spectere.net
The Chatterbox => Creation Station => Topic started by: Spectere on July 12, 2017, 02:07:38 AM
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884952676773105665[/tweet]]Now I have a 3D printer. (http://[tweet) Ho ho ho.
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Nice!
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884952676773105665[/tweet]]Now I have a 3D printer.[/url] Ho ho ho.
Duuuude nice. Micro? (http://[tweet)
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Nope--Monoprice Maker Select V2. Basically a rebadging of the Wanhao Duplicator i3, which I believe was based on the Prusa i3.
So far it seems like a damn good printer for the cost (~$300). It took a bit of fiddling to get the bed evenly leveled, but I think I've got it dialed in pretty nicely now. I'm probably going to print out some more test blocks tonight to verify that.
Oh, I made a model thing:
(http://i.imgur.com/YZGS9Nql.jpg)
FOR THE HORDE and shit. Colors pending (will be getting more filament on Friday), and I need to do a few tweaks to the model to remove the obvious polygons.
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My GF says you should print a butt.
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That's friggin awesome man.
I am a pretty average 3D modeler. I use Cinema 4D R15 Studio. I know there are TONS of free models to download and print but if you have an idea let me know and I'll see if I can model it for you.
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/me points to previous post
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My GF says you should print a butt.
TEMPTING.
I am a pretty average 3D modeler. I use Cinema 4D R15 Studio. I know there are TONS of free models to download and print but if you have an idea let me know and I'll see if I can model it for you.
Thanks for the offer! I might take you up on that if I run out of patience at some point.
I'm using SketchUp. It's definitely more of a CAD-like workflow than something like 3dsmax, Studio 4D, or Blender, and it's working out pretty well so far. The popular 3D packages are a bit, uh...out of my price range (like, by a lot) considering my current skill level, so if I want to do something a bit more freeform I might just suffer through learning Blender.
In other news, I printed out my Horde plate in color this weekend. It came out quite nice!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DE5_75OUAAAIMBx.jpg:small)
Since my printer only has a single extruder, I had to do the fairly common stop-and-switch trick between layers. Gotta say, I wasn't expecting the red filament to be that vivid--Hatchbox did a fantastic job.
Also had to deal with my first clog. Some cleaning filament ended up getting stuck just above the hot end, so I couldn't even clear it out using a cold pull (basically, pushing filament in far enough for it to melt, letting it cool, then pulling it out, taking some of the debris with it).
Fortunately, I have guitar strings! I started out with a G string (giggity), pushed it in through the cold end, and used it to push some of the gummy crap out through the nozzle. Then I just increased the gauge of the string until nothing more would come out, then I flushed out the rest with some PLA. Everything is flowing smoothly now. Gotta be a bit more careful with that stuff, methinks. It basically works by getting sticky when it heats up, so I'm thinking some of it got jammed in there when I was trying to clean out the unit. Oh well, live and learn! On the bright side, at least I was able to flush out my hot end while I was doing that. :P
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Split from the old HAPPY topic!
I installed a few mods on the printer. First of all, I installed a MOSFET board in the power supply so that the hotbed connector wouldn't melt and shit. That's a big problem with Melzi boards, apparently. The connectors on the Wanhao (and its clones) have been revamped over time, but the connector that comes with it still isn't quite good enough.
First off, I bought a Y carriage plate to replace the stock part, which was a really thin part) stamped sheet metal, I believe) that has a nasty tendency to warp and bend. Even my printer, which only has a few days of printing time, is showing some signs of warping. The replacement is much thicker (as thick as the heated bed, actually), is lighter, and is made of aluminum. As an added bonus, the Y motion is much quieter than it used to be as a result, and the bed is more level. Here's a pic of the replacement, as well as the new part. Should have done a side view, but oh well.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGGhnj0UwAEJLPG.jpg:small) (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGGhnj0UwAEJLPG.jpg:orig)
More recently (read: yesterday) I installed a pair of Z braces:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHIPhRBUQAEnDAS.jpg:small) (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHIPhRBUQAEnDAS.jpg:orig)
The printer is shipped in two pieces that must be assembled--the crossbeam with the extrusion unit (covers the X and Z axes), and the base that contains the bed (which covers the Y axis). The only thing holding those two pieces together are some wires and a few screws, so as the printer moves the crossbeam will flex a bit. In addition, it naturally sits at a slight angle--I estimate somewhere around 87 degrees. The Z braces prevent the wobble (which has already resulted in significantly better infill) and is keeping the two pieces at a 90 degree angle, so keeping the bed level has gotten a whole lot easier.
There are two more upgrades currently on the docket, both of which will happen at around the same time. First, I ended up ordering a Flexion HT kit. The extruder itself is pretty badass and will allow me to successfully extrude flexible materials. That should be fun to play with! Additionally, it includes two new hot ends--a normal one and a high temperature one. The high temperature one lacks a PTFE tube, so it can safely reach temperatures of 290-300C. That'll allow me to print just about everything, barring the really exotic stuff like PEEK, PAEK, and ULTEM (the 350-400C range is a bit scary to me, given that this isn't exactly an industrial grade machine I'm dealing with).
The second is an improved cooling solution. The 20mm fan included on the Wanhao i3 is subpar for PLA printing. On even small overhangs the print tends to get a bit messy (896846809921880064[/tweet]]here's a video of me blabbing about it (http://[tweet)). Additionally, since it blows from the front back, parts near the back of the print tend to sag a bit more. I've seen this happen on both prints that I've done for Aquaticus the Water Dragon (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:305669), for example. There's minor sagging on her right head fins, but her left fins (and, in fact, the rear left of her head in general), which are situated toward the back of the bed, receive inadequate cooling, so the layers tend to sag in the time between extrusion and solidification.
I have a roll of red (gotta match the Flexion!) PETG filament and a 50mm blower fan on the way, so after I get that and the new extruder/hotend installed I'm going to try printing and installing the DiiiCooler (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1025471). The larger fan will be capable of blowing more air--I might actually have to turn it down on lower layers!--and the cooler itself is designed so that the air is distributed around the print rather than simply being directed from front to back. That's likely going to be one of the more important upgrades that I wind up doing.
Oh, on the subject of practical prints, I printed a mount for my shiny new third Oculus sensor (rear right):
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGf43A1UwAA0Jep.jpg:small)
I used this (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1959715) design. I'm planning to mount my front right to the wall as well, since I could use better low-height tracking for SteamVR stuff. Currently debating whether I should bother designing it or just looking for an already-existing non-corner wall mount. :P As for my front-left one, I'm debating on whether I should mount it to my entertainment center or ceiling-mount it. We'll see!
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I installed a Flexion HT extruder and hotend this weekend! 898785220232568832[/tweet]]Here's a bit of a breakdown of the install process (includes pictures of the original MK10 extruder). (http://[tweet)
And here's a picture of the final product:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHkjpExUAAAPZLK.jpg:small) (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHkjpExUAAAPZLK.jpg:orig)
So fucking sexy.
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Damn son. That's fuckin sweet. You're quite the engineer. I knew that back in the DDR days tho.
That's a really handy machine. Can't wait to see what else you come up with.
Now help me fix my guitar hero controllers.
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I have to fix my Guitar Hero controller first. XD Alternatively, I might see if I can manage to transplant the strum bar into one of my Rock Band controllers.
As for the printer, my next step is replacing the paltry cooling fan. The DiiiCooler that I printed before didn't quite fit on my printer model (also, the nozzle for the Flexion kit sits higher than the standard Wanhao i3 nozzle does), so I'm going to need to figure something else out. That'll give me a chance to get better at printing PETG as well. :)
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I have to fix my Guitar Hero controller first. XD Alternatively, I might see if I can manage to transplant the strum bar into one of my Rock Band controllers.
That's interesting. Let me know if you pull it off. I hate the RB strum with a passion. The GH3 Les Paul, GH2 Xplorer, and GHWT guitar are the only ones worth a shit IMO. Really wish they had offered up some more industrial 3rd party controllers. Since GH1 released and on throughout the genre, I have literally broken 8-10 guitars. That is not an exaggerated number (of course we're talking 12 years now so I guess it's not that crazy). I also used to regularly 5 star TTFAF around 95% so....there was plenty of abuse at one point and time.
The Rock Band guitars are just plain trash I have always hated the feel of them. Maybe I was just too used to the size and tactile clicking of the strum bar from GH.
Seems like all the guitars are like $50+ used these days. If you know where to find some decently priced let me know I'm always looking for new guitars.
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I prefer the feel of the fret board on the RB controllers, but the clicky GH strum bar is far better. The RB strum bar gives so little tactile feedback that I tend to overcompensate and press it harder than I need to on more difficult songs, and the fact that the only thing keeping the strum bar in place are two pieces of foam, I think you can understand why they get very floppy very quickly.
Regarding the feel of the fret board, I like how the RB controllers have fret-sized buttons that have a definite click to it (not audible, but you can feel it). The GH frets are very mushy by comparison, and I find that they kind of feel cheap. That being said, the GH frets definitely seem to be more reliable. Might have to take the neck apart and see what's going on there should I get in the mood to play again.
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The DiiiCooler that I printed before didn't quite fit on my printer model
Turns out, that was me being an idiot. When I installed the new hotend I rotated it 180 degrees. Doesn't affect the way it mounts, doesn't affect the way it prints, but it definitely affects mods. I corrected that and now the DiiiCooler mounts perfectly:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIIY3hCV0AIQ925.jpg:small)
It's a sliiiiiiiiiight upgrade. And by that I mean it's fucking incredible. While the original cooler had a fairly tiny slit (maybe ~4mm tall and 30mm wide) that would only cool from front-to-back, this surrounds the nozzle like so:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIIZvRzUwAAGCU_.jpg:small)
(Yes, there's a ridiculous amount of slop in that print--the idea was to print something that would work in a pinch and then print a better one later after dialing in some good PETG settings. And if you think that's bad, you should see the inside! It looks like what would happen if there was an explosion in a spaghetti factory)
Anywayyyyy, it's amazing how much air gets pushed around the print. One little catch is that it also works to cool the nozzle. With the stock Wanhao-style cooler running full tilt, the hotend can maintain my PETG print temperature (250C) without fairly little variance--maybe +/-1C. With the DiiiCooler installed with a 50mm blower fan attached, it'll actually drop the reported temperature as low as 247.3C! I'm not sure if it's just cooling the thermistor or what. Fortunately, there's enough wiggle room where it doesn't affect the print quality at all.
It's not as big of a drop when I'm printing PLA (I primarily print Hatchbox PLA at 200C. In that scenario, the DiiiCooler doesn't drop the hotend temperature much lower than the stock cooler does). The increased print cooling should drastically improve the quality of some prints. I have one in particular that has some issues with sagging due to the poor performance of the stock cooler, so after I get my PLA settings dialed in again (need to rework my retraction settings since I installed the Flexion extruder) I plan to print that model out. Basically, it's a water dragon model (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:305669), and the fins on the back of her head would sag a bit before cooling, which made them look a bit messy and bunched up. Assuming the improved cooling improves the model, I'll post before and after pictures.
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Had a bunch of underextrusion issues recently, then a bunch of misdiagnoses. Basically, the old extruder gear was set up in such a way that the spools of Hatchbox PLA that I have would pose no threat to it. The Flexion, however, would skip. I'm thinking that's because the MK10 extruder has a bunch of long teeth while the Flexion has a bunch of sharp, short teeth designed for gripping flexible filament. That pretty much all comes down to the Wanhao-style spool holder; it's barely long enough to hold 1kg Hatchbox spools, so the spools rub against the metal arm on the spool holder.
I'd initially misdiagnosed this as the extruder needing to be recalibrated, so I spun my wheels with that for a while before I remembered that PETG printed perfectly. The spool of PETG that I have is eSUN branded, and they use narrower 1kg spools than Hatchbox does. I set everything back to normal, did some of the calibration tests again, and found that if I manually unwound the Hatchbox the results came out perfectly. If I let the extruder unwind the filament, the gear would slip and I'd get wicked underextrusion. Grr. As least that only resulted in one wasted night.
So I ended up printing an extended spool holder (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1805457) and installing it. I didn't have time to really test it, but I did throw a kilo spool of Hatchbox on it and it spun much more freely. I don't have any picture of it handy (I installed it at like 3AM, forgot to bring my phone downstairs with me, and was too lazy to run back up and get it). I'll try to remember to snap a pic when I get home today.
Edit: Spool holder!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIrJIpHUMAAFiT3.jpg:small) (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIrJIpHUMAAFiT3.jpg:orig)
Also, my first Maker Box (http://makerbox.me/) arrived today. It's got some really pretty Proto-pasta metallic blue HTPLA inside:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIrU5JBV4AAFPpz.jpg:small) (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIrU5JBV4AAFPpz.jpg:orig)
It also had...Landfillament:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIrECbrVoAAlQz4.jpg:small) (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIrECbrVoAAlQz4.jpg:orig)
There were a couple more things but LANDFILLAMENT.
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Got a few more mods incoming! I think I'm as addicted to modding that thing as I am to the sweet smell of melted PLA.
First off, the build surface on my printer is basically fucked. On my OctoPrint camera rig, the edges of the Chinese BuildTak knockoff print surface still have that matte appearance, but the center looks very smooth. In person it looks even worse, thanks to my noobish scraper stabbing (mistake #1, don't use a 60C hotbed setting for PLA, seeing as its glass transition temperature is 60-65C; mistake #2, if the print has a chance to cool all night, don't jab it with a scraper--heat the bed up to temperature, then let it cool to help release the print).
Basically, the bed was starting to become nearly impossible to properly level, giving me highly inconsistent first layers (some parts would be very smooth, other sections would have obvious printer lines) and poor adhesion for smaller models, among other things. I tried to fiddle with it the other day but I literally couldn't even get a calibration cube to print. That's pretty sad. I could have printed it offset, but that's not exactly fixing the underlying problem.
Wanhao/Monoprice helpfully provide a second build surface, but I'm not going to go that route. That material is very much temporary. Even without my questionable techniques it probably wouldn't have lasted that much longer than it did. Instead, I opted to upgrade to a glass bed with a PEI sheet. It's going to involve a bit of relearning (and ripping off a lot of adhesive from the metal hotbed) but from what I've seen and heard it'll be well worth the effort. That'll give it a nice, rigid surface to print on, and using PEI will ensure that the bottom of the print is extremely smooth. I didn't really want to screw around with hairspray or glue sticks and blue painter's tape adds a distinct texture to the base of the model.
That's the most functional upgrade I'm doing this time around, but it should be a pretty big one. In addition to that, I'm also going to be replacing the linear bearings for the bed to make y-axis movements smoother and quieter, as well as replacing the belt tensioners. The ones that are included are spring-loaded so they have a bit of slack. I'm going to print new ones out of PLA, which should prove to be a bit more rigid.
In other news, Proto-Pasta Translucent Silver Smoke HTPLA looks gorgeous:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJUWkUpUMAA0rk3.jpg:small) (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJUWkUpUMAA0rk3.jpg)
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Nice choice of background for that picture.
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Thanks! My SNES/PVM setup is right near the printer. It definitely comes in handy when I'm calibrating or doing a lot of small prints. :)
Also, mods were installed. I'm really amazed at how much of a difference the linear bearings and glass/PEI made! The linear bearings drastically reduced the noise of y-axis movements (not sure if the bearings or white lithium grease made a bigger difference--either way, it was effective). The glass/PEI surface makes the base of the prints unbelievably smooth and, as an added bonus, makes them much easier to detach. Before I'd have to pretty much pry prints from the bed, especially if the heated bed cooled to room temperature, but earlier today I was able to just pull the print off. As for the skirt, a quick jab with my fingernail caused it to release. Holy crap.
One issue is that I'm using binder clips to hold the surface on now. It does a good job holding it, but considering how large my cooler is now it's noticeably decreasing the amount of space I have. There are a couple of options: I could either attach the PEI directly to the glass. The glass has thermal pads that are holding it pretty firmly in place, so I could get rid of the clips altogether. Alternatively, I could experiment with other methods of adhesion and print directly on the glass.
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Note to self: if I ever get a 3D printer, get something that doesn't end up causing me to make a million mods :P
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Ooh, good luck with that. :P
Honestly, it all depends on what you're willing to spend on the base printer. My printer was about US$300. I put maybe $350 worth of mods into it (the most expensive one being the extruder at $180), but with the combination of mods that I selected it gives it the level of performance as a $1500 printer (Edit: lol no). It did take a bit of work to get it there, but I enjoy doing that sort of thing.
Additionally, this is a good printer to get started with. Aside from one mod that I'd consider important for safety (bypassing a screw terminal that isn't rated for the current passing through it--a MOSFET board, a few cents worth of wire, a printed raft for it to sit on, and some industrial velcro to hold it on--roughly $15 total cost), none of the other mods are essential for getting great prints. Even right out of the box that printer is kind of a beast for the price. The commonly recommended mods for it really just take it from making great prints to making even better prints. It's a great base unit for getting into the craft.
If you want one that's truly going to give you an amazing out of box experience, you'd want to get something like an Ultimaker. It's very expensive ($2500 for the UM2+ and $3500 for the UM3) but with that price you're buying a stellar machine and excellent support. Another option is the Prusa i3 MK2S ($699 for a DIY kit, $899 pre-assembled). Basically, it's an evolution of my printer's design, and includes a lot of great features (auto-leveling bed, included all-metal E3D V6 hotend, PEI surface, 50 micron layer height, etc). IMO it's a bit of an expensive beast for just breaking into the hobby, but it's a nice piece of kit for the cost.
I have to admit, I'm really considering moving up to the Prusa just because of this upcoming kit (http://shop.prusa3d.com/en/printer-upgrades/118-original-prusa-i3-mk2-multi-material-upgrade.html). 4 material prints? Sign me the fuck up.
Alternatively, I could always just build my own multi-material printer. That might be fun.
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Yeah, currently having enough trouble saving up for my PC, so any 3D printer I buy will be a long way off, if I ever decide I want one bad enough.
But seriously, a screw terminal not rated for the current? Jesus...
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It's a fun "quirk" with the Melzi boards, and the screw terminal that they use now isn't nearly as bad as the connectors that they used to use. I'm not aware of recent v2.1 Di3s catching on fire (seems like it's mostly the old v2.1s and earlier) but I don't really want to risk it. I've been thinking about getting a MOSFET board for the hotend as well, though that doesn't draw nearly as much current as the hotbed does.
And hey, it's still a downright safe system compared to other i3 clones, like the Anet A8. Anet actually disabled the thermal runaway protection on the standard firmware. Who knows what else they skimped on.
Edit: Also, I should add that "Melzi," being Italian, is pronounced "MELT-zi." Hah.
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I got a new printer! Here's some pics (warning: might be NSFW):
And a video to show how quiet this damn thing is:
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I think I'm just going to keep this thread a bit active just to ramble about this stuff. Here we go!
So I've been playing around with flexible PLA. It prints super stringy (I thought PETG was bad...this is much worse) and it takes a bit of tweaking to get any actual flex out of it.
As for what I'm printing now...
(https://i.imgur.com/VMlqdFYl.png)
Hmm, what could these be?
Edit: Oh yeah, I also published my first object on Thingiverse the other day: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2852942 (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2852942). It's a mount for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module I/O board. Looks like five people already put it on their to-do list. ;D
Here's a pic with the board mounted:
(https://i.imgur.com/dE2Sq9u.png)
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'tis finished!
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So I bought a new 3D printer today, because why the hell not.
And to give y'all an idea how big it is, here it is next to the Prusa:
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That is substantially larger lol
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YEP. It took a bit of shuffling to get everything to fit comfortably. :P The build volume is a fair amount larger than my Prusa i3 MK3. The Prusa is 250x210x210 while the LulzBot is 280x280x250, so I'm looking forward to taking advantage of that.
I'm only on my third print on the LulzBot (as opposed to the 20+ days of printing time I've clocked up on the Prusa), but here's some observations so far:
- The Prusa is much quieter. Than again, that's kind of a selling point for the MK3. I don't think it's a stretch to say that it's the quietest FDM printer on the market.
- The LulzBot has a borosilicate glass plate with a PEI sheet affixed, held on with washers (which double as probing points for the bed leveling system). The Prusa uses a spring steel sheet with a PEI sheet affixed, held on with rare earth magnets. Obviously the Prusa wins here. I've never had to take a scraper to the build surface, but I've had to scrape both prints off the LulzBot's bed. Talk about nerve-wracking. I have a feeling that's more due to the sample material being colorFabb nGen, which is a copolyester. Copolyesters tend to cling to PEI sheets. I put down some glue stick to act as a separation layer, but it really didn't seem to help much, heh. I'm printing with PLA right now, so hopefully that'll release more easily.
- The Prusa uses 1.75mm filament while the LulzBot uses 2.85mm, so I can't use my old stock. I did get a spool of 2.85mm Polyalchemy Elixir, but I can't really use my old stock. Well, I kinda can. The extruder on the LulzBot can apparently feed some 1.75mm PLA since the material is so stiff, but I don't really want to risk it. However, the tool head on the LulzBot is nothing short of phenomenal. To replace the tool head on most printers you have to literally disassemble it. On the LulzBot, you remove a screw and unplug a wiring harness, then swap it with a new one. I could build a tool head that can accept 1.75mm filament with relative ease, and I believe there's a vendor that sells them pre-assembled. Being able to swap between 1.75mm and 2.85mm in about the time it would take to swap filament is freaking amazing.
- Aleph Objects, the creators of the LulzBot, are based on the US, while Prusa Research is based on the Czech Republic. I'm not saying that to be Das Überpatriot, but it does make getting replacement parts (should I need them) much faster.
- Both printers are fully open source, run the same basic firmware (Marlin), contribute heavily to open source projects, and ACTUALLY HAVE THE GODDAMN SAFETY FEATURES ENABLED IN THEIR FIRMWARE (https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/8cnpad/can_we_sticky_an_anet_a8chinese_prusa_awareness/) SO THAT THEY DON'T BURN (https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/8ah96r/anet_a8_burns_down_half_the_house/) PEOPLES' (https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/6cekgk/house_fire_thanks_to_cheap_printer_from_china/) HOUSES DOWN (https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/8dc2qb/another_anet_a8_fire_please_be_careful/).
- Seems like it can print at about the same speed as the Prusa, though from what I understand it handles 50 micron layer heights quite a bit better.
- The part cooling system is significantly better on the LulzBot. The Prusa has a decent part cooler, but the TAZ 6 just throws subtlety out the window and has two fans on either side of the print. I'm going to need to do some bridging to test this.
- Build quality is stellar. The frame feels solid and the linear rods are about 50% thicker than what most printers use (it looks like they're 12mm, while most use 8mm). I think even Ultimaker uses 8mm rods.
- I haven't done enough printing to have fully tested this, but on my initial prints there seems to be less obvious ghosting than what I get on the MK3. I'm thinking the more rigid frame has a lot to do with this, not to mention the filament spool being low on the side rather than wobbling around above the gantry.
- The power switch on the LulzBot is something to behold. It sort of has a similar feeling to the old IBM AT power supplies. It's either firmly on or firmly off, with no chance for any in-betweens.
- The display is laggier than the one on the Prusa but more responsive than the one on my old Wanhao i3. Not a huge deal.
- As with the Prusa, the installation manuals and user guide are super useful.
- Most importantly: Aleph Objects are fucking memelords. Their assembly guide is called OHAI ("Open Hardware Assembly Instructions" but YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID). One of their upgraded extruder tool heads is called the MOARStruder. I mean, they call their printers LulzBots FFS.
Yeahhhhh, I love it.
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Fucking memelords indeed lol. And yeah the stiffer frame probably contributes quite a bit there.
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It definitely helps! I had both printers running for pretty much all weekend and the LulzBot was printing fairly nicely despite the Prusa shaking the crap out of the table.
The Prusa definitely has a bit of a speed advantage. It has a smaller and lighter toolhead compared to the LulzBot, as well as newer stepper motor drivers, so that thing can accelerate ridiculously fast. The LulzBot can move quickly, but it takes it a few moments to get up to full speed. The LulzBot also uses IGUS polymer bearings while the Prusa uses more traditional linear bearings (basically cylinders with tiny ball bearings along the edges). The IGUS bearings are known for introducing a bit of slop, so I suspect that the axis are slowed down intentionally to compensate. That said, after dealing with a seized linear bearing on the Prusa (which, in turn, gouged the crap out of one of the Y-axis rails) I think I prefer that!
It's kind of interesting when I feel the stepper motors while the printers are active. The Prusa XYZ-axis stepper motors barely get warm to the touch, while the E-axis (extruder) motor gets uncomfortably hot. Meanwhile, the LulzBot XY-axis steppers are hot to the touch while it's E/Z-axis motors stay cool. I suspect that's largely due to the extruder design. The Prusa uses two BondTech gears which grip the filament from both sides and push it in. This allows it to handle flexible filament a bit better, but it causes the motor a bit more stress. The LulzBot's standard toolhead uses a traditional setup, with a toothed gear and a pulley wheel pressing the filament against it.
The heated bed is a bit interesting. On both the Prusa and my old Wanhao printers, I could literally place my hand on a 60°C bed indefinitely without any major discomfort. On the LulzBot, 60°C actually feels like 60°C. I can keep my hand on the bed for maybe 2-3 seconds before it becomes painful, and that sucker can reach 120°C. O.O I'm not sure if that's due to how the hotbeds are calibrated, where the temperature is measured, or the type of material used, but it definitely makes a difference.
Also, I ended up ordering a 1.75mm toolhead for the LulzBot yesterday with a pre-installed hardened steel nozzle. The thermal properties of steel aren't quite as attractive as brass, but that'll allow me to print with abrasive filaments (glow in the dark stuff, carbon fiber blends, etc). Swapping nozzles is simple, though, so if I ever wanted to swap it with a brass nozzle it would be pretty trivial.
About the only nozzle that I wouldn't want to use on the LulzBot (though I could use it on the Prusa) would be the Olsson Ruby (http://olssonruby.com/). Both printers do auto bed leveling, but they do it in different ways: the Prusa uses an inductive probe while the LulzBot uses conductive probing.
On the picture with both printers, take a look at the toolhead of the Prusa. You'll see a grey wire running along the right side of the extruder body. That's where the inductive probe is connected. It probes nine known points on the bed in order to build a mesh of the bed shape to account for minor warping.
Now take a look at the LulzBot. That one has four metal washers on the four corners of the bed. When it autolevels, it heats the nozzle up below the melting point of the filament, wipes the nozzle on the pad to the front-left of the bed, then gently lowers the nozzle down onto the four washers, checking for electrical conductivity. It uses that to work out what kind of angle the bed is sitting at. It's not as intricate as the Prusa's system, but since the LulzBot uses a glass build surface they can get away with that. You have to actually try to warp borosilicate glass.
So yeah, the reason it won't work with LulzBot's autoleveling system is because ruby isn't a conductive material. I've just made a short story long. You're welcome. <3
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I printed with nylon (infuses with carbon fiber!) for my first time today. Really really awesome surface finish, but it's stringy as fuuuuuck. Definitely need to dial in retraction a bit more. Kinda nice that the 1.75mm toolhead that I ordered for the TAZ 6 came with a hardened nozzle--it saved me from having to change it myself. :P
I also want to design a toolhead for the TAZ 6 at some point, so I've been looking into ColorFabb HT as an ABS replacement. ABS has some of the best temperature tolerance (its glass transition temperature is around 105C), but it lets off smelly, likely toxic fumes and has a nasty tendency to warp unless you build an enclosure for your printer to keep the ambient temperature high. ColorFabb HT is a copolyester, so it lets off minimal fumes, doesn't tend to warp as much, if at all, and HT is a specific blend that has a glass transition temperature of 100C. Copolyesters tend to be a bit stringier, but I'd rather deal with that than ABS any day of the week.
The only real hangup that I have with ColorFabb HT is that I've been having difficulties finding any sort of real information on how it performs in the real world. ColorFabb makes awesome filament, but I'd rather see a third-party put it through its paces. Most of the videos I've seen were people comparing it to PLA (which makes absolutely zero fucking sense given that PLA softens at only 60C). I want to see it compared with ABS. Even r/3Dprinting doesn't seem to have a whole lot of posts about it.
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I just installed an amazing mod on the TAZ 6:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdGzXO5XUAAzXNF.jpg:small)
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N-n-n-n-necro!
I ended up buying an X56 HOTAS (mostly for Elite: Dangerous) and decided to create and print a flight stick mount for my recliner.
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Ended up snagging this (https://www.lulzbot.com/store/tool-heads/m175-tool-head-175-mm-single-extruder-05-mm) for my TAZ 6, along with the universal toolhead adapter. Should be arriving tomorrow. Not only will it give me another 1.75mm-capable toolhead (the LulzBot printers typically use 2.85mm filament, which isn't as widely used these days), but it also pairs a BondTech BMG with a Mosquito hotend, giving a pretty kickass platform for printing flexibles, and allowing for fast and easy nozzle swaps. I modded my Prusa MK3S with the same extruder/hotend combo last year and it's kind of amazing how quickly that thing can chew through even soft TPE.
Gotta say, for as old as the TAZ 6's design is (2016!) it's still one hell of an awesome printer, and it's awesome that LulzBot is still supporting it (as well as the TAZ 5!) to some degree.
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Managed to score an Anycubic Photon S for $90 the other day. The original owner claimed that the LCD screen was bad, but I'm pretty sure the power cable wasn't plugged in securely as it works perfectly. From what I can tell the printer goes for about $270 new, so I was able to get the printer, a UV chamber (to cure the printed parts), and a bottle of resin for much less than the printer alone would cost.
It's pretty obvious why the printer is cheaper than upper end resin printers. While the electronics and mechanical bits seem a-okay, you can tell the places where they cut costs. The lid and plastic bits are kind of cheap and flimsy, but it does a good enough job sealing off the print chamber when in use. While the UI isn't great, it's very quick and responsive. The Z axis of the machine is whisper quiet. It didn't make a whole lot of noise in operation, and even my relatively quiet Prusa MK3S (which is hard to hear one room over) is cacophonous by comparison. The fan is the loudest part by far, so it'll probably be damn near silent if I upgrade that.
The Anycubic software is kinda balls by all accounts and doesn't run under Linux (which my trusty basement iMac now runs), so I wound up using ChiTuBox. It's not too bad, but it's a far cry from the level of polish of something like PrusaSlicer. Fortunately, it is possible to set up the print with supports using PrusaSlicer, export the results to an STL, and import that into ChiTuBox. Probably going to take that route moving forward.
It's my first resin printer, so I've been doing a lot of reading up on it. My first print wasn't exactly successful, but I found out that unlike FDM ("fused deposition modeling," or printers that take filament) printers, you don't want the build plate to be clean, otherwise the print will just sort of stick to the FEP film at the bottom of the resin tank. Whoops.
Resin is definitely stanky. It's not as bad as I heard it was (at least Inland standard resin isn't), and when you're dealing with small quantities it's not so bad. It's a bit more noticeable when you're funneling a tank of resin back into the bottle. Woof.
It's also worth noting that UV cured resin is toxic and certainly isn't something to take lightly. Someone on r/3DPrinting ended up getting resin all over themselves while moving a printer and ended up with some pretty nasty chemical burns as a result. The endgame is to put the printer in an filtered enclosure. The printer already has a couple of filters inside which do a surprisingly good job (you can't really smell it unless you're standing right in front of it), but the endgame is to install it in another enclosure to completely eliminate the odor.
If I remember I'll update this with a picture of my first successful print.
On an FDM-related note, FAME 3D pushed out another TAZ 6-compatible upgrade. The TAZ 6 came with a borosilicate glass build plate with PEI film on top. Good adhesion with the smooth properties of glass. The problem with that setup is that you need to take a scraper to the surface to get parts off. My Prusa MK3S, on the other hand, has a flex steel plate that I can remove and flex in order to detach the part, making it far easier to remove parts and eliminating the chance of scraper injuries (one slip == one hospital visit and very likely a bunch of physical therapy) at the expense of slightly less efficient heat transfer.
Well, they came out with an upgrade that adds a large flexible build plate to muh ol' boi, basically bring it up to snuff with the much newer Prusa MK3 platform in terms of QoL features. At this point I'm almost tempted to swap out the main board for one with quieter drivers to soothe the beast a bit.
The only real downside with the flex sheet upgrade in my case is that my TAZ 6 uses the classic heater design rather than the newer modular heater design. The old design features a silicone heater glued to the borosilicate glass, while the newer design is a modular heating system, with the build plate and heater being two distinct components. It's not difficult to swap any of this out, but it did make it a little more expensive. Definitely looking forward to getting that installed, since that basically removes the only minor annoyance that I have with that printer.
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Managed to score an Anycubic Photon S for $90 the other day. The original owner claimed that the LCD screen was bad, but I'm pretty sure the power cable wasn't plugged in securely as it works perfectly. From what I can tell the printer goes for about $270 new, so I was able to get the printer, a UV chamber (to cure the printed parts), and a bottle of resin for much less than the printer alone would cost.
Hoo boy. I'm not sure who had this printer before me, but they definitely didn't do their homework before trying to maintain this thing. Here's a quick rundown of why this thing wasn't printing, like, at all.
Instead of homing the printer, they just put spacers on the bottom of the resin tank to bring it up to the build plate. Easy enough to fix.
I dug in a bit deeper and found that they also tightened the FEP film (the film at the bottom of the tank) waaaaayyy too tightly. You're meant to tune it more or less like a drum, and it's supposed to be somewhere around 290-350hz when you rap it with your finger. It was hitting 490hz. Holy hell.
I cleaned it out thoroughly and replaced the film, dialing it in to a nice 333hz, and after starting a print I was able to hear it get pulled off of the FEP film between layers. Fingers crossed!