3D printing and the Hobby, an introduction.
Even at its simplest form, 3D printing is a remarkably capable tool for practical and hobbyist applications while also having perhaps one of the steeper learning curves of any modern technology.
this Technology was developed back in the early 80′s, but in the last decade or so it has become an affordable technology for the average consumer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing
This technology, along with drawing is a passion of mine that I would like to share with you and explain some of the methods and challenges that are apart of it.
It has been a while since I’ve used the printer to any capacity due to working midnight shifts and shifting hobby focus onto Gunpla as it requires less time and effort to enjoy. (yes I’m heathen for not cleaning the nub marks off of the kits.)
However, for anyone working with 3D printers and designing their own objects, take a look at how snap together kits like Gunpla are made, solutions to difficult prints could be found in the methods that they are assembled.
The Printer lives! the extruders are messy for certain, but that wont have much of an impact on any of the prints themselves.
A Close up of the well worn extruders, I’ve had this printer since August of 2016 and have logged 1146 hours of print time on it. It may be a Chinese made machine, but it is a well built, rugged printer. It is a Flash Forge Creator Pro.
Always remember to level your build plate before starting a print and after any print is finished to make sure there is a consistent distance between the extruder and the plate. No excuses. The likelihood of a print failing immediately at the start of a print is usually the fault of a poorly leveled bed, the extruded plastic is either not being pushed into the build plate due to the extruder not being close enough, or the extruder is too close, not allowing any material to exit the extruder which can cause the extruder to become clogged if not corrected right away.
Many of you are likely familiar with how a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) printer creates objects, so I’ll be brief in saying that a object made by a 3D printer is built by layering horizontal slices of a computer generated object to make a physical object.
Now after leveling the plate its time to run a test print and get an idea of what settings need to be adjusted to make an ideal object. For this I’ll print a simple cube from the files supplied by Flash Forge. The extruder is heated to 225 degrees Fahrenheit and the bed to 105 F. For printing ABS plastic as well as most thermoplastic polymers, a Heated build plate is a great way keep a print stuck in place until ready to be removed.
Already an issue stands out with this print, The corners of the print are lifting away from the build plate, probably due the bed temperature being too low and the bottom layers cooling faster than the upper ones, causing them to curl upwards.
The print is finished! other than the lifted corners, the only other issue is how the top of the object turned out, with a few rather unsightly bumps. This often occurs when too few solid layers are used to finish an object.
The object is simple, but a great way to find out what needs tuning for future prints.
Thank you for reading this rather lengthily intro to a personal passion of mine. If you enjoyed or found this post interesting and would like to see more, leave a like and let me know if there is anything about 3D printing you would like to see more of.
here are few examples of objects I’ve designed myself, and others I have printed from MyMiniFactory.com
personal project “Buddy” Action Figure
Titan Fall 2 Wingman Revolver-from MyMiniFactory: Designed by Jurica Pranjic Unfortunately the original download page for this no longer exists.
1/6th scale Asari head test
baratheonpilled
dailybridgerton
titsay
theartofmadeline
yousharknotpass
