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3dprinting.stackexchange.com

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2016-12-14T08:32:42.480

|material|

<p>Just started doing some design. First project was a replacement handle for my angle grinder, so basically a hollow cylinder. I want to reduce the amount of material used in the print. I could sit here and punch holes through the handle with a smaller cylinder, or some other shape etc., but is there an easier way to do this?</p> <p>It must be a pretty common requirement, just like in the movies where the spies look at a photo and tell the tech to 'enhance ... enhance'. Ideally you could select a surface and overlay some sort of pattern to remove material.</p>

3198

Reducing amount of material

<p>"<em>Just like the movies</em>"-type tech typically means <strong><em>$$$</em></strong>. </p> <p>For those who do not own (legally or otherwise) expensive CAD software, it may be difficult to find an out-of-the-box solution. That's not to say that it can't be done.</p> <p>A close, readily available, solution would be to use a series of common CAD tools such as Shell and Scale. Between these functions, you should be able to scale a copy of your main solid object, then shell the new inner object. When sliced, the object should have a smaller "inner wall" and a hollow center. I would recommend this over 0% infill as a shell will not provide enough strength for the intended use you mentioned.</p> <p>There is a <a href="http://my3dmatter.com/influence-infill-layer-height-pattern/" rel="noreferrer">great article on My3DMatter.com</a> that provides details and a very interesting set of charts, outlining cost, speed, strength, and quality distributions at varying layer heights and infills.</p> <p><strong><em>Please Note:</em></strong> These results are going to <strong><em>differ</em> between different material types, vendors, part shape, and infill pattern</strong>. These results were found printing from a MakerBot Replicator and presumably MakerBot-branded filament.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/zpBXa.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/zpBXa.png" alt="Infill vs. Layer Height Comparisons"></a></p>

2016-12-14T09:37:34.053

|3d-models|software|

<p>Ironing out all my worries before buying my first 3D printer.</p> <p>I'm looking at getting the <strong><em>da Vinci miniMaker</em></strong> 3D printer as my first 3D printer, but it doesn't come with a heated bed. </p> <p>On my previous question about <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3189/non-heated-beds-affect-on-3d-prints">heating beds effect on a print</a>, I was told that I need to use a raft to compensate for the absence of a heated bed. What I want to know is, does the software that comes with the printer allow the creation of rafts whilst/prior to printing? Or will it create rafts if need be?</p>

3199

Does XYZPrinting software allow the creation of rafts when printing?

<p>Ok. After watching some YouTube Videos, I would take it that the abovementioned software does include the option to create rafts when printing a model.</p>

2016-12-15T14:42:18.353

|z-axis|

<p>I'm in the process of building the <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1001065" rel="nofollow noreferrer">D-Bot core XY</a> printer, and I was hoping to know if the Z-axis 'zero' is near the hot end or near the bottom of the printer furthest away from the hotend? In this printer the Z-platform moves up and down and the nozzle stays at the same height.</p>

3207

Is z-axis zero near the hotend?

<p>Generally, Z-axis zero is when the hot end and the build plate are close to each other. Some printers keep the hot end up at the top, and bring the build plate up to reach it. Other printers keep the build plate at the bottom, and lower the hot end down to reach it. As such, "Z axis zero" doesn't specify top or bottom of the physical printer, it just specifies that the hot end is right up against the build plate, ready to print its first layer. In the printer you describe, where the hot end remains at the top, that's where Z zero is.</p> <p>In terms of the model being printed, Z axis zero is always the bottom of the model, the first layer to be deposited on the build plate. The numbers increase from there, either lifting the hot end up, or pushing the build plate down, depending on the design of the printer.</p>

2016-12-16T18:28:38.123

|pla|layer-height|

<p>When printing the first layer, the infill overlaps on just one side of my print. Thereupon there's a rough, and a lot higher, surface on the first few millimeters after the wall. </p> <ul> <li>Printer: Arduino Materia 101</li> <li>Filament: Rec Pla</li> <li>Temp: 210 degrees</li> </ul> <p>I have tried to troubleshoot it, but I just found information about a problem when the infill isn't close enough to the wall everywhere.</p> <p>However, for me, the problem is the contrary and just on one side. </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SFYAqm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SFYAqm.jpg" alt="Photo of overlap"></a></p>

3213

First layer overlap on one side

<p>This may be a result of an unlevel build plate (OP did not specify if calibration was done at time of writing).</p> <p>If the area that is overlapping is higher (closer to the nozzle), the filament will be pushed down and around the nozzle as it extrudes in that area. This will result in excess filament overlapping unto other strands on the layer.</p> <p>Please excuse my lack of artistic skills in paint, but the image below should illustrate what can happen when your build plate is unlevel:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/IHElo.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/IHElo.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>Basically what it's trying to illustrate is that if the nozzle is closer than the expected layer height, the machine will continue to flow as if the nozzle is <em>layer height</em> away. This typically results in a larger <em>layer width</em> because <strong>the nozzle is essentially pushing material out of the way</strong>.</p> <p>You will notice that as you go further to the right in the drawing, that your layer may begin to "thin out" because if the nozzle more than a layer height away, the filament "stretches" until it settles on the build plate, resulting in a thinner layer width.</p> <p>Ideally, your nozzle will be parallel to your build plate at all points along the build space and the "<strong><em>Standoff Distance</em></strong>" will be equal to your layer height. So, you should see the top of your bead of filament at the same height as the bottom of your nozzle.</p>

2016-12-17T10:39:48.277

|calibration|

<p>When trying to print parts that should contain certain sized holes, e.g. for screws, how to achieve that they are sized correctly?</p> <p>Is it possible to calibrate the printer perfectly, so it prints holes correctly sizes in all common sizes (e.g. starting at 2mm diameter)? Or is it better to design the holes larger or print prototypes and increase the sizes according to the real prints?</p>

3215

Designing/Printing objects with sized holes

<p>I've had this issue too and I've pretty much solved it by making all holes polygons instead of round.</p> <p>The general rule of thumb I follow is to use a polygon with 4 times as many sides as the hole diameter in millimeters, e.g. for a hole with a 3 mm diameter I'd use a 12 sided polygon.</p> <p>Then it's a matter of choosing between a circumscribed (circle fits inside polygon) or an inscribed (polygon fits inside circle) polygon depending on what you're using the hole for.</p>

2016-12-17T20:00:27.670

|makerbot|services|

<p>Is it possible to use the onboard camera on the 5th+ generation MakerBot printers to stream or save to a file?</p> <p>I'd like to try and use the stream for customers on my 3DHubs account and they recommend setting up a YouTube stream. However, even if I'm able to stream to VLC Player or something, I'd like to get the video/images somehow.</p>

3219

MakerBot Camera Stream

<p>I own the gen 5, not the gen 5+. As far as I can tell, the camera has not gotten much of an upgrade and the software is also just as limited. That said to be sure I verified on several sites such as this <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/makerbot/comments/2pop5m/will_the_makerbot_5th_gen_ever_be_able_to_stream/?client=safari" rel="nofollow noreferrer">reddit</a>. </p> <p>There are some that claim that the software is open source. I do not think this is true given the parent company. Following even if it was you do not want to use their camera. It is shocking how cheap they went on this ultra premium printer. Which despite printing very well has not been received well. The main issue is that the camera is 320 by 240! That alone is enough to derail your quest I am afraid.</p> <p>Take a look at this <a href="http://metatek.blogspot.com/2014/02/raspberry-pi-makerbot-cam.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">raspberry pi project</a> on building your own camera set up. Though really any wireless camera setup should do. Using a Pi has the stand alone advantage. </p>

2016-12-19T22:10:02.343

|electronics|anet-a8|

<p>To learn about printing, and to print the parts for a printer of my own design later on, I've ordered an Anet A8.</p> <p>I just saw this video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5cEpL19ses&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=392" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Anet A8 3D printer Review. all you need to know</a>. This guy recommends using an external MOSFET. I was wondering if using a relay instead would also make it safe?</p>

3225

Anet board - MOSFET replacement?

<p>There are two areas of this design which seem to pose a risk of connectors overheating, the hot end and the heated bed. The heated bed runs at about 6 amps, 12 Volts. The hot end runs at a lower current, but can itself overheat if the thermistor stops providing feedback.</p> <p>The problem in this design with the heated bed is mainly the connectors - they work OK when they are good, but can easily come a bit loose. This has two side effects. The bed heats less well, and the connector itself heats instead. Replacing the 2mm plug connector, and 2mm molex with direct soldered connections will help (the on-board mosfet seems OK with the current, unless you increase the power rail voltage).</p> <p>A mosfet is a good solution for high current switching, the modules available have good screw terminals which should be OK for maybe 25A (well in excess of what you need). Mosfets are efficient when switched fully on, so there won't be much heating.</p> <p>You would also use a relay (rated for at least 10A), but this will be noisy since the heater is switched repeatedly to maintain the target temperature. A relay also takes more power itself and will ear out if repeatedly switched under load.</p> <p>Bottom line, if you have a good relay already, it is OK as a temporary (safe) solution. Longer-term a mosfet is better. Pay attention to the connectors at power supply, board (in and out) and heated bed. Using an additional mosfet for the hotend is maybe overkill.</p>

2016-12-20T21:34:28.330

|filament|hotend|nozzle|

<p>I am planning on buying a cheap 3D printer to get into 3D printing, but the printer I'm planning to buy only takes 1.75 mm filament, I was wondering if it might be possible to change the hotend of that printer or something to take in 3.0 mm filament, the reason I want to use 3.0 mm filament is because it is cheaper than 1.75 mm filament.</p>

3238

Change 1.75 mm 3D printer to 3.0 mm printer

<p>It can be quite straightforward to convert from 1.75 mm to 2.85 or 3.0 mm, but it requires to buy hardware specifically for larger diameter filament. Nowadays, in 2020, Ultimaker is still using 2.85 mm filament which is not more expensive than the smaller diameter (at least not for the premium brands I'm using). I converted to the larger diameter filament years ago to be able to exchange filament with an Ultimaker 3E I maintain and manage.</p> <p>To convert to a larger diameter, you need to be aware of</p> <ul> <li>the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/q/264">pros and cons</a> of the various diameters</li> <li>increasing the stepper motor torque to be able to extrude the filament; larger diameter filament <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/7998">requires much more pressure</a> than smaller diameter filament; the easiest way to do that is reducing the speed (and as such increasing the torque) of the extruder using a belt drive or gear reduction</li> <li>buying specific parts for your hotend, e.g. heat sink, heat break, etc.</li> <li>modify the steps per mm for the extruder</li> </ul> <p>Thingiverse has always been a great starting point for me for larger diameter filament extruders; my own custom extruders are based on such designs. It is perfectly possible to convert to a different filament diameter, but, it requires some money, time, elbow grease and engineering from your side.</p>

2016-12-21T12:56:42.090

|filament|pla|heated-bed|enclosure|

<p>I'm looking at getting this printer, the da Vinci 1.0w 3D Printer, very soon as my first printer. Since this is an enclosed printer, from what I can tell from the pictures, and given that it is a PLA Printer (I'm assuming that is the filament it prints with), is a heated bed necessary? Especially since this printer doesn't have one? Or should I look at a ABS printer instead?</p> <p>I plan on printing 1:1 scale props.</p>

3244

Is a heated bed necessary if printing with PLA?

<p>There is problem with sticking to bed without preheat, PLA is possible to print on Kapton tape with no-heated bed. Or there are other tapes dedicated for printing. da Vinci 1.0w is good for small models with PLA. ABS is not possible with no heated bed.</p>

2016-12-23T17:07:50.837

|print-quality|3d-models|3d-design|cad|

<p>tried searching but couldn't find anything. I do not have a 3d printer so can't really experiment on my own, which means that when I am going to order a 3d print I want to get it as good as possible. So, my question:</p> <p>Do quality of geometry matters when 3d printing? Will 3d printer only print quads, or ngons are fine? Are there shapes to avoid?</p> <p>Cheers :) M.</p>

3263

Mesh/Geometry quality

<p>If you're talking about the shape of the end result, rather than the constituent elements of the model - the answer is no, there is no simple geometric restriction. Have a look at <a href="http://www.3dbenchy.com" rel="noreferrer">3D benchy</a> for an example of how print quality can be affected by different aspects.</p> <p>One obvious issue is overhangs, so the orientation of the part is important for printing. A flat circle will (on a cartesian printer) come out smooth as X any Y move in sync, and have good support. A vertical circle will have steps introduced by the slicing which quantises X and Y from layer to latyer.</p> <p>Sharp, un-supported corners may be the weakest aspect to resolve in the print - extruded filament tends to shrink as it cools, but as far as I know the errors like this can be reduced by printing more slowly (and reducing the dynamic flexing of the frame too).</p> <p>Talking about a top surface of an extruded n-gon, if you look at the slicing output, you'll see infill in the bulk, with a layer filling only the top 3 or 4 layers. There are several infill patern options, but yes, there is scope for a scenario where the top layer needs to bridge a long way. However, since the alternate layers fill in orthogonal directions this should be a minimal effect. Tweaking the infill percentage, or chamfering the corners can fix these small defects.</p>

2016-12-24T03:13:41.090

|ultimaker-cura|infill|

<p>I'm trying to design a camera handle, which will be around 8" long and will have a brass camera thread insert in the end, where the camera will be mounted. (That way, I don't have to screw the camera thread into plastic which will wear out faster.)</p> <p>If I print the handle normally, the end of the handle won't be solid so I can't solidly put that brass fitting in. If I set the fill in Cura to 100%, the print will take a very long time and will be unnecessarily solid. I only need a centimeter or two at the end to be solid.</p> <p>Is there a way to get one particular wall in Cura to be very thick (1-2cm) without affecting the other walls? Is there some other way to get a solid chunk in the end of the part?</p>

3265

Thick wall or solid part of an otherwise medium-fill part

<p>I believe the solution is to use more walls in Cura.</p> <p>Here is a 50mm cylinder with a 20mm hole. I specified 10 walls in Cura.</p> <p>This should give extra plastic for the screw to bit into, but not take all day to print!</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cItxw.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cItxw.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

2016-12-25T21:04:16.493

|abs|monoprice-maker-select|

<p>I have just got a Monoprice Maker Select 3d printer (which is really just a Wanhao Duplicator i3). </p> <p>I want to print a model that came on the included SD card (<code>1.gcode</code>) with ABS filament. I first press "<code>Preheat ABS</code>" and wait for the display to show the correct temperatures, 245°C for the extruder and 90°C for the print bed. Then, I mount the SD card and select the file to print. </p> <p>However, once I do that, the "goal" temperatures change to 195°C for the extruder and 50°C for the print bed, and the temperatures reported by the printer gradually go down as the printer waits for it to match the "goal" temperature. This results in a failed print, with the filament sticking to the extruder in a clump. </p> <p>What is going on here? I am trying PLA with the same file, and it seems to work fine, although the temperature change still occurs. </p>

3275

Printer changing temperature after selecting file

<p>If you want to print the demo files with ABS rather than PLA, as the files are designed to do, I recommend loading the file into CURA and saving out a new gcode file with the adjusted temperatures. You can load the file from gcode, which will give you the basic settings that are included in the PLA file. I would also recommend slowing down the first layer a bit as adhesion of the initial layer is much more important for ABS than PLA, as ABS tends to warp more. Also you should reduce, if not turn off your cooling fans. Then once all the settings are where you need them to be for ABS, just export out a new file and probably change the name to include _ABS so you know the difference when you're mounting the card.</p>

2016-12-26T09:46:12.370

|reprap|ramps-1.4|

<p>This is my problem:</p> <p>I'm assembling a 3D printer with the RAMPS 1.4 board and Arduino Mega. I have assembled the structure and the electronics (set drivers, placed the jumpers, connected stepper motors...) and have uploaded Marlin firmware (configuring: thermistor, endstops...) on the Arduino Mega.</p> <p>I've tried to connect, via USB, to the computer and using the Repetier software I have commanded the printer which did do some movement. The printer worked perfectly. After a few tests, however, I've noticed that the Arduino was restarting several times and at one point I saw a component on the Arduino board burning. Searching the internet I saw that the burned component was the voltage regulator.</p> <p>I heard also about unplugging the screen because it consumes a lot of current, that passes through the voltage regulator, thereby heating it up. I then proceeded to buy another Arduino Mega. I also checked the voltage of my 12V 360W power supply and it is correct. I always powered the Arduino with USB and RAMPS 1.4 was connected to the power supply from the two terminals.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/PFSWR.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/PFSWR.png" alt="Power Terminals of RAMPS 1.4" /></a></p> <p>When the new Arduino arrived, I connected the whole (without connecting the screen) and tried. The printer worked very well until it started giving the same problem as the first Arduino board. Someone can tell me if I have done something wrong, or is it the RAMPS board that does not work properly?</p> <h3>EDIT:</h3> <p>I read that the endstops can cause this problem. I have these endstops: <a href="https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1PCS-High-Quality-Mechanical-Endstop-For-Reprap-ramps-1-4-3D-printer-With-independent-packing-diy/32454910275.html" rel="noreferrer">1 PZ di Alta Qualità Finecorsa Meccanico Per rampe Reprap 1.4 stampante 3D Con imballaggio indipendente kit fai da te</a> and I connected the black wire to GND, red wire to 5V and the green wire to SIGNAL.</p>

3278

Arduino Mega voltage regulator overheats with RAMPS board

<p>I ordered an authentic Arduino Mega today after the voltage regulator on my Chinese clone Mega went up in smoke. But I couldn't wait two whole days so I dug around and found an old 7805 (less than US$1 new btw) and soldered it in. It worked! Just one more possible solution. Actually that's two if you count buying a real Arduino.<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AYxAh.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AYxAh.jpg" alt="7805 on Mega clone board"></a> </p>

2016-12-27T17:56:50.160

|3d-models|3d-design|ultimaker-cura|simplify3d|

<p>I have never much cared about self intersecting meshes when slicing with Cura. Geometry like the one below are often practical. I for instance add lots of rivets that self intersect with the base geometry:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cRZqk.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cRZqk.png" alt="self intersecting mesh"></a></p> <p>Now I have switched printer, and am using Simplify3D instead. All of a sudden, I get lots of problems with these models. The intersection of the objects become hollow. Simplify3D has a setting to join the outer solid shell but it also fills holes (such as the center hole of a gear).</p> <p>I make models to sell so this is a big deal for me.</p> <p>EDIT: Also, they printed perfectly fine in formlabs "slicer".</p>

3283

Are self intersecting meshes dirty from a 3D printing perspective?

<p>You definitely need to get rid of the self-intersecting meshes in order to be able to 3D print your object. I would personally recommend you try <a href="https://makeprintable.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MakePrintable</a>: automatically clean these type of meshes. </p> <p>Makeprintable is a cloud service (your model is uploaded to their servers and processed there) currently in beta. You need to sign up but it is free (and they state that they will keep it free).</p>

2016-12-27T22:12:26.510

|prusa-i3|printer-building|z-axis|motor|

<p>I just got a Hictop Prusa i3 printer and I have it fully assembled. When I tested out the motors to check them the Z-axis motors were not moving and it was making a grinding sound. I have lifted the screw rods out of the coupling to see if the motor would move the coupling would move and it did. I can move the screw rods manually and it works. How can I make the Z-axis work?</p> <p>Thank you in Advance!</p> <p>Edit</p> <p>Here is the vidoe of the problem <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/93g0pg0qfhq965d/IMG_0369.MOV?dl=0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.dropbox.com/s/93g0pg0qfhq965d/IMG_0369.MOV?dl=0</a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/8RRJj.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/8RRJj.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

3285

Prusa i3 Z axis not moving up

<p>Welcome to the group! A video would help. Or at least some photos.</p> <p>Are both the motors connected? If you remove them from the coupling do they move? Likely it is binding (too much friction, not level etc) or you need to adjust your voltage controller. I am going to say 80% confident you need to play with the voltage.</p> <p>Chances are it's just the voltage. I do not know what electronics you have but if they are RAMPS 1.4 then you are looking for these</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZZ31k.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZZ31k.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>Also here is <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS_1.4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the wiki on the 1.4</a>. Just turn the screw gently. One direction will give it more power. The other less. When it has too much power your motors will start making a thud noise.</p> <p>EDIT post adding the video</p> <p>Oh yeah that is binding. If you wouldn't mind putting the video on youtube to that the video can help people for years to come? Dropbox is a bit volitle.</p> <p>I would also in addition to <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3294/is-there-a-problem-with-removing-a-polished-rod-from-the-z-axis">my advice in your other question</a> take a bubble leveler to all the rods. It could be a distortion on your camera but it looks like the rod is a bit bent. Also in my Prusa (original) I used to have to make the motor mounts lose, as it did not fit all that well and had binding issues. Try making the screws loose enough so that they float and can move around a lot. The lead screws are less important to the overall stability. </p>

2016-12-28T07:53:40.060

|print-quality|fdm|anet-a8|

<p>I'm new with my 3D printer, I just print two different pawn pieces from thingverse. I just used Cura to convert the files to be readable for the printer. Is my problem with the pieces has to do with the configuration from the Cura software? or with my printer itself? </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/xh3Bi.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Print showing issue"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/xh3Bi.jpg" alt="Print showing issue" title="Print showing issue"></a></p> <p>Update:</p> <p>I just printed a baymax that came with the SD printer. And it looks awesome. I think the problem is with the configuration from Cura.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iXMhm.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Print of acceptable quality"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iXMhm.png" alt="Print of acceptable quality" title="Print of acceptable quality"></a></p>

3288

3D print Configuration Cura - Anet A8

<p>Underextrusion (as this looks like) could be a extruder problem. The extruders main part is the small gear that pushes the filament through the hotend. There could be lots of reasons for it to fail:</p> <ul> <li>The motor driving it isn't strong enough. Poorly designed printer (yeah, ultimaker, I'm looking at you). Not very likely. But a geared extruder or motor can improve extrusion.</li> <li>You print at to low hotend temp. If you increase the temperature the filament will become more fluid and easier to push out. Increasing the temperature will unfortunately increase risk for clogging and stringing.</li> <li>The filament has absorbed moisture. Try drying it.</li> <li>You print to fast. Lowering the speed may do the trick. You also have to wait longer (dhu).</li> <li>The acutal gear in the extruder is full of filament bits, clean it.</li> <li>You don't put enough force on the filament against the gear. Can you tighten it?</li> <li>The gear is not hobbed. A hobbed gear will grip the filament better. You might not be able to switch it.</li> <li>The filament has become tangled on the spool. Be careful when you handle it to not unroll it. This usually results in that the filament becomes entirely stuck though.</li> <li>The nozzle is clogged. See answer from @Tom van der Zanden.</li> </ul> <p>If you don't have a geared extruder you can print one. There are plenty of them on thingiverse. Increase the temp and lower the speed to get this vital part in good quality.</p> <p>Or you can buy a geared extruder. (I use the titan extruder from e3d) Or you can buy a geared motor.</p> <p><strong>How to detect an extrusion problem:</strong></p> <p>It is quite easy to hear if you have extrusion problems (at least some of them). The Extruder will make a sound like "drrrr" with regular intervalls as it tries to push through the filament. Almost like a clock ticking but slower. This is the gear slipping against the filament.</p> <p><strong>If you don't have an extrusion problem:</strong> Experiment with upping the Material flow rate in your slicer (in your case Cura). Try something like 300%. Stand watch and see what happens. </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Lyqyf.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Lyqyf.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>If this almost fixes the problem, you must calibrate the printers extrusion. It is possible that the already generated Gcode (found on the sd-card) compensates for this.</p>

2016-12-28T14:14:56.003

|warping|

<p>Hello is there a way to prevent bend on print with M3D printer? </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/j2IRe.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/j2IRe.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

3291

How to prevent bend (or warping) with M3D printer?

<p>Try using an adhesive before you print. This could be <a href="http://airwolf3d.com/shop/wolfbite-prevents-3d-printed-parts-from-warping" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://airwolf3d.com/shop/wolfbite-prevents-3d-printed-parts-from-warping</a> ... What is the temperature of the room you are printing in like?</p>

2016-12-28T21:14:16.630

|z-axis|

<p>I recently had a problem with the z-axis of my printer. To resolve the issue with the Z axis not moving I remove the left polished rod. Am I able to use the printer with just one smooth rod?</p>

3294

Is there a problem with removing a polished rod from the Z-axis?

<p>It may help someone I am just noting that all your comments are valid. I was reading through forums to find a solution to the binding problem. After calibrating, levelling, and adjusting, what I found out was rather simple. The two motors came out of phase (not sure how). </p> <p>Here are the steps I took.</p> <ol> <li>I unplugged the motor on the left and the other motor was driving the Z axis just fine.</li> <li>I unplugged the motor on the right and the other motor was driving the Z axis just fine. </li> </ol> <p>I started thinking in terms of my power supply providing enough current to drive both motors and then I rebooted the controller. When the system came back both motors were driving in synch. </p>

2017-01-01T14:49:33.857

|3d-models|software|blender|

<p>I want to create parts for a 3D printer using OpenSCAD. Having some STL files from the vendor, but nothing else (no technical drawing, no CAD files).</p> <p>Does anybody knows a free tool, that allows me to</p> <ul> <li>measure distances between 2 selected vertices,</li> <li>measure distances between a selected vertex and a plane defined by 3 vertices,</li> <li>measure the radio of a circle defined by 3 selected vertices?</li> </ul> <p>I very much like the way Blender allows to work with meshes, especially select vertices or planes, but unfortunately haven't found a way to measure with Blender.</p>

3302

Tool to measure in STL files

<p>I recommend <a href="https://ultimaker.com/learn/ultimaker-cura-4-3-available-now" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ultimaker Cura 4.3</a> for dimensioning.</p> <p>You can access it here.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sui5j.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Screenshot of Cura"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sui5j.png" alt="Screenshot of Cura" title="Screenshot of Cura" /></a></p> <p>As can be seen, detailed measurements can be made over the specified coordinates.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/CNQ8X.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Screenshot of Print Size Wizard"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/CNQ8X.png" alt="Screenshot of Print Size Wizard" title="Screenshot of Print Size Wizard" /></a></p> <p>However, you can make an accurate dimensioning by using the Render program. I recommend doing this before working on the STL file.</p> <p>I wish you good work.</p>

2017-01-01T22:41:58.273

|extrusion|

<pre><code>Nozzle diameter = .4 Extrusion multiplier = 1 Extrusion Width = .45 &lt;-- I feel like this could be reduced to fix it? Layer Height = .3 </code></pre> <p>I'm using Simplify3D.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SsiMS.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SsiMS.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1tTZ5.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1tTZ5.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

3304

What causes these round corners

<p>Enable &quot;classic jerk&quot; in the firmware and put it to 12 on both X and Y.</p> <p>That helped me get perfect prints.</p>

2017-01-03T21:21:46.437

|printer-building|p3steel|

<p>I have a derivative of the P3Steel v4, which is not the Irobri design but another version (I'm not entirely sure which), from Poland: <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Frame-Prusa-I3-P3Steel-v4-0-RODS-/182361720200?" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Frame Prusa I3 P3Steel v4.0 +RODS</a>.</p> <p>I have assembled the frame, following this guide, <a href="http://www.kitprinter3d.com/downloads/manual_p3steel_xl.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">manual_p3steel_xl</a>, only to be left with one part, which is the long thin rod, which has a small hole, only in one end (the hole is marked by the big arrow in the image below):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0J40Z.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0J40Z.jpg" alt="P3Steel v.4 frame parts"></a></p> <p>This part obviously goes into the slots at the bottom of the Z axis arms, as shown by the curved arrows.</p> <p>However:</p> <ul> <li>Which way around does the part go? </li> <li>Should the small hole be on the left or the right hand side, when looking at the printer from the front?</li> <li>Also, what exactly is the hole for? Is it just for a zip tie, and to be used to keep the cables (maybe from the heated bed (power and thermistor)) tidy?</li> </ul> <p>I have looked at a number of other photos and videos for the P3Steel frame, and none of them clarify which way around, or how, the rod should be fitted. The bar is either omitted completely, or the image is not clear enough to show the correct orientation.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.kitprinter3d.com/downloads/manual_p3steel_xl.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">guide</a> does not show this part being used, although it clearly shows the slots for it in the Z axis arms, in a number of the pictures, such as here:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/bQRzh.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/bQRzh.jpg" alt="Screenshot of assembly guide showing slots for metal bar"></a></p>

3312

Orientation of long thin rod on P3Steel v4

<p>This is half of an answer. I have finally received an answer from my supplier, which says:</p> <blockquote> <p>Long thin rod is mounted as in the photo. I do not know what is a small hole.</p> </blockquote> <p>So the small hole is still a mystery. </p> <p>Here is the photo that was included with the message (which confirms my placement, just not the orientation):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/tbPrR.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/tbPrR.jpg" alt="Long thin rod placement"></a></p> <hr> <p><strong>Update</strong></p> <p>As tjb1 points out in his <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3312/orientation-of-long-thin-rod-on-p3steel-v4/3412#comment4579_3312">comment</a>, the hole can be clearly seen on the right hand side of the bar, in the eBay photo:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ygjzL.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ygjzL.jpg" alt="Photo of P3Steel"></a></p>

2017-01-05T02:22:18.017

|build-plate|adhesion|

<p>I'm new to 3d printing, so I might be missing something obvious. If so, please let me know. </p> <p>I printed my model successfully yesterday, but today I'm trying to print the same model and the first layer refuses to adhere, which means at best several layers after that are messed up if it manages to recover, but usually it just means I have to cancel and start again.</p> <p>It will print one horizontal line (across the x axis), then when it tries to vertical line (across the y axis) the horizontal line doesn't adhere and gets dragged along with the print head and everything is screwed up.</p> <p>I've tried leveling the bed over and over again. (I use a sheet of paper and try to slip it between the bed and printhead. I adjust the bed so that I feel a bit of resistance as I push and pull the paper under the printhead.)</p> <p>I've tried increasing the preheat on the printhead and on the bed. I'm using black PLA 1.75mm that says it has a print temp of 205-225. I've tried printing at 205, 210, 215, 220, and 225. I've tried a bed temp of 50, 55, 60, 65, and 70.</p> <p>I've tried setting the print speed multiplier to 0.5 to give it time to adhere, but no changes.</p> <p>I'm trying to print something a wireframe cube that is at the extent of my printable size, so I don't know of a way to use a raft or a brim to help adhesion.</p> <p>This is what my model looks like:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AkcFA.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AkcFA.png" alt="my wifeframe-ish partial cube model"></a></p> <p>When I printed a good one yesterday, here is what the first two lines looked like:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ET1Is.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ET1Is.jpg" alt="good first layer"></a></p> <p>When I print today, even after multiple attempts to level the bed, this is what the first layer tends to look like:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/e7mcL.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/e7mcL.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>I'm using a Monoprice 15365. I created my model in SketchUp, then exported as STL, which I imported into Cura 2.3.1. Then I used Cura to export a gcode file to an SD card. I put the SD card into my 3d printer and printed from there.</p> <p>Any advice is welcome. I don't know if the problems I'm having are because the bed is too low or too high or too hot or too cold or if the printhead is too hot or too cold... nothing I've tried seems to change the results.</p>

3324

Can't get print to stick, no matter what I try

<p>Eureka! All of the other answers and suggestions on this post were all very helpful, and would likely be the right answers 90+% of the time, but they didn't give me any relief. I spent a bunch of time watching YouTube videos about 3D printing and I started to notice a difference in size of the lines of plastic being laid down on the build plate.</p> <p>In the videos, the lines of plastic looked bigger. Mine were very fine lines. That lead me down a series of different search terms until I found some other videos that talked about nozzle cleaning.</p> <p>I noticed that one of the symptoms they mentioned was that when the plastic would come out of the nozzle that it would curve around. That's a sign that it's partially blocked and causing it to bend and curve. After the people in the YouTube videos cleaned their nozzle, the plastic would then extrude and drop straight down.</p> <p>If my nozzle was partially blocked and only about half the right amount of plastic was coming out that would make sense since there wouldn't be enough surface area of the plastic to make a good connection to the build surface. </p> <p>I acquired some <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CCF46EQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1" rel="noreferrer">0.4mm drill bits from Amazon</a> and followed the instructions on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doqlEsssz1g" rel="noreferrer">this YouTube video</a>.</p> <p>Sure enough, when using the 0.4mm drill bits, I could tell the nozzle was clogged. After clearing it out, the plastic started extruding in a straight line down, just like the video. I was stoked!</p> <p>I tried another print and it was NIGHT AND DAY. I was finally getting nice plump lines that stuck to the build plate. I still had an issue or two on certain parts of my build plate, but I think that's because in all of my tries I had damaged the masking tape. I put down new blue tape and started up my print and it's BEAUTIFUL.</p> <p>Thank you all very much for your help. Hopefully, this will be helpful to someone else as well. </p>

2017-01-05T18:57:51.187

|printer-building|p3steel|

<p>Here is the X-axis of the P3Steel:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/xuYOq.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/xuYOq.jpg" alt="X-axis arm of P3Steel" /></a></p> <p>The X-axis idler end of a P3Steel printer, employs an 8 mm diameter rod for the axle on which a 608zz bearing is mounted for the GT2 belt. This 8 mm rod is approximately 20 - 24 mm in length, with grooves at either end, for circlips.</p> <p>A photo of the assembled idler, with the rod and circlips highlighted:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1qJ06.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1qJ06.jpg" alt="X-axis idler end" /></a></p> <p>My question is: Does this part need to be custom made?</p> <p>The short rod didn't come with the frame kit that I purchased (nor was it listed in the parts list, or shown in the photo of the parts - so it not as if it was omitted with my order). I have searched on eBay for it, using various search terms, and I am unable to find one. As I was not trained in mechanical engineering, I am not sure if this part has a special name, or is it just called a &quot;smooth rod, with grooved ends&quot;? I have also done a fair amount of googling, and although I have found some people who have constructed this particular frame, no one makes mention of this axle, nor any difficulties in sourcing it.</p> <p>I have contacted the supplier of the frame, <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Frame-Prusa-I3-P3Steel-v4-0-RODS-/182361720200?" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Frame Prusa I3 P3Steel v4.0 +RODS</a>, and I am awaiting a reply.</p> <p>This missing part is holding up my build progress - I already have the 608zz bearing and circlips.</p> <hr /> <h3>Additional images</h3> <p>This image shows the &quot;exploded view&quot; and the 8mm rod can be clearly seen:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/JPjQR.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/JPjQR.jpg" alt="Exploded view of the parts of X-axis idler" /></a></p> <p>Here are images of the assembled idler, showing the bearing inside -</p> <p>Front view:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/c63fV.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/c63fV.jpg" alt="Front view" /></a></p> <p>Side view:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2Nggu.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2Nggu.jpg" alt="Side view" /></a></p> <p>This images are a little blurry, as they are screen shots taken from the video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDtDiW0kTSc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">I3 Steel CORDOBESA con extrusor/with extruder</a>.</p>

3332

Is the 8mm x 20mm bearing axle for the X-axis idler (of a P3Steel) a custom part?

<p>You could look up a <a href="https://www.pivotpins.com/products/bc-clevis-pins-with-grooves.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Clevis pin</a> with one groove.<br> You could look up a <a href="http://technifast.co.uk/clevis-pins" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Clevis pin</a> with a hole for a split pin.<br> Perhaps a <a href="https://www.ondrives.com/303-stainless-steel-shoulder-screws#/pageSize=25&amp;orderBy=5&amp;pageNumber=3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Shoulder screw</a> with a ground shank and a low profile head.<br> Use a plain rod with <a href="http://www.bakfin.com/starlock/metric-capped-roundshaft.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dome caps</a> if you will not need to remove often.<br> If available an internal threaded <a href="https://www.unicorpinc.com/metric-standoffs.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Standoff</a> would work.<br> A <a href="https://www.ondrives.com/carbon-steel-slotted-spring-pins" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Slotted spring pin</a> may work if the hole dimensions are suitable. </p> <p><strong>EDIT:</strong><br> You could also cut the grooves yourself pretty easily. Cut a section of 8mm rod to length and mount it into a drill chuck so it stick out 2-3mm 1/8". Hold a hacksaw at the edge of the chuck and run the drill for a minute with gentle pressure, try hacksaw on other side or reverse direction if nothing is happening.<br> A hardened rod will cut better with a Dremel type cut-off disk</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/fzlGw.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/fzlGw.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

2017-01-06T19:24:53.300

|makerbot|calibration|

<p>I'm experiencing an issue with my Makerbot Replicator 2X (2000+ hours printing). The dimensions of my final part are smaller than what is initially modeled. My parts have been coming out roughly 0.3mm smaller than what is initially modeled. Is this a common issue or does this sound more like I may have a hardware issue?</p> <p>I've confirmed that all my belts are tensioned properly and lubricated correctly. I haven't seen a calibration step that would correct for this issue short of manually scaling my parts to correct for the offset. The offset appears to only occur in the XY axis, never seems to happen in Z though</p> <p>Example: In the part modeled I had the width designed to be 35 mm (face to face, parallel walls). It doesn't seem to matter what size of part I have the final dimensions always seem to be off by about the same amount.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/3hOvd.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/3hOvd.jpg" alt="35mm width modeled"></a></p>

3346

Dimensions off on final part

<p>Yup that is what happens. It is simply the plastic cooling and shrinking. It will happen on just about any printer. 0.3mm on a what 40mm part. That is 99.3% on target. </p> <p>There are some great <a href="https://innovationstation.utexas.edu/tip-design/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">blog links</a> about it, and here is a <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3243/producing-closely-fitting-parts/3249#3249">Stack overflow</a> where I talk about it more in detail.</p> <p>The only mitigations I can think of is 1) use a hear chamber. 2) use a SLA 3d printer.</p> <p>I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure your designs have good tolerances.</p>

2017-01-07T17:25:53.840

|electronics|anet-a8|

<p>I bought an Anet A8 over christmas. When I bought my printer from Gearbest, I also bought the inductive sensor that they <a href="http://www.gearbest.com/3d-printer-parts/pp_591321.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">sell</a>.</p> <p>It doesn't seem to work, and I think it might be broken. However, I have no idea how I can test if it is broken. This is what the wiring <a href="http://rotjes.bangblog.eu/reddit/DSC_0112.JPG" rel="nofollow noreferrer">looks</a> like and how it's connected to the <a href="http://rotjes.bangblog.eu/reddit/DSC_0113.JPG" rel="nofollow noreferrer">board</a></p> <p>I'm not sure if I need to modify the wiring in order to hook it up to the A8's motherboard. I have no idea what the pinout is on the A8's mobo, and it's not indicated either. Most guides deal with using RAMPS when it comes to installing such a sensor. I'd like to know how to connect this to my board, if possible.</p> <p>The printer works fine otherwise, so I don't think the board is broken or anything. For now I've resumed using the normal endstop, but I would like to enable bed levelling by installing this sensor. (or a different one if necessary)</p> <p>How do I get this working?</p>

3351

Connecting an inductive sensor to the Anet A8

<p>I'm guessing you have the Anet sensor? If so and you are using the stock firmware that came with your A8 - it's not going to recognise the sensor but you can download and flash the Anet A8L firmware that is designed to run with the sensor from the Anet site - I stumbled on this while searching for stock firmware.</p> <p>I hope this helps you out.</p>

2017-01-07T21:09:20.083

|filament|extruder|

<p>I would like to calculate the amount of steps to turn the motor to have 1 mm of the filament.</p> <p>I did the following (using approximate values):</p> <p>The gear on the outside of the teeth as a diameter of 11mm. Therefore the circumference is 34.56mm. Divided into one degree i get 0.096mm / degree. The stepper does 1.8 degree per step which results in 0.1728mm per step.</p> <p>To get 1mm of filament pushed into the extruder I will have to do 5.787 steps.</p> <p>The same extruder is in a Geeetech i3. The firmware there is configured to do 93 steps per millimeter.</p> <p>I don't have any experience in working with stepper motors but in theory, this would be my approach with a huge difference to an existing firmware.</p> <p>Where is my mistake?</p>

3353

Calculating extruder motor steps for 1 mm

<p>Microstepping. Your board likely has 16x microstepping, so that each step is divided up into 16 parts. Your 5.787 figure, when multiplied by 16, comes out to 92.6 steps/mm - matching the value in your firmware.</p>

2017-01-08T18:50:41.707

|filament|part-identification|

<p>I received a roll of Black filament as a present, and struggled to print with it, experiencing extreme under-extrusion (and slippage of the hobbed gear). Higher temperatures seemed to work better, particularly in freeing up the extrude rate.</p> <p>The filament is advertised as PLA, but without any temperature recommendations that I can find on the vendor's website (or the amazon listing). Amazon reviews have a fairly wide range of temperatures, but the listing aggregates several colours. There is a suggestion that the filament may be PETG, or ABS.</p> <p>I have tried using acetone, and it dissolves roughly the same as some ABS I have, my PLA shows some weakening but doesn't dissolve.</p> <p>Below about 215°C, extrusion is borderline non-existent. I printed at 225°C with a fan, and it extruded kind of OK, but adhesion was poor. 240° without a fan seems a bit on the hot side (see photo). Even 255°C seems to extrude OK without burning. There is no smell I can observe (but I have a cold). It burns with a small blue flame, and minimal smell (kind of like natural gas).</p> <p>One factor against it being ABS is that with the bed at 60°C, printing both a benchy and the heat tower below, there was no warping. Bed adhesion remained good.</p> <p>Is there anything I can do to better identify this filament and decide the best combination of fan/temperature without wasting too much time?</p> <p>255° to 225° heat tower, seems different to the ABS i've used: <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/RuJoM.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/RuJoM.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

3356

Identifying PLA/PETG or ABS

<p>There is a trick. However I would like to mention that chances are that the random spool you pickup from most stores, especially no name brands, are either completely lying to you about its material or is mixed / cut with cheaper fillers. All about finding a good brand. Course rarely does one actually need pure PLA, a mixed material will often perform as well without you even noticing. Aside from the temp difference. Not to say it is right.</p> <p>Now the trick is this. While I don't advise ever breathing in potentially carcinogenic plastic smoke. You take a lighter. Burn it. If it smells sweet it is PLA. </p> <p>From <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/abs-vs-pla-3d-printing-materials-comparison/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this link from digital trends</a> about PLA VS ABS you can see why it has this smell.</p> <blockquote> <p>The thermoplastic is also more pleasant on the nose, as the sugar-based material smells slightly sweet when heated opposed to the harsh smell often associated with ABS. However, while PLA might seem like a better overall choice at first glance, it features a far lower melting point than ABS.</p> </blockquote> <p>Also not responsible if you burn yourself or your property. At your own risk. </p> <p>Just warming it with lighter might work too. But just burning a small section. It will be real clear. </p> <p>Or you could just drop a bit into aceton and see if it melts. PLA will mostly just look like crud after being treated is aceton. ABS is 100% dissolve. </p> <p>We see from these forums that PETG does not dissolve via Aceton. So you can test you material. If it does disolve it is ABS. If it smells sweet when burned it is PLA. If it melts at 240 and does not dissolve it is likely PETG.</p> <ul> <li><p><a href="http://www.soliforum.com/topic/13523/what-dissolves-petg/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Solid forums</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.php?12182-PETG-solvents" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3d printboard</a></p></li> </ul> <p>We are a bit lost on a test for PETG. However we do know <a href="http://airwolf3d.com/2015/12/05/3d-printing-with-petg-tips-and-tricks/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">its melting point</a>. Which is 240-260c. I would say it is likely you have ABS</p> <hr> <p>Once we know the material we can get to the meat of your question. </p> <p>Best way to proceed is to start with simple calibration prints. The thin wall. Cube, and part fitting. Once those pass you are good to go. Other than buying simplify3d I do not know of any short cuts. Back when I used slic3r I kept a spread sheet. I would change a temp by 5 degrees and give it a quality score. Repeat with speeds. Far as fan, I would expect that it wont effect much. Maybe need to calibrate your PIDs.</p> <p>Once you have it dialed in, all you will need to do is calibrate the temp when switching materials. Remember you need to calibrate even between different colors (okay its best to.. I often skip) I usually do the temp adjustments live on the printer. Increase and degrease a few degrees. For me the goal is to have the plastic as cool as possible. That allows for highest quality prints (ie less oozing and such)</p>

2017-01-09T03:42:51.423

|print-quality|prusa-i3|z-axis|

<p>The right side of my prints always have the standard ribbing effect given by a bent z rod, however I have replaced the rod and there was no change. Here are pictures of one of my more recent prints: <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sucjy.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sucjy.jpg" alt=""></a> and the left side of that same print: <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/29xDN.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/29xDN.jpg" alt=""></a> As you can see the left is almost unaffected the right is the only side with the error. Anyone have any ideas about this?</p>

3361

3d prints come up with ribbing on one side

<p>Hmmmm In my experience when a printer has that bad of wobble it is still the Z axis. Your rods might be good, but are the two Z axis the <em>exact</em> correct distance and equal distance on the printer frame? Imagine that you had one a few millimeters too far out. How might the rods act? Mayhaps, over the course of several layers, they would slowly drift back and forth? Creating a period effect on your print? What do the top of the rods do over time? Do they move a lot if you go from height 0 to 100mm on z?</p> <p>I have a few ideas. What happens if you loosen you Z motors so they can move around their mount? I had to do that on my Prusa back in the day. I think for that machine the Belt was actually too tight causing the issue. Current printers are usually better designed so its unlikely that is your issue. Also measure the distance between the top of the rods when the carriage is at 0, and at max. You should see very little variance.</p> <p>If it was on both sides I would say it was bad PID calibration. <a href="https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/#lines-on-the-side-of-print" rel="nofollow noreferrer">IE this simplify 3d link</a></p> <p>Though you can see on this forum the fellow <a href="https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/thread/z-axis-artifacts-wobbling-irregularities-waves-ribbing" rel="nofollow noreferrer">had a bad coupler.</a> So still mechanical.</p> <p>Also could be back lash / belt lash.. but unlikely</p>

2017-01-09T16:06:26.000

|hotend|cooling|

<p>I've build a 3D printer from sourced parts and mounted the hotend cooler to blow air over the heatsink. </p> <p>Talking to a friend, he said it's better to reverse the airflow over the heatsink, but couldn't give me an argument other than everywhere he saw it was like this: all coolers are mount to suck the hot air away from the heatsink.</p> <p>Is it one way better than the other way ? And if so, why ?</p>

3363

Blow vs suck air over hotend's heatsink

<p>Getting hot air from the radiator is definitely wrong idea because of few reasons:</p> <ol> <li>hot air can damage your fan (as they are usually not heatproof). Cold air cools the fan</li> <li>cold air is denser so fan can suck more cold air than hot air so cooling is more efficient (fig A)</li> <li>in terms of plug of radiator (with dust) it's much better to try to push cold air into plugged fan (fig C) than to suck the air from it (fig B). When flow is decreased there is higher possibility to damage the fan as it doesn't cool itself</li> </ol> <p>Of course we are talking about 3D printers with small plastic fans. Please notice (almost) all fans construction: they are designed to get air from the top of the fan and push it to the bottom (this construction prevents damaging/plugging fan motor by dust)... and their mounting wholes (or clips) are usually... naturally suggesting to direct air to the heatsink)</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/DMoSn.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/DMoSn.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

2017-01-09T16:25:36.013

|extruder|prusa-i3-rework|

<p>In <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/3116/37">this question</a> I was told that I should use silver solder to connect the heating element to the power supply.</p> <p>(I was also told that a ceramic extruder head was the way to go, but I'm working with what I have)</p> <p>I bought two types of silver solider from Radio Shack: </p> <ul> <li>96/4 Silver-Bearing Solder, Lead-Free 0.62" diameter.</li> <li>62/36/2 Silver-Bearing Solder, 0.15" diameter.</li> </ul> <p>Is there any reason I should use one of these over the other to power the heading element of the J-Head extruder?</p>

3366

Silver Solder specifications for hot end heating element

<p>I can't comment yet, but for those wondering, the issue with tinning the wires is when you are clamping them. Tinning them actually increases the resistance between the wires and terminal, due to making them harder and not getting squished out to make more contact with the terminal. This increased resistance means increased heat, and enough heat means fire.</p> <blockquote> <p>The reason for the prohibition is that when you fully tin a multistrand wire fully, the solder wicks between the strands of copper and forms a solid block, part of whose volume is metallic solder. When you clamp the solder and copper bundle you tighten the screw or clamp against the solder block, and in time the solder metal "creeps" under the compressive forces and the join loses tension. The wire can then either pull out or cause a high resistance connection with heating.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/29861/tinning-wires-that-will-be-screwed-in-to-a-chocolate-block-terminal-strip">Source</a></p>

2017-01-09T20:30:13.633

|material|print-material|

<p>Is there an FDM 3D printing material that looks similar to a cardboard box? I guess, and understand, it would not be possible to 3D print a cardboard box but would there be something similar?</p>

3370

3D printing a cardboard box

<p>The closest thing you will find is Woodfill plastic. As time goes on we are seeing more and more PLA that is infused with other materials. Woodfill will look and feel like waxy wood. We are pretty used to seeing fiber boards and the like so this will not come off as odd. However it is not quite cardboard, except that it is also a wood product. It will also smell of wood.</p> <p>Here is a close up of a beyond exceptional wood fill printed piece. There is also other types of wood fill including bamboo.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/hcYUo.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/hcYUo.jpg" alt="woodfill"></a></p> <p>I mean if you want Cardboard.. Why not a laser cutter? While you can get a MUCH cheaper laser cutter, <a href="https://glowforge.com/" rel="noreferrer">the glowforge comes to mind.</a> </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1Gqjs.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1Gqjs.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

2017-01-09T23:41:19.193

|slicing|slic3r|octoprint|

<p>I decided to fire up my 3D Printer again after a while. I have new PCs, so I had to download <a href="http://slic3r.org/" rel="noreferrer">Slic3r</a> fresh, so I got the latest version (1.2.9). Then I went and found my old config file. It's really old, from 2013!</p> <p>And Slic3r did not load it when I told it to, and consequently, when Octoprint was telling my Printrbot LC (custom) to print my things off <a href="http://octoprint.org/" rel="noreferrer">Thingiverse</a>, it was not in the bed, and the x axis skipped a few nubs, as would happen when you tell it it's too far away.</p> <p>I recall having to double and triple check Slic3r to make sure that it actually loaded the configuration I spent time crafting and honing. However, it's obviously been 3-4 years since I last played with this stuff, and this is a very low level feature that should have been fixed at Day 0 or 1.</p> <p>I presume that I'm doing something wrong. Do I need to stand on 1 leg and hold my mouth just right? I don't even know how I could screw it up...</p> <p><strong>Update</strong></p> <p>I changed from &quot;Simple&quot; mode to &quot;Advanced&quot; mode, and the config imported fine. Though, I don't think it was my most recent config. C'est la software!</p>

3372

Why do I have problems trying to get Slic3r to load a config file?

<p>I changed from "Simple" mode to "Advanced" mode, and the config imported fine. Though, I don't think it was my most recent config. C'est la software!</p> <p>Also, I switched to Cura after this.</p>

2017-01-10T06:23:03.147

|3d-models|3d-design|

<p>Under FreeCAD, I sketched on the face of a solid as follows :</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Qe4nu.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Qe4nu.png" alt="sketch"></a></p> <p>My problem is, when I use "Pad a selected sketch", the solid created comprises also the original solid.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pHI59.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pHI59.png" alt="created solid"></a></p> <p>It prevents me, for instance, to get the difference with the first one.</p> <p>Any idea what may be causing this? How to prevent it?</p> <p>MyFreeCAD config:</p> <pre><code>OS: Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS Word size of OS: 64-bit Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit Version: 0.15.4671 (Git) Branch: releases/FreeCAD-0-15 Hash: 244b3aef360841646cbfe80a1b225c8b39c8380c Python version: 2.7.11 Qt version: 4.8.7 Coin version: 4.0.0a OCC version: 6.8.0.oce-0.17 </code></pre>

3375

Padded Sketch comprises too many solids (FreeCAD)

<p>Ok, I got help on <a href="http://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&amp;t=19756" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this forum thread</a></p> <p>Using <code>Part Extrude</code> instead of <code>Pad a selected sketch</code> on the sketch will create an independent solid.</p> <p>It also turns out that, instead of creating the second solid to do a boolean difference, the good way to "cut" my solid is using the <code>PartDesign Pocket</code> tool.</p>

2017-01-11T20:49:52.380

|heated-bed|abs|simplify3d|warping|

<p>I'm using a Flashforge Pro and attempting to print a wheel about 6mm thick to serve as a platform. In other words, the wheel doesn't have to be solid, but spokes won't do the job. I've experimented with different temperatures, but, because of ABS' thermal expansion, I don't think that will solve the problem. Also tried putting lots of 2mm holes in the wheel. I've considered other designs for the interior, but doubt that would be a solution. Has anyone tried using different print paths, i.e. actually altering the path that the slicer suggests? (grasping at straws) Thanks for your suggestions.</p>

3382

How to print a 6" wheel in ABS?

<p>I had pretty much this exact situation when printing a disk for a rocket avionics bay. It seemed to come down to getting the basics of bed adhesion: Heat bed, ABS temp, bed composition, and a "primer" layer. I found the FF Creator Pro to work well with a bed at 110, filament at 230, printing on a glass plate with ABS slurry. Then adding the brim 6 orbits wide held it down very well. I found that printing on the stock FF blue plastic was inconsistent with adhesion. Also, keep the door closed while printing and for something this size don't run the cooling fan (if you're printing on the left nozzle).</p> <p>And, of course, the right infill helps with the thermal contraction and strength. I found through testing that the rectilinear patter in S3D gave the best structural support in multiple dimensions. I also end up typically printing infill at about 15% to ensure a good surface on the upper face. Any lower and I found a lot of sagging in the top finish.</p> <p>If you're using this as a platform, then the layer size matters a lot also. You don't need .10mm layers, as .25mm or .20mm layers would probably work better. Then make sure you print enough top layers to get a good finish. At .20mm I usually print 4 top layers with a 15% infill.</p>

2017-01-11T20:56:10.890

|marlin|firmware|motor|

<p>Am seeing the following behavior in Marlin:</p> <p>When moving the printhead, if an end stop is hit, a position report (M114) erroneously reports the print head position as where it was <em>trying</em> to go, as opposed to where it's position <em>actually</em> is.</p> <p>For example (using pronsole):</p> <pre><code>&gt; M114 X:1.00 Y:1.00 Z:1.00 E:0.00 Count A: 142 B:0 Z:1260 &gt; G0 Z100 endstops hit: Z:16.88 &gt; M114 X:1.00 Y:1.00 Z:100.00 E:0.00 Count A: 142 B:0 Z:21263 </code></pre> <p>In this example, the Z endstop was hit at (z:16.88), but the printer appears to think it is at the target location (z:100). </p> <p>The "Count" Z appears to remain accurate however.</p> <p>Question: Is this a bug in Marlin, or is this correct behavior and I am misunderstanding something?</p>

3383

Marlin, end stops, and position report - possible bug?

<p>Some info on the subject: few stepper motors have any way of knowing their exact position during operation, which means Marlin will have to assume the steppers always are in the right place. </p> <p>In other words, all g-code commands are executed <em>relative to their current position</em>, not with regards to the real positions. So if you forcefully move the printhead during print, the printer will just continue printing the same patterns in mid-air (this is basically what is called <em>layer shifting</em>).</p> <p>The only way the printer can know the real position of the steppers is when the endpoint switches are triggered. This is why the <em>homing</em> action is done to before prints in order to reset the internal positional bookkeeping of the steppers in Marlin. So if the endpoints are triggered without the printer actually being at the endstops, you will seriously confuse Marlin.</p> <p>I agree that is sounds weird that Marlin does not reset the positions of it's steppers when an endstop is triggered (during print?), but then again, if it happens accidentally (and not as part of a re-calibration procedure), I believe the default actions should be to abort all operation since this would indicate the printer being out of control. Perhaps there simply is no routine to handle movement after the program has been aborted - a situation where probably nothing would be right anyway..</p>

2017-01-12T23:24:57.273

|3d-models|3d-design|

<p>How are professional or regular products designed on the computer for manufacturing?</p> <p>Do they do it by making a 3D model and then getting it made by manufacturers/plastic factories, or the process is different?</p> <p>If it's by making 3D models then what kind of programs do they use - Regular 3D software like blender?</p> <p>I also understand that you can get a 3D model printed by 3d printing services, but are they the same as mass manufacturing companies, by that they make the product by 3D models.</p>

3388

How are things like a USB casing designed for 3D printing?

<p>3D printing provides a faster method for <strong>prototyping</strong> and have always been labeled as prototyping machines. Until recently, it has been rare to see 3D printers used for "mass manufacturing".</p> <p>Yes, most mass-produced products start the manufacturing process with a 3D model. 3D models can be created in many different applications such as Solidworks, AutoCAD, Unigraphics, Blender, even Sketchup just to name a few.</p> <p>In product development, the 3D model will then go through prototyping. <strong>Rapid prototyping</strong> can be done using a 3D printer by utilizing cheap materials and almost no labor cost. </p> <p>Here are a few costs that can be associated with the different prototyping methods.</p> <h1>Traditional Prototyping</h1> <p>(Typically involving "traditional", subtractive manufacturing methods such as CNC mills, lathes, routers, etc.)</p> <ul> <li>CAM programming</li> <li>Fixturing</li> <li>CNC Machine Setup</li> <li>CNC Operating/Labor</li> </ul> <h1>Rapid Prototyping</h1> <p>(Typically involving a 3D printer or other additive manufacturing methods)</p> <ul> <li>Model preparation (for slicing)</li> <li>Printing Operation</li> <li>Object post-processing <ul> <li>Removal of supports</li> <li>Curing/Cleaning of part (for non-FDM/FFF printing methods)</li> </ul></li> </ul> <p>Once a prototype is produced, the designer will adjust the 3D model accordingly based on results of the prototype. This process will be repeated until the prototype is adequate for the purpose of the end product.</p> <p>When the product design is ready for mass production, it will go through traditional manufacturing methods such as: </p> <ul> <li>CNC Machining (subtractive) <ul> <li>Mill</li> <li>Lathe</li> <li>Router</li> <li>Laser</li> <li>etc.</li> </ul></li> <li>Injection Molding</li> <li>etc.</li> </ul>

2017-01-15T14:01:40.907

|thermistor|ultimaker-original|

<p>We are trying to repair an Ultimaker Original+. One problem is a missing resistor isolation. The Ultimaker Original+ prints with up to 260 Degree Celcius.</p> <p><strong>Which kind of isolation products are suitable to resist the heat and are fitting on the thin wires of the thermistor?</strong></p>

3402

New thermistor isolation, how?

<p>There are many materials you can use one that came to my mind is this High Temperature &amp; Pressure Sealant and also the best way to apply it so it can be removed easy is this . take a kitchen food very thing nylon cover you know the very thin elastic one or cover the parts with some type of release agent (dont use something that inhibit silicone like sulfur or sulfur containing staff) and apply it over it then when is solid cut it and release it it would be like a glove i hope ;)There are silicone that are really high temp 1000 f to 2000 f good luck :) </p>

2017-01-15T20:22:27.473

|bowden|ptfe-tube|

<p>I'm creating a reverse Bowden setup to guide my filament from spool to extruder, through a path which contains two <a href="http://amzn.eu/almYaNi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">couplers</a> in the middle as follows:</p> <p><code>[spool] --- |#= --- =#| --- [extruder]</code></p> <p>So I have to connect a tube to the <em>back</em> of a coupler (<code>---=#|</code>) and not just to the front (<code>---|#=</code>). That's the end that contains the screw thread, and it's not designed to take a tube. I can't manage to make it a smooth transition. When I try to push my 1.75&nbsp;mm filament through, it will often get stuck there. After it's through, the extruder seems to have no problem with it anymore.</p> <p>Is there a trick to making this a smooth transition?</p>

3406

Smooth transition between a PTFE tube and the back of a push-fit coupler

<p>An alternative to chamfering the connector is buying a different type of connectors with a larger bore hole all the way through the connector and let the tube pass all the way through. These are used in my similar spool to extruder setup (reversed Bowden setup in OP's terminology).</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cZi6Z.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Large hole pneumatic tube connector"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cZi6Z.png" alt="Large hole pneumatic tube connector" title="Large hole pneumatic tube connector"></a></p>

2017-01-16T21:09:56.540

|ramps-1.4|arduino-mega-2650|hardware|

<p>I have read a few times¹ that the Arduino Mega can struggle to perform the tasks required for 3D printer control, as the AVR chip is working at its limits, and this is why some manufacturers have moved away from the ATmega2560, to make custom (and integrated) controller boards using ARM processors.</p> <p>Having just seen the latest answer to this question, <a href="https://arduino.stackexchange.com/questions/18538/multithreading-with-arduino">Multithreading with the Arduino</a>, on the Arduino SE site, I wondered if anyone had used a <a href="http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/processor-microcontroller-development-kits/1245257/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Shield Buddy</a> in conjunction with the standard RAMPS 1.4 board?</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/OEeU9.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/OEeU9.jpg" alt="Shield Buddy"></a></p> <p>It is pin for pin compatible with the Arduino Mega (and Arduino IDE compatible - once the appropriate add-ons have been installed), but it has a much faster three core processor. Obviously only one core would be used, leaving the other two idling, but even so the performance is <em>apparently</em> much better.</p> <p>See <a href="https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/bringing-multicore-to-the-arduino-world-with-shieldbuddy-tc275" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bringing Multicore To The Arduino World With ShieldBuddy TC275</a>.</p> <p>If anyone has experience of using this board, I would like to know whether it was successful or not? I don't see why it should not, although the Marlin firmware would need recompiling, for the Aurix TC275 processor. Would any improvement be seen? Is it worth paying the high price tag of £89?</p> <hr> <p>¹ One of the places was <a href="http://hackaday.com/2013/09/06/3d-printering-electronics-boards/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3D Printering: Electronics boards</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>While they work for what they’re intended to do, there are a few limitations. Arcs and circles are a little weird to program, and using these boards for something other than a cartesian 3D printer – a CNC machine, or a laser cutter, for example – is a bit out of the ordinary.</p> </blockquote>

3410

Has anyone used a Shield Buddy (en lieu of a Arduino Mega2560) as the RAMPS 1.4 host board?

<p>It's not quite as simple as you would suggest.</p> <p>You can't just recompile Marlin for another device. You'd need to rewrite large parts of it. It may be compatible with the Arduino IDE, but that doesn't mean you can just run firmware intended for the AtMega2560 on it. All the timings (e.g. those of the pulses sent to the stepper motors) would be off, if you managed to get it to compile at all.</p> <p>As some examples, here are some pieces of code from Marlin that would be broken, as they're written directly in AVR assembly:</p> <pre><code>#define DELAY_1_NOP __asm__("nop\n\t") #define DELAY_2_NOP __asm__("nop\n\t" "nop\n\t") [...] // ensure 100ns delay - a bit extra is fine asm("nop");//50ns on 20Mhz, 62.5ns on 16Mhz asm("nop");//50ns on 20Mhz, 62.5ns on 16Mhz [...] #define MultiU24X32toH16(intRes, longIn1, longIn2) \ asm volatile ( \ "clr r26 \n\t" \ "mul %A1, %B2 \n\t" \ "mov r27, r1 \n\t" \ "mul %B1, %C2 \n\t" \ "movw %A0, r0 \n\t" \ "mul %C1, %C2 \n\t" \ "add %B0, r0 \n\t" \ "mul %C1, %B2 \n\t" \ "add %A0, r0 \n\t" \ "adc %B0, r1 \n\t" \ </code></pre>

2017-01-18T00:44:39.150

|heated-bed|

<p>I'm (surprisingly) having a problem getting my PEI substrate to stick to the heated bed surface. The ABS item being printed stuck great to the PEI surface. I've not seen anyone else post on this problem, but perhaps someone has seen it.</p> <p>Note, this is the PRINT SURFACE warping, not the item being printed. That part went great with no delamination even on a large flat bottom.</p> <p>I'm using 3M 468 adhesive to attach a PEI plastic sheet directly to the heated surface of my Flashforge Creator Pro printer. The heated bed is anodized black and the adhesive is a sheet cut to the requisite 6" X 9". It seemed fine and looked pretty good with few air bubbles when first attached, but the first print caused the edges of the PEI plastic to warp up from the corners of the bed. </p> <p>It appears that the weak link is that the PEI detached from the adhesive. While this was not uniform, removal of the PEI sheet showed that 95% of the adhesive was still attached to the print bed.</p> <p>The PEI has one glossy side and one matte side, and I chose to apply the adhesive to the matte side to get the glossy surface. Does this make a difference?</p> <p>I applied the adhesive to the PEI surface just as it was after removing the protective plastic coating. I figured this was a clean as it was ever going to get.</p> <p>I'd definitely appreciate some ideas on this.</p>

3419

Bad PEI plate adhesion to heated bed

<p>Perhaps this is due to the aluminum build plate warping/crowning as it heats? I use a PEI print surface on my Monoprice Maker Select (Wanhao Di3), which has an 8.5"x8.5" build plate, and I've had no issues with the PEI coming unstuck. However, instead of attaching mine directly to the aluminum heated build plate, I attached it (using 3M 468) to a piece of Borosilicate glass, which is then attached to my aluminum build plate using silicone thermal heatsink pads. The rational for using a Borosilicate glass print surface is that a heated metal build surface is going to warp or move some, as the heat is coming from one side; the glass will not warp and so you have a completely flat surface on which to print (and the heatsink pads help make up the difference in surface geometry). I used <a href="http://3dprinterwiki.info/wiki/wanhao-duplicator-i3/duplicator-i3-basic-mods/adding-a-glass-bed/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this 3dprinterwiki article</a> as the basis for my glass bed mod, and applied the PEI/adhesive using another source (which I've forgotten, possibly <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/PEI_build_surface" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the RepRap wiki</a>). While the first link is Wanhao Di3 specific, it covers the idea. Make sure you tweak your z-endstops if needed on your particular machine, as adding the glass plat raises the bed height by several mm.</p> <p>Please note that I'm theorizing - I did not ever try applying my PEI directly to my aluminum build plate, so I have no direct comparison. But the use of glass to eliminate build plate warping/crowning is fairly well documented. See also <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/506/2541">this 3DPSE Answer</a>.</p>

2017-01-18T05:40:20.393

|g-code|

<p>I've got a Monoprice Mini Select (15365) and it takes FOREVER for me to manually spin the dial to get the printhead to raise all the way up so that I can perform maintenance (clear blockages in the nozzle or apply new tape to the bed, etc).</p> <p>So, I was thinking about writing a snippet of gcode that I could just run which would contain the commands necessary to do that for me. I'm a n00b to 3D printing, but I'm an old programmer so I figured it would be too hard. However, before running this code on my printer, I wanted to get some experts to double check me to make sure I'm not going to hurt anything. :)</p> <p>Here is what I have, please let me know if I've done anything wrong or if you have any suggestions.</p> <pre><code>; Move print head to center and top to prepare for cleaning/maintenance M107 ; fan off G28 ; home all axes G21 ; set units to millimeters G90 ; use absolute coordinates ; full dimensions of the print area are 120mm x 120mm x 120mm G0 X60 Y60 Z119 ; move to center X,Y and just below the max height M84 ; disable motors </code></pre> <p>I grabbed a few lines from gcode generated by Slic3r and used the gcode wiki entry to understand each of the commands and fill in the extra ones I needed.</p>

3420

gcode to move the printhead up for maintenance

<p>It really depends on whether you currently have something half printed on the bed when you need to do maintenance. For example, you may have a blockage mid-print or need to reprime the nozzle. </p> <p>So with that in mind, personally I would separate the line that does the move into two different lines. </p> <p>Move vertically first, then in X Y. Otherwise, the print head may move diagonally and hit your object. This is because the head will move all three axes at once.</p> <p>Otherwise looks good.</p> <p>Edit: Another suggestion is that if you use repetier host to control the printer it will be easier to return to the print in-progress automatically.</p> <p>Also take a look at the S parameter, for moves it can control how fast the move is.</p>

2017-01-18T22:38:32.910

|filament|reprap|electronics|

<p>I'm very new to 3D printing, and I am very interested in printing electronics. I want to be able to print out circuits, so I've been trying to find a conductive filament. What sorts of conductive filaments are available to the consumer (me) and are of acceptable quality</p> <p>Edited for clarity: I am not seeking a product recommendation, but rather am looking to know what sort of variety I can expect and more specifically which filaments are useful for printing electronics. </p>

3428

What are some conductive filaments that can be used in printing electronics?

<p>At this point conductive filaments are a very new thing. All the filiments on the market are PLA based that have been infused with Carbon or Graphine</p> <p>However I worry you over estimate what you can do with this. You will at most be able to 3d print a simple wire and power a LED. You will not be able to run a microcontroller, and honestly I would expect a complicated print to have too much or too little resistance, maybe burst into flames.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/dNRoU.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/dNRoU.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>You really should look into the <a href="http://www.voxel8.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Voxle 8</a> and other printers. The printer is really the driving factor. Using a conductive filament will not be enough. Note this printer uses a syringe not PLA plastic.</p> <p>Here is a Voxle8 print. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1VpSs.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1VpSs.jpg" alt="Voxlel8"></a></p>

2017-01-19T14:11:02.343

|filament|print-quality|makerbot|

<p>I've noticed this on almost ever print I've ever had. On the initial first line that clears the extruder nozzle tiny little bubbles/craters seem to form on the line. While I don't think these are causing any issue with my prints I'm curious to know the reason why they form at all. </p> <p>Is this due to water absorption in my filament that turns to steam, which then bursts through the molten plastic? Is it due to air bubbles in the filament that are cause by the manufacturing process of the filament? Or is this more an indication that my nozzle is damaged or clogged in some way?</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2we0A.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2we0A.jpg" alt="Bubbles in extrusion"></a></p> <p>This image was made using ABS plastic and a heated build plate. I've noticed these same 'bubbles' appearing using PLA, and Nylon. </p> <p>Edit: Nozzle temperature 240°C, build plate temperature 150°C, Nozzle diameter 0.4 mm, filament diameter (measured 1.75 mm) retraction distance 1.7 mm. Using the Makerbot Desktop Slicer.</p> <p>The first line that my printer extrudes, where I'm seeing these 'bubbles' is a nearly full line. Makerbot starts from the right side of the image, extruding to the left. </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/3sf99.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/3sf99.jpg" alt="Single line extrusion on printer bed"></a></p>

3431

What causes bubbles in extruded filament?

<p>The temperature is too high or your keep your filament in open for days. So that filament observe water from air do the following steps:</p> <ol> <li><p>pla 190-220 abs 220-240</p></li> <li><p>If temperature in range then bake your filament at 50-60 temp.</p></li> </ol>

2017-01-20T06:14:55.227

|3d-models|

<h2>TL;DR - What needs to be done to the following model to ensure a successful print?</h2> <p>As part of a father-son project we're trying to make an enclosure for a digital clock. The idea is to make a 3D printed model of a rocket with a hollow body to hold the electronics. The main body consists of two halves that will press-fit together with some integrated mounting locations for the display, micro-controller, etc.</p> <p>Since this is our first 3D printing project, I would like to know what can be done to the following model to help ensure a successful first print. We have not chosen a material or supplier yet, but I suspect we'll go with PLA since it seems to be quite common, inexpensive, available in lots of colours, etc.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/rFYl6.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/rFYl6.png" alt="Main Body Shell Front"></a></p> <p>The model is not yet complete - there are several details missing, like additional mounting locations - but I was hoping to make corrections to what we already have before too much further, just in case it requires a complete restart.</p> <p>Here are some possibly relevant details and goals:</p> <ul> <li>The shell thickness is currently 2.5 mm.</li> <li>We would like the shell to be translucent to allow a glowing effect from some internal LEDs.</li> <li>The nose cone and thruster (not shown) will probably have pins that press-fit into the top and bottom of both halves of the shell to hold them together.</li> <li>There is a 0.5 mm clearance between the lip on the front shell and the detent on the rear shell.</li> <li>The rectangular window will possibly be removed, or made into a flip-open door.</li> </ul> <p>There aren't a lot of hard requirements as this is just a learning project, so we're willing to change almost anything about the design, as long as we can fit in the existing clock parts.</p> <p>The Fusion 360 model is available to view online if it helps: <a href="http://a360.co/2jeDD8A" rel="noreferrer">Rocket Concept 3</a></p>

3443

How can I make this rounded enclosure feasible to print?

<p>With a couple of minor adjustments, that would print just fine standing up as it is. </p> <p>Alternatively you could lay it down with the open side facing upwards and use a few supports (my least favourite method), or simply make a flat spot on the back to lay on the printer bed. Which is probably what I would do. </p> <p>As far as shell thickness goes - 2.5 mm is pretty heavy duty. You also need to bear in mind that it's best to have a thickness as a factor of the thickness of your bead or your layer height (depends on printing orientation) - assuming you are going to print this yourself. So usually that would either be divisible by the bead width or by the layer height. If you want translucent - easy enough use translucent or clear filament. I'd probably go for 1.2 mm or 1.6 mm wall thickness. </p> <p>I made an angel at Christmas with clear PLA and quite a thick wall (wasn't my model and I didn't bother measuring - but at least 2 mm) and an LED candle lit it up really well. </p> <p>It's much easier doing this kind of thing after buying the printer. that way you learn much quicker what works and what doesn't. </p>

2017-01-21T01:50:51.590

|filament|prusa-i3|

<p>I am trying to print an earbud holder with my Prusa i3. About an hour though the 3-hour print I left the printer for about 20 minutes and when I came back the printer stopped printing. The printer didn't display any errors on the LCD. The extruder and printing bed all cooled down but the z-axis didn't raise so the nozzle was stuck to the print. What could cause the printer to stop printing?</p>

3450

Prusa i3 Stopping midprint

<p>There's really no telling why that happened if you weren't there to observe it.</p> <p>A possibility is a temporary power outage, which would stop and reset the printer without any trace of it having happened. Even if there was not a power outage, maybe there was a temporary dip in power that caused the power supply to be unable to supply the required voltage (or perhaps the power supply was of poor quality to begin with and suffered some issue that caused the voltage to drop).</p> <p>Another possibility is that you were printing via a computer, and the computer rebooted during the print. If this is not the case and you were printing via an SD card, maybe the SD card became corrupted and the printer read some invalid G-code and reset itself (though this latter case would probably come with some indication of a fault on the LCD).</p>

2017-01-25T20:09:41.100

|slicing|slic3r|cooling|

<p>There is an option in Slic3r to disable cooling for layers that take more than n seconds.</p> <p>What would be the disadvantages of having cooling on big layers ?</p>

3465

Cooling for big layers

<p>Warping. Especially with materials like ABS, you want the plastic to cool down as gradually (and slowly) as possible, to prevent the print from warping as the cooling plastic contracts. On small layers, cooling is usually mandatory: with really small layers, you just end up with a big glob of molten plastic if the previous layer hasn't solidified enough before the next layer is put on top.</p> <p>You want <em>just enough</em> cooling that the plastic holds its shape, but no more than that. On a large layer, the plastic cools enough naturally without help from a fan.</p>

2017-01-26T10:30:00.143

|software|electronics|simplify3d|usb|tronxy-p802|

<p>I have a Tronxy P802M (very similar to the Anet A8, but using a Melzi2.0V5 board) that seems to work fine (I just finished building, and axes movement and the integrated display work) but when I try to connect to the printer from my Simplify3D on Windows 10, I get the following:</p> <pre><code>[...] Connected to machine! SENT: T0 READ: ok 0 READ: wait SENT: M105 READ: ok 0 READ: T:24.44 /0 B:23.33 /0 B@:0 @:0 Connection failed. </code></pre> <p>My other printers all connect fine.</p>

3470

I can not really connect successfully to my printer via USB

<p>Try changing your port in the control menu. By default, mine is set to <code>COM 1</code> and I have to change it to <code>COM 3</code>.</p>

2017-01-26T16:32:33.657

|prusa-i3|print-quality|slicing|

<p>I received a Monoprice Maker Select v2 (I3 V2 clone) from my wife for Christmas. The sample .gcode files that came with the printer generally print great with no noticeable defects.</p> <p>However, when I try to print miniatures for use with table-top gaming (D&amp;D, primarily), I tend to get a lot of oozing and stringing. On top of that, bridge supports don't cool in time and tend to get fudged by the print nozzle, which results in oddities like arms being only half printed, sticking to the nozzle, and getting relocated to some other part of the print. If I use full grid supports with the most modest fill settings (8%) they end up being stronger than the miniature and are a real pain to remove. </p> <p>My printer is calibrated, as level as can be (the desk it's on is slightly warped but I've got the printer in the center of the warp; there is no wobble or lean) and squared. The build plate is calibrated and set to the right height. </p> <p>I'm using the version of Cura that came on the SD card with the printer (honestly not sure which one and I'm not at home to check). I've fiddled with print speed, extruder temp (ranging from 185 to 210), layer cooling, retraction settings, and tried switching to Slic3r (didn't go over well -- couldn't even get past the first layer).</p> <p>I'm using Hatchbox silver PLA filament (1.75mm +/- 0.05mm). I don't have another filament I can test with to compare performance. </p> <p>Even when I import the profile settings from one of the sample .gcode files I tend to end up with blobbing, pulling, and stringing all over the miniatures, in addition to missing or deformed parts. Notably, arms and hands -- most often overhangs -- tend to stick to the hotend and get repositioned, sending the whole thing out of whack. </p> <p>I end up with similar problems when I use the Novice mode settings in Cura (Normal Quality, High Quality, etc).</p> <p>Is there something I'm missing that I can do to improve the quality of small, detailed prints, or is the I3, as an entry-level printer, simply not up to the task? I'm especially interested in answers from users who have experience printing miniatures and their experiences in tuning for that type of print job.</p> <p>A few things I've tried test printing:</p> <p><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:704409" rel="noreferrer">Printer calibration test model v1</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1363023" rel="noreferrer">Printer calibration test model v3</a></p> <p>Both of these came out very stringy, with lots of blobbing and layer pulling, especially towards the upper portions of the taller elements.</p> <p>I have also tried printing these two models:</p> <p><a href="https://www.shapeways.com/product/YDCPJF8KV/knight?optionId=59811831" rel="noreferrer">Knight with sword - high detail</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.shapeways.com/product/4Y699HM6N/elf-monk?optionId=61531553&amp;li=marketplace" rel="noreferrer">Elf monk - high detail</a></p> <p>All test prints of these two models had at least one missing hand due to it getting stuck to the hotend and pulling off the part, and both demonstrated lots of minor blobbing and pulling on otherwise smooth surfaces, with loss of detail in the more finely detailed areas. Here's a sample of the output for the knight model. Please ignore the fact that he has been dismembered, that was mostly my fiddling with it post-printing (I guess I don't know my own strength), though the left hand was not well-attached and fell off rather easily. He was printed with both hands and feet/base intact, but you can see the blobbing and pulling pretty well.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/T4pth.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/T4pth.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

3471

Why are my prints so defective?

<p>I've not done much miniatures printing, but I have the same printer and I happen to have the exact same filament loaded. Also, I've been doing a lot of tuning lately, including <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:921948" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this z-brace mod</a> which has improved my overall print quality, so I thought I'd take a pass at printing the Knight from your photos and sharing my findings.</p> <p>First, <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/U7h8L.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">I've posted a series of pictures</a> to show my findings. Overall, I'd say my print quality was better than what you showed in your photos, but still isn't good enough. I sliced with Cura 15.04.6, and printed from SD card. Here are my (Full) settings:</p> <pre><code>Layer height (mm) : 0.1 Shell thickness (mm) : 0.5 Enable retraction : Yes Bottom/Top thickness (mm) : 0.3 Fill Density (%) : 20 Print Speed (mm/s) : 20 Printing Temperature (C) : 210 Bed Temperature (C) : 67 Support Type : Everywhere Platform Adhesion : None Skirts : 3 Filament Diameter (mm) : 1.75 Filament Flow (%) : 100.0 Nozzle size (mm) : 0.5 Retract Speed (mm/s) : 40.0 Retract Distance (mm) : 7 Initial Layer Thick (mm) : 0.2 Initial Later width (%) : 100 Cut off object bottom (mm): 0.0 Travel Speed (mm/s) : 100 Bottom Layer Speed (mm/s) : 20 Infill speed (mm/s) : 50 Top/bottom speed (mm/s) : 20 Outer Shell speed (mm/s) : 20 Inner Shell speed (mm/s) : 20 Min. Layer Time (sec) : 10 Enable cooling fan : Yes </code></pre> <p>I do most of my printing with a later height of 0.2mm, but for a detailed mini, 0.1mm is probably the largest that will look good (and probably the smallest possible on this printer. I normally set most of my speeds to 50 mm/s, with first layer at 20 mm/s; for this I slowed it all to 20 mm/s due to the fine details, and I think it helped.</p> <p>Temps of 67˚C bed and 210˚C extruder are what I've found to work best on my machine for PLA, after much experimentation, but your machine may vary; I'm not sure how accurate the temperature measurements are on these machines. 67˚C gives me an observed bed temp of 60˚C, but that's at the top surface - I have PEI atop Borosilicate glass, adhered to the bare aluminum bed with silicone-based heat transfer pad.</p> <p>I think I miscalculated the top/bottom heights and infill. I'm not used to printing at 0.1mm layer height, but 3 top layers over 20% infill is clearly not enough - see the closeup of the mini's base in my linked gallery. Next print, I'll either try 0.6mm top/bottom, or much higher infill.</p> <p>The supports came off easily; I used <a href="https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/B00FZPDG1K" rel="nofollow noreferrer" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a pair of sidecutters from my electronics bench</a>. A little more cleanup with a sharp hobby knife, combined with a better base top layer would probably produce an acceptable result.</p> <p>There were two major flaws. The first are the little blobs on many layers; see for example the inseam area on the picture of the knight's back. <a href="https://softsolder.com/2012/01/26/reversal-zits-speed-acceleration-and-a-bestiary/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ed Nisley at Softsolder.com calls these &quot;Reveral Zits&quot;</a>, and I think the name is apt. These happen when the print head needs to quickly reverse direction or stop-move-print, but filament continues to extrude. I use fairly aggressive retraction settings, and I think my print shows smaller zits than yours, but still far too many. Ed has explored this topic in some depth; it's possible my extruder stepper isn't keeping up with my settings due to mechanical limits. This is an area I want to pursue, but I don't have time at the moment. I plan to read Ed's work and try some experiments on my machine to see if I can get better results; I will update this answer if/when I do. As it stands, most of them are quite small, and could probably be cleaned up with a knife; the worst are those around unsupported areas, such as the back of the shoulder guard.</p> <p>The second major flaw is the helmet. It's just... bad. I'm not sure the printer has much hope of nailing those horns, but overall the head is just bad. I'm not sure what can be done there.</p> <p>To summarize: @disc0ninja's advice on Bed Level and Print speed are certainly the right place to start; You might want to try my Cura settings to see if you get similar results. Also, the Z-brace mod I linked to above has made a big difference for me; I rarely have to adjust my leveling anymore. I also plan to try slicing with Slic3r, which I haven't used previously, but have been looking into. You mentioned you couldn't print with Slic3r, was that USB or SD Card? I'd suggest trying via SD if it failed during USB printing.</p> <p><strong>Update 30 Jan 2017:</strong> It took a little doing, but I managed to slice and print this model via slic3r. <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3482/slicer-reports-1000s-of-errors-not-seen-in-cura-render-is-missing-big-chunks">I had some issues with the original STL in slic3er</a>, which I ended up fixing with a free trial at makeprintable.com. I spent a lot of time fiddling with slic3r; it has a lot more knobs to turn than Cura, and I make no claims of having the best settings for this print. There are so many settings that rather than transcribe them here, I've captured them in my <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/eCTmT.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">pictures of the slic3er print</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SdOHm.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Layers and perimeters"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SdOHm.png" alt="Layers and perimeters" title="Layers and perimeters" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/sIM3D.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Infill"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/sIM3D.png" alt="Infill" title="Infill" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pvXlJ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Skirt and Brim"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pvXlJ.png" alt="Skirt and Brim" title="Skirt and Brim" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cHSzp.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Support material"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cHSzp.png" alt="Support material" title="Support material" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vT0pN.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Speed"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vT0pN.png" alt="Speed" title="Speed" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7QK3c.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Multiple extruders"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7QK3c.png" alt="Multiple extruders" title="Multiple extruders" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0AITv.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Advanced"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0AITv.png" alt="Advanced" title="Advanced" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/13mnS.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Cooling"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/13mnS.png" alt="Cooling" title="Cooling" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/60F2W.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Filament"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/60F2W.png" alt="Filament" title="Filament" /></a></p> <p>Overall, I feel like the quality is higher. The &quot;reversal zits&quot; are hardly noticeable; but the big remaining problem is one I didn't fully diagnose in the original Cura print - lack of support for areas such as the shoulders. Slic3r added more support than Cura, but it's also harder to separate from the base. The head isn't great, but much better than the Cura print; I don't think my photos show it as well as it looks. <strong>This print has convinced me that there's plenty of quality still to be wrung from this printer</strong>; I hope to make time to do some more slic3r prints of this model while tweaking the params to see what's possible. If I make any big leaps in quality I will update this answer.</p>

2017-01-26T17:13:26.313

|filament|filament-quality|dimensional-accuracy|

<p><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/2820/5782">In this answer</a> user <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/4345/barafu-albino">Barafu</a> says,</p> <blockquote> <p>Yet I manage to keep my tolerances +- 0.05 mm which is enough for everything but miniature printing.</p> </blockquote> <p>I have asked for clarification on that answer regarding what is meant by "miniature printing" but in the meantime, I want to ask the general question.</p> <p>What impact does dimensional accuracy of filament have on final print quality, and why? Does it vary between different filament types? </p>

3472

How important is the dimensional accuracy of filament relative to the detail of a print?

<p>Put it simply: they say 1.75&nbsp;mm with a &plusmn; error of 0.05&nbsp;mm. Which means your flow may vary &plusmn;2.9&nbsp;% while you are printing creating blobs and such. </p> <p>The smaller the filament tolerance, the more expensive the production costs.</p>

2017-01-29T02:11:14.410

|electronics|switching-power-supply|repetier|

<p>I am running the SeeMeCNC customized version of <a href="https://github.com/seemecnc/Firmware" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Repetier</a> on a Rostock Max V2. I have experienced this problem with both the stock configuration along with an E3D The Chimera. Sometimes, when I am printing and connect a mains device, my printer will fail in some way. The first time this happened I was printing with ABS, so I connected my fume sucker (A ~25-50W fan) to an outlet. However, when I connected it, the LCD showed garbled characters and my software (MatterControl) reported an error. Restarting the printer returned it to the previous state. I had a ~15 foot (coiled) extension cord connected to a 3-way splitter.</p> <p>Today, I connected a hot glue gun, and MatterControl reported that Repetier had switched to "Printer set into dry run mode until restart!" (no heat or extrusions). Looking at the firmware, this seems to be caused by a thermistor failure. I had everything plugged into the same setup as before, except for a surge protector at the end. The circuit that it is connected to has a 20A circuit breaker, with probably ~3A of it constantly used.</p> <p>My theory for this is that an additional device causes a slight fluctuation in the thermistor wires, causing an error to occur. However, the Rostock Max is designed so that wires are inside of aluminum tubes, which I think would provide EMF protection. The power supply is a generic 12V 30A power supply that was included in the kit, usually seen in LED strips. Both of these occurred while printing. I have ordered a UPS for the printer: would its under/over-voltage detection help? Are there any other solutions for this?</p>

3483

Print failing when connecting mains loads

<p>I have had the same Issue with my Maker select prusa printer, the way I found that best combats this is to attach the printer to a UPS and avoid attaching any High draw devices from the same circuit. Every Time i'd switch something on, My TV, my lights, etc. The same would happen. Hope this helps!</p>

2017-01-29T13:38:04.857

|3d-models|3d-design|

<p>I want to print a text inside a box. I mean the text should be cut out (see through). Example: <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/8eBCN.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/8eBCN.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>As you can see the parts in "o" and "e" cant float.. it needs some kind of a support. Also the top triangle in the M can't be printed without a support. Here is something I found, I think this is what I need:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/FV3V5.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/FV3V5.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>Can you recommend me a font or some app to make these fonts printable the way I need it?</p> <p>The software I use is Simplify3D and all the free ones like cura. </p>

3486

Font for cutting?

<p>I did a quick search using The Google with the terms "stencil font." There were too many results to list here and the first link I clicked on provided some seriously ugly fonts. Stencil fonts by definition will result in supported center pieces. Windows has a native font named, surprisingly enough, Stencil which does the same, but it's not quite as imaginative as the ones found using The Google.</p> <p>Here's an example from Font Squirell:</p> <p>Octin Prison</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pJmH6.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pJmH6.png" alt="Octin Prison Font"></a></p> <p>How about something a bit more bizarre from the same location:</p> <p>VanBerger Font</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZB02V.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZB02V.png" alt="VanBerger"></a></p>

2017-01-29T14:39:53.090

|filament|extruder|pla|

<p>I have a Wanhao Duplicator i3 v2 (A.K.A. Maker Select, Cocoon Create).</p> <p>My extruder got clogged: I noticed that it wasn't extruding, so I stopped my print, removed the fan, heatsink and the extruder motor and I saw that the clog is at the heater block level.</p> <p>This is a what I have:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/uDyF2.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/uDyF2.jpg" alt="Blocked extruder - no flash"></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iL1mQ.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iL1mQ.jpg" alt="Blocked extruder - flash"></a></p> <p>As you can see, there is some PLA clogged at the very beginning of the 1.75mm hole in the extruder block.</p> <p>I can see there is something white inside (a stone? something that is <strong>not</strong> PLA?). I tried to heat up the extruder to 250°C and pushing with an hex tool but the block did not move. </p> <p>I solved a lot of clogged nozzle issues with the <a href="https://printrbot.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/202100554-How-to-Unclog-the-Hotend-The-Cold-Pull" rel="nofollow noreferrer">cold pull method</a>, it always worked like a charm, this time I tried too but as a result the PLA filament broke and the "stone" is still there.</p> <p>Does anyone know if there is a way to unclog the extruder in this situation?</p> <p>Do I have to change it?</p>

3487

How to unclog a clogged extruder?

<p>This may not help, but I have a printrbot and when it clogs I heat up the extroder to 210C(for pla) or whatever the normal temperature is. Then manually push your filament through the hole till it's as far as it can go, then drop the hotend temp to 100 degrees C. When it is at 100C pull the whole filament out and hopefully your clog will come out too. After that just cut off the end of the filiment that has the clog on it. And you're good to go.</p>

2017-01-30T13:42:55.383

|electronics|switching-power-supply|

<p>I have seen many people saying on this site and many other 3D printing websites that 24 V systems are safer, compared to 12 V systems. By safer, I am talking in terms of fires or other electrical and component failures. </p> <p>Why would a 24 V system cause less danger? I would think that 12 V would be safer because it is very common (automotive) and many parts have been around for a while that use it. Although there are an increasingly amount of boards that support 24 V, many don't or need fuses or other parts that do support 24 V. </p> <p>Also, many parts that I have used are rated for 12 - 24 V. A 12 V power supply can go a bit over fairly comfortably. A 24 V power supply can't without partially going over the rating.</p> <p>If I had to build a printer designed with safety as a main priority, what voltage would be best?</p>

3492

Why would one choose 12 V from 24 V, from a safety standpoint?

<p>The most important "safety" advantage when using 24V (compared to 12V) is that to get the same power, you only need half the current. A 192W heated bed would need 16A at 12V, but only 8A at 24V.</p> <p>Since one of the most common safety issues is underrated screw terminals being used for the heated bed (just search for "3d printer fire"; you'll find quite a few pictures of charred plastic around screw terminals). For example, the screw terminals on RAMPs board are only rated for up to 12A. That would be okay at 24V, but well over the limit at 12V.</p> <p>Since the wire gauge is dependent on current, you can also use somewhat thinner wires with a 24V system (or equivalently: wires that would melt in a 12V setup won't in a 24V setup). The power dissipated in a wire scales quadratically with current, so the same wire being used in a 24V setup would only waste a quarter of the heat of that wire in a 12V setup. There is also less strain on switching devices (such as MOSFETs or relays). The same applies here: power loss is quadratic with current.</p>

2017-02-01T16:11:42.370

|firmware|

<p>I am calibrating my Kossel XL with a new Marlin firmware changing the <code>MANUAL_Z_HOME_POS</code> since I have modified my print bed.</p> <p>I change the value in the Marlin code and upload it through Arduino (the editor on Windows 10). It has worked many times before with the exact same version of Arduino.</p> <p>When I then use Pronterface and issue <code>G28</code> (home all) followed by <code>G1 Z30</code> (just to be on the safe side) it shows that Marlin wasn't uploaded at all. It is a the same height as before. It's a 22.2 mm difference so it is easy to see.</p> <ul> <li>I have tried restarting the Arduino board before and after upload. </li> <li>I have tried unplugging the USB cable before and after upload.</li> <li>I also tried two different USB ports.</li> <li>The computer has been rebooted.</li> <li>I have examined the Arduino editor's settings, so it uploads to the correct destination (COM3 in my case). It is as it should be. It, of course, reports "upload complete".</li> </ul> <p>What can be the cause of this?</p>

3506

How come firmware isn't uploaded?

<p>Are you sure that the firmware is not being uploaded? You can debug this changing the <code>STRING_VERSION</code> on <code>Configurations.h</code>. If the version is not being changed, I would suggest trying to use another computer to upload the firmware or even another board.</p>

2017-02-01T16:43:29.490

|filament|pla|material|

<p>I am planing on printing something that will make contact with PCB boards. The print will be most likely to be in PLA. I don't want to fry the PCB board so I want to know if 3D printed PLA objects are conductive.</p> <p>I googled and found out about special non-conductive PLA and conductive PLA. But what about the conductivity of normal PLA?</p>

3507

Is PLA filament conductive?

<p>PLA itself falls in the category of non-conductors, with a resistivity (<span class="math-container">$\rho=R\frac A l=\frac 1 \sigma$</span>) in the order of <span class="math-container">$10^{16}\ \Omega \text m$</span> (see <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=5&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiYpKTSw5PXAhXRKFAKHemUCsgQFghUMAQ&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.www.ichp.pl%2Fattach.php%3Fid%3D1166&amp;usg=AOvVaw2BgoK845Z6hvWEcIrRo6_x" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>), similar to other plastics. Following image gives an idea of the values of resistivity for usual conductors and isolators, insulating materials have resistivity greater than <span class="math-container">$10^9\ \Omega\text m$</span>, conductors have it smaller than <span class="math-container">$100\ \Omega \text m$</span> (copper is about <span class="math-container">$10^{-8} \ \Omega \text m$</span>):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/yUUcG.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/yUUcG.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p> <p>However, PLA can be mixed with some amounts of a conductor as graphite, making the filament a conductive material (not as good as, by example, copper). This filament can be used to create some kinds of electric circuits.</p> <p>Other additions (coloring, ...) could also change slightly its properties.</p> <p>Obviously, if PLA reaches glass transition temperature or melting point, holes can appear in the surface, breaking insulation.</p>

2017-02-02T09:03:13.320

|filament|fdm|smoothing|

<p>I intend and would like to print a transparent hemisphere. I have a Taulman T-Glase clear 1.75 mm filament and I have XTC-3D.</p> <p>You can read this interesting page, <a href="http://taulman3d.com/t-glase-optics.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hacking t-glase to look more like glass!</a></p> <p>First question, what kind of printing settings should I use? Should I go for a low infill percentage or a high one? Should I go for line or hexagon? I would say 5% line but perhaps there is a better setting.</p> <p>Then, how should I use XTC-3D as mentioned on the above link? I'm a little bit confused how it can make the part more transparent.</p>

3510

FDM: Clear=transparent part

<p>You will not get perfectly clear prints with FDM because of the mechanics of FDM printing there will always be tiny gaps. But, you can get pretty close as demonstrated by a <a href="https://learn.colorfabb.com/lets-make-something-clear/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ColorFabb tutorial</a>.</p> <p>A clear filament and printing an object at an elevated temperature (more than normal) and enough material to close the gaps (e.g. 110%) should be able to produce transparent prints, for example:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Kmn2Q.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Kmn2Q.jpg" alt="Transparent printed parts"></a></p>

2017-02-02T15:38:48.467

|print-material|

<p>I probably have to find out all the answers myself, but I could really use somebody else's experience.</p> <ul> <li>what material should I use, so the grill does not bend when exposed to the heat coming from the radiator</li> <li>I have to print the part in slices; what glue can I use to join them lately, again so it resists the heat from the radiator and doesn't catch fire</li> <li>is there maybe a CAD file describing this part, so I don't have to manually create it from scratch?</li> </ul>

3513

Is it possible to 3D print a front bumper grille for a Honda Accord CL7?

<p>Your best bet for the material would be one of the high temperature filaments like the ColorFabb HT ones, they can take quite a punch when it comes to heat.</p> <p>As for the model, you could try to source one of the grills that is at least as good in shape as possible and get it scanned, there are people offering this as a service for example over at 3dhubs.com</p> <p>Glue is really depending on the part, I would suggest creating a click-together type of system so the "glue" is only stabilizing it and not beeing a structural component. You can also get hold of a 3D Pen and weld the parts together with the same material used to print.</p>

2017-02-02T17:14:01.587

|extruder|extrusion|

<p>Last night there was an error in printing that caused the printer to stop printing, but kept the hotend on. This morning I discovered that it had fused to what it was printing after remaining on all night - it took some time to remove.</p> <p>Prints afterwards showed signs of under extrusion. Now when I tell it to extrude a millimeter, it no longer extrudes a thin strand, but instead exactly a millimeter of filament comes out the same diameter as it went in. Cleaning the hotend has done nothing, cleaning the extruder has done nothing.</p> <p>I'm left with two conclusions, either:</p> <ul> <li>this is what is supposed to happen, it was broken the whole time, I had calibrated it for the broken setting and just need to recalibrate everything, or;</li> <li>something, most likely the nozzle, is broken.</li> </ul>

3514

3D printer extruding too thick

<p>It also can simply be the PLA. I have had PLA that runs thick no matter what setting I use. I know it's the PLA because when I replace it then it goes back to normal. I have tried temp ranges from 200-220 °C; all with the same results. I even dried the PLA for 9 hours and still did it.</p> <p>Sometimes the PLA just sucks aka a bad batch.</p>

2017-02-02T20:05:22.480

|pla|print-quality|infill|

<p>Will my Duplicator i3 be able to print this hole in the vertical wall without infill? The wall is 7mm the diameter of the hole is 24mm, the shell thickness is 0.8mm. </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/UjfZK.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/UjfZK.jpg" alt="Image of vertical wall with hole"></a></p>

3518

Will my Duplicator i3 be able to print this hole in the vertical wall without infill?

<p>The answer is yes. However I notice that some knowledge is missing due your comments. </p> <p>The walls of the part is formed by 1 or several lines, this lines are called shell.</p> <p>The Infill is the part that fills all within the walls or shell; you can set the infill by 5% to 100% depending in how strong you need the printed part or set 0 to get an empty shell.</p> <p>The printer can be able to print any part, but some areas will need <strong>supports</strong>, this suports is a kind of outerfill to support areas that could overhang basically walls with 45 degrees or less, this support can be easily removed from the final part </p>

2017-02-03T14:02:49.840

|filament|extruder|

<p>I'm not really sure if I'm asking the right question here, but I just made a noob mistake of buying 3 mm filaments instead of 1.75 mm. I have a Makerbot Replicator 2 which I've been using and so far it is pulling in 1.75 mm quite well.</p> <p>Is there any way I can still make use the 3 mm filaments, or do I need to use the filaments on different models? If it is the latter, which particular model is able to pull in 3 mm filament well?</p>

3519

How to Make Use of 3 mm Filaments?

<p>Any modern and decent drive gear (single or dual) is shaped round (concave) to better grip the filament.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/p8csV.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/p8csV.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p> <p>Some are flat, but only the cheapest and least performing ones.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nwrob.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nwrob.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p> <p>(from <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/Drive-gear" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reprap wiki</a>)</p> <p>The concave part designed for 1.75 mm filament will be too small to accept 3 mm filament, it will grip it so weakly that it will skip or skid very easily, especially given the increased grip required for 3 mm filament.</p> <p>1.75 &lt;-&gt; 3 mm is a complete overhaul of anything related to the extrusion path. I did it so I know...</p>

2017-02-05T06:20:27.020

|printer-building|

<p>Many 3D printers employ a GT2 band for the <em>y</em>-axis plate and the printhead in the <em>x</em>-axis carriage.</p> <p>However, there seems to be the obvious disadvantages of:</p> <ul> <li>stretching (and need for adjustment) and;</li> <li>possibly slight inaccuracy, or &quot;wobble&quot; (for want of a better word (as wobble is often used in describing <em>z</em>-axis deviations)), due to the elasticity of the band.</li> </ul> <p>Is there any particular reason why GT2 is used over a straight forward rack and pinion system?</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/EUTlt.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/EUTlt.jpg" alt="Rack and pinion" /></a></p> <p>In particular, for the <em>y</em>-axis plate, as a rack would appear to me, be:</p> <ul> <li>easy to install;</li> <li>more accurate, and;</li> <li>require a lot less adjustment¹.</li> </ul> <p>If the rack is made from aluminium, surely <em>weight</em> can not be a major factor... or can it?</p> <p>Is <em>cost</em> a factor? A pinion seems to cost around \$10-\$15 (650 B\$, here in BKK, Thailand), which is obviously more than a reel of GT2 and a couple of GT2 pulleys.</p> <p>Would the <em>rigidity</em> of the rack be less forgiving of an imperfectly aligned axis, something which the GT2 band and pulleys combination would not be so affected by?</p> <hr /> <h3>TL;DR</h3> <p>Which of these factors cause designers to use GT2 en lieu of a rack?</p> <ul> <li>Accuracy</li> <li>Weight</li> <li>Cost</li> <li>Maintenance</li> <li>Tolerence of non-square axes, manufacturing errors.</li> </ul> <hr /> <p>¹ Maybe constant adjustment is not required on an everyday basis, but the tension would still need to be checked now and again, whereas a pinion would not have this requirement.</p>

3527

Advantages of GT2 over a rack

<p>The answer so others can understand is that it's cheap and simple to run with a belt. Much of the 3D printers these days either stem from the sintering systems that were developed years ago and things that rose out of the RepRap community where a Lead Screw that had the precision needed to do proper 3D printing at decent speeds was out of reach for most of the community.</p> <p>It's a bit of, &quot;we've always used belts,&quot; and then people come up with all sorts of stories to validate the dubious take to begin with.</p> <p>At one point in time (to be specific...around a couple of years BEFORE the question was asked here...) the costs of a lead/belt-screw system for anything other than a Z axis solution for a Cartesian or a Core-XY was prohibitive for a hobbyist or a system bought off shelf or build by them.</p> <p>It was too hard and expensive to get straight enough parts with precision to actually make anything other than small toy systems with those. We wouldn't get into racks as they were even MORE expensive. With the precisions we were previously working on and with in the community at the time this question was originally posed, it was something that only made sense for select solutions.</p> <p>As you scale larger (Hey, we're now professionally making HUGE parts with this stuff) it makes much, much more sense. For certain classes of manufacturing...it actually makes sense with certain filaments to make short run parts for almost ANYTHING, including things in the automotive space. At that juncture, prototyping, fixing &quot;impossible&quot; to repair situations on older cars, etc. makes some sense to get more precision or vastly larger size. Desireable becomes the ability to make printers with volumes up to 2 meters in size. Professional space? Maybe. But telling people that a pinion isn't making any sense? Heh...hardly. Same goes for lead/ball-screws. Several have made incredible printers fairly cheaply that can print seemingly impossible print runs (Hung at a 45 degree angle in mid air and print...) with some of this stuff. Is it cheaper? No. Does it make sense? Possibly. Especially if one wants to DIY a massive print volume printer (<em><strong>waves hand</strong></em>). I want a meter and a half cubed on a side print volume that I can enclose to crank out ASA prints of Smart body panels, for example... You're not getting that with belts- too stretchy, even with PU steel core belts.</p> <p>Frame it in from a relative cost perspective (It's only going to be about 25% more costly on a DIY or commercial product with a speed upside and precision that might make it WORTH that...but understand that an Ender 3 designed that way will run 350 dollars instead of the 200 or thereabouts it currently runs) and you're going to be more realistic and honest on the question's answer. Saying it isn't practical...even from when the post originated isn't being exactly forthright in this day and age- and disregards that a person MIGHT just be willing to spend the more money for the precision, etc.</p>

2017-02-05T14:27:13.000

|pla|warping|

<p>I have a Prusa i3 made by Geeetech. My 3D prints keep suffering from warping when printing with PLA.</p> <p>Whenever I print something with a base at about 10 cm x 10 cm, at least one corner of the print would warp up. I've read numerous articles about warping and tried all sorts of methods. My printer's bed is level, and heated to 60°C. My bed is made from clean glass. I've tried all sorts of adhesives. I tried blue tape, and used hair spray. </p> <p>The only way for me to combat this is gluing the base to blue tape with 502 Glue. I used brim and the whole brim just warps up. I sometimes leave the model printing over night. For the first few hours it's perfectly flat. When I go back to it the next morning I'd find one corner warped up. This is very dysfunctional to my prints. </p> <p>Is there a reliable way to stop this warping from happening?</p>

3532

3D prints keep suffering from warping

<p>It might be useful you confirm again the bed levelling. I had warp on big pieces despite I thought my bed was properly leveled but in fact, for some reasons, the bed was too far from the head on one corner. If you face the same issue, you should see the bottom part of your print is showing the filaments not well melted to each others on the 1st layer. I really make sure the nozzle is gripping my paper sheet (almost scratching it when I move the paper). </p>

2017-02-07T14:13:32.897

|3d-design|support-structures|

<p>I'm still putting aside money for buying my first 3D printer and I'm designing all the things I have to print. </p> <p>As I have <strong>a lot of things</strong> to print I would like to print as much of them as possible in a single print.</p> <p>I have some arcs of circle (between 90° and 320° and 10/30 cm of diameter) and I'm going to slice them so I'll be able to print many of them, vertically, in a single print. I read in the internet that I cannot print over 45°... but starting from where?</p> <p>The image below shows how I would like to print my (orange) things</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/wNnOf.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/wNnOf.png" alt="Illustration of vertical arcs"></a></p> <p>I suppose I can print my things without supports because from Y-start to Y-end they are &lt;= 45° (as the green line shows) is that right?</p> <p>The red line, instead, shows a case where the angle, starting from a (Y: 50%) point, is higher than 45°.</p> <p><strong>So the question is</strong>: Can I print my things in such way?</p>

3545

Print circle arcs without supports

<p>There are a lot of variables here... </p> <p>If you did at ..</p> <ol> <li>higher resolution.</li> <li>Calibrate your machine extremely well. Trial and error. Minimum temps and speed.</li> <li>If you use a fan.</li> </ol> <p>IE bad calibration. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/eWjN5.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/eWjN5.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a> Good calibration at a slower speed and lower temp.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/tE0zh.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/tE0zh.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>What is going to happen is you will get a lot of junk, lines, loops, stringers that you can later remove with clippers. See the first photo for an extreme case. It still printed.</p> <p>Also if you use the right material as well. Some material, will do bridging better, IE ABS has a longer molecular chain than PLA so it tends to do overhangs / bridges better.</p> <p>Images from <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/19643-bridging" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ultimaker</a></p>

2017-02-08T05:11:22.170

|simplify3d|

<p>I have seen a few guides mentioning <em>w/t ratio</em> but I can't find anything which defines it. </p> <p>I am using Simplify3D with a Wanhao i3.</p>

3550

What is a w/t ratio?

<p>It appears to refer to calibration factor called <em>Width over Thickness</em>. </p> <p>From <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:52946" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Calibrate your 3D printer to print parts to fit</a></p> <blockquote> <p>Here is the list of necessary variables for this calibration to work,</p> <ul> <li>Carve/Extra Decimal Places (float) : change to 5</li> <li>Carve/Edge Width over Height (ratio) : nozzle diameter/layer height</li> <li>Inset/Infill <strong>Width over Thickness</strong> (ratio) : nozzle diameter/layer height (initially)</li> <li>Dimension/Filament Packing Density (ratio) : needs calibration (equivalent to the reciprocal of the extrusion multiplier in Slic3r)</li> <li>Scale/XY Plane Scale (ratio) : needs calibration</li> </ul> </blockquote>

2017-02-08T22:25:01.630

|prusa-i3|calibration|

<p>I have just built a Prusa i3 MK2 printer. One of its features is automatic XYZ axes calibration done using inductive probe which is located next to the nozzle.</p> <p>In my case, this calibration procedure failed with the message: </p> <blockquote> <p><em>XYZ calibration failed. Please consult the manual.</em></p> </blockquote> <p>The <a href="http://www.prusa3d.com/downloads/manual/prusa3d_manual_mk2_en.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">manual</a> on this problem reads:</p> <blockquote> <ol> <li><strong>XYZ calibration failed. Bed calibration point was not found.</strong><br> Calibration routine did not find a bed sensor point. The printer stops close to the bed point, which it failed to detect. Please verify, that the printer is assembled correctly, that all axes move freely, the pulleys do not slip and the print nozzle is clean. If everything looks good, re-run the X/Y calibration and verify with a sheet of paper between the nozzle and the print bed that the print nozzle does not touch the print bed during the calibration routine. If you feel a friction of the nozzle against the sheet of paper and the nozzle is clean, you need to screw the PINDA probe slightly lower and re-run the X/Y calibration.</li> <li><strong>XYZ calibration failed. Please consult the manual.</strong><br> The calibration points were found in positions far from what should be expected for a properly assembled printer. Please follow the instructions of case 1).</li> </ol> </blockquote> <p>My nozzle is new, therefore clean and I have already checked that all axes move without any problems. The manual does not seem to offer any additional advice.</p> <p>I tried to put the PINDA probe lower. It had helped the calibration, but at the same time the probe was lower than the nozzle, which means I couldn't print with it being on the extruder.</p> <p>What else can I check? How to find the issue? This is my first printer, so I'm totally clueless.</p>

3552

Prusa's P.I.N.D.A. XYZ axes calibration fails with generic message "Consult the manual"

<p>One thing, and the one that eventually solved my problem, is to update the firmware. Firmware update instructions: <a href="http://manual.prusa3d.com/Guide/Upgrading+firmware/66" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Upgrading firmware - Prusa3D</a></p> <p>The only thing you might get stuck on is selecting the right COM port.</p> <ol> <li>Go to the device manager (run <code>devmgmt.msc</code>) <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/yphCl.png" alt="image description"></li> <li>In COM and LPT section, you should see port for your printer by name. Select that port number in the firmware update tool.</li> </ol> <p>In my case, I had to run the calibration twice before it worked. I had no problems since then.</p>

2017-02-10T04:02:14.437

|3d-design|

<p>We have a toy with some broken parts, an Executivity Gear Master. I don't think it's made anymore. Some tiny parts were easy to break and we'd like to 3d print some replacement parts. We don't have CAD or any other 3D drawings file, just a few of the unbroken parts. What's the best way to get some of these printed? Do I have to turn this into a 3D file first? (Is there a quick way to do that from the part itself?) Or is there a way to do it where I just need the part, rather like getting a spare key cut from a pre-existing key being used as the template?</p> <p>Here's a photo of the part I need to print. Placed next to a quarter for size comparison:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/xZ6VN.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/xZ6VN.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a> </p>

3557

How do you 3d print from an existing part when you have no CAD drawings?

<p>Unfortunately, There's no easy way to go about this. The easiest solution is to model the part from scratch. A pair of (digital) calipers is an invaluable tool for doing that.</p> <p>Given that the part is rather small and (presumably) needs to fit with something, you need very precise measurements. 3D scanning or photogrammetry (reconstructing the models from 2D photographs) are not suitable for this, as they generally result in a model that needs clean up and can't be printed directly (which would be more work than modelling from scratch) and moreover the dimensions won't be accurate enough.</p>

2017-02-10T21:50:45.500

|3d-design|

<p>It's my first encounter with 123D Design, and first time playing around STL/3D printing in general. I can't find much information about the grid. But I noticed, while trying to move it, you can actually raise it from the grid. Does this affect how it will be printed? Does the print have to be snapped to the ground for it to print properly? Or is the grid relative, used for approximation? </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/OPZov.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/OPZov.png" alt="Screenshot of item raised from main grid"></a></p>

3564

Snapping to Ground - 123D Design

<p>The position matters a lot if you use the default STL file without doing anything in the slicer. I've used 123D extensively and when I've inadvertently left a gap between the part and bed (and not snapped it to the bed in the slicer), the printer tries to print in mid air. Use "d" to "drop" the object to the grid. Different slicers have similar commands that will attach a face to the bed. I use Simplify3D.</p>

2017-02-11T04:25:59.960

|heated-bed|slicing|g-code|adhesion|

<p>My heatbed won't let go off the prints until it considerably cools down. The cooling process takes decent amount of time.</p> <p>I was considering putting the <code>M140 S0</code> (sets heatbed temp to 0) somewhere near the end of the printing process, so that when the printing is done the cooling is already in process.</p> <p>Is that a bad idea? I am asking because if it was 100% perfect idea, slicer would probably do it already.</p>

3569

Turning off heatbed for the last few layers. Good idea or not?

<p>It's not a bad idea, and you should try it. But only on prints with some height, because:</p> <p>The goal of the heated bed is to ensure adhesion for the first few layers. Without the heat on the <em>bottom</em> side of the layer, the layers <em>above</em> will pull those layers with it as they cool, causing the warp that you see. When your bed is warmer than the layers above, those first layers stay with the warmth. This continues as the layers above are pulled into adhering to the bottom layer instead of going rogue.</p> <p>Print some objects that are taller than 10 layers, and see. When you succeed, get scientific and dial down the amount of layers until you see warp. Then you'll know which object height you can employ this.</p>

2017-02-13T19:41:31.437

|marlin|

<p>If I wanted to add my own custom M Codes in Marlin - in which source code file would I do that? </p>

3586

Adding custom M Codes to Marlin

<p>In the file <code>Marlin_main.cpp</code> on line 7131 there is a switch case:</p> <p>(To turn on line numbers go to <code>File&gt;Preferences</code> and click Display line numbers.)</p> <pre><code>case 'M': switch (codenum) { #if ENABLED(ULTIPANEL) case 0: // M0 - Unconditional stop - Wait for user button press on LCD case 1: // M1 - Conditional stop - Wait for user button press on LCD gcode_M0_M1(); break; #endif // ULTIPANEL case 17: gcode_M17(); break; etc..... </code></pre> <p>Adding another case with an unused number such as 5 and then the code you want followed by a break should do the trick. Ex:</p> <pre><code>case 5: doABunchofCoolStuff(); myservo.write(thebestposition); break; </code></pre> <p>-AC</p>

2017-02-14T11:25:55.430

|build-surface|

<p>Using a 3D pen I printed a small box. However, I was doing it on plain paper and of course the paper didn't come off the plastic very well. It didn't matter for that specific case, but if I want to print something else, which non-sticky surface would you recommend? Is there any way to use transparent surface (so that I can put a paper with picture as a guide under it)?</p>

3591

I am using a stereo 3D pen. What surface should I use?

<p>I use parchment paper, the kind that you buy on sheets for baking.</p> <p>It come off nicely but there are adhesion problems if you want to do sharp corners.</p> <p>I prefer using ordinary printer paper for that. You can simply soak any scraps of paper off in a sink.</p>

2017-02-15T02:17:27.410

|prusa-i3|calibration|z-axis|

<p>I have a Prusa i3 that homes properly when you use the menu. After adjusting the bed and homing several times, it keeps the head at a reliable distance. However, when I try to print from an SD card, the printer buries the hot end in the heat bed.</p> <p>What needs to be adjusted to fix this issue?</p> <p>G-code from one of the 2 files</p> <pre><code>M190 S50.000000 M109 S200.000000 ;Sliced at: Mon 13-06-2016 15:39:25 ;Basic settings: Layer height: 0.2 Walls: 1.2 Fill: 20 ;Print time: 3 hours 47 minutes ;Filament used: 11.435m 34.0g ;Filament cost: None ;M190 S50 ;Uncomment to add your own bed temperature line ;M109 S200 ;Uncomment to add your own temperature line G21 ;metric values G90 ;absolute positioning M82 ;set extruder to absolute mode M107 ;start with the fan off G28 X0 Y0 ;move X/Y to min endstops G28 Z0 ;move Z to min endstops G1 Z15.0 F3000 ;move the platform down 15mm G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length G1 F200 E3 ;extrude 3mm of feed stock G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length again G1 F3000 ;Put printing message on LCD screen M117 Printing... ;Layer count: 446 ;LAYER:0 M107 ;LAYER:1 M106 S127 G1 F2400 E-4.50000 G0 F3000 X81.474 Y58.603 Z0.300 ;TYPE:WALL-INNER G1 F2400 E0.00000 G1 F2220 X83.063 Y56.456 E0.06663 G1 X84.277 Y55.080 E0.11240 G1 X84.836 Y54.444 E0.13353 G1 X85.799 Y53.476 E0.16759 G1 X86.755 Y52.587 E0.20015 G1 X87.179 Y52.244 E0.21376 G1 X88.836 Y50.911 E0.26680 G1 X89.285 Y50.610 E0.28029 </code></pre>

3596

Printer homes to Z stop-switch, but presses on heat bed during printing

<p>I had the same issue: Z-axis correctly homing manually but not when printing.</p> <p>What worked for me is disabling the following line in the Marlin configuration file:</p> <pre><code>#define Z_MIN_PROBE_USES_Z_MIN_ENDSTOP_PIN </code></pre>

2017-02-15T13:08:29.087

|pla|recycling|waste|

<p>So they say PLA is biodegradable. But I still don't know how much biodegradable.</p> <p>I live in a flat and we have composting trash can in the courtyard. However if I throw PLA in there and it does not decompose, neighbors are gonna be pissed since many of them are intending to use the soil for their balcony flowers.</p> <p>So can I really compost PLA, or does &quot;biodegradable&quot; just mean it falls apart <em>eventually</em>, eg. in years? And <strong>if</strong> it decomposes, is it safe to use for plants?</p>

3598

Can I really throw failed PLA prints on compost?

<p><strong>TL;DR</strong> - No... well, yes you <em>can</em>, but it won't decompose in your lifetime.</p> <hr /> <p>Addressing this question fully - from the point of composting, rather than landfill:</p> <ul> <li><p>From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid" rel="noreferrer">Wikipedia - PLA</a> - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid#End_of_life" rel="noreferrer">End of life</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Composting</strong>: PLA is biodegradable under industrial composting conditions, starting with chemical hydrolysis process, followed by microbial digestion, to ultimately degrade the PLA. Under industrial composting conditions (58 °C), PLA can partly (about half) decompose into water and carbon dioxide in 60 days, after which the remainder decomposes much more slowly, with the rate depending on the material's degree of crystallinity. Environments without the necessary conditions will see very slow decomposition akin to that of non-bioplastics, not fully decomposing for hundreds or thousands of years.</p> </blockquote> </li> <li><p>According to <a href="https://www.3dnatives.com/en/pla-filament-230720194/#!" rel="noreferrer">Is PLA filament actually biodegradable?</a>:</p> <p>It takes 80 years to biodegrade naturally. Although, how they actually know that for sure, seeing as PLA (for 3D Printing at least) hasn't been around for 80 years yet, is unclear.</p> </li> </ul> <hr /> <p>In addition, PLA can only be recycled at plants that have separate facilities that deal with PLA (as bio-plastics interfere with the recycling of other plastics if combined), and (as an aside) the fumes from PLA are not as harmless as many people think, due to the (up to 40%) additives.</p> <p>So, PLA is not such a &quot;happy&quot; plastic as many people are led to believe by the marketing folks...</p>

2017-02-15T16:44:09.693

|3d-models|3d-design|

<p>Is there anything to the process of 3D printing that might make the dice unfair/land on a specific side more frequently? Or will any imperfections be negligible, thus making the dice fair? I'm more concerned about making a d20 than anything else, so focus on that shape if need be.</p> <hr> <p>I am using a MakerBot Replicator+ with FDM, so take this into consideration if it affects your answer, and if you believe a different printing process would have an advantage over this don't hesitate to include it.</p>

3605

Will 3D Printed Dice Be Fair?

<p>I have tried to make an <strong>unfair die</strong> by putting 100% infill in the conner opposite to 6, 5 and 4.</p> <p>When you float it, it always comes with expected side up. So with floating you really can check if somebody has <strong>tried</strong> to make it unfair.</p> <p>The real-life tests have unfortunately shown my complete failure :)</p> <p>After 104 throws the average is 3.49. Even less than "fair" 3.5!</p> <p>It looks like the weight of plastic is too low to compete with hitting and rotation. The next try could be to put something metallic into it during printing.</p>

2017-02-18T04:44:33.427

|print-quality|fdm|desktop-printer|

<p>This has happened a few times whenever I print with the white PLA (Hatchbox 1.75 mm). It seems that the print job produces smooth sidewalls for most of the part but at a certain point and above, the walls become rough as if the alignment is off or something. I've attached a picture to show the issue. Does anybody have any insight?</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/796O7.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/796O7.jpg" alt="Problem demonstration"></a></p> <p>I'm using a Printrbot Simple Metal and some of the print settings are listed below:</p> <ul> <li>Slicer: Slic3r</li> <li>[First] Layer height: 0.2 mm</li> <li>Perimeters: 2</li> <li>Solid Layers [top/bottom]: 3</li> <li>Infill: 25%</li> <li>Fill pattern: Rectilinear</li> <li>Top/Bottom Fill pattern: Concentric</li> <li>Perimeter speed: 30 mm/s</li> <li>Infill speed: 80 mm/s</li> <li>Travel speed: 150 mm/s</li> <li>Acceleration (perimeters): 1000 mm/s²</li> <li>Acceleration (default): 3000mm/s²</li> <li>Default extrusion width: Slic3r chosen</li> <li>Print temperature: 220°C</li> </ul> <p>I've noticed in the Slic3r rendering that the affected area seems to be the point where the infill switches from 25% to solid as seen in the included picture. If this is the problem, is there any way to enforce solid infill a few layers below this to eliminate the awkward transition, or specify a smaller extrusion width at this point?</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/DfWDP.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/DfWDP.png" alt="Screenshot of infill switch"></a></p>

3617

White PLA prints frequently have rough sidewalls near top of the print

<p>If you want to change settings on some area of your part check out <a href="http://slic3r.org/blog/modifier-meshes" rel="nofollow noreferrer">modifier meshes in Slic3r</a>.</p> <p>It looks like to0 much heat is delivered when solid infill starts and some melting occurs. See <a href="https://all3dp.com/common-3d-printing-problems-3d-printer-troubleshooting-guide/#Extrusion-Temperature" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3D Printing Problems #22: Extrusion Temperature Too High</a>. </p> <p>You can try:</p> <ul> <li>Lower extrusion temperature</li> <li>Lower filament flow</li> <li>Improve part cooling</li> <li>Lower print speed</li> </ul>

2017-02-20T23:19:10.480

|pla|prusa-i3|heated-bed|

<p>I have been trying to print an object that is 4 inches tall. About at 3 inches it falls off the bed. I am using tape on the heated bed and right before the print I am wiping the bed with rubbing alcohol. After the first time I tried hot gluing it to the bed when it was mid way through so that it wouldn't fall off but that didn't work. I am printing at 185°C and the bed is 55°C. I am using PLA to print. Should I increase the temperature of the bed or is there something else that is wrong?</p>

3631

Prints falling off the bed towards the end of the print

<p>Check your Z-calibration. I have a similar problem that I'm about to investigate. I have a feeling the Z-axis pulses per mm may need to decrease ever so slightly. The cumulative error may lead to the extruder poking at finished layers as the part gets taller.</p>

2017-02-21T08:21:29.327

|pla|makerbot|infill|

<p>I'm relatively new to 3d printing, and wanted to get a few things understood. Firstly, I am unclear on how Hexagonal infill is stronger than, say, diamond pattern. </p> <p>Can anyone explain how the different shape causes the structure to be stronger? I saw a few places that hex is stronger; usually, more vertices means 'weaker' shape (i.e. a triangle is stronger than a square), so how does that work with hex vs diamond?</p> <p>Also, in small objects, where the printer makes only a single dot as the infill (a dot instead of a line in larger objects), does the infill strengthen the object at all?</p> <p>EDIT: I am trying to understand the effect of the infill pattern on the <em>strength</em> of the print, regardless of print time.</p>

3633

Infill pattern comparison

<p>Hex grids are used for different reasons than triangular grids (such as you often see on bridges and roof systems). Triangles are especially good at being <em>rigid</em>, while hex grids are very material-efficient for a given strength. The second reason ($) is typically more important for 3D printing.</p> <p>Triangles do have fewer vertices than squares, but it's not always true that "fewer vertices" means stronger. Vertices are one kind of weak point. But in a triangle, vertex "angle-holding" failures simply don't matter. You can fasten 3 bars together with hinges or other joints that have little resistance to changing angle, and the triangle is still rigid.</p> <p>In contrast, rectangular grids can (and do -- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t9MpNTSbYg" rel="noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t9MpNTSbYg</a>) completely collapse if their vertices aren't rigid enough. That combines badly with the fact that vertices concentrate forces, so have to be much stronger than sides in comparable settings.</p> <p>A triangle cannot change without changing multiple things -- at least 2 angles and a side, or all three sides. Intuitively, the sides and vertices of a triangle work together for strength. This advantage of triangles doesn't transfer to hexagons, but hexagons have two other advantages: First, if you want to fill a space with a repeating shape, hexagons use less material than other shapes. And second, hexagons keep all the individual "walls" shorter compared to others shapes, which makes them less prone to bend.</p> <p>The material efficiency was proven by Thomas Hales in 1998, according to <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/07/hexagons_are_the_most_scientifically_efficient_packing_shape_as_bee_honeycomb.html" rel="noreferrer">http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/07/hexagons_are_the_most_scientifically_efficient_packing_shape_as_bee_honeycomb.html</a>. His paper "The Honeycomb Structure" is available at <a href="https://www.communitycommons.org/wp-content/uploads/bp-attachments/14268/honey.pdf" rel="noreferrer">https://www.communitycommons.org/wp-content/uploads/bp-attachments/14268/honey.pdf</a></p>

2017-02-21T18:10:28.567

|g-code|printer-building|electronics|calibration|folgertechft-5|

<p>I recently purchased an FT-5 from Folgertech and finished assembly about a week ago. I have yet to accomplish a successful print. It seems like either the file is not being sliced correctly, or that it is possibly reading the G-code incorrectly. It will lay down the first perimeter layer of the part and then shift down the build plate a few mm in the y-direction, extrude another perimeter layer and then repeat. I have tried printing from an SD and through USB using Cura as the slicing software, with the same results.</p> <ul> <li>I have doubled checked the tightness on all of the belts and pulleys</li> <li>The Y-Driver was bad, initially so I swapped it with the spare on the board and it solved the issue.</li> <li>I have gone through the entire code on the Marlin V3 Firmware, and everything seems to look as it should.</li> <li>MKS Gen V 1.4 w/ Arduino Mega 2560</li> <li>I have tried using Arduino 1.6.5/1.6.6/1.6.7</li> <li>I calibrated the XYZ steps/mm</li> </ul> <p>All of the mechanical movements and offsets seem to be correct. The printer connects to Pronterface without issue. It also homes fine from the machine and USB and moves where it should during these processes. Again, it seems to be that the issue is when it tries to interpret the G-code. I have tried multiple G-code files from different sources as well, still with the same luck.</p> <p>If anyone has experience with similar issues or can offer any help, it would be greatly appreciated. I have no clue what could be going on!</p> <p>In red filament is my attempt to print the <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:24238" rel="nofollow noreferrer">5 mm calibration cube</a> this morning, an example of how this calibration cube should look like is seen in the picture with the white calibration cubes.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5JvVlm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="5 mm Calibration Cube"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5JvVlm.jpg" alt="5 mm Calibration Cube" title="5 mm Calibration Cube"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/aZVk8m.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/aZVk8m.jpg" alt="5 mm Calibration Cube example"></a></p>

3637

Folgertech FT-5 : Does not seem to be reading G-Code correctly

<p>The image shows that somehow steps in Y direction (under the assumption that you have taken the photograph from the front) are missed. </p> <p>Missing steps can be caused by too high settings for acceleration and jerk, too much friction on the undercarriage or the belt assembly, undercarriage catching something at a certain point, too less current through the stepper.</p> <p>You could increase the torque on the stepper by increasing the V_ref of your stepper driver is you have separate stepper driver modules, or a adjustment screw on the printer controller board. Furthermore reduce the acceleration and jerk settings and check the undercarriage for stick-slip movement by disconnecting the belt, then reconnect the belt and check for friction of the pulleys.</p>

2017-02-27T15:52:54.077

|filament|prusa-i3|print-quality|delamination|wanhao|

<p>I have a Wanhao Duplicator i3.</p> <p>I have done many excellent prints with this printer, and have first hand experience that it can do a pretty much flawless print.</p> <p>But... Recently, I am experiencing weird results. My "flow" seems uneven. When laying down the first layer of the raft, I can see it looks like it "beads" in some places. Thin lines with little "beads" here and there (which seem to be in a constant pattern) i.e. -------()-----()-----()------()------ etc.</p> <p>I initially thought, wet filament... But drying the filament had no noticeable effect. Further more, all my prints seem to be horribly laminated at a certain "height" of the print. This is really strange as it will print perfectly and only at a certain height, mess up about 5mm of layers (height wise), and then print great again. This seems to be a constant now.</p> <p>I dont understand how/why this could happen, as the whole z-axis is on a linear spiral shaft. Unless there is a gcode issue somewhere that I am not aware off. I am using CURA as my slicer and I feel that even if there was an isnturuction hidden somewhere at a certain height, it would possibly effect a single layer, and not 5mm worth of layers.</p> <p>Any ideas?</p> <p>I have tried:</p> <p>Different filament Pushing flow % to 105 and 110% respectively Cleaned extruder gears and print head Oiled z-axis shafts</p> <p>What baffles me, is the weird delamination (or rather lack of lamination) at a certain height. I have not measured this height exactly, but from guestimating, it looks like roughly the same height on every print where the issue is visible (about 3/4 up in the attached image). My support structures are also VERY messy, whilst they were very precise and perfect previously.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/epy7e.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/epy7e.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>Thanks</p>

3659

Print is not properly laminated at certain height

<p>Thanks to all the replies. Whilst all of them may be valid in some scenarios, my case seemed to have been a combination of things, that relates to most of the replies here.</p> <p>I had my spool holder on the side of the machine, and I noticed some friction as the filament feeded over the "arm" on top of the printer into the extruder. I sat and looked at this for a while, and it seemed apparent that as the extruder moves up, the angle of the filament over the "guide arm" on top changes to a more severe bend. This may have been why it always battles to extrude nicely at a certain height, and then maybe recoveres after that to an extent. (SO yes, under extrusion may have been the issue)</p> <p>I have now moved the filament to on top of the printer to feed straight down. I have also slowed down the travel to about half of what it was (40 now, was 60). I also dropped the infill speed a bit as that was also a mess most of the times.</p> <p>So far I have had excellent results! I am not sure if its the travel speed drop or the extruder feed that helped the most, but I am a happy chappie again. (So far).</p> <p>Thanks for all the input. It really made me re-look at all of this from a different view.</p>

2017-02-27T23:39:34.063

|diy-3d-printer|

<p>I am wondering - of course if the 3D printer's bed big enough - printing multiple copies of the same print could save me significant amount of time in a small production line, excluding minor wastage such as setup time, post-processing time, etc.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/aQ1Zt.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/aQ1Zt.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>e.g. if my foo print takes 10 hours, printing 2x copies at the same time would take 2x times more, increasing linearly or it would be significantly less?</p>

3661

Would 3D printing multiple copies at once saves time?

<p>It will save you and the machine time if done properly.</p> <p>Simplify 3D has a setting that lets you do multiple layers at once; as most slicers do. Therefore if the part is 10cm tall, then you can set it to move to the next one after 10 cm. The machine would then build each one in turn on the build plate in sequence. You won't have to remove the parts very often, and the machine won't have to take the time to heat up after each print. If done incorrectly, as in moving from one part to another for each layer, then yes it will require a large number of slow retraction and Z-axis moves, costing you more overall time.</p>

2017-02-27T23:49:41.503

|heated-bed|g-code|

<p>I'm familiar with 3D printing, and the G-code concept. I'm also comfortable with programming. </p> <p>Can anyone give me the G-code (or probably the M-code, actually) to read the bed temperature? </p> <p>Is there an equivalent of <code>M105</code> (Get Extruder Temperature)?</p>

3662

G-code (M-code?) for Get Bed Temperature

<p><code>M105</code> should give you the bed temperature. </p> <p>For future reference you can find a general list of G/M codes here - <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/G-code" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RepRap Wiki - G-code</a>. </p> <p>Most firmware files include a list, Marlin has it in <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/Marlin_main.cpp" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Marlin_main</a>. I have no idea how often the list is updated but they don't change often.</p>

2017-02-28T13:20:35.137

|fdm|print-material|color|pet|

<p>I am doing a quad-copter now.</p> <p>I am not sure what color is the best to use for outdoor durability, especially in sunlight.</p> <p>They say PETg is the most durable material amongst cheap ones.</p> <p>But what color to choose: white or transparent? Or it does not matter?</p>

3670

What is the best color of PETg to use for outdoor durability?

<p>PETG might not be the best for long term UV exposure.</p> <p>According to Midland Plastics, PETG doesn't hold up well in outdoor applications, and is susceptible to UV degradation. Unless you have an outdoor or UV rated PETG product which will have additional chemicals added to it, it may breakdown more quickly than you would expect. (the link I used was : <a href="http://www.midlandplastics.com/srtd_petg.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.midlandplastics.com/srtd_petg.htm</a>)</p> <p>Polycarbonate on the other hand does hold up better in outdoor applications and is better suited for long term exposure to UV light. Most quads and RC products you see that have a nice slick looking shell on them, are made from Polycarbonate. That stuff is usually vacuum formed sheets. It does still breakdown but it is a much stronger material. The downside is that PC requires a higher nozzle temperature, than PETG. (The reprap wiki has more info: <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Polycarbonate" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://reprap.org/wiki/Polycarbonate</a>)</p> <p>That being said PETG is not going to dissolve in sunlight. It will likely last upto a year if not longer depending on usage. If this is your first quad you're making, then odds are you'll have a crash due to hardware failure before excessive UV degradation (at least thats been my experience with prototype aircraft).</p> <p>Good luck!</p>

2017-03-05T20:45:52.083

|pla|prusa-i3|print-quality|adhesion|rafts|

<p>When I am printing objects that have a lot of surface area on the first layer parts of that layer will rise up causing there to be gaps in the first layer. Here are two pictures. The first one was printing with a raft and the second one was without a raft.<a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/yLnZA.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/yLnZA.jpg" alt="Raft"></a><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/x6vXw.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/x6vXw.jpg" alt="No Raft"></a> I am printing on 3M Painters tape, extruder temperature at 200, bed temperature at 60. I am using Hatchbox PLA Filiment.</p>

3683

Lines of PLA not sticking to the bed

<p>I am having the same issue. I saw one similar post describe this as "baconing" and said it comes from over extrusion. Looking at the filament coming out I could imagine that if there is too much filament for the given travel speed, then it would buckle up. I tried decreasing the extrusion percentage. The Makerbot slicing program doesn't have a setting for that so I did multiple test prints and raised the filament diameter from the default 1.77 to 1.84 in the end, which is about at 20% decrease in the extruder output. I also slowed the prints speed. Both factors seemed to improve the quality, so over extrusion and speed both seem to be contributing factors, but the problem still hasn't gone away completely. It's happening with white Makerbot brand filament on large layers but not with green Makerbot brand and small layer heights (I haven't yet tried green coarse or white fine). I measured the white filament diameter with calipers and it is the proper 1.75mm, I'm just forcing it to extrude less by putting 1.84mm into the slicer settings.</p>

2017-03-07T08:15:34.147

|filament|makerbot|replicator-dual|

<p>I have access to a MakerBot Replicator 2X which I use to try to print ABS + dissoluble (both are MakerBot's original filaments). It is really a pain and the filaments most often gets clogged (80% of the prints have to be thrown away). I a supposed to use the printer in a professional context, but at the moment it is really problematic and I feel pressure going up...</p> <p>I have initially tried the default parameters provided by the machine for known filaments (ABS: 230°C / dissoluble: 250°C / plate: 110°C + 0.1mm layers). As the nozzle got clogged I have made many other attempts with varying parameters and up to (250°C / 270°C / 135°C), which slightly improves things but is far from being really usable.</p> <p>Any idea of where this comes from? - ABS being notoriously difficult to print? - The Replicator 2x being old tech? - A parameters problem?</p> <p>Any advice on what I should do to improve the situation?</p>

3688

MakerBot replicator 2x glitches

<p>I don't have a profile that has settings for the dissolvable filament anymore, but this is one I use for thin layers (second extruder at 232C my first extruder isn't working so just ignore that one).</p> <p>You may want to try printing small simple objects with each extruder independently first to confirm that you have good settings, then try both together after you know you have good settings. ABS is a pain but mostly for warping and sticking to the build plate. The dissolvable filament I believe is PLA if you're using Makerbot materials.</p> <pre><code>{ "_attached_extruders" : [ "mk8", "mk8" ], "_bot" : "replicator2x", "_extruders" : [ 0 ], "_materials" : [ "abs", "abs" ], "adjacentFillLeakyConnections" : false, "adjacentFillLeakyDistanceRatio" : 0, "anchorExtrusionAmount" : 5.0, "anchorExtrusionSpeed" : 2.0, "anchorWidth" : 2.0, "backlashEpsilon" : 0.050, "backlashFeedback" : 0.90, "backlashX" : 0.0, "backlashY" : 0.090, "bedZOffset" : 0.0, "bridgeAnchorMinimumLength" : 0.80, "bridgeAnchorWidth" : 0.80, "bridgeMaximumLength" : 80.0, "bridgeSpacingMultiplier" : 1.0, "coarseness" : 9.999999747378752e-005, "commentClose" : "", "commentOpen" : ";", "computeVolumeLike2_1_0" : false, "defaultExtruder" : 0, "defaultRaftMaterial" : 0, "defaultSupportMaterial" : 0, "description" : "External Definition", "doAnchor" : true, "doBacklashCompensation" : false, "doBreakawaySupport" : true, "doBridging" : true, "doDynamicSpeed" : false, "doDynamicSpeedGradually" : true, "doDynamicSpeedInteriorShells" : false, "doDynamicSpeedOutermostShell" : true, "doExponentialDeceleration" : false, "doExternalSpurs" : true, "doFixedLayerStart" : false, "doFixedShellStart" : true, "doInfills" : true, "doInsets" : true, "doInternalSpurs" : false, "doMixedRaft" : false, "doMixedSupport" : false, "doOutlines" : true, "doPrintLayerMessages" : false, "doPrintProgress" : true, "doPurgeWall" : false, "doRaft" : true, "doSplitLongMoves" : true, "doSupport" : true, "doSupportUnderBridges" : false, "endGcode" : "", "exponentialDecelerationMinSpeed" : 0.0, "extruderProfiles" : [ { "bridgesExtrusionProfile" : "bridges", "feedDiameter" : 1.820000052452087, "feedstockMultiplier" : 0.9300000000000001, "firstLayerExtrusionProfile" : "firstLayer", "firstLayerRaftExtrusionProfile" : "firstLayerRaft", "floorSurfaceFillsExtrusionProfile" : "floorSurfaceFills", "infillsExtrusionProfile" : "infill", "insetsExtrusionProfile" : "insets", "layerHeight" : 0.20, "maxSparseFillThickness" : 0.20, "nozzleDiameter" : 0.40, "outlinesExtrusionProfile" : "outlines", "raftBaseExtrusionProfile" : "raftBase", "raftExtrusionProfile" : "raft", "restartExtraDistance" : 0.0, "restartExtraDistance2" : 0, "restartExtraRate" : 25.0, "restartExtraRate2" : -1, "restartRate" : 25.0, "restartRate2" : 25, "retractDistance" : 1.700000047683716, "retractDistance2" : 0, "retractRate" : 25.0, "retractRate2" : 50, "roofSurfaceFillsExtrusionProfile" : "roofSurfaceFills", "sparseRoofSurfaceFillsExtrusionProfile" : "sparseRoofSurfaceFills", "toolchangeRestartDistance" : 18.50, "toolchangeRestartRate" : 6.0, "toolchangeRetractDistance" : 19.0, "toolchangeRetractRate" : 6.0 }, { "bridgesExtrusionProfile" : "bridges", "feedDiameter" : 1.769999980926514, "feedstockMultiplier" : 0.9300000000000001, "firstLayerExtrusionProfile" : "firstLayer", "firstLayerRaftExtrusionProfile" : "firstLayerRaft", "floorSurfaceFillsExtrusionProfile" : "floorSurfaceFills", "infillsExtrusionProfile" : "infill", "insetsExtrusionProfile" : "insets", "layerHeight" : 0.20, "maxSparseFillThickness" : 0.20, "nozzleDiameter" : 0.40, "outlinesExtrusionProfile" : "outlines", "raftBaseExtrusionProfile" : "raftBase", "raftExtrusionProfile" : "raft", "restartExtraDistance" : 0.0, "restartExtraDistance2" : 0, "restartExtraRate" : 25.0, "restartExtraRate2" : -1, "restartRate" : 25.0, "restartRate2" : 25, "retractDistance" : 1.399999976158142, "retractDistance2" : 0, "retractRate" : 25.0, "retractRate2" : 50, "roofSurfaceFillsExtrusionProfile" : "roofSurfaceFills", "sparseRoofSurfaceFillsExtrusionProfile" : "sparseRoofSurfaceFills", "toolchangeRestartDistance" : 18.50, "toolchangeRestartRate" : 6.0, "toolchangeRetractDistance" : 19.0, "toolchangeRetractRate" : 6.0 } ], "extruderTemp0" : 228, "extruderTemp1" : 232, "extrusionProfiles" : { "bridges" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 40.0 }, "firstLayer" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 10.0 }, "firstLayerRaft" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 50.0 }, "floorSurfaceFills" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 40.0 }, "infill" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 40.0 }, "insets" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 40.0 }, "outlines" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 10.0 }, "raft" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 90.0 }, "raftBase" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 10.0 }, "roofSurfaceFills" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 90.0 }, "sparseRoofSurfaceFills" : { "fanSpeed" : 0.50, "feedrate" : 90.0 } }, "fixedLayerStartX" : 0.0, "fixedLayerStartY" : 0.0, "fixedShellStartDirection" : 215.0, "floorSolidThickness" : 0, "floorSurfaceThickness" : 0, "floorThickness" : 1.0, "gridSpacingMultiplier" : 1.0, "infillDensity" : 0.3000000119209290, "infillOrientationInterval" : 90, "infillOrientationOffset" : 0, "infillOrientationRange" : 90, "infillShellSpacingMultiplier" : 0.70, "insetDistanceMultiplier" : 1.0, "jsonToolpathOutput" : false, "layerHeight" : 0.1199999973177910, "leakyConnectionsAdjacentDistance" : 0.0, "maxConnectionLength" : 10.0, "maxSparseFillThickness" : 0.1000000014901161, "maxSpurWidth" : 0.50, "minLayerDuration" : 5.0, "minLayerHeight" : 0.010, "minRaftBaseGap" : 0.0, "minSpeedMultiplier" : 0.30, "minSpurLength" : 0.40, "minSpurWidth" : 0.120, "minThickInfillImprovement" : 1.0, "modelFillProfiles" : {}, "numberOfShells" : 2, "platformTemp" : 110, "purgeBucketSide" : 4.0, "purgeWallBaseFilamentWidth" : 2.0, "purgeWallBasePatternLength" : 10.0, "purgeWallBasePatternWidth" : 8.0, "purgeWallModelOffset" : 2.0, "purgeWallPatternWidth" : 2.0, "purgeWallSpacing" : 1.0, "purgeWallWidth" : 0.50, "purgeWallXLength" : 30.0, "raftAligned" : true, "raftBaseAngle" : 0.0, "raftBaseDensity" : 0.6999999880790710, "raftBaseLayers" : 1, "raftBaseRunGapRatio" : 0.8000000119209290, "raftBaseRunLength" : 15.0, "raftBaseThickness" : 0.3000000119209290, "raftBaseWidth" : 2.50, "raftExtraOffset" : 0.0, "raftFillProfiles" : {}, "raftInterfaceAngle" : 45.0, "raftInterfaceDensity" : 0.3000000119209290, "raftInterfaceLayers" : 1, "raftInterfaceThickness" : 0.2700000107288361, "raftInterfaceWidth" : 0.4000000059604645, "raftModelSpacing" : 0.3499999940395355, "raftOutset" : 4.0, "raftSurfaceAngle" : 0.0, "raftSurfaceLayers" : 3, "raftSurfaceShellSpacingMultiplier" : 0.6999999880790710, "raftSurfaceShells" : 2, "raftSurfaceThickness" : 0.1400000005960465, "roofAnchorMargin" : 0.40, "roofSolidThickness" : 0, "roofSurfaceThickness" : 0, "roofThickness" : 1.0, "shellsLeakyConnections" : false, "solidFillOrientationInterval" : 90, "solidFillOrientationOffset" : -45, "solidFillOrientationRange" : 90, "sparseInfillPattern" : "hexagonal", "splitMinimumDistance" : 0.40, "spurOverlap" : 0.0010, "startGcode" : "", "startPosition" : { "x" : -112, "y" : -73.0, "z" : 0 }, "supportAligned" : false, "supportAngle" : 30.0, "supportDensity" : 0.2000000029802322, "supportExcessive" : false, "supportExtraDistance" : 0.50, "supportFillProfiles" : {}, "supportLayerHeight" : 0.2000000029802322, "supportLeakyConnections" : false, "supportModelSpacing" : 0.2000000029802322, "supportRoofModelSpacing" : 0.4000000059604645, "thickLayerThreshold" : 0, "thickLayerVolumeMultiplier" : 1, "travelSpeedXY" : 150.0, "travelSpeedZ" : 23.0, "version" : "3.9.4" } </code></pre>

2017-03-08T04:06:17.447

|g-code|dual-nozzle|

<p>I have been playing around with creating scripts to generate some custom G-code for a Malyan M180 and I am having trouble understand what commands to use to switch nozzles. Sometimes I can get the nozzles to switch and it doesn't recenter but sometimes it does. I have been using:</p> <pre><code>G54 M108 T0; switch to left </code></pre> <p>and</p> <pre><code>G55 M108 T1; switch to right </code></pre> <p>Has anyone else looked into this and have any idea what commands or sequence of commands should be used to change nozzles?</p>

3696

What G-code commands tell the printer to change nozzle on a dual extruder printer?

<p>As @tbm0115 has mentioned - it differs. Your <code>M108 T{index of tool}</code> command is perfectly fine on some FlashForge printers, a company known for its different sorts of proprietary code. It is indeed used for tool changing here.</p> <p>While on the common Marlin firmware (e.g. used on the popular Creality Ender printers), <code>M108</code> does a completely different thing-namely acting as a break sequence if the G-code parser is in a closed-loop-condition (after certain commands like <code>M109</code> that wait until a certain action takes place).</p>

2017-03-09T18:04:22.330

|diy-3d-printer|arduino-mega-2650|

<p>I'm building an automatic warehouse system using three NEMA 17 stepper motor. </p> <p>My problem is to move the motors with precision, since I do not have any kind of encoder on the motor and so I cannot know the position of the axes. I thought that the system could be similar to a 3D printer, since neither 3d printers have encoder on the motor. </p> <p>Where can I find a sketch for Arduino of a 3D printer, to understand how they work? How do they move with such precision without any kind of sensor?</p>

3702

Arduino 3D printer sketch

<p>A stepper motor is different from a typical electric motor. Instead of being "on" or "off", or running a some approximate variable speed, the controller sends a series of pulses to drive the motor one step at a time. This can be driven forward or backwards.</p> <p>Based on how the motor and machine is designed, the machine will move a tiny amount. If for example, one step moves , say 0.1mm. If you send 150 pulses in the forward direction, the machine will move 15.0mm If you then send another 8 pulses in the reverse direction, the machine will be 14.2mm from the starting point.</p> <p>To know the absolute position, you need to establish the starting point. Most printers have limit switches at their "home" position. To initialize the position, drive the motor until it hits the switch, and then set position as zero.</p> <p>Then count the pulses up and down as you send them, you will will keep track of the machine's position.</p>

2017-03-09T19:43:20.960

|3d-models|

<p>I am a totally beginner at 3D printing and I have this question: I see many 3D printers (at amazon) with Z precision as low as 0.1mm! To me that's amazing but what does not amaze me is this: when I see the printed objects of those 3D printers you can easily with naked eye see the "vertical steps". How?</p> <p>A precision of 0.1mm should be really almost impossible to see. If a person printed using 0.1mm precision how can I see the vertical steps?</p> <p>I know there are some smoothin techniques to make the surface better but that shouldnt even be needed if the printer actually printed at 0.1mm in the first case.</p>

3703

Ugly 3D printing with high precision

<p>The 0.1mm refers to the thickness of each layer. However, it does not say anything regarding:</p> <ul> <li><p>How precise the layers are in the XY plane</p></li> <li><p>How precisely each layer is aligned with the previous in the XY plane</p></li> <li><p>How consistent the extrusion is: are all the layers printed with a consistent line thickness</p></li> </ul> <p>No matter how fine the layers (and these printers that you refer to can definitely print 0.1mm layers just fine); if they're not well-aligned with each other, or the filament extrudes inconsistently, you're going to see the layer lines. It takes a rigid printer, with low-play bearings, a well-calibrated extruder and filament with a consistent diameter to get smooth-looking prints (but you will always see <em>some</em> layering, especially if you look up close). Also, since filament is extruded in a round shape, the sides of the object are not perfectly flat, but consists of many small arcs, which makes it easier to see the layer lines.</p>

2017-03-10T23:27:48.510

|pla|heated-bed|adhesion|

<p>I've heard that using hairspray is useful for keeping the 3D objects from peeling off of the bed, but every example I have seen where someone uses hairspray, they use it on a glass bed.</p> <p>Is it okay to use it on a metal bed as well?</p>

3710

Should you use hairspray on a metal bed 3D printer?

<p>I have a home-brew printer with a 9.5 mm (3/8&quot;( thick solid aluminum heated bed. The bed is bare, with no additional tape, plastic film, or glass. For PLA I use purple Elmers glue stick or Aqua Net hairspray directly on the aluminum. For ABS I use acetone/ABS solution.</p> <p>Yes, it is OK to use hairspray on an aluminum metal bed.</p>

2017-03-12T01:49:56.653

|fdm|post-processing|

<p>I'm looking for a post processing method for increasing the functional strength of a 3d printed part originally made by FDM. I've tried printing my part with solid infill but the layer separation is still the primary failure point. I'm looking for a way to get something closer to a cast or injection molded part. Obviously less strength but there is a pretty big gap in material properties.</p> <p>The only method I've thought of that might work is drilling a small hole, or series of holes in my part to inject an epoxy into the part. Haven't tried it.</p> <p>I'm open to any possible ideas or advice if someone has tried something like this. Not sure if this is necessarily the best place but thought it's a good place to start.</p>

3720

Post processing FDM for strength

<p>Recognizing that the posting party feels that FDM constructed parts are of insufficient strength for his purpose and allowing for proper layer bonding, one can understand that the model can be perfectly constructed and not reach the strength objective.</p> <p>Filling a model with an epoxy or a casting resin will provide additional strength. Testing smaller, non-critical models is recommended to determine the level of increase. The design has to be re-engineered to provide for resin/epoxy flow within the model. Some epoxy and resin formulations generate heat when curing and may soften the model. The solution in such cases is to mix and pour small amounts, allowing for a pause between pours.</p> <p>An alternative to filling a model is to reduce the perimeter (if applicable) and apply a reinforcing layer. I've constructed satisfactorily printed models with insufficient strength for my purposes, but then applied fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin to the outside. A single layer provided the necessary strength in my case.</p> <p>One could apply sufficient layers to provide all the necessary strength, effectively turning the model into a positive mold. This is commonly done with amateur-built aircraft of the Burt Rutan design style. More recently, an article appeared on the internet of a model being printed with wash-away support material only, covered in carbon fiber. The wash-away was washed away and the wing structure became the product. For your application, it may not be necessary or practical to remove the inner model.</p> <p>Just as with the injection concept, one must re-engineer the model to allow for this type of reinforcement. Edges will have to be radiused or the sharp termination of reinforcement layer will become a weak point. Tight inside angles will have a similar problem.</p> <p>Fiberglass cloth comes in various weights, measured in ounces per square foot (US). The lighter cloth is more capable of "turning corners" and fitting into tight angles.</p>

2017-03-12T12:07:23.187

|filament|part-identification|

<p>Is there any way to test what kind your filament is? There are no labels on the spools and I don't know whether they are ABS or PLA.</p> <p>I got the plastic with the printer, which is no longer sold (Solidoodle 2). Since I bought it on eBay that is probably why it has unprofessional filament. The plastic filament came with the printer which is now off sale (Solidoodle v2).</p> <p>I set my extruder to 210&nbsp;°C and bed to 50&nbsp;°C and it printed fine (with tons of hairspray and painters tape).</p> <p>I figured out where I got it. I got it from Solidoodle (who have gone out of business) when I bought the Solidoodle 2 right after it came out. </p> <p>I bought PLA and ABS so it has to be one of the two. Any other ways without having to burn and smell plastic? I just have the roll with no numbers, works or anything on it. And how to I smell without breathing in the fumes?</p>

3728

Identifying the plastic type of an unknown spool of filament or recyclable waste

<p>I know this question is old, but the existing answers are all overly general relative to the question. If someone is in OP's same sitution, the "prints at 210/50" data point pretty much guarantees it's PLA. No subjective "smell tests" or playing with fire needed.</p> <p>The comments indicated some doubt that it's PLA due to lack of "sweet" odor, but PLA has very little odor at all, and whether you'd describe it as "sweet" probably varies by individual.</p> <p>Aside from "PLA" (usually blends of PLA of smallish amounts of proprietary ingredients), there's virtually nothing on the filament market that prints at these temperatures, especially not without adhesion and warping problems. TPU/TPE can also print at these temperatures, but you'd usually know if that's what you had just from the flexibility. These properties of PLA are largely why PLA is so popular.</p>

2017-03-12T20:45:20.317

|slicing|ultimaker-cura|

<p>I have an stl with multiple parts that I want to split up. Cura 15 had an option to "split object into parts" but I can't find that in cura 2.4. Did it get removed?</p>

3732

Cura 2.4 missing "split object into parts"

<p>Nope, not in my version 2.4+</p> <p>Seems like something so useful and silly to have to get yet another program to make it work. Like that is somehow faster? I have no problem with slow. </p> <p>Can't believe it would be slower than hopping into another program, opening file, dividing file, saving stl file, then reloading into Cura again... Cura slicing it would need to be awfully slow for that to be faster.</p>

2017-03-14T20:53:52.453

|filament|abs|

<p>I have an STL file and I would like to know how many grams would this print consume. Is there a software so I can get it or an online link that can say me that?</p>

3742

How many grams will be used in a print

<p><a href="http://slic3r.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Slic3r</a> will calculate the weight after you have exported the G-Code.</p> <p>Normally, you'll only see the "Info" box. But after saving as G-Code, there's a "Sliced Info" which mentions the weight according to the settings you made (filament type and infill).</p> <p>That's how it looks like:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cnZRE.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cnZRE.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

2017-03-16T14:57:18.373

|print-quality|hardware|resolution|tronxy-x3|tronxy-p802|

<p>I am wanting to buy a 3D printer to add to my shop.</p> <p>I am an engineer and enjoy making/building things so the kit idea sounds fun and economical.</p> <p>I see Tronxy has two different styles for their larger printers:</p> <ul> <li>P802 (reprap frame) style</li> <li>X3 (metal frame) style.</li> </ul> <p>As far as I can see, both printers have the same basic resolution, accuracy, and material specs.</p> <ol> <li>What are the advantages/disadvantages/differences between the P802 and X3? </li> <li>How important is auto-leveling?</li> </ol>

3750

Tronxy printers

<p><strong>I ended up buying a TronXY X3 and have had it several months.</strong></p> <p><strong>I have seen several videos on the P802 and the X3 so I believe I can answer this question fairly.</strong></p> <p><strong>Here is what the two printers look like</strong> </p> <p><strong>P802</strong> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5zO6um.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5zO6um.jpg" alt="P802"></a></p> <p><strong>X3</strong> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/tyW8bm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/tyW8bm.jpg" alt="X3"></a></p> <p><strong>Here is a comparison of the features</strong> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/mx6TU.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/mx6TU.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p><strong>Here are my overall impressions:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Both printers are kits and have their assembly challenges</li> <li>The X3 is often a little bit (10-20%) more expensive</li> <li>The X3 frame is very rigid. I have heard the the P802 is also rigid.</li> <li>Acrylic is not as durable long-term (it cracks). There are Acrylic parts on both printers; but, the Acrylic frame on the P802 would concern me more.</li> <li>The bed on the X3 can wobble and the P802 doesn't look like it would. (Note there are several available modifications to fix the X3 wobble)</li> <li>The Boden extruder on the X3 makes the filament pull consistent; but, it can make the filament more difficult to feed.</li> <li><p>The External Controller box on the X3 can make the printer more difficult to move and it can take up more desk space.</p> <p><strong>The biggest negative (and likely a show stopper) on the P802 is the unprotected Melzi, Exposed AC connections, and no power switch.</strong></p></li> </ul>

2017-03-17T01:43:29.620

|support-structures|

<p>I have some files for 3d printing that I want to do structural analysis because I plan to apply loads on them. I know there is a Solidworks analysis module for this purpose called Simulation, but according to what I have read about this software it is not very effective for analyzing parts that have been created by layers such as 3d prints.</p> <p>Does anyone work with this and could describe important features to make a good structural analysis?</p>

3754

Structural Analysis

<p>For running an analysis on FDM printed parts Solidworks Sim would be extremely difficult to use. It's not really designed for running this type of analysis and is at the fairly low end of FEA analysis packages. An FDM analysis should be treated almost like a composite structure and you'd have better luck running something like ANSYS, or NASTRAN but those are by no means the only two. To get good (and accurate) results from FEA you'll need to model each layer, the bonding between each and the internal structure.</p> <p>I've never done it myself but i've looked into doing it. The mesh required for even a fairly simple part looks pretty massive. Certainly possible and certainly doable, but you'd need to weigh your expectations against how much time it would take to model everything, set up the mesh and then run the analysis. In my experience, given that most FDM prints are pretty quick to build, it always seemed to be more efficient to build a few parts load them up and watch how they fail in a structural test. 20 hours of printing and then an additional 10-15 of setting up and running the tests were faster than running a proper FEA.</p> <p>For a quick and dirty FEA, i'd use the solid model of my part and only consider loads that acted normal to the Z-Axis of the print. Any loads that act in shear apply a huge FOS. The closer to pure shear the larger the FOS you'd want to have. And any thin, tall parts i'd assume can take no loading outside of pure compression.</p> <p>Edit: Just noticed that this question had a tag on Heat-management</p> <p>As far as a Heat loads go, it'll depend heavily on the infill type and density you have on your model. Everything from above will still apply, but the loads would then be thermal loads instead of structural. Particularly with FEM at best your first analysis will only be within about 50% of true values and you will then need to update your thermal model with the results from your first verification test.</p> <p>Depending on the accuracy required from the analysis you could get away with modelling a hollow part with the walls of the part being the thickness of the printed shells. Higher accuracy analysis you'll have to model all layers as they are printed. If you're just looking for a 'will it melt' analysis, thin walls will work fairly accurately assuming you're confident in your material properties.</p>

2017-03-17T06:48:39.623

|prusa-i3|software|electronics|tronxy-x3|tronxy-p802|

<p>I am about to purchase a TronXY X3 or P802; but, my PC is running Windows 10.</p> <p>The spec sheet for the printers does not list anything above Windows 7. Is anyone using either of these printers with Windows 10?</p>

3755

TronXY Windows 10 driver

<p>For Windows 10 driver, go directly to the Microsoft update catalogue. <a href="https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=USB%5CVID_1A86%26PID_7523" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=USB%5CVID_1A86%26PID_7523</a></p> <p>Download the .cab file, extract the contents. Using Device Manager update the driver for the partially installed device. After the update TronXY-2 now appears as a COM port.</p>

2017-03-19T14:24:01.617

|diy-3d-printer|safety|enclosure|

<p>Is there a commercially available fume and nano particle extractor for a 3D printer, like the Ultimaker3 extended? I'm looking for a safe solution, to use at home, for around $800. </p>

3771

Commercially available 3D printer fume and UFP extractor

<p>There are two main options you could consider. The first being a diy filter and the second being a commercially available fume extractor. </p> <hr> <p><strong>Option 1</strong></p> <p>You could make a filter yourself. On Thingiverse, there are many ideas that you could implement. A few examples are these : </p> <p><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1992079" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1992079</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2285882" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2285882</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2105113" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2105113</a></p> <hr> <p><strong>Option 2</strong></p> <p>Buy a commercially available fume filter. An example that would be well below your budget ($178) would be the Zimpure (<a href="https://www.zimple3d.com/zimpure/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.zimple3d.com/zimpure/</a>). This is a device that will vacuum the fumes right by the nozzle and filter them. Additionally, you could get this filter from Matterhackers : <a href="https://www.matterhackers.com/store/l/3d-printpro-2-fume-extractor/sk/M148KJM4?rcode=GAT9HR&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw27jnBRBuEiwAdjQXDAJL0tK7g4mAGvHf1ThJigJ80j920qelXJXtdOLcufKXE2Dkd2ZfUxoCzdsQAvD_BwE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MatterHackers</a>. This could be an option if you are willing to go a little bit above your budget. If you would rather have a filter for 30 bucks, you can also look at this filter that attaches to your enclosure : <a href="https://www.3dupfitters.com/products/fan-and-charcoal-air-filter" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.3dupfitters.com/products/fan-and-charcoal-air-filter</a>. </p> <p>Lastly, if you wanted to go all out, you could also get this enclosure : <a href="https://www.3dprintclean.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.3dprintclean.com/</a>.</p> <hr> <p>I hope any of these solutions named might be beneficial to you :). For even more options, visit this post : <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/513/what-air-filtration-options-exist-for-enclosures">What air filtration options exist for enclosures?</a></p>

2017-03-20T00:12:31.033

|abs|post-processing|

<p>I have built a few parts that have printed 'pins' on them (2mm diameter 1.5 cm length). Due to the orientation that the build requires the pins have to have support material on them. (The part has to be printed with the pins parallel to the build plate for strength reasons and the orientation can't change).</p> <p>The problems i'm having is that the surface of the pins are quite rough. The pins are designed to press-fit into a soft rubbery tube, and the pin surface roughness is cutting into the softer tube. The roughness is due to both the layer edges of the print, and that the support material leaving some 'burrs'. I'd like to smooth the outside of my pins with some type of post processing technique. Ideally I'd like to keep the pins as close to dimensionally accurate as possible, but I realize they won't be perfect.</p> <p>The two methods I've considered are sanding the pins by hand and placing my part in an acetone vapor chamber for a while. </p> <p>Sanding, I think, is the best option of the two so far but it's a bit tedious, and is quite difficult to do, due to the size of the pins, their location and my fingers are pretty big relative to the space I'm working in.</p> <p>I don't like the idea of using acetone because the few times I've tried doing this in the past, my parts always came out warped or misshapen I think due to the relief of stresses. (or I did it wrong, both seem plausible).</p> <p>If anyone has a third option (or more) I'd be glad to hear. Or if there is another approach altogether that I haven't considered that can be done on an FDM style printer that would also be appreciated.</p>

3776

FDM, ABS Post-processing methods

<p>Your objective is quite a challenge, considering the limitations within which you have to operate. Small diameter of an appreciable length is daunting indeed.</p> <p>I would consider to use a regulated heat source such as a soldering station, one with removable tips. After electing an appropriate tip to handle the dimensions, a hole drilled into the tip to accept the pin diameter and length would be the next step.</p> <p>There would be consideration needed for the plastic material pushed ahead of the soldering tip, as well as angular stability while pushing the soldering iron onto the pins.</p> <p>To improve these circumstances, a sharp edge ground at the end of the soldering iron tip would give a better shearing of the excess plastic. </p> <p>The temperature control would be critical to prevent destruction of the pin within the tip and to provide optimum removal via the cutting end.</p> <p>Directly related to the above, but without the heat would be the equivalent tool to be used in a rotary grinder such as a Dremel. The bore of the custom-made cutter would match the pin and the sharp cutting end could also have serrations such as those found on hole-saws. Low speeds and a steady hand are required!</p> <p>If either of the above suggestions do not remove sufficient plastic roughness, one would make the pins of a larger diameter and ensure that excess is removed to specifications.</p> <p>EDIT: Additional thoughts. Hobby stores and online equivalents will sell very small diameter tubing. It might be an easy matter to find 2 mm inside diameter tubing of brass or even stainless steel. A few passes on a piece of sandpaper while the tubing is chucked in an electric hand drill and you have a sharp cutting edge.</p>

2017-03-22T20:02:09.020

|heated-bed|

<p>My printer just stopped working. It seems like it's working perfectly, but it gives me an error whenever I move the Z-Axis (Error: Printer set into dry run mode until restart) then, the bed temperature appears to be at 293ºC when it's actually at 95ºC.</p> <p>I suspect that the bed wires short-circuited since they got stuck behind the bed when the printer was moving Y-Axis to home (the wires blocked the movement). Since then, the error appeared. </p> <p>I suspect that the controller board could have been harmed by the supposed short-circuit, but despite the error, I can move perfectly any axis; I can heat the bed and the extruder; I can extrude filament; it is just the error which doesn't let me print.</p> <p><strong>Printer:</strong> Anet A8 Desktop 3D Printer Prusa i3</p> <p><strong>Software:</strong> MatterHackers: MatterControl 1.7</p> <p><strong>Update:</strong> The bed temperature is stuck at ~95ºC, sometimes ~250ºC, even if I disconnect the sensor wires and restart the printer, so apparently, it's failing to read the bed temperature.</p>

3782

Error: Dry mode when moving Z-Axis

<p>I bought a new board controller and it's working perfectly</p>

2017-03-23T10:47:35.790

|marlin|g-code|

<p>My <strong>mono mendel</strong> 0,0 position is on the left of the bed, when the nozzle is at the position of the green dot in this image.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/YQ5aj.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/YQ5aj.png" alt="Mendel mono home position"></a></p> <p>I would like to move that point to the left a bit, in order to print a slightly larger part (the bed has about a centimeter more space to the left). I know I can just allow negative values but I'd rather not to, for safety reasons.</p> <p>However I cannot find where the offset of that point from the endstops (home position) is declared. There is no offset set in either pronterface or Slic3r, and unless my board came preloaded with different firmware than the one reprappro publishes, the <code>*_HOME_POS</code> variables in their Marlin repository are all equal to 0.</p> <pre><code>// The position of the homing switches. Use MAX_LENGTH * -0.5 if the center should be 0, 0, 0 #define X_HOME_POS 0 #define Y_HOME_POS 0 #define Z_HOME_POS 0 </code></pre> <p><a href="https://github.com/reprappro/Marlin/blob/master/Marlin/Configuration.h#L290" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://github.com/reprappro/Marlin/blob/master/Marlin/Configuration.h#L290</a></p> <p>Any ideas how I should go about it?</p>

3784

Resetting the zero position of the X axis on a RepRapPro Mendel Mono

<p>I think the cleanest option is to move the X-endstop back about a centimeter to match, and then increase the size of the bed in both Slic3r's and the printer's settings.</p> <p>You could also try using <a href="http://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M206.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">M206</a> to set a persistent offset after homing.</p>

2017-03-24T06:27:41.337

|pla|adhesion|

<p>I'm having a similar issue to <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/1207/how-to-remove-a-pla-print-stack-to-a-buildtak-sheet">this one</a>: I have retrofitted my printer with a BuildTak sticker. I'm printing PLA at 60°C bed temperature - currently using a 0.3 mm nozzle, but I had similar issues with the 0.4mm nozzle before. </p> <p>If I bring the nozzle close enough to the print surface to get a reasonable first layer, I need excessive force to remove the parts afterwards - so much force that I already have damaged the BuildTak in one or two places. If I lower the bed (the physical bed using the screws, not the temperature!) so that the parts come off easier, the first layer is very uneven and it takes 5-6 layers until the layers start to stack onto one another the way they are supposed to. What can I do to influence the adhesion of the printed parts to the BuildTak surface - especially to lower it in a controlled manner without changing the nozzle height?</p>

3786

Lower BuildTak adhesion

<p>These are more like backups for when the part gets stuck, but you could try spraying that part where it meets the bed with liquid computer duster. The shrinkage from cooling usually helps to release the part from the bed. You could also try heating the bed very hot to save the bed at the expense of the part.</p>

2017-03-26T16:44:21.083

|3d-models|makerbot|support-structures|

<p>I have a makerbot, and am using their slicer program. The part I am printing has an extremely coarse thread, 5 threads per inch with a 2 mm thread height. The thread face is at a 30 degree angle (15 degrees of overhang)</p> <p>I have printed external threads like this without issue and without support material before for various gardening tools (a flow straightener for example). I'm now trying to print an internal threaded part however the rest of the part needs to have support. I've played with the settings in the makerbot software but can't find a combination that will acomplish my goal. </p> <p>I'm looking for an idea, a setting, or an alternate way of printing the threads without support, but still have supports for the other sections of the part that I know do need them. </p> <p>Perhaps there is an alternate software that can do something like this, or is best practice to modify the part to have weak structural elements to support the extremely overhanging sections that I'll then break off afterwards and print the part with no supports?</p>

3793

Printing coarse threads

<p>Try using simplify 3d. It's a very powerful slicing software compatible with almost every 3d printer. It does cost 150 dollars, but that would be the only drawback to using that software. You can manually place supports around your model without having he software mess it up. I think this is exactly what you're looking for.</p>