3D Printer / CNC discussion thread

[danmitch1]

So I mutilated my printer some more. In any decently run universe, I would not be allowed to use tools.

Step 1, use Dremel to make cuts way too big for a USB extender to the new board, while simultaneously bathing myself and my living room carpet in sparks:

Step 2, install newly purchased SD extender, since the SD slot on my new board will not be exposed via the stock slit in the metal:

Most importantly, my pin set and new crimpers have arrived, so I can fix my broken z-axis plug and get on with my life!!

Nice! but.. you cut metal inside your living room with a dremel!!? Im afraid doing that on my back balcony lol!

 

[lowfat]

Been wanting to watercool some lights for a very long time. Bought some 2" x 2" aluminum tubing when in Saskatoon earlier this month. Modeled up some end caps. Tubing slots in and I'll add a liberal amount of gasket maker to seal it up. I'll run a G1/4 tap through the holes afterward. Bottom port for tubing. Top for fill port. Will only have fill port on one end.


EDIT: Man, printers can be a real sometimes. Haven't been this mad in real long time.

Don't have Octoprint setup for the Prusa right now since I ripped apart my printer room. Try printing, just will not adhere. Run back and forth from printer room to PC like 5 times, trying different settings. Filament keeps curling up on first layer.

Getting mad so I try my corexy. First layer goes down amazing but when it starts to speed up on 2nd layer it fails. Part isn't shiny at all so I feel like its printing too cold, but I know the profile worked before. Trying various settings. 5+ tries layer I notice I had PETG loaded and not PLA. Try to unload and load PLA.... It is jammed. And removing the hotend is a nightmare on this printer. I absolutely never have jams on the Prusa, so when I designed the hotend mount, it didn't even occur to make it easy to disassemble. And now its been twice and it hasn't even printed a full KG. Both times my fault but still.......

 

[danmitch1]

Been wanting to watercool some lights for a very long time. Bought some 2" x 2" aluminum tubing when in Saskatoon earlier this month. Modeled up some end caps. Tubing slots in and I'll add a liberal amount of gasket maker to seal it up. I'll run a G1/4 tap through the holes afterward. Bottom port for tubing. Top for fill port. Will only have fill port on one end.
View attachment 32049

EDIT: Man, printers can be a real sometimes. Haven't been this mad in real long time.

Don't have Octoprint setup for the Prusa right now since I ripped apart my printer room. Try printing, just will not adhere. Run back and forth from printer room to PC like 5 times, trying different settings. Filament keeps curling up on first layer.

Getting mad so I try my corexy. First layer goes down amazing but when it starts to speed up on 2nd layer it fails. Part isn't shiny at all so I feel like its printing too cold, but I know the profile worked before. Trying various settings. 5+ tries layer I notice I had PETG loaded and not PLA. Try to unload and load PLA.... It is jammed. And removing the hotend is a nightmare on this printer. I absolutely never have jams on the Prusa, so when I designed the hotend mount, it didn't even occur to make it easy to disassemble. And now its been twice and it hasn't even printed a full KG. Both times my fault but still.......

What kind of lights are you water cooling? Too bad for that situation you were in, I also did not take into consideration disassembly of my hotend mount, I feel your pain lol

 

[danmitch1]

Here's a little PSA for anyone wanting to learn CAD.

Since my purchase of my little CNC machine, it hasnt taken long to realize that my 25+ years of mesh based modeling experience is almost useless for it.

Having had a lot of success transferring my digital art skills to 3D printing, it never occurred to me that there was a difference between solid modeling and mesh based modeling. Turns out there is a HUGE difference..

3D printing is capable of printing faceted meshes with uncommon curves printing basically anything you throw at it.. BUT CNC, for some reason (which I still don't really understand) needs to have more simple instructions with standard curves and shapes. This is why software like fusion 360 start to struggle with models with over 30000 triangles as its just not made for that. While you can transfer STL to fusion 360, you need to simplify the face groups before you can convert to solid which, in my case wont be very efficient.

Luckily at the moment I cant afford a CNC with more than 3 axes lol

So long story short or TLDR ..im taking up fusion 360 to CNC simple parts and will use 3ds max to continue making more creative complex designs for 3d printing. Ill combine the 2, instead of transferring my STL to fusion, ill be transferring my STEP to 3ds max.

But MAN! why the fk did autodesk make fusion 360 so non intuitive!!?? Like if I want to take a circle and center it to a square in 3ds max: select the circle, press ctrl-A, click the square, DONE... fusion 360 seems to need much more steps for a simple alignment.. I supposed ill just have to get used to it.

 

[lowfat]

Here's a little PSA for anyone wanting to learn CAD.

Since my purchase of my little CNC machine, it hasnt taken long to realize that my 25+ years of mesh based modeling experience is almost useless for it.

Having had a lot of success transferring my digital art skills to 3D printing, it never occurred to me that there was a difference between solid modeling and mesh based modeling. Turns out there is a HUGE difference..

3D printing is capable of printing faceted meshes with uncommon curves printing basically anything you throw at it.. BUT CNC, for some reason (which I still don't really understand) needs to have more simple instructions with standard curves and shapes. This is why software like fusion 360 start to struggle with models with over 30000 triangles as its just not made for that. While you can transfer STL to fusion 360, you need to simplify the face groups before you can convert to solid which, in my case wont be very efficient.

Luckily at the moment I cant afford a CNC with more than 3 axes lol

So long story short or TLDR ..im taking up fusion 360 to CNC simple parts and will use 3ds max to continue making more creative complex designs for 3d printing. Ill combine the 2, instead of transferring my STL to fusion, ill be transferring my STEP to 3ds max.

But MAN! why the fk did autodesk make fusion 360 so non intuitive!!?? Like if I want to take a circle and center it to a square in 3ds max: select the circle, press ctrl-A, click the square, DONE... fusion 360 seems to need much more steps for a simple alignment.. I supposed ill just have to get used to it.

If the square was made w/ a polygon tool then it will have a center point. But otherwise I just draw a line from corner to corner then delete it afterward. But I'm far from an expert.

What kind of lights are you water cooling? Too bad for that situation you were in, I also did not take into consideration disassembly of my hotend mount, I feel your pain lol

Some of those 'fancy' Samsung strips, augmented w/ some cheap red '5050' strips.

Always I did eventually get the Prusa printing. Guess I'm going to have to hang on for it longer.

 

[danmitch1]

If the square was made w/ a polygon tool then it will have a center point. But otherwise I just draw a line from corner to corner then delete it afterward. But I'm far from an expert.


Some of those 'fancy' Samsung strips, augmented w/ some cheap red '5050' strips.

Always I did eventually get the Prusa printing. Guess I'm going to have to hang on for it longer.

Yeah exactly, there are a few "tricks" im seeing for alignment but jeez, should be alot easier for something so important to modeling.

Pretty neat idea for the lights, are you just doing it for the fun of it or do these lights require some serious loud fans to cool them?

 

[danmitch1]

Got my first tool path working : ).. Of course I have to butter up the misses to keep her at bay with this some what spontaneous, expensive and noisy toy.


I couldnt find my specific mill bit in the tool library so I winged it and made a custom tool as close as the one that came with the machine.
My post processing config button was greyed out before preparing the gcode.. seems to have worked anyway.

 

[sswilson]

Charger Caddy Shows What 3D Printers Were Meant For

As computers became more popular in the late 80s and into the 90s, they vastly changed their environments. Of course the technological changes were obvious, but plenty of other things changed to ac…

hackaday.com

Not sure if I need one, but looks like a print worth looking at.

 

[lowfat]

 

[sswilson]

That's pretty impressive.

My only concern would be a cold solder joint as it appears that the soldering iron tip is moving the pin and that the pin moves back while the solder is cooling.