is an eBay seller that seems to have all the issues......at over twice the original price though.

John

[Savage_Smithy]

We got an ormerod at work about a year ago and I have been using it constantly for this and that and wanted my own printer, so thought hey why not print one? After looking round I decided I really wanted a delta style printer and settled on richraps 3DR design since it was mostly 3d printed and seemed cheap to get going. It looked cool but the build area was kinda small and I eventually lost interest in trying to get it to print right since I had access to works printer every day anyway. this is how it looked for those unfamiliar with the 3DR.

 

I then decided to just print spacers for the top and bottom plates which would allow me a larger build area but I ran into the issue of it being unstable and lacking rigidity and so I abandoned the 3DR platform and opted to instead design my own from the ground up using a steel and printed frame and integrating all of the electronics in the base, including a raspberry pi to run an octoprint server to control the printer. I have also thrown in a heated bed and a capacitive z probe which should allow me to automatically level the bed.

 

 

I need to add a few more peices such as the exturder and spool mount at the top of the build. Hopefully I will stick with it this time until it is all up and running exactly as I want it.

 

wiring is mostly done, just needs calibration and general setup, will use my old extruder for now until I can print the rest of the parts and get it all mounted.

 

Edited April 4, 2015 by Savage_Smithy

[NitricRC]

Very nice, I when I have funds available would love do build one form scratch, but small steps first for me.

[johninderby]

Got around to printing out the T-Rex skull at the proper scale. No cleaning up done to it yet.

 

     John

 

 

[-BEZ-]

Very nice its clearer to see its a multipart print from the larger scale. I have some glow in the dark filament I should get around to printing one for my son, do you have a link to the stl file for the skull?

[johninderby]

Here you go.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:308335

 

Although your son just might like this one. Thinking of printing this one as well in a suitable metallic colour.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:330127

 

Have to sort out the base but I'm going to use a wooden base with brass supporting rod rather than use their printed one. I have the full skeleton files to go with the skull which I had to buy from Makerbot although pretty cheap.

 

     John

Edited April 6, 2015 by johninderby