Hey guys, over the next two weeks I'm going to have a quick look at the basics of 3D printing. I've split it into two posts as even though I'm only looking at the very basics, there is still quite a bit to cover.
Disclaimer - if you already know how to 3D print you probably want to skip this one. But I would feel bad letting you leave without something, so here's a picture of my cats holding hands;
Disclaimer - if you already know how to 3D print you probably want to skip this one. But I would feel bad letting you leave without something, so here's a picture of my cats holding hands;
Right now into the meat of things. This is going to be a long post guys so I'm going to split it into seven parts over two posts so you can read in sections if you need to;
Post 1.
Post 1.
- Preparation
- The Model
- Slicing
Post 2
- Print Settings
- Check it!
- Printing
- Finishing
Preparation
Good preparation will solve 90% of any problems you might encounter. Most failedprints I've had are down to me not setting something up properly or overlooking something I thought I had correctly set up previously.
Firstly, what filament are you using? What are the manufacturer's recommended temperature settings? Does your printer run a little hot or cold so you might need to edit the temp to suit?
Getting nice, smooth prints relies heavily on getting your temperatures dialed in. Too hot or too cold and you will have issues with layer adhesion and blobbing or the nozzle could jam up entirely.
Next, make sure your print surface is as near to perfectly level as you can get it. Diferent printers have different methods for leveling the bed, for example the Cetus3D handles the entire process digitally, by entering offset values into the software so that the printer knows what height it needs to be at at different locations on the print surface. Whereas the Prusa i3 MK2 sorts out the leveling itself, with a probe finding fixed locations on the print bed and automatically taking readings of height at those locations (It does this before every print which is nice). Also just because you have leveled the bed previously, it doesn't mean that the surface hasn't moved or been knocked. This is especially noteworthy if your printer is new and is still settling so check it every 4 or 5 prints if you want to be safe. On a similar note you should also think about the print head offset from the bed, again some printers like the Prusa will do this automatically but occasionally it will need some calibration.
Good preparation will solve 90% of any problems you might encounter. Most failedprints I've had are down to me not setting something up properly or overlooking something I thought I had correctly set up previously.
Firstly, what filament are you using? What are the manufacturer's recommended temperature settings? Does your printer run a little hot or cold so you might need to edit the temp to suit?
Getting nice, smooth prints relies heavily on getting your temperatures dialed in. Too hot or too cold and you will have issues with layer adhesion and blobbing or the nozzle could jam up entirely.
Next, make sure your print surface is as near to perfectly level as you can get it. Diferent printers have different methods for leveling the bed, for example the Cetus3D handles the entire process digitally, by entering offset values into the software so that the printer knows what height it needs to be at at different locations on the print surface. Whereas the Prusa i3 MK2 sorts out the leveling itself, with a probe finding fixed locations on the print bed and automatically taking readings of height at those locations (It does this before every print which is nice). Also just because you have leveled the bed previously, it doesn't mean that the surface hasn't moved or been knocked. This is especially noteworthy if your printer is new and is still settling so check it every 4 or 5 prints if you want to be safe. On a similar note you should also think about the print head offset from the bed, again some printers like the Prusa will do this automatically but occasionally it will need some calibration.
The Model
There are two main ways you can get a model, create your own or download someone else's.
If you create your own there are many programs that allow you to create 3D models and then export to .stl. Even if the software you are using doesn't export to .stl you can still convert it before bringing it into your slicing program.
The programs range from free (Fusion360(For hobbyists), Blender, sketchup, etc) to Very Expensive (3DS Max/Maya, Solidworks). Different programs are better for different purposes, for example if I wanted to create something as a usable part, where tolerances and dimensions are important, I would use an engineering tool like Fusion360 or Solidworks whereas if I was creating a model just for fun I would use something with a bit more freedom like 3DS Max or Zbrush.
If that all sounds like too much effort, there are literally thousands of free downloadable models online with the two main sites that I use being Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory.
The main difference between the two that I've noticed is that MyMiniFactory, while is has less, checks all the models for printability and Thingiverse does not. So if you download from Thingiverse bear in mind that the model may not print as you expect it to.
There are two main ways you can get a model, create your own or download someone else's.
If you create your own there are many programs that allow you to create 3D models and then export to .stl. Even if the software you are using doesn't export to .stl you can still convert it before bringing it into your slicing program.
The programs range from free (Fusion360(For hobbyists), Blender, sketchup, etc) to Very Expensive (3DS Max/Maya, Solidworks). Different programs are better for different purposes, for example if I wanted to create something as a usable part, where tolerances and dimensions are important, I would use an engineering tool like Fusion360 or Solidworks whereas if I was creating a model just for fun I would use something with a bit more freedom like 3DS Max or Zbrush.
If that all sounds like too much effort, there are literally thousands of free downloadable models online with the two main sites that I use being Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory.
The main difference between the two that I've noticed is that MyMiniFactory, while is has less, checks all the models for printability and Thingiverse does not. So if you download from Thingiverse bear in mind that the model may not print as you expect it to.
Slicing
Now you have your model, what next? You can't just dump the .stl file you created/downloaded into the printer, it just wont see it. There is another step first, you will need to get hold of whats known as a slicing program. Some printers, like my little Cetus3D come with their own propriety software. others will read gcode (the code that tells the printer what to do) from any software. The main third party softwares that people seem to use at the moment are Cura, Slic3r and Simplify3D although there are many others.
That will do for this week, tune in next Tuesday for the the thrilling conclusion!
That will do for this week, tune in next Tuesday for the the thrilling conclusion!
As always, see you next week.
Troez.
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