You can use a text editor like Notepad+ on Windows or gedit in Linux. gcode is pretty straightforward. The macros in pronterface are handy but unfortunately they send all the commands at once. You can also put any gcode you want in your slicer configuration both before and after. In my post-print code I have a command to turn off the heated bed since I'm usually not there when printing completeby papergeek - General
Joining filament is definitely useful but you want to have it aligned and smooth. At least with my hot end (Magma) the tolerance on the top end is fairly close so if the join is kinked or not that solid it could jam or break off. Either would be bad. I think people have come up with a few designs for filament joiners that use heat and some guide mechanism to get a smooth and seamless join... Fby papergeek - Printing
So basically managing the temperature is the key. I'm not familiar with the physics of diode lasers but it sounds like it is the high temperature and runaway current effect that leads to higher temperatures that destroys them, not just higher current. I'll need to re-run my tests with a higher ambient temperature. The ambient in my garage is usually around 15C during my normal hacking hours, andby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
I was really sorry to miss it - hopefully there will be more of these - sounds like there was a good turnout. I went to Ansir Friday and met with Wesley - they have several spaces that would be good. I got a look at FabLab (which is also there) but haven't spoken with Katie yet. I'm still waiting to hear back from Eric Schleicher (the organizer of 3D Printing San Diego on Meetup) but it soundsby papergeek - California / Southern California RepRap Usergroup
I have a Nichia NDB-7875-E (445nm blue diode laser) and the datasheet says the absolute maximum forward current is 1.7A. The seller claims it can be pushed as high as 2.5A but will have reduced life, and many posters on laserpointerforums.com claim to be running theirs at 2.0 - 2.1A without killing them. I have good heatsinking (stacked copper plate in contact with the can's copper housing) andby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
I'm also looking for good sources in the US and will share findings... There are lots of places that sell tiny windows or red sheets for ridiculous prices. I need blocking for 445nm and my cheap goggles seem to work but don't have optical density data. It should be a function of the density of the tint measured through the thickness of the glass, although some of the very expensive ($$$) gogglesby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
3d printing is not a problem - I can print all the parts I need. Design in FreeCAD is also not a problem. Basically the 3D printed parts would be motor housings, transmission, etc. Some of the transmission frame components would need to be plywood. Plywood could be laser-cut - the cutting laser I have right now is not powerful enough but good old fashioned power saws should work fine. This is onby papergeek - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
I heard back from Ansir Innovation Center in Kearney Mesa and will be talking to them soon about meetups there. In the process I found this meetup group which sounds like they already have a place figured out: It looks like they already met back in September.by papergeek - California / Southern California RepRap Usergroup
Yes, I heard back from Makerplace, they actually have a meeting room which is free for members and accessible to non-members, but it's carpeted. And I can't really afford membership there... I'm currently looking for community center rooms for rent - Escondido Center for the Arts has a 1000sq. ft art studio (with a hard floor) they rent out for a reasonable rate. I'm trying to get details. I'm lby papergeek - California / Southern California RepRap Usergroup
I have found a few good online sources here in the US (but know well how hard it can be to get shipments reliably to Canada). I still sometimes like to drop into my local industrial supply place. I'd be surprised if there weren't cash and carry places like this especially around greater Toronto. They can be hard to find (usually tucked away in an industrial park) like this place: They don't alwby papergeek - General
(looks at last post by self... realizes there is already Octoprint available which does all that... d'oh!) So I rather like the idea of the web-based GUI the more I think about it, and it turns out Octoprint runs on a Raspberry Pi, has webcam support, and is capable of controlling multiple printers. Adding the ability to control / monitor via a tablet should also be possible (if someone hasn'tby papergeek - General
Yes, Raspberry Pi sounds like a good option, just not one of the ones I've worked with in embedded programming. The latency for the UI is not an issue since you're making the dedicated processor (Arduino) do all the real-time work, and you basically just need a single process or thread on the ARM Linux CPU that interacts with the USB connection to the Arduino (which is basically a serial connectby papergeek - General
I'm still planning to move my ethernet webcam over to the corner of the garage where my Prusa i3 resides... Sometimes even when I'm at home I would like to be able to keep an eye on it (say, when reading or watching TV elsewhere in the house). My only problems with unattended printing came with some of my "train wrecks" when I didn't have good adhesion on my ABS prints (which turned out to be unby papergeek - Reprappers
The best way to do what you're describing would be to use a Linux-capable board (most of them with Android support) like a BeagleBoard, Gumstix, etc. for the UI and use a USB connection to the Arduino controlling the actual device. As Traumflug points out, you need a dedicated processor to handle all the events, and what you're describing is basically a generalized computer. The Arduino-based desby papergeek - General
I was able to get silica gel in bulk fairly cheaply (used for drying flowers, got it at Michael's, an arts and crafts chain). Although you can reuse both calcium chloride and silica gel, apparently the recycle temperature for silica gel is a bit lower (around 150C) versus 300C for calcium chloride. We'll see how well it works - I have it in a bucket with a 3mm hole drilled for PLA / PETT filamenby papergeek - Printing
When printing the fan shroud it's best use a small layer height like 0.2mm. When you check the levelling do you use a piece of paper? Basically when you home the Z axis with a piece of paper below the nozzle (making sure there's no hardened plastic hanging down from the nozzle) it should slightly push the paper against the glass so that when you pull on the paper you feel a slight drag. You needby papergeek - General Mendel Topics
That is very cool! I've been looking at different etching solutions and it seems like the hydrochloric acid + hydrogen peroxide gives the lowest cost of consumables. It sounds like that's what you're using for PCB etching. I'm also considering trying this method on other metals (such as brass) for engraving. Have you found particular paints that are more resistant to acid? What about simple sprby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
Over that large an area plywood (as a substrate for your bed) is likely to warp. That's why particle board is often used as a well-supported substrate - unfortunately the resin content makes particle board extremely heavy. That's also why plywood used for subflooring is usually tongue-and-groove, 3/4" thick and heavily glued down. Plywood just has a tendency to warp. I haven't tried doing this mby papergeek - General Mendel Topics
There is/was out in El Cajon but I haven't been able to find out if they're still active (last posting on their Drupal site or on Google Groups was almost 2y ago). Still haven't given up on finding a RUG meetup space, at this point my most likely option seems to be a community center hall for rent on the cheap with a hard floor...by papergeek - California / Southern California RepRap Usergroup
Last night I used a shim and adjusted the PCB against the wooden platform and got it perfectly level in all 4 corners (after going through calibration). I tried printing a large piece that always warped previously and it came out perfect. Basically I loosened the bolt holding the one corner that was low, inserted a soft wood shim to adjust height, then tightened the bolt back down pressing the PCby papergeek - General Mendel Topics
I notice that you have the one with the current-limiting driver built in, so you could limit your current going in to get a minimal beam. I got a similar 3W diode laser and still putting together my heat sink and driver circuit. I got cheap red laser safety goggles for doing low-power focusing. It was pretty easy to focus a low-power beam well enough to get about a 0.2mm burning beam. For testiby papergeek - Laser Cutter Working Group
I usually have to recalibrate after every 8 hours of printing or so (more often if I print a lot of tall pieces, say over 60mm). As my i3 6" Prusa came from Makerfarm, it had vinyl tubing coupling the Z axis stepper motors to the 8mm threaded rods. I found that tended to slip (especially as the vinyl tubing heated up in proximity to the heated bed) and put in a fresh piece of vinyl tubing and shby papergeek - General Mendel Topics
Hairspray (fructis extreme #5 as mentioned) with a carefully leveled bed works fine. I recently found that my front-to-back levelling of the bed wasn't spot on - it's the front left corner on my i3, which has only one point of attachment to the smooth rod on the left side (as you face the front of the printer). I'm hoping I can tweak the bed spacers to get the front-to-back levelling on the frontby papergeek - General Mendel Topics
Printing PLA with the Magma is still a problem for me. I haven't had the time to go back to experimenting with it but would love to be able to print PLA. I have a spool I need to dry out (it seems to have absorbed moisture so swells more quickly causing extruder jams). Are you using slic3r and if so what special settings are you using for PLA? Good to hear it's working for somebody with a Magma!by papergeek - Reprappers
I have a couple of thoughts on this... The deposition process depends on adhering to the underlying layer. Stepped overhang is not a problem provided the angle is not too steep, but if the LAST point of deposition has nothing under it (i.e. it is precisely on the overhang) the print head moving away from the part on completion is going to leave something behind. The slicer could probably take tby papergeek - Printing
I am in agreement with you there. Even adding a single line is a bit of a pain with a large gcode file - I'd rather have pronterface allow me to specify one or more layers where I want to change. For now it's a bit easier for me to change the Marlin firmware than to muck around with Pronterface but that's definitely a good feature to have.by papergeek - Printing
That's the problem, I don't have a good place. Weekends tend to actually be more busy for me and I live up in Escondido. I'm hoping someone will read this and have an industrial type space. I've been trying to find a hackerspace around here - that would be ideal. I can't pin anything down although a google search comes up with a few: (no activity for almost 2 years) This looks pretty cool butby papergeek - California / Southern California RepRap Usergroup
Interested yes, San Diego around Mira Mesa, Sorrento Mesa or anywhere further north on I-15.. If there was a suitable place to meet up it would be a good start.by papergeek - California / Southern California RepRap Usergroup
I live in Escondido, work in Sorrento Mesa, don't really have a good place to meet up anywhere but it would be great to have a place with ventilation, power and wifi for periodic meetups. There are a few people around San Diego, North County, Temecula, etc. just no critical mass yet...by papergeek - California / Southern California RepRap Usergroup
I built a Prusa i3. I went through the list of parts needed, put together a BOM spreadsheet, then found that I could get a complete kit from MakerFarm for about the same price. I'm quite happy with the results. The laser-cut plywood frame seems to work fairly well - my biggest problems have been with the z-axis threaded rods, and of course the Magma all-metal hot end. Of course there have been aby papergeek - Reprappers