Long prints and beginner's nerves

I just started my longest print so far, estimated at about 15 hours. It's a big leap to hope your printer runs perfectly for that long - I feel like an expectant parent! I wish I had a webcam I could use to keep an eye on things. The printer is down in the basement and I feel an overwhelming urge to go and check on progress every few minutes.

What sort of length prints have you folks done, and do you ever get used to it?

Going down and checking it is a very sensible thing to be doing - as time progresses and your experience grows you will develop trust in your machine and your ability. Of course the standard advice however is never to leave a machine running unattended nor to leave the house

3 1/2 hours in, this is killing me! I think I need a second printer - it's bugging me that I can't print anything on my printer because it's busy printing. Nobody warned me that this was addictive!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2016 09:36AM by JamesK.

I have a wireless webcam in my printer that I can use to monitor progress during long prints. It lets me check the printer anywhere via my phone.

---

Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Now you know why people hook up web cams with OctoPrint and have multiple printers.

It is addictive, get a another printer! Waiting on my third one now. There will come a point where keeping x printers running is too much hassle but so far if x=2 it isn't. Will let you know if 3 is the magic number. Good luck with the big print.

I set up my wife's video camera which has wifi remote capabilities, so now I can check in without leaving the sofa Not sure how long the batteries will last however.

We must be about 9 hours in, and still a long way to go!

Well, that was a wild ride. nineteen hours all told. I messed up the slicing for a couple of overhangs and had a nervous half hour or so assessing how bad things were going to be. Fortunately they are in a less structurally critical area, and it recovered well enough not to impact the rest of the print. The large flat area pulled a chunk out of the glass as it cooled which is a bit of a shame. Good thing I have a spare.

Once I had the part in my hands I immediately noticed a couple of things I had overlooked and would change. Funny how much easier that is once the part is printed than when it is in CAD. With 1/4 a roll of filament and a full day printing invested in this thing I think I will live with it the way it is.

Printed in PETG at 250C on elmer's purple.

Looks really good!

Yes, a web cam is a good idea. There were a couple times early on where I was away from the printer at dinner, and watching it - and it crashed. I was able to get there in just a few minutes and shut it down tho. Hard to stop watching it tho.

You may find that a larger nozzle will get the job done quicker, and also may make for better bonded layers.

---

My printer: Raptosaur - Large Format Delta - [www.paulwanamaker.wordpress.com]
Can you answer questions about Calibration, Printing issues, Mechanics? Write it up and improve the Wiki!

Thanks Paul. Webcam and more nozzles on order

I use an older android smart phone with IP Webcam
[play.google.com]

Steve