Welcome to my basics of 3D printing part 2!
As a recap last week we looked at;
Settings
The settings you choose will determine the overall quality of the print and how long it takes. Remember not every item needs to be the highest resolution possible, for example if you're printing some sort of mechanical piece, something that will not be seen or just something where surface detail is not important, you should consider turning the layer height up. On the flip side, if you're printing a display piece or a miniature with lots of intricate surface detail, then you will want to go as high resolution as possible. Most printers will print in the range of 0.05mm to 0.3mm layer heights comfortably. However, one of the quirks of my little Cetus is that it will not print any lower than 0.1mm layer heights with the 0.4mm nozzle installed which can be a little annoying.
Speaking of nozzles, the diameter of the nozzle will also determine the quality of the print with smaller nozzles allowing finer details on the sides of models and also much finer details on the tops of prints. Some standard nozzle diameters include 0.2mm, 0.4mm and 0.6mm with the 0.4mm nozzle being used most of the time as it balances speed with quality.
Obviously the higher detail you go with both layer height and nozzle diameter, the longer the print will take so it is worth balancing the need for high detail vs the time it will take to print the model.
Infill is another important setting to consider, how strong does the model need to be? Infill is the pattern the slicing program will create inside the model, rather than printing a fully solid object which would take forever and use an insane amount of material. I normally don't go any more dense than 13% on my Cetus which means the interior of the object will be 13% material and 87% air.
the last thing you will need to consider before printing a basic model is support. if there are overhangs or large bridging sections of the model, support will be needed to allow the print to complete successfully. There are a few ways you can generate support for your prints, you can build them into the model as you create it making sure that the connections are small enough that you will be able to break it off later, you can use the slicing program's built in support generator which I have found is fine for simple objects or you can go to an external program like Meshmixer to create more advanced support.
Some slicers will also allow you to go into in depth settings such as changing the speed, number of shells, flow rates and so much more but as this is a basic tutorial I'll leave all of that for a more advanced post.
As a recap last week we looked at;
- Preparing the Model for 3D Printing
- Where to get the Model from.
- Slicing the model ready for the printer.
This week we will actually get to printing! so without further ado....
Settings
The settings you choose will determine the overall quality of the print and how long it takes. Remember not every item needs to be the highest resolution possible, for example if you're printing some sort of mechanical piece, something that will not be seen or just something where surface detail is not important, you should consider turning the layer height up. On the flip side, if you're printing a display piece or a miniature with lots of intricate surface detail, then you will want to go as high resolution as possible. Most printers will print in the range of 0.05mm to 0.3mm layer heights comfortably. However, one of the quirks of my little Cetus is that it will not print any lower than 0.1mm layer heights with the 0.4mm nozzle installed which can be a little annoying.
Speaking of nozzles, the diameter of the nozzle will also determine the quality of the print with smaller nozzles allowing finer details on the sides of models and also much finer details on the tops of prints. Some standard nozzle diameters include 0.2mm, 0.4mm and 0.6mm with the 0.4mm nozzle being used most of the time as it balances speed with quality.
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| E3D nozzles of varying diameters |
Infill is another important setting to consider, how strong does the model need to be? Infill is the pattern the slicing program will create inside the model, rather than printing a fully solid object which would take forever and use an insane amount of material. I normally don't go any more dense than 13% on my Cetus which means the interior of the object will be 13% material and 87% air.
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| Cetus standard infill |
the last thing you will need to consider before printing a basic model is support. if there are overhangs or large bridging sections of the model, support will be needed to allow the print to complete successfully. There are a few ways you can generate support for your prints, you can build them into the model as you create it making sure that the connections are small enough that you will be able to break it off later, you can use the slicing program's built in support generator which I have found is fine for simple objects or you can go to an external program like Meshmixer to create more advanced support.
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| Cetus3D Support (In orange) |
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| Meshmixer Support (In Brown) |
Check Printability
Lastly before you press that oh so seductive print button, you should quickly inspect the preview of the print to ensure that it will print correctly. Some things you will want to look out for are;
Lastly before you press that oh so seductive print button, you should quickly inspect the preview of the print to ensure that it will print correctly. Some things you will want to look out for are;
- Orientation - You will get the most amount of detail on the side of a print as the layer height will almost always be lower than the nozzle diameter so ensure the print is orientated to best make advantage of this.
- Overhangs & support - Look over the support structure on your model and use common sense to predict whether the print will work, remember fdm printers cannot print in mid air!
- Thin Walls - If the models walls are too thin, some slicers may not pick them up and the best place to catch this will be in the preview as it will only show you what will be printed. If sections of the model are missing this could be the reason. You will either have to go back to the modelling process and fix the model or see if the slicing program has a 'thin walls' option.
- Reversed Normals - A 3D object is made up of triangles known as polygons or polys and each poly will have an outward facing surface and an inward facing surface. The direction of the facing is known as the normal and if the normal is facing so that the outside of the object is the back of a polygon, the slicing program will not recognise is and you will have holes in your print. Again some slicers will have a 'fix normals' options or you can edit it in a 3D model authoring tool but the best way to fix it is to avoid it entirely by thinking about it as you model.
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| Cetus print preview |
Print
OK now you can print!
But wait, that doesn't mean you can go off to the pub and hope for the best (although I do tend to do this a fair amount). Best practice would be to keep an eye on the print and check it every so often so you don't come back to a birds nest of random plastic or a jammed nozzle with a half finished print or the worst case scenario, a fire. Obviously with really long prints of like 6 hours plus you're not going to want to sit there the entire time, you have a life. but make sure to check in your printer every now and a again to avoid as much wasted time and material as possible in the event of a failed print.
OK now you can print!
But wait, that doesn't mean you can go off to the pub and hope for the best (although I do tend to do this a fair amount). Best practice would be to keep an eye on the print and check it every so often so you don't come back to a birds nest of random plastic or a jammed nozzle with a half finished print or the worst case scenario, a fire. Obviously with really long prints of like 6 hours plus you're not going to want to sit there the entire time, you have a life. but make sure to check in your printer every now and a again to avoid as much wasted time and material as possible in the event of a failed print.
Cleanup
Phew, almost there! just a couple more things to do now, firstly remove the print (carefully) from the print surface, a scraper can be useful for this. Then, if you had any, you are going to need to remove the support material from the print. This step is always a pain in the arse as one slip here could mean having to reprint the entire thing when you get impatient and accidentally snip your miniatures arm off. Take it easy, take it slow and make sure everything you are removing is indeed support and waste and not part of the model itself. A pair of flat sided snips are excellent for this. Lastly if there is any stringing or little wisps of plastic on the model, a heat gun or hairdryer will get rid of those, however be careful as if you heat up the model too much it will melt, so just a quick wave of the heat over the model and repeat until the hairs are gone.
And of course you can paint the models if the urge takes you!
Phew, almost there! just a couple more things to do now, firstly remove the print (carefully) from the print surface, a scraper can be useful for this. Then, if you had any, you are going to need to remove the support material from the print. This step is always a pain in the arse as one slip here could mean having to reprint the entire thing when you get impatient and accidentally snip your miniatures arm off. Take it easy, take it slow and make sure everything you are removing is indeed support and waste and not part of the model itself. A pair of flat sided snips are excellent for this. Lastly if there is any stringing or little wisps of plastic on the model, a heat gun or hairdryer will get rid of those, however be careful as if you heat up the model too much it will melt, so just a quick wave of the heat over the model and repeat until the hairs are gone.
And of course you can paint the models if the urge takes you!
Are you happy with the print?
At the end of the day, a successful print is one you are happy with and that fulfils its intended role. If both those things are true then give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy your new 3D printed thingamybob!
At the end of the day, a successful print is one you are happy with and that fulfils its intended role. If both those things are true then give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy your new 3D printed thingamybob!
Well guys I hope that was interesting and informative, whether you're band new to the magical mystical world of 3d printing or you've got your first printer and just wanted a little more information on what to do. If you're an experienced printer and I've clearly made a mistake somewhere, firstly I apologise and secondly of you would like to leave a comment with your own tips and trick it would be greatly appreciated.
Hope this was a useful couple of posts guys, I'll see you next week!
Hope this was a useful couple of posts guys, I'll see you next week!
Troez.
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