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A nice to know, if you are 3D printing.

colporteur

What is your 3D printing tip, trick or trap?

A friend of mine purchased a BIBO 3D printer three years ago. It stayed in the box until recently. The printer is now on my office floor as I learn to 3D print. A FREE 3D PRINTER YES!

Like all technology paths, with experience life becomes easier and without the experience, the response “I wish I had known that!” is common. I recently discovered glue sticks make a difference and the right glue stick even more.

I’m looking for tips, tricks, and traps E14 members have learned on their 3D printing journey. Maybe you have a tool that is indispensable for rooting out those support structures. I’ve cut my thumb once trying to clear a support structure and want to avoid that in the future. Do you have something, I would like to know about it?

I’m using Ultimaker Cura as slicer software and have started down the path of learning FreeCAD. I have created a few models in the CAD software and successfully printed them to solve problems I used to do in wood and metal. This has motivated me to continue.

If your suggestion is to throw the free 3D printer I have in the garbage because: 1) the manufacture has gone out of business: 2) newer printers do much more 3D heavy lifting than the dinosaur I have, don’t bother. I’m looking to tap into community experience without having to invest in cut thumb failures to learn it.

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  • I don’t have much advice, since I feel like I’m still a beginner even after having the printer for quite a few years.

    The one bit of beginner advice I do have, is to stick with basic PLA filament. I Picked up some ABS super cheap when I started out, but I’ve had a lot of trouble with it, and ruined my printer’s magnetic mat due to lifting it while it was too hot and kinda melty. 
    I guess that’s the second bit of advice: wait for it to cool a bit first before removing the print.

    Oh, and printing is easier when the room is warm. I had problems printing in a cold garage, that went away when the weather was warmer.

    also always wipe down the build area with some rubbing alcohol before printing, even on a brand new clean machine. That probably depends on your build plate. Mine doesn’t require any glue or tape or such.

    oh one more thing… I found that leaving the filament spool on the printer for a few days made the filament brittle. But only the bit that was off the spool. So it’s best to put it away when done printing, but to do so you have to pull it back before it cools and hardens in the print head. Or just preheat the print head again… but ain’t nobody got time for that Laughing 

    Enjoy! And don’t feel bad about losing a few prints here and there, that’s part of the process!

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  • I don’t have much advice, since I feel like I’m still a beginner even after having the printer for quite a few years.

    The one bit of beginner advice I do have, is to stick with basic PLA filament. I Picked up some ABS super cheap when I started out, but I’ve had a lot of trouble with it, and ruined my printer’s magnetic mat due to lifting it while it was too hot and kinda melty. 
    I guess that’s the second bit of advice: wait for it to cool a bit first before removing the print.

    Oh, and printing is easier when the room is warm. I had problems printing in a cold garage, that went away when the weather was warmer.

    also always wipe down the build area with some rubbing alcohol before printing, even on a brand new clean machine. That probably depends on your build plate. Mine doesn’t require any glue or tape or such.

    oh one more thing… I found that leaving the filament spool on the printer for a few days made the filament brittle. But only the bit that was off the spool. So it’s best to put it away when done printing, but to do so you have to pull it back before it cools and hardens in the print head. Or just preheat the print head again… but ain’t nobody got time for that Laughing 

    Enjoy! And don’t feel bad about losing a few prints here and there, that’s part of the process!

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