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2016-02-07T21:23:27.297 | |g-code| | <p>My printer has an auto-leveling feature that works by touching the build plate with the tip of the nozzle.</p>
<p>I started using a BuildTak surface and BuildTak is damaged when you push a hot nozzle into it.</p>
<p>So I edited the start G-code to run the auto-leveling before heating up the hotend</p>
<p>But ABS doesn't stick to the build surface unless I pre-heat the hotend and wait about a minute.</p>
<p>So now I'm looking for a G-code command to put at the end of the start G-code that will make the printer wait a minute before printing</p>
<p>The sequence I'm looking for is:</p>
<ul>
<li>Heat up the bed</li>
<li>Auto level</li>
<li>Raise the hotend a little bit so it doesn't touch the build plate</li>
<li>Heat up the hotend</li>
<li><em>Wait a minute (that's the only part that is missing, everything else works)</em></li>
<li>Start printing</li>
</ul>
<p>Any way to insert a delay into the G-code?</p>
<p>I'm using Cura to slice/print, my printer is Robo3D R1+</p>
| 522 | Is there a G-code for waiting? | <p>Thank you Fernando Baltazar for the G-code you used to solve the hot end cooling issue after bed levelling probing. I did change <code>M190</code> to <code>S60</code> but kept everything else. This worked.</p>
<pre><code>G29 ; Autonivel
M190 S35 ; set bed temperature
G1 Z4 F240 ; lift nozzle
M109 S195 ; wait for temperature to be reached
G21 ; set units to millimeters
G90 ; use absolute coordinates
M82 ; use absolute distances for extrusion
M104 S210 ; set temperature
G92 E0
G1 E-1.5000 F1800
G1 Z0.225 F240
</code></pre>
|
2016-02-09T19:47:43.250 | |fdm|print-quality|maintenance|cooling| | <p>I just added a fan to my printer because very small layers seem to come out very badly. For example, the 5mm PLA cube that's the top level of the test shape shown below. Watching closely, I can see that the newly-extruded fiber is pushing the previous layer(s?) around pretty freely. And when the object is finished, the little top cube is bulging, rounded, and still soft to the touch. </p>
<p>The 2nd-to-top level of the object is also quite small and quick, but often comes out nicely (if anything, it was better before I added the fan).</p>
<p>The fan is a squirrel-cage with about a 2.5cm square outlet, pointing at the nozzle from about 5cm away, running full speed. The extruder is a Mk9 from <a href="http://www.makergeeks.com/duexretopr.html" rel="noreferrer">http://www.makergeeks.com/duexretopr.html</a>.</p>
<p>I also tried telling pronterface to wait if a level was too brief, but that setting seems not to do anything.</p>
<p>What else can I try? It seems like this is a not-enough-cooling problem, but perhaps something else too?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/rKDz8.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/rKDz8.png" alt="A sample step-cube"></a></p>
| 540 | Mushy small top layers? | <p>I believe you might be having an issue with insufficient cooling. Remember the suggestion to have wait times per layer to let the previous layer cool? Well, I think with your setup and print not only do individual layers overheat, but individual parts of each layer. You either need to try more direct or dual fan cooling or maybe use a nozzle with thinner outer diameter which will have less surface to heat the layed down plastic surrounding it.</p>
|
2016-02-09T20:56:38.667 | |electronics| | <p>Most electronics use micro-controllers like an AVR, but I'm seeing ARM chips in new electronics. ARM chips are said to be more powerful, but in what areas related to 3D printing could this help? What are the features that the AVR struggles with and where an ARM could be better?</p>
<p>High Speed movement? Delta printers? Graphic display?</p>
<p>And is the AVR really the limitation there?</p>
| 542 | What is the benefit of using an ARM based electronics? | <p>AVR processors are 8 bit - thus they can only fetch data from memory 8 bits at a time - while an ARM is 32 bit and can fetch data 32 bits at a time. Position resolution requires a 24 bit value minimum - this means the AVR takes 3 data fetches for the position - whereas the ARM takes 1 data fetch.</p>
<p>Worse still, AVR processors internally divide the clock by 3, so that a 40 MHz AVR is running at 13.3 MHz typically, while an ARM is 1 clock cycle per bus transaction and instruction processing - this includes a 32 bit by 32 bit multiple in 1 clock cycle.</p>
<p>The memory map on ARM processors is 32 bit wide or 4 GB while 8 bit processors only have an address bus of 16 bits or 64 KB - which means that bank switching comes into play on any program over 64 KB - this takes instructions and time to be done - while with the ARM this is not an issue. </p>
<p>The cost aspects is about the same as AVRs - it just requires redesigned firmware.</p>
<p>As for FPGAs: </p>
<ul>
<li>They cost the same or more than the processor </li>
<li>They are fast, specialized, devices and can be configured for specialized task </li>
<li>They have additional cost factors:
<ul>
<li>lots more decoupling caps are needed because of the speed of the circuits in the FPGA. </li>
<li>Require additional power supplies, and ground planes and power plans - which tends to mean (and require) a minimum of a 4 layer board, or possibly 6 layers, which adds to the cost of the electronics </li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<p>The result of adding a FPGA to a AVR will cost a lot more than going to a more powerful ARM processor. </p>
|
2016-02-11T01:41:53.370 | |makerbot|3d-models| | <p>I want to upload some of my works to <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/">Thingiverse</a> without making my real name public (displaying it on the profile page).</p>
<p>I think it is OK to register my name to the site unless the make it public, and it is required by the terms to provide truthful and accurate information.</p>
<p>I tried creating an account on the site, but I deleted it because I couldn't find the way to hide my name (set another one) from the profile page in a short time.</p>
<p>I see some accounts that doesn't seem showing their real name (for example, their name on profile equals to their account ID, or at least not in two parts: first and last name as required on registration), so I guess this is archivable.</p>
<p>examples:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/Darkcheops/about">http://www.thingiverse.com/Darkcheops/about</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/ruaridh/about">http://www.thingiverse.com/ruaridh/about</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/Torleif/about">https://www.thingiverse.com/Torleif/about</a></li>
</ul>
<p>How can I set my name for profile page on Thingiverse after registration and logging in?</p>
| 554 | How to upload my works to Thingiverse without making my real name public | <p>To change your displayed name (as opposed to username) in Thingiverse:</p>
<ol>
<li>Go to your profile page</li>
<li>Click "Edit Profile" on the info column on the left</li>
<li>At the top, next to "Thingiverse Settings" is another link/tab called "Makerbot Settings". Click that.</li>
<li>Change the First Name and Last Name fields, and save.</li>
</ol>
<p>Note that neither First nor Last Name is required; if neither is provided, your username will be displayed in place of your display name.</p>
|
2016-02-11T17:54:03.270 | |print-api| | <p>What operating systems are available for running the Autodesk Spark Print Manager? (<a href="https://spark.autodesk.com/developers/reference/printer-manufacturers/integrate-your-printer/integrate-your-printer-model" rel="noreferrer">https://spark.autodesk.com/developers/reference/printer-manufacturers/integrate-your-printer/integrate-your-printer-model</a>)</p>
<p>I'm finding the documentation a little difficult to parse. It does <em>seem</em> that there are only build options for Windows or Mac, but I want to confirm.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
| 557 | Autodesk Spark Print Manager Operating Systems? | <p>I checked <a href="https://spark.autodesk.com/developers/reference/desktop-applications/print-manager" rel="nofollow">https://spark.autodesk.com/developers/reference/desktop-applications/print-manager</a>. It seems that Print manager is a application written in JavaScript and its source code is available on <a href="https://github.com/spark3dp/print-manager" rel="nofollow">github</a>. </p>
<p>So you have to install node.js to run it. So you can use all major OS (win, mac, linux, ...).</p>
|
2016-02-13T20:50:47.553 | |hotend|3d-design| | <p>There are many hot end designs out thee and one difference is the length of the melting zone. </p>
<p>The melting zone is that part of the hotend where the pushed in filament is heated up and therefore starts to melt. Is it better to have a short melting zone, or a long melting zone? What are advantages of each solution. And are there materials that benefit from a short/long melting one more than others?</p>
| 572 | What is the best length of the melting zone in the hotend? | <p>Short melting zone melts material in small amounts which is suitable for thin layers with small nozzles. In opposite, long melting zone can heat a big amount of filament which is needed for fast printing and thick layers.</p>
<h2>short melting zone</h2>
<ul>
<li>less amount of melted material</li>
<li>thin layer heights</li>
<li>quality printing with details</li>
<li>give more precise volume control with less flow/pressure lag and better retraction performance (thx @Ryan-Carlyle)</li>
<li>nozzles: 0.25-0.8 mm (available for E3Dv6)</li>
</ul>
<h2>long melting zone</h2>
<ul>
<li>more amount of melted material</li>
<li>thick layer heights</li>
<li>fast printing with less details</li>
<li>nozzles: 0.4-1.2 mm (available for E3D Volcano)</li>
</ul>
<h2>Example</h2>
<p>Example of those hotends are E3Dv6 and E3D Volcano</p>
<p>E3Dv6</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/WiRIv.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/WiRIv.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>E3D Volcano with a much longer melt zone than v6</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LK5gZ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LK5gZ.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>Speed comparison video: <div class="youtube-embed"><div>
<iframe width="640px" height="395px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_PQjwvWoGpk?start=0"></iframe>
</div></div></p>
<p>Speed comparison graph:
<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/o1Vbg.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/o1Vbg.png" alt="e3d speed comparison graph" /></a></p>
<h2>Update</h2>
<p>CNC Kitchen YouTube channel did a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngpw0ojHODA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">review of 0.1 mm nozzle</a>, where the author discusses problems with very low material flow. The main point is the usage of high-quality materials (he uses Polymaker PolyMax PLA) and avoiding materials like PVA, which tend to crystalize under heat.</p>
|
2016-02-13T21:17:30.833 | |filament-quality| | <p>everyone.</p>
<p>I'm a relative newcomer to 3D printing, so I don't know what constitutes an unacceptably bad spool of filament.</p>
<p>About 1/6 of the way into a roll of PETG (and maybe 4 hours into a 6-hour print), an over/under wrap brought things to a screeching halt. I aborted the print, then snipped the filament and started unspooling it, looking for more cross-wraps. I found a ton of them, along with a ton of kinks.</p>
<p>I stopped about 1/3 of the way into the spool, still finding kinks and cross-wraps, and said to heck with it. The only way to use it would have been to run the entire length onto another spool, carefully avoiding cross-wraps, and hope the kinks wouldn't affect the print quality.</p>
<p>I complained to the supplier but never even got a reply, so now I'm wondering if this is just one of those things I can expect from time to time. Any thoughts & opinions would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>Glasseyed</p>
| 573 | Gnarly filament: just one of those things, or grounds for complaint? | <p>Knot happens when you loosen the filament yourself and then leave it like that or try to manually re-spool it.
To avoid this kind of situation as well as the curly filament coming off the spool and getting tangled there, try to not loosen it and also build or print a "spool guide" for your 3d printer: <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/search/page:1?q=filament+spool+guide&sa=" rel="nofollow">http://www.thingiverse.com/search/page:1?q=filament+spool+guide&sa=</a></p>
|
2016-02-15T16:26:24.543 | |desktop-printer|print-quality| | <p><strong>I was wondering if this printer(daVinci 1.0) had the ability to print very small objects, like insects, coins, or small nuts. (About the size of 1 -2 cubic centimeters)</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://us.xyzprinting.com/us_en/Product/da-Vinci-1.0-AiO" rel="nofollow">Here</a> is a link to the printer on the website.</p>
<p>The reason I ask is someone asked me if it was able to, but I have not been able to access the actual 3-D printer for use at this time, just manuals which I have looked through.</p>
<p><strong>So if the 3-D printer was able to print small objects, would a novice be able to do such a thing?</strong></p>
<p>Please let me know if any additional details are needed. </p>
| 582 | How small can I expect FDM 3d printers to print? | <p>Strictly by looking at the technical specifications of an FDM printer, there are a few things to note regarding the <em>maximum print quality</em> you can expect to achieve:</p>
<ul>
<li>The <strong>minimum layer height</strong> - here given to be <em>0.1 mm</em></li>
<li>The <strong>nozzle diameter</strong> - here given to be <em>0.4 mm</em></li>
</ul>
<h3>Minimum layer height:</h3>
<p>On a finished print, the minimum layer height will affect how visible the horisontal lines of the print will be. Printing at a lower layer height can dramatically increase the smoothness of the finished part, while equally increasing the printing time - among several other things.</p>
<p>A minimum layer height of 0.1 mm is fairly common for low-cost desktop FDM printers.</p>
<h3>Nozzle diameter:</h3>
<p>Just like the layer height defines the vertical resolution of a print, the nozzle diameter defines the sharpness of horizontal features of a print.</p>
<p>When printing with a large nozzle diameter, all sharp edges and corners of the model will have a slight roundness to them: the larger the nozzle diameter, the more rounded sharp corners will be, and vice versa. You might think of it as making a detailed drawing with a blunt pencil.</p>
<p>A nozzle diameter of 0.4 mm can perhaps be considered the standard for desktop FDM printers today, and will allow you to print "fairly accurate" parts.</p>
<h3>Will the daVinci work for you?</h3>
<p>Since I've never worked with the daVinci printer before, I cannot make a statement on it's user friendliness, or actual performance.</p>
<p>In general, if you intend to use it to print fragile, complex models such as insects, I believe a resin based printer might be more right for you, since they typically will allow for much higher reproduction of details than FDM printers. Printing solid/compact structures like coins and nuts, on the other hand, can typically be handled by a well calibrated FDM printer.</p>
|
2016-02-16T18:37:23.413 | |fdm|makerbot|replicator-dual|makerware|fff| | <p>I've got a dead MakerBot Replicator Dual and I'm not really interested in fixing it with about half the parts being proprietary, discontinued, and therefore very expensive. So, I'm wondering if it's possible to use a controller board used on some of the other RepRap machines.</p>
<p>I'd assume that it's all relatively the same, mostly need a means of routing/regulating power to the servos/fans/etc. based on a g-code. If that's true, then I'm also assuming the next step is ensuring the slicing engine spits out the right format for the board (.s3g, .x3g, .gcode, etc.) and that the slicing engine knows the proper bounds for the machine.</p>
<p>Side question, if I used an another controller board, would I be able to still run MakerWare/MakerBot Desktop? So far, I've preferred the MiracleGrue slicer, but I've used Cura on Octopi and it'd suffice.</p>
| 588 | Is it possible to use an aftermarket controller on a MakerBot? | <p>You can put pretty much any controller in pretty much any printer, with a few noteworthy details you need to keep in mind for a Replicator 1.</p>
<ol>
<li>Makerbots use thermocouples. Most RepRap style 3d printers use thermistors. So you would need to replace the extruder temp sensors, or choose a new controller with thermocouple support. </li>
<li>Makerbots use 24v heaters and fans and PSUs. Most RepRap style 3d printers run on 12v (although this is slowly changing because 24v is better for performance and safety.) You can either pick a new controller that is known to be compatible with 24v, or replace all 24v-rated components with equivalent 12v-rated components. </li>
<li>The existing heatbed thermistor circuit is probably not the same kind of circuit that your new controller will expect. Older Makerbots use a small voltage divider circuit on the HBP PCB to convert the thermistor resistance to a voltage signal, whereas RepRap style controllers typically have this circuit on the mainboard and thus need only a simple thermistor hookup. You could add a new thermistor, or modify the existing circuit, or get an entirely new heatbed. </li>
<li>The existing endstops are full +5v,GND,Signal style mechanical switches with debounce capacitors and LED indicators. These <em>should</em> be compatible with <em>most</em> controller boards given proper firmware setting, but you may need to do some creative wiring if there isn't a suitable three-pin endstop port on your chosen board.</li>
<li>The LCD and 5-button panel will not work with other boards. You'll need to replace that or just run a remote host via USB.</li>
<li>Connectors may be different, of course. That's always an issue with any board swap. </li>
<li>You will need to export RepRap style gcode instead of .x3g files. Makerware/Desktop can export gcode but there may be some minor differences in Mcode assignments from what most RepRap style firmware will expect. I couldn't tell you offhand whether this will work, but to be safe, it would probably be best to use a more traditional RepRap slicer (Slic3r, Cura) or Simplify3D.</li>
</ol>
<p>So that's a healthy to-do list. At a certain point you're practically building a new printer. <strong>But there is a significantly easier approach</strong> than installing a RepRap style controller: replace the dead Makerbot Mightyboard with a compatible community-designed Sailfish board like the Azteeg x3 by Panucatt or new CloneBoard Mini by Carl Raffle. Or, if you're ok with Chinese sourcing, a FlashForge Mightyboard will be a near 100% drop-fit replacement for your Makerbot Mightyboard. Any of these options will give you fresh new electronics with minimal hardware changes in the rest of the printer. </p>
<p>Either way is fine and you'll end up with a working printer. Using another Sailfish board will certainly be easier, if you don't object to staying within the Sailfish/x3g toolchain and Makerbot/Clone parts ecosystem. Makerbot does have a very bad community reputation these days, but it's important to remember that the Replicator 1 Dual is a completely open-source machine from the "pre-evil" days, and compatible spare parts are widely available from literally dozens of vendors. The Rep1-derived Makerbots and Clones collectively comprise the most popular single "flavor" of 3d printer in the world (totaling as much as perhaps a quarter of all consumer/hobbyist 3d printers sold to date) and many/most of the spare parts for Replicator 2/2x's and clones will also fit in a genuine Rep1. </p>
|
2016-02-17T00:27:13.077 | |printer-building|reprap| | <p>I am wondering if I can get some electronic and mechanical layout of the machine. </p>
<p>Is it possible to make 3D printer components with 3D printer?</p>
| 590 | How to make your own 3D printer? | <p>Yes, look at <a href="http://reprap.org" rel="noreferrer">http://reprap.org</a> for a project that's been doing what you're asking about for about a decade now.</p>
|
2016-02-17T14:42:23.657 | |filament|abs|pla|ventilation| | <p>I've heard alot about the need for ventilation when using 3D Printers lately. Is there any special sort of filter that would prevent the toxic gases from leaking out of the printer while it's printing it's filament? Is printing outside a solution while I build an enclosure?</p>
| 594 | What kind of filter do I need for the enclosure of a 3d printer? | <p>For the most part, a consumer 3D Printer will only need proper ventilation when using potentially harmful materials such as ABS. (<a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/513/what-are-the-best-air-filtration-options-for-enclosures/">See duplicate question</a>). If you're printing with primarily PLA, then you don't need to worry. I print mostly with ABS and keep my machine close to a window and I haven't experienced any issues.</p>
|
2016-02-17T23:19:15.463 | |desktop-printer| | <p>What is the cheapest (<strong>desktop</strong>) 3D printer that you can get right now?</p>
<p>Is there a current price list (with different vendors)? </p>
| 597 | What is the cheapest 3D printer that you can get right now? | <p>The peer-based 3D printing service called <a href="https://www.3dhubs.com/" rel="nofollow">3D Hubs</a> conducted a survey of its users and which printers they use and suggest. This survey's results are <a href="https://www.3dhubs.com/best-3d-printer-guide?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hubs_surveyed" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</p>
<p>I recall a similar Google Group conducting a similar survey a year or so ago, I'll search for the link to that as well a little later.</p>
|
2016-02-18T02:52:21.660 | |makerbot|extruder| | <p>I am considering buying a 3D printer for work (scientific research). On paper, the Makerbot 5th generation seems to be the best option, because the price is right for my budget, and also because I'm generally pretty busy, so I want something that's as close to "plug and play" as reasonably possible. This will be my first 3D printer and I have no prior experience with the technology.</p>
<p>However, any search for "Makerbot" brings up a raft of negative reviews from around the time of the 5th generation's first release, which mostly focus on issues with the smart extruder constantly failing and needing to be replaced under warranty. Many of these reviews point out that this may be an initial "teething" issue which might be fixed in later versions of the model, but now, one year later, I'm unable to find any information about whether this was indeed the case.</p>
<p>So: are the initial issues with the Makerbot 5th generation's smart extruder generally considered resolved, or is it an underlying flaw of the model that won't be fixed until the next generation?</p>
<p><sub>I imagine that people might want to suggest alternative models in the same price range. That would be welcome, but I have an extra constraint, which is that I can only buy models that are available in Japan without a long delivery time - this probably limits my options quite a bit.</sub></p>
| 599 | Are the Makerbot 5th generation's initial issues resolved | <p>I own a 5th gen printer and after teaching myself how to dismantle and clear the smart extruder of jammed filament I can attest to the machine working better than any other 3D printer I have used. I run the 3D printing section at Tampa Hakerspace and the MakerBot is much more reliable than the prusa or wanhao which we use at the space. I had problems with the machine initially but now it works like a champ</p>
|
2016-02-19T05:42:02.453 | |makerbot|mightyboard|arduino-mega-2650| | <p>While I've worked on fixing my voltage regulator on my MightyBoard, I've noticed an extra set of pins available labeled <a href="http://www.geeetech.com/wiki/images/thumb/8/88/Signal_polarity_scheme_Of_mightyboard.png/500px-Signal_polarity_scheme_Of_mightyboard.png" rel="nofollow" title="Atmega 1280 IO">Atmega 1280 IO</a>. I've tried finding documentation on what these pin can be used for to no avail. I'm curious if there is any use for them within the scope of MakerBot's Conveyor service or even what sort of functionality with regard to the board itself.</p>
<p>Any links to documentation on this subject would be greatly appreciated.</p>
| 605 | What is the MightyBoard 1280 IO used for? | <p>If you check the Mightyboard RevE files on Thingiverse (<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:16058/#files" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:16058/#files</a>) you will find the schematics and PCB files (.sch and .brd) for the version of the board used in Replicator 1s and (with some minor mods) most clones. The Atmega 1280 IO header section is a bunch of breakout pins for debug functions. There are eight sets of signal/5v/gnd groupings. Four of them are currently driving debug LEDs that show flash codes for particular firmware failure modes. The other four are unused as far as I'm aware. </p>
<p>The ninth and tenth pins shown in the schematic are located on the opposite end of the board, near the 8U2 chip, to give some hacking access to that chip as well. (The 8U2 handles USB comms and firmware flashing the Atmega 1280.)</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ilFja.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ilFja.png" alt="Schematic excerpt"></a></p>
<p>If desired, you can build your own firmware using these pins for other purposes, such as signaling to external equipment. But building Sailfish is a little more difficult than just running the latest Arduino IDE (for compiler stability reasons) so the vast majority of Mightyboard users never bother modifying their firmware.</p>
|
2016-02-21T11:27:12.620 | |filament|filament-production| | <p>There are many types of pigments made for paint, food, fabric, cosmetic and finally plastic pigments. I guess we need pigments made for plastic, or at least pigments which won't decompose, burn or lose their properties at the temperatures inside the filament extrusion machines (around 240C).</p>
<p>So what type of pigment are we looking for (does that type have a name?) and where can they be found (off-the-shelf from some specialized paint store or is it a more specialized pigment for plastics which is harder to source)?</p>
| 614 | What types of pigments can be used when making your own filaments? | <p>The normal way pigment is added to filament (or any other extruded plastic product) is by mixing "masterbatch" pellets containing a high concentration of dye with the raw resin pellets. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masterbatch" rel="noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masterbatch</a>) This is significantly easier and more reliable than trying to mix raw pigments into the plastic -- the likelihood of clumping and other issues is greatly reduced.</p>
<p>You can buy these masterbatch pellets and mix up colors in whatever ratios you want to achieve specific output colors. Just make sure the masterbatch pellet carrier material is compatible with your resin. There are a wide variety of vendors, including ebay. </p>
|
2016-02-22T00:13:50.737 | |filament|color| | <p>Are there general rules on how much a colored filament vs. vanilla filament affects the print results, what is affected and how those values should be changed in the slicer to achieve more similar results between different color/colored vs. pure filament spools?</p>
| 620 | What and how much does coloring in the filament affect in the print? | <p>At this point in time I don't think there is a need to be concerned with purity of filaments based on pigmentation.</p>
<p>For the most part, variations in filament quality due to coloring should be the least of your concerns compared to some of the other variables such as quality of the pellets, extrusion temperature (when manufactured), cooling rate (after extrusion), handling/storage, etc.</p>
<p>Also, assuming your focused on consumer 3D printer use, the typical hardware components aren't equipped to be accurate enough to make fine adjustments with regard to the quality range driven by filament color. Even if there were capable, accurate extruder(s) installed, I think you would need a well designed feedback loop to ensure that you're reading temperatures along the full extrusion process (drive, melt, extrude, etc).</p>
<p>I believe what you're asking involves more material science expertise, from a design aspect.</p>
<p>However, I believe that the more "color" you have obviously reduces the purity of the material and thusly the material properties can suffer. Such properties as thermal resistance found in PLA and ABS. So theoretically if you have Black filament, you'll want to extrude with a lower temperature than you would with a natural "White" filament. I would think that the necessary difference in temperature would be a few degrees (Celsius). However, there are many other factors, such as moisture and manufacturing techniques that can take precedence over color differences.</p>
<p>My advice, figure out how to "cheaply" analyze your material and ensure you have an accurate temperature feedback loop. If can you do that, you'll be able to drastically change the quality of consumer 3D printing.</p>
|
2016-02-22T12:08:59.097 | |electronics|speed|stepper|microstepping|motor| | <p>I am wondering about the speed that my steppers should achieve in regular operation and what the determining factors are, from theoretical hardware facts/limits to software limitations that can influence performance.</p>
<p>I do know about the basic properties of stepper motors such as the torque relation with speed, which I read some while ago from this source (for anyont stumbling into this question later):
<a href="https://www.geckodrive.com/gecko/images/cms_files/Step%20Motor%20Basics%20Guide.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.geckodrive.com/gecko/images/cms_files/Step%20Motor%20Basics%20Guide.pdf</a></p>
<p>So far Wikipedia (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepper_motor" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepper_motor</a>) easily turns up the following statements with regard to my question:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Thus when controlled by an L/R drive, the maximum speed of a stepper
motor is limited by its inductance since at some speed, the voltage U
will be changing faster than the current I can keep up.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and for chopper drivers:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This requires additional electronics to sense winding currents, and
control the switching, but it allows stepper motors to be driven with
higher torque at higher speeds than L/R drives</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Obviously the amount of steps/revelation will change the speed, too</p>
<p>However, all this does not help me to determine what the real life speed of my stepper should be. Additional firmware parameters clutter up my (beginner's) brain even more (and I haven't had a too deep dive into that yet).
In general I understand that the frequency we use to send the steps to the stepper is the main determining factor, also 'reduced' by microstepping, if applied. We cannot keep the current up as much as needed due to timing/inductive/electronic properties of the motors, so we lose torque or finally steps. A higher voltage helps to bring the current up faster, so the steepness of the current increase can also limit the maximum applicable frequency. The frequency itself is given from the controller board to the motor driver, hence is set in firmware.</p>
<p>All in all, apart from what makes sense to utilize in a 3D printer setup, what are the determining factors of the stepper speeds that can be realized and how to they transform into real life values for our printers? Also I'd be interested in how the determining factors influence the reliability and print quality regardless of the mechanical difficulties that arise with print-speed.</p>
<p>/edit:<br>
I found these to exist on electroncs SE:<br>
<a href="https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/71270/maximum-speed-of-stepper-motor">https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/71270/maximum-speed-of-stepper-motor</a> <br>
<a href="https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/129064/slow-down-stepper-motors-speed-using-stepper-driver-drv-8825">https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/129064/slow-down-stepper-motors-speed-using-stepper-driver-drv-8825</a></p>
<p>However, I think the question here is relevant and specific enough for 3D printing to exist here alongside.</p>
| 623 | Real life stepper speed | <p>The four main motor speed limits in a 3d printer are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Firmware step generation frequency limits</li>
<li>Firmware motion planner effects</li>
<li>Loss of torque and precision due to motor coil inductance and back-EMF effects</li>
<li>Mid-band resonance</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Step generation rate limits</strong> will depend on the firmware and controller board used. There is a significant range, particularly when 32bit firmwares and RTOS-based platforms like MachineKit are compared to 8bit firmwares running on Atmega AVRs. Some examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>Marlin on a 16 MHz 8bit Atmega can only run the stepper interrupt at 10,000 hz without bogging down the processor and blocking other critical algorithms (like motion planning). It can fire step rates up to 40,000 hz by pulsing the step line two or four times per interrupt, which effectively drops the microstep level in software and runs the motors rougher/louder. </li>
<li>Repetier on the same Atmega can run the stepper interrupt at 12,000 hz, because it is optimized more for execution speed than Marlin.</li>
<li>Repetier on an 84 MHz 32bit ARM Cortex-M3 can run the stepper interrupt at 80,000 Hz.</li>
</ul>
<p><em>These limits typically only affect actual stepper speed when relatively fine microstepping is used.</em> Consider an example based on a very typical Marlin printer configuration. Microstepping of at least 1/4 is strongly recommended to avoid resonance issues, so let's start with 1/16 stepping. This allows quad-stepping to effectively output 1/4-steps. Starting with finer microstepping will drop our top speed, and coarser microstepping will be louder and may encounter resonance, so this is a good starting point. Then asssume a typical 32mm-per-rev pulley on a 1.8 degree (200 steps/rev) stepper motor. This system has a resolution of 200*16/32= 100 steps/mm. At 40,000 Hz total stepping rate (quad-stepping at 10,000 Hz) we can theoretically travel at 400 mm/s before hitting Marlin's hard cap. That's probably going to be a higher RPM than we want to run the motor anyway, so it's not a very impactful limit. </p>
<p>In comparison, if we started at 1/128 stepping (such as with the THB6128 driver chip) our top speed with 8bit Marlin would be 50 mm/s. That's quite slow. </p>
<p><strong>Firmware motion planners</strong> can further limits motor speed by ramping up and down to traverse turns and corners. If the model geometry has lots of sharp turns, the target speeds commanded by the gcode are likely to never actually be reached. Only long, straight line paths will have enough ramping time to hit the speed target. You can see this yourself by printing a very small model at a variety of feedrates and timing the actual print duration: at a certain point, increases in the commanded speed will make no difference on actual print times.</p>
<p>Another constraint some firmwares enforce is requiring the ability to safely decelerate to a stop within the length of all the motion commands in the planner queue. This allows the printer to gracefully handle a sudden loss of input, such as as if the host computer stops transmitting USB commands, or if the SD card experiences a series of read errors. If the printer just abruptly stops from full speed when it runs out of commands, it is likely to lose position and ruin the print. Whereas if it can decelerate to a safe stopping speed, it may be able to resume after the command stream resumes. </p>
<p>In terms of actual motor behavior, the <strong>inductance and back-EMF</strong> introduce significant limits because they decrease motor torque at higher RPMs. This produces a torque/RPM curve that drops off at higher speeds:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/BHxwY.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/BHxwY.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="http://www.geckodrive.com/support/step-motor-basics.html" rel="noreferrer">http://www.geckodrive.com/support/step-motor-basics.html</a></p>
<p>Note in the picture that there is a flat "constant current" region on the left side at low speeds. This is the range where the chopping driver is limiting coil current. On the right side of the curve, current is not able to reach the target before it must be switched back off for the next step. That reduces field strength and thus torque.</p>
<p>There are two separate effects to consider here:</p>
<ul>
<li>Motor coils are inductors, which means there is a first-order lag between applied voltage and coil current. A standard bipolar stepper motor with a microstepping driver must raise the coil current from zero to max or from max to zero every full step (eg every sixteen 1/16th microsteps). At high step rates, there is not enough time to fully charge the coil to its max current before the next step requires dropping the current back down. Without developing full coil current on each step, torque is lost. </li>
<li>Every motor is also a generator, and spinning the rotor generates back-EMF voltage within the motor coils. That voltage waveform gets overlaid on top of the drive voltage waveform with a phase shift dependent on the rotor position relative to the coil energization position. <em>In simple terms, this voltage attempts to brake the motor:</em> it always does whatever will slow the motor down. This means it opposes the applied drive voltage when the motor is applying forward torque, or assists the applied drive voltage when the motor is applying brake torque. </li>
</ul>
<p>For a practical discussion of speed limits, we can simplify the situation by assuming back-EMF voltage opposes the drive voltage applied to the coils. This means there is less effective voltage raising/lowering coil current, and it takes longer for the current to change, and less coil current is developed than would be the case without back-emf. This further depresses the torque/RPM curve of the motor. And when the back-EMF voltage is around the same magnitude as the drive voltage, significant motor instability can result because of complex feedback effects between rotor position and effective coil voltage. </p>
<p>You can play with these effects using different motor configurations and speeds for a few popular 3D printer stepper drivers using my stepper driver simulator: <a href="https://github.com/rcarlyle/StepperSim" rel="noreferrer">https://github.com/rcarlyle/StepperSim</a> </p>
<p>In closed-loop applications with position feedback and high-end drivers that can damp various instability modes, it may be ok to run the stepper all the way down the torque curve at very high RPMs. In more typical open-loop 3D printer applications, it's generally best to stick to the low-RPM part of the torque curve before inductance and back-EMF really take over the motor behavior. Losing too much torque can easily mean skipping steps and losing position, ruining the print. </p>
<p>Another important effect for steppers is <strong>mid-band resonance</strong>. This is not a normal mechanical resonance, but actually an electromechanical resonance effect. It's quite complicated, but the short explanation is that a stepper has an intrinsic 90-degree phase shift between position and torque, and when speeds rise to a point where coil inductance introduces an additional 90-degree phase shift between coil current and applied voltage, the electromechanical system has a highly-unstable 180-degree phase lag and thus creates a negative feedback loop. This can rapidly drop motor torque until the motor loses synchronicity with the driver's applied voltage and stalls.</p>
<p>Mid-band resonance only occurs when coil current is limited by inductance. It cannot occur in the constant-current drive range because there is not enough phase lag between applied voltage and coil current.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZO8nN.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZO8nN.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="http://www.geckodrive.com/support/step-motor-basics.html" rel="noreferrer">http://www.geckodrive.com/support/step-motor-basics.html</a></p>
<p>Unfortunately, measured torque curves available from manufacturers almost never show resonance zones, because the curves are produced by loading motors with friction-brakes that damp any kind of resonance effect from building. Whereas a 3D printer drivetrain load is almost entirely inertial (accelerating a mass) which is much more prone to resonance.</p>
<p>High-end drivers can automatically detect and damp mid-band resonance, but typical low-cost 3D printer drivers do not have this capability. </p>
<p>It is generally prudent to avoid entering an RPM range where mid-band resonance may occur. This is easily accomplished by sticking to the left side of the torque curve, in the constant-current operating region. This ensures high torque and good stability. </p>
<p>For a concrete example, consider the popular Kysan 1124090 stepper with a 24v power supply. </p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SUFIv.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SUFIv.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://ultimachine.com/content/kysan-1124090-nema-17-stepper-motor" rel="noreferrer">https://ultimachine.com/content/kysan-1124090-nema-17-stepper-motor</a></p>
<p>To maintain high torque and avoid mid-band resonance, we would want to keep the RPM to about 400 or less. For the same 32mm-per-rev pulley mentioned above, that would limit speeds to around 200-240 mm/s. Higher speeds are possible, but may encounter reliability issues. </p>
<p>This speed, of course, assumes a 24v PSU is used, to match the measured torque curve: a 12v PSU would have a significantly lower top speed before inductance starts to limit coil current, around half as fast. Higher supply voltage <em>greatly</em> increases the top effective speed for the motor.</p>
<p>Again, you can easily simulate this effect (using <a href="https://github.com/rcarlyle/StepperSim" rel="noreferrer">https://github.com/rcarlyle/StepperSim</a>). This simulator output chart shows how inductance and back-EMF are keeping coil current from reaching the target:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/GYMc7.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/GYMc7.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
<p>For practical drivetrain design, a motor/driver simulator is really the best tool in the toolbox for finding the point where performance will start to degrade due to inability to hit current targets. It's simply too complex to apply simple equations or rules of thumb with any accuracy. These electrical effects and the firmware step generation limits are likely to be the two main restrictions on motor speed for most printers. </p>
<p>Of course, how fast you can melt plastic will tend to limit printing speeds significantly below the true motor speed limits, but that's a different discussion. For the moment, we can simply say that top motor speed tends to be unimportant for print moves in typical Cartesian printers. However, there are a few instances where they are likely to drive printer performance:</p>
<ul>
<li>Linear Deltas, where carriages may need to run several times faster than the effector for certain move directions</li>
<li>Geared extruders with high reduction ratio (eg much over 5:1) for high retraction speeds</li>
<li>Short-pitch lead screws (or all-thread) that need high rotation speeds to achieve moderate linear speeds</li>
</ul>
|
2016-02-23T10:53:12.347 | |pla|post-processing|surface| | <p>One way to give PLA prints a smooth finish is treatment with chloroform vapours (or other solvents, as mentioned in <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/36/674">this</a> answer). This method is even featured on <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/tips-tricks/17897-vapor-treating" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ultimaker website</a>. I would like to try it on some of my prints. </p>
<p>What are the practical concerns I should be aware of using chloroform vapours? I am looking for advice concerning vaporisation temperature, time of exposition that makes for a nice finish, and any other experiences. </p>
<p><strong>Caution!</strong>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloroform" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chloroform</a> is a moderately toxic chemical! I only approach this method as I have an access to a well-equipped chemical laboratory with a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fume_hood" rel="nofollow noreferrer">fume hood</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Disclamer:</strong>
The question is not about the safety issues using chloroform vapours. It is about how obtain the best post-processing results with least trial-and-error.</p>
| 628 | Practical concerns smoothing PLA print with chloroform vapours | <p>Beside vaporizing with heat, you can use an atomizer and do cold vapor. The time is around 1-5 minutes at 45ºC for a 10x10x20 mm piece like a Marvin or a bot. I have done only gangster tests with it, so I have no larger piece info.</p>
<p>Passive vapor polish does not work with chloroform since it tends to crack. It needs a fast flash on the outside only.</p>
|
2016-02-23T18:14:24.317 | |delta|algorithm| | <p>On a Cartesian printer movements are really simple. If we assume the printer has 100 steps/mm on each axis, then a move of 10mm on a axis is just 1000 Steps on that axis.</p>
<p>Movements that are not aligned with one axis are also simple. Moving from x,y = 0,0 to 10,10 would be 1000 steps on x and y.</p>
<p>On deltas even for simple moves more than one motor has to move. And just calculating the amount of steps on each axis needed to reach the destination probably gives a curved move.</p>
<p>So what is the algorithm to calculate the steps for a given move for a delta printer?</p>
| 631 | How are delta movements calculated? | <p>There are two main special steps to the technique used by most open-source 3d printer controllers:</p>
<ol>
<li>Divide each linear gcode segment into lots of very small subsegments ("Segmentation")</li>
<li>Use some basic trigonometry or the pythagorean theorem to tie extruder position to carriage height for each of the three towers ("Inverse Kinematics")
to find the target position for each small segment</li>
</ol>
<p>The inverse kinematics are surprisingly simple. A virtual 90 degree triangle is constructed from two known lengths to solve for the unknown third length: </p>
<ul>
<li>The fixed delta arm length is the hypotenuse of the triangle</li>
<li>The horizontal distance between the column joints and end-effector joints is calculated from the XY coordinates of the nozzle and the fixed position of the column, to determine the length of the lower side of the triangle</li>
<li>The length of the upper side of the triangle is calculated from the previous two via the pythagorean theorem</li>
<li>The length of the upper side is added to the nozzle Z height to get the necessary carriage height</li>
</ul>
<p>I think the best open-source reference here is Steve Grave's Rostock Kinematics document, rev3 available for download here: <a href="https://groups.google.com/d/msg/deltabot/V6ATBdT43eU/jEORG_l3dTEJ" rel="noreferrer">https://groups.google.com/d/msg/deltabot/V6ATBdT43eU/jEORG_l3dTEJ</a>
Some relevant pictures:
<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MxCMc.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MxCMc.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/geOQI.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/geOQI.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
<p>These inverse kinematics calculations are performed for each carriage to get a "carriage space" target position, and this is performed for every path sub-segment.</p>
<p>The results from these steps can then be reinserted back into the standard linear path interpolation techniques for the printer, in which it fires steps in the necessary ratios and at the necessary rates to produce the desired straight-line motion and acceleration/velocity profile. (How THAT is done is a different question.)</p>
<p>The net effect is that the printer will move through a series of small "linear" carriage movements (linear meaning constant* speed with respect to time) that collectively approximate the necessary curved (quadratic position with respect to time) carriage motions required to produce a straight-line end-effector move.</p>
<p>*(<em>Constant speed before acceleration slowdowns are applied in order to obey dynamics constraints, anyway. Again, that's the subject of a different question.)</em></p>
<p>Segmentation is very similar to the process of using a polygon to approximate a circle. If the facets are small enough, the polygon is a good approximation. Higher Segmentation rates produce less path-following error. The primary conceptual difference between drawing circle arcs and Delta motion paths is that the so-called "faceted arc" with Delta Segmentation is constructed in height-vs-time coordinates instead of the X-vs-Y coordinates you'd use to draw a circle on a computer screen. </p>
<p>This system is used in large part because support for Delta style printers was originally bolted onto GRBL-based motion planners which were written exclusively for straight-line motion paths in Cartesian printers. It was a relatively minimal modification to the existing codebase compared to implementing full quadratic path interpolation.</p>
<p>Techniques have evolved over the years. And alternate approaches are often used: for example, the dc42 fork of RepRapFirmware performs exact path-following without segmentation, by recalculating the proper time for the next step <em>after every step</em>. This is functionally equivalent to approximating a circle with a polygon facet count <em>so high that every pixel on the screen gets its own facet</em>. So it is exactly as accurate as the positioning resolution of the motors allows. The downside is that this segmentation-free technique is fairly processor-intensive, so it only works on relatively fast controllers, not the older 8bit Atmega AVR that powers most existing consumer/hobbyist printers today. </p>
<p>Other techniques are possible. The academic parallel robotics control literature is a whole other world of mathematical techniques and complexity in order to produce generalized control algorithms that work for a wide range of robot mechanisms. The version we use in open-source 3d printers is quite simple and application-specific in comparison. </p>
|
2016-02-24T19:24:06.583 | |filament|speed| | <p>Is there a definitive scalable 3D printer? </p>
<p>I've seen examples of Chinese companies printing entire houses, and I'm curious as to printers / filaments that are intended (or at least able) be scaled up for (very) large print jobs. </p>
<p>Since most hobby printers can take hundreds of hours for something that can still be held in our hands, so I'm curious if there are any designs for printers that are meant to extrude material efficiently with a easily scalable printing area. </p>
<p>Open sourced / free is preferable; though I'm interested in <strong>any</strong> designs that exist, commercial included.</p>
| 636 | Scalable 3D Printer | <p>As far as I know, right now, all the "3D printers" that can print houses, bridges, etc. are experimental models (and sometimes, vey elaborate art projects) - they just don't exist except as one-off creations designed as a proof-of-concept showing this can be done.</p>
<p>Maybe some of those project published their plans and code but they are not designed for mass production or general use, even if you manage to build another copy of one of them it will probably be able to print just the same project the original printed. </p>
<p>You specifically asked about speed, material and build area:</p>
<p><strong>Speed:</strong> the speed really depends on the size of the printer's nozzle, the typical desktop printer has a 0.4mm nozzle, if you replace it with a 1mm nozzle the printer will be approximately twice as fast (1.25 nozzle area vs 3.14 nozzle area, assuming you have an hotend designed for larger nozzles that can melt the plastic fast enough).</p>
<p>Now, the "house printer" does not use a standard desktop hotend (see material below) and buildings don't have fine details so you can make the head much larger.</p>
<p>However, as far as I know the early prototypes are still much slower then conventional construction methods.</p>
<p><strong>Material:</strong> houses are typically not made of plastic, the printers I know of have welding equipment instead of an hotend and extrude steel</p>
<p>There are probably other methods but I bet all of them use typical construction materials such as steel and not thermoplastic.</p>
<p><strong>Size:</strong> and last but not least, it's obviously not practical to build a printer with as house sized platform, the house printers are actually relatively small robots that travel across the construction project, leaving material behind them and then climb over the previous layer to print the next part.</p>
|
2016-02-24T20:10:54.190 | |software|makerbot|file-formats|blender| | <p>Our library system just put a 3D printer in one of the branches. I have used SketchUp on the library computers for a number of years just to do artsy things. Suddenly, I have the opportunity to actually print something. (I'm really not sure why the libraries have SketchUp installed. But, I have enjoyed using it.)</p>
<p>There is a plug-in available for SketchUp so that it can export STL files. But, the security on the library computers will not allow me to put a file into the SketchUp plug-ins folder. And, the tech guy at the library doesn't think that the IT guys at the library will update all the copies of SketchUp at all the branches just so someone could do 3D printing.</p>
<p>After doing some searching on this website, I found out that I could export a COLLADA / dae file from SketchUp. I would then import that dae file into Blender (The portable version on my flash drive). I could then export it as an STL file.
The process appeared to work. I could see my test object in Blender. </p>
<p>I gave the STL file to the branch manager who tried to open it in the Makerbot software so that it could be sent to the printer. But, it gave him a message about the file not being recognized. </p>
<p>I am not familiar with all the details in the importing and exporting processes that are going on. Is there someone out there that can give me some help?</p>
<p>One problem is that, I am using the library computers. I cannot alter them. I can use what portable versions of software are out there, like Blender.</p>
| 637 | Why won't makerbot accept an STL file from Blender? | <p>Makerbot will accept obj files also.
Is there an error while importing the obj file?
Also you can see errors of your imported file in your makerbot
It will be marked in black.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pggIz.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pggIz.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
<p>Please make sure your object is a watertight mesh. As I have seen its easy to make a surface model in sketchup. A 3D Printer cannot print something in surface.
You can also try importing to netfabb to check if the part has errors in it. </p>
<p>If you want a better modeling software, I suggest you to check out OnShape.
Its a cloud based cad software. Its free as well. (10 private files, beyond that everything is public. 100$ per month i think)
www.onshape.com</p>
|
2016-02-24T21:40:06.150 | |pla|post-processing| | <p>When you cut or break a PLA model (for example to remove support) it often leaves an ugly while mark where the removed piece was connected.</p>
<p>Sanding also tend to leave dull white scratches on the sanded surface.</p>
<p>What can I do to restore the white areas to the original filament color?</p>
| 642 | How to remove white marks from PLA | <p>Note that on lighter colours these light scratches can be hard to see. On white PLA they're almost invisible unless you hold it against the light at an angle and look at the specular reflection.</p>
<p>I've had some luck on a flat surface (the face of a game tile I printed) by going through various grades of sand paper. 240, 600, 1000, 2000. Finally, finishing with a regular metal polisher like Brasso brings up a shine that doesn't seem to wash off, unlike vaseline/vegetable oil.</p>
<p>It's quite a lot of work though, and even more work on curved surfaces. If heat treatment works for you, it may be preferable.</p>
|
2016-02-25T02:42:02.643 | |ultimaker-cura| | <p>Cura does not seem let the full print area to be used. My printer is a <a href="https://www.lulzbot.com/store/printers/lulzbot-mini" rel="noreferrer">Lulzbot Mini</a>. The design illustrated below can be found <a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/things/hBE6Aj2EJMo-skyrail-marble-coster-banked-curve-beta" rel="noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pf5AP.png" rel="noreferrer">
<img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/G8UUD.png" />
</a>
<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iqvqo.png" rel="noreferrer">
<img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iqvqo.png" />
</a></p>
| 645 | Cura not allowing full print area to used | <p>If you set skirt setting to 'none', it will get you up to full bed area -1 mm at the edges, so, for example, 198x198 instead of 200x200.</p>
<p>You need to go to 'Travel' and set 'Travel avoid distance' to zero to get the full 200x200, or whatever, bed area.</p>
|
2016-02-25T05:27:25.533 | |electronics|ramps-1.4| | <p>Over the times I hear people saying delta inverse kinematics push atmega2560 to limits. I see in my local supplier Arduino Due and RAMPS-FD is the cheapest 32bit alternatives. But there's not much documentation on it so any opinion or personal experience are welcomed. </p>
<ul>
<li>is it really 2560 based electronics so laggy that printing quality is compromised? </li>
<li>does Marlin4Due has a good support for auto calibration? </li>
<li>anything else to caution against besides a ramps1.4 is a no-no? </li>
</ul>
<p>(I'm planning my first delta. 2560 seems to work perfectly with my previous xy bots though. )</p>
| 647 | Is Arduino Due a worth buy as controller electronics for deltabots? | <p>An 8bit Atmega can provide bare-bones delta performance with Marlin (eg 40mm/s print speed) or pretty good performance with Repetier (due to more optimized algorithms). <strong><em>For a small and simple delta like a bare-bones Mini Kossel, 8bit may be fine. If you want to do high-speed printing or use any of the fancier features, you should go with 32bit.</em></strong></p>
<p>The big issue with 8bit comes up when you want to do something that taxes the MCU. Delta kinematics already add a lot of extra math on top of all the normal printer functions like command parsing, motion planning, and heater control. For example, adding any of these to an 8bit Delta can cause issues:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Bed tilt compensation "auto-leveling"</strong> -- the coordinate space rotation transform adds a lot of extra floating point calculations to every movement segment. That really taxes the 8bit Atmega since it does not have native floating point support. (Note that pre-print auto-calibration such as in the RichCattell Marlin fork is not the same as bed tilt compensation and does not add any run-time processor load.)</li>
<li><strong>Full graphics LCDs</strong> -- refreshing the LCD screen for animations and status reports takes a surprising amount of horsepower. 8bit Marlin is widely known to suffer from stuttering and print quality issues when running a GLCD on a delta.</li>
<li><strong>Highly faceted (smooth) curves, particularly over USB</strong> -- the high rate of gcode command processing sucks up a lot of clock cycles, particularly in firmwares that run USB comms as a top-priority interrupt. </li>
</ul>
<p>What the Due (or other 32bit board option) does for you is de-bottleneck the MCU so you can push the printer harder or utilize features that add processor load. Here's why they're so much better:</p>
<ul>
<li>In simple clock speed terms, the SAM3X8E in the Due/Duet/Alligator/etc is about 5 times faster than the Atmega 2560, and the LPC1769 in the Smoothieboard/MKS-SBASE/etc is about 7 times faster. But they're actually MUCH higher performance than clock speed alone would suggest, because the 32bit architecture and native floating point support mean far fewer clock cycles are required for complex calculations. </li>
<li>They also have more RAM, meaning the the firmware can manage more features and look farther ahead when motion planning. </li>
<li>They also have more program space, meaning the firmware can, if desired, be compiled as a single full-featured build that covers all possible printers (as RepRapFirmware and Smoothieware do) and thus end-users don't have to edit and compile code in the Arduino IDE to configure the firmware. The Atmega line requires hundreds of conditional compile statements in the firmware to exclude unused features from the binary to get the memory footprint down.</li>
</ul>
<p>All that said, the switch from an 8bit Atmega AVR to a 32bit ARM Cortex-M3 is still just an upgrade from a late-1990s processor to an early-2000s processor. Neither is "modern" by any stretch. <em>(For example, the BeagleBone Black used by Redeem and MachineKit utterly blows away the Due in processing power and memory. But those options have steep learning curves at the moment.)</em> The Due can still be bogged down by printing very fast with lots of features enabled. It's a <strong>big</strong> upgrade on an Atmega, but I predict it's going to be replaced by much faster controllers within the next few years. Announcements of upcoming next-gen controller boards are already trickling out. </p>
<p><strong>To summarize, the answer is yes, a Due-type board is a good buy if you want a high-performance printer. It will meet 99%+ of user's needs today.</strong> But it will be replaced in a few years, just like the Atmegas are being replaced now.</p>
<p><strong>As for specific Due shields, I strongly recommend NOT going with RAMPS-FD.</strong> It was cloned for sale by Asian companies before the design was finished, which seemingly caused the original designer to abandon it before working out all the bugs. RAMPS-FDv1 has some nasty design flaws such as heaters turning on while flashing firmware. RAMPS-FDv2 is better, but can experience unreliable and oddball behavior due to unresolved issues in the circuits intended to make it compatible with both 3v3 boards like the Due and 5v boards like the Mega. (For example, the thermistor voltage reference circuit needs modifying to work right, and there appears to be timing issues in the 3v3-5v level shifters.)</p>
<p><strong>RADDS is a good Due shield.</strong> It is a simpler, more reliable, more compact version of RAMPS-FD. It is very popular in Germany and has recently (late 2015) become available for sale in the US. </p>
<p>I also recommend purchasing the Due R3-E instead of the regular Due R3. Anecdotally, the "E" version appears to eliminate some firmware bootup issues that can occur when the board is first powered at lower than nominal voltage.</p>
<p>One possible downside to the Due is that Arduino just announced they are no longer manufacturing it. So all new Due boards from here on will be made by 3rd parties. That's not necessarily bad, since it's open source and many other companies will surely continue making them, but there won't be any more made by Arduino. </p>
<p>For single-board options using the same SAM3X8E processor as the Due, the Duet 0.8.5 is becoming quite popular. (It runs RepRapFirmware, which has some great Delta features.) The Alligator runs Repetier. There are several other beta/experimental/development boards in the works too. The community appears to be moving towards the Due and Due-compatible boards over the other various options.</p>
|
2016-02-25T12:55:10.843 | |software| | <p>I am trying to find programs that can import and export 3MF file formats. I know that Cura 15.10 beta can open 3MF formats, but I am looking for a program that open, edit and save 3MF files. I am very interested in finding a more portable file format for my 3D designs.</p>
<p>If you are not aware the 3MF format promises to provide a "replacement" for STL files that contains the complete model information, theoretically allowing us to slice and edit the same file.</p>
<p><a href="http://3mf.io/" rel="noreferrer">http://3mf.io/</a></p>
| 650 | Are there any software packages that can open and edit 3MF? | <p><a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/3d-builder/9wzdncrfj3t6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Microsoft 3D Builder</a> should have <a href="http://fileinfo.com/extension/3mf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">support</a> for this format.</p>
<p><a href="http://blogs.solidworks.com/tech/2015/04/whats-new-solidworks-2015-3d-printing-support.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Solidworks 2015</a> has support too. A software adoption list is placed on <a href="https://3mf.io/adoption/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3mf pages</a>.</p>
|
2016-02-25T16:00:11.583 | |heated-bed|slic3r|pronterface|hbp| | <p>I'm having trouble getting my MendelMax 2's heatbed <em>not</em> to heat up when I want to print without it. I don't get how multiple sources of control relate to each other (same with extrusion temperatures, actually):</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Slic3r (1.2.9) has settings under Filament Settings / Filament / Bed, for First layer and Other layers (and groups of settings can be saved).</p></li>
<li><p>The pronterface GUI (Printrun-Mac-10Mar2014) has an "Options" panel where you can set "Bed temperature" (actually, two settings, one for PLA and one for ABS -- though I doubt the software can test which filament is loaded!)</p></li>
<li><p>The pronterface GUI also has a menu/fill-in labelled "Bed", which works fine to adjust the bed when nothing is printing. The menu there lets you pick from a manually-entered value, "0 (off)", and (apparently) the settings for PLA and ABS from the options panel.</p></li>
<li><p>Marlin's Configuration.h has settings for bed minimum and maximum temps (the non-zero minimum seems to be to prevent running the bed when the thermistor isn't working, to avoid unlimited overheating).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I recently tried to print some PLA with no bed heat (using blue tape on the glass build plate). I sliced the model with bed heat off in Slic3r; changed the PLA bed temps in the printerface options panel to 0; and picked the PLA setting in the GUI main screen (and also tried setting "0 (off)" manually.</p>
<p>When I started to print the object, the bed turned on and stayed on, maintaining 60C.</p>
<p>I thought of just unplugging the heatbed, but then I expect the print would never start, since it would try to heat up the bed and never succeed.</p>
<p>So how does the decision about which temperature setting to use, <em>really</em> get made? I have the same question about extruder temps, speeds, accelerations, and other things, too -- whose settings are really in charge?</p>
| 652 | Heatbed control with Pronterface | <p>Sli3er will control the bed temperature during a print. The options in Pronterface can be used to pre-heat the bed and hot end, or to adjust the temperature during a print. </p>
<p>The slicer will put the temperatures you set in the filament tab settings into the gcode at the appropriate layers. As the printer reads these codes it will adjust the temperatures. If you manually change the temperature, it will stay at your adjustment until it encounters a line in the gcode file that tells it to change again. Usually this only happens at the start of a print, or at the transition from the first layer to the second layer. </p>
<p>When you change the filament settings in Slic3r, they do not save automatically, so if you changed them, closed the program without saving your filament settings, and opened it later, the changes would be lost. </p>
<p>The other place where temperature can be changed from is in the custom gcode settings, where you can specify operations to be performed at the start of the print, in between layers, or at the end of the print. Take a look there and make sure that there are no codes to change temperature in any of these fields.</p>
|
2016-02-25T23:57:07.407 | |ultimaker-cura| | <p>In Cura, when you enable "Print support structure", is there a way to see what it will look like?</p>
| 655 | Show generated support structures in Cura | <p>Cura generates support based on the outlines of the layers which will be printed, rather based on the triangles of the 3D model.
It is therefore not possible to show the generated support in the solid view.</p>
<p>You can view the support in the layer view however.
In Cura 2 that's on the left bottom of the screen.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iVQ5s.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iVQ5s.png" alt="Cura"></a></p>
<p>Support is classified as a helper part in the legend of the layer view.</p>
|
2016-02-26T18:25:06.273 | |filament|fdm|quality| | <p>I am struggling finding how to print complex shapes made of rubber, tpu, tpe...
Are there any clear guidelines on how to print those materials without deforming and uncontrolled retraction?</p>
<p>The printer is not a problem, I can print on:</p>
<ul>
<li>Delta WASP (the one I am specifically looking advice for)</li>
<li>Makerbot 5th</li>
<li>MB Z18</li>
<li>Sharebot NG</li>
<li>Ultimaker 2</li>
</ul>
<p>Thank you!</p>
| 657 | Proper settings for printing rubber and rubber-like materials? | <p>First off, <strong>you need the right extruder design</strong>. Specifically, the filament path between the drive gear or hob and hot end must be extremely well-constrained. 1.75mm TPE filaments (thermoplastic elastomers) will buckle in an instant if given the chance. That means they will try to squeeze out of any little opening in the filament drive path rather than being forced through the nozzle. </p>
<ul>
<li>Is there a gap >1mm <em>anywhere</em> between your extruder drive gear and hot end? <em>Including the groove in the drive gear itself.</em> If so, either change extruders or print something to fill the gap. Many popular extruders already have Ninjaflex conversion parts uploaded on Thingiverse or Youmagine.</li>
<li>Are you using a 1.75mm bowden drive? You probably shouldn't bother with the softer TPEs like Ninaflex. Harder TPEs like Semiflex may be ok, but it's still difficult. 3mm bowden drives may perform ok. Direct drive extruders are highly recommend. </li>
<li>TPUs (thermoplastic urethanes) in particular can be sticky in the filament feed path between the spool and extruder. Try to minimize corners and turns (even inside PTFE tubes) between the extruder and spool. As a general rule of thumb, don't exceed 180 degrees of cumulative tube curvature in the entire path from the spool to the nozzle. </li>
</ul>
<p>Once your filament feed path is fully enclosed, the filament will be constrained and unable to squeeze out the side or wrap around your drive gear. That's the most important step.</p>
<p>The next problem is simply <strong>loading</strong> the filament. Purging out PLA or ABS with a soft TPE can be challenging because of the force required to purge the old material. Many default loading routines are actually too fast for TPEs and will cause the TPE filament to bunch up rather than purging the previous material. It tends to extrude better when there is nothing else in the way. Some tips:</p>
<ul>
<li>Do some cold-pulls to clear out the hot end as much as possible before loading the TPE. (Nylon is ideal for this. Preheat to nylon temps, run through some nylon, let the extruder cool to ~180C, and then forcefully pull out the nylon. If you can't pull it out, pull hotter. If it leaves nylon behind, pull colder.)</li>
<li>If you have a high-melting plastic like PET or nylon in the hot end, purge with a lower-melting solid filament like PLA first. This will reduce the viscosity of the old material when inserting the TPE. </li>
<li>If your printer has a fixed loading speed, consider making a gcode file with nothing but a preheat and very slow extruder move as a custom loading script. </li>
<li>If you fail to load and jam up the TPE, try again! Sometimes it takes a few load/unload cycles to get the old material purged and a clean feed going. </li>
</ul>
<p>The final issue is <strong>print settings</strong>. You ever hear the saying, "you can't push a rope"? That's kind of what you're fighting with TPEs. With a properly constrained feed path, you can push rubber, but not very hard. So minimizing extrusion force is the name of the game.</p>
<ul>
<li>Print SLOW to start. Like 10mm/s. You can dial it up once you're getting good results. This will minimize nozzle back-pressure and reduce the amount of "pushing a rope" that the extruder drive must do.</li>
<li>Retract as little as possible. Turn off "optional" retractions in your slicer, such as during layer changes. Some people even print with no retraction at all, and use high travel speeds and coast/wipe features to minimize stringing. That's overkill, but it can help with marginal extruders. I personally add about 50% to my normal ABS/PLA retraction distance. </li>
<li>Print on the hotter side of the recommended range to start, then dial down the temp as needed to reduce stringing and oozing. Printing hot will reduce nozzle back-pressure.</li>
</ul>
<p>With all that, it should be possible to print the softest TPEs with reasonable success. But if you really can't get it working right, plenty of higher-durometer TPEs are available now that are significantly easier to extrude. </p>
|
2016-03-01T14:04:02.353 | |extruder| | <p>We have a Makerbot Replicator 2X at our school. I have a class in the computer lab and one of our focuses is using the printer. Currently, it is not printing properly. We are using PLA at 210 degrees Celcius. The built plate is not heated (using Build Tak). This has worked very well in the past. The problem is that when the extruder goes to lay down plastic, the filament is too hot and curls up in a clump around the extruder. This is characteristic of when we first tried PLA at a higher temperature. I think that our heat sensor is not working properly. Does anyone know how we can fix this problem? Is there a way to calibrate the sensor is should we install a new one?</p>
| 667 | Heat sensor problems with Makerbot Replicator 2X | <p>Overall, it is unlikely that the problem is temp sensing accuracy. There are only a few things that will throw off the thermocouple's reading:</p>
<ul>
<li>Poor thermal coupling between the tip and the hot block, such as if the tip has partially pulled free of the brass thermowell crimp (this will make the hot block hotter than the reported temp)</li>
<li>Loss of electrical insulation between the tip and the hot block, plus some ground loop noise or stray voltage on the hot block (this will typically add noise to the reported temp)</li>
</ul>
<p>You should be able to visually check for the first, and test for the second with a multimeter. The resistance between the board end of the thermocouple leads and the brass thermowell at the tip should be infinite / out of range. </p>
<p>To actually check the thermocouple calibration, you have a few options:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Easy:</strong> Look at the behavior of the printed plastic. PLA that is too hot will smell of pancakes/waffles much stronger than normal, or even smell burnt. The printed material may be more shiny than usual. It will string and ooze more as you print.</li>
<li><strong>Moderate:</strong> Secure another reference thermocouple (such as might come with a digital multimeter) tightly to the hot block with some Kapton tape, somewhere the aluminum block is exposed. The external TC should read within a few degrees of the printer's TC. (Assuming you get it attached well enough.)</li>
<li><strong>Hard:</strong> Place the tip of the TC in boiling water to check if it reads 100C (or slightly lower if you live at a high altitude). Repeat with well-mixed ice water to check if it reads 0C. Both measurements should be within a couple degrees. You will probably need to dismantle much of the extruder to detach the thermocouple for this test. </li>
</ul>
<p>But, again, the problem probably isn't the TC. It's more likely either a bed tramming issue (eg too much gap between nozzle and surface) or the BuildTak is degraded and not adhering. This can happen if you do a large number of prints in the exact same place, or get the surface oily, such as with fingerprints. Try a fresh sheet of buildtak or cleaning it with rubbing alcohol and moving the print to a different location. </p>
<p>In some rare cases, low-quality filament or filament stored in very high humidity may not stick well. This is pretty rare though. For the most part, if your nozzle gap is right, any extruded plastic will stick to Buildtak. </p>
|
2016-03-01T17:23:07.397 | |ramps-1.4|prusa-i3| | <p>I am following this video series to add auto-leveling to my Prusa i3. <a href="https://youtu.be/awsI9bMndJA" rel="noreferrer">https://youtu.be/awsI9bMndJA</a></p>
<p>I have printed the parts I need and have the servo and ss-5 endstop in my cart at Amazon. What I need to know is what wiring I need to connect the endstop to the RAMPs board? I bought this printer as a kit and all parts were included so I am learning slowly.</p>
<p>The switch
<a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B00HPLBAYW" rel="noreferrer">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HPLBAYW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_3&smid=AZHZ102UTKBMA</a></p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
| 669 | parts for autoleveling Prusa i3 | <p>You just need some wires, nothing special about them. You can use any wire that's flexible enough. For the endstop you'll need 2 wires, for the servo (if you need to extend the cable) 3. The connectors on the end are known as dupont connectors.</p>
|
2016-03-01T20:19:30.800 | |extruder|extrusion| | <p>I'm building my own 3D printer (custom design, made by me and cut using a water cutting machine) but I have always had problems with the hotend clogging.</p>
<p>I have had four hotends:</p>
<ul>
<li>a J-Head;</li>
<li>a full metal;</li>
<li>a full metal made by me and;</li>
<li>my current hotend which is just a block of aluminium with a plaster cold-end 100% homemade with no precision at all.</li>
</ul>
<p>Believe it or not, this hotend is the only one that has finished a whole print (about 40 minutes), all of the others, with or without fans, haven't managed to finish one!</p>
<p>Well... this hotend has a 1.5mm hole so I guess that that's why it can print.</p>
<p>The problem with all of the others was that the 1.75mm PLA that I'm using clogged the hotend after two minutes.</p>
<p>Now I would like to buy a new, more precise, hotend. I'm using a Bowden extruder, can you suggest a good hotend?</p>
<p>This is my printer:</p>
<p><a href="https://s10.postimg.org/mhk71hq0p/IMG_20160302_204645713.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://s10.postimg.org/mhk71hq0p/IMG_20160302_204645713.jpg" alt="Print1"></a>
<a href="https://s23.postimg.org/c7u1n63nf/IMG_20160302_204636873.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://s23.postimg.org/c7u1n63nf/IMG_20160302_204636873.jpg" alt="Print2"></a></p>
| 670 | Which hotend does not clog and is good to use with a Bowden 1.75 mm setup? | <p>To add to <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/670/which-hotend-does-not-clog-and-is-good-to-use-with-a-bowden-1-75-mm-setup#answer-699">kamuro's answer</a>, with respect to the dust aspect, the page <a href="http://www.felixprinters.com/knowledgebase/article/filament-not-extruding-clogged-hot-end.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Filament Not Extruding/ Clogged Hot-End</a> makes a couple of relevent points:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><strong>Dust collector not applied around the filament:</strong> Filament attracts a lot of dust, which can potentially all come into the
hot-end. In some dusty environments this could cause a clogged hot-end
within a few hours.</li>
<li><strong>Clog from the inside of the hot-end:</strong> It could be that a big dust particle is inside the hot-end tip blocking it from the inside.
This can be solved by handdrilling the nozzle from the inside with a
2mm drill provided in our webshop.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
|
2016-03-02T00:59:15.623 | |desktop-printer| | <p>I've been searching, but I'm coming up empty-handed. They have a file for the TAZ with the 0.35mm nozzle, but I'm not certain if I can just change the nozzle size and be done with it.</p>
| 673 | Does anyone have a Simplify3D configuration file for a Lulzbot TAZ 5 with a 0.5mm nozzle? | <p>Have you tried the configuration assistant under the "Help" menu?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/TwLm2.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/TwLm2.png" alt="enter image description here"></a>
From S3D 3.0.2</p>
<p>And yes, you can just change the nozzle size in the process "Extruder" tab and be done with it, if you're using auto extrusion width. If you're using manual extrusion width, also change that to be equal or greater than the nozzle size. </p>
<p>S3D will handle everything else. It's not a bad idea to recalibrate extrusion multiplier (with 100% infill 20x20 calibration boxes) but it isn't strictly necessary. </p>
<p>General tip for switching to a larger nozzle: while you get used to it, make sure you preview your sliced files carefully looking for areas with gaps or missing details smaller than the extrusion width. </p>
|
2016-03-02T09:29:08.800 | |fdm|pla|makerbot|slicing| | <p>I am optimizing a collection of slicing profiles and in the process of upgrading some profiles from the classic Makerbot Smart Extruder to the new Smart Extruder+.</p>
<p>What are the parameters that should be changed with the new extruder?
Are there any params to which the new extruder is more "sensitive"?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
| 676 | Settings to change when upgrading from Smart Extruder to Smart Extruder+ | <p>There are no "sensitive" params here. You just need to set it up like the regular Smart Extruder.</p>
<p>Like the original design, the Smart Extruder+ is supposed to make Replicator printers simpler to use, more reliable, and more future-proof. It automatically detects when the printer's filament runs out and pauses the job, notifying users via a desktop or mobile app. It also can be quickly swapped out upon wearing out or becoming obsolete. </p>
<p>Additional improvements include faster print start up and refined build plate leveling, the process of calibrating a 3D printer. The smart sensors within the extruder have been enhanced for better performance and to streamline the printing process from start to completion.</p>
<p>Improved components include:</p>
<ul>
<li>A better thermal management system</li>
<li>Extended PTFE tube to feed the filament into the nozzle</li>
<li>Faster print start up</li>
<li>Refined build plate leveling and calibration</li>
</ul>
<p>The enhanced smart sensors are a big part of the story here though in that they allow for better speed, along with savings on the bottom line too, keeping users informed about print status from beginning to end, whether from the PC or mobile app.</p>
|
2016-03-02T18:06:22.483 | |makerbot|marlin| | <p>I can not find anywhere default steps per unit for Makerbot replicaor 2. I'm using Ramp V1.4 instead original board and need to know default steps :/</p>
| 677 | default axis steps per unit Makerbot replicator 2 | <p>The Replicator 2 and 2x use 18 tooth GT2 pulleys, 1/16 microstepping, and 200 steps/rev steppers. That makes the proper steps/mm value 88.888889. </p>
<p>Note that Makerbot used ~88.56 steps/mm in their defaults, which is the value you get if you calculate from the belt+pulley pitch diameter from the Gates GT2 specs. But this is the value you use for calculating belt length required in a closed loop, not for steps/mm. The 88.88... number is more accurate. </p>
|
2016-03-03T17:07:09.360 | |reprap|replacement-parts|laser| | <p>I have seen some lasers attached to the RepRap platform for cutting but most seem to be cutting paper, balsa wood, or merely etching. If I were wanting to build a platform for cutting wood, similar to the wood framed or boxed 3D printers on the market, what power laser would I need for that? I assume that a lower powered laser would have to travel slower but going too slow would add the possibility of catching the wood on fire (not good). </p>
| 683 | Laser cutting on RepRap | <p>Strapping a laser to a cheap robot made with flammable plastic parts and no enclosure is stupid in the extreme. Don't do it. Seriously, just don't. <strong>RepRaps are not suitable for laser conversions.</strong> </p>
<p>You have to worry about reflected light damaging your eyes, and for the blue diode lasers currently growing in popularity, causing skin melanomas. You have to worry about mechanical vibration from jerky motion loosening fasteners. You have to worry about the workpiece catching on fire. You have to worry about the fumes being generated from etching and cutting. You have to worry about firmware freezes locking the laser on. It's dangerous to you, anybody in line of sight of the machine, and your property. </p>
<p>Many of the lasers currently being sold for RepRap conversions, particularly from Russia, violate US and EU safety regulations related to power and safety interlocks and should not be on the market at all. </p>
<p>The people posting videos of their RepRap laser conversions are almost always ignorant of proper laser safety requirements and regulations. It's downright scary how much blue flare you can see the camera picking up in a lot of these videos. Don't follow in those people's footsteps. </p>
<p>More directly answering the question details, most people doing light etching or paper cutting type work are using small 0.5-2W diode lasers. These are particularly dangerous because they have poor focus and because they don't have the power to cut cleanly and quickly. That means more fumes, more fire risk, and more damage to the workpiece from edge charring. </p>
<p>Slowing down the laser is not a good solution: dwell time is your enemy. You want a beam powerful enough to near-instantly vaporize the material, not slowly burn it away. </p>
<p>An entry-level proper lasercutter for cutting things like plywood and acrylic is more likely to use a 40w CO2 laser. It should have air assist and fume extraction, and a safety-interlocked enclosure that 100% reflects or absorbs the CO2 laser light wavelength. That basically means a dedicated machine.</p>
|
2016-03-04T00:01:02.383 | |print-quality| | <p>Using an FDM printer and PLA or ABS, without adding support material. What modifications can I make to improve how steep an overhang my printer can print before it starts having problems?</p>
<p>The obvious first answer is to add a cooling fan, increasing the airflow over the freshly-extruded material ensuring it solidifies. What other things can improve it?</p>
<p>Does lowing the temperature help? Raising it?</p>
<p>Does speeding up or slowing down the print head help?</p>
<p>Does increasing/decreasing the extrusion diameter, or layer height help?</p>
| 686 | How can I improve the overhang angles my printer can successfully print? | <p>The two most important things you can do are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Provide adequate cooling to solidify the plastic quickly</li>
<li>Minimize layer height</li>
</ul>
<p>Cooling is really obvious. You need the plastic to solidify before it has a chance to sag. PLA in particular has to shed a lot of heat before it is fully solid. A fan and air guide setup using a "squirrel-cage" radial blower around the nozzle is optimal. A little 30mm or 40mm axial fan will not provide optimal performance. </p>
<p>Low layer height when slicing is less obvious, but is extremely effective. When you use thinner layers, two things happen:</p>
<ul>
<li>There is less melted plastic per pass and a higher surface area to volume ratio, so the fresh material cools faster. </li>
<li>A larger percentage of each strand in the overhang is supported by the previous strand. If you do 0.2mm thick by 0.4mm wide, half of each strand is unsupported. But if you do 0.1mm thick by 0.4mm wide, only a quarter of each strand is unsupported. </li>
</ul>
<p>When you combine these two effects, it is possible to exceed 70 degree overhangs with good surface quality. </p>
<p>Another lesser factor is printing shells/perimeters inside-out rather than outside-in. This helps anchor the outermost strand a little better as the overhang is built. This is pretty minor though. </p>
|
2016-03-07T08:08:59.980 | |extruder|hotend|thermistor| | <p>I would like to secure my hotend thermistor in a more reliable way (now it is just thermistor plugged in the hotend :D). I want to have a stainless steel tip for it to fix it inside hotend with a screw (The same approach as used for the heating cartridge). I have thermistors, but I cannot find any tips to buy separately.</p>
<p>Maybe you have some links for this kind of stainless-steel tips? Or some keywords I can use to search them?</p>
| 696 | Stainless tip for thermistor | <p>The main problem here is that the hot block has to match the temp sensor. There are a couple available commercial options for hotblocks with cartridge-and-setscrew temp sensors, but they're not thermistors:</p>
<ul>
<li>E3D PT100 RTD -- requires a special amp (<a href="http://e3d-online.com/V6-PT100-Sensor-Kit" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://e3d-online.com/V6-PT100-Sensor-Kit</a>)</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ka7BT.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ka7BT.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
<ul>
<li>Carl Raffle Tecto Heater Block with thermocouple -- works as-is in Mightyboard-based printers, but requires a thermocouple amp for boards that use thermistors (<a href="http://shop.raffle.ch/shop/tecto-heater-block/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://shop.raffle.ch/shop/tecto-heater-block/</a>)</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/x3QLT.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/x3QLT.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
<p>Other popular options for thermocouples include a brass thermowell crimped onto the tip of the TC (Makerbot and FlashForge) or an eyelet lug crimped onto the tip of the TC (Wanhao). </p>
<p>The best off-the-shelf solution for most printers is probably to use an E3Dv6 hot block, which uses a screw and washer to clamp the thermistor leads so the glass bead tip can't pull free of its pocket. </p>
|
2016-03-07T18:42:44.330 | |fdm|abs|3d-models|3d-design|support-structures| | <p>In a design that I need to prototype, I have a coaxial, rotational joint between 2 cylinders connected to another coaxial rotational joint between 2 cylinders by a hinge. I have attached the individual part files as well as their assembly where you can use your mouse cursor to check how they move.
<a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8GACx5kXowlcEwxOWI4REV6OFk&usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Click here for the SolidWorks parts and assembly files">Click here for the SolidWorks parts and assembly files</a></p>
<p>Initially when I 3d printed them by splitting them in half, the outer tube did not close, even after filing the inner tube sufficiently.
<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/OjlVJ.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/OjlVJ.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
<p>Could you tell me an alternative method to get this complicated joint working? I need to 3D print them. I plan to use ABS for the 3D printing.</p>
<p>Thanks for your patience :)</p>
<p>EDIT:
Lubrication: I plan to use grease to lubricate the sliding surfaces.</p>
<p>Clearances:
I printed them without clearances initially (this is my first ever 3D print and I wanted to know how accurate it would be). I then used Dremel and filing tools to file away about 0.5 mm of both the surfaces. It should have been enough for mating the parts. The gap between the edges of the outer shell while trying to close it around is 3-4 mm which doesn't suggest 3D printing inaccuracy. I suspect that the outer tube isn't circular enough in cross section. It meets the inner tube at the the two ends of the semicircle and not inside its belly (you can see it in the picture). I have already tried the obvious, which is removing material from the surfaces wherever the parts touch. The model seems to be too warped for any success. The parts were printed upwards from the bottom, so it is not the warping due to gravity.</p>
| 703 | Is 3D printing feasible for a coaxial rotational joint? | <h3>Consider ball bearings</h3>
<p>Depending on the requirements for your joint, I would consider making a design that utilizes <em>ball bearings</em>. With ball bearings, your join will not wear down as quickly, and also move smoothly.</p>
<h3>Handling dimensional inaccuracy</h3>
<p>The topic of how to achieve dimensional accuracy of FDM printers has already been discussed in <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/322/how-to-achieve-dimensional-accuracy-of-printed-parts/">this question</a>. You might want have a look at <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/357/115">Ryan Carlyle's answer</a> for a specific routine on how to calibrate a Cartesian printer.</p>
<p>From the question linked, a summarized approach for handling dimensional inaccuracy could be:</p>
<ol>
<li>Add any desired tolerances into the joint in your CAD model, without regarding the inaccuracy of the actual printer you will use.</li>
<li>Tune your printer and slicer to reproduce those dimensions set by your CAD program.</li>
</ol>
<p>Generally speaking, the printer settings should handle filament independent dimensional accuracy, while the slicer should be used to account for different characteristics in each filament type. Correcting size through your CAD model is ill-advised, since you should be able to use the same model for multiple printers.</p>
|
2016-03-08T19:21:15.733 | |makerbot|heated-bed|replicator-dual|hbp| | <p>I am using a MakerBot Replicator 2x, and when it is heating the platform and extruder, it begins by heating the platform, and then after that is at 110C it goes on to heat the left extruder to 230C. Does anyone know why it does this, since it has enough power to heat both? It seems like it would take less time to heat both at once.</p>
| 710 | Why does MakerBot Replicator heat the extruder and platform separately? | <p><strong>It really doesn't <em>quite</em> have enough power to heat everything at once.</strong> Initially bringing the bed up to temp takes a lot of current and so Makerbot's start sequences decrease stepper current and hold off on heating the extruder(s) until the bed is preheated. Once preheated, the bed's power draw decreases to a lower "holding" level and there is available capacity to do everything else.</p>
<p>The start sequencing decreases the max average power draw by a pretty substantial amount. The decrease is about 0.6A each for the XYAB steppers and 1.7A each for two hot ends, totalling 5-6A of avoided peak power draw. (Even lower if you preheat with the steppers disabled rather than idling.)</p>
<p>The history here is that one of Makerbot's design decisions with the Replicator 2 and 2x was to utilize off-the-shelf UL-listed power bricks (like a laptop might use) instead of an internal power supply. This made engineering and safety certification much easier, and completely eliminated mains-voltage wiring inside the printer, which is a big safety plus. However, the largest readily-available 24v power brick had slightly less current capacity than optimal. So Makerbot came up with a software workaround for the hardware limitation.</p>
<p>If you want, you can replace the stock power brick with a ~350w PSU and preheat everything at once. Sailfish firmware builds intended for printers with properly-sized PSUs (eg FlashForge Creators) will allow simultaneous preheating. </p>
|
2016-03-09T01:37:35.403 | |software|3d-models| | <p>I had a friend request that I print out the Bathymetry of Lake Michigan as a gift for her PhD adviser. I went to NOAA and the site had a few files for the Bathymetry of Lake Michigan.</p>
<p>Files and types are located here: <a href="http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/greatlakes/michigan.html" rel="noreferrer">http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/greatlakes/michigan.html</a> </p>
<p>I am trying to convert this into an STL file to print in my 3D printer however I am having no luck in converting this into a mesh I can use. I have tried multiple approaches with the different files that are listed but cannot seem to get it to properly convert to a mesh. I have tried the following so far:</p>
<p>-Import an .xyz file into MeshLab to convert it to an STL. After I import it looks like nothing imported and I can't navigate around in the file</p>
<p>-Import an ASC file into MeshLab to convert it to an STL. After I import it, I get no errors but the output is a long, thin mesh that looks nothing like lake Michigan</p>
<p>-Just for a test, I imported the .xyz file into Autodesk ReCap just to see what would happen. I noticed that the points were in a long thin area similar to the ASC import but as I browsed around I noticed that the each layer of dots was the actual Bathymetry contours.</p>
<p>I have tried multiple approaches and software beyond these but can't seem to get the files to convert into a printable mesh that I can manipulate to send to my 3D printer.</p>
| 715 | Point Cloud to STL File | <p>You can do this using MATLAB, or possibly Octave (the open-source version of MATLAB). I'm doing this right now to print a globe with exaggerated topography and bathymetry. MATLAB has tons of tools for importing data. I'm sure you can import the Lake Michigan bathymetry data, though you may have to hunt for an importing script on the MATLAB exchange. </p>
<p>As long as you can get your data imported as a 2D matrix of X, Y and Z values, you can use the <code>surf2stl()</code> function by Bill McDonald, available here: </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/4512-surf2stl" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/4512-surf2stl</a></p>
<p>This creates an STL you can use. Note that it's just a surface, so you'll need to give it depth some other way so your printed object isn't paper-thin. </p>
|
2016-03-09T15:57:50.437 | |filament|petg| | <p>I have recently bought a spool of eSun PETG. So far I really like the filament. My only complaint is, I get lumps of charred filament deposited on my object. The slicer I used is Craft Ware and I have played with the Far Travel -> Elevation settings. I have noticed that this helps but then I have little to no adhesion to the print surface and my supports do not stick to the raft. Does any one know how to mitigated PETG from collecting on the extruder?</p>
| 722 | PETG Collecting on the Extruder | <p>PETG strings at working temperature to different extents depending on brand. Some of the thinner strings are flying in the air due to the fan or mechanical stress, and are finally captured by the hot end.
I feel, PETG has two modes</p>
<ul>
<li>Too cold: Less to no stringing, but sometimes underextrusion and weak layer bonding</li>
<li>Hot enough: Stringing (from weak to strong) but good bonding</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Things which do not help</strong> (at least least on my printer with direct extruder), but which I tried out individually</p>
<ul>
<li>Retractions past 1.5 mm on my direct extruders</li>
<li>Reducing minimum distance</li>
<li>Retraction speed 30 to 60 mm/s</li>
<li>Z-hops</li>
<li>Fan speed 30% to 100%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Things I have not tested</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Maybe minimum layer time could be increased</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Things that worked</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Coasting seems the only thing which helps, but you still have very thin strings at sufficient temperatures</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Other things to consider</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>As mentioned the PETG brand has a certain impact</li>
<li>The worst Co-Polyester I tested were (by far) the XT-Filaments (pink and green)</li>
<li>All regular PETG filaments were better than XT in nearly every aspect, but still tend to string to a certain degree</li>
</ul>
|
2016-03-10T08:59:27.577 | |printer-building|quality| | <p>I am building what I dub Frankenstein's printer from various components I could find in the electronics dumpster to print the proteins for a P3 Steel (toolson edition).</p>
<p>I want to elevate a scanner bed with an attached DVD drive motor for X-Y movements of the hotend. I plan to connect this by threaded rods to a base that also hosts the heated bed on a stury z-axis mechanism. To make this as stable as possible, I plan to conncect M8 threaded rods in the 8 edges in wooden blocks.</p>
<p>I am planning on 4 vertical rods and 2 crossing rods along the diagonals of the backside of the system. Additionally each side is planned to have one diagonal connected by a rod.</p>
<p>We're talking about a height of about 30cm and M8 rods. Will this introduce lots of vibrations and is it possible to avoid easily? Are there any better connection ideas or improvements I can make to this design?</p>
<p>*edit: here is a really bad hand-drawn sketch:
<img src="https://s10.postimg.org/3v5wpj3jd/printersketch.jpg" alt="hand-drawn sketch"></p>
| 726 | Threaded rods to create frame/axis connection. Which improvements can be made and are they needed? | <p>If I understand you correctly, compared to a <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel" rel="nofollow">Mendel RepRap</a> you are using:</p>
<ul>
<li>M8 threaded rod (the same kind of rod used in the <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel_materials_procurement" rel="nofollow">Mendel RepRap frame</a>)</li>
<li>roughly the same lengths of rod as in the Mendel, and</li>
<li>cross-braced with more diagonals than the Mendel design.</li>
</ul>
<p>So I expect less vibration and the same print quality as a Mendel.</p>
<p>Rather than put one block of wood at each corner with holes drilled at a bunch of weird skewed angles,
the <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/1X2" rel="nofollow">"1X2 split vertex"</a> looks like it is a lot easier to construct.</p>
<p>I've heard several people claim that lots of threaded rods and associated corner connectors can be replaced with a few big sheets of <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Category:Wood" rel="nofollow">wood in a 3D printer</a>.
See <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel90" rel="nofollow">Mendel90</a>, <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/RP9" rel="nofollow">RP9</a>, <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/SGBot" rel="nofollow">SGBot</a>, <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/WolfStrap" rel="nofollow">WolfStrap</a>, etc.</p>
<p>Looks like a very educational project. Good luck.</p>
|
2016-03-11T17:42:53.527 | |maintenance|mechanics|z-axis| | <p>I have a z-axis which follows schematically the same principle as the makerbot one's (threaded rod and two leading rods with linear ball bearings carrying a level). It is from an old experimental lab doing physics or chemistry.</p>
<p>The axis move gorgeously about 5 cm, but then it get's stuck on either sides of this way. Both driving threaded rod and the leading rods seem perfectly fine and should be able to allow for further movement. This is as far as I can see by eye.</p>
<p>Where should I look to find further issues and how could I improve the performance? Do I need to take the construction apart?</p>
| 729 | z-axis hard to move in some areas - what could be faults, how to improve? | <p>X stage binding like this is almost always caused by parallelism issues with the rods and/or screw. The two-rod-plus-screw arrangement is quite over-constrained and thus requires good alignment to move smoothly. </p>
<p>Some basic troubleshooting steps:</p>
<ol>
<li>Make sure the screw is not constrained at both ends. It is very difficult to manufacture a screw that is perfectly straight and then mount it so precisely that it can rotate with zero runout. Screws in light-duty linear motion applications should be allowed to "wobble" freely so any bend or runout doesn't apply side-load forces to the Z stage. This can be accomplished by putting a misalignment-tolerant coupler (like an Oldham coupler) on the driven end, and/or leaving the non-driven end free without any support bearing. A motor mount with a small amount of compliance (like a rubber stepper damper) can help when the screw is captive to the motor. </li>
<li>Lubricate the screw and bearings and make sure everything is clean and in good condition. </li>
<li>Allow the Z carriage to self-align the rods and screw. The proper technique for this will depend on the Z stage, but the basic idea is to loosen the rod and screw mounts on either end, run the Z carriage back and forth a few times to push the rods into position, and then only re-tighten the top and bottom hardware when the carriage is at that end. It may also be necessary to loosen the screw nut and bearings on the carriage to get everything aligned properly and smooth-running, but that does not enforce parallelism like loosening the rod and screw mounts, so is really a secondary step. It may be necessary to leave some "float" in one rod or the bearings on one rod (with gravity preloading out any resultant slop) if the hardware has major alignment issues. </li>
<li>If the stage still binds after doing the above, it may be necessary to check if the linear hardware is bent (such as by rolling rods on a flat table) or use a file or Dremel to loosen up the mounts or whatever feature is causing the misalignment. </li>
</ol>
|
2016-03-12T00:17:11.157 | |z-axis|reprap|motor|knowledgebase| | <p>Some RepRap models use only a single motor for the Z axis, others use two.</p>
<p>For example, there is the <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/3drag" rel="noreferrer">3drag</a> that has only one motor and a smooth rod on the other side. There are modifications that add a threaded rod on the other side that is connected to the motor axis with a belt - which seems to be a really good solution.</p>
<p>Other printers, like the <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Prusa_i3" rel="noreferrer">Prusa i3</a> or the Mendel90 have two Z motors. And after playing around with a two motor model, I find it pretty annoying when they get out of sync and I need to calibrate the axis and the print bed again. So two motors seem more like an disadvantage to me.</p>
<p>Could someone please shed some light on why most RepRaps have two Z motors (nowadays)?</p>
| 732 | What's the advantage of two z motors? | <p>First up: I'm no expert. All of the below is guesswork.</p>
<p>I think that the main reason is that it makes for a simpler design. </p>
<p>If you hold the X-Axis only on one side, you have to keep it level through rigidity. (Especially if you have the extruder motor on that axis.) If you try to control the sagging, you have a problem because the torque changes depending on the position of the extruder.</p>
<p>For stepper motors to go out of sync, one has to miss steps. Regardless on whether you have one or two or seventeen motors, if you are missing steps, you need to debug it.</p>
<p>I got lots of missed steps in both X and Y, and I tried everything. Until I found out that I was actually missing steps in Z, and the nozzle was hitting the build.</p>
|
2016-03-12T06:50:45.473 | |3d-design| | <p>I would like to make some parts that will fit together. Specifically, I'm making an array of holders for small glass vials, which will stack together vertically to make a kind of extensible spice rack, for a scientific application.</p>
<p>Of course, I could just give each module a flat top and bottom surface and glue them together. However, it would be more convenient (and more fun) to make some kind of connector, so that I can just push the parts together and pull them apart when needed. The connection will need to be relatively sturdy, and they'll need to sit flush against each other with no flexing where they join. I am a novice at 3D printing, so I'm looking for tips on how to design interlocking components, both in general and for this particular case.</p>
<p>These parts will be printed in ABS using the Zortrax M200, and I'm designing them using OpenSCAD. They will almost certainly be printed lying on their side.</p>
<p>One option is that there are several parametric Lego brick clones available, which I could easily incorporate into my OpenSCAD project. My only worries are that this might be overcomplicating the problem, and that printing Lego type parts on their side will result in having to scrape a lot of support material out of the hollow parts. (Though on the plus side, the lego compatibility might actually be useful, in terms of not having to manufacture additional supporting material.)</p>
<p>Any tips would be welcome on how to design and print parts that can be pushed together. I am sure I can work it out myself in time, but any knowledge that will save me a design iteration or two would be very greatly appreciated.</p>
| 736 | Tips for making parts that push/snap together | <p>There are many different ways too approach this and the question may be too broad, but here's a stab at it...</p>
<p>Here are a few different ways that I've made parts that connect in the past:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:642026" rel="noreferrer">Example 1</a>: Utilize the elasticity of the plastic by creating a semi circle to fit around another object. When fitting the part to the other object, the "wings" will flex out and relax around the back end of the object.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:993473" rel="noreferrer">Example 2</a>: T-Slot style designs are a nice choice for semi-permanent or interchangeable parts. The key here is just using trapezoids and make sure the "female" end is slightly larger and/or tapered to make it easier to insert the slides.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:425979" rel="noreferrer">Example 3</a>: Create snaps. This can be a bit more difficult, but can provide a more professional look to your design. It's best to start off by designing on L-Shaped slot on the parent part and a smaller L-Shaped extrusion on the child part. Then you can add a taper to the bottom area of the "L" to make it easier to insert into the slot.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:115640" rel="noreferrer">Example 4</a>: Creating plugs are similar to snaps, they're just circular. Try starting off with a cylinder and joining either a sphere or a slightly larger diameter and tapered cylinder on top. Then you should be able to snap the assembly into a hole that is slightly smaller than the "top" of the plug.</p>
<p>It's important to weigh the usefulness of some design choices against the purpose of your part. For me, if I'm designing something for the shop or something that I think I'm going to be swapping out often, I'll use the T-Slot idea. Other things that "looking pretty" is more important, I'll try to hide the connections by designing a type of snap that can go into the walls of the part.</p>
<p>The T-Slot designs seem to print quite easily with no need for supports (depending on how gradual the angles of your trapezoid are) and provides a lot of structural strength.</p>
<p>Printing snaps has been difficult for me in the past and its best not to try to unsnap the part too much as you run the risk of shearing the snap upon removal. Printing such a small feature means that it is usually not marginally strong. However, including multiple snaps in an area and designing them with tight clearances can provide a very neat/clean connection that is appealing for consumer products (for example, phone cases).</p>
|
2016-03-12T09:09:54.953 | |software| | <p>I would like to print a model without supports on the Zortrax M200. To do this it is mandatory to use the proprietory Z-Suite slicer. I am certain that at some point I found an option to turn off support struts (I specifically remember the text "(not recommended)" appearing in the UI somewhere), but it seems not to be there now. Is my memory playing tricks on me, or is there a way to enable a "no supports" option in Z-Suite?</p>
| 737 | How to turn off supports in Z-Suite (Zortrax slicing software) | <p>I've found the answer for myself by playing around a bit more. It seems that in selecting the "support angle", a higher angle means <em>more</em> supports. This was confusing me, because I had assumed "support angle" meant the maximum angle of overhang before a support would be generated. I guess it does actually mean that, but it counts 90º rather than 0º as vertical. In any case, supports are turned off simply by changing it to 0, in which case the text "not recommended" does indeed appear.</p>
|
2016-03-13T17:15:35.327 | |software|print-preparation| | <p>What software is best for the basest of n00bs when it comes to 3D parts creation?</p>
<p>I have a heavy math background and know how to create explicit functions of volume, surface area, center of mass, etc. Ideally, I'd like a program that uses those strengths but I realize that most n00bs have a crippling math phobia so I'm not holding my breath.</p>
<p>I tried freeCAD once and made some headway but the next time I turned my computer on, it refused to open. It was just a weakling netbook that I don't even have in my possession anymore but the computer I'm currently using is rather slow and doesn't seem to have much memory left either, so I still need something lightweight.</p>
<p>tl;dr: Seeking a free, lightweight program to create .stl files that is good for n00bs that are <strong>not</strong> afraid of math.</p>
| 740 | Good (preferably free) Beginner Software for Part Creation? | <p>I've had good luck using <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/3d-builder/9wzdncrfj3t6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MS 3D Builder</a>. Most of <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/jcoehoorn/designs" rel="nofollow noreferrer">my thingiverse models</a> were designed with 3D Builder. Depending on your Windows and Office installations, <em>this program may already be on your computer</em>, but otherwise you install it via the Windows Store. This program may also make good use of your math skills; I've done more trigonometry getting dimensions right for my models than all other areas of my life combined.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.meshmixer.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MeshMixer</a> is another good free option. It's significantly more powerful than 3D Builder and many other free options, but I've found it much harder to get comfortable using. The visualization, especially, just hasn't been as clean, often making sharp edges appear to be rounded on the screen. Still, and I know and desire the power it offers, and I'll occasionally open it up for specific things. If nothing else, it's good for measuring/verifying the thickness of a section, and sometimes I can use it to repair models botched by other programs.</p>
<p>Finally, I'll bring up <a href="https://www.openscad.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">OpenSCAD</a> again. OpenSCAD effectively lets you write a program to generate your models. As such, it's especially good when creating things you will want to do more than once, where you'll tweak or customize the initial part for later uses. One way you can achieve re-use like this is creating a library of partial-designs or raw shapes which you can then resize/stretch/etc and add or mix into other parts using the other programs. The other area where OpenSCAD really shines is in prototyping. When you discover just this one section of a part shoud have been a couple millimeters longer after the initial print, it's much easier to adjust this with OpenSCAD than with many of the other options.</p>
|
2016-03-13T18:11:03.847 | |extruder|motor|kossel| | <p>I'm building a Kossel Mini, and I'm stuck on the extruder motor holder.</p>
<p>My Kossel came without instructions, I was given a set of instructions by a friend (the "Kossel Build Guide" by Blomker industries). I also found some instructions on the net. However, my components are different from those in the build guides.</p>
<p>The question is how these components fit together. </p>
<p>I'm pretty certain the stepper motor should be connected to the big black components (labeled (1) and (4) in the picture). The 4 holes in these components correspond to openings in the stepper motor; and the stepper motors for the vertical carriages, were connected in a similar way to their respective holders.</p>
<p>The round thing, second from the left on the bottom, (labeled (2) in the picture) presumably goes on the axis of the stepper motor. Once again, a similar procedure was needed for the motors that will move the vertical carriages.</p>
<p>The screws on the right, labeled (3), are 1 cm long and 3 mm wide.</p>
<p>The other screws are 2 cm long and 3 mm wide.</p>
<p>The stepper motor is a Wantai Stepper Motor Model 42BYGHW811 .</p>
<p>I have e-mailed the company where I bought my kit and am awaiting their answer. Meanwhile I'm hoping to get some advice here.</p>
<p>Apparently the usual stepper motor for a Kossel Mini is Nema 17. Searching on "42BYGHW811" I mostly find datasheets. Using "Nema 17 mount" or "Nema 17 mounting screws" as search terms, I find a lot of images with a component like (1). But nothing on how this and the other components should be put together for the motor holder for an extruder for the Kossel Mini.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/l98L8.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Parts of the extruder"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/l98L8.jpg" alt="Parts of the extruder" title="Parts of the extruder"></a></p>
| 743 | How to build the extruder motor holder for the Kossel Mini | <p>The extruder is an MK8 derivative, <em>I think</em>.</p>
<p>After a <em>lot</em> of searching, the closest that I could find (with an assembly diagram) is this product which has more or less the same parts as yours (apart from the small black bolt and sleeve - used as the axis - which you don't have): <a href="https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/B07BMLD646" rel="nofollow noreferrer" rel="nofollow noreferrer">[Improved Version] YOTINO Right Hand MK8 Remote Bowden Extruder Accessories 1.75mm/3mm Filament All Metal Remote Extruder Frame Block for Reprap 3D Printer Kossel Prusa</a>.</p>
<p>These are the parts:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5BTxF.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="16 parts"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5BTxF.jpg" alt="16 parts" title="16 parts"></a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is the assembly process:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/whaLA.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Assembly process"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/whaLA.jpg" alt="Assembly process" title="Assembly process"></a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is the completed extruder:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/YF1U6.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Completed extruder"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/YF1U6.jpg" alt="Completed extruder" title="Completed extruder"></a></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Also, whilst this is not the same beast, this link shows a detailed assembly which could prove useful as a cross reference: <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Extruder_assembly" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RepRapWiki - Extruder assembly</a></p>
<p>In addition, w.r.t the Blomker guide, there are a number of versions of the same guide that I've come across in the past:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.robotdigg.com/upload/pdf/2a823cc8a8dcff9da99cce92710cc745.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kossel Mini Build Guide by Blomker</a> - which has a very different extruder to the MK8</li>
<li><a href="https://gr33nonline.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/kossel-mini-instrution-by-sintron-technology_v2.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kossel Mini Build Guide By Sintron</a> - which has a similar MK8 extruder but, rather unfortunately, no assembly details, only the finished article is shown, on page 58</li>
</ul>
|
2016-03-14T21:48:18.690 | |desktop-printer|printer-building| | <p>I'm building a 3D printer and I've been looking around for materials suitable to make the frame.</p>
<p>I have occasional access to a laser cutter which I could use to manufacture a ply box-type (UltiMaker) enclosure, but I like the ease of adjustment provided by the T-slot beam kits.</p>
<p>I don't have any metal-cutting machine tools. Can aluminium beam be cut by hand with a hacksaw to a good degree of accuracy? How does one finish the cut end?</p>
| 752 | How to cut OpenBeam/MakerBeam? | <p>Misumi does provide a nice product but it's quite clear their business model is geared toward businesses and not the individual consumer.</p>
<p>The 2020 extrusion seems to be a bear to get parts for, specifically T-nuts and braces. Openbeam or Makerbeam might be better options and are readily available on Amazon for very decent prices. </p>
|
2016-03-15T10:38:16.180 | |hardware|belt| | <p>I ordered 10m of GT2 timing belt for a printer I want to build, however, the chemical smell from the belt is completely unbearable, in the sense of it gives me the feeling it is destroying something in my nose (and my nose isn't even particularly good). I tried to leave the belt outside in my garage for about three weeks now, but the smell has gone only so much. I naively assume it is the chemical to make the belt soft and bendable, would that even be a health risk having the belt around me for more extended intervals of time? Can I make the smell go away, and what would be the best way to do so?</p>
| 759 | Getting rid of hardware parts smell (GT2 timing belt) | <p>It's a garbage-quality belt, and it will probably continue outgassing at a steadily-decreasing rate for a very long time. </p>
<p>The fact that it has a strong chemical smell is pretty good evidence that it would not comply with regulations in civilized countries (such as REACH). I would recommend returning it or throwing it away and buying from a more reputable vendor. A large fraction of all cheap 3d printer parts these days are ridiculously far out of compliance with US/EU regs and basic common sense for contamination. </p>
<p>If you're hell-bent on using a crappy knock-off belt to save a few bucks, you could put it under vacuum to try to suck out the residual chemical gas faster. Just apply the vacuum very slowly / in stages (say over 10 minutes) so you don't get decompression blisters in the rubber. You shouldn't need a hard vacuum, dropping to 0.5-1 psia or 0.05 bar absolute for a day or two <em>should</em> help significantly. No guarantees though. </p>
|
2016-03-15T17:09:47.277 | |electronics| | <p>PLA is flammable, but a good case can protect the main board from dirt.</p>
<p>Is it worthwhile to protect a circuit board with a 3d printed case?</p>
| 762 | It is worthwhile to protect electronics with a 3D printed PLA case? | <p>As pointed out by Ryan Carlyle, not all 3D printing filament is flammable (such as PET and PETG), and the question therefore rather becomes:</p>
<p><strong>Can 3D printing be used to make proper electronic cases?</strong></p>
<p>And the short answer to that is <strong>yes</strong>. 3D printing allows to make customized cases of all varieties. Also, since there is huge variety of materials available, you not only restricted to cases of plastic filaments - should this be of interest.</p>
<p>Then again, it all depends on what you are protecting your electronics from. If you plan on submerging your electronics into water or throw them into a fire, 3D printing might not work for you at all. If dust protection is your only concern, however, 3D printed cases should do just fine in most cases.</p>
|
2016-03-15T18:21:53.590 | |ramps-1.4| | <p>The idea is so you only need two long wires going from the power supply to the electronics boards. I'm sure I saw this done in a tutorial somewhere, but I can't for the life of me find the source. Also I just bought a kit and the build manual says to use four wires, but only two wires come with the kit, so I recalled that bit of advice in the tutorial and thought hmm either they shorted me those wires, or they just expect me to make do with two. Perhaps the jumping method is common practice? But then why have a plug on the ramps board with four inputs? Why not just two inputs and split it internally if need be?</p>
| 764 | When building the ramps 1.4 is it safe to use small wires to jump the 5A, 12V power input over to the 11 Amp input | <p>I guess that the external split is at least partly done to force the user to utilize 4 wires. 16 Amps at 12 Volts is quite a bit of power and you don't want your wires or connectors to melt. If you use twice the wire cross section by using 4 instead of 2 wires, you also reduce the resistivity and hence heat created in the wire.</p>
<p>Put it the other way around: Using 2 instead of 4 wires raises the risk of your setup to catch fire.</p>
<p>Still, you can use that bridging technique, if you make sure that all your wire diameters are big enough.</p>
<p>I would advise you, however, to cut the wires that come with your kit in half and use the connectors in the way they were meant to. For optical appeal and less cable clutter you can still put the wires into some braided sleeve for example.</p>
|
2016-03-15T23:30:58.747 | |filament|makerbot|hardware|drive-gear| | <h2>Backstory</h2>
<p>I've had issues in the past with my drive gear "eating" my filament. It seemed that the filament quit extruding for one reason or another and the drive gear would slowly eat away at the side of the filament.</p>
<p>I eventually assumed it was the plastic filament guides causing unnecessary tension that the drive gear couldn't compete with, ultimately keeping the filament from moving forward. Thusly, allowing the drive gear to continue "trying".</p>
<p>My solution was to hang my spools above the machine to avoid using the filament guides feeding from the back of the machine up through the top.</p>
<h2>Question</h2>
<p>Can the plastic filament guides really cause that much drag? What other variables can I expect to look out for?</p>
<p><em>Machine:</em> <strong>MakerBot Replicator Dual (1st Generation)</strong></p>
| 768 | Filament Guides Drag | <p>The friction inside of the guide tubes is fairly minimal assuming that the lines are straight and there isn't anything else inside them. My guess would be that you may have another issue. Reducing the drag in the guide tubes while it may reduce the problem of clogged nozzle, might just be hiding the symptoms of another problem.</p>
<p>I've heard, but never tried adding a dab of Canola oil to the tip of your filament prior to feeding it into your extruder. Specifically for Makerbots.</p>
<p>Link my source:
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/makerbot/Wn-MKC1Ybm0%5B1-25%5D" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/makerbot/Wn-MKC1Ybm0%5B1-25%5D</a> </p>
|
2016-03-16T10:04:42.047 | |3d-design|print-strength| | <p>As my first project, I'm trying to design a holder for glass vials, for a scientific application. The photo below shows the latest design iteration, and also shows the problem with it:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7vqSam.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7vqSam.jpg" alt="vial holder"></a></p>
<p>As you can see, one of the clips that's meant to hold the vial in place has broken off. This happened after inserting the vial once or twice.</p>
<p>I think I understand the reason for this. It's because I'm printing in the orientation shown below, in order to avoid the need for supports. (This will be more important later, when I scale it up to an array of many holders.) This means that it's relying on the strength in the z dimension, which is much weaker than in the other two directions, because it relies on the cohesion between the layers.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/aOyctm.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/aOyctm.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
<p>My question is whether I can do anything about this by changing the design of the clips, without abandoning my hope of support-free printing. I don't care at all what the design looks like, except that as much of the vial as possible needs to be visible from the front. I'm printing in ABS.</p>
<p>I have tried varying the thickness of the clips. Thinner ones don't break as easily, but they are a bit floppy and aren't very good at keeping the vial vertical. The ones shown are the thickest I've tried - I'm afraid that if they're too thick they won't bend at all. (The vial is supposed to be inserted from the front rather than the top.)</p>
<p><strong>Edit</strong> just as an update, here's what it looks like using John Biddle's suggestion, which works perfectly:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/w3qeG.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/w3qeG.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
| 771 | Designing clips that won't break | <p>Come on. Wider clips will just survive a bit longer.
The real cause is the orientation (plane) of printing.</p>
<p>Continues filament layer will always be more durable than few layers sticked together.</p>
<p>So the question is why not to change printing plane?
You can use better design which utilizes support without using "support material"
<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Gv3zu.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Gv3zu.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
|
2016-03-19T16:25:56.870 | |ramps-1.4|software|prusa-i3| | <p>I am new to 3d printing and had bought my first 3d printer a couple of months ago. I have it all put together and the software uploaded to the Arduino. However, I need some help with configuration and calibration of the printer. I understand that there is a configuration file that can be changed and uploaded again the create those changes. I also have worked with Arduino before so I know the IDE. </p>
<p>When I turn the printer on everything works, as far as I know. I did some tests to see if anything was wrong, but I couldn't find anything. However, when I hit <em>home</em> for all of the x, y and z axis to go to their starting marks, it tries to go past the rails and comes apart. From what I understand this is a configuration issue. </p>
<p>I tried to contact HE3D about this, but received no answer, so you guys are my last hope. If you need any more information to help me, let me know and i'll try getting it to you asap. (I also have read the documentation on Repetier and the installation and configuration section but my brain for some reason is not clicking into gear.) </p>
<p>Thanks for the help in advanced!!! Here are the specs:
<a href="https://www.3dprintersonlinestore.com/reprap-prusa-xi3" rel="nofollow">https://www.3dprintersonlinestore.com/reprap-prusa-xi3</a></p>
| 796 | HE3D-XI3 3D printer Repetier software config help! | <p>Based on some troubleshooting in the question comments, it appears that the issue here is the motors running the wrong way. This can be fixed EITHER by inverting the motor directions in firmware, OR by simply flipping the orientation of the motor plugs where they connect to the controller board. Flipping the plugs is an easy and quick way to reverse the phase of a stepper and thus reverse its direction of motion.</p>
|
2016-03-20T00:06:31.977 | |extruder|heated-bed|prusa-i3|thermistor| | <p>I was watching a couple of videos about installing a Thermistor on the heat-bed and extruder of my Prusa i3; both videos mentioned that if I use either Sodium Silicate (Muffler & Tail Pipe Sealer) or Heat Resistant Silicone Glue to attach my Thermistors, I would be able to get a more accurate temperature reading.</p>
<p>Is there a particular kind or specification that is best for use in their the Heatbed or the Extruder?</p>
| 797 | What kind of silicone glue should I use to attach my thermsistors? | <p>The main requirement here is temperature resistance. A 3D printer extruder is very, very hot, and will easily exceed the ratings of many typical silicone glues in normal service or during a runaway event. (You should always plan for an eventual thermal runaway. They're alarmingly common with cheap kit printers.) Even high-temp glues will not survive the temperatures an extruder can reach at full power if the firmware locks up. </p>
<p>Muffler putty is popular for fixing thermistors because it's one of the few widely-available ways of attaching a thermistor that will easily withstand the heat. In fact, it will survive after the aluminum hot block melts. (Yes, that can happen.) But muffler putty is fairly brittle, and has a different coefficient of thermal expansion from aluminum, so there is some risk of the thermistor detaching over time. I really don't recommend puttying thermistors used in extruders -- many people do, but it's less robust and less secure for long-term use than the proper hardware fixing methods found in modern hot block designs like the <a href="http://e3d-online.com/Spares/v6-Heater-Block-and-Fixings" rel="noreferrer">E3Dv6</a>. The temperature sensing is sufficiently fast and accurate simply by putting the thermistor into a pocket in the hot block, without any kind of potting around the glass bead. </p>
<p>High-temp RTV glues are very suitable for heated build plates. Pretty much any RTV (such as from your local automotive repair store) is fine if you just want to attach a thermistor to a plate. However, silicone heaters will require silicone adhesives. I've had good success with <a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/#74515a32" rel="noreferrer">Dow Corning 736</a>.</p>
|
2016-03-20T18:22:24.270 | |resin|maintenance|dlp|uv-printer| | <p>I've been curious about the various UV/Laser printers in (or coming into) market that use liquid resin. I've seen the samples of the <a href="https://fslaser.com/Products/View/1" rel="noreferrer">Pegasus Touch</a>, <a href="http://formlabs.com/products/materials/" rel="noreferrer">Form1</a>, and the <a href="http://carbon3d.com/" rel="noreferrer">Carbon3D</a> as examples. I like the specifications of the quality that machines can put out. However, in my experience with FDM printing, there almost always seems to be something not quite right about the print.</p>
<p>So, what are some major maintenance considerations for these types of 3D printing? Also, specifically, are supports and overhangs as much an issue in these types of printers as with FDM/FFF?</p>
<p>Here are some things I consider major maintenance considerations in FDM:</p>
<ul>
<li>Extruder Clogging</li>
<li>Build platform conditions (i.e. levelness, clean, type of tape, bubbles in tape)</li>
<li>Variances in material quality (i.e. diameter, purity, physical conditions)</li>
<li>Mechanics of the machine (i.e. belts, rods, gear teeth, etc.)</li>
<li>Build environment (i.e. ensuring steady temperature in the build environment, minimize draft)</li>
</ul>
<p><sub>I'm not necessarily looking for printer recommendations, more so technical insight on the technology.</sub></p>
| 801 | Cons to UV printing | <p>Despite how many vendors make it appear, resin-curing SLA/DLP printers are industrial or commercial tools that are really not suitable for home desktop use. Here are the major downsides:</p>
<ul>
<li>Significantly more expensive to operate than FDM printers, in most cases. </li>
<li>The resin is seriously toxic until fully cured. Fumes can be an issue for users handling raw resin, and you should NEVER put a photopolymer print into a chemically-sensitive environment like an aquarium or children's toy. </li>
<li>Prints require messy post-processing to rinse off excess resin (usually with rubbing alcohol) and additional UV light exposure to finish hardening the photopolymer. The used alcohol/resin rinse mix is basically hazmat waste. </li>
<li>In bottom-up printers, the window in the print vat is typically a consumable. Some printers require replacing the vat ($$) after every liter or two of cured resin. (Technology is advancing rapidly here though.)</li>
<li>The peel mechanism in bottom-up printers is often a major source of print flaws, due to the need to rock/tilt/slide the print to free it from the vat window.</li>
<li>In top-down printers, you have to pay a large up-front consumables cost to initially fill the resin tank. (There are workarounds here like floating a layer of resin on brine, but these have their own technical issues.)</li>
<li>If you leave the resin in the printer for an extended period, you'll probably find a hardened layer on the surface from stray light exposure and have to clean out or replace the vat.</li>
<li>Resin vats/tanks need to be kept clean and free of cured resin debris from failed prints or stray light. </li>
<li>Every combination of resin chemistry, printer light source, and printer optics requires specific tuning to dial in the photopolymer curing behavior. This means it's somewhat difficult to change resin brands, and you may effectively be locked into the printer manufacturer's resin. Many light sources will change in intensity or develop dim regions over time as they age, which will either harm print quality, require period recalibration, or require frequent light source replacement. </li>
<li>There is a limited number of options for print materials. Technology here is advancing rapidly, but for the most part, SLA/DLP prints are non-load-bearing models with a limited range of color options. </li>
</ul>
<p>These are some pretty significant "user experience" downsides compared to a consumer desktop FDM printer. It's more hazard, more work, and more cost than FDM. SLA/DLP is primarily advantageous where high resolution or high print speeds are required. </p>
|
2016-03-21T04:49:04.347 | |g-code|file-formats| | <p>This question is a bit of an edge case for what 3D Printing SE covers, but it has to do with topics most closely related to 3D printing.</p>
<hr>
<p>I've found a plethora of ways to convert SVG (vector graphics) into G-code, but I can't seem to find any way to take a series of G-code movements and convert them into lines as a vector graphic.</p>
<p>Why would I want to do this, you ask?</p>
<p>I have a Silhouette, which can cut paper, or draw on paper, depending on if you insert a knife tool or a pen tool.</p>
<p>I have a polar draw bot (Makelangelo) which doesn't want to behave... the motors keep losing steps when the number of steps/second is low, and thus positioning gets off.</p>
<p>I want to use the drawing algorithms in the Makelangelo software to create drawings using my Silhouette, but the Silhouette wants vector graphics, not G-code.</p>
<p>The simplest way in my mind to do this is to convert G-code generated in the Makelangelo software, convert it to a standard vector format (SVG), and import it into Silhouette's software suite.</p>
<p>Alternately, if there's a way to send G-code directly to my Silhouette and have it work, that'd be a much better solution.</p>
| 813 | Convert G-code to SVG | <p>There are a number of programs available which will convert g-code to DXF, a common drawing format. If your device does not support DXF directly, there are a number of programs to convert DXF to SVG. I would paste links but a quick search with your favorite search engine should give you useful results. The better conversion programs will allow you to eliminate movement g-code entries, which prevents connections between lines. I did not paste links, as my research shows such variety as to be overwhelming. </p>
|
2016-03-22T00:19:31.560 | |prusa-i3|calibration| | <p>This is my first time calibrating my printer and I'm not sure where to start. The printer is running Repetier v0.91 firmware that came on the SD card that came with the printer. </p>
<p>Anyway, the question I have is where do I start calibrating and how would I go about it? I have read on Google many ways and it seems there are different opinions. I am reading this at the moment: <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Calibration" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RepRap Wiki - Calibration</a>. </p>
| 826 | Beginner in calibrating HE3D Prusa XI3 | <p>There's a great tutorial <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiEw...zECor3EbqF8euw" rel="nofollow"><strong>here</strong></a> on youtube.</p>
<p>And personally my favourite is this <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Triffid_Hunter%27s_Calibration_Guide" rel="nofollow"><strong>tutorial.</strong></a></p>
|
2016-03-24T02:32:29.347 | |calibration| | <p>I have adjusted my z axis end stop via the paper test. However when I press to home all the axis the z axis hits the print bed moves it down slightly then goes to the postion I describe. Is this how its supose to be if not what do I need to do?</p>
| 857 | Adjusting the Z end stop? | <p>Yes, this is normal. Your printer is, at first, probably going downward with some speed. When it hits the end-stop it has some momentum and doesn't stop right away. So once it hits the end-stop, it has to physically stop the print head and move upward again slightly to get to the right position.</p>
|
2016-03-25T13:09:16.460 | |heated-bed|mk2a|wire-type| | <p>I purchased the following wire for my MK2a heated bed:</p>
<p>McMaster Carr
1 8209K11 840 Degree F Braided Oven Wire 20 Gauge, Tan, 10 ft. Length 1</p>
<p>Will this be acceptable? I'd like to print with ABS, which I know that the heatbed has to be hotter than when printing with PLA.</p>
| 864 | Can I use 20 gauge wire for my Mk2a Heatbed? | <p>Your wire should be rated for at least the necessary 11 amps which the MK2a heatbed is supposed to take.</p>
<p>You can check this by measuring the resistivity of your wire:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Always test the heatbed wiring for resistance. Remember, at 10A, 0.1Ohms means 1V voltage drop means 10W dissipated by the wiring!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>as taken from <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?392,493405" rel="nofollow">http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?392,493405</a> (useful read for seeing what CAN actually happen)</p>
<p>Did you read through the following links? They might clear up some questions:<br>
<a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/PCB_Heatbed" rel="nofollow">http://reprap.org/wiki/PCB_Heatbed</a><br>
<a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Heatbeds_-_A_beginner's_guide" rel="nofollow">http://reprap.org/wiki/Heatbeds_-_A_beginner's_guide</a></p>
<p>I personally would use 1.5 mm² cables, which translates to about 15 gauge wire.</p>
<p>*edit: This is a nice table to check:<br>
<a href="http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm</a></p>
|
2016-03-25T13:20:07.487 | |extruder| | <p>I saw a video in which someone used GC Electronics Type 44 Non-Contaminating Heat Sink Compound (Part No. 10-8118) to hold the resistor for heating up the J-Head extruder head in place. </p>
<p>Is that a good way to attach it so it heats up the aluminum block?</p>
| 865 | Attaching the resistor for the J-Head Extruder with Type 44 Non-Contaminating Heat Sink Compound? | <p>Nope, not adequate. When heating at maximum power, you should expect the resistor to be 50-100C hotter than the hot block. (It must be hotter than the block in order to transfer heat to the block.) GC 10-8118 is only rated for 200C, but the service conditions at the power resistor may run up to 300-400C depending on power output and desired hot end temp. </p>
<p>For that matter, you may want to question whether the power resistor itself is rated for the >300C temps it will see in normal service. It's probably not. Most modern hot end designs use steel-jacketed heater cartridges instead of power resistors because they can handle higher temps and are, you know, actually designed to be used as heaters. The power resistors used in older hot end designs are generally being operated way past their design ratings. It's kind of amazing they work at all. </p>
|
2016-03-25T13:44:43.030 | |prusa-i3-rework|switching-power-supply|wiring|wire-type| | <p>I ordered an <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B007KG0ZYI" rel="nofollow">OEM Power Supply</a> and I intend to hook up with <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B00511QVVK" rel="nofollow">this rocker switch</a> I believe it's like the one specified in the <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Power_Supply#OEM_type_PSU" rel="nofollow">Power Supply Documentation</a> which reads:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the US, IEC320 C14 plug connections are common, but use your
preferred standard.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I've also seen where this was attached in <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:31659" rel="nofollow">this thingiverse project</a>.</p>
<p>Inside the switch I've also added an F4AL250V fuse. </p>
<p>Now what's confusing me is, that the <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B00511QVVK" rel="nofollow">this rocker switch</a> on the back reads 10A 250V~ so I'm wondering if it's safe to use.</p>
<p>The switch will be connected to the house mains via a plug and wired just like in the <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:31659" rel="nofollow">this thingiverse project</a>, so it can be the input into my <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B007KG0ZYI" rel="nofollow">OEM Power Supply</a> via the black (hot - L), white (Common - N) and Green (Ground) wires. </p>
<p>For the connecting wires I stripped a black PC Tower wire to get at the black, white, and ground wires inside it.</p>
<p><a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Power_Supply#OEM_type_PSU" rel="nofollow">http://reprap.org/wiki/Power_Supply#OEM_type_PSU</a></p>
| 866 | Safely Hooking a Switch up to an OEM Power Supply? | <p>The power supply that you posted is 12v 360w. This means that (in the USA with 120v power), it will draw 3 amps at 120v. Your switch is rated for 10A at 250V so it works. </p>
<p>The switch should be placed to interrupt the HOT wire coming from the wall to your power supply.</p>
<p>If you happen to be using 240v power, it is also safe as you would be drawing 1.5 amps at 240v which is still within the spec of the switch.</p>
|
2016-03-25T15:15:58.453 | |prusa-i3-rework|switching-power-supply|multi-meter| | <p>I don't want to blow out my multimeter or my electronics, so is it safe to test the DC output voltage with a multimeter on my <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B007KG0ZYI" rel="nofollow">OEM power supply</a>?</p>
| 870 | Can I use a multimeter to test the outgoing voltage of this power supply? | <p>If your multimeter can handle the voltage, it should be safe. 12 V should be in the capability range of common multimeters, so I would tend to say yes, - but make sure that your multimeter can handle the voltage and be sure it is set to voltage mode in the appropriate range (if set to current measurement mode for example, it will not survive).</p>
<p>Also take the typical precautions when measuring with a multimeter, as described in, for example, <em><a href="https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/33569">Safety equipment and precautions for DC circuit experimentation and development</a></em>.</p>
|
2016-03-25T15:24:37.770 | |prusa-i3-rework|switching-power-supply|wire-type| | <p>I obtained the following wire 22 Gauge Stranded Hookup Wire from Radio Shack:</p>
<pre><code>Type/Style: AWM/1007
Wire Gauge: 22 AWG
Insulation Thickness: AVE. 0.42 mm
Rated Voltage: 300V
Temperature Rating: 80°C / 176°F
</code></pre>
<blockquote>
<p>Use Limitation: Internal wiring of appliances; or where exposed to oil
at a temperature not exceeding 60°C or 80°C, whichever is applicable..
Tags may indicate the following: 600V Peak - For Electronic Use Only.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'd like to be able to hook up RAMPs 1.4 to my <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B007KG0ZYI" rel="nofollow">switching power supply</a> with this wire. Will this work okay?</p>
| 871 | Is 22-Guage Stranded Hookup Wire the correct wire to connect the Switching Powersupply to RAMPs 1.4? | <p>22awg wiring is good for a max of 7A in this usage case. Your power supply can provide 30A. So it is definitely not large enough wire gauge for good wiring practice -- in the event of a short, you want the PSU's over-current protection to kick in before the wiring overheats. That would mean 14ga between the PSU and board. 16ga would probably cover your actual load requirements just fine, but we need to know a lot more about your printer to say that for sure. </p>
<p>12v systems need heavy duty wiring, at least on the main supply lines. You can use 22ga for individual power consumers, such as fans, extruder heaters, etc. (No heatbeds.)</p>
|
2016-03-26T00:42:59.643 | |filament|speed| | <p>I have a monoprice printer, works great. .4mm nozzle. I bought a number of PLA solid colors and they all print reliably.
I also bought 2 rolls of PLA translucent colors, and I have lots of trouble printing with them.
What I eventually noticed was that when the translucent filaments extrude, they come out in a noticeably thinner stream.</p>
<p>Not sure why, I've tried increasing the hot end temperature and printing slower, but nothing seems to help. The effect seems to be that not enough filament comes out from the nozzle for the speed the head is printing at.</p>
<p>I use cura for the slicer, and I've tried changing the filament flow percentage and I've tried slowing down the print speed. Nothing seems to help, the nozzle ends up dragging the recently extruded filament around the bed until it all comes off.</p>
<p>Has anybody else seen this, where translucent filament extrudes thinner than solid colors? Any suggestions what to try to make it stick and print reliably?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
| 877 | How do I compensate in cura for thinner filament? | <p>In cura (if you are not in the quick print mode) you can dine the diameter of your filament. Setting the filament diameter to a smaller value will give you more plastic coming out of the nozzle. You can also set the flow percentage to more than 100%</p>
<p>You should also try to use a skirt. Some nozzles need some time until the flow is like it should be.</p>
<p>Another reason for this might be that the distance between bed and nozzle is too high. Try to level your bed so that the distance is less than before.</p>
<p>If all this doesn't work then it will at lest give you new ideas of where to look.</p>
<p>Best luck!</p>
|
2016-03-26T13:05:02.423 | |scanning|file-formats| | <p>I want to print a model that I acquired in the LiDAR file format LAS.</p>
<p>I don't have a printer but I'm planning to send a model to one of those shops who print for you.</p>
<p>What do I need to do beforehand to make it print OK?</p>
| 882 | How to print LiDAR file format LAS | <p>Because my research shows that LAS files are point cloud data, you would first have to convert the point cloud to a mesh. Point clouds are just that, data references to points in 3d space. A printing service works with files that represent planar surfaces, properly joined (watertight, aka manifold) to form a solid or solid surface model.</p>
<p>The only resource I was able to find involves using Meshlab. There are two reasonably practical references for this process.</p>
<p>The first is somewhat generic and provides the conceptual information:
<a href="http://meshlabstuff.blogspot.com/2009/09/meshing-point-clouds.html" rel="noreferrer">Point Clouds to Mesh</a></p>
<p>The second appears to be a more step-by-step method:</p>
<p><a href="http://gmv.cast.uark.edu/scanning/point-clouds-to-mesh-in-meshlab/" rel="noreferrer">Point Clouds to Mesh (2)</a></p>
<p>I would expect that if you are successful in creating a mesh from your data, you would then want to use a program suitable to determine (and repair) any non-manifold portions of the model. There are many available, including Meshmixer, although the others have escaped my alleged mind at this moment.</p>
|
2016-03-26T15:27:18.303 | |extruder|prusa-i3|calibration| | <p>I have done the calibration for the x, y, and z axis and everything works fine there. However when I went to do the calibration for extruder things got a little weird. The original number programmed on the board for the step per mm was 98 When I did my first measurements I used 120mm as the mark on the filament then extruded 100mm then remeasured the mark it was 37.66. Then by using the new_e_steps = old_e_steps * (100/(120-distance). I would use the new number and upload it to the printer which was 119.0187. After that I took another measurement, the new measurement was 61.27mm after marking 120mm then extruding 100mm of filament. Using the formula it came out to be 202.6540. Then the new measurement was some where around 80 some MM. It seams that the more I do the calibration the less accurate it gets. What am I doing wrong here?<a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Triffid_Hunter%27s_Calibration_Guide" rel="nofollow">Triffid Hunters Calibration</a> is the guide I have been using and this link is to the specifications to the printer <a href="https://www.3dprintersonlinestore.com/reprap-prusa-xi3" rel="nofollow">HE3D Prusa XI3</a>.</p>
| 885 | Prusa XI3 Extruder Calibration | <p>I understand you marked at 120mm then tried to extrude 100mm and measured 37.66mm remaining. Take the 120mm - 37.66mm (remaining)= 82.34mm (that was extruded (so you were 17.66mm short of your 100mm).</p>
<p>The formula I use is [New Setting=(Wanted Distance X old setting)/ Actual Distance].</p>
<p>So [New Setting = (100 x Old Setting)/82.34.]</p>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
|
2016-03-29T21:18:42.210 | |bowden|e3d-v6| | <p>E3D mentions on their <a href="http://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/E3D-v6_Assembly#Usage_Guidance" rel="nofollow noreferrer">own wiki</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Excessively long retractions will cause issues by dragging soft filament into cold areas. [...] for bowden systems you might want to go up to 2 mm. Retraction beyond 2 mm is likely to cause issues.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I have retraction set to the recommended maximum of 2 mm, but I still get a lot of stringing and blobs. My printer is set up with a relatively long Bowden tube (500-600 mm). I wonder if I need to push my retraction setting slightly beyond 2 mm to take up some of the slack. Is the 2 mm a conservative rating (I guess they don't want dissatisfied customers with clogging problems) or is it really the maximum? Is there anything else I can do to improve retraction performance? (I already have a small coasting distance of 0.1 mm set.)</p>
| 894 | Can I increase retraction length on an E3D v6 beyond 2 mm if I have a really long Bowden tube? | <p>To my experience, there is absolutely no problem in increasing retraction in E3D assemblies up to at least 5 mm. Typical retraction distance for my Bowden system is 3.5 mm (ABS). Clogging may occur after a series of retracts when thermal break doesn't have enough time to cool itself down.
To avoid clogging when there is a real need in long retracts (printing with filaments like PLA or PETG) you need to:</p>
<ul>
<li>keep amount of retracts at possible minimum</li>
<li>make sure that thermal break is properly cooled. You may want to use thermal grease and extra cooling for that</li>
</ul>
|
2016-03-30T18:29:59.650 | |abs|print-quality| | <p>I am encountering a problem with this ID3 printer using ABS -- at some point during the print the print head displaces on the y-axis by 2-3 centimeters. I cannot pinpoint how or why it is doing this. It has displaced in the positive Y direction and in the negative Y direction on separate runs of the same piece (which is just a poker chip I found on Thingiverse). </p>
<p>Is this a software issue (Simplify3D) or a hardware issue? Can anybody suggest a fix?</p>
<p>See the following photos:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/b9Kyv.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/b9Kyv.jpg" alt="3D print exhibiting positive Y displacement mid-print"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1yH40.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1yH40.jpg" alt="Close up of 3D print exhibiting positive Y displacement mid-print"></a></p>
| 899 | Why is my print displacing along the y-axis by 2-3 cm? | <p>In my case the solution was to use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slic3r" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Slic3r</a> instead of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimaker#History" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Cura</a>. Cura has some issues.</p>
|
2016-03-31T07:14:05.890 | |extruder|prusa-i3|hotend|nozzle| | <p>I have a HE3D prusa XI3 printer with an MK8 extruder. While printing or testing, the extruder makes a clicking noise as if the filament isnt getting hot enough to extrude. I began my investigation and read about many reasons why this could be happening. Eliminating most of them, I finally took off the fan on the extruder and looked at it while it was trying to extrude. I noticed the teflon tubing and tried to push it back into the throat. Then the extruder worked fine. I put everything back together and began testing again. The clicking came back, - I then took the fan and heatsink back off and there it was again. Pushing back down and this time extruding some material and noticing the tubing slowly coming up. Is there anyway to fix this without upgrading to a better hot end?</p>
| 904 | Teflon tubing in nozzle throat coming out? | <p>It looks like you got too tight nozzle, too cold hotend or extruding speed is too high (all could be in the same time of course).
As filament goes into the teflon tube (coldend) and then into hotend it doesn't have enough time to go out throught the nozzle. So it causes that melted filament accumulates in hotend and pushes out teflon tube.</p>
<p>Check application and arduino settings for </p>
<ul>
<li>nozzle diameter (increase it), check if it's not plugged with something inside</li>
<li>hotend temperature (increase it), check for your filament settings</li>
<li>extrude ratio (decrease it), check also gearing on extruder motor</li>
</ul>
|
2016-03-31T07:51:04.263 | |stepper|ultimaker-2| | <p>Recently, the ticking sounds started to come from feeder of my UM2. Inspecting it I have noticed that once in a while stepper motor jumps back for few steps. I have an idea of what can be the reason, but I just want to hear what you can think of. That is the video of feeder during the printing :)
<a href="https://youtu.be/z6CzudMOeD0" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/z6CzudMOeD0</a> First tick at 10sec</p>
| 907 | Ultimaker 2 ticking sound coming from feeder | <p>Oh yeah that is way too low for the ultimaker.</p>
<p>That temp is a general "this is what PLA melts at" so if you took plastic, heated it up to that temp it would melt.</p>
<p>However, you don't heat all the plastic at once. Your hotend it at that temp and if you let it sit it would heat up (fairly quickly). Printers like the ultimaker are fast, and well designed. They have a very small heat melt zone. So the plastic only has a fraction of time to heat up.</p>
<p>Solution? Higher temps!</p>
<p>(do not do this example. Not liable if you hurt yourself) You know how you can take a lighter and almost slowly wave your finger thought it without getting burned? You know if you let it stay even a full second you would regret it. Same thing here. It is going too fast to heat up.</p>
|
2016-03-31T15:23:27.067 | |makerbot|nozzle| | <p>I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with Makerbot smart extruders and knows whether or not the nozzle size can be changed. I'm trying to figure out if I can use different nozzle diameters (0.25mm, 0.5mm, 0.8mm, etc.). </p>
<p>Makerbot doesn't sell any replacement nozzles on their site, so I suppose I'm just trying to figure out if the nozzles on the makerbot use the same diameter/thread pitch as other nozzles, like the ones from <a href="http://e3d-online.com/Extra-Nozzles/Nozzle-Pack-1.75mm" rel="noreferrer">E3D</a> or if I'd have to mill my own, which is way more trouble than it's worth. </p>
<p>Any research on the subject is pretty sparse, and the best resource I found is a <a href="http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2011/04/06/upgrade-your-bot-with-the-new-makerbot-mk6-nozzles" rel="noreferrer">blog post from 2011</a> when they still allowed their customers to do such things themselves. I've searched around their Google Group but got nowhere. Beside that, there isn't really any information from the last three years or so on the Makerbot machines.</p>
| 913 | Are Makerbot Smart Extruder nozzles swappable? | <p>Yes, you can change the nozzles with the 5th gen line printers, although it's not recommended or supported by Makerbot. You're on your own if something goes wrong with an aftermarket nozzle. Here's a swap video from Fargo3D: <a href="https://youtu.be/vL80bslk9vw" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/vL80bslk9vw</a></p>
<p>I would recommend "mk8" Makerbot Replicator 1/2/2x style nozzles, since these will be similar dimensions to the original nozzle. Ebay has lots of cheap ones, or <a href="https://www.p3-d.com/collections/duraplat-3d-extruder-nozzles" rel="nofollow">P3-d</a> and <a href="http://www.micro-swiss.com/#!3d-printing/c843" rel="nofollow">Micro Swiss</a> are popular options for premium Makerbot mk8 style nozzles. But you <em>should</em> be able to use any standard M6 male thread, ~2mm ID nozzle (such as from E3D, because the Smart Extruder Z homing routine will compensate for nozzle length. </p>
<p>When you change the nozzle, you're also going to need to change the slicer settings. Do not use default settings with a different nozzle. Smaller nozzles will require significantly lower print speeds, and larger nozzles will require wider extrusion width. You can create a custom profile in Makerbot Desktop to do this, or use a 5th-gen-compatible slicer like Simplify3D. </p>
|
2016-04-01T23:18:49.420 | |prusa-i3|reprap|g-code|algorithm| | <p>I'm writing a paper about a plotter (I use a Prusa i3 with a custom "extruder" aka pen). And I'm supposed to write about the algorithms I/the plotter use(s). I tried reverse engineering, but since I'm not very experienced with this technique I wasn't successful.
So I'm looking for <strong>the algorithm that <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Marlin" rel="nofollow">Marlin</a> uses for its G2/G3 commands</strong>.</p>
| 917 | Which algorithm does Marlin use to create arcs? | <p>The algorithm is based on the "Vector rotation by transformation matrix", and this solution is based on a solution from Jens Geisler. The formula for clockwise rotation is:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/hJGvP.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/hJGvP.png" alt="Vector rotation"></a> </p>
<p>More information about the vector rotation can be found <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotation_matrix" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Wikipedia">on Wikipedia</a>.</p>
|
2016-04-03T18:12:34.253 | |extruder|y-axis| | <p>new to 3D printers and to this community :)</p>
<p>Would a 1/4" brass rod with bronze bunting bearings for sliders and SAE 30 oil suffice for X and Y axes with moving extruder instead of print surface?</p>
<p>I'm gathering cheap/scavenged materials for a first time build, as a learning experience, and it doesn't need to work very long. </p>
<p>I just have no idea yet how heavy the extruders are, generally. I'm thinking of threading the rod so I can pull it tight for straightness under load.</p>
| 929 | Brass rails, bunting bearings ok for x,y axes? | <p>Extruders tend to be quite light. An E3Dv6 complete with fan, shroud and wires is under 100g. Unless you use a Bowden extruder, you also have to add ~300g for a stepper motor. In any case, it will be quite light.</p>
<p>Sintered bronze bushings can definitely be used in a 3D printer; they're used in the (quite popular) Ultimaker 3D printers. I can't tell whether your particular bushings will work well, but I think the most important consideration is that there isn't too much play between the rod and bushing (but I'm assuming you took care of that). 3D printers don't place high loads onto the motion system.</p>
<p>"Proper" LMxUU bearings aren't very expensive either (reasonable ones can be had for less than $2) so if the bushings don't work out, you could always try those.</p>
|
2016-04-03T19:47:40.877 | |printer-building|carbon| | <p>I have a long 8 mm smooth steel rod of about 55 cm long. This rods bend easily due to the length. If I replace them with 8mm solid carbon fiber rods, will the bending reduce? Will the bearings wear off the carbon fiber rod? I couldn't find too much information about this.</p>
| 931 | Carbon fiber instead of smooth steel rods? | <p>I agree that steel is the best material for rails but the info provided on carbon fiber is just wrong.</p>
<p>When making a carbon fiber part, whether a tube or any other shape, you lay the fabric in the orientation you need for the direction of the forces. If multi-directional strength and stiffness is needed then the fibers are laid in multiple directions. Nobody who knows what they are doing lays all the cf in one direction...</p>
<p>In general, carbon fiber is stronger than steel by both the strength to weight ratio and by volume. I say "in general" because parts need to be designed in the right way. A poorly designed carbon fiber part or a low quality steel can easily be weak. </p>
<p>There is a great video on YouTube showing a strength and stiffness comparison of a carbon fiber drive shaft vs the same part made in steel. The steel drive shaft bent and snapped with 3 times less force while the cf drive shaft had no visible bending until it snapped.</p>
<p>The main reason why steel is a better linear rail material is surface hardness. Linear rails have bearings traveling up and down continuously. The rails need to be hardened to prevent them wearing out too quickly. The surface hardness (how easy it is to scratch or penetrate) of cf is far lower than steel. There is no comparison.</p>
<p>Cf is great material for the frame but not the rails. For stiffer rails, I suggest buying some square THK rails. 15mm the rails will be plenty stiff enough for most 3d printers.</p>
|
2016-04-05T08:00:56.557 | |reprap|life-expectancy|mechanics| | <p>My printer will feature LM8UU bearings/threaded rods for the z-axis and bronze sinter bushings on the x- and y-Axis.</p>
<p>As also, but not only, written here <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Lubrication" rel="nofollow">http://reprap.org/wiki/Lubrication</a>, I know that one should:<br>
- use machine oil for sinter bearings, if anything at all,<br>
- grease on the 'more fluid' side for the linear bearings so that the lubricant stays eqally with balls on the upper and lower side<br>
- and probably PTFE grease for the threaded rods (as for example provided by the Ultimaker UM2)</p>
<p>Is there a way to unify this or at least only use two lubricants?<br>
I do not have the slightest idea about lubricants, I would not know what to actually buy if the combination would e.g. be machine oil and low viscosity grease. Do you have specific recommendations of what to avoid?</p>
| 936 | Is there a lubricant that can be used for linear bearings, bronze sinter bushings and threaded rods alike? | <p>As for me... I used the oil I use to lubricate my Trombone slide!</p>
|
2016-04-05T16:25:04.363 | |3d-design| | <p>I began printing the parts for the Ultrascope DIY telescope designed by the Open Space Agency. See <a href="http://www.openspaceagency.com/ultrascope" rel="noreferrer">http://www.openspaceagency.com/ultrascope</a>.</p>
<p>All of the STL files for the 3D printable parts are canted 45 degrees. Brackets, tubes, everything I have seen so far. Is there a reason for this? I printed one part last night and simply rotated the part so it would lay flat because I didn't want to deal with supports. I am relatively new to 3D printing -- Am I missing something I should know? Is this a thing?</p>
| 937 | Why are the STL files for the Ultrascope telescope at 45 degree angle? | <p>Layer lines are failure lines.</p>
<p>Sometimes I choose to print a part in a weird or sub-optimal orientation just to minimise the load across layer lines when in use.</p>
<p>That may mean more support material and longer print time, but a completed part that fails is no use at all.</p>
|
2016-04-06T13:09:23.440 | |sls| | <p>I have an idea for a 3D printed project, but I'm a total noob in this area and need someone to reality check it for me.</p>
<p>Basically what I want to do is a tricopter frame made of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragonal_disphenoid_honeycomb" rel="nofollow noreferrer">tetrahedral honeycomb</a>.</p>
<p>The whole model would be within 30 * 30 * 10 cm, the honeycomb edges would be approximately 1mm thick and about 15mm long and it would be printed out of nylon with SLS.</p>
<p>I have found Shapeways' design guidelines and my idea seems to fit it, but still it feels slightly more extreme use than what they had in mind.</p>
<p>Is this doable? Does anyone else use a similar method? Is there some software that I can use to generate honeycombs like this, or do I have to write it myself?</p>
<p>Edit:</p>
<p>This is how two layers of the honeycomb look like:
<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ttIZ6.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ttIZ6.jpg" alt="honeycomb"></a></p>
<p>In the actual model there would be several layer of this on top of each other and the shape would be kind of carved out of the honeycomb (+ some finishing to avoid spiky surface)</p>
| 941 | Tetrahedral honeycomb? | <blockquote>
<p>Is this doable?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It has been done, therefore it is doable.</p>
<p>I agree with fred_dot_u that OpenSCAD is a good system for programmatically generating highly repetitive 3d procedural content like this space truss 3d structure.</p>
<p>p.s.: A few links to people 3D printing various space trusses:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:10656" rel="nofollow">Parametric Space Truss Platform</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.shapeways.com/product/PYHTDGX6C/smoothed2-octet-truss-flats" rel="nofollow">smoothed2 octet truss flats</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pinshape.com/items/11870-3d-printed-micro-truss-toy" rel="nofollow">Micro Truss Toy</a></li>
<li><a href="https://str.llnl.gov/Mar12/spadaccini.html" rel="nofollow">Materials by Design</a></li>
<li><a href="http://bfi.org/dymaxion-forum/2014/07/nano-octet-truss-materials-synthesized" rel="nofollow">"Nano octet truss materials synthesized"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.virtualscience.com/gallery_cad_rp.htm" rel="nofollow">"Computer-Aided Design and Rapid Prototyping"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.shapeways.com/product/CSRJHUHMA/octet-truss-v2" rel="nofollow">"Octet Truss Construction Kit, v2"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.variousconsequences.com/2013/01/octet-truss-memory-time-and-dollar-costs.html" rel="nofollow">"Octet Truss Memory, Time and Dollar Costs"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.variousconsequences.com/2012/06/3d-printed-isogrid-and-octet-truss.html" rel="nofollow">"3D Printed Isogrid and Octet Truss"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.virginia.edu/ms/research/wadley/celluar-materials.html" rel="nofollow">"Ultralight Cellular Materials"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.yeggi.com/q/octet+truss/" rel="nofollow">3D printable "octet truss" models</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.stlfinder.com/?search=octet%20truss" rel="nofollow">STL finder "octet truss" models</a></li>
</ul>
|
2016-04-07T17:01:44.793 | |marlin| | <p>I have problems with setting up Marlin for my new printer. Each time I rotate the dial, axis move to the same amount. It doesn't matter how much I moved it, to 1mm or to 20 mm (according to screen), axis move to the same really small step. It happens with all of axis. I tried to change step per unit to much higher value and it still does the same. Maybe you have some ideas guys? :)</p>
| 946 | Marlin move axis issue | <p>Update. Jumpers were inserted to 1/16, but stepper chip I have (9488) could not handle that many micro steps. I changed it to 1/8 and now it works good. </p>
|
2016-04-08T08:23:49.213 | |3d-models| | <p>I am new to 3D printing and need to know if I use steel in printing, do I get the same strength (compression and shear) as steel profiles manufactured in a factory?</p>
| 951 | Strength of 3D printed Objects | <p>In terms of FFD plastics:</p>
<p>Using metal infused filaments for FFD printing; definitely not. The properties mixed into the filament will have some affect on the final piece, stronger, heavier, etc for BronzeFill, but still the majority of the print material will be plastic.</p>
<p>However, you can use PLA plastics (and new Moldlay wax like filament) for lost wax casting so all of the plastic is replaced with the molten metal.<br>
In this case, yes, all the plastic or filament is replaced with the final casting metal and it's at strong as any other cast item.</p>
|
2016-04-08T19:31:59.540 | |print-material| | <p>I've been asked to prepare a 3D model for 3D printing in sandstone. I've been told that it needs to be 3" tall and the walls have to be at least 2 mm thick. It's an absolute pain in the neck having to make sure everything is the right thickness. So, I was wondering, can the whole model just be printed as a solid object, with 100% infill, and does that work for sandstone?</p>
| 953 | Can a sandstone 3D print be printed as a solid object? | <p>To add to the selected answer, again, yes you can, however making all of the walls AT LEAST 2mm thick shouldn't be too hard, depending on your model and modelling app.</p>
<p>If your modelling app doesn't have a good shell function (or if it's too finicky on your model) you could easily define SOME negative space within the larger volumes of your model in order to save costs without having to actually make perfectly consistent wall thicknesses. Just make sure you leave a hole through which the excess material can escape from the interior void.</p>
<p>Shapeways has a good set of guidelines for their full color sandstone prints, which work about the same as any: <a href="http://www.shapeways.com/materials/full-color-sandstone" rel="nofollow">http://www.shapeways.com/materials/full-color-sandstone</a>
However, you'll want to double check exact measurements with your printing service.</p>
|
2016-04-09T10:15:56.380 | |prusa-i3|3d-design|slic3r|slicing| | <p>Is there a way to make all your prints seamless?? I know there was this program that printed a vase constantly changing the z axis making it seamless. Why cant this be done with regular prints?</p>
| 957 | Seamless prints? | <p>With Cura (a 3d printing software) you can go to the Expert tab and click Open Settings and you will see under an area called Black Magic, an option to Spiralize the outer contour.</p>
|
2016-04-10T10:31:22.693 | |g-code|marlin| | <p>During printing, my printer occasionally makes some mystery moves: it will very slowly move either the X or Y axis all the way to the left/front, before very slowly moving back to its original position and resuming the print as normal. I've checked my G-code files, and the moves are definitely not part of the G-code. What could be causing this?</p>
<p>I'm printing from an SD card on a Cartesian printer.</p>
| 962 | Printer randomly moves to home during printing, then resumes as normal | <p>Beides a corrupt SD card that stores worng bits, leading to absurd commands, it's also possible that ithers parts in the Creatin of the file are compromised:</p>
<p>This can for example happen if the card is removed during writing - but in this case it should be mostly an incomplete file on importing into an interpreter.</p>
<p>More a random distribution of bad commands would appear if the writing process in itself is faulty, for example if the SD Port is defect or the adapter hast a error. Another way that writing can fail is if the drivers for the SD card adapter/port are corrupted. </p>
<p>To detect a bad file or corrupted card is possible by re-importing the G-Code into a slicer (for example CURA allows this) and look at the tool paths. If any port does this with any card, software is to blame: See if it persists after a driver update (rare!) and a reinstall of the slicer. If it fails in one port but works in a different the port or adapter might bei at fault and might need replacement. If it is endemic to one card, this one is corrupt and to be thrown out. If it is endemic to a single file, overwrite it with a new one - sometimes writing fails for reasons that are almost impossible to understand.</p>
<p>If the file&card are fine but read wrongly at the printer, then the card reader in the printer or the board are to blame.</p>
|
2016-04-11T03:30:22.983 | |support-structures|mechanics|clip| | <p>All of Carbon3D's marketing and demonstrations show their CLIP technology producing contiguous and bridge-free parts. Has anyone seen examples of their M1 printing something like a buckyball within a buckyball or a figurine or some other shape that requires support material to print?</p>
<p>For example, how would the Carbon3D print a shape like this:</p>
<pre><code> vvvvvBUILDPLATEvvvvv
====================
XXX
XXX BBB <----- columns A and B require support material
XXX AAA BBB in order to connect them to the build
XXX AAA BBB plate.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
|~~~~~~~~RESIN~~~~~~~|
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
</code></pre>
<p>In a similar vein, how do they handles enclosed volumes? I doubt anyone wants a sphere filled with still-liquid resin...</p>
<p>Again, I've looked around, I can find no material addressing these questions, so if anyone can shed some light, I'd be glad.</p>
| 964 | How does Carbon3D's CLIP technology handle bridges and support material? | <p>On Carbon3D's homepage they show a part that appears to have supports in it. </p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/o3tDH.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/o3tDH.png" alt="image from Carbon3D's homepage of supports"></a></p>
<p>Per a conversation with Carbon3D's support they confirm that their slicing software will generate supports based on the overhang angle geometry, and in the case of a buckyball within a buckyball, there would be supports generated to create the buckyball, and to support the interior buckyball joining the two together that would have to be removed in post processing.</p>
<p>Enclosed volumes need to have a drain hole, and you would have to avoid vacuum forming shapes such as an upside down cup in which atmospheric pressure would keep the interior of the cup filled with resin until the reservoir runs out or the vacuum is able to be broken releasing the excess resin. In the case of a cup you would change the orientation. I am not sure how one would handle trying to print a solid sphere with no holes to avoid this condition.</p>
|
2016-04-12T07:13:43.367 | |hardware|belt| | <p>I have a 3D printer that is going crazy with x-axis shift, and I need a tension gauge belt to measure the tension.</p>
<p>I've never used one before, and looking online, I can't tell which one would be the right fit.</p>
<p>Any ideas? What things should I look for?</p>
| 970 | Which belt tension gauge do I need? | <p><em>Added for reference.</em> To my understanding, especially if you run multiple identical printers, having the same belt tension on all of them is essential to getting accurate and consistent results. The effects of overly loose or overly tight belts have been demonstrated in a <a href="https://youtu.be/_m9TTzEh5xM?si=W4xKfKc_XZGPQWk6&t=145" rel="nofollow noreferrer">YouTube video by CHEP</a>.</p>
<p>As mentioned in the comments above, a frequency analyser on a smartphone can be used, a web-based analyser is available at <a href="https://belt.connect.prusa3d.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">belt.connect.prusa3d.com</a>. Additionally, the article <a href="https://help.prusa3d.com/article/adjusting-belt-tension-mk3-mk3s-mk3s-mk4_112380" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Adjusting belt tension (MK3/MK3S/MK3S+/MK4)</a> explains the concepts and steps that can be taken for belt tensioning.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/GFhnvm.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Photo of the web-based Prusa Belt (Beta) frequency analyser on a smartphone"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/GFhnvm.png" alt="Photo of the web-based Prusa Belt (Beta) frequency analyser on a smartphone" title="Photo of the web-based Prusa Belt (Beta) frequency analyser on a smartphone" /></a></p>
<p>Also, a simple belt tension measurement tool called <a href="https://www.printables.com/model/46639-tension-meter-for-the-gt2-belts-of-i3-mk3s-or-prus" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Tension Meter for the GT2 belts of i3 MK3S+ or Prusa MINI+</a> that can easily be printed has been published by Prusament.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LKAhxm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Tension Meter for the GT2 belts of i3 MK3S+ or Prusa MINI+"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LKAhxm.jpg" alt="Tension Meter for the GT2 belts of i3 MK3S+ or Prusa MINI+" title="Tension Meter for the GT2 belts of i3 MK3S+ or Prusa MINI+" /></a></p>
<p>There is a similar printable model called <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4731435" rel="nofollow noreferrer">True Open source tension meter for GT2 belts</a> by ChipCE.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/05T5nm.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="True Open source tension meter for GT2 belts"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/05T5nm.png" alt="True Open source tension meter for GT2 belts" title="True Open source tension meter for GT2 belts" /></a></p>
|
2016-04-12T20:56:20.047 | |delta|belt| | <p>About two years ago I purchased a <a href="https://bootsindustries.com/" rel="nofollow">Boots Industries</a> v.2.5 3D printer in a delta configuration. The wiki is still up at <a href="http://wiki.bootsindustries.com/wiki/Getting_started_with_the_BI_V2.5" rel="nofollow">this location</a> where you can see what the printer looked like. </p>
<p>The printer is prone to break and slip because the design uses thin wire to move the carriages up and down. I'd like to convert my printer over to using a belt like the one on <a href="http://wiki.bootsindustries.com/wiki/Belt_conversion_instruction" rel="nofollow">this page</a>, but the conversion kit is no longer available. I believe I can 3D print the carriages, but would anyone be able to point me toward the resources to convert my printer over to using a toothed belt? </p>
| 974 | Looking for information on modifying Boots Industries 3D printers | <p>Contact Brian or Lykle. We all have Boots Industries printers and have heavily modified it to belt drive and magnetic effectors. The print quality has improved drastically. The old Boots support group has since moved on to Slack and we are in constant contact everyday.</p>
<p><a href="https://biv25.slack.com/messages/@slackbot/" rel="nofollow">https://biv25.slack.com/messages/@slackbot/</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1843195" rel="nofollow">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1843195</a></p>
|
2016-04-13T01:05:20.973 | |ramps-1.4|switching-power-supply|wire-type|mk2a| | <p><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/871/is-22-guage-stranded-hookup-wire-the-correct-wire-to-connect-the-switching-power">I'm still looking at wires</a> for my Prusa i3, to go between the power supply and <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS_1.4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RAMPS 1.4</a>, and <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B007KG0ZYI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the power supply</a> and the <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/PCB_Heatbed#MK2.2C_MK2a" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MK2a Heatbed</a>. </p>
<p>I also recently found a <a href="http://www.harborfreight.com/400-ft-wire-storehouse-61527.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">400 ft. Wire Storehouse</a> that I bought from Harbor Freight which has wire sizes in it from AWG 10 through AWG 22 (and additionally speaker wire, Zip Cord and Bell).</p>
<p>I also bought some reading material, I picked up <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/097929455X" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wiring Simplified 44th edition</a>, and in it on page 28, Table 4-1, there is a table with information about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampacity" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ampacity</a> of copper wires including their maximum temp (C), and maximum carrying current (Amps) based on their insulation types.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the <a href="http://www.harborfreight.com/400-ft-wire-storehouse-61527.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">400 ft. Wire Storehouse</a> does not provide any information in regards to the insulation type or quality and this makes it difficult for one to choose the correct wire based on the specification in the table. </p>
<p>Given that the thing only cost $30 for 400 Ft. of wire, it would lead me to believe that the cheapest grade of insulation was used; as I understand it, the TW type wire. </p>
<p>I also read a forum somewhere in which people were complaining about the cheapness of the wire in this kit, stating that one ought to wear gloves when working with it as there is probably lead in the insulation as well as the wire.</p>
<p>The largest copper wire I have found in the table that I have (AWG 10) says that it is rated at 30 AMP regardless of which type of insulation it has, should I be using the speakerwire instead? That isn't listed in the table. Also it should be noted that though the ratings for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampacity" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ampacity</a> are 30 AMPs, the max temperatures are different; with the TW being at 60 C. </p>
<p>As far as I can tell if I use the AWG 10 (TW?) to connect everything it won't matter, but I just thought I'd check here to be sure first since my power supply is rated at 30 AMPs and that's probably the same as the wire....</p>
| 975 | Do the TW, THW and THHN or THWN wire insulation types matter in terms of powering RAMPS 1.4 or the MK2a Heat Bed? | <h2>No "mystery meat" wire in AC electrical</h2>
<p>That kit is random Chinese "no-name" hookup wire and cannot be used for AC power. It's fine for low voltage hobbyist tinkering, which is what it's sold for. If it was better than that, <em>they'd say</em>.</p>
<p><strong>But who knows?</strong> Maybe the boat didn't arrive and they needed some 12 AWG to finish some kits, so they ran to the electrical supply and bought bona-fide Southwire THHN. If so, the wire would be <a href="https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/78847/how-do-i-read-the-markings-printed-on-the-outside-of-electric-wires">labeled</a> "UL Listed" and "<a href="https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-thhn-vs-thwn-wire/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">THHN/THWN-2</a>". Then you can use it for AC power.</p>
<p>Without "UL Listed" or "UR Recognized" or other mark from a credible NRTL, any other labeling is lies. <em>CE is not an NRTL</em>.</p>
<h2>Proper THHN/THWN-2 is available locally, dirt cheap.</h2>
<p><em>Competent</em> hardware stores and lumberyards will cheerfully sell it by the foot. So like 6 feet for a dollar-ish.</p>
<p>(However they are often not located in strip malls, so some may need to rethink their shopping mindset if they want value).</p>
<p>Any good tinkerer/hacker ought to know the location of every good family-owned hardware store, real lumberyard, and electrical supply houses, bonus points for HVAC supply.</p>
<h2>TW, THW and THWN-2 are NOT "good, better, best".</h2>
<p>More like the Ford Edsel, Thunderbird and Escape: "obsolete, obsolete, and currently sold product".</p>
<p>Why not keep making TW, THW and THWN? No money savings there. It would cost more to keep 4 separate production lines than to just make everything <a href="https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-thhn-vs-thwn-wire/" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>dual-rated</em> THHN/THWN-2</a>. So that's what they do.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>it would lead me to believe that the cheapest grade of insulation was used; as I understand it, the TW type wire.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>No, wiring doesn't work that way. You can't even assume it's a "T" family - there are also <a href="https://www.multicominc.com/training/technical-resources/thhn-vs-xhhw-difference/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">XHHW</a> and <a href="https://www.multicominc.com/training/technical-resources/rhh-rhw-2-use-2-and-rhh-building-wire-explained/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RHH/RHW</a> and the "S" family cordage, just in NEC Chapter 3 wiring methods. And many other families <strong>not approved</strong> for AC power.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately, the 400 ft. Wire Storehouse does not provide any information in regards to the insulation type or quality and this makes it difficult for one to choose the correct wire based on the specification in the table.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Doesn't matter what the ad copy says, it matters what the markings on the wire say. <strong>Wire that is <a href="https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/78847/how-do-i-read-the-markings-printed-on-the-outside-of-electric-wires">unmarked</a> is <em>literally nothing</em></strong>.</p>
<p>Wire manufacturers know this. Chinese wire manufacturers don't care. But that Harbor Freight pack never claimed to be anything else, did it?</p>
|
2016-04-13T07:30:04.903 | |electronics|heated-bed|repair| | <p>I have a really bent heatbed PCB, the middle is elevated about 3 mm with respect to all edges.</p>
<p>I have found this thread <a href="http://midibox.org/forums/topic/17599-warped-pcbs/" rel="noreferrer">Warped PCBs</a>, where a heating method is applied by baking a PCB in the oven, as described here: <a href="http://www.circuitrework.com/guides/3-2.shtml" rel="noreferrer">3.2 Bow and Twist Repair</a>.</p>
<p>Can this help straightening out a Prusa heatbed PCB? If so, can I apply the heat by the heatbed itself, or do I need to utilize an oven? Will the pressure from the strongly clamped glass plate be enough or will the glass break at these temperatures (given that the heatbed can reach them).</p>
| 978 | Can a heatbed PCB (Prusa Mk2) be straightened out? | <p>Easiest way would be to place a glass sheet on top of the bed and run a calibration... Although, that way you may lose a few millimeters of print height.</p>
|
2016-04-13T14:10:00.600 | |filament|food| | <p><strong>Before you put duplicate from this <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/147/which-are-the-food-safe-materials-and-how-do-i-recognize-them">Which are the food-safe materials and how do I recognize them?</a> please read</strong> </p>
<p>I need to know if <a href="http://store.printm3d.com/#filaments_head_scroll" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this 3D Ink™ (PLA Filament) </a>is food safe<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lNh2d.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lNh2d.png" alt="this "></a></p>
| 979 | Micro 3D filament food safe | <p>In general no filament is safe as the printing process leaves "nooks and cranies" between the layers where germs can gain a foothold.</p>
<p>For food safe, I would advise:</p>
<ul>
<li>print with white filament</li>
<li>use an acetone vapor bath to smooth and melt many of the "nooks and cranies" away.</li>
<li>Use a spray polyurathane and coat with 3-4 layers to reduce the evil "nooks and cranies" even more.</li>
</ul>
<p>At that point it it should be dishwasher safe and food safe.</p>
|
2016-04-13T19:59:29.573 | |3d-models|calibration| | <p>Is there any well-known test set of 3D models that I can print out which will clearly show up the problems I need to work out in calibrating my 3D printer? Ideally, it would be either one or multiple models which shows the point at which overhanging starts to fail, points at which stringing occurs, the accuracy of one layer over another, and maybe edges which are supposed to be a particular length.</p>
| 984 | 3D printer calibration test STLs? | <p>Yes.</p>
<p>There are more test models one can download than would be possible to list here. A search on Thingiverse results in pages and pages of useful models. A common model for testing is called the 3d Benchy, although it is not particularly parametric. Overhangs, retraction, layer alignment and other aspects of your printer are tested with this model.</p>
<p>Another option is to purchase a set of test models from 3dkitbash.com:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.3dkitbash.com/quick-prints/" rel="nofollow">QuickPrintTests</a></p>
<p>The models lists as such:</p>
<pre><code>#3dk01 - Voids
#3dk02 - Spikes
#3dk03 - Flex
#3dk04 - Edge
#3dk05 - Text
#3dk06 - Bridge
#3dk07 - Dissolve
#3dk08 - Ball Joint
#3dk09 - Hinge
#3dk10 - Columns
</code></pre>
<p>which are more specifically defined for testing your printer. I would expect that Thingiverse and other model-sharing sites would have similar designs available to meet your specific requirements.</p>
|
2016-04-14T04:23:04.040 | |printer-building|switching-power-supply| | <p>On my <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B007KG0ZYI" rel="nofollow">Switching Power Supply</a> there is a little orange trimpot that's marked <code>VR1</code>; what does that do, and does it work similar to the ones on the stepper drivers?</p>
| 991 | What does the trimpot on my Switching Power Supply do? | <p>No doubt it's just a final tuning potentiometer. Even on the pictures you linked it's described as V adj which stands for voltage adjustment.
It's a way to tune your power supply's output as it can vary depending on temperature/humidity/wall-plug voltage/etc.</p>
<p>It's usually set properly and doesn't need to be touched. But you can connect a multimeter to check if your power supply gives the voltage you need. </p>
<p>If you are not familiar with the subject but still want to do it yourself, it's good to set your multimeter to the highest available range and make sure that AC/DC is properly chosen. Now you can measure voltage. You can set the range closer to the expected values then. Usually multimeters have a range around 20 or 30V DC which is propbably what you expect from your power supply. In such a range you should see something like 12.000. If it varies from 12.000 you can then precisely adjust it to get as close as possible to this value. But watch out... cheap power supplies can cheat you. When the are have a load on the output (your 3D printer for example) they can reduce voltage.</p>
|
2016-04-14T04:44:40.390 | |printer-building|desktop-printer|electronics| | <p>I have a solidoodle 4 and have blown the power supply . Long and the short of it is I am trying to modify a Xbox 1 power supply to fulfill the need. I am measuring he voltage at the output and its 14.04 volt.</p>
<p>Question is this, is the operational voltage range on a solidoodle able to operate on 14 volt ? </p>
| 992 | Solidoodle 4 voltage requirements | <p>I have not used or seen a solidoodle 4, but as found on the internet, the controller board used in the printer is a version of the Sanguinololu, and the reprap wiki says that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The board is designed to be flexible in its power source, working with
a 12V/5V ATX power supply or any 7V-35V power source via the on-board
voltage regulator.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>if you're using a board not older than V0.7 <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Sanguinololu" rel="nofollow">http://reprap.org/wiki/Sanguinololu</a></p>
<p>However, I have also found images that show the Solidoodle with this board:<br>
<a href="http://www.reprap.org/wiki/SAV_MKI" rel="nofollow">http://www.reprap.org/wiki/SAV_MKI</a><br>
which can be used with 11-15V. This however might be for older versions of the printer.</p>
<p>There are some things to keep in mind: if there is no voltage regulator on the board, make sure that all parts can take the voltage without overheating at some points. </p>
|
2016-04-15T12:29:19.757 | |abs|pla|3d-models|print-preparation|motor| | <p>Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask, but it seemed like the most relevant stackexchange.</p>
<p>I want to print a connection from a motor to an omniwheel, the axle of the wheel is listed as 8mm, but the one of the motor only say "3h5" which isn't really helpful for me, and neither was Google.</p>
<p>Side-question: Would pla be sturdy enough or do I need to use abs?</p>
| 1006 | What does a "3 h5" mean in reference to the axle of a motor? | <p>I think it's a reference to a tolerance. Look at <a href="http://www.toolingsolutions.com/technical_info/iso_tolerance">this ISO table</a>. This States that the nominal diameter of 3mm is held to a tolerance of +-0.004mm.</p>
<p>@DarthPixel provided some great links identifying the term <em>interference fit</em> (or press fit as I've heard locally) as described <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference_fit">here</a>. Also, <a href="http://www.eminebea.com/en/engineering_info/bearing/ballbearings/cat-3/004-10.shtml">here</a> is a better link providing examples of how the tolerance works and more legible tables to reference the correct tolerance. Keep in mind that the units in the tables is in nanometers.</p>
|
2016-04-18T01:39:11.703 | |electronics|switching-power-supply|mightyboard| | <p>I just recently purchased a new MightyBoard (Rev G) for my Replicator that requires a new power supply. </p>
<p>The power supply for the Rev E was a 24 V/9.2 A which was necessary for the dual extruders and heated bed. I know I need a 24 V power supply, but should I be concerned about the amperage? What will a higher (or lower) rating affect on my machine?</p>
| 1012 | Power Supply Safety | <p>A short, figurative answer from the electronical point of view:</p>
<p>A <strong>power supply</strong> (an an analogy you can view it as a water pump) as used by 3D printers is usually supplying a fixed <strong>voltage</strong> (a constant pressure going into your pipe system), in your case 24V.</p>
<p>The given <strong>amperage/current</strong> (the amount of water that actually flows) that is actually utilized at a given point in time is determined by whatever you hook up to your power supply (the system of tubes or pipes - imagine a valve like your tap/faucet). Now the amperage rating of your power supply gives how much current you can run through your electrical system (as is the flow of your tap/faucet by the pump if you had a limitless big, imigainative one).</p>
<p>The <strong>power</strong> that your supply can deliver is the product of voltage and amperage: P(power) = U(voltage)*I(current).</p>
<p><em>What you need to make sure is</em> that <strong>a) you deliver the correct voltage</strong>, because this is what your circuitry needs to be specifically designed for (image the pressure of your pump being too low or to high, - you either won't recieve any water in the second floor, or your tubing can't stand the pressure) and <strong>b) that you can supply <em>at least</em> the needed power</strong> (otherwise you get a problem once you open up all the taps/faucets in your house, because they don't supply as much water as demanded). If your power supply can give more current, that's fine, it might just not be used. And as mentioned by Thetravellingfool already, keep a certain plus for losses and as a reserve, because no pump likes to run constantly at it's limits either ;)</p>
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2016-04-21T02:12:52.817 | |heated-bed| | <p>I was working on my printer when something metallic came into contact with the pcb. I smelled smoke and quickly unplugged the printer. Anyway, this is the result and, of course, the heat bed won't heat. </p>
<p>Can this be salvaged or should I toss it and buy a new one? </p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/WhRPu.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/WhRPu.jpg" alt="shorted"></a></p>
<p><strong>update</strong> the heat bed was not hot at the time. I had the heat bed unscrewed from the chassis but had forgotten to unplug the printer. I am not exactly sure how it shorted but I think it shorted between the power lead connection and the thermistor. </p>
| 1032 | Can a short-circuited heat bed be salvaged? | <p>Yes, it should be possible to fix, although you might choose to replace anyway on the basis that the repaired bed might give you concerns about how long it will be before your repair fails.</p>
<p>You will need to carefully remove the protective layer to expose the heating element (assuming you can identify where it is likely to have broken). Then carefully solder across the break (maybe with a short fragment of wire).</p>
<p>After making the repair, you should cover the exposed track. This provides both electrical and thermal insulation. In the absence of any suitable high-temperature paintable covering, you could try using kapton tape.</p>
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2016-04-27T04:15:08.270 | |ramps-1.4|software|open-source| | <p>I'd like to find an opensource software that communicates directly with the RAMPS board (or any other 3D printer driver) without using the arduino...</p>
<p>It doesn't matter if it runs on Windows or linux as long as it's opensource. Also, I'm not worried about how this communication is done (USB, serial port, parallel port)...</p>
<p>Has anyone ever heard about projects like this?</p>
| 1051 | Is there any opensource software that controls the RAMPS RepRap board directly from the computer? | <p>The key question is not really if there is such software, but rather if such software is possible, or if it would work very well. </p>
<p>While a printer is more than just stepper motors, those are one of the trickiest parts, so it makes sense to look primarily at that.</p>
<p>Back in the old days of personal computing, it was not uncommon to generate stepper motor signals from the CPU of a personal computer, using individually settable bits on either a special purpose interface (that is in fact basically how the head in a floppy drive was typically moved) or borrowing another available interface such as a parallel printer port.</p>
<p>But then two things happened: computers got faster, but more isolated from the world, and operating systems in common use became much more strict in what they permitted.</p>
<p>To move a high resolution stepper at a decent speed, you need to generate either step pulses or winding activation signals at a fairly high rate. And to accelerate and decelerate a motor under load, you need to finely vary their timing. Back when I/O ports hung directly off processor buses, and operating systems could not prevent programs from speeding up the system hardware timer in order to run a stepper routine rapidly, this worked to a degree. But today:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Most PC class processors have little, if any directly coupled I/O - especially by the time you get outside the box. An interface like USB is great for moving a large amount of data per unit time, but it is absolutely horrible for accomplishing a trivial task with precise, frequent timing - it is a freight train, not a bicycle courier. Many of the things which let a processor internally operate quickly specifically work by decoupling it from an outside world that often cannot keep up - memory caches, bus exchange units, etc. If you do find a parallel port today, it is likely to be on the far side of a PCI bus bridge at the least, and have a different low-level interface than a legacy one.</p></li>
<li><p>Modern operating systems have a time-slice scheduler which "owns" the CPU(s) and hands out small chunks of processing time to ordinary programs. These programs typically get to run often enough to appear responsive to the user, but not frequently enough to accurately drive stepper motors. There are various schemes which have been tried, for example to create a "hard real time" scheduler which owns the processor, and allows a motor control task to register for precisely needed time slices - then, with whatever time is left over a Linux or Windows or similar kernel is allowed to run, and divide up the remaining time among ordinary programs through its scheduling rules. Of course, such a scheme tends to need to be revised each time the utilized conventional operating system has a new major release.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>While there are ways around these issues, they tend to require atypical hardware and deep changes to the operating system installation - making them neither inexpensive nor easy to setup for end users.</p>
<p>Instead, it is generally simpler and more cost effective (not even $10 these days) to put an embedded processor on an external circuit board, and have it act as a delegate to execute precise-timing tasks on behalf of the host processor. Somewhat extending from the idea of industrial CNC machines that originally read punched paper tape, and were later updated with a scheme where an ordinary computer "drip feeds" G-code commands over a serial port, modern 3D Printers tend to deliver G-code (or other) command data a little bit in advance of when it is needed, so that the latency of a USB or serial connection doesn't really matter. Normally enough data is buffered on the printer for it to keep running, but even if not it would only pause briefly between the complete moves which are transmitted, not experience motor stuttering as it would if the USB were trying to deliver each individual step pulse.</p>
<p>As for why an Arduino - probably mostly the history of who built the machines which kicked off the enthusiast printing trend. If someone from an industrial background were tasked with building something like an FDM printer or a machine with similar motion needs in isolation today, chances are they would end up with an ARM processor that would be a bit faster, more flexible, and with more resources, and likely cost a little less. But in actual history, the early affordable machines were built by those in maker community, who were already familiar with the availability of the Arduino, and willing to put some cleverness into getting good motion out of its limitations. RAMPS in particular seems designed to be a coarse-pitch through-hole bridge that a hobbyist could build themselves, and then buy the slightly trickier to work with surface mount processor and motor drive chips preassembled in the form of an Arduino Mega and stepper drive modules. That even fairly propriety machines maintain these basic parts choices is probably an indication of the utility of not "reinventing the wheel" - if you want to develop a printer, you can start from available components and customize them only one by one as you choose, rather than not being able to run your development prototype until you get a working circuit board designed and fabbed, a working software base developed, etc.</p>
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2016-04-27T13:12:32.580 | |3d-design| | <p>In Google Sketchup, I have text on a surface that I'd like to push / pull so that the text is etched into, rather than placed upon the surface. I can't seem to figure this out, the text disappears when I try to push it into the surface and I'm not quite sure what else to try. Any advice?</p>
| 1053 | Pushing Text into surface - Google Sketchup | <p>Definitely you have to perform substract operation.
Take a look <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inwYs-Fs-mM" rel="nofollow">here</a></p>
<p>Extrude text and then substract it from the object to etch in.</p>
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2016-04-28T12:15:26.643 | |electronics|firmware| | <p>The wiki page for the <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Rambo" rel="nofollow">RAMBo board</a> mentions:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Step and Direction pins are on their own ports for synchronous movement capability</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What does this mean, and how does it affect printing? Do I need special firmware to take advantage of this?</p>
| 1058 | What does it mean for step and dir "to be on their own ports"? | <p>A "port" for the AVR microcontroller is a set of eight IO pins that are controlled together at a hardware level. The underlying machine code can write an entire byte to set the status of all 8 pins at once. So in principle, all the step pins on the RAMBO board can be triggered exactly simultaneously. </p>
<p>The Arduino IDE hides this behavior from firmwares by abstracting the port's byte handling as a function call for each individual pin. That means programmers only have to know the Arduino PIN number, not which port and position on the processor is being used. And then the modern firmwares typically used by RAMBO do a further layer of abstraction to make it easy for the same firmware to be used by different boards, by changing pin assigned names in a config file (usually pins.h) and not assuming any specific port selection was made during board design.</p>
<p>There's no guarantee for open-source firmware that a particular pin selection was made in hardware. Lots of 3D printer controller boards even have pretty dumb pin assignments, like using hardware-PWM-capable pins for stepper signals rather than PWM'd heaters. Marlin and Repetier have chosen flexibility over performance optimization in this regard. They pretty much let the board designer use any pin for anything. When they have to do stuff like run heater PWM control or fire a bunch of step pulses as fast as possible, they emulate that in software rather than taking advantage of specific hardware that isn't always available. </p>
<p>In this specific case, there may not actually be all that much performance gain/loss. Writing to an output pin is pretty fast. The amount of time difference between firing a few step pulses in sync or firing them sequentially is on the order of a few microseconds. That won't make any difference to the motion fidelity of the printer's physical drivetrains. Somebody involved in the RAMBO design just thought it could be useful, and put a reference to it on the Wiki page (in the very first upload!) and it's never been clarified or removed from the Wiki page in the years since. </p>
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2016-04-30T22:06:39.797 | |print-quality| | <p>I have a flashforge creator dual.</p>
<p>From time to time while printing a model I notice when there are abrupt changes in direction, that a few "Grains" of old filament fall out from the head. Generally they end up embedded in the print which is not a big deal, but sometimes they get into a visible portion.</p>
<p>I can mitigate this somewhat by disassembling down to the gears, and blowing out all of the old filament.</p>
<p>My question is two fold<br>
<strong>"What is causing these chips to accumulate near the gears?"</strong></p>
<p><strong>"Is there something I can do to resolve this issue?"</strong></p>
| 1063 | Print contaminated by chips of previous filament colors | <p>My bet is your extruder knurls are scratching the filament. If it happens for specific filament then probably it doesn't keep its diameter. It means you can avoid these grains by using better filament.</p>
<p>If it happens always then you could do 3 things</p>
<ol>
<li>reduce stress on the spring which pushes filament to extruder gear</li>
<li>make extruder gear less sharp</li>
<li>eventually change the great itself</li>
</ol>
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