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General discussions. For specific printers / electronics / fabrication methods / softwares, please see other sections.
Polishing in a tumbler - 12 years ago
Has anyone tried polishing ABS or PLA in a tumbler? Shapeways does this with their WSF material, using ceramic media and water. The SLS surface is a lot smoother to start with, so I am wondering how much a tumbler would knock down the layers of something printed at a .2 or .15 layer height.by IanJohnson - General
Re: do you print all prints with one slice setting? - 12 years ago
Sometimes I change settings within a single print. I printed a form for making soap molds that had a wide fillet on top that would get gaps if I didn't use a high number of perimeters. I didn't want to use so many perimeters for the entire print however. I sliced the model 3 times and copy/pasted the gcodes together such that: The first 1mm printed with 3 perimeters, .3 layer height, 20% fiby IanJohnson - General
Re: Painting, Inlaying and Finishing - 12 years ago
I don't know if there would be a way to color an ABS/Acetone inlay other than with color filament, so that would limit your options. However, it could be cool. Maybe flow it into shallow channels left in the print, then sand it down a little to remove overflow. After sanding, a couple quick washes with acetone would smooth it out and make it seamless.by IanJohnson - General
Re: Tantillus portable 3D printer - 13 years ago
gerards1111 Wrote: > > Also trying to trade on the reprap name and spirit > whilst charging a premium doesn't sit right. Look > at the blurb on the campaign. I thought the RepRap spirit was one of DIY. Provide all the information anyone would need to assemble your design themselves and maybe improve on it, and provide that information to them for free. I never got the idea that "by IanJohnson - General
Re: Stratasys's mojo : throw-away hotends - 13 years ago
Is there a difference in software as well? Slic3r and Skeinforge settings need to be tweaked at times depending on the geometry, while with the Mojo you are supposed to hit print and expect a perfect result. Is the Stratasys software able to analyze the model and adjust the speed, flow, temperature, cooling etc. for different parts of the model? Having fans or orbits activate based on a minimumby IanJohnson - General
Printing small layers in ABS - 13 years ago
I have been trying to print some robot chess pieces I made for the Tinkercad challenge, and have been having some trouble with small, column type layers. I've had the temp down to about 190C, but layers still tend to remain hot enough that they move around a little as the upper layers are deposited so details get a little jumbled. I used an aquarium pump and a hose to blow air just below the noby IanJohnson - General
Designing and Printing to dimensions - 13 years ago
Can someone give me some advice, or point me to a discussion on dimensional accuracy? What do I need to do in the design to insure that the printed object has the correct outer dimensions, and interior diameters of holes? Are skeinforge and Slic3r smart enough to account for thread width? If I want the ID of a hole to be 3mm, and my thread width is .42, do I need to make that hole 3mm or 3.42?by IanJohnson - General
Re: What's your toolchain? - 13 years ago
I usually model in Alibre and export STL, open in Replicator G to orient the model on the platform, then Slic3r, Pronterface and Marlin firmware. I like Marlin sooo much better than Sprinter. If Slic3r gives me trouble then I will upload the model to cloud.netfabb.com to fix it. If I think an STL will give me trouble,I will check it in the free MiniMagics (http://www.materialise.com/MiniMagiby IanJohnson - General
Humidity and Filament - 13 years ago
Is there a range of relative humidity that is ok for storing filament so that it won't absorb enough moisture to be a problem? My printer is in an unconditioned garage workshop. I have the spools stored in a tub along with a dehumidifier rod which is supposed to work by raising the temperature in a cabinet. When the garage is 55F, it can get the inside of a rubbermaid tub up to about 65F and 4by IanJohnson - General
Clogged Hot End - 13 years ago
I've clogged my Makergear hot end, apparently due to some ABS that was too wet. I actually saw steam shoot out the top of the groove mount, and now it won't extrude. I've seen the video on burning out the ABS with a torch, and took everything apart, but I can't get the barrel out of the groove mount. I don't think I can grip the barrel hard enough to turn it without mashing the threads. Can tby IanJohnson - General