My new Ender3

[dikman]

22 hours ago, Rockoboy said:

Is it possible to print this type of thing with a smooth surface? That grooved surface might be undesirable to a lot of people.

Not really, it's the nature of the printing process. The surface can be sanded smooth and using wet and dry paper (wet) it will come out very smooth. However, if you sand too heavily you can go through layers and cause delaminating, particularly on edges. I've made one or two models and have used a combination of sanding and car body filler/surface filler prior to painting. It works well but is a lot of effort.

[kgg]

On 1/6/2020 at 11:15 PM, Rockoboy said:

Is it possible to print this type of thing with a smooth surface? That grooved surface might be undesirable to a lot of people.

There are a lot of factors that can go into getting a projects surface smooth, without having to do a lot of after printing touch-ups. Most of what you print is going to be for personal use and surface appearance really doesn't manner as long as it is functional and presentable. My list of the factors affecting surface appearance so it acceptable and I am sure there are more that can be added are:

Experience and design software used, I like Fusion 360 but there are many others available.  

Your approach when designing the project. I still like the old school way of designing, putting my initial design thoughts to paper. Whereas my son just does it within the software. Whatever works best for you. Using 3d software and printings really will cause you to think of things in a different manner.

Slicer software and the settings, which sometimes needs to modified depending on the project and filament being used.

The quality of the 3d printer and the care taken in setting the unit up. Buy a decent machine within your budget as the prices verses capabilities are getting cheaper every year. I chose the Prusa i3 mk3 which was a kit and a royal pain to put together. Took about ten to twelve hours to assemble. Time consuming along with the manual having some errors coupled with some pictures being incorrect. I figure within the next couple of years a metal 3d printer will be almost affordable as new / more manufacturers come online.

The bed temperature.

The type and size of the nozzle. 

The type and quality of filament, just like sewing thread, they are not all equal. Even the colour of the filament can affect the final look as some colours show small imperfections and layering more then others.

Drafts, ambient temperature and humidity can be major factors that can affect the printing. 

Just what I have found so far.

kgg

[garypl]

Great feedback, thank you everyone!  

Chris, I am using the Creality slicer that came with the printer.  I will download Cura as I have heard many good comments about it.  Using Tinkercad to create projects for now.  Downloaded Fusion 360,  but have not taken the time to learn it yet.

Right now I’m just printing a lot of small items to update the printer itself, but what I plan to do is convert many of the patterns I have on card stock to plastic templates that will be sturdier and easier to use!

 

[chrisash]

Gary

If you use the Cura standard settings for most filament types they come out fine and i have never had any problem with uneven top or side surfaces just using the standard settings and the standard settings, for even better results you can use the fine settings but takes longer

For stamps I use Taulman nylon 230 which gives a good sharp finish and takes the pressure without wear or breaking

[garypl]

Thanks Chris - I have not had a chance to download Cura yet, but it will be a rainy weekend here in Georgia, so will try it out tomorrow!

Gary

[sbrownn]

On 11/29/2018 at 2:43 AM, RockyAussie said:

Congratulations @chrisash on getting a very worthwhile tool. Be patient and do a lot of getting used to your settings and how the can vary before trying to do too much too quickly. Lots of things like your temperature in different colour filaments and ideal bed temperatures for the given filament and a hundred other various adjustments,  can make a big difference to the outcome. I have had a lot of health issues of late and along with a huge backlog of work to catch up on I am sorry I am limited to the help I can give you in a hurry. In order to help some with the above questions I can say that the pla+ has worked excedingly well with the stamp project I am currently working on. I am still working on this project at the moment and will give a more full break down of it over the next week or so but here a a few pictures to help show you more of what I mean.

I should start by saying that the stamps in this case are a letter set that I have designed a font for that I want to use for stamping onto belts that have to be painted in different colours as well. This involves the use several different processes including the 3d printer and a 2.5 watt laser as well as a clicker press and so on.

First I designed a guide to hold the letters which were going to be used with the Ivan letter set. As I could not get a font for the laser work I then designed my own.

The following pic shows my stamp test held up well to the hammering down with the clicker press.

This one shows that the Ivan letter set is thinner and a bit smoother but I have not bothered to smooth out the pla+ printed ones either.

This one just shows where I am testing the line up of the laser cut masking tape with my stamp.

AS you see I did not have it quite aligned as needed and I have to say that the thickness of the letter width is only .77 mm so it does take a little patience. There's that word again.

Oh nearly forgot.... the letter height I used 2.5mm high off the block and 2mm wide at base extruding up at -15 deg inside the letter and 15 degrees outside the letter. I work in Autocad unfortunately so I cant help much in the other programs.

Brian

Very nice.  I like the outlining with the laser.

[sbrownn]

On 1/5/2020 at 8:32 PM, garypl said:

Printed my first mold forms today for a small case I make for trap machine controllers.  Took about 8 hours total time to print both  parts.  Tested it with some 2-3 oz bridle and it worked great!  Outer frame feels very rigid - made it with PLA at 25% fill - maybe overkill?

Why did you make it so thick?

On 11/29/2018 at 11:56 AM, chrisash said:

Hi

Thanks for the info, the names look great

I have just signed up for Fusion 360 which is free for the full version as a hobby person. far exceeds the other software in ease of use  and selection of tools, there is a handy new book "Fusion 360 for makers"by Lynda Sloan Cline, it is designed for 3D printers with good talk through projects

One thing i have found out about my printer is the time taken to get the pad to fully hot, it shows the heat at correct but when you try a print it fails in some places, but if you then clean that off and immediately start again its all ok, i guess the sensor is in one position and it takes more time to spread evenly over the whole pad

Can you say what the difference is between PLA and PLA+, at present just using a cheap PLA and getting good results after hours and hours of leveling, apart from the above what else do you make

Are your stamps made with straight edges to the letters or do they widen towards the base i.e. triangular shape rather than rectangular

Bit surprised that not many using this part of the forum

Chris

Why does it take hours and hours of leveling?  I can level my bed in 2 minutes and it's all good.

[sbrownn]

On 11/29/2018 at 1:30 PM, dikman said:

I'm not. Unfortunately 3D printing requires a fair bit of effort to sort out, as you're finding out. I suspect that for most it's either too daunting a prospect or they don't have the time.

Brian, sorry to hear you've been on the sick list, hope you're on the mend.

The 3D printing part is easy compared to the CAD part.  All the printer needs is a STL file and some factory settings to produce a part good enough for leather work.

[sbrownn]

On 11/21/2018 at 2:02 PM, dikman said:

PLA should be fine (you can now buy PLA+, which is supposed to be a bit tougher). ABS requires higher temps and a heated bed, my attempts so far at making small items with ABS have been mostly unsuccessful - the item tends to lift from the bed part way through. Bigger items are fine.

I use Slic3r, although I have tried Cura. I learned to use it through trial and error and lots of googling! I'm not aware of a simple guide to using them (which doesn't mean it's not out there).

I have found that PLA is strong enough for most leather work applications and is much easier to print consistently than ABS.  I have done lots of both over the last 10 years and now print almost exclusively in PLA.

[garypl]

2 hours ago, sbrownn said:

Why did you make it so thick?

Why does it take hours and hours of leveling?  I can level my bed in 2 minutes and it's all good.

First attempt at making a mold and didn’t know how strong the outer frame should be.  Turns out it seems plenty strong - maybe I will make the next one a bit thinner.

Takes me only a couple of minutes to level the bed using a piece of paper as a feeler gauge.