3D Printing - A useful thread

[rwillett]

Hi

 

i thought I’d start a thread for those people who are interested in 3D printing. 
 

A number of people have 3D printers, some people need things printed, some people are interested but don’t know much about 3D printing  and want to know more. 
 

Hopefully this thread is for you. 
 

Ask questions, help each other out and be kind. 

 

Thanks

 

Rob

[rwillett]

I'll start off. 

 

Rob Willett, been 3D printing since lockdown. I originally brought an Ender 3 Pro to build a CNC machine. I actually did build the CNC machine but  found I preferred 3D printing. 

 

I now have two Prusa MK3S+ printers and print stuff for astrophotography. 

 

I tend to use Fusion 360 for design and am happy printing in PLA or PETG. And if you don't know what those are, they're the type of filaments that the printer uses. 

 

Happy to help as needed. 

 

Thanka

 

Rob

[YouMa]

I bought an Ender 3 v2 second hand last week I have a feeling I need new nozzle as I tried a benchy with a couple of tweaks and it was really bad. I did a temp tower which was fine at 230 temp but rubbish at lower temps. Any advice would be most welcome. Main problem seemed to be delamination and rough layers also splattering of filament. Think I levelled the bed fine though.

[rwillett]

On the ender 3 you need to get the bed really level.  If you have the magnetic mat, each time you take it off to have to level again. 

 

I would level using an ordinary sheet of normal 80g printer paper. You want the nozzle just touching and grabbing the paper over the printer bed. 

 

My Ender 3 had four screws under the bed and it drove me mad at times as I'd have it set for one area and it would be out elsewhere. That's jusy the way it is. 

 

You don't say which filament you are using. 230C is,hot for PLA. The magnetic mat is not that good for PETG as the filament sticks too much and can rip the mat 

 

Show pics of the temp tower and which filament you are using. 

[woodyratm]

I have no need for a 3D printer.. but I really want one! 
 

tbh, I just want one to print a proper cup holder for my car!

[rwillett]

There's loads of things I want but don't need. A 73 Porshe 911 RS lightweight could be top of that but unlikely. 

 

If it's a simple design, i might be able to help. 

 

Holding a coffee cup of any size is simple, the difficultbit is how the coffee cup holder attached to the car. We have a Seat Leon estate, good car but can only hold one coffee cup even though it has two holders in the centre console. Put one coffee cup in and you can't put a second one in. Two slim cans of redbull yes. Two coffee cups no. Design fail. 

 

Rob 

[Dad3353]

For a few years now, I have had excellent results from my Alfawise U20, a surprise gift from Our Youngest. I print mainly accessories, tools and pilot figures for my RC aircraft (after printing the mandatory accessories for the printer itself, such as knobs for bed levelling...). I only use PLA, and have a small stock of basic filaments of different colours. Assembly of the machine was a doddle, as was levelling; I only now have to change the nozzle, as some filament has set in there, and it's not feasible to clean it out. I have the necessary parts; I'm just a bit lazy of late. I use Blender, mostly, for designing, Cura for slicing and Octoprint to pilot the printer, with a web-cam to show the print happening in my browser in real time. Here's the printer, and a couple of models...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rwillett]

That looks great. Hadn't heard of that model before but there's lots out there. 

 

Nozzles are dirt cheap (unless you are going special filaments). I've been playing with glow in the dark filament and it's a nightmare. Hardened Nozzles and I print at 240c rather than the recommended 200C. That's the only way it would actually lay down. 

 

That's three of us so far. Anybody else?

[SamIAm]

I bought a Prusa MK3S+ in Feb of 2021, the self build kit version which was great as I got to really understand how it works!

 

I've used it to print a load of stuff including fidget spinners, a watercolour paint box, some Drone parts, enclosures for midi and f/x pedals and parts for my first bass guitar build; I even 3D printed a pedalboard (and plan to do so again). Paired with a small CNC I had a wonderful maker setup!

 

 

In Aug 2022, 'Patty' was melted during my fire ... but she is a tough bird! 

A couple of months ago I printed new parts for it at my makerspace (also assisted by the very kind @rwillett) and she is up and running again!

 

 

The whole idea of needing something that is hard to find or is custom, being able to design it in software (I use Fusion 360) and then printing it is just mind blowing!

 

There are faster 3D printers around, but the Prusa is tough and reliable in my experience.

 

S'manth x

Edited June 23 by SamIAm

[Joyster]

I'll chip in.. I use an Artillery Genius and Fusion 360.  I've printed more planes than I'll ever fly and now just use it for useful gadgets and stuff. If anyone wants anything designed/printed just let me know.

[tauzero]

I've got a Creality CR-6 SE which I have yet to recalibrate after changing the extruder and nozzle assembly following various issues. Nice feature - it has auto-levelling which seems to work well.

[rwillett]

@Smanth

 

I still can't believe that it works OK now😊

 

Rob

[SamIAm]

2 hours ago, rwillett said:

@Smanth

 

I still can't believe that it works OK now😊

 

Rob

Nor can I ... amazing really!

 

And to top it all, I shared the tale of it's rebirth on the Prusa Facebook page and none other than Josef Prusa got in touch and gifted me 1,000 Prusameters (their reward points)!  On tope of the few I already had this allowed me to get three sppols of Prusa PETG paying only about £11 for the delivery charge!

 

S'manth x

[YouMa]

9 hours ago, rwillett said:

On the ender 3 you need to get the bed really level.  If you have the magnetic mat, each time you take it off to have to level again. 

 

I would level using an ordinary sheet of normal 80g printer paper. You want the nozzle just touching and grabbing the paper over the printer bed. 

 

My Ender 3 had four screws under the bed and it drove me mad at times as I'd have it set for one area and it would be out elsewhere. That's jusy the way it is. 

 

You don't say which filament you are using. 230C is,hot for PLA. The magnetic mat is not that good for PETG as the filament sticks too much and can rip the mat 

 

Show pics of the temp tower and which filament you are using. 

I have done all this mate. I'm using PLA. Ordered new nozzles. Thanks though.

[Dad3353]

57 minutes ago, Smanth said:

Nor can I ... amazing really!

 

And to top it all, I shared the tale of it's rebirth on the Prusa Facebook page and none other than Josef Prusa got in touch and gifted me 1,000 Prusameters (their reward points)!  On tope of the few I already had this allowed me to get three sppols of Prusa PETG paying only about £11 for the delivery charge!

 

S'manth x

 

[rwillett]

2 hours ago, YouMa said:

I have done all this mate. I'm using PLA. Ordered new nozzles. Thanks though.

230c is very hot for PLA. I printed all my PLA at around 205C. What filament is it? If it's too hot you'll probably get elephants feet in your models. 

 

Other things to check is the extruder and is it accurate. Google for ender 3 extrusion calibration. You basically measure how much filament goes through on demand. Easy check to make. 

 

I've loads of Ender 0.4 nozzles I can post you down for nothing. I'll be honest and say I rarely changed brass nozzles on my ender 3 and I printed a lot of PLA.  Low hundreds of rolls for certain. 

 

If things are blocked in your nozzle then check the white PTFE tube and that it sits flush against the hot end. Use a proper right angled cutter on the PTFE on Capricorn tube if need be. If you haven't got a right angled cutter, I probably have one I don't need (no idea where it is and I'm on holiday for two weeks) or I'll print you a little mitre block that let's you use a small x-acto blade knife to get it at. Need to know the size of the PTFE tube. This issue manifests itself as filament comes out of PTFE against the hot end due the heat BUT oozes out around the PTFE tube and restricts filament flow. The extrusion test will demonstrate it but the causes are different. 

 

Also what speed are you printing at? Perhaps your profile in your slicer is wrong. 

 

Also let's get some pictures of Benchy and the temp tower. Let's see exactly what it Looks like?

 

Other things that can be wrong on the ender 3 is that each axis is not at 90 degrees. Printing small towers, say 30mm by 10mm can show that. Print the tower twice pointing in each dimension. Then check each pair of towers by placing them back to back and rotate one tower by 90 degrees.  The Ender 3 easily gets out of alignment. A calibration cube 10mmx10mmx10mm won't show this as the cube could be a rhombus. Most Ender are out by 0.5 degree in one of the axis. 

 

The last common issue is the brass wheel, spring and red arm on the back of the extruder might need replacing. The extrusion test might show this but the spring goes weak. It's a poor design to be honest and replacing it with direct drive makes a big difference. 

 

Are you printing inside or in a shed or garage.  That might account for the temperature you need to print at. 

 

The best thing about the Ender 3 is that just about every problem can be solved relatively easily and cheaply though it takes time. The tolerances on 3d printing are very low. A very small change of 0.5mm can make the difference between a print working or not. 

 

Pictures are a massive help here. Show us the issue and it might jump out. 

 

Hope this helps

 

Rob

Edited July 23, 2023 by rwillett

[itu]

This came from our @GisserD:

 

[YouMa]

7 hours ago, rwillett said:

230c is very hot for PLA. I printed all my PLA at around 205C. What filament is it? If it's too hot you'll probably get elephants feet in your models. 

 

Other things to check is the extruder and is it accurate. Google for ender 3 extrusion calibration. You basically measure how much filament goes through on demand. Easy check to make. 

 

I've loads of Ender 0.4 nozzles I can post you down for nothing. I'll be honest and say I rarely changed brass nozzles on my ender 3 and I printed a lot of PLA.  Low hundreds of rolls for certain. 

 

If things are blocked in your nozzle then check the white PTFE tube and that it sits flush against the hot end. Use a proper right angled cutter on the PTFE on Capricorn tube if need be. If you haven't got a right angled cutter, I probably have one I don't need (no idea where it is and I'm on holiday for two weeks) or I'll print you a little mitre block that let's you use a small x-acto blade knife to get it at. Need to know the size of the PTFE tube. This issue manifests itself as filament comes out of PTFE against the hot end due the heat BUT oozes out around the PTFE tube and restricts filament flow. The extrusion test will demonstrate it but the causes are different. 

 

Also what speed are you printing at? Perhaps your profile in your slicer is wrong. 

 

Also let's get some pictures of Benchy and the temp tower. Let's see exactly what it Looks like?

 

Other things that can be wrong on the ender 3 is that each axis is not at 90 degrees. Printing small towers, say 30mm by 10mm can show that. Print the tower twice pointing in each dimension. Then check each pair of towers by placing them back to back and rotate one tower by 90 degrees.  The Ender 3 easily gets out of alignment. A calibration cube 10mmx10mmx10mm won't show this as the cube could be a rhombus. Most Ender are out by 0.5 degree in one of the axis. 

 

The last common issue is the brass wheel, spring and red arm on the back of the extruder might need replacing. The extrusion test might show this but the spring goes weak. It's a poor design to be honest and replacing it with direct drive makes a big difference. 

 

Are you printing inside or in a shed or garage.  That might account for the temperature you need to print at. 

 

The best thing about the Ender 3 is that just about every problem can be solved relatively easily and cheaply though it takes time. The tolerances on 3d printing are very low. A very small change of 0.5mm can make the difference between a print working or not. 

 

Pictures are a massive help here. Show us the issue and it might jump out. 

 

Hope this helps

 

Rob

Thankyou Rob that's very decent of you mate. I checked the stuff I had done but as soon as I get nozzles on Wednesday I will soldier on. I have checked youtube tutorials aswell so will let you know as soon as I am sorted the PLA is 1.75mm jayo in black. I have the printer on kitchen bench. The guy I bought it off upgraded to all metal extruder. I suppose it will be just a learning curve so if I can message you would be great. Again thanks for your help mate. Mark.

[rwillett]

The update to all metal extruder complicates things. Any idea what it is?
 

I wonder if that's why you have to print at 230C for PLA as something doesn't sound right. I print PETG at 240 then 235. So you're up there at PETG levels. 

 

It's entirely possible that your problem is related to the new hot end. Have you ever seen anything printed properly with it?

 

Rob 

 

 

[rwillett]

On 23/07/2023 at 09:58, YouMa said:

I bought an Ender 3 v2 second hand last week I have a feeling I need new nozzle as I tried a benchy with a couple of tweaks and it was really bad. I did a temp tower which was fine at 230 temp but rubbish at lower temps. Any advice would be most welcome. Main problem seemed to be delamination and rough layers also splattering of filament. Think I levelled the bed fine though.

Just read this again and delamination can be caused by under extrusion. All roads lead to hot end at the moment. 

 

Rob

[backwater]

Hi Folks,

               I bought a 3d printer early on in lockdown - Anycubic mega. I'm a model maker as a hobby so really useful for making all the little bits that cost a fortune to buy.

 

A few guitar related bits I printed (as I was building a guitar) :

 

Fret bevel file holder (for beveling the edges of the frets) : https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:391435

Fret Rocker (to check frets are level to each other) : https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4281448

Fret Polishing mask : https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2734185

 

I mostly work with thingiverse files to print although I am starting to design my own using tinkercad - getting my head around the third dimension for design is a challenge!

 

Andy

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by backwater

[rwillett]

Has anyone printed a nut for a guitar. 
 

I acquired a really, really crappy Ibanez Mikro bass a few weeks ago. The truss rod is pretty difficult to turn, the bridge was setup wrong and it looks as if the body was used as a hammer (that’s not a joke). 
 

I managed to get it more or less setup but as the neck isn’t fantastic, string height was an issue. I wanted a slightly higher nut to compensate for the lack of adjustability elsewhere. 
 

I started looking at it and it’s dead easy to design a nut in Fusion 360 and parameterise every measurement , by wondered if anybody had tried it and found it simply doesn’t work. 
 

Thoughts welcomed

 

rob

[tauzero]

It's not going to be a huge investment in time or materials, why not give it a whirl and see what comes out? I imagine it would be solid rather than a dense honeycomb as you want it as close to a bone or plastic nut as possible.

[rwillett]

I assumed 100% infill. I have PLA and PETG on the shelf so that's easy, 

 

I'll knock one up for the Ibanez Mikro. My issue is that I'm not sure I'd know if it wasn't working well.

 

I'm stuck in various meetings all afternoon so may well go on mute and have a play. 

 

Somebody must have done this before though. Surely?

[Dad3353]

I don't think that it's the dimensions the issue, but the material. A nut has to be pretty dense and hard-wearing, and the materials used for 3D printing are seldom either. Nylon, or ABS could be an option, and some industrial-type printers can print metals, but I don't think there's any domestic printer capable of printing the equivalent of a brass nut.
Our Eldest solved the issue by asking our local butcher for an ox bone. It made a fine enough nut, but the process of cutting, filing and polishing turned him off ever doing that again, as the odour is very unpleasant. My recommendation would be to either make a nut from a piece of brass, or raise the slots in the present nut using superglue and baking powder, which sets to become a very hard substance.