Got a New Toy coming

Larry Peterson

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Resource Provider
Joined
Apr 8, 2003
Posts
11,090
Location
Wilkes-Barre, PA
I ordered this yesterday: https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/180-original-prusa-i3-mk3s-kit.html#

I bought the kit as I like to build things. My first stereo was a Knight Kit from Allied Radio that I built in 1968 and have built other things throughout the years.

I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with this; other than have some fun.


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Back in the day we didn't YouTube to guide us. Going to watch a bunch of the assembly videos before I get it in 2-3 weeks.

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And here's a review of it.

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Of course when building anything of this nature there is a certain moment of truth with the following expected result.

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OOH! I have seriously been researching 3D printers for some time.
Please keep posting about it.
I'd really like some honest feedback from a real person learning from scratch.
I've watched tons of videos, but most are either from the manufacturer or are by experienced users who skip the "learning curve" part.
 
After watching the assembly video I just ordered a set of hex driver bits. After watching all that spinning, my fingers told me to order this. I have a set of T-Handle hex wrenches but they are spread all over the shop where they are used on specific equipment.

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3D printed mini reptile accessories sell like crazy on Etsy.
 
Drooling in anticipation. Somehow I think one of us will come up with a breakthrough linking picture framing and 3-D printing.

Will Larry invent picture frames with customers’ faces on them? With a 3-D picture of the family? The family dog? A favourite car? Will he design fancy mounts that hold objects inside the frame package? Will he take a photo and three-dimension it before framing it?

Only The Larry knows......
 
Will he design fancy mounts that hold objects inside the frame package?

A customized mount is a fantastic idea! I bought some multi-purpose Mighty Mounts years ago.
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They just couldn't do what I wanted, not because of the product, they seem great.
The shape of the item just wouldn't fit either size of the mounts.

BUT, a custom made mount 3D printed to form exactly to the shape of odd-shaped items would be phenomenal.
There are certain types of 3D printing media that are very strong. Not sure about colour choices, but could probably be easily painted.
 
What I would love to learn about 3D printers is how do you make designs to print? I have a set of 40 year-old track lights which are missing one stupid little plastic thingamabob which broke years ago. And I have never found anything even remotely similar. And to replace them would mean redoing my entire ceiling because they don't make track lights like this anymore.

Can the 3D printer make a new one if it "sees" the old one?

I remember many years ago when the Science Center opened in Toronto they had this massive machine that was tracing a glass coke bottle and slowly carving a replica out of aluminum.
 
Corner ornaments?
Scan and replace missing compo?
How about way cheaper ovals and round frames? Print-your-own frames could be crazy. Remember when it took patience and more patience to master digital printing? Those who master three-dee could rule the world. Especially when they also print guns, lol!
 
What I would love to learn about 3D printers is how do you make designs to print? I have a set of 40 year-old track lights which are missing one stupid little plastic thingamabob which broke years ago. And I have never found anything even remotely similar. And to replace them would mean redoing my entire ceiling because they don't make track lights like this anymore.

Can the 3D printer make a new one if it "sees" the old one?

As I understand it, you would need a 3D scanner which is different from a printer. It would scan the artifact and somehow (great technical description), the scan would need to be moved to the printer and printed. Probably some cleanup in there too.

They start at $199 and go up into mid 5 figures. Here are some: https://all3dp.com/1/best-3d-scanner-diy-handheld-app-software/

BTW, https://all3dp.com/ is the best site I've seen so far for 3D printing info.
 
Oh dear. If I start buying all the new toys I would like to buy I would have to add onto my house.

Maybe I ought to start buying lottery tickets.

:faintthud:
 
What I would love to learn about 3D printers is how do you make designs to print? I have a set of 40 year-old track lights which are missing one stupid little plastic thingamabob which broke years ago. And I have never found anything even remotely similar. And to replace them would mean redoing my entire ceiling because they don't make track lights like this anymore.

Can the 3D printer make a new one if it "sees" the old one?

I remember many years ago when the Science Center opened in Toronto they had this massive machine that was tracing a glass coke bottle and slowly carving a replica out of aluminum.
There are CNC machines that can duplicate objects from almost any other physical object.
Do a web search for "CNC duplicator" to see lots of videos on how it works. Most of the videos I watch are for CNC wood routers, but I'm pretty sure almost any material can be used.
CNC machines are becoming more and more popular (read affordable), just like 3D printers.
There is probably someone nearby you that has one either personally or as a business.
 
How 'bout making reverse-profile moulding corners?
They could be used underneath non-rectangular, moulding corners when inserting Hoffman dovetail keys, and on pneumatic underpinners to keep the top clamp pressure from rolling the legs - for instance cove-type mouldings.
 
Congratulations! One of our 3d printers is going right now, doing a 19 hour print job. We pretty much keep it going 24/7, most of the time. (Creality Ender 3) Those who donated to the forum, received a thank you gift that was created on our Creality printer. This printer is currently using a spool of PLA filament, that it melts/extrudes.

We use the free Ultimaker CURA as the slicing program, to customize and prepare the print files.

Our second one is a higher resolution RESIN printer, which we only use for fine detail stuff (Anycubic Photon) The resin printer uses uv light and prints in a pool of liquid resin. This one gives off a nasty smell, and has to be vented outside.

You'll find a LOT of websites with ready to print files, such as thingiverse.com

Fun stuff!

Pic just taken: (Andy has me making curved miniature stone walls for a model he's working on)
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Oh dear. If I start buying all the new toys I would like to buy I would have to add onto my house.
Maybe I ought to start buying lottery tickets.
:faintthud:

The tech is NOT expensive, believe it or not.

Ender 3 is $199
Ender 3 V2 is $269 (brand new, upgrade from Pro version with many improvements)
Anycubic Photon is $169 (sale) (higher resolution resin printer, needs ventilation)

It'll take about an hour to assemble the first two, and then the key is to keeping it level/calibrated. If you keep it level, it will print with great quality. It comes with all the tools needed.

The PLA material is also very inexpensive. A roll of PLA is about $20-$22 average, and will last a LONG time. It comes in many colors. You can use the item as soon as it is done printing.

For the resin printer, it costs about $20 for a 500ml bottle, which will do quite a few prints. (but still much more expensive than PLA and light sensitive) The material is a bit toxic and you have to give the resin items a rinse in a pool of alcohol, and then they have to be "cured" with uv light. But the result is superior to PLA.

The *.stl files are created/drawn basically in a cad type program, with many choices available. You can also grab these pre-made from MANY websites, such as thingiverse.com If you find your missing light piece thing on there, let me know.

Then you run that *.stl file through another program, called a SLICER, which lets you lay out how many you want to place on the bed of your specific printer. The slicer lets you customize it with the parameters specific to your printer (bed size/print area, temperature, if supports are needed, speed, quality level, etc) The slicer exports the result as a *.gcode file, which the printer will directly open.
 
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Some of the stuff Andy had me print this weekend, for a role playing game layout hes designing.
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It will all look considerably better once it has been painted and faux finished.
 
Coming along still.

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I'm printing a cave entrance piece now, which will take 31 hrs. It will look like this, and is large.
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Then Andy gets to paint it all.
 
Did your new toy arrive yet?
 
Its interesting to see this hop across time zones. It left Prague at 10:16PM on 10/5 and arrived in Paris on 12:28am on 10/6. It left Paris at 4:17am on 10/6 and arrived in Newark at 6:15am on 10/6.

I thought it would take a bit more time to get from Europe to the US.
 
If you have any questions when it arrives, don't hesitate. Although my 3d printers aren't the same brand, our Ender 3 is nearly identical to the PRUSA model. (our RESIN printer is an entirely different process) They may suggest that you use the same slicing software that we are using here. (Ultimaker Cura)

Making sure the bed is properly leveled makes a HUGE difference in print quality, as does the brand of filament.

Once dialed in, it will chug along reliably. Ours is in the middle of a 44 hour print right now, and has been going 24/7 for most of the past 7 months.

I hope your new toy comes soon!
 
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Its interesting to see this hop across time zones. It left Prague at 10:16PM on 10/5 and arrived in Paris on 12:28am on 10/6. It left Paris at 4:17am on 10/6 and arrived in Newark at 6:15am on 10/6.

I thought it would take a bit more time to get from Europe to the US.

6 hour time difference plus just under 2 hours equals just under 8 hours flight time - just about right. 😁 😁
 
I'm just checking in/following up to see if you got the new toy yet, and how you are doing with it?

Which slicing software do you use to prepare the files? I use Ultimaker Cura 4.8.0 with our filament printer, and Chitubox for our resin based 3d printer.

I did an upgrade to our Creality Ender 3 printer yesterday, and installed an updated MK3 V2 motherboard to go from 8 bits to 32 bits, and put a new color touch screen on the control panel. It's like having a whole new printer, in the interface and how it performs. The new board has drivers that silence the stepper motors. All you can hear now are the cooling fans.

Your PRUSA comes with the newer style motherboard already, and is a fine product. If you have any questions, our printers are probably more similar than different.

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CNC Routers like the one we have can cut just about anything. Especially if it has 5 Axis (unfortunately, ours does not). Ours is set up for wood but you could cut steel, plastic etc. The real power and learning curve is in the software. If I were to have a need to create peoples faces and if I had the right software, we could scan an image, run it through the design software and create an exact 3D likeness out of just about any material. I have not had the time to work with a 3D printer but I imagine they work the same as a CNC router but in reverse. The router takes away material layer after layer to create an object where a 3D printer adds material layer by layer. I have several framing clients that send me an image of a molding profile they want to replicate but they need it in a round, oval or some other shape. We are able take a picture of the profile shape, import it into our software, trace around it, scale it to size and then copy that profile onto the frame shape (oval, round etc) and cut out an exact replica. We have made moldings as tall as 3.5" but in that case we needed to slice the design into layers, route each layer separately and then laminate them together. The capabilities of the software is pretty amazing. I have work with the Valiani CMC 150 and it has a simplified single dimension cutting software. Whereas the software and cutting capabilities of a router add the 3rd dimension of depth in the Z or vertical axis. The added benefit to cutting liners and Fibermats with a router is that added third dimension of depth.
 
Its coming along...........................................slowly.

My body only gives me so many hours that I can work these days and those pesky customers keep ordering frames and keeping from what I want to do.

I'm maybe 1/4 done. Its a Christmas present to my self so if its done my then, I will be happy.

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Nice!

I use CURA to slice mine, yours will likely come with the Prusa slicer. Both are great products. That's what you use to convert from a univeral STL format, to a .gcode format that your printer will be able to read. In the process of conversion, the slicer program includes the parameters (Size, speed, temperature, motor and controller types, fan speed, etc) specific to your printer model.
 
NOW would be the time. Biggest sale ever for the Creality brand. I suspect other brands are the same. $169 regular Ender 3, $188 Ender 3 pro (many upgraded parts), $236 Ender 3 V2 (everything pro has, and about 50% more) Def the V2 is the best deal, IMO.

I have the original/regular Ender 3 but have upgraded it over the last couple years to be equivalent to the pro model. (for about $200 in parts) The V2 has everything and then some (silent controller board, color display, better head, metal extruder, better bed and springs, tensioners, better power supply, etc) It's cheaper to just get it with all of the upgrades, IMO. (Back then, the Ender 3 was the ONLY model)

It's a good first machine, IMO. We use our Ender more than our more expensive Resin based 3d printer. Rolls of filament are about $20 each, and last a long time.

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That deal is direct from the manufacturer, but sometimes you can get their items from their direct Amazon store too. It probably takes a week or two, directly from China. Amazon is about a day or two. There are a lot of fake stores out there, claiming to be the real one.

 
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Ordered Ender V2, it arrives on Wednesday, if I like it and it does what I want I will be ordering the bigger version, I almost did anyway but thought having several will not be a bad idea, my first project will be a rock tumbler, something like the attached.
 

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Wow you wasn't kidding. Congratulations! We are here if you have any questions. Feel free to start a new discussion if you do.

Thingiverse.com probably has a free download for that tumbler, it wouldnt surprise me.

Then all you need, after assembling and calibrating, is a slicing software. PRUSA Slicer is good, and so is the free Ultimaker Cura 2.8.x (I use Cura)

You can download it right now, in fact, and set it up for your model. It converts the design you download (or make), to add machine specific parameters. It outputs a .gcode file, which you then put on the flash drive or memory card, to be inserted in your printer. Then turn on the printer, pick that file, and voila!
 
I have the pattern for the tumbler and this is something I have been thinking about for a while so not a snap decision but this thread put my ass in gear to do it.
 
Perhaps you could get a pattern for an ass transmission to make it easier to get it in gear? Is there no end to 3D printers' capacity to benefit society? Maybe an ABS flywheel and a nylon clutch plate? Hurst shifters were all the rage, fifty years ago. Easier to get in gear than three-on-the-tree.
 
Perhaps you could get a pattern for an ass transmission to make it easier to get it in gear? Is there no end to 3D printers' capacity to benefit society? Maybe an ABS flywheel and a nylon clutch plate? Hurst shifters were all the rage, fifty years ago. Easier to get in gear than three-on-the-tree.
I work very just down the road (less than a mile away) from the advanced manufacturing park, 3d printing applications is something they are developing there, Boeing, McLaren, Roles Royce , the University if Sheffield and the military all have a hand in it 😳 as the technology develops I feel more and more things will move this way, what I find amazing is that parts can be printed ready built!
 
Machine arrived on Wednesday and I had it built on Thursday, I managed to level the bed today but haven't had time to print anything yet as we are just off another lockdown and our workload went through the roof, any how, I am now preparing a 2020 dumpster fire ornament for the first test print, which I will attempt tomorrow or possibly Sunday morning if I do not get a chance.
What software do you use for building your own creations, I have downloaded blender and I have photoshop, I will need to spend a little time watching YouTube tutorials :)
Do you set the printer to Ender 3 pro in cura or just the Ender 3 because the V2 is not an option?
is there a particular brand of filament that works good?
so many questions lol.
I was asked today if we frame drum sticks, well yes we do, I normally use mylar straps but I bet I could print a cool looking holder / clip for them
 
That's a pretty big ambition for a first print. There should be a smaller test print file on the chip that came with it. It may be a cube, a dog, or a little boat.

I have the original Ender 3, but they are essentially the same thing. Your v2 has a lot of upgraded parts and a new silent controller, but that profile should work fine. (as should the Ender 3 x, or Ender 3 pro, if you see that profile)

I'm a fan of Hatchbox primarily, but also use Geeetech, Sunlu, and Overture.

I primarily use Ultimaker Cura as the slicer of choice. I installed the Prusaslicer yesterday, to give it a try. I used it to print that octopus, in fact. Both seem to be great, with similar features.

Thingiverse.com is your friend
 
Printed one off for each of my kids (2) and printed a few other bits and bobs off, the first attempt was a disaster, I left the heat settings on the default 200C but when trying to work out what went wrong I saw the heat range of the filament I was using was 205 - 225C I have set it now to 210 and the prints are very good.
 

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Excellent! What kind of filament are you using? PLA is all we have used so far, and it is usually 180c-210c or so. I use 201c usually, but used the full 210c for a chain I printed yesterday. I read that it will be stronger at the higher temperature.
 
It's a PLA, the other PLA I ordered would have been fine at 200, trust me to load the one up that was going to fail at that temperature, but at least it taught me to check :)
 
Ah yes. I havent tried PLA+ yet.
 
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