So anyone else have a 3D printer?

[CZroe]

Somehow, I knew the Thingiverse link would be something for Nintendo Switch before I clicked it. 🙂

If you used PLA for the dryer piece, I hope it doesn't get hot.

Yeah. ABS or Nylon would work better. Should have a heated bed/enclosure though.

 

[Ichinisan]

... In addition to the other suggestions, you can get Fusion 360 for free as a hobbyist. https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/fusion-360-for-hobbyists

Yes. F360 is very powerful.

 

[Paratus]

I’m thinking I might give Fusion 360 a shot.

I think I also need to tweak my bed leveling. Tried printing without a raft today and got some mangling on the first layer.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Been thinking it would be neat to get into. I have lot of various home projects I want to work in which will lead towards getting into more hobby style projects. (need to finish my shop and stuff first) so once I get to a point where I'm doing actual hobby projects I might consider it. The new Canadian drone rules kind of threw a wrench in my idea of wanting to get into RC planes and stuff though but might do RC cars/robots instead now. But still have lot of misc projects around the house to do, one of them being my garage/shop so I have an actual place to work on building things.

My only worry about 3D printing is pollution, are 3D prints easily recyclable? I'd hate to generate lot of waste, like failed prints etc.

Also wonder if there's any decent Linux programs for making 3D models. There's Blender but it's not exactly intuitive if you want to make precise stuff.

 

[Paratus]

Been thinking it would be neat to get into. I have lot of various home projects I want to work in which will lead towards getting into more hobby style projects. (need to finish my shop and stuff first) so once I get to a point where I'm doing actual hobby projects I might consider it. The new Canadian drone rules kind of threw a wrench in my idea of wanting to get into RC planes and stuff though but might do RC cars/robots instead now. But still have lot of misc projects around the house to do, one of them being my garage/shop so I have an actual place to work on building things.

My only worry about 3D printing is pollution, are 3D prints easily recyclable? I'd hate to generate lot of waste, like failed prints etc.

Also wonder if there's any decent Linux programs for making 3D models. There's Blender but it's not exactly intuitive if you want to make precise stuff.

PLA is biodegradable and doesn’t smell when being printed and it’s fairly strong. (I think I read somewhere that most of the North American filaments are derived from corn.

Downside is its a bit brittle and doesn’t like high heat 100F+ and strong UV (sunlight) for long periods of time.

ABS plastic and some others require enclosures with filters or good ventilation to print due to fumes.

To bad about the drones. They are fun.

 

[CZroe]

I’m thinking I might give Fusion 360 a shot.

I think I also need to tweak my bed leveling. Tried printing without a raft today and got some mangling on the first layer.

Definitely check the bed leveling and make sure you’re getting a good squish but, without a heated bed, a raft is probably going to be status quo. 🙁

 

[CZroe]

There are filament recycling services out there where you can sent your failed prints but they aren’t very economical. Also, they may not accept more than PLA or PETG. Your typical recycling center probably already has a bin for ABS.

For the rest, well, the way I see it is that most plastics are a byproduct of oil production. It’s going somewhere whether you use it or not. At least you can make sure your waste ends up in the right place, so wasting it on rafts and failed prints is probably better than it going into product packaging or grocery bags or whatever.

Oh yeah: There are some filament-making machines for the home but they don’t seem to work too well with scrap plastics. There are some who have tried and posted tutorials on YouTube but they admit that the results are poor and it isn’t worth it. 🙁 Those machine’s work much better with formed pellets intended for injection molds and stuff but, even then, the consistency of the filament isn’t as good as the commercially produced filament you can buy. Consistent filament diameter is a very important part of dialing in your printer settings for good prints, which is why the best filaments brag about their tolerance for this (Prusament and others).

 

[Zanovar]

So what kinds of things are you doing with them?



It’s a decent beginners printer. Its small which is good since I don’t have a good space for it yet. I had it setup and printing its first test part in about 45 minutes. I’m actually impressed with how well it prints.

Tonight’s part came out pretty well.
View attachment 2647

Although you are right about it being a bit limited. That piece is about as long as it can print at 6.5inches. Plus without a heated bed materials other than PLA are basically out.

So if I find it useful maybe another printer will be in order after awhile

That is the worst dildo ive ever seen 😛

 

[Ichinisan]

...

My only worry about 3D printing is pollution, are 3D prints easily recyclable? I'd hate to generate lot of waste, like failed prints etc.

...

PLA comes from corn and is somewhat biodegradable.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Oh interesting had no idea PLA came from corn. I know there are ways to remelt it and make your own filament too, I'd possibly look into that if I got deeply into printing. Definitely something I want to check out in the near future either way.

 

[NutBucket]

I've had a Makerbot at work for a few years now (maybe 5?) I've upgraded it over the years with a heated build plate and other bits and it's OK. To me it's definitely in the hobby category. More recently I got a Form2 and that is impressive. Sure it's expensive and materials are expensive and the IPA rinse step is a bit of a chore and messy but man does the print quality make up for it. Oh, and the fact the stupid thing just works. No fiddling, no fussing. Print and go. You never worry about a print failing.