GCODE files for dibond.

Is there any reason why we could not have a set of gcode for the Mendel dibond that we can just send and print off the usb card from your good self chris (Nophead) ?.

That way as its from you and we have the same printer thing will be all good.

Whilst im learning the skienforge, id still want to get a full set of parts printed before something die's

Cheeky to ask I know

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Time to play every day... Why be bored and old

Cylon - Does that mean that you will also be expecting a spool of filament to go with the GCode? Don't forget that the things which go to make the GCode file include parameters taken from the target filament.

Alan

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2013 05:16PM by Alzibiff.

Yes the parts are designed to be printed in ABS with 0.4mm layers. That won't work with PLA and a 0.4mm nozzle. In fact since my supplier of ABS changed where he gets it from I had to ream out all my nozzles to 0.45mm to be able to print 0.4mm layers as the new stuff didn't have as much die swell.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Sorry was not thinking, so basically i have to either ream out or changed my nozzle and turn to ABS.

so that implies its not replicating itself....

As im not at the stage of changing/altering my stock mendel 90, i should be able to print out my own parts for the machine even if its in pla with a 4mm nozzle.

Enlighten me please.

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Time to play every day... Why be bored and old

Well it was self replicating with the ABS I have been using for three years but the company that made it stopped making it recently. The stuff I get now looks exactly the same but has less die swell. In some ways that is a good thing because I can either use a bigger nozzle to get the same results, which would allow faster extrusion, or print finer layers with the same size nozzle.

It can't self replicate in PLA because it is made from ABS and some parts run too hot to be made from PLA.

The nozzle size and the die swell dictate the maximum layer height you can use. PLA has quite low die swell so you can't do more than about 0.35mm layers with a 0.4mm nozzle.

You can slice the parts at any layer height but a few parts of the design expect to be being two walls thick, or a single layer thick. Most parts would be fine.

You could change the filament sizes in the scad model but then some parts will change a little and may move the hole positions slightly in the Dibond. Not a problem if you are making a new machine but would be for making spares.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Being new to 3D printing, I am finding this very confusing.

Okay the Mendel90 has a 0.4mm nozzle. I take it when the original ABS was used the diameter of the extruded ABS was greater than 0.4mm, lets call it ED for extruded diameter.

1) What was the value of ED?
2) Does that mean that parts came out slightly larger than the size set in OpenSCAD i.e. One or two layers of 0.4
where actually larger than 0.4 & 0.8
3) How can you do layers with a size less than ED
4) Is there any chance that a different supplier of ABS would allow spare parts to be created with a 0.4mm nozzle.
5) With a 0.45 nozzle and latest ABS what is the value of ED

Correct me if I am wrong but couldn't you print at a 0.2mm layer height and come out with the correct dimensions?

KeithSloan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Being new to 3D printing, I am finding this very
> confusing.
>
> Okay the Mendel90 has a 0.4mm nozzle. I take it
> when the original ABS was used the diameter of the
> extruded ABS was greater than 0.4mm, lets call it
> ED for extruded diameter.

Yes.

>
> 1) What was the value of ED?

About 0.6mm

> 2) Does that mean that parts came out slightly
> larger than the size set in OpenSCAD i.e. One or
> two layers of 0.4
> where actually larger than 0.4 & 0.8

No, the volume doesn't change so the parts always come out the right size if the slicer dispenses the right volume.

> 3) How can you do layers with a size less than ED

The cylinder of plastic gets squashed to the correct layer height by the nozzle being that height above the layer below and stretched to the length determined by the axis movement, which determines the width.

> 4) Is there any chance that a different supplier
> of ABS would allow spare parts to be created with
> a 0.4mm nozzle.

Maybe but most natural ABS is cream and has lower die swell. The plastic I get from Germany is unusual in that it is white when un-pigmented.

Adding pigments sometimes increases the viscosity and hence the die swell although this seems more noticeable with PLA than ABS.

> 5) With a 0.45 nozzle and latest ABS what is the value of ED.

About 0.6mm again. Basically the cross sectional area of the cylinder has to be larger than the cross sectional area of the filament paths, so that the plastic is stretched, otherwise it will sag when spanning a gap.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2013 10:03AM by nophead.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

@RyanMark,
Yes you could print with 0.2mm layers and the vertical features would come out correct although where there is a one layer support membrane to be drilled out it would be two layers instead.

If you kept W/T as 1.5 then you would need two outlines to get the same strength walls and horizontal features would be correct however 0.3mm is not really wide enough when using a 0.4mm nozzle. The plastic might be stretched to much and snap when spanning gaps.

As you lower the layer height the width should tend towards the nozzle size. 0.3mm layers with 0.4mm width might work reasonably well with PLA and anything that was designed to be two filaments wide would be three, which is OK.

If you used say 0.5mm width then you might get some gaps if a feature was designed to be two filaments, i.e. 1.2 you would get a 0.2mm gap.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]