3D printer thread - what have you been printing?

[Metallics]

[QUOTE=Original User;45143013]Has any one made PC cases?[/QUOTE]

I know this is a fairly old comment, but it would probably also be a pain since generally cases are larger than the printable area of a hobbyist level printer. I don't think robustness would be an issue with some careful design. It would be easier to use printed parts to clad a metal frame generally speaking I suspect since the chassis forms part of the ground plane. For my GCSE project I made a hexagonal prism (top down view) case that also doubled up as a stool - 3mm alu with sheet acrylic cladding cut with a laser, it worked reasonably well, however I do now know why cases are generally square, getting everything to fit whilst making best use of the space and keeping the casing size to a minimum is not at all easy, and that before you even start worrying about airflow. I deviated from the point a little - yes I think it would be entirely possible, although why you would do it I don't know, it's a task better suit to a laser cutter since generally it's all made from sheet material.

[Cakebatyr]

Turns out I didn't screw down the plastic bit tight enough, so now the cold clog is back with vengeance.

I've now ordered an E3Dv6, and since I'm at it I'm also contemplating upgrading from a 12V 10A power supply to a 12V 30A power supply + RAMPS 1.4

[woidoi]

[QUOTE=lekkimsm;45309209]Besides stating the obvious, don't you have something more a bit more closer to a proper guesstimate, moneywise?

I don't imagine shipping for a brick of plastic is stupidly expensive, but how much would YOU charge for it, for time and material?[/QUOTE]

I'd probably charge 3 cent/gram (time + filament price)

for example: a 15 mm PLA cube (with hexagon infill) weighs less than a gram. I should get a more accurate scale as well :v:

[Cakebatyr]

[QUOTE=scratch (nl);45314355]I'd probably charge 3 cent/gram (time + filament price)

for example: a 15 mm PLA cube (with hexagon infill) weighs less than a gram. I should get a more accurate scale as well :v:[/QUOTE]

Don't forget to put a [url=http://www.amazon.com/Arbor-Scientific-P4400-Kill-Meter/dp/B001JHGY2Q]Kill-a-watt[/url] meter on your outlet so you can bill him for the amount of power you used too! :v:

[lekkimsm]

[QUOTE=scratch (nl);45314355]I'd probably charge 3 cent/gram (time + filament price)

for example: a 15 mm PLA cube (with hexagon infill) weighs less than a gram. I should get a more accurate scale as well :v:[/QUOTE]

I still have no sense of money/product ratio (Most likely because i'm an idiot), but like i mentioned before, i'll have to get back to you in a week or two.

Now that i know you can do it, i'll try mocking up some 3D sketches. What sort of programs and filetypes is preferred?

[woidoi]

[QUOTE=lekkimsm;45315443]I still have no sense of money/product ratio (Most likely because i'm an idiot), but like i mentioned before, i'll have to get back to you in a week or two.

Now that i know you can do it, i'll try mocking up some 3D sketches. What sort of programs and filetypes is preferred?[/QUOTE]

all I need is an STL of correct shape and size. you can use something like sketchup (with STL addon) to create parts or some CAD programs.

I use autodesk inventor (2014) as we've been using that at school, but it has an issue where things created in it are scaled down 10 times when exported as .STL

[Cakebatyr]

[QUOTE=lekkimsm;45315443]I still have no sense of money/product ratio (Most likely because i'm an idiot), but like i mentioned before, i'll have to get back to you in a week or two.

Now that i know you can do it, i'll try mocking up some 3D sketches. What sort of programs and filetypes is preferred?[/QUOTE]

You can always design your own .STLs (using Sketchup), import it to KISSlicer and play with the settings (3mm filament and playing with infill values) should give you an estimate of the length of filament used.

It also has a cost/.STL function, but I haven't played with that.

[paindoc]

Finally got all the parts in for my MendelMax 1.5 to 2.0 conversion. After a 6 month break from printing (I needed it my machine was driving me insane) Im back

I've ordered spares of almost all parts I suspect of being funky, from the z couplers to new bushings for the z axis. In fact its mostly z axis parts. All of my problems were z wobble.

[woidoi]

how would I go around preventing slic3r from doing retard shit like this which will never work? the hole is for M3 screws

[t]http://i.imgur.com/adAqYWQ.png[/t]
[t]http://i.imgur.com/XzAAtPn.png[/t]

[editline]13th July 2014[/editline]

oh it's partially because I used an older version of slic3r. New one does stuff with way less of those weird spots :v:

[HiddenMyst]

I've gotten around crap like that once by decreasing the extrusion width, so it thinks it can make the pass in one go, then upping the extrusion multiplier under filament.
But if it's your design, redo it so there's more gap to fill.

[Cakebatyr]

I now put at at least 8mm around my holes.

And I was reading up on how bowden systems work. Seems like the best thing to do in multi extruder constructions.

[editline]13th July 2014[/editline]

Alternatively, if you're working with ABS, just model a depression to guide a drill bit into.

[paindoc]

ugh oh my god I'm retarded

this entire time i just

[I]fuck[/I]

I ordered 320mm extrusions for mm1.5 (instead of 340mm) and those didn't make a difference because they only affected the diagonal and made my printer shorter (although I believe they still messed with my z axis a bit). I discovered this while assembling the 2.0, which has a much lower tolerance for weird parts. So I asked Misumi for a quote on 4 340mm extrusions that I now have to order, but I have to wait until tomorrow to even order them since I didn't request the quote until yesterday

So essentially me not reading the BOM right or not double checking my order may have resulted in me having a bad machine. Between that and breaking parts while disassembling my 1.5 I'm just on a roll here

[editline]13th July 2014[/editline]

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;45377568]I now put at at least 8mm around my holes.

And I was reading up on how bowden systems work. Seems like the best thing to do in multi extruder constructions.

[editline]13th July 2014[/editline]

Alternatively, if you're working with ABS, just model a depression to guide a drill bit into.[/QUOTE]

Bowdens are also good on smaller machines where you want to maximize the printable area and lower the strain on mechanical parts, since you greatly reduce the volume the extrusion head takes up in the print area and can slash the moving mass

[Cakebatyr]

[QUOTE=paindoc;45378642]
Bowdens are also good on smaller machines where you want to maximize the printable area and lower the strain on mechanical parts, since you greatly reduce the volume the extrusion head takes up in the print area and can slash the moving mass[/QUOTE]

Any performance issues compared to a stepper motor directly over the hotend?

[paindoc]

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;45379526]Any performance issues compared to a stepper motor directly over the hotend?[/QUOTE]

Yes. You have to have a much higher rate of ooze which requires a lot more retraction; moving the head around applies pressure to the filament still in the tube waiting to be extruded and can cause small amounts of it too leak out the printhead.

The Ultimachine uses a bowden extruder and it manages to get to ridiculously high speeds for its size, but its retraction is something like 5-6mm, way higher than most direct-drive systems.

[woidoi]

crap, my hotend thermistor broke so I ordered a new one with wires pre-done, but it's too big and doesn't fit in the tiny hole the E3D V6 hotend has, so I gotta order one with the correct sleeves but it won't be here before I'm on vacation for 2 weeks :(

[editline]17th July 2014[/editline]

Also, since that sensor is broken (which I'm sure of as I checked it with a multimeter) it refused to move around on any axis at all, (repetier) saying the printer encountered an error and must reset. This happens with both the broken sensor plugged in or left out. Is this a safety feature or did somehow something really bad happen?

[Cakebatyr]

Kapton tape it to the nozzle.

[Metallics]

[QUOTE=scratch (nl);45416372]crap, my hotend thermistor broke so I ordered a new one with wires pre-done, but it's too big and doesn't fit in the tiny hole the E3D V6 hotend has, so I gotta order one with the correct sleeves but it won't be here before I'm on vacation for 2 weeks :(

[editline]17th July 2014[/editline]

Also, since that sensor is broken (which I'm sure of as I checked it with a multimeter) it refused to move around on any axis at all, (repetier) saying the printer encountered an error and must reset. This happens with both the broken sensor plugged in or left out. Is this a safety feature or did somehow something really bad happen?[/QUOTE]

It's presumably detecting an out of range fault with the sensor and refusing to do anything so it doesn't cause damage.

[pkhzor]

Is it possible to convert source models(garry's mod/half life 2/tf2/css) into a format that lets you print them?

[HiddenMyst]

[QUOTE=pkhzor;45442065]Is it possible to convert source models(garry's mod/half life 2/tf2/css) into a format that lets you print them?[/QUOTE]

Sure is. Now I haven't done any stuff with source models in over a year, but from memory it's a matter of decompiling the model and then opening the smd in a program that supports importing that format, then export out as an stl, ready to slice.

[pkhzor]

[QUOTE=HiddenMyst;45442586]Sure is. Now I haven't done any stuff with source models in over a year, but from memory it's a matter of decompiling the model and then opening the smd in a program that supports importing that format, then export out as an stl, ready to slice.[/QUOTE]

I will google all that stuff tomorrow unless you have a specific link to a tutorial for it. Thank you.

[Cakebatyr]

Whenever my printer performs solid infills, layer quality just takes a dive.

Try as I might to decrease flow rate, quality just dives.

[editline]b[/editline]

Solved, set the "Solid fill if volume is smaller than x" to 0.

Also, blue painters tape + 3 layer raft is giving me great results on ABS.

[HiddenMyst]

I haven't really done any sanding of my prints before today and I regret not trying it sooner. I grabbed some 200 and 400 grit sand paper and within 30 minutes I took a slightly rough quality print (started a fraction too close to the bed) to a silky smooth, almost professional looking prototype.

Honestly, if you're printing something primarily convex, definitely give it that little bit of post print attention. Works a treat, makes it look great and results in something that feels amazing in the hand.

[ultra_bright]

How to use a 3d printer to cast metal parts:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWVVSZP3Au4[/media]

I've always wanted to do this since I don't have access to a CNC machine.

[Cakebatyr]

That requires a lot of setup.

Also holy crap the size of that CNC machine. I thought that was 20mm extrusion at first.

[3Dprinter]

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;45482722]Whenever my printer performs solid infills, layer quality just takes a dive.

Try as I might to decrease flow rate, quality just dives.

[editline]b[/editline]

Solved, set the "Solid fill if volume is smaller than x" to 0.

Also, blue painters tape + 3 layer raft is giving me great results on ABS.[/QUOTE]

You can fix this issue by adjusting the travel speed and extrusion width of your perimeters. It may take some fiddling, and not all control software will have the option. Adding an extra perimeter can also help.

I suspect it may be caused by the inner threads not lining up perfectly with the stepper motors' smallest possible movement, so sometimes the inner thread will cross the line of the outer perimeter. It just presents itself more when the infill is solid. You may even be able to see it in the code visualization. I expect that simply modeling with this constraint in mind will also solve the problem. (IE having all measurements be multiples of the stepper motors' smallest step, with the actual direction of travel based on the objects orientation coming into play as well.)

[Cakebatyr]

Even with a 30% extrusion multiplier solid infill was like squeezing a caulking gun in those small layer geometries. Disabling solid infill on small volumes fixed the issue.

I don't suppose you would know why I'd have poor adhesion of the first proper layer to the last layer of a raft would you?

[3Dprinter]

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;45522188]Even with a 30% extrusion multiplier solid infill was like squeezing a caulking gun in those small layer geometries. Disabling solid infill on small volumes fixed the issue.

I don't suppose you would know why I'd have poor adhesion of the first proper layer to the last layer of a raft would you?[/QUOTE]

Are you using ABS or PLA?

In my experience, ABS needs a very hot bed to stick well regardless of what material you are printing on. If you go all out and smother your surface with ABS slurry(abs and acetone mixed up into a paste) it will definitely stick, but I always found it to be very messy and hard to clean for the next print. Personally, I use glass and hairspray at 100C. I also do not use a raft, only a 5mm brim which holds the outer perimeters down while the first layer is being formed.

[Cakebatyr]

I'm using ABS with a raft on blue painters tape at 90°C. Works very well except for the first layers perimeters don't adhere.

Once the infill gets gets in place the rest of the layers sort themselves out quickly. I guess I could set slic3r to perform infill first...

[Cakebatyr]

[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/83420225/IMG_20140730_145152.jpg[/t]

[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/83420225/IMG_20140730_145405.jpg[/t]

>:(

All the readily available designs have some incompatibility, and its different for each of them.

Time to edit models!

[3Dprinter]

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;45555781][t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/83420225/IMG_20140730_145152.jpg[/t]

[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/83420225/IMG_20140730_145405.jpg[/t]

>:(

All the readily available designs have some incompatibility, and its different for each of them.

Time to edit models![/QUOTE]
Yeah Solidoodle is really inconsistent with which parts they put in the machines. If you bring it up to their support they say something along the lines of "we're always improving the design and the competitive nature of the 3D printer market means that our parts list is a trade secret" so they won't even tell you what kind of parts they use if you ask, most times.