Actions
Forum Thread Details
  • Replies 17 replies
  • Subscribers 330 subscribers
  • Views 4561 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Related

What gets in the way of your 3D Printing project?

cstanton

All aboard the discussion train...

3D printers have came along way since the 'make your own RepRap with another 3D printer' at home, thanks to the expiry of patents and we also have ones that are now on conveyor belts.

Still, getting into 3D printing has its hurdles, we try to address some of these, but problems can still get in the way, such as finding that you need to replace the hotend of your 3D printer, and it instead sheers off in the heat block, and you have to find creatives ways to free it (talking from personal experience). There's also the manner of, how do you create the item which you're going to 3D print? What factors do you have to consider? Can you even get a hold of a metal 3D printer, or would resin be okay? and is the resin itself okay?

While I have access to a filament 3D printer at home, I do consider maybe acquiring a resin printer, but know for sure that any further 3D printing means I should really have a filtered enclosure because of fumes. That's partly what gets in the way of my creation these days, since I use OpenSCAD, I also don't fight with the licenses introduced from recent Autodesk changes, or the nuances of Blender...

So many options, perhaps that's also what gets in the way? Or maybe it's setup costs (I'm looking at you Ultimaker).

We're looking at expanding our content, and what we ask from 3D Printer manufacturers to goven our campaigns and content on the Community, and I'm interested in what you need help with, so reply and let us know, regardless of knowledge level or what you've been doing!

  • At the moment, I've got two printers and although bed levelling manually is a bit finicky, once dialled in, things seem to go fine for a while. That is, until a thermistor wire breaks and we get a thermal runaway protection. Crappy filament has caught me once and tuning the slicer for it was a bit of a learning curve.

    I still find good 3D modelling hard as I have little experience and start with simple, albeit limiting tools like TinkerCAD.

    Other than that, it's all about finding the patience to wait for it to finish!

    - Gough

  • My only printer uses filament. Some projects are large enough to have issues with bed size. With intricate projects I’ve had issues with designing for assembly in tight places, minimizing supports, and also precision and accuracy. I’m still learning how to make best use of physical properties and avoid the weaknesses of PLA (e.g. selecting optimal wall thickness, avoiding distortions, joining parts with adhesives, Etc.). 

  • I have been working  on a 24" square table, a fixed bed and a movable gantry. I have to get my table and bed welded up. But I don't own one.

  • For me the most difficult part of printing is keeping the filament stored and dry enough to print.  I have recently moved to air tight contains with large amounts of desiccants.  I may want to try a filament drier in the future.

  • There are a couple of problems that I consistently have with my 3D filament printer.  The first is caused by laziness.  I tend to leave my filament loaded between prints and on occasion due to moisture absorption (it rains in Oregon!), I'll have brittle filament that breaks.  And as Murphy would have it, it always breaks between my filament sensor and the extruder motor - so if I'm not paying attention I'll lose the print (horrifying if you're a few hours in).  Normally, if I'm around - I'll hear the filament break and can reload it on the fly...

    The other problem that I have is the dimensional accuracy of the print.  Due to the nature of 3D printing, printed dimensions will always be a little off from what is designed.  This is due to a combination of idiosynchrasies of the printer mechanisms, filament type, filament consistency, and the specific shape that is being printed.  I think experience brings you some "Kentucky windage", but if I need a precision fit I will always need to print multiple times to get the dimensional compensation correct (or use a file or filler).

    A problem I occasionally have is changing settings when I change filament types (sometimes even different spools of the same type).  I recently really messed up my hotbed when using a PLA+ filament - I still haven't figured that out yet - I just stopped using it for now.  Not sure if it is the temperature setting or something wrong with the material itself.

  • in reply to Gough Lui

    You can use any CAD software you are comfortable with. I have used CST microwave studio to design and export 3D step files. CST microwave is not for 3D modeling but for EM simulation of 3D structures. But since one can design the 3D structure in CST, you can export the model.

  • What gets in the way of your 3D Printing project?
    Probably, not having a 3D printer at home :P

  • Not much these days. Owning a 3d printer since 7 years now. The first one was one which needed constant attention and tuning, and I spend more time improving it than with it printing. When I finally decided I wanted a tool, and not a hobby, I got one which was reliable from the first day (Prusa MK3S). Did not look back . I have since 18 months now and printed probably ten times as much as with the old one.

    What keeps me from printing? Coming up with enough ideas to print :-) (and sometimes with solution to the problems I have)

  • My main issue is having enough filament. I have printers that take different filament diameters, so it is tough to stock both types and especially if I want multiple colors.

    I am still experimenting with better filament handling accessories, but they are already way better than my original setup.

    My latest project is to build a new kind of camera to make videos of printing in action. I tried Octoprint but am aiming at something better.

  • Now I'm on my way with Creality3D stuff(this one). Of course, it's not ideal for a large project, but we have to start somewhere and somehow