3D printers, anyone got one?

bobs409

 
Administrator
I'm real happy! I got this thing printing GREAT!!

The problem I had with the cat yesterday was due to the nozzle being too close to the build plate. It was not allowing the filament to exit the nozzle properly. I reset all that and it's working great now. A test print specifically for that came out excellent on the first try.

So... I decided to print a test "calibration cat." Isn't he cute? :D This one came out damn near perfect! This one printed on a "raft" which is the wide flat piece he's sitting on in some pics. That's only used to help adhere the print to the bed. You just pull that off when done. Even that was PERFECT!

Another purpose of this cat is to check and help set up the dimensions correctly. So if you print something 20mm's like his square head, it needs to come out to that measurement. If not, you can make corrections to the machine. I forgot my calipers so will have to check his dimensions tomorrow. These printers can do some very accurate printing!

Next up will be some printer add on's like fan guards and cable clips. I'm also starting to work on a mind blowing enclosure for this! (top secret at this point)

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fourzeronine

Well Known Member
Different filament brands will have slightly different temperature requirements. There are calibration “tools” you can print to help determine the optimal settings for each.
 

bobs409

 
Administrator
Today I made my first ever "self designed" 3d part! (and it was successful) Up until now, I only made things that others have designed but now I'm in the big leagues. :D

I needed 4 end caps for some 1-1/4 16ga square tube. So, I took a few measurements and drew one up in Inkscape, then took it to Tinkercad to size it and convert it into an stl file, then opened that file in Cura to "slice" it and convert it to G-code, then off to the printer! (sorry for all the 3d lingo) It took 30 minutes to print (1).

Here it is hot off the press heat bed. A nice snug fit like I wanted too. These will do for what I am making but I can imagine these with a nice finial type shape added to the top. Sky's the limit!

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bobs409

 
Administrator
Designed another one. (this is fun) :D

I had this design in mind for a radius gauge but couldn't find one so I designed it and printed one out. It goes from 1/8 up to 1-1/2 inches.

I like this gray color but it's going to be nice to get something else for a change! Amazon is as slow as molasses in January anymore. I have 2 rolls on order, one white and one blue. It's TOUGH finding PLA! Everyone is sold out!

I'm quite happy about how little filament these things use. The roll I have is 1kg (1000 grams) and it's showing I still have over 800 left!

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bobs409

 
Administrator
The enclosure I'm building is going well too. I won't give too much away but will share one special touch it's going to have, etched glass!

The left and right glass panel and the glass panel in the door will have these etched designs in them. I did the door glass today and it looks awesome!

I found the designs online, sized them and cut out vinyl as a stencil on the cricut maker. Just stick them onto the glass and mask off everything you don't want etched. Then just "introduce it" to your sandblaster! :D I did start by putting the sheet of glass in my blast cabinet but it was really tough going so I took it outside and finished it. (and I was quickly covered in SAND!) :furious

First pic shows the vinyl stencils I made. The second shows the door glass with the stencils on and the last is the finished "etched" design ready for the install.

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bobs409

 
Administrator
Just a few trinkets to share. First off is a set of "soft jaws" for my little lathe. (files found online) Nice when you need to grab a hold of a finished part without marring the surface.

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Next up is an adapter to attach a vacuum cleaner to an orbital sander. This is one from H.F. and all it had was the useless cloth bag. I was going to design something but decided to check online to see if one already was done. Eureeka! I found this one and printed it out. Took 3hrs and 8 minutes but it's really nice! Fits perfectly onto the old piece. (just had to cut some of the old part off that was no longer needed)

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I'm in search of a vacuum attachment for a sanding block next. Haven't found exactly what I have in mind so I guess it's soon time for a visit to Tinkercad! :D
 

bobs409

 
Administrator
I've been "creating" again. :D

Since the 3d printer cabinet I recently built has an "arcade game" look to it so I thought I'd continue along those lines for an option I've added. I created a fake arcade coin slot to hold the Micro SD to SD Card Extension Cable Adapter that I added. Instead of quarters, it takes an SD card!

I made the label on my Cricut maker.

Now it's easy to load the SD card. (originally you had to put a tiny micro card into a slot at the bottom. Very hard to do.

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bobs409

 
Administrator
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I finally found the real life cat to match my first print above! :laugh4

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bobs409

 
Administrator
I'm getting all "techie" now! I've been dabbling in electronic gizmo's lately and after 2 days of wi-fi hell getting that part of it working, my 3d printer will now have a camera and full remote control from anywhere! It's called "Octoprint." If you're interested, you can read more about it here: https://octoprint.org/

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The biggest reason for installing this is 3d printing is a slow process and I never feel right about leaving it running unattended. Now, I can go out to my garage or really anywhere and keep and eye on things. If I see trouble, I can shut it down from there too. It will help even when I'm in the house as I have the printer in the next room so I have to keep getting up occasionally to check on it. Not anymore! I can access it from my PC or my Android tablet.

I has lots of built in safety features that can shut it down if need be and or send a text or email alert out. There are hundreds of free plug ins can be added to improve it too that I haven't even gotten to yet.

More to come on this as I'm still learning...
 

Don Jacks

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 3
Sounds like you're morphing from "Caveman" to a modern man! From a man who wouldn't own a cellphone to tablets and 3d printers.Just don't tell us that your next step will be voting Demoncrat!!!!!!!!:fear2While you're resting ,fix this editing BS in the PM section.It limits my editing or correcting to 5 minutes.:furious:gaah
 
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