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

[QUOTE=metallics;42683308]Do you actually get a reasonably nice mesh out of it though?[/QUOTE] It's actually pretty decent. The figures I'm printing are going to be small, so I don't think it's going to bug me that much. Pic: [t]http://i.imgur.com/oSqUufC.png[/t]

I will be incredibly interested to see how that comes out... When i meant a nice mesh i meant nice from a printing point of view. I think that answers my question though. i dont think that will print well at all...

[QUOTE=metallics;42697154]I will be incredibly interested to see how that comes out... When i meant a nice mesh i meant nice from a printing point of view. I think that answers my question though. i dont think that will print well at all...[/QUOTE] Probably not. It's going to need a shit-ton of support material, I know that. [editline]30th October 2013[/editline] It's worth a shot I think

[QUOTE=joshjet;42698598]Probably not. It's going to need a shit-ton of support material, I know that. [editline]30th October 2013[/editline] It's worth a shot I think[/QUOTE] Perhaps rotate onto it's back to reduce the need for support material?

I think your best bet is to cut up the model with software into arms, legs, torso/head, and so on then split each one in half horizontally so they have a flat piece to be the 'bottom'(the side that will be in contact with the bed), and to connect them together afterwards. This will really tell you if your bed is level because small inaccuracies are going to cause lift, and subsequently the 'front' and 'back' pieces won't fit together quite right. Acetone is like superglue for ABS, i'm not sure about PLA.

Aww yis, my printer gets here next Thursday. Awesome.

help i want a 3d printer but i'm an idiot and don't really trust myself assembling my own also i dont want to spend over $1000

Do you have any parameters other than that? How technical are you?

not very i mean i have common sense i'm not literally stupid but i dont want to buy $500 worth of stuff in parts and break it all, i don't know how much skill i would need though

[QUOTE=dong;42719640]not very i mean i have common sense i'm not literally stupid but i dont want to buy $500 worth of stuff in parts and break it all, i don't know how much skill i would need though[/QUOTE] Some mechanical skill and soldering ability is needed for the kits if I remember correctly. Mine is part kit, part homebrew effort. The power electronics was designed by my dad and that took quite a bit of skill.

i can do that i guess idk what kits would be good though, i just want to print stuff for fun, doesnt need to be big i want high resolution though

[QUOTE=dong;42720036] [B]i want high resolution though[/B][/QUOTE] [QUOTE=dong;42720036] [B]i dont want to spend more than $1000[/B][/QUOTE] [QUOTE=dong;42720036] [B]not very(technically skilled)[/B][/QUOTE] Choose only one. edit: that doesn't quite work here but I think you get the point.

okay how about i put it this way i would be willing to assemble my own unless i need to be a rocket scientist or something otherwise id be stuck with a solidoodle and i heard those suck

[QUOTE=dong;42720373]okay how about i put it this way i would be willing to assemble my own unless i need to be a rocket scientist or something otherwise id be stuck with a solidoodle and i heard those suck[/QUOTE] Well you sure as fuck aren't going to get a high resolution reprap. Who told you that Solidoodles suck anyway?

me and a bunch of guys in college managed to convince one of the deans to fund us to construct a 3D printer, so we're building one of these [t]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQp4xWzeGrJQQrPYJWZc91Oz8YWHJ9_HVrgRAHxMZhewRh_Q16KFQ[/t] already we've got some ideas on what to do with it once we get it built [editline]3rd November 2013[/editline] it only cost us like less than 500$ for all the parts too, the main expenses were the rods, the board, and the servos

Dad says he has 8-10 steppers somewhere, but he's having a hard time finding them. If he [I]can[/I] find them though then he'll save me easily 60-80 bucks, assuming I can make use of them. I'm also collecting unwanted aluminum extrusion and tube bits from the manufacturing area in the back, probably save $150 if I can source the majority of the hardware from there... So assuming I can get 5 good steppers from dad and all the structure bits from work... then I can source the rest of the parts for ~$200.

I got my Solidoodle yesterday, works perfect with the exception of what I'm pretty sure is a software problem with Repetier Host. Sometimes the temp spikes and it trips the failsafe, stopping the print.

It was loose wiring. Anyway, the printer is incredible. If I had a camera I would take some pictures of the prints, they look awesome. Much better than our school's reprap.

Ugh. I have no motivation none. none left. It has now officially been a year since I started work on my printer. I have yet to produce a single satisfactory print. Nothing I do is working My Z alignment continues to never stay steady no matter what I do. Even if I hold the calipers at the exact right length when realigning my Z screws, they will have moved out of alignment once I tighten the Z motor mount screws down Its futile, and I am completely defeated. Probably going to sell my printer and cancel my Makibox printer order, I'm done with 3d printing forevermore

[QUOTE=paindoc;42811250]Ugh. I have no motivation none. none left. It has now officially been a year since I started work on my printer. I have yet to produce a single satisfactory print. Nothing I do is working My Z alignment continues to never stay steady no matter what I do. Even if I hold the calipers at the exact right length when realigning my Z screws, they will have moved out of alignment once I tighten the Z motor mount screws down Its futile, and I am completely defeated. Probably going to sell my printer and cancel my Makibox printer order, I'm done with 3d printing forevermore[/QUOTE] You're losing Z axis alignment? Can you post your printer design? Lets troubleshoot this bitch. [editline]12th November 2013[/editline] In other news I have more than enough aluminum extrusion to build mine, but I require 2 inch and 1 inch aluminum square tubing as well... And I'm kicking myself because I didn't go search through the recycle bins before the truck came and emptied them. :rolleyes:

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;42839889]You're losing Z axis alignment? Can you post your printer design? Lets troubleshoot this bitch. [editline]12th November 2013[/editline] In other news I have more than enough aluminum extrusion to build mine, but I require 2 inch and 1 inch aluminum square tubing as well... And I'm kicking myself because I didn't go search through the recycle bins before the truck came and emptied them. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE] I figured this sonbitch out. I was pissed off and depressed for a while, took a nap and a break, and came back with an attitude of FUCK YOUR PRINTER YOU ARE GOING TO WORK DAMNIT So I replaced the crappy motor mount z screws with proper hex screws, made sure they were flat. Aligned my z axis. Wasn't working. Had an idea; why not read my damn assembly manual? Right there in Z axis assembly. Make sure the smooth rod is fully vertical. [I]Fuck[/I]. I had forgotten to double check this when reassembling my printer over the summer and when having difficulties from about feb-now. So I got a level, checked it, and it was way out of alignment on the left side. Not visible, but would explain why my leadscrew felt it necessary to keep moving. So I resetup and ran a test print, a geohouse off of thingiverse. [t]http://i.imgur.com/lvLfk0G.jpg[/t] Can't see it very well in this photo but z alignment is really quite good. But I isolated another problem. My hot end wobbles a bit in the mount, which would explain the occasional z artifacting I see along with I can never print thin walls or small features: every time the extruder retracts, extruders, or moves up a layer it wobbles a bit. So gotta fix that and then I'm good. By that point my Makibox will probably be on the way though

I think I solved my issue once and for all. It seemed that the black tube, that I assumed was for filament guiding, was causing way too much friction, making the extruder gear slowly chew the filament. Over short periods this was ok, but it would eventually hit a point where it would carve a circle into the filament and stop extruding altogether. Removing this tube entirely allowed me to finally print this skull from thingiverse: [t]https://photos-1.dropbox.com/t/0/AADWvormHFMJiiis9lL7t0sNU0K9ZuJE3z29HW9PY_UnUg/12/62766551/jpeg/1024x768/3/1384419600/0/2/20131113_230802.jpg/oNwMPdm4a8fUh06rW7E5lu7uLW77rXxBPKixWJTJsZA[/t] That was with a layer height of 0.05mm and is about an inch tall. The top didn't work out the best because I didn't include any infill.

So wait, what was the point of the black tube then?

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;42860986]So wait, what was the point of the black tube then?[/QUOTE] I believe he is referring to the PEEK barrel, which I'm pretty sure you need. I suggest you purchase a new peek of the correct inner diameter, or if you just don't wanna spend $9, drill the hole a little bigger on the one you have. I don't know a whole lot about this stuff, i'm just parroting posts I read on reprap forums. From what I understand the PEEK insulates the hot end. If it is just a random piece of plastic then yeah IDK

[QUOTE=frozensoda;42869185]I believe he is referring to the PEEK barrel, which I'm pretty sure you need. I suggest you purchase a new peek of the correct inner diameter, or if you just don't wanna spend $9, drill the hole a little bigger on the one you have. I don't know a whole lot about this stuff, i'm just parroting posts I read on reprap forums. From what I understand the PEEK insulates the hot end. If it is just a random piece of plastic then yeah IDK[/QUOTE] It's not a PEEK tube. Just a black tube of HDPE which I think is to ensure that there's no twisted filament close to the extruder.

Cross-posting from the Star Citizen thread, I've been printing parts for this since yesterday: [t]http://i.imgur.com/sF5iaFi.jpg[/t] I'd move the model somewhere I could get a picture, but those scissors are acting as support for the still-drying winglet.

xpost from deli lyfe in airsoft forum [QUOTE]FUCK HOLY SHIT I AM SOMEWHERE BETWEEN IRATE AND OVERJOYED I made my first fully satisfying 3d print on my 3d printer. A year of fixes and tuning later and my problem came down to 2 extremely simple fucking elements One was my esteps being too low so too little plastic was coming out. Somewhat understandable, its easy for this to become decalibrated as your printer ages. but holy shit balls I fixed my printer with half a piece of narrow masking tape. My hot end wobbled a bit in its mount, so every time filament was pulled or pushed out of it it would wobble slightly causing inconsistent layers and small features to look like shit. I fixed a year of frustration, anger, and rage with A PIECE OF GODDAMN MASKING TAPE lol im giggling right now[/QUOTE]

Thinking about starting a small business in 3D printing Since I have skills as a 3D modeler, I figure I can use them to model toys and useful objects to sell. What 3D printer would you guys recommend for something like this?

[QUOTE=Ryu-Gi;42950785]Thinking about starting a small business in 3D printing Since I have skills as a 3D modeler, I figure I can use them to model toys and useful objects to sell. What 3D printer would you guys recommend for something like this?[/QUOTE] I had the same kind of idea, but I learned quickly that due to cost restrictions 3D printing would only be viable for EXTREMELY short run production, or very customizable products, which are made to the order. Either way finding customers was difficult for me, and I ended up having to sell my printer when I lost my job. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, I'm just warning you not to jump in too quickly without having a plan. Some people have found success by doing a "(blank) of the month" like cups or jewelry, while others have found limited success doing custom sign work. The speed (or lack of) of the machines in general is a limiting factor. If you are to have more than a few orders per week, you will need more than one printer. Also, waste is going to be an issue since problems often occur during the long prints that require a reprint, or you may find that the slice from the software contained errors. Calibration is a MUST before each and every print if you want any sort of consistency. All in all I would say that 3D printing is great for business, but not for production. Use it to prototype new products, or like I said, extremely short run production. I wish you luck, but also want you to be informed before you go shelling out big bucks for a machine that will likely not be profitable. My recommendation is solidoodle, unless you can build your own. It seems to me that solidoodle is comparable to makerbot at 1/3 the price. The slicing software is more customizable too.

Thanks for responding. My thought now is to possibly go to a company to do the 3D printing for me. Right now I'm looking at Shapeways. [url]http://www.shapeways.com/about/how_does_it_work?li=nav[/url]