3D Printer thread anybody?

[L67GS]

I have been looking at TPE, anybody have any input on the topic? The shore hatdness looks good for my one piece pneumatic gripper project. I've also considered just printing molds and pouring platinum silicone into them, but printing directly would be better because I could stop the print under the guise of a color change and lay fiberoptic cable inside as my designs get more complicated

[rooted]

No experience with TPE, only harder TPU (95A)

[L67GS]

I'm going to try it, 50% of the purpose behind buying a printer and learning CAD is that project, lol

[tobetter]

I'm building Voron StealthBurner for my printer based on Ender 3, it's suddenly started last Saturday after watching a video that demonstrate Voron Tap. Oh..man...what a briliant idea...so impressed...

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I know that Voron StealthBurner + Voron Tap is not ideal combo for Ender 3 although there a couple of mods to attach them, but will see...and try...hope not to try change the printer itself.

[rooted]

That's really nice quality @tobetter, you have your printer dialed in.

Personally I don't like the tap, having the entire hotend assembly move just doesn't seem like a good idea. I do love the stealthburner however, very elegant design.

Best of luck getting it going, I'm interested in hearing how it turns out.

Have you seen the beacon probe which does continuous bed probing, it's very interesting.

https://beacon3d.com/

[tobetter]

That's really nice quality @tobetter, you have your printer dialed in.

Personally I don't like the tap, having the entire hotend assembly move just doesn't seem like a good idea. I do love the stealthburner however, very elegant design.

Best of luck getting it going, I'm interested in hearing how it turns out.

Have you seen the beacon probe which does continuous bed probing, it's very interesting.

https://beacon3d.com/

Yes, I know it about the Beacon Probe.
Maybe I am too much impressed at first glance when I found the Voron Tap, even I am not sure I can adapt it to my printer yet. Just I love the idea that the nozzle itself can measure the bed level, I think that won't let you measure the distance from the nozzle tip and Z probe whenever you change the nozzle which is a bit annoying. I feel sorry to my current extruder Voron M4 that works great so far.

[hominoid]

I wasn't familiar with the beacon3d, thanks for mentioning it @rooted. I like it but wish it wasn't so expensive. My only concern with the Voron Tap is the amount of pressure it puts on the bed and carriage.

[rooted]

I wasn't familiar with the beacon3d, thanks for mentioning it @rooted. I like it but wish it wasn't so expensive. My only concern with the Voron Tap is the amount of pressure it puts on the bed and carriage.

There is an alternative but I can't remember what it's called but I'm certain it was less expensive.

[tobetter]

Surprisingly, Voron Tap CNC version is arrived a week earlier than scheduled in AliExpress that is so exciting. It's tiny and light...I have no idea how it is accurate, need to find out.
Before that, I need to design and print a mount adapter for my printer since Voron Tap fits does not fit other than Voron 2.4 and Trident. There are a couple of mount adapter already build for other printers, unfortunately it does not fit - slightly not fit - to my printer. So...

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[tobetter]

Finally, I was able to manage my StealthBurner with EBB36 with ODROID-C4 over CANBUS. Since the tool head is testing on my desk, I had to use old stock Ender-3 controller board to provide minimal hardware features (X/Y/Z steppers with ADC ) instead of putting into a printer.

EDIT: Please note that the StealthBurner in the picture is printed with eSun PETG on my Ender 3 Pro mod that is running by ODROID-C4 with custom printer board that I built a couple of years ago. The hardware and firmware are not been updated for long time but so far so good.
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[joerg]

My printed frame for the touchscreen in my car has deformed over the summertime:

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Hence, it was not the best decision to use PETG. It does not support direct sun light.
Now I have to make it new. My experience with ABS is absolutely zero.

[zyssai]

Strange. I had this exact behavior with PLA, replaced it with PETG one year ago and still in correct condition with this summer.

[joerg]

Yes, strange. I ordered ABS now. Let's see how it goes.

[rooted]

Yes, strange. I ordered ABS now. Let's see how it goes.

If you don't have an enclosure it's best to try ASA as it's less prone to warping but has the same heat tolerance.

[hominoid]

Yes, strange. I ordered ABS now. Let's see how it goes.

You shouldn't have any problems printing with ABS, it will be basically the same as printing PETG. It's usually only tall prints that may have problems and that looks flat. Clean your bed with some alcohol and do a test print to get the nozzle temperature right for your printer. Use an 8mm brim to help with bed adhesion if that becomes an issue and watch your bed temperature, at least 100c but usually higher(101-105c) has been my experience, depending on your printer. If the bed temperature is to low the part will let loose. FYI, the few times over the years that I've needed an enclosure, I used a plastic garbage bag. Unfortunately ABS has gotten a bad rap right from the beginning for being difficult to print with and IMO it's not deserved at all.

[rooted]

The reason I say that about warping is it's a small frame with little contact to hold it down, I can't run my overly thin bed at 100° as it will warp more than it currently is so my experiences with ABS are not great.

I wasn't talking about layer delamination.

Another thing with ABS is the fumes are noxious and many people don't have much if any ventilation so it may cause eye irritation and headaches. This isn't usually an issue unless one prints a lot of ABS without ventilation.

As PETG doesn't have any of these potential issues and is resistant to UV it has all but replaced ABS, with exceptions like this where temperature come into play.

ABS does print beautifully.

[hominoid]

Those are all valid points. My experience printing similar bevel designs in ABS for work on the Vu5, Vu5a, Vu7, Vu7a, Vu7c and Vu8m cases suggests it shouldn't be an issue though. regardless, a brim should address any adhesion problem if one does occur. I have also found that sometimes a cooling fan can be ones worse enemy regarding part warping, corner lifting and other bed adhesion problems so I usually don't run one accept for bridging. When I do run one I'll set it manually.

Some other advantages of ABS: it can be easily cleaned off equipment, head jams can be cleared chemically and it is capable of chemical welds and repair.

[L67GS]

Those are all valid points. My experience printing similar bevel designs in ABS for work on the Vu5, Vu5a, Vu7, Vu7a, Vu7c and Vu8m cases suggests it shouldn't be an issue though. regardless, a brim should address any adhesion problem if one does occur. I have also found that sometimes a cooling fan can be ones worse enemy regarding part warping, corner lifting and other bed adhesion problems so I usually don't run one accept for bridging. When I do run one I'll set it manually.

Some other advantages of ABS: it can be easily cleaned off equipment, head jams can be cleared chemically and it is capable of chemical welds and repair.

If you do try ABS, sharing your experience of the first time would be really cool.
PS: My Candice project frame was crafted, not printed, but it's ABS. I ran the adhesive gauntlet and PVC cement was undisputed the strongest.

[rooted]

Some other advantages of ABS: it can be easily cleaned off equipment, head jams can be cleared chemically and it is capable of chemical welds and repair.

I hadn't even considered being able to clean up a jammed hotend with acetone, that would certainly be easier than the alternative.

I've been using it to weld ABS parts back together and that works well.

[L67GS]

Seriously, PVC cement on that ABS I used was so strong that my initial test piece broke before the joint did. Also it dried smooth and clear. I don't think it's a glue at all, but rather a thinner of sorts like Acetone.

[rooted]

Seriously, PVC cement on that ABS I used was so strong that my initial test piece broke before the joint did. Also it dried smooth and clear. I don't think it's a glue at all, but rather a thinner of sorts like Acetone.

AFAIK that's what it does, it chemically bonds the material. Haven't tried it on ABS but I'm sure it's good as you say.

[joerg]

Damn, the first attempt with only skirt made warping fast, the second attempt with raft made warping after hours. With raft the build time is also some hours more. Will it make a different if tomorrow I have a housing? I have made a construction for that, only missing is some transparent foil...I have to go to a shop...

[hominoid]

What kind of bed assembly do you have and what is the print surface?

[joerg]

I am using a Ender-3 V2 Neo with this technical information:

[joerg]

Now I try once more, but with a housing:

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[hominoid]

If you still have problems can you post a picture of the failed print? It might shed some light on what the problem is for printing ABS.

[joerg]

Yeah, now it went fine. The surface finish with ABS is nicer than with PETG.
Nozzle temperature 240°C, heat bed temperature 100°C, printing speed 40mm/s, build time about 9 hours with raft and structure below overhang.

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[hominoid]

Well that looks like a decent print. I’m glad you were able to get a usable bezel in ABS. A nozzle temperature of 240c seems a little high but I have found some variation in nozzle temperature between machines is sometimes needed due to sensor placement and other nuances. I ran 232c for the print below because I found in the past using 230c, I was on the edge of having inter layer adhesion issues due to low nozzle temperature. I only discovered this thru a nozzle temperature test. Likewise things have changed over the years and I’m not totally sure why. For instance, for years ABS advertised temperature print range was always listed as 215-230c and now it’s generally listed as 230-260c. On my original printer build I printed parts for years at or below 220c, it was the norm.

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So I got to the point last night to make the first test print of the bezel for the Vu8s design I’m currently working on. I included it only to encourage you to keep on moving towards the goal of eliminating the raft for printing. I have never known one to be needed and again, it’s really another throw-back to the very early Rep-Rap days prior to reasonable bed surfaces. As you know, the benefit for you to pursue this goal would be much faster prints and much better surface aesthetics. The bezel I printed took a little over 2 hours at 50mm/s and required no raft or brim. The skirt is there to ensure proper nozzle flow prior to starting the print.

One other thing I’ll mention for what it’s worth, the marks left on your bed are usually left from excess downward pressure or in other words, the nozzle is to close to the print surface. This is one of the reasons one could get part lift early in a print, the first layer is to thin. One sees this a lot as a means to compensate for adhesion issues, which in turn is sometimes caused by to thin of a first layer or other factors. You should see nearly the full height of the intended print thickness sitting on the surface as shown below, not smeared into it. Generally speaking, if there is a mark left on your bed surface after a print is released, there is a problem that needs to be solved. One other point about fans use, notice I don’t have one installed right now and I didn’t have any print issues.

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[joerg]

Thank you for your valued post. The filament I used, Geektech ABS+, says 220 - 250°C. The markings that are visible on my photo, I don't know when that happened, but normally the first layer with my printer is looking like yours. The printer has an automatic leveling system. But to be sure, next time I will do the setup procedure again. As I remember, for 9 points adjust the height of the bed, that a 80gr paper has place to the nozzle.

[hominoid]

If your first layer looks the same then that’s a good sign your tuning is close. I would next try increasing the bed temperature by a couple of degrees to 102c. If you remember from a past post, I was using Kapton tape on a 4mm thick piece of aluminum and it worked well at 100c. When I changed to the PCB bed with a spring steel sheet I could print ABS at 100c but occasionally I would have adhesion problems. After increasing my bed temperature to 102c the occasional adhesion problem stopped. Made sense at the time since in essence the bond is chemical and created by heat so the wrong temperature will not work correctly.

I don’t have any auto leveling and have always manually leveled with a piece of paper. An 80gr(24lbs) piece of paper is a way to test but is only an approximation for a given circumstance(.25mm layer with a .5mm nozzle historically). The layer height is also controlled in part by the nozzle diameter and other factors so it is correct for some configurations. According to the RepRap Wiki Calibration page under Layer Height: “Best results are obtained when layer height < 80% of nozzle diameter, and extrusion width >= nozzle diameter.”
FYI, anyone not familiar with it, there is a lot of good information on the Calibration page so it’s worth knowing about as well as the Print Troubleshooting Pictorial Guide.

[hominoid]

In order to avoid misleading information the statement I made about leveling a bed using a piece of paper needs some clarification and correction. It is the firmware’s Z-Offset when the hotend is in the Home Position that should determine the thickness of paper used. I happen to use my first layer thickness(.25mm) for the Z-Offset and hence my misleading discussion about layer thickness.

Typically in the past .1mm-.2mm was used as a Z-Offset and I have used them too. This is were the piece of paper comes into play for setting the Z-offset. I don’t have any 24lb paper to measure but if memory serves me correctly it is in the .17-.19mm range. I do have 20lbs and it measures .11mm and that is why paper is used, it’s close to the Z-Offset being used. Since my Z-Offset is set to my layer height (.25mm) I use a 60lbs piece of card stock. So one needs to know the Z-Offset in order to know what paper thickness to use setting up the bed level whether using an auto-leveling system or doing it manually.

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[L67GS]

You put a lot more thought into it than I do. I use a piece of 20lb paper when I level the bed, if My print doesn't stick as well as I want it to I bring my z offset down a little and try it again.

[rooted]

You put a lot more thought into it than I do. I use a piece of 20lb paper when I level the bed, if My print doesn't stick as well as I want it to I bring my z offset down a little and try it again.

Think about all the CAD work he does

[mctom]

Pardon me to chip in a bit of my nonsense, but here it goes.

You know what's BS? STL models

In past few days I struggled to make a STL model from Thingiverse work with the 3D printing place. Normally I would give up and ask one of you for a favor, but I want to try SLM printing with 316L stainless steel.
Long story short, it looks fine on any 3D preview and probably works well with slicers and all, but I had to add some supports to make it printable. And with STL file structure messed up beyond comprehension, no program wanted to deal with it.

In past few days I've spent all my free time abusing Meshlab and learning Blender to fix the damn thing.
It's still not fixed, but I hope this will be good enough. A few hours worth of work is barely visible by comparison.

I've spent way too much time on a small birthday gift for my ex, but hey, at least I learned a few things.

[zyssai]

I'm not sure to exactly see what you need, but, sometimes for better results it can be useful to divide one piece into two or more (and assemble them later with glue or some generated clips) to have better results.

[rooted]

@mctom In blender there is an add-on called 3D Print Toolbox which needs to be enabled, it can scan a mesh and help you identify issues and fix some of them automatically.

Usually the issue is the model isn't manifold (solid) aka water tight.

https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/late ... olbox.html

[mctom]

Thanks very much @rooted. I've spent good 10 minutes looking for "side panel" in Blender but eventually found this tool.

I couldn't sleep so I've stayed up to 4AM, working with Blender and the original model I downloaded from the web. Fixed known issues with some components being separate, filled some voids using very competent boolean union function, and thickened some sections by manipulating vertices, which in the end came out nicer than adding cubes here and there.

ONLY THEN I have found an amazing Blender function, hidden somewhere, that vastly simplifies a messy mesh:
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/late ... d-dissolve

The 3D printers response was they still see some places thinner than their in-house limit of 1.5mm but I accepted the risks and asked them to proceed with this model.
Some of the areas they call too thin are obviously a misjudgement of their tools, others are justified. A similar tool from Blender's 3D print toolbox also showed nonsense but in different places.
A picture below is the feedback I got.

I'd summarize this experience as super fun, albeit spoiled by frustration. I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong until I understood.
Blender is a breathtaking piece of software. Overflowing with features thus hard to navigate, but answers are easy to google.

[rooted]

Looks like the Matrix of Leadership, are you a Transformers fan?

Was definitely my favorite childhood toys and cartoon.

[mctom]

I wanted to print something small and detailed to see how it works and what possible applications could it have.
So I went with a birthday gift for my ex, or a Christmas gift, if it arrives late.
She's a great fan of the series and wanted to have this printed for a long time and wear as a pendant.

Many colleagues from my office are also interested in 3D printing and want to examine the object when it arrives.
I'll post some photos here as I can tell you might want to see it too.

[L67GS]

I haven't bothered to do meshing and make an STL file in many months. Superslicer opens a 3MF which is just a simple export from FreeCAD. 2024 I may take on Blender if I don't have my hands full.

[zyssai]

I'm just getting out of some bad moments with my printer.
After some bed levelling problems and an extruder getting me crazy, it's time to have some fun and nice prints

[rooted]

That's an interesting vase print.

[L67GS]

and an extruder getting me crazy

I've had my printer less than a year and I have 2 spare extruders because it's easier to swap a whole extruder than do anything on the machine. Then I can replace any parts and tune the extruder I remove so it's ready when I need it later. My days of fighting with a naughty extruder were over almost as soon as they started.

Also, a new development with my printing hobby, the furnace at the shop I rent has become unreliable because when the wind blows just right it comes down the vent and blows out the pilot light. So I can no longer leave the Sidewinder running when I'm not there. I'm probably done with large prints until I get the new house and move my lab and shop in. Small prints that I can stay and babysit can still run though.