3D printer thread - what have you been printing? - Creationism Corner

[QUOTE=Lapsus;48331071] Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can tone down the weird rippling between layers as z increases? I've isolated my leadscrews as best as I can, but I think my hotend is mounted maybe too loosely or something? I can't really figure it out.[/QUOTE] Looks like Z wobble to me. Only real solution is upgrading to ball spindle's.

This shiz is do dang rad. Question: fill material and the actual plastic used for printing seem a bit expensive, but since I don't know how much is actually consumed by a print job, I don't have much of a frame of reference for the actual cost of this hobby outside of the base prices for the printers. Could anybody help me get a frame of reference by showing a couple of examples of things you printed and the approximate cost in raw materials?

What should I be looking at in terms of specs when buying a printer? Eg Why does a Makerbot cost so much?

[QUOTE=taipan;48338734]Looks like Z wobble to me. Only real solution is upgrading to ball spindle's.[/QUOTE] Fuck that, I'll deal with it then. I'm not made of money. I'll try replacing the wonky threaded rod with a straighter one eventually. [QUOTE=RoboChimp;48339829]What should I be looking at in terms of specs when buying a printer? Eg Why does a Makerbot cost so much?[/QUOTE] As far as Makerbot goes, fuck those guys, they're crooks. Don't buy their printers. They're expensive because the Makerbot name is on them and they got a whole lot of media attention in the past and people tend to think of them first. They use some bastardization of the Gillette sales model of cheap thing with expensive consumables, but the thing is expensive too. I should stop before I get really heated about it! :v: As far as your actual question for what to look for specs-wise, it depends on what you need or want to do with the printer, really. The most important things to know are what materials you want to print in, how much detail you need, and how big of a print area do you need? If you need super-super fine detail and don't care too much about size, SLA printers are probably the way to go, but are very expensive for the printer, and for the resin that it uses. [t]http://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/form_1_plus_models_open-1024x675.jpg[/t] If you only care about printing plastic and don't really care what kind, a PLA-only printer might be a good choice, because they're a little less expensive due to not needing a heated bed, and being able to use hotends that are more cheaply made. [t]http://3dhubs.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Printrbot.png[/t] If you're interested in trying to print a wide variety of materials, and there's so many materials that why wouldn't you be, you'll probably want something with an all-metal hotend (So that it can withstand the high temperatures needed for things like nylon) and a heated bed (To help combat warping with plastics like ABS, and to generally improve adhesion). [t]http://static.makerwise.com/static/img/3d-printer/orig/511/makerfarm-prusa-6-i3-01.jpg[/t] If you want to print flexible plastic, that rules out most/all printers that use a bowden tube style extruder, as the filament tends to be too floppy and it would be like trying to push wet spaghetti into a straw. (You can see the extruder mounted to the front bottom centre of these printers with the tube leading to the hotend) [t]http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5416a98ae4b0f844fb595eb5/t/54546257e4b0159c786b3785/1414816345890/[/t] It also depends on if you're willing to build a kit, or if you want something preassembled. Speed is also a factor in choosing a printer, but I think it's less important than the rest of the stuff up there. It also depends on how willing you are to figure things out for yourself. If you want a lot of help from the community at large, a standard-ish printer like a Prusa i3 with a large userbase, and the RAMPS 1.4 electronics will mean that pretty much anyone will be able to clue you in. If you go with something off-the-wall like a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af7XkgxzmXE]GUS Simpson[/url] with a smoothieboard or something, you might be on your own. I'll add another post for BDA's question in a minute, I'll have to grab some files and have a dig. [editline]31st July 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Big Dumb American;48339617]This shiz is do dang rad. Question: fill material and the actual plastic used for printing seem a bit expensive, but since I don't know how much is actually consumed by a print job, I don't have much of a frame of reference for the actual cost of this hobby outside of the base prices for the printers. Could anybody help me get a frame of reference by showing a couple of examples of things you printed and the approximate cost in raw materials?[/QUOTE] I don't know the exact density of the plastic I'm using, and it's sold by weight, so I'm going to assume it's somewhere in the middle of the density range of PLA according to wikipedia. I've also only ever printed in PLA so far, so your guess is as good as mine for other plastics. I'm assuming a density of around 1.3g/cm3, so 1Kg is around 780cm3 per spool. A spool of PLA from filaments.ca is about $30, so it works out to about 3.85 cents per cm3 [t]http://i.imgur.com/XcC9xyV.jpg[/t] For the small shark, filament used = 2929.8mm (7.0cm3) = $0.27 For the large shark, filament used = 22291.0mm (53.6cm3) = $2.06 [t]http://i.imgur.com/4v5xwVH.jpg?1[/t] For the skull, filament used = 40803.0mm (92.6cm3) = $3.57 For the lower jaw, filament used = 16934.3mm (38.4cm3) = $1.47 Keep in mind that the main expense with printing is time, though! That skull and jaw took me over 12 hours, and that large shark was around 8! Also worth noting is that all of these prints are printed with 20% infill, and you can adjust that as high or as low as you want. I've done some tiny prints at 100% and a nice vase at 0% [t]http://i.imgur.com/1rA60A5.jpg[/t] I don't know what it costs to run as far as power goes either, I haven't hooked my watt-hour meter up to it yet.

[QUOTE=paindoc;48302327]Wanhao Duplicator has been good to several members of our club so far Good news, we get to probably present our clubs 3d printing project at that big huge 3d printing conference in California this year. Pretty excited, our project leader is pretty big in the engineering industry and it should be an awesome opportunity to network. I'm vouching for other group members who are older and contributed more to go, but we still want to get everyone down there. So I'm hoping it works out :D[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=LegoGuy;48302558]Do you want something pre-built or something that you need to build yourself? I got all the parts for mine for $500-600, in the process of calibrating it now. (I'll be sure to post pics soon) As long as you don't wire it wrong you'll be fine :v:[/QUOTE] 500-600$ is really pricey for me! I would totally enjoy a prebuilt one that doesn't require too much setup, mostly due to me being lazy and also because building it has a risk of ruining it. I'm not in the best financial state at the moment and was just looking into it as a hobby of sorts; are there anything that runs near the 200$ mark that isn't a hunk of junk? What applications do 3D printers have in normal day life exactly? I don't really want to pour out a few hundred dollars for something I'd use once or twice, ya know? Thanks for the suggestions though!

[QUOTE=Pastel;48340759]500-600$ is really pricey for me! I would totally enjoy a prebuilt one that doesn't require too much setup, mostly due to me being lazy and also because building it has a risk of ruining it. I'm not in the best financial state at the moment and was just looking into it as a hobby of sorts; are there anything that runs near the 200$ mark that isn't a hunk of junk? What applications do 3D printers have in normal day life exactly? I don't really want to pour out a few hundred dollars for something I'd use once or twice, ya know? Thanks for the suggestions though![/QUOTE] No, you can expect to spend $300 at the least for the simplest machines and $500-600 to get a much nicer machine.

[QUOTE=Pastel;48340759]500-600$ is really pricey for me! I would totally enjoy a prebuilt one that doesn't require too much setup, mostly due to me being lazy and also because building it has a risk of ruining it. I'm not in the best financial state at the moment and was just looking into it as a hobby of sorts; are there anything that runs near the 200$ mark that isn't a hunk of junk? What applications do 3D printers have in normal day life exactly? I don't really want to pour out a few hundred dollars for something I'd use once or twice, ya know? Thanks for the suggestions though![/QUOTE] You're not getting any 3D printer for $200. I got mine because I like building things and I want to prototype stuff. Print out my own parts for something I want to build, and assemble it. I am also designing a custom computer case which will be 3D printed (I will have to print it in parts ofc) Unless you like building and making things, for tech or for art, I wouldn't recommend this. It's not really a cheap hobby and does require some technical knowledge. (Or you can buy a pre-built, limited setup for a few thousand dollars and deal with those shitty cartridges)

It requires dedication, patience, and a willingness to keep trying too. Your printer will undoubtedly make you feel feelings of rage more than once, trust me

[QUOTE=Lapsus;48340284]useful[/QUOTE] Oh, wow! That is a lot cheaper than I thought! I got to play with a 3D printer in highschool, and the teacher always made it sound so expensive. That was before these things were generally available for home though, so it might just be way cheaper now. Thanks for taking the time to clear that up for me.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;48344118]Oh, wow! That is a lot cheaper than I thought! I got to play with a 3D printer in highschool, and the teacher always made it sound so expensive. That was before these things were generally available for home though, so it might just be way cheaper now. Thanks for taking the time to clear that up for me.[/QUOTE] Also remember that there's different-quality filaments available and they can shave a marked amount of money off if you don't mind/can fix the imperfections. It'll be cheaper for you since you're in the US, but over here I can get a good 750g spool of 1st-party ABS plastic for $75 each, or I can settle for shittier consistency and a slightly stained colour and get a 1kg spool of 3rd-party stuff for around $55.

[QUOTE=Lapsus;48340284]Fuck that, I'll deal with it then. I'm not made of money. I'll try replacing the wonky threaded rod with a straighter one eventually. As far as Makerbot goes, fuck those guys, they're crooks. Don't buy their printers. They're expensive because the Makerbot name is on them and they got a whole lot of media attention in the past and people tend to think of them first. They use some bastardization of the Gillette sales model of cheap thing with expensive consumables, but the thing is expensive too. I should stop before I get really heated about it! :v: As far as your actual question for what to look for specs-wise, it depends on what you need or want to do with the printer, really. The most important things to know are what materials you want to print in, how much detail you need, and how big of a print area do you need? If you need super-super fine detail and don't care too much about size, SLA printers are probably the way to go, but are very expensive for the printer, and for the resin that it uses. If you only care about printing plastic and don't really care what kind, a PLA-only printer might be a good choice, because they're a little less expensive due to not needing a heated bed, and being able to use hotends that are more cheaply made. If you're interested in trying to print a wide variety of materials, and there's so many materials that why wouldn't you be, you'll probably want something with an all-metal hotend (So that it can withstand the high temperatures needed for things like nylon) and a heated bed (To help combat warping with plastics like ABS, and to generally improve adhesion). If you want to print flexible plastic, that rules out most/all printers that use a bowden tube style extruder, as the filament tends to be too floppy and it would be like trying to push wet spaghetti into a straw. (You can see the extruder mounted to the front bottom centre of these printers with the tube leading to the hotend) It also depends on if you're willing to build a kit, or if you want something preassembled. Speed is also a factor in choosing a printer, but I think it's less important than the rest of the stuff up there. It also depends on how willing you are to figure things out for yourself. If you want a lot of help from the community at large, a standard-ish printer like a Prusa i3 with a large userbase, and the RAMPS 1.4 electronics will mean that pretty much anyone will be able to clue you in. If you go with something off-the-wall like a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af7XkgxzmXE]GUS Simpson[/url] with a smoothieboard or something, you might be on your own. [/QUOTE] I'm considering this cheapo [url=http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Black-3-D-Dual-3D-printer-extruder-new-3-D-Printer-Printer-/171190543389?hash=item27dbc0641d]dual extruder[/url], I'd like to use PLA bronzefil and colourfab XT, but start with PLA for prototyping. Would you recommend [url=http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Black-3-D-Dual-3D-printer-extruder-new-3-D-Printer-Printer-/171190543389?hash=item27dbc0641d]this[/url] printer for that? It has a heated bed and uses software called replicator G. [IMG]http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDk5WDUwMA==/z/3z0AAMXQlgtSowSN/$_57.JPG[/IMG] Also had another question, [B]what communities are good for beginners to join?[/B]

[QUOTE=RoboChimp;48344716]I'm considering this cheapo [url=http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Black-3-D-Dual-3D-printer-extruder-new-3-D-Printer-Printer-/171190543389?hash=item27dbc0641d]dual extruder[/url], I'd like to use PLA bronzefil and colourfab XT, but start with PLA for prototyping. Would you recommend [url=http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Black-3-D-Dual-3D-printer-extruder-new-3-D-Printer-Printer-/171190543389?hash=item27dbc0641d]this[/url] printer for that? It has a heated bed and uses software called replicator G. [IMG]http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDk5WDUwMA==/z/3z0AAMXQlgtSowSN/$_57.JPG[/IMG] Also had another question, [B]what communities are good for beginners to join?[/B][/QUOTE] Thats a pretty damn old machine, especially for the firmware side. Most of those clone machines do all right though after a bit of work. And bronzefil is abrasive and will wear down your nozzles very fast unless you use a stainless steel nozzle.

[QUOTE=paindoc;48343425]It requires dedication, patience, and a willingness to keep trying too. Your printer will undoubtedly make you feel feelings of rage more than once, trust me[/QUOTE] I've had my share of times where I just wanted to grab my printer and slam it into a wall :v:. Also, be prepared for the programming like chain of "fix one bug (issue in our case), 10 more appear", as a lot of things affect eachother. I must say though, the feeling of success when you fix it is great.

anyone played with glass embedded PLA? looks interesting.

[QUOTE=paindoc;48345439]Thats a pretty damn old machine, especially for the firmware side. Most of those clone machines do all right though after a bit of work. And bronzefil is abrasive and will wear down your nozzles very fast unless you use a stainless steel nozzle.[/QUOTE]Ok, how much is it going to cost me to get it up to spec ?

[QUOTE=scratch (nl);48346136]I've had my share of times where I just wanted to grab my printer and slam it into a wall :v:. Also, be prepared for the programming like chain of "fix one bug (issue in our case), 10 more appear", as a lot of things affect eachother. I must say though, the feeling of success when you fix it is great.[/QUOTE] Goddamn, every single day my printer does something or other that makes me want to throw it out my window and see if I can get it to land across the street. [url=http://imgur.com/a/MjTRe]Apparently it's not an uncommon sentiment either.[/url] :v: [QUOTE=RoboChimp;48346344]Ok, how much is it going to cost me to get it up to spec ?[/QUOTE] As far as I can tell with that printer, it's a clone of a Makerbot, and it uses cloned Makerbot electronics. I don't know what firmware or anything that it uses, and you'd likely have a lot more trouble getting help from the community at large. On the other hand, dual extrusion, and it's in australia already! You're definitely going to want to see what the availability of spare parts, or STL files for spare parts to print for yourself would be for a printer like that though, otherwise, if it breaks, you're stuck waiting for whatever company makes that specific clone to help you out, as opposed to being able to get standard parts for it from wherever. That said, I can't really find any kits capable of dual extrusion out of the box on [url=http://reprap.org/wiki/RUG/Australia/Suppliers]this list of Australian suppliers[/url], so you'd have to add it on yourself after the fact, maybe with something like the [url=http://e3d-online.com/Multi-Extrusion/Chimera]E3D Chimera[/url] or whatever.

So I was thinking, my printer hasn't been pissing me off enough recently. Prints are coming out great, I've got a very nice little 3dbenchy boat that's within 0.2mm on all measurements, and printing is pretty stress free. [t]http://i.imgur.com/9KZOS1Y.jpg[/t] [t]http://i.imgur.com/5uEDkLI.jpg[/t] Oops. I guess it's time to learn how to calibrate a bowden extruder, after re-doing all the offsets for auto-leveling!

[QUOTE=Lapsus;48355894]Goddamn, every single day my printer does something or other that makes me want to throw it out my window and see if I can get it to land across the street. [url=http://imgur.com/a/MjTRe]Apparently it's not an uncommon sentiment either.[/url] :v: As far as I can tell with that printer, it's a clone of a Makerbot, and it uses cloned Makerbot electronics. I don't know what firmware or anything that it uses, and you'd likely have a lot more trouble getting help from the community at large. On the other hand, dual extrusion, and it's in australia already! You're definitely going to want to see what the availability of spare parts, or STL files for spare parts to print for yourself would be for a printer like that though, otherwise, if it breaks, you're stuck waiting for whatever company makes that specific clone to help you out, as opposed to being able to get standard parts for it from wherever. That said, I can't really find any kits capable of dual extrusion out of the box on [url=http://reprap.org/wiki/RUG/Australia/Suppliers]this list of Australian suppliers[/url], so you'd have to add it on yourself after the fact, maybe with something like the [url=http://e3d-online.com/Multi-Extrusion/Chimera]E3D Chimera[/url] or whatever.[/QUOTE]It seems to be the best value for money, I've ask if they can provide STL files to print spare gears. I'm not worried, as long it works with Cura and people on youtube say it does with some mucking about. Mostly interested in it for the heated beat and SD slot. How much do spare nozzles cost? [B]Also, important question; what DIY forum/communities do you guys recommend for help with this sort of thing?[/B]

[QUOTE=RoboChimp;48362389]It seems to be the best value for money, I've ask if they can provide STL files to print spare gears. I'm not worried, as long it works with Cura and people on youtube say it does with some mucking about. Mostly interested in it for the heated beat and SD slot. How much do spare nozzles cost? [B]Also, important question; what DIY forum/communities do you guys recommend for help with this sort of thing?[/B][/QUOTE] I'll be honest, I rarely refer to anything that isn't either gcode documentation or my own experience. I have found that whilst people often have a lot of helpful well meant advice, unless your printer was built by one of the big brands and is still 100% stock, then you're on your own because your printer is probably fairly unique with its own cute quirks. I am also very lucky to have the support of my dad because he's been at this engineering malarkey much longer than i

[QUOTE=RoboChimp;48362389]It seems to be the best value for money, I've ask if they can provide STL files to print spare gears. I'm not worried, as long it works with Cura and people on youtube say it does with some mucking about. Mostly interested in it for the heated beat and SD slot. How much do spare nozzles cost? [B]Also, important question; what DIY forum/communities do you guys recommend for help with this sort of thing?[/B][/QUOTE] RepRap IRC chat is great

[QUOTE=metallics;48362641]I'll be honest, I rarely refer to anything that isn't either gcode documentation or my own experience. I have found that whilst people often have a lot of helpful well meant advice, unless your printer was built by one of the big brands and is still 100% stock, then you're on your own because your printer is probably fairly unique with its own cute quirks. I am also very lucky to have the support of my dad because he's been at this engineering malarkey much longer than i[/QUOTE]There are heaps of these same printers on eBay and all the cheap printers are just arduinos with some expansion, stepper motors and an extruder. [QUOTE=paindoc;48364511]RepRap IRC chat is great[/QUOTE]Do they have a forum?

[QUOTE=RoboChimp;48367742]There are heaps of these same printers on eBay and all the cheap printers are just arduinos with some expansion, stepper motors and an extruder. Do they have a forum?[/QUOTE] Trust me, just wait till you're tearing your hair out over something

[QUOTE=RoboChimp;48367742]There are heaps of these same printers on eBay and all the cheap printers are just arduinos with some expansion, stepper motors and an extruder. Do they have a forum?[/QUOTE] Yes, and its very good. Even for general 3d printing questions. [url]http://forums.reprap.org/[/url]

just finished assembling my Makerfarm prusa i3v first 100% no significant issues print@0.3mm height: [T]http://i.imgur.com/uqycGVe.png[/T] [T]http://i.imgur.com/jV2ZnM3.png[/T] can anyone explain to me what factors into print quality besides layer height and what software i should use? currently im using slic3r

Whats a good substitute for Kapton / Painter's tape? They're practically impossible to get here and I'm trying to source everything locally and not online due to the shitty value of my currency. I'm currently printing ABS on an Aluminum bed. I've been doing the hairspray trick for a while but 1. its more of a PLA thing and 2. the hairspray I used formed a thick layer of shit on my bed which is now almost impossible to remove. I can't seem to find Acetone here either so that too is a nono.

[QUOTE=thefreemann;48498174]just finished assembling my Makerfarm prusa i3v first 100% no significant issues print@0.3mm height: [T]http://i.imgur.com/uqycGVe.png[/T] [T]http://i.imgur.com/jV2ZnM3.png[/T] can anyone explain to me what factors into print quality besides layer height and what software i should use? currently im using slic3r[/QUOTE] Bed and extruder temp, filament quality, "squareness" and rigidity of the setup, accurate setting of the z height, print speed, fans and speeds, all kinds of variables can impact print quality. If you've already got good quality prints coming out then probably thinking about layer height is all you'd want to do. I use both slic3r and skeinforge and both work well once you've got all the parameters set up to your liking, I think I've got slic3r to work better but I get better overhangs from skeinforge. No idea why though. [editline]21st August 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=adam1172;48505919]Whats a good substitute for Kapton / Painter's tape? They're practically impossible to get here and I'm trying to source everything locally and not online due to the shitty value of my currency. I'm currently printing ABS on an Aluminum bed. I've been doing the hairspray trick for a while but 1. its more of a PLA thing and 2. the hairspray I used formed a thick layer of shit on my bed which is now almost impossible to remove. I can't seem to find Acetone here either so that too is a nono.[/QUOTE] Acetone is more commonly known as nail polish remover. This should be easily sourced then you can make abs slurry.

[QUOTE=metallics;48508375]Bed and extruder temp, filament quality, "squareness" and rigidity of the setup, accurate setting of the z height, print speed, fans and speeds, all kinds of variables can impact print quality. If you've already got good quality prints coming out then probably thinking about layer height is all you'd want to do. I use both slic3r and skeinforge and both work well once you've got all the parameters set up to your liking, I think I've got slic3r to work better but I get better overhangs from skeinforge. No idea why though. [/QUOTE] I've noticed that one or 2 parts of some layers don't seem to align with the rest, is this a print speed issue?

Was cleaning my printer hot end when it fell down when I wasn't looking. Straight into the drain. It is now under 2 feet of concrete probably submerged in shit. Welp. No 3d printing for me for a while.• But from another point of view I finally have a reason to buy an E3D extruder for my solidoodle yay!

[QUOTE=adam1172;48631510]Was cleaning my printer hot end when it fell down when I wasn't looking. Straight into the drain. It is now under 2 feet of concrete probably submerged in shit. Welp. No 3d printing for me for a while.• But from another point of view I finally have a reason to buy an E3D extruder for my solidoodle yay![/QUOTE] What sort of drain? If it's a tub or a sink there should be a trap that would catch it.

[QUOTE=Zero-Point;48633366]What sort of drain? If it's a tub or a sink there should be a trap that would catch it.[/QUOTE] Rain discharge drain. I was cleaning it outside because acetone.