tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34913712044253768832024-03-08T02:22:13.506-08:00Ivor's 3D Printing BlogExploring the world of 3D printing. Sharing ideas and innovation with others!Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-84994435471734551602018-07-27T03:57:00.000-07:002018-08-02T00:18:48.585-07:00From concept to Cast Iron... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">...digital fabrication meets the ancient art of iron casting.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vWE-W7mNv34/W1mhEFljAyI/AAAAAAAAMas/sFuancn5GU8LdTdbKUjX89lrvA1kQxChgCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_20180723_231150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vWE-W7mNv34/W1mhEFljAyI/AAAAAAAAMas/sFuancn5GU8LdTdbKUjX89lrvA1kQxChgCEwYBhgL/s400/IMG_20180723_231150.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sculpture design, casting and photos by <a href="http://lo2l.ie/artwork/sculpture/" target="_blank">Lar O'Toole</a>, Visual Artist.</div>
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In preparation for his participation in the <a href="http://nationalsculpturefactory.com/programme/current/ironr2018/" target="_blank">IRON-R 18</a> Project (July 2018), a friend of mine, <a href="http://lo2l.ie/artwork/sculpture/" target="_blank">Lar O'Toole</a> approached me with a design he wanted me to 3d print. The 3d printed objects would be models or 'patterns' for use in the iron casting workshop (IRON-R 18). In assessing the Sketchup 3d model file he provided, there were a number of issues evident, which would lead to slicing (g-code generation) issues and a poor 3d print. These issues were not insurmountable, but with a very tight time deadline, I took on the challenge of re-drawing the model from scratch. This would give a clean STL file (format required for 3d prining) and a resulting smooth 3d print. </div>
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My blog is in general, 3d printing focused, so I thought it worth expanding on this aspect of Lar's undertaking, but I've also embraced the opportunity to share Lar's experience of the journey from digitally sketched idea to the final and very impressive iron castings.</div>
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Lar's design is an interesting interpretation of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocentric_model#Ptolemaic_model" target="_blank">Ptolemaic Geocentric</a> style model of the Universe. A central sphere (the Earth), with expanding concentric circles, but with the added twist of 'orbit' circles retreating in steps, as if to reveal and present the central sphere. A second similar but slightly different copy of the sculpture was also produced, gesturing to the ideas of Copernicus and his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernican_heliocentrism" target="_blank">Copernican Heliocentric</a>, sun centered model. The pieces are similar but different, as observed in the photo above, with the orbiting moon distinguishing the Copernican model.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aac9Ew9zyhA/W1h0gr7_PtI/AAAAAAAAMZE/bu8xPF1sII4YELT1zQ8M188mqyXJKsgXQCLcBGAs/s1600/Capture02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="921" height="303" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aac9Ew9zyhA/W1h0gr7_PtI/AAAAAAAAMZE/bu8xPF1sII4YELT1zQ8M188mqyXJKsgXQCLcBGAs/s400/Capture02.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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3d model in Sketchup, (180mm approx diam.)</div>
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In re-drawing the design I concluded the best approach was to aim towards a "half-model", but to visualise the concentric 'circles' as cylinders, rather than spheres. Once I hit on this construction method, it came together quite quickly in <a href="https://www.sketchup.com/download/make" target="_blank">Sketchup</a>. Concentric sphere segments would be too challenging in Sketchup and better suited to something like Fusion360 of a solid modelling package.</div>
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The other and inner spherical shapes, were produced using the "follow me" tool in Sketchup, using a semi-circle as the basic shape and sweeping it through an arc.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MPoa9-O4lh8/W1hdLFYiMPI/AAAAAAAAMY4/ZF81z7wZWC0094PKGVB9sbvJC9qWA94QQCLcBGAs/s1600/Capture01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1172" height="303" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MPoa9-O4lh8/W1hdLFYiMPI/AAAAAAAAMY4/ZF81z7wZWC0094PKGVB9sbvJC9qWA94QQCLcBGAs/s400/Capture01.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Above, concentric cylinders, rotated in steps are clearly visible. A small hemisphere (swepted semi-circle, using the 'follow me' tool) in the middle, and a sphere segment forms the other section.</div>
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These multiple objects, pictured above, were exploded into their component elements (select all.. right-click, explode). Then the face of each step cylinder was "intersected with the model" (another right-click process), and all of the unwanted faces and lines were removed from the construction, revealing a clean half-model with a completely hollow inside (See view below showing internal hollow.).</div>
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The 'half-model' was capped, producing a fully manifolded solid object, an essential requirement for 3d printing. Internal shapes or orphaned lines or surfaces will cause issues later when slicing for 3d printing. It was exported from Sketchup in STL format and sliced (in Simplify3d), producing the g-code necessary for 3d printing.</div>
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<b>Slicing and Printing</b></div>
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With time pressure, I chose a coarse layer height, .3mm, and a relatively sparse infill of 10% when slicing the model in prep for printing (sliced using Simplify3d). Since Lar planned to fill and sand smooth the model, the coarse layer height wasn't an issue, and helped reduce print time considerably. The 10% infill gave more than adequate strength also.<br />
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For alignment and assembly of the two identical halves, I simply placed two holes in the model, and inserted wooden dowels for perfect assembly.</div>
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<b>The Casting Process</b></div>
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Lar took things from here. I'm very grateful to him for sharing some photos of the process and providing explanations of the steps he followed. Pictures, as always, are worth a thousand words!</div>
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Smoothing of the model, was achieved by application of "<a href="https://www.milliput.com/white.html" target="_blank">Milliput</a>" filler, a fast setting, non-shrinking epoxy putty. The surfaces were filled and sanded to a desired level of smoothness.</div>
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A box was built to hold the 'pattern' and it was bedded in red sand up to it's half-way line (picts below). A larger box than might be usual was made because of the final mass of poured object. The red sand was compacted and leveled and pockets removed near the edges to form registration tabs. A dusting of 'parting powder' was added to the top surface to prevent mould mix sticking to the red sand. The mould mix made of silica sand and special quick-setting resin & hardener mix, was added to form the half-mould. Once hardened (<2hrs), the box was removed and the red sand brushed off, box re-fitted and the top half of the mould formed.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Lar pointed out... "A small ball of wax was added to the edge of one of the pattern to represent a moon. The wax was removed from the mould before sealing it up." </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Lar continues to explain... "One big gate was added to fill the mould, split into two runners as it reached the void, a 'bowl' carved at the base of the gate to allow the iron to pool and reduce the chance of air bubbles forming. Two risers were added on either side to allow air to escape. Dry graphite was used as a release agent. A mixture of graphite power and alcohol was brushed on the inside of the mould to stop the iron adhering to the sand, then the alcohol was burned off."</span></div>
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The focus of the workshop week was mastering the skills necessary to produce the moulds. The moulds were glued and steel banded and joints further sealed with fire proof sealant. Lar continues... "The 50+ moulds were transported to the <a href="http://nationalsculpturefactory.com/factory/" target="_blank">National Sculpture Factory</a> for the pour on Saturday. Here we attached pouring cups and chimneys to the moulds. the 'burn-in' of the cupola took about 40 minutes, then a charge of coke and iron were added and the first 'tap' was ready about 25min later. This time reduced to about 12 minutes as the cupola got hotter." </div>
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Lar: "The crucible held about 20-25kgs, but got heavier with each pour as slag and iron built up. There were about 15 pours in all over an 8hr period."</div>
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Temperatures well in excess of 1000 Degrees C are required to melt iron, This presents as spectacular lava-like pours into the awaiting moulds.<br />
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Once cooled and broken from their moulds, the final pieces had the sprues and risers removed and were ready for finishing. Another few hours of cleaning, grinding and polishing revealed the finished items. Lar's familiarity with metal finishing showed through in his transformation of the raw state to their final look.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rh8nV4u9ExU/W1n-qk1LrQI/AAAAAAAAMeQ/F1Ri86gEQQwnwiRY-ruK_z6fn57XtsrLACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20180723_231224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rh8nV4u9ExU/W1n-qk1LrQI/AAAAAAAAMeQ/F1Ri86gEQQwnwiRY-ruK_z6fn57XtsrLACLcBGAs/s200/IMG_20180723_231224.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zRsMaqoK3U4/W1n-ltDIKpI/AAAAAAAAMeI/2t7WcSbuF6Y_AiIndAJZGBRy0DtW6HeqgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20180723_231302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zRsMaqoK3U4/W1n-ltDIKpI/AAAAAAAAMeI/2t7WcSbuF6Y_AiIndAJZGBRy0DtW6HeqgCLcBGAs/s200/IMG_20180723_231302.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Lar rounded off presentation with stainless steel base plates. Fantastic results!</div>
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Lar had the vision to see the potential the digital 3d modelling medium might have to communicate his creative ideas, and the potential 3d printing might have to accelerate the preparation for casting, and the drive to want to explore the combination of the ancient skill of iron casting with the comparatively fledgling technology of 3d modelling and 3d printing. I was glad to have the opportunity to play a small part in this exploratory journey. Thanks Lar!</div>
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Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-82565575737895682122018-06-19T13:16:00.002-07:002018-06-19T13:38:50.422-07:00OctoPrint on my Mendel90There's nothing more convenient than OctoPrint (OctoPi) for even slightly remote management of your 3d printers (Workshop to Kitchen!)<br />
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Make good use of an older RaspberryPi and a webcam, and rig it up to manage and monitor your printers with OctoPi. <a href="https://octoprint.org/">https://octoprint.org/</a></div>
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Ivor</div>
<br />Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-78642459057522755382018-03-12T10:31:00.000-07:002018-03-12T10:51:18.584-07:00"Velocity Painting" experimentVelocity Painting is a method of incorporating surface patterns into an 3d printed object by varying the print speed only. The Velocity Painting software tool post-processes the g-code output of your sliced object, applying speed changes to produce a surface pattern. The technique was conceived and developed by Mark Wheadon ( <a href="https://www.velocitypainting.xyz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.velocitypainting.xyz/</a> ), and <a href="https://www.velocitypainting.xyz/gui/download.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Application</a> created by Guillaume Vigneron.<br />
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This technique works best if applied to hollow, single walled objects, but as an experiment I applied it to the prosthetic hand I had previously printed for demo purposes in support of <a href="http://enablingthefuture.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Enabling the Future</a> local <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/344234809356338/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chapter</a> . Transparent plastic is also recommended for best outcome. </div>
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I chose a pattern (craftsmanspace.com) and using the Velocity Paining tool, applied it to the "hand" g-code ( <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:380665" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Flexy-Hand 2 by Gyrobot</a> ), which was pre-sliced. The process is well documented <a href="https://www.velocitypainting.xyz/gui/help.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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(Above - post-processed g-code preview)</div>
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The results were interesting in that while surface patterning was visible (below), the transparent plastic also allowed you to see the internal channels in the "hand" design.</div>
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The pattern is visible on the surface, but not very pronounced. I reduced the infill considerably (5%), in the hope of increasing contrast by allowing more light through. Strength loss due to reduced in-fill may make such a part too weak for purpose though.</div>
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An unexpected side product of using the transparent material was that the internal channels within the Hand became very visible. Combined with the surface patterning it produces an unusual aesthetic.</div>
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( Ran out of transparent filament, hence the truncated print! )</div>
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I expect it's quite subjective as to whether the effect is considered aesthetically pleasing of not.</div>
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Thought the experiment worth sharing.</div>
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Ivor</div>
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Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-50350317640342804912018-03-03T09:42:00.001-08:002018-03-03T09:42:38.142-08:00Printing in support of local e-Nabling the Future Chapter...Some 3d printing in support of the local e-Nabling the Future Chapter...<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2JrGe39voVc/WprcVhCEs2I/AAAAAAAAMMU/-7BMXvxpMBQWcCOrBmPIw1ZD2alq-B-RQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG-4965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2JrGe39voVc/WprcVhCEs2I/AAAAAAAAMMU/-7BMXvxpMBQWcCOrBmPIw1ZD2alq-B-RQCLcBGAs/s640/IMG-4965.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
This design (above) is found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:380665<br />
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This design if from here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2576916/#files</div>
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These prints were done as demonstration pieces, in support of the a local e-Nable Chapter. </div>
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/344234809356338/</div>
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<br />Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-6820786761821858752017-04-23T11:57:00.000-07:002017-04-23T11:57:21.124-07:00Clay 3D Printing with Jonathan Keep...When an opportunity arises to join a clay 3d printing workshop with Jonathan Keep, it should not be passed up! Jonathan describes himself simply as an artist and potter, but as evidenced by his own <a href="http://www.keep-art.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>, he is much more than that simple description. The breath and depth of his lifetime of work in ceramics, makes a workshop with him something much greater than a instructional 'how to' 3d print in clay. You just know it's going to be something special!<br />
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In more recent years Jonathan's exploration of digital technology, from an artists perspective, brought him to learn how to model and code in programs like <a href="https://www.blender.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Blender</a> and <a href="https://processing.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Processing</a>, creating patterns, shapes, even vessels in a virtual world. A next logical step for him was to explore how to bring the shapes to life in clay and fire into wonderful ceramic works. Learning from what the <a href="http://reprap.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RepRap </a>movement was sharing about 3d printing in plastics, Jonathan went about adapting a RepRap design (<a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Rostock" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rostock Delta</a>) to print in clay, creating and sharing his own <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Ceramic_delta" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">clay delta 3d printer</a> with the world (2013).<br />
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His "<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:147055" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ceramic Delta</a>" broke new ground, with it's simplicity of design and ease of construction, even with limited DIY tools and materials. The printer, specifically for printing in clay, was easily constructed, making it an attractive option for other artists, designers and potters to build themselves. The printer he launched and the desire for people to create their own clay 3d printers continues to be supported via a Google+ Community called <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/109375785524125994679" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Make Your Own Ceramic 3D Printer</a>.<br />
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<b>The workshop...</b><br />
What I'd like to convey here are some observations and explanations of the clay printing process, complemented with photos and videos from the two day workshop I attended. It was interesting from my perspective to be comparing the clay 3d printing process to that of printing in plastic, as I'm very familiar with plastics, but never before printed in clay. There were many parallels and some differences which I'll try capture. Also, this post is not meant as an instructional document, more a log of key processes followed and some notes along the way.<br />
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The Workshop took place at <a href="http://fablab.saul.ie/us/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fab Lab Limerick</a>, which is equipped with a variety of 3d printers. One of these, the <a href="http://www.wasproject.it/w/en/3d-printing/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wasp</a>, has a 3d print-head and related air pressurised chamber for clay delivery. This is what was used for the workshop.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan setting a clay print on the WASP printer.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A simple hollow cylinder always forms a good test print for tuning in the printer. Photo: Johanna Aaspollu.<br />
Cylinder Diam 50mm approx.</td></tr>
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<b>It's all in the preparation...</b></div>
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What immediately stood out about printing in clay was the time given to preparation. In plastics the only setup time is in changing a roll of filament or waiting for the heated bed to come up to temperature. In clay, the preparation of the clay is everything. Softening the clay with the addition of water is a skilled process. The judgment of how soft to make it also requiring careful judgment and experience. Too hard and the the clay won't flow easily from the pressurised chamber. Too soft and the printed object won't support it's own weight and simply collapse. The best way I can convey the mixing process and final consistency of the clay is the share a video of the process in it's entirety.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WezzjVILiRY/WPKLsEUcw5I/AAAAAAAAL7I/3uPK_1empmInf61fWXEvYJY_iqQCGDQigCPcB/s1600/IMG_7564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WezzjVILiRY/WPKLsEUcw5I/AAAAAAAAL7I/3uPK_1empmInf61fWXEvYJY_iqQCGDQigCPcB/s640/IMG_7564.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clay is cut in thin slices using wire, and dipped in water for an initial wetting. A fork is used to increase the water contact area with the clay. The complete softening process is illustrated in full in the video below (20min).</td></tr>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WezzjVILiRY/WPKLsEUcw5I/AAAAAAAAL7I/3uPK_1empmInf61fWXEvYJY_iqQCGDQigCPcB/s1600/IMG_7564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i9.ytimg.com/vi/CyeAMd2WKVY/default.jpg?sqp=CNiYzccF&rs=AOn4CLAu7OeuvoIAPAErFQf27y4Zyoj-1Q" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CyeAMd2WKVY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Video courtesy of Johanna Aaspollu, Fab Lab Limerick.</span></div>
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<i>Note:</i> Some clay preparation guides illustrate the use of ethyl achohol (ethanol) as a softener, mostly in place of water. The ethanol will decrease the viscosity of the clay also. It will evaporate during the drying stage and may make softening the clay an easier process, but in discussion during the workshop it was collectively felt that for health and safety reasons we would stick with water. Good ventilation and masks would be required to work with ethanol.</div>
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<b>Loading the clay...</b></div>
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My observation of clay printer designs is that there's a chamber of some sort to hold the softened clay. This cylinder typically has a piston type insert and is pressurised by air or perhaps mechanical means to force the clay out of the cylinder, through a pipe, to the print head. The clay may be directly fed to a nozzle, or delivered in a more controlled manner via an auger screw driven by a stepper motor. The WASP has a motor driven screw to move the clay through the nozzle. The movement of the print head in three dimensions on a clay printer is no different to equivalent style plastic printers.</div>
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In our workshop session Jonathan took the clay and carefully loaded it into an aluminium cylinder, adding large scoops and careful to avoid trapping any air while loading. The clean inside of the cylinder received a light coating of silicon spray lubricant before loading any clay.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ovkBWEummqk/WPOaR-JPyaI/AAAAAAAAL9Y/G-DgYT4BvdMAO1yh-SuEp7KR_TlZICKTQCPcB/s1600/IMG_3536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ovkBWEummqk/WPOaR-JPyaI/AAAAAAAAL9Y/G-DgYT4BvdMAO1yh-SuEp7KR_TlZICKTQCPcB/s640/IMG_3536.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vUmuFSlCzGc/WPKLoxDtvvI/AAAAAAAAL7I/bOVe8WzbSpQR62Pw6Rtr1IW6T1JZP6wbQCPcB/s1600/IMG_3541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vUmuFSlCzGc/WPKLoxDtvvI/AAAAAAAAL7I/bOVe8WzbSpQR62Pw6Rtr1IW6T1JZP6wbQCPcB/s640/IMG_3541.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9AlrHQ7RgPM/WPKLsqP5TfI/AAAAAAAAL7I/EKZaZmoqUNc2CbftxfkNixElJbzVcc0QQCPcB/s1600/IMG_7571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9AlrHQ7RgPM/WPKLsqP5TfI/AAAAAAAAL7I/EKZaZmoqUNc2CbftxfkNixElJbzVcc0QQCPcB/s400/IMG_7571.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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There isn't a single "right way" to load clay. The important point is to avoid any method that might get air pockets trapped in the clay. The piston, in the WASP design, has two rubber "O" ring gaskets. It's important to ensure they are seated well and free of clay from any previous use.</div>
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Both end-caps of the cylinder were screwed back on, hand tight, making sure the threads were clean. The air valve was opened slowly until the pressure rose to about 4 bar, and clay began to flow through the 12mm teflon tubing, connected to the cylinder via a pneumatic style push-fitting.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3I1cxqimQxU/WPKLrq4i0yI/AAAAAAAAL7I/-Xqe_9Bt0wU8oGeXInkPveU6XxSaFlU1wCPcB/s1600/IMG_7417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3I1cxqimQxU/WPKLrq4i0yI/AAAAAAAAL7I/-Xqe_9Bt0wU8oGeXInkPveU6XxSaFlU1wCPcB/s640/IMG_7417.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above shows the air pressure control valve which keeps the piston under force against the clay in the cylinder.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--pvqFnbha_s/WPKLpdaoTuI/AAAAAAAAL7I/3S1ryqmneX4WcJVLG27xXcArZJD-OMmmACPcB/s1600/IMG_3548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--pvqFnbha_s/WPKLpdaoTuI/AAAAAAAAL7I/3S1ryqmneX4WcJVLG27xXcArZJD-OMmmACPcB/s640/IMG_3548.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above: Jonathan opens the air valve, increasing the air pressure to about 4 Bar. Clay begins to flow at a slow but steady pace from the connected pipe. This pipe then gets connected to the push-fitting in the extruder printhead assembly.</td></tr>
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<b><br />Slicing and tuning...</b></div>
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With a presumption that you are able to get a 3d model of your object to STL format, the next key step for 3d printing is to 'slice' the object. This generates a 'gcode' instruction file for the printer. There are many slicing packages to choose from, and everyone has their favorite. The fact that we were printing in clay was is some ways irrelevant to the slicing process.</div>
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If anything, configuring your slicing software for clay printing is a lot easier. You have no heated bed, nozzle temperature or cooling to consider or manage. Typically also your are printing a 'vase' or 'vessel' style single walled object, so infill percentage or pattern is not a factor. A 'spiral' or 'vase' setting is usually chosen, and that was the primary choice in our workshop also. With this setting it's usual not to have any top or even bottom on your object. If a base was desired on our objects then Jonathan quickly showed us how to press a solid disk in clay and print onto that. This over-sized base could be easily trimmed to shape later once the object was printed and allowed to dry for a while. This also saved on printing time and gave good solid bases to our prints.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--51as7vo_Rw/WPOHadFiPDI/AAAAAAAAL9M/2aaj-Ds-HVQJ47AkRfcthh1td-Vf-GzsACPcB/s1600/photo%2B3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--51as7vo_Rw/WPOHadFiPDI/AAAAAAAAL9M/2aaj-Ds-HVQJ47AkRfcthh1td-Vf-GzsACPcB/s640/photo%2B3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above: Jonathan shows a clay base placed on an MDF disc.</td></tr>
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The WASP printer only came with a .5mm nozzle for the clay extruder. Jonathan's preference was for a 2mm or even 3mm nozzle for clay printing. A new nozzle was fashioned from some threaded rod and drilled out to 2mm by Michael in the Fab Lab, and it worked excellently, as visible in some of the photos below.<br />
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With experience and confidence showing, Jonathan soon has the printer working well with the new nozzle, choosing to just get it printing then play with the flow setting via the printer control panel.</div>
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An easy way to tune in the printer was to print a simple cylinder, with a .6mm layer height and ~ 1.5mm wall thickness set in Cura and see what happened. Jonathan adjusted the flow rate on the machine's control panel until a visually satisfactory result was obtained. Corrections could always be made back into Cura settings later to negate the need for any control panel changes when printing in future.</div>
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This approach taken by Jonathan may be in contrast to how you might carefully research and select settings for your particular machine when printing in plastic for the first time. But clay from a 2mm nozzle was far more forgiving of 'loose' settings. Once the Z height was reasonably dialled in the clay would take nicely to the base, and soon begin to grow the object as it spiraled around.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hD9GwNsDBUE/WPNVoBRI51I/AAAAAAAAL8w/Fi2Q8tR5mo8lqNk5d29_bXdX6sGZxpg7wCPcB/s1600/IMG_3550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hD9GwNsDBUE/WPNVoBRI51I/AAAAAAAAL8w/Fi2Q8tR5mo8lqNk5d29_bXdX6sGZxpg7wCPcB/s640/IMG_3550.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above: Jonathan tuning the flow via the printer control panel.</td></tr>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i9.ytimg.com/vi/z2blaJfccMw/default.jpg?sqp=CLjO0scF&rs=AOn4CLDQq3bNGHSxxqW-EzJIyGvQcS1h0A" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z2blaJfccMw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Above: Test cylinder printing in 'spiral' mode, continuous rise in Z direction.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Video courtesy of Johanna Aaspollu, Fab Lab Limerick.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">This cylinder was drawn in Blender and sliced in Cura, Jonathan has shared </span><a href="https://plus.google.com/107246070117725851401/posts/P53jRuQtjmD" rel="nofollow" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Cura settings</a><span style="text-align: start;"> on a</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/109375785524125994679" rel="nofollow" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Google+ ceramic printer group</a><span style="text-align: start;">. </span></div>
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<b>Printer bed surfaces...</b></div>
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Jonathan recommended that an absorbent surface rather than a smooth surface was best for clay printing. An absorbent surface would absorb moisture, drying the base as the rest of the object also dried. A smooth surface under the base would prevent drying at the same rate as the rest of the object. Uniform drying of the clay is very important, I've learned. </div>
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The Fab Lab laser cut some 200mm discs from MDF (9mm), and these proved ideal for printing on to. The printer was "zeroed" to the height of two discs, and as Jonathan explained in the following video, this meant we could choose to easily print our object with or without a base with no printer z-height adjustment needed. The discs were simply held in place with some 'blobs' of clay, and that gave a quick and efficient swap out of finished prints, welcome in our workshop scenario.</div>
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Above: Making a clay base for your print.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Video courtesy of Johanna Aaspollu, Fab Lab Limerick.</span></div>
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<b>First prints...</b></div>
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The beauty of printing in clay, was that if your first layer wasn't good due to poor initial flow or even z-height setting, you could easily start over with a simple wipe-down and print again!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i9.ytimg.com/vi/jWLlBI6VGXo/default.jpg?sqp=CNT_0scF&rs=AOn4CLDTudB0RqsCJ0SEacZUlj5Gr1IAig" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jWLlBI6VGXo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Above: Restarting a print job after poor initial clay flow.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Video courtesy of Johanna Aaspollu, Fab Lab Limerick.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4GV2IkpE-Kc/WOULpFeedZI/AAAAAAAAL4k/0xzbbi1yFj0DKGuRMikpDqBLuMa7wK1kACLcB/s1600/photo%2B2%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4GV2IkpE-Kc/WOULpFeedZI/AAAAAAAAL4k/0xzbbi1yFj0DKGuRMikpDqBLuMa7wK1kACLcB/s640/photo%2B2%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Above: 5min in Blender, allowed Jonathan's experience to draw this object and move quickly to get something printing to demonstrate the process end-to-end early on in the workshop. Good strategy. Impressive result.</td></tr>
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By the end of the two day workshop, everyone had produced some prints. Keeping in mind that many of the attendees had never 3d printed in any medium, the results were very impressive, and the workshop a great success. With the majority of the participants being from a ceramics background, students and professionals, this introduction to 3d printing in clay had everyone very excited about a new direction to explore with their clay medium. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above: A mix of objects printed during the workshop. The majority original creations, the lower two from Thingiverse thing:969262 and thing:1063915.</td></tr>
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A big part of the 3d learning curve, whether you are printing in clay of any other material, is 3d modelling. Some of the workshop discussion was given to this topic, since many of the participants had no computer based 3d modelling skills. While the power and potential of Blender was demonstrated, we reverted to Autodesk Tinkercad, and in my case 123D Design to begin drawing some objects we could later print. (Sadly, both programs are now being retired by Autodesk.) Identifying and learning a 3d modelling program that meets your needs is one of the biggest obstacles and challenges in exploring 3d printing in any material.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w-4HiYXBAhI/WOVVooF00NI/AAAAAAAAL48/Hvfhn5SS6ccpLrsBOYlMoa_7KQQrjtO7ACLcB/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w-4HiYXBAhI/WOVVooF00NI/AAAAAAAAL48/Hvfhn5SS6ccpLrsBOYlMoa_7KQQrjtO7ACLcB/s640/Capture.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Above: Once fired the object is transformed in strength and appearance.</td></tr>
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To conclude, a big thanks goes out to Jonathan Keep for giving the workshop, to the <a href="http://futureartistmakers.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Future Artist-Maker Labs exhibition and events program</a> for funding and organisation, to Fab Lab Limerick for hosting and providing the equipment and venue, and to the Ceramics dept. at Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD) for firing the printed pieces. Should you care to view them, some more photos of the fired prints are posted to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CeramicsLSAD/photos/rpp.603001966379467/1513509148662073/?type=3&theater" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ceramics at LSAD Facebook page</a>.</div>
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Thanks for viewing.</div>
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Ivor</div>
<br />Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-49602523834823234272016-06-15T14:22:00.000-07:002016-06-15T14:22:45.496-07:00"IvorBot", the early days...I found some short videos of early days testing of my core-xy movement (stacked, fishing-line, rectangular format). Worth sharing I thought, as even a short video shows so much more. In the first clip you see it plot, probably doing about 40mm/sec. It was my first experience of a core-xy movement and was pleasantly surprised at how precisely it plotted, and how accurate the repetition of the same drawing was. Fitting a pen holder to an x-carriage is always a practical way to get an initial feel for movement and dimensional accuracy, in x/y directions at least. See video below.<br />
(In the audio you can hear the poor quality groove bearings beginning to grind, which was it's ultimate downfall. The stepped nature of the circle is just the way it was drawn.)<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/26fGqZUXyF0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1C-VFc14NM/V2FuDLEFwwI/AAAAAAAALks/GTYZzlC2htI_ITbJuvvGTV11AUdaVoRHgCK4B/s400/Capture.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Driving it at higher speeds didn't help the failing bearings, but you could really open the throttle on this chassis. Having no weight at all on the x-carriage helped. In this other short video clip (below) you can see the movement running at faster speeds. I used an old <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Generation_6_Electronics" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gen6 board </a>to drive the experiment, which it did without issue once I updated Marlin firmware for the core-xy support. The tests were controlled from Repetier Host. If you don't have an extruder fitted and want to trick the printer into working you need to set a dummy thermister "998" in Marlin Configuration.h, and un-comment #define DUMMY_THERMISTOR_998_VALUE 185". You can then slice something and send the gcode file, which it will pretend to print, or plot if you have a pen fitted, and no Z mechanism.<br />
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I learned a lot from this 'prototype'. I was able to draw on my existing body of knowledge and understanding of 3d printing, and build on that to construct this experimental chassis. The plans were drawn up in Sketcup primarily, which I use quite a lot for design visualisation. With some plug-ins I can export for printing (STL), and export for laser cutting (SVG).<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zJ9oMsc2loY/V2G5KcyDgvI/AAAAAAAALlU/iLcBcBjoONMQtmzzVKiOUS5d2SdPa6lOwCK4B/s1600/Capture3.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zJ9oMsc2loY/V2G5KcyDgvI/AAAAAAAALlU/iLcBcBjoONMQtmzzVKiOUS5d2SdPa6lOwCK4B/s400/Capture3.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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I've also found Autodesk 123D very good also, and move to it for more complex components.<br />
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By building the physical working model I was able to get a true sense of scale, construction challenges, and mechanical performance. I was then able to modify design and rapidly improve through iteration, swapping out both printed parts and laser cut framework. I'm constantly keeping an eye to my primary design goals of compact size for given print volume (200x300x250 approx), along with dual extrusion capability with room for experimentation.<br />
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More detail of the journey to follow.<br />
Tks for viewing.Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-59957524188176283982016-06-12T14:03:00.000-07:002017-11-10T01:27:11.282-08:00Code named "IvorBot"! (Part 1)I've been lax in blogging of late. Sometimes it seems there's always "just one more thing" to do or make or print before a new blog post is worth writing. Then the weeks and months pass and the motivation to post historical work just isn't the same after a time. Lets see if I can do a bit better on the blog front going forward!<br />
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I'm always keeping an eye on 3d printer developments, innovations and direction, as things continue to evolve at some pace. Digesting these influences, I've regularly found myself subjectively noting the 'desirable' and 'best' features of the changing printer vista, with one eye, as always, on building my next printer.</div>
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A design is always given focus with some constraints, and for my "next printer" I imposed some goals that formed the general basis of the prototyping and experimentation that followed, for some time now. Key enhancement objectives included such goals as faster print speeds without loss of print quality, dual extrusion, moderately larger print volume, but minimum increase in outer printer dimensions. Secondary goals might be a flexible carriage system to allow for easy print head swap-outs for greater flexibility.<br />
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The choice of movement system and filament feed mechanism was left open in the early research. Also, I wanted to explore and experience bowden vs direct drive, 3mm vs 1.75 and the pros and cons of these now common machine choice variables. My new printer would give greater opportunity for testing and learning, reconfiguration for experimentation.<br />
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The attractions of <a href="http://corexy.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CoreXY</a> has stood out for some years, and has enjoyed much adoption in both experimental machines and commercial printers of late (FABtotum, Airwol3D Axiom, SmartrapCore). I quickly settled on this as key design feature and pushed on with some basic plans.<br />
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Armed with Sketchup, my trusty <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel90" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mendel90</a> and access to a local Fab Lab laser cutter I was quickly able to stand-up a basic core-xy chassis. For a fast and relatively accurate movement system I also took inspiration for RichRap's use of Spectra line as in his <a href="http://richrap.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/sli3dr-3d-printer-design-files-up-on.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sli3RD Printer</a>, and even <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?2,377858" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nicholas Seward's CoreXZ</a> printer. The following fishing line CoreXY "plotter" was put together (Photo below.).<br />
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Using fishing-line allowed compact and flexible "belt" paths. By routing the line over small groove pulleys it was possible to position the motors below the x/y plane resulting in space saving and more compact external dimensions. (Illustrated in photos below)</div>
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Access to a laser cutter was transformative in terms of flexibility of chassis design, manufacture and build speed. It allowed me to iterate quickly, and a very low cost. I worked in Shetchup, exporting to SVG via a plugin for laser cutting comparability.</div>
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Above is one of my printer frame work revisions being cut from cheap plywood on the Trotec laser cutter at Fab Lab Limerick. Back at home (below) the next revision was quickly constructed and motion testing resumed.<br />
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The prototype printer, pictured below (actually just a plotter at this stage), made many trips to the Fab Lab - Thursday evening sessions over the Winter, for peer review and valued feedback. It was during one of these visits that it earned it nick name, the "IvorBot", which has stuck!</div>
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Testing with the fishing-line core-xy chassis ran it's course. It was functional and with the addition of an extruder might even have done some printing, but it didn't have the robustness I was striving for. Also, my choice of cheap grove bearings was a mistake and they were grinning and failing as I'd push the speed and tension on the fishing-line. </div>
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The next major revision of the design was a move to belt drive, and brass pulleys. I designed and printed a whole new set of motor mounts, corner brackets and x-carriage ends. I chose 9mm GT2 belt, matching brass pulleys with double inserted bearings, LMS8UU linear bearings. I ran a "stacked" cord-xy belt path so there was no cross-over in the design. I felt the wider belt and pulleys wouldn't lend itself to the cross-over belt path that typified some core-xy layouts.</div>
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Another frame was cut, this time with more z-height, and when E3D started selling the 200x300 heated bed from their BigBox printer separately, I jumped at the opportunity and matched printer frame size to accommodate this larger print bed.<br />
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Above, "IvorBot" current revision. It prints reasonably, but there were many changes to get it to this stage as you might appreciate. I recently got it tuned up for dual colour printing, which was a new personal mile-stone, and gave me the incentive to resume some bloggin. There's lots more detail to share, and much planning going into changing and refining my design, but for now I'll sign-off and get this much published.<br />
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As always, comments and questions welcome!<br />
Ivor</div>
Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-79292017727177181082015-05-27T11:22:00.000-07:002015-05-28T02:47:53.672-07:00A day out for my Mendel90!I'm involved locally (Limerick, Ireland) in a maker group, that has both a virtual presence ( <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MidWestMakers/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/MidWestMakers/</a> ) and meets once a week in Fab Lab Limerick <a href="http://fablab.saul.ie/" target="_blank">http://fablab.saul.ie/</a>. The formation of this group has been a great way to meet other makers in the region, and the level of activity has grown steadily over the past year, perhaps much to the determent of this particular blog, but with an invitation to speak about our maker group and fab lab, at an innovation day hosted by Dell Solution Center, Ireland, I thought it would be worth sharing a few photos here on my blog also.<br />
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It was an excellent opportunity to take my Mendel90 out-and-about. As always the printer got lots of attention and questions. A few photos of the event are featured on our maker <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205358251250399&set=pcb.1645848065649410&type=1&theater" target="_blank">FB Group page</a> , some of which I'm reproducing here (Photo credit to Lucia in the maker group)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ceqzY-U_SQ/VWYEBkyziMI/AAAAAAAALIY/Ise6LD05Apo/s1600/11111618_10205358251250399_8917860846431704832_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ceqzY-U_SQ/VWYEBkyziMI/AAAAAAAALIY/Ise6LD05Apo/s320/11111618_10205358251250399_8917860846431704832_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Prints in the foreground are by one of our maker group members, Dara, (medical illustrator) (on an Ultimaker 2). There's an interesting musical instrument by <a href="http://www.eddevane.com/" target="_blank">Ed Devane</a> , in the picture also, which he calls a "pluck wheel lute". It's utilised in instrument building music workshops he runs. He makes some parts of the kits in the Fab Lab. </div>
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Talkin' the talk, at Dell Solution Center, Limerick, Ireland.</div>
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My Mendel90 printing Heatwave Vase from here: <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:126567" target="_blank">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:126567</a> Always a good show print!</div>
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Thanks for viewing!</div>
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Ivor</div>
Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-11230115520012674252015-02-08T15:40:00.002-08:002015-02-08T15:40:25.370-08:00Minor updates to my printer (Mendel90 scratch build)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Quick post showing some minor printer updates I've made in recent times:</div>
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Moving to the newer Mendel90 x-ends, with their 4-screw bar clamps, has made a good difference to my printer. The older design, (second photo below) was unable to clamp the bar tightly enough and I was loosing belt tension over time. The clamp was also beginning to split along layer plane. The newer design doesn't have this issue as the layers are in compression because of the clamping direction.</div>
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Newer x-end installed above. Nophead relesed this design back in Oct 2013, and has been incorporating this design in the kits he sells since then, but if you have an older printer it's worth updating. Full detail on this and other design improvements he has made to the Mendel90 can be found<a href="http://hydraraptor.blogspot.ie/2013/10/mendel90-design-improvements.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> here: </a></div>
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<span id="goog_2040205837"></span><span id="goog_2040205838"></span>This is the older x-end design, with it's weaker x-bar clamp arrangement.</div>
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I'm trying out an E3D V6 hotend at present, swapping it out for a J-Head which, by the way, I've never had an issue with. I just want try some printing in some materials that require higher extrusion temperatures, beyond that supported by the J-Head.</div>
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To mount the E3D Hotend on Mendel90 without loosing any Z-heignt, I took inspiration from the hot-end clamping idea devised by Ralph Hilton which he shares here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:371252. I applied this hot-end clamping approach to Nophead's original extruder, importing the original STL into Sketchup and hacking away there until I got it as I wanted it. It's not pretty, but anyone is welcome to the Sketchup original if you think it's of use. (just give me a shout on the RepRap Forum under user name NumberSix).</div>
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Screenshot of extruder modified to clamp E3D V6 hotend in a way that does not result in loss of Z-height. The keen of eye may also observe I've moved the left extruder clamping hole. I want to be able to attach/detach the extruder to the x-carriage without having to remove the E3D fan assembly so have also made an x-carriage with an enlarged hole. See screenshot below.</div>
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X-carriage with wider opening to allow E3D hotend to be inserted/removed without taking it's cooling fan off, or detaching it from the extruder block. (one in picture not in my current colour, just test printing it)</div>
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One thing leads to another, and if you swap out the j-head (on a Mendel90) for an E3D hotend you'll soon realise the original work cooling fan doesn't fit over the larger heater block of the E3D. So that lead me to <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:491316" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Daniel Bull's Fan Duct </a> which he drew in in Autodesk 123D Draw. A fine job he mad of it too, but it's distance below the x-carriage is set for the E3D fitted to an original (M90) extruder and in a much lower position.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tE0BFfi7tSw/VNfrCT9RD6I/AAAAAAAALCw/96jcvKnF_sk/s1600/Capture3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tE0BFfi7tSw/VNfrCT9RD6I/AAAAAAAALCw/96jcvKnF_sk/s1600/Capture3.JPG" height="263" width="400" /></a></div>
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The screenshot above shows my modified version of Daniel's fan duct. I've lowered the mounting points, and adjusted things to make room for the x-belt. It was a struggle but a good way to learn more about 123D Design. Daniel provides a great starting point in his shared fan duct. I added the little cross you'll see in the middle of the duct to help with bed adhesion on this narrow circle. The cross is cut away after printing.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VsSfBiNzQgM/VNfuaeJWD4I/AAAAAAAALDE/hiCkv8XbJ1U/s1600/DSC_1098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VsSfBiNzQgM/VNfuaeJWD4I/AAAAAAAALDE/hiCkv8XbJ1U/s1600/DSC_1098.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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That's it for now! Thanks for viewing.</div>
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Ivor.</div>
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Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-54498794636159723212014-11-15T07:18:00.001-08:002014-11-15T07:25:20.424-08:00TCTShow 2014 (Part II)In sorting through my gatherings from the TCTShow (2014, Birmingham, England) there were another few bits I thought worth sharing. At this stage you will find comprehensive round-ups of the show on <a href="http://richrap.blogspot.ie/2014/10/tct-show-2014-industry-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rich's Blog</a>, and for a view of the high-end machines do see Christopher Barnatt's excellent review <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94qoGn0hkEg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>, but I had a few picts of my own to add.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T4at3Cm3jRg/VGJoh270X1I/AAAAAAAAKzs/r4_3xRwgFvY/s1600/SAM_1518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T4at3Cm3jRg/VGJoh270X1I/AAAAAAAAKzs/r4_3xRwgFvY/s320/SAM_1518.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qi2E1vY-7-4/VGJnXvI1KKI/AAAAAAAAKxU/2i44X3i0jbM/s1600/SAM_1449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qi2E1vY-7-4/VGJnXvI1KKI/AAAAAAAAKxU/2i44X3i0jbM/s320/SAM_1449.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.active3d.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Active3D's X1</a> on the left, <a href="http://richrap.blogspot.ie/2014/11/sli3dr-3d-printer-design-files-up-on.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RichRap's Sli3DR</a> printer on the right.</div>
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If you like the make/build aspect of this world then a closer observation of the many printers on display at the shows is certainly worth while. For instance, the two machines above have something interesting in common. They both use Spectra fishing line instead of belts, one on x/y, and one with line on x/y and z! The print quality from both was excellent, which just shows that while not commonly used, the Spectra line is a practical alternative to belts.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DC59sGAXcGY/VGJngQAR7hI/AAAAAAAAKx0/jI0XzFmrBCk/s1600/SAM_1455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DC59sGAXcGY/VGJngQAR7hI/AAAAAAAAKx0/jI0XzFmrBCk/s1600/SAM_1455.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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And there was this curious configuration at the excellent <a href="http://ooznest.co.uk/index.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ooznet stand</a>... looks like a Prusa i3, which it basically is, but fitted with an unusual extruder driving mechanism, called a <a href="http://mutley3d.com/Flex3Drive/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Flex3Drive</a>! It allowed the best of both worlds, the light x-carriage with the motor remotely, but still the benefits of direct drive extrusion (lower retract distances). It worked very well.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QdINohmIhhk/VGJnbEHC2vI/AAAAAAAAKxk/kJn6KG5TcbE/s1600/SAM_1452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QdINohmIhhk/VGJnbEHC2vI/AAAAAAAAKxk/kJn6KG5TcbE/s1600/SAM_1452.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
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This lovely looking delta, by Andrew Wade drew lots of attention. It's a self-build which Andrew is working towards releasing.</div>
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This desktop sized filament maker was in the show's Start Zone. Called the <a href="http://new.omnidynamics.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"Strooder"</a>, it received it's start-up funding from a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/omnidynamics/strooder-first-truly-consumer-3d-printing-filament" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kickstarter launch</a> in June '14 and is hoping to do it's bit to reduce filament costs to consumers by providing a way to make your own filament from pellets, which are a fraction of the cost.</div>
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This prototype experimental hopper extruder design was on display by RichRap. At a desktop level, the whole concept of directly feeding plastic pellets is quite at it's infancy, but has exciting potential to reduce cost and offer interesting blending possibilities right at the printer.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hu1mZ5nADfw/VGJnV0jUfQI/AAAAAAAAKxM/WXKUNue8M6M/s1600/SAM_1448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hu1mZ5nADfw/VGJnV0jUfQI/AAAAAAAAKxM/WXKUNue8M6M/s1600/SAM_1448.JPG" height="451" width="640" /></a></div>
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Above, RichRap's prototype pellet extruder.</div>
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I'll rounding up with two short video clips...</div>
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The Nectar One wasn't quite ready to print at this years show, but gets the prize for the coolest door opening mechanism in the show! http://www.nectar3d.com/ I wish them well in their launch.</div>
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The fastest moving mechanism at the show has to be the cutting blade on the <a href="http://mcortechnologies.com/3d-printers/iris/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mcor IRIS printer</a>! (See video below). </div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/s_vi/d9hq4KdS4bY/default.jpg?sqp=CJjQnaMF&rs=AOn4CLDHFrI_JxhZD318dzMqfNKNOVwWJA" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/d9hq4KdS4bY?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/d9hq4KdS4bY?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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3d landscape printed on the Mcor IRIS.</div>
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There's a bunch more photos which I'm going to push to a Google+ album for general viewing at this point. It's probably the handiest way to share them out. <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/+IvorOShea/albums/6080535542491539697" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Link here.</a></div>
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Thanks for viewing!</div>
Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-39109782286824111572014-10-05T11:09:00.000-07:002014-10-06T06:37:28.258-07:00The RepRap Community Hub experience at TCTShow 2014...Part 1<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE">To truly gain new experiences you have to
step outside your comfort zone. I knew I was doing that when I informed <a href="http://richrap.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/tct-show-2014-uk-3d-printing.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RichRap</a>
on the <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?305,392413,399330#msg-399330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RepRap Forum</a>, that I’d be willing to help out at the RepRap community
hub at this year’s (2014) <a href="http://www.tctshow.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TCTShow</a> in Birmingham, England. I had no idea how
amazing an experience this would actually be!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ntqaPc47oR8/VDAcA-vDirI/AAAAAAAAKpA/iqL_bLkbqaY/s1600/SAM_1490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ntqaPc47oR8/VDAcA-vDirI/AAAAAAAAKpA/iqL_bLkbqaY/s1600/SAM_1490.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Above, RichRap and one of his amazing creations, the <a href="http://richrap.blogspot.ie/2014/07/3d-printers-big-printers-small-printers.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sli3DR</a> in the background.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE">For me, one of the simplest satisfactions would be in helping and interacting with community members and visitors to the show. The side benefit would be the opportunity to meet some of the legends of the 3d revolution, the “virtually famous”
of the RepRap world! Sad, I know! :-)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE">Also, having observed and experienced the rapid development and evolution of desktop
3d printing from a virtual and remote perspective for many years, I felt it was
time to engage in a more real way. What better way than to fly into Birmingham and participate in what is now
becoming an annual gathering, the RepRap Community Hub at the TCTShow! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5wfp1fZ9l1Q/VDAfKd1DYRI/AAAAAAAAKpI/usBZXmZCCww/s1600/IMG_1853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5wfp1fZ9l1Q/VDAfKd1DYRI/AAAAAAAAKpI/usBZXmZCCww/s1600/IMG_1853.JPG" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Above, Chris and Mary Palmer, of <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel90" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mendel90</a> fame, working on Huxley90, and lots of vases!)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE">For sure there would be more to gain
from interfacing directly. You can’t beat face-time for knowledge and
experience exchange, and I knew the opportunities would present themselves, if
all I did was show-up!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-IE">Having scratch built <a href="http://numbersixreprap.blogspot.ie/2013/10/my-new-printer-mendel90.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my own Mendel 90</a> over a year ago now, it was indeed an honour to meet the team behind the design, Chris and Mary Palmer (Below). With my silly t-shirt on, the ice broke quickly and the rest of the show was filled with gems of wisdom from Chris and good humoured banter and fun from Mary!</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xyww3d_ckl8/VDBJhTBzzOI/AAAAAAAAKpY/g0rYfIq8zII/s1600/SAM_1491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xyww3d_ckl8/VDBJhTBzzOI/AAAAAAAAKpY/g0rYfIq8zII/s1600/SAM_1491.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
During the show, Chris worked quietly on a small machine in his area. but what had gone mostly unnoticed and without fan-fair was that we were witnessing the first public viewing of a brand new printer. To the passer-by it looked like another of the many many printer designs to be seen at the show, but to the 3d print <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorak_(slang)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anoraks</a> out there this is actually a portable version of the robust Mendel90. Chris indicates he's calling this one the "Huxley90". It will offer the performance and reliability of the Mendel90 but combine it with portability, for those times when you just have to bring your printer with you! Expect to hear much more from Chris on this one.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QLtBpQgXZVI/VDBkwuXeAMI/AAAAAAAAKqI/aMk0lOKvZ50/s1600/SAM_1482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QLtBpQgXZVI/VDBkwuXeAMI/AAAAAAAAKqI/aMk0lOKvZ50/s1600/SAM_1482.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Above, Mendel90 and Huxley90 side by side.)</span></div>
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Have you ever made a copy of yourself? It's the latest in "selfies". It's a peculiar experience and worth doing once. I was tickled when Justin Carpenter of <a href="http://www.active3d.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Active3D</a> offered to scan and print me. It gave me a chance I've been looking for to explore the process and assess the workflow of scan to print. Justin made the operation of the hand-held scanner look easy, and I'm sure with a bit of practise anyone could manage it. He used a consumer level scanner called the <a href="http://www.3ders.org/articles/20131108-3d-systems-launches-sense-consumer-3d-scanner.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sense</a>. It has encouraged me to research scanning in more depth, as I think ease of input is a great enabler to 3d printing work.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RzY4KnlyPow/VDFVue1TjhI/AAAAAAAAKrc/QHYvKZG4YeU/s1600/IMG_1912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RzY4KnlyPow/VDFVue1TjhI/AAAAAAAAKrc/QHYvKZG4YeU/s1600/IMG_1912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="color: black;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Head tilted back so no support needed. Printed in wood filament for good matt finish. One of the first things I printed when I got home was a second copy of myself. Good fun!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RzY4KnlyPow/VDFVue1TjhI/AAAAAAAAKrc/QHYvKZG4YeU/s1600/IMG_1912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RzY4KnlyPow/VDFVue1TjhI/AAAAAAAAKrc/QHYvKZG4YeU/s1600/IMG_1912.JPG" height="315" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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You just don't know who you are going to meet! I was introduced to Mark Drubin (<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/MakeALot/designs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MakeALot on Thingiverse</a>), an accomplished designer and user of OpenSCAD, a gentleman and another of the virtually famous of this 3d printing world! Check out his work... http://www.thingiverse.com/MakeALot/designs</div>
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<span lang="EN-IE">The people... the prints... the machines... There are so many photos worth sharing that I just had to do collages to publish them more quickly! Have a browse!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J7d_hnDtgw4/VDAYvHl76qI/AAAAAAAAKo0/sDnWCxXixWc/s1600/2014-10-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J7d_hnDtgw4/VDAYvHl76qI/AAAAAAAAKo0/sDnWCxXixWc/s1600/2014-10-01.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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Quite honestly, between all the exhibitors, the volume and quality of printed examples was facinating. So many to admire, examine and enquire about. Below is just a small flavour, and just too many to individually credit, so if you see your creation below, thank you for sharing!<br />
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The myriad of desktop sized printers was equally fascinating.</div>
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Hopefully at this point you have a small insight to my experience at this event! If I continue with a single post it's likely never to get published, so I'm going to hit "publish", and return with further posts to explore many more topics that interested me and are related to the show, such as:<br />
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3d printing/printers in schools/colleges. 3d content and the education sector.<br />
Next year... how can the Community Hub be improved? Become a better experience for visitors?<br />
What's happening on the filament front.<br />
Is there diversity or convergence going on at a desktop 3d printer level?<br />
The hot-end space...<br />
New kids on the block... Nectar, others.<br />
Who visited the RepRap Community Hub and what type of questions were asked.<br />
Other stories from around the exhibition... as I occasionally wandered around, each stand and encounter had it's own story! I'll try pull some examples together!<br />
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Thanks for viewing. More to follow!<br />
IvorIvor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-10293891091641840412014-09-27T15:07:00.001-07:002014-10-04T15:07:32.284-07:003d printed Limerick City Model unveiled...<a href="http://fablab.saul.ie/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FabLab Limerick</a> recently unveiled a scaled architectural model of Limerick City, Ireland. It's a most amazing model, faithfully reproducing the Georgian grid and architectural detail found centrally in the city. It's a living model which will continue to grow over time.<br />
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The city was surveyed and photographed extensively, and the arduous task of painstakingly drawing each building and city block was undertaken over the past few months. The work was conducted by graduates of the School of Architecture at University of Limerick. The FabLab is run by staff, students and graduates of SAUL.<br />
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Blocks of builds were prepaired and printed on a selection of 3d printers, including RepRapPro Mendels, Mendel 90, and Ultimaker2 printers. Below is a small selection of photos from the recent open evening at which the city model was unveiled. The base board was CNC cut from digital maps to accurately reflect the city terrain, incorporating another digital fabrication process available in the facility. The model remains available for public viewing at the FabLab.<br />
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I'm sure we will hear more about this fantastic undertaking and achievement!<br />
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I had the honour of being asked to help out with the printing. The blocks practically filled my print bed and ran from 8 to 12 hrs print times. Printed in PLA, a layer height of .2mm was used on the city prints through-out. This brought out fabulous architectural details that were captured in the fresh drawings of these buildings. After printing a few of the city blocks I found myself examining buildings and city streets with a new eye in recent days! It showed me detail around the city I had never noticed. Printing parts of the city and scrutinising other printed blocks has been a fun and enlightening experience!</div>
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Thanks for viewing.</div>
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<br />Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-47496983641058729202014-09-23T14:28:00.001-07:002014-09-23T14:28:25.443-07:00Scaled 3D print of "ShopBot" project...While learning how to use a ShopBot CNC router I was looking for a suitable starter project and came across the very popular Patio Chair project on the <a href="http://www.shopbottools.com/msupport/projects.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ShopBot</a> site. It quickly occurred to me that I could assess quite a lot about the design simply by scaling and 3d printing the necessary parts. The conversion to STL file for slicing and printing was relatively straight forward, and is summarised below. I've broken down the steps, aiming the post at Sketchup beginners.<br />
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The downloadable drawing was in .DXF format and easy to view in a 2D drawing package such as DraftSight.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dvZbQ6A-AJU/VB7LjgY2znI/AAAAAAAAKhY/zGsDb1KohAc/s1600/PatioChair-DraftSight.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dvZbQ6A-AJU/VB7LjgY2znI/AAAAAAAAKhY/zGsDb1KohAc/s1600/PatioChair-DraftSight.JPG" height="436" width="640" /></a></div>
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My starting point was to import the .DXF into Sketchup so I could use the Push/Pull tool to give each part some depth for printing. I first had to install a Plug-in into Sketchup to enable importing .DXF. There's a well known plug-in called "FreeDXF" which I found would only work with older versions of Sketchup than the free 2014 version I was using, but with some further digging I found I could manually install the plug-in by adding the files manually to the following location... (Windows7)</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JMxMq0LIt-s/VCEyD319NQI/AAAAAAAAKh8/GUNILJDXJlc/s1600/FreeDXF_Install.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JMxMq0LIt-s/VCEyD319NQI/AAAAAAAAKh8/GUNILJDXJlc/s1600/FreeDXF_Install.JPG" height="200" width="640" /></a></div>
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The plug-in still gave an error when starting Sketchup until I edited the "freedxf.rb" file, replacing ":" with ";" to clear up a minor issue.</div>
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When you import a DXF into Sketchup the shapes come in un-filled. This is easily fixed by drawing over any existing line. The part then turns dark grey, showing it is manifolded (no gaps), and ready to be extruded (push/pull tool). To remove internal shapes repeat the "draw over" process, then select the internal shape and 'delete'. There are probably plug-ins that can do this clean-up more quickly but, again, this walk-through is aimed at beginners. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DEiY24uuoI/VCFCVPueUGI/AAAAAAAAKic/Rh39cI4VHl4/s1600/Completing%2BPerimeters%2Bin%2BSketchup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DEiY24uuoI/VCFCVPueUGI/AAAAAAAAKic/Rh39cI4VHl4/s1600/Completing%2BPerimeters%2Bin%2BSketchup.JPG" height="465" width="640" /></a></div>
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Selecting the Push/Pull tool, extrudes all parts to a depth of 3/4" to match the material specified in the original CNC cut design. If you have Sketchup set to millimetres you can still specify Imperial dimensions and it will conveniently do the unit conversion for you. Push/Pull to any distance, then simply type .75" and it will take the 3/4" distance and apply it.</div>
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To match the original wood design the joints need to be blind dog-bone pockets. Push/Pull the pockets to a depth of 1/2", matching the tenon depths on the chair sides. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YYG7jlNQozE/VCE-WHvRAPI/AAAAAAAAKiU/JeKqcOnMTzQ/s1600/DogBonePocket.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YYG7jlNQozE/VCE-WHvRAPI/AAAAAAAAKiU/JeKqcOnMTzQ/s1600/DogBonePocket.JPG" height="451" width="640" /></a></div>
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The final preparation step is to scale all parts down to a size that will fit on the 200x200mm print bed. This is best achieved by selecting all, then using the Scale Tool, drag one of the green corners of the yellow box inwards any distance, then type .15 and hit enter. This will scale all objects down to 15% of original size, to fit nicely on a typical desktop 3d printer.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZPhZauLlhw/VCFHv7mwdgI/AAAAAAAAKis/kb1zby4I44Y/s1600/ScalingInSketchup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZPhZauLlhw/VCFHv7mwdgI/AAAAAAAAKis/kb1zby4I44Y/s1600/ScalingInSketchup.JPG" height="323" width="640" /></a></div>
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Select and export the finished pieces from Sketchup in STL file format.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DLz5eSgKsQI/VB7LmD7EDhI/AAAAAAAAKhg/dK0oZE16u9M/s1600/PatioChair-Sketchup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DLz5eSgKsQI/VB7LmD7EDhI/AAAAAAAAKhg/dK0oZE16u9M/s1600/PatioChair-Sketchup.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Because of the small pockets and little tabs on the objects I found it needs to be sliced at a reasonably high resolutions. I used .2mm layer height with a .3mm width in Slic3r, but you can choose your own slicing software and settings. The important thing is to preview the g-code to ensure you are getting good definition around the pockets and little tabs. Repetier Host is good for g-code preview, as is the on-line previewer gcode.ws. If you experience any difficulty slicing then I find the Cloud based Netfabb STL repair service very good (Netfabb.com, Service... Cloud Service). </div>
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Here's a picture of the printed plate of parts. There was a little but of clean-up needed to be done around some of the tabs and pockets, but overall the parts printed well.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Xd6Z0TTpVw/VBw0zvCPz2I/AAAAAAAAKgw/NI8iJHydHEg/s1600/DSC_0827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Xd6Z0TTpVw/VBw0zvCPz2I/AAAAAAAAKgw/NI8iJHydHEg/s1600/DSC_0827.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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The chair was easily assembled with a dab of super-glue in the pockets and the parts pushed together, checking for square are you go. A trial dry fit is always a good idea too.</div>
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The finished miniature Patio Chair is proving to be a novel and popular item. Full credit TJ Christiansen who did the DXF drawings for ShopBot, and to ShopBot for sharing. The design was said to be found on Minwax.com and originally from American Woodworker Magazine. I'm sure it goes back a long way, and was made with traditional methods long before CNC or 3D printing!</div>
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Technical note: The parts were printed on a home made Mendel90, controlled by a Panucat Azteeg x3. It was printed with 3mm PLA using a .5mm J-head nozzle, active cooling on the J-head insulator and gentle cooling on the work. I use a glass print surface, cleaned with window-cleaner and a final wipe with vinegar. I have a Helios heated bed, which I set to 60Deg C for PLA printing.</div>
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The chair was sliced in Slic3r at .2mm height, and around 50mm/sec, but a much slower first layer.</div>
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I've shared my Sketchup and STL files on <a href="https://www.youmagine.com/designs/patio-chair" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Youmagine.com</a> should you wish to try print this chair yourself. </div>
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Enjoy!</div>
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Thanks for viewing!</div>
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Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-63177144035840322732014-09-08T14:23:00.000-07:002014-09-08T14:25:29.306-07:00RepRap Community Hub and this year's TCT 3D Printing Show...I'll be helping out at the RepRap Community Hub at this year's <a href="http://www.tctshow.com/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TCT 3D Printing Show</a> in Birmingham, UK. It promises to be a busy and exciting 3 days! Looking forward to it!<br />
<a href="http://www.rapidnews.com/TCTShow+Personalize2014Plan.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Show Floor Plan</a><br />
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Further detail on RepRap Community participation in this years show on this RepRap forum post <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?305,392413,399330#msg-399330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<br />Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-14731209675868793612014-07-02T02:38:00.000-07:002014-07-02T02:38:41.852-07:00Choice of slicer for hollow printing...People occasionally ask me which slicer I use... the answer really is "it depends". It depends what I'm printing. Over time I've found that different slicing packages are good at different aspects of printing. A good example of this was when I tried printing this <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:284668" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Worldcup Trophy</a>. It's quite a large object and some reported it taking up to 6hrs to print and consuming around 10m of filament, even with a relatively low infill percentage. I felt printing it hollow was the best approach. This would considerably reduce the print time and material consumed and should be achievable.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:284668" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Worldcup Trophy</a>, standing about 22cm high including <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:361444" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alzibiff's base</a>.</div>
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From experience of different slicer programs I've tried out, I've found Ultimaker's slicer "<a href="http://software.ultimaker.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cura</a>" to be the best at printing hollow objects that close in at the top. When you slice a large object with Cura and set it to 0% infill it 'scribbles' support material on the inner walls when the walls close to a shallow angle as it nears the top. It can be seen as brown lines in Cura's Layers View Mode (below).<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-df4In3SHNWU/U59R_4H0NPI/AAAAAAAAKTQ/awSqcnT1_WE/s1600/Cura+Layers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-df4In3SHNWU/U59R_4H0NPI/AAAAAAAAKTQ/awSqcnT1_WE/s1600/Cura+Layers.JPG" height="216" width="400" /></a></div>
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This additional sidewall support works well and allows a hollow object to close in completely without any internal infill or internal support construction. The successfully closed in top of the trophy print can be seen in the picture below. The print is hollow.</div>
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To complement the trophy, a nice base was designed and shared by <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:361444" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alzibiff</a>, incorporating some nice raised text. I printed it in contrasting green and gold by simply "guesstimating" the length of green needed for the first part, then feeding some gold, then feeding some green to conclude the print. If the print rate is slowed down, as is possible with the speed slider control in Repetier Host, it's possible to watch the cut filament disappear into the extruder then manually feed the next colour into the extruder by hand until the hobbed bolt grips the newly fed filament.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lrk90axa1i8/U59aRNTwYcI/AAAAAAAAKTo/bmqpC8ikZ9E/s1600/DSC_0031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lrk90axa1i8/U59aRNTwYcI/AAAAAAAAKTo/bmqpC8ikZ9E/s1600/DSC_0031.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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One point of note if you are trying out <a href="http://software.ultimaker.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cura</a> to slice for a RepRap printer is that Cura calculates Extrusion distances in "absolute" measures, where as RepRap printers generally expect "relative" extrusion distances. To accommodate this simply place an "M82" command in the Start.gcode section of Cura. M82 makes the extruder interpret the extrusion as absolute. M83 sets relative extrusion.</div>
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Thanks for viewing!</div>
<br />Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-32243752573718082132014-04-29T12:12:00.000-07:002014-06-05T00:36:57.104-07:00Makers Meetup... local Fab Lab event.A recent local Makers Meetup brought a broad mix of skills and interests together, with talks from the worlds of photography, graphic design, ceramics and 3D printing.<br />
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<a href="http://fablab.saul.ie/space/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fab Lab Limerick</a> promoted and hosted the event. The general aim was to ensure a presentation mix of creative and technological disciplines, to stimulate thinking, and discussion amongst the group, and explore how the different disciplines might complement each other. It was an interesting and enjoyable evening.<br />
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(Above) I spoke on the topic of 3d printing, focusing on how more accessible it's becoming, and showing many examples my 3d printed work. It was enthusiastically received and generated many questions from the group.</div>
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(Above) <a href="http://www.davidhunt.ie/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">David Hunt</a>, a keen photographer and Raspberry Pi exponent, showed how he has combined his interests by building a <a href="http://www.davidhunt.ie/motorised-time-lapse-rail-with-raspberry-pi/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">motorised time-lapse rail</a> controlled by a Pi board. There are some great examples of 'time-lapse in the Irish landscape' on his website... http://www.davidhunt.ie/gallerys/timelapse/ , well worth checking out.</div>
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(Above) <a href="http://www.claresceramics.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Claire Jordan</a>, a local ceramic artist, talked about her work, and how engaging with the Fab Lab has helped her explore new directions. With help from the Lab, she's currently exploring the methodology and potential of 3d printed 'cookie cutter' style tools, as productivity aids for some porcelain ornament design lines she has in mind.</div>
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Above is one of the experimental 3d printed hand-tools Claire has devised in cooperation with staff at the Fab Lab.</div>
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<a href="http://www.luciapoliakova.ie/about.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lucia Poliakova</a> and <a href="http://www.marielmazan.com/aboutmee.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mariel Mazan</a>, recent Visual Communications graduates, talked about how they have utilised the Fab Lab resources such as the laser cutter/engraver in creative ways, as they get their new design agency under way this year. The Lab is an invaluable resource in support of new start-ups, bringing creativity, technology and knowledge together with very positive results.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0mgv_0jSAG8/U1-Ll7LRLCI/AAAAAAAAKOc/wZRv2quTod8/s1600/makers-meetup-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0mgv_0jSAG8/U1-Ll7LRLCI/AAAAAAAAKOc/wZRv2quTod8/s1600/makers-meetup-01.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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Finally, I brought my <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel90" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mendel90</a><span id="goog_1353363179"></span><span id="goog_1353363180"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a> along on the evening and demonstrated it in action. It drew much interest. The Lab has some 3d printers as part of it's tool set, and has plans to add more printers soon.</div>
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A big thanks to Javier and Michael at the Fab Lab for hosting the event and providing the photos for this blog post.</div>
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NumberSix</div>
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Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-7368716962829196512014-04-23T11:44:00.001-07:002014-04-30T02:03:08.453-07:00New Fab Lab opens locally...Some local news worth sharing for the Irish readers of this blog. Limerick, Ireland, sees a new Fab Lab location launched recently. <a href="http://fablab.saul.ie/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://fablab.saul.ie/</a><br />
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There's a Makers Meetup event at the Fab Lab location (7 Rutland Street, Limerick, Ireland) on Thursday 24th Apr 2014. I'm bringing my Mendel90 along, and giving a short talk on my experience and the ever increasing accessibility of 3D printing. I'll also show some printed items, and engage in a bit of Q&A. Promises to be interesting.<br />
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I'm delighted to see the establishment of a local Fab Lab, giving a focal point for meetings, events and perhaps workshops. I look forward to meeting other 3D printer enthusiasts from the region, at the location over time.<br />
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NumberSixIvor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-76494996373278712962013-12-08T11:23:00.000-08:002013-12-09T00:49:50.042-08:00Santa Sleigh...Ho Ho Ho!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's that time of year when we turn to printing Christmas things! The range of published designs seems to grow and grow each year.</div>
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This year I took sleigh parts from various sources and combined them in to a new Santa and Sleigh combination (above). It's made up of sleigh runners from the <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5338" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CreativeTools Sleigh</a>, which I separated from the sleigh body for easy printing. This also allowed these parts to be printed in a different colour to the sleigh body for a nice contrast. The sleigh body was re-drawn in Sketchup by simply extruding a profile which matched the gaps in the runners (side parts). I then recessed a seating area within the sleigh body, to give Santa somewhere to sit!</div>
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(Above) Parts laid out in Sketchup. There's a left & right runner because it's not a uniform thickness.</div>
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The reindeer were from <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:36967" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chefmaki's Sleigh</a>, a sleigh I printed last year (<a href="http://numbersixreprap.blogspot.ie/2012/12/christmas-printing-fun.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">see here</a>). The deer were imported into Sketchup and scaled up to match the new sleigh size.</div>
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(Above) Six reindeer print nicely in one go, along with the supporting bar. 200mm x 200mm print bed.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kk4pT-8z8yw/UqJeELg47iI/AAAAAAAAKLM/XzlRI064y0E/s1600/Santa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kk4pT-8z8yw/UqJeELg47iI/AAAAAAAAKLM/XzlRI064y0E/s640/Santa.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I trawled for a suitable Santa to sit in the sleigh and settled on this one (photo below) which I extracted from this <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5353" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Candle Holder</a> using <a href="http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Meshlab</a>, tidied it up in SketchUp and sliced in <a href="http://wiki.ultimaker.com/Cura" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cura</a>. Cura has a neat feature which sinks an object into the platform, creating a flat bottom on the base of an object so it sits well. Support was enabled for the arms and hat.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oFrlKJldJIo/UqDvP7F682I/AAAAAAAAKKU/LM-3qw9G9-w/s1600/DSC_0845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oFrlKJldJIo/UqDvP7F682I/AAAAAAAAKKU/LM-3qw9G9-w/s400/DSC_0845.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The sleigh body (red part above) was printed on it's side. The top wall needed support when printing in this orientation. Removing support material can often be a challenge, and the ease with which support material breaks away can vary greatly between slicing software, and settings chosen. For this project I found Kisslicer had the best support material and the easiest to remove, but you may have your own favourite. I chose a coarse Support setting with a .2mm horizontal gap. I've included a short video (below) of removing the support material from the sleigh body, for anyone that might be interested.</div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i1.ytimg.com/s_vi/9CdrmH8Tj_Q/default.jpg?sqp=CKidjpUF&rs=AOn4CLBAKGIaiqpj_leoEl1vNFpISiYRdQ" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9CdrmH8Tj_Q?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9CdrmH8Tj_Q?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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Once all the elements were printed the runners were glued to the sleigh body, leaving the body recessed slightly for best effect. The reindeer were attached to the support bar, all with dabs of super-glue. The final touches were added with some embroidery cord for reins and plastic gems for the reindeer. </div>
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This is a nice Christmas Ornament and can be printed in many colour combinations and decorative styles.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVEd4xXrPPw/UpZDXBsqZdI/AAAAAAAAIls/oe0Eo01sE8Q/s1600/DSC_0827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVEd4xXrPPw/UpZDXBsqZdI/AAAAAAAAIls/oe0Eo01sE8Q/s400/DSC_0827.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Version above with gold sleigh and red runners.</span></div>
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<i>Files published to Thingiverse: </i><a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:198381">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:198381</a><br />
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<i>Technical Notes:</i><br />
It is worth trying different slicing software when printing new objects, as they all seem to have their own ways of plotting the print. In the case of the narrow swirling sleigh rails, I found Cura performed the best, filling in the gaps between the close perimeters of the rails very neatly. Both Slic3r and Skeinforge left gaps in the narrow rails, even after much experimentation with settings.<br />
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A .3mm layer height gave a good finish for all the elements of this print. The reindeer had a 25% infill. Anything less risked the top solid horizontal layers gapping or dipping. Santa was printed with hollow, giving a nice translucent look with the gold filament.<br />
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The above was printed in 3mm PLA, to a heated glass bed with a light PVA/water coating on the glass. Nozzle tempeature of 185Deg C, bed temperature of 60 Deg. (if using a Prusa HBP you may need the bed temperature set slightly higher because they are typically fitted with the heater on the underside, and there is a 10 to 15 deg difference between the underside and the top of the heated bed.)<br />
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I use a .5mm j-head hotend, with active cooling on the PEEK, and variable speed cooling on the work. The printer is a scratch build Mendel90 (not from kit).<br />
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Happy Christmas printing!<br />
NumberSix<br />
<br />Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-48299546753187704992013-11-11T17:15:00.000-08:002013-11-11T17:15:42.737-08:00Having a Vase Phase! (with video)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Earlier this year <a href="http://slic3r.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Slic3r</a> introduced an experimental feature called "Spiral vase". I took some time recently to explore its capability, and was very satisfied with the results. </div>
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Above... <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:157102" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dandelion Vase</a> from Thingiverse.</div>
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I've often noticed people printing vases and other similar shaped objects and asking questions about how to make them hollow, what wall thickness to choose or how best to avoid seams and and other such issues. This "Spiral vase" check-box in Slic3r simplifies the whole process and produces great results.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HoYOlVedrCE/Un_6yDOA-rI/AAAAAAAAIjU/NeQzNSrn1wg/s1600/Slic3r+Vase+Setting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HoYOlVedrCE/Un_6yDOA-rI/AAAAAAAAIjU/NeQzNSrn1wg/s400/Slic3r+Vase+Setting.JPG" width="400" zsa="true" /></a></div>
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Above...Slic3r, Print Settings Tab, Layers and perimeters... Spiral vase check-box.</div>
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Once the "Spiral vase" box is checked, Slic3r will set a single perimeter, ignore any Infill settings, automatically making the object hollow, ignore support settings if enabled, and will not print a top solid layer. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rBtx-3DlSK0/Un-pdVHCaWI/AAAAAAAAIig/EXqSsAR2lO0/s1600/DSC_0722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_21845="null" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rBtx-3DlSK0/Un-pdVHCaWI/AAAAAAAAIig/EXqSsAR2lO0/s640/DSC_0722.JPG" width="426" zsa="true" /></a></div>
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Above, my first vase, standing 200mm tall which is the full printing height of my Mendel90. I set a layer height of .2mm, width of .5mm matching the nozzle width of .5mm. I set 5 bottom layers to give a good base. It printed the base layers quickly (60mm/sec) but once it started into the wall it slowed right down. I'm unsure why it seems to ignore the speed settings once printing the wall commences.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zJtqLtzXwhQ/UoAKULlISQI/AAAAAAAAIjk/TBLd6pHe7gM/s1600/DSC_0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zJtqLtzXwhQ/UoAKULlISQI/AAAAAAAAIjk/TBLd6pHe7gM/s640/DSC_0745.JPG" width="424" zsa="true" /></a></div>
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(Above) The first one printed so well, I printed some more, all in PLA, with default fan cooling enabled within Slic3r.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cA1nd7y8V5s/Un-pjtFG-bI/AAAAAAAAIio/BO8VvWK_Qc0/s1600/DSC_0726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_21845="null" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cA1nd7y8V5s/Un-pjtFG-bI/AAAAAAAAIio/BO8VvWK_Qc0/s640/DSC_0726.JPG" width="426" zsa="true" /></a></div>
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My next object was a <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:104694" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gear Vase by Halalan</a>. It's part of a set of vases which have been cleverly generated by Python script. I simply downloaded the Gear.stl file but changed it's Z scale reducing it to .75, making it shallower to become an LED tealight holder. The single wall thickness allows the light to shine through, with the shape giving it unexpected strength.</div>
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What the photos don't show is how the "Spiral vase" feature in Slic3r handled the Z movement of the printer. In typical 3d printing, when a single layer has been completed, the Z motor(s) move by one layer height and printing then resumes. With the Spiral vase box checked in Slic3r the Z movement is actually continuous, so that in the time the printer takes to print a full layer (or vase circumference) the Z height has risen by one layer. The best way to illustrate is with a short video.</div>
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This short video (below) illustrates the continuous upward Z movement. For each 360 deg. travel around the object's single wall perimeter, the Z axis rises one layer height. In the case of all the objects in this post it was a .2mm layer height. Also of note at the end of the short clip is the retreat of the print bed so the large cooling fan can do its job. <br />
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With one Gear Vase printed I thought it would be a nice idea to have a second one with the "swirls" going in the opposite direction. The handiest way I could find to do this was to set the X Scale to "-1" in Repetier Host, then slice the .stl file. (Illustrated below.)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nqf5U6p-cDc/UoAa0L7BWBI/AAAAAAAAIkA/RK-d50ut6yA/s1600/Slic3r+Gear+resizing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="339" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nqf5U6p-cDc/UoAa0L7BWBI/AAAAAAAAIkA/RK-d50ut6yA/s640/Slic3r+Gear+resizing.JPG" width="640" zsa="true" /></a></div>
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The completed pair of tealight holders is shown below... The flickering tealights give a lovely effect through the thin single wall.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y4dGpWwy6cw/UoFStOzTm5I/AAAAAAAAIk4/KVSz5xxaVLw/s1600/DSC_0801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y4dGpWwy6cw/UoFStOzTm5I/AAAAAAAAIk4/KVSz5xxaVLw/s640/DSC_0801.JPG" width="640" zsa="true" /></a></div>
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Finally, this is the <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:37327" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Double Twisted Vase</a> (again from Thingiverse), the blue PLA contrasting nicely with the yellow flowers (the flowers are real!). There's a little glitch in the upper section of the vase. Slic3r did give warnings, but I printed anyway. If you are planning to print this object, it might be best to slice in something else or run the STL through <a href="http://cloud.netfabb.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Netfabb Cloud Service</a> to see if that fixes it.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4DOoG-dUC90/UoFL7XnK1lI/AAAAAAAAIks/rwk6b39eVU0/s1600/DSC_0790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_85295="null" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4DOoG-dUC90/UoFL7XnK1lI/AAAAAAAAIks/rwk6b39eVU0/s640/DSC_0790.JPG" width="424" zsa="true" /></a></div>
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Technical Notes: .2mm layer height, .5mm width, .5mm nozzle, PLA at 185Deg C, heated bed at 60 Deg, with glass surface. I had just fitted new glass so I simply cleaned it with window cleaner and the PLA took to it nicely and clicked right off when the glass cooled. I'm not sure how long the "grippiness" will last.</div>
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Conclusions: The "Spiral vase" feature in Slic3r is worth checking out. It simplifies things and produces excellent results, with it's continuous Z movement approach to printing. There are no seams and no stop/start ooze print quality issues as a result. It does print slowly though, and seems to ignore the speed settings chosen in the set-up. This warrants more examination to see where the speed constraint lies.</div>
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This Slic3r feature is not restricted to "open top" vase style objects, and so if carefully selected, closed hollow, single wall objects can also be printed. An example I printed (below) is this <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:38948" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ornament by Ben Malouf</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gXe6ONLQT98/UoAXXaG3LQI/AAAAAAAAIj0/-qVwmEPBzdo/s1600/DSC_0749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gXe6ONLQT98/UoAXXaG3LQI/AAAAAAAAIj0/-qVwmEPBzdo/s400/DSC_0749.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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The continuous movement and flow of plastic, due to the non-stop Z movement employed, leads to an amazing blip and blemish free, smooth surface finish. This was evident in, and common to, all the objects I printed using this feature.</div>
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Hope you enjoyed the post. Thanks for viewing!</div>
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NumberSix </div>
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Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-57652861291242695442013-11-03T13:49:00.000-08:002013-11-04T06:42:01.004-08:00Print quality issue [Resolved]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
With a good number of hours under my belt, a print quality issue began to show up on the new printer. You can see it evident in the side walls of the <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:33406" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">battery holder</a> pictured below.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IZTSHm8aGHI/UnaAhiLVMcI/AAAAAAAAIg8/fFKAcynhgcs/s1600/DSC_0667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_786232="null" height="319" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IZTSHm8aGHI/UnaAhiLVMcI/AAAAAAAAIg8/fFKAcynhgcs/s320/DSC_0667.JPG" vsa="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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A closer view (photo below) shows lots of gaps and a general poor finish.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9nV7XNisen4/UnaAqfSjm6I/AAAAAAAAIhE/0u3ELa-UE20/s1600/DSC_0670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_786232="null" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9nV7XNisen4/UnaAqfSjm6I/AAAAAAAAIhE/0u3ELa-UE20/s320/DSC_0670.JPG" vsa="true" width="319" /></a></div>
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I entertained a number of possible causes: Too much "retract" when executed, resulting in extrusion not resuming flow in time for printing. I even entertained ambient temperature changes being an unlikely but possible cause of the problem, as Winter was setting in, and considered increasing the hot-end temperature as one of the things to try. But before changing anything, I set another print under way, with a slow print speed (20mm/sec), and had a close look at the printing process in action. (I've made a cut-away fan-duct just for easy inspection, which I must post about.)<br />
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On observing the "gaping" happening a number of times during the test print, it was obvious that the large gear that drives the hobbed bolt was slowing down and sometimes stopping, when it should have been turning at a steady rate. Closer observation of the smaller gear revealed the issue. The extruder motor shaft was slipping within the small gear.<br />
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I knew from past experience that simply tightening the grub screw was most likely not going to be a long term solution, as had the grub screw been resting against the "flat" on the motor shaft then it wouldn't have slipped even when it had worked a little bit loose. The reversing action of the motor would have resulted in more of a clicking noise than full slippage.</div>
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On removing the small gear, it was now clear that the "flat" on the motor shaft was not long enough for the position of the grub-screw on the small gear. I should really have spotted that on first assembly. The grub screw needs to tighten down to a flat surface on a shaft to best secure it in place.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m53rrIqaJaw/UnZ_CngtCdI/AAAAAAAAIgg/qpd79htVG6c/s1600/DSC_0698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_786232="null" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m53rrIqaJaw/UnZ_CngtCdI/AAAAAAAAIgg/qpd79htVG6c/s320/DSC_0698.JPG" vsa="true" width="320" /></a></div>
The above photo shows how the "flat" on the stepper motor shaft doesn't extend enough to align with the grub screw in the small gear.<br />
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The "flat" was easily extended using a flat needle file. The bearing of the stepper was protected from filings with some 'blue tack'. The shaft was gripped in a small vice. (See photo below.)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--FKj2870Qqg/UnZ_EZFAiDI/AAAAAAAAIiM/VcGJSLv4lf4/s1600/DSC_0706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_140985="null" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--FKj2870Qqg/UnZ_EZFAiDI/AAAAAAAAIiM/VcGJSLv4lf4/s320/DSC_0706.JPG" vsa="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wCs4043CGZY/UnayR4mX2ZI/AAAAAAAAIh8/ghtes0GsPgA/s1600/DSC_0708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wCs4043CGZY/UnayR4mX2ZI/AAAAAAAAIh8/ghtes0GsPgA/s320/DSC_0708.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The new "flat" doesn't have to be perfect, just enough for the grub screw to seat against. (photo above)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-soQiJiqRUpg/UnZ_FpSp1iI/AAAAAAAAIgw/4ehwhnn-3uA/s1600/DSC_0712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_786232="null" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-soQiJiqRUpg/UnZ_FpSp1iI/AAAAAAAAIgw/4ehwhnn-3uA/s320/DSC_0712.JPG" vsa="true" width="320" /></a></div>
The small gear was refitted, and the grub screw tightened down, ensuring it aligned with the newly filed "flat".<br />
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I then reprinted the battery holder and the difference in print quality was immediate (photo below). The plastic flow was consistent and the print finish excellent.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-veu9IDPlEdY/UnaBAMqgOeI/AAAAAAAAIho/JEjL5irk0D4/s1600/DSC_0676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_786232="null" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-veu9IDPlEdY/UnaBAMqgOeI/AAAAAAAAIho/JEjL5irk0D4/s320/DSC_0676.JPG" vsa="true" width="320" /></a></div>
What is also evident, with consistent print quality is that the z-movement on the Mendel 90 is so smooth. Each layer is laid down perfectly above the other on a vertical wall, such as that seen in photo below.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4n3-Mwh81M/UnaBGWqMYsI/AAAAAAAAIhc/62mjm2AQPTM/s1600/DSC_0688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_786232="null" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4n3-Mwh81M/UnaBGWqMYsI/AAAAAAAAIhc/62mjm2AQPTM/s320/DSC_0688.JPG" vsa="true" width="320" /></a></div>
Technical Note: .2mm layer height, with a Width over Height Ratio of 1.8, sliced in Skeinforge. Print speed 50mm/Sec. Now to tidy up my rechargeable batteries!<br />
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Thanks for viewing.<br />
NumberSixIvor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-75493342541226785332013-10-28T16:21:00.000-07:002013-10-28T16:21:41.905-07:00My new printer (Mendel90)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I eventually got to take an overview picture of my new printer. Up until now, recent posts have only shown various close-ups so I thought a full photo would be nice. </div>
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It's a Mendel90, scratch built (not from kit). My other printer, a Prusa Mendel, was used to print all the plastic parts for this one. The sheet material (aluminium composite sheet), and some other parts were sourced locally. Motors and electronics were ordered on-line. I used white sheet material with black plastic parts and motors for a nice contrast in appearance. It currently has a single extruder, a j-head, but its flexible design will allow it to adapt going forward as enhancements evolve.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IM_w9kOG86M/Um69NgY-OeI/AAAAAAAAIfw/IKeT-n1IeD8/s1600/DSC_0632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" isa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IM_w9kOG86M/Um69NgY-OeI/AAAAAAAAIfw/IKeT-n1IeD8/s640/DSC_0632.JPG" width="468" /></a></div>
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It prints very well and is faster and more precise than my older printer. My new electronics also allows greater automation than I've previously had. In contrast to my older printer, this one has integrated management of the heated bed, and even have automated cooling of the finished work via a large fan to the rear.</div>
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I'm very grateful to <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/profile.php?262,28" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nophead</a> from the <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/list.php?292" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RepRap community</a> for sharing his <a href="https://github.com/nophead/Mendel90/tree/master/dibond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">plans and build instructions</a>. I enjoy the challenge of scratch building these devices, but can honestly say that unless you already have some tools and equipment there is little or no saving in comparison to buying a <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?94,196585,255280#msg-255280" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">printer kit</a>, but building your own printer, either from kit or otherwise, IS an excellent and rewarding learning experience. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EZhPEhwy1O8/Um696sUAvUI/AAAAAAAAIgA/sPwwuB6-I4Y/s1600/DSC_0637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_426140="null" height="200" isa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EZhPEhwy1O8/Um696sUAvUI/AAAAAAAAIgA/sPwwuB6-I4Y/s320/DSC_0637.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Squirrel (<a href="http://www.tollymoreredsquirrelgroup.com/irelandssquirrels/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Red</a>) courtesy of MBCook on <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:11705" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thingiverse</a>! :-)</div>
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Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-39005579789196369112013-10-22T11:59:00.000-07:002013-10-22T14:19:09.757-07:00Insulating the heater block... more data!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I recently posted on the topic of <a href="http://numbersixreprap.blogspot.ie/2013/10/does-insulating-heater-block-make.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Insulating the Heater Block</a> and a few days later received some great data (graphs) from <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/profile.php?292,11655" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alzibiff</a>, a Mendel90 owner and keen RepRaper. Alan (Alzibiff) was in the process of insulating his J-Head heater block with some silicone tape, as per <a href="http://hydraraptor.blogspot.ie/2013/10/mendel90-design-improvements.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nopheads design improvements</a>, when he kindly captured some before & after data. This is great data in many ways. I hope I can do its interpretation justice... <br />
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{By the way, Alan is the proud owner of that 'pin-up' of 3D printers, the <a href="http://hydraraptor.blogspot.ie/2012/12/mendel90-updates.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Black Dibond one with the Christmas Tree</a>, which famously featured on the cover of the Mendel90 build manual for some time!)<br />
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The target temperature for all graphs was the same, 220 Deg C. The power resistor in the J-Head v5b, running on 12v, had no difficulty bringing the heater block up to temperature in all tests. The significant observable differences between graphs was in the average % power draw, the blue line along the lower (green) graph in each case. Alan has two fans on his x-carriage, one ducted under-carriage PEEK cooling fan (<a href="http://numbersixreprap.blogspot.ie/2013/09/active-cooling-of-j-head-insulator.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">same as this</a>), which I'll call the "Upper Fan". He has a standard M90 work cooling fan, which I'll call the "Work Fan". The latter fan duct was unmodified, no insulation cooling hole (another of Nopheads mods.)<br />
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<i>Small Tech Note:</i> I've checked that the power draw of the fans do not impact on the power graph. It only shows % power draw by the heater.<br />
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Figure 1. No (heater block) Insulation, Upper Fan ON, Work Fan OFF. 45% power to maintain temp.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ud1-az0H8R4/UmWE4VfiPuI/AAAAAAAAIe4/0lCMYH_P5N0/s1600/M90_JHeadFan_NoInsulation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" isa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ud1-az0H8R4/UmWE4VfiPuI/AAAAAAAAIe4/0lCMYH_P5N0/s640/M90_JHeadFan_NoInsulation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Figure 1</div>
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Figure 2. No (heater block) Insulation, Upper Fan ON, Work Fan ON. 55% power to maintain temp. This is interesting because it's suggesting there is extra power needed to maintain temperature when the Work Fan is on. There must be air drift from the downward facing cooling fan that is impacting on the heater block, causing it to draw more power to maintain temperature.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TVs--Yx6dow/UmVopCvhAHI/AAAAAAAAIeo/v0hjIH4y-Ss/s1600/M90_BothFans_NoInsulation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" isa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TVs--Yx6dow/UmVopCvhAHI/AAAAAAAAIeo/v0hjIH4y-Ss/s640/M90_BothFans_NoInsulation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Figure 2</div>
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Figure 3. Heater block insulation fitted (Silicone Tape), Upper Fan ON, then Work Fan ON at the '31' mark, so both fans on for the latter half of the graph. 38% power (Upper Fan ON), 48% power (both ON), approximately.The power draw to maintain temperature after the insulation is fitted to the heater block is nicely reduced. The insulation is doing it's job. But, once the Work Fan cuts in the power usage increases again slightly. This suggests that cool air drift from the work fan is cooling the heater block somehow. I expect the heater block would benefit from some insulation on it's base also, to further improve the insulation, but the nozzle probably doesn't protrude enough to permit this with the present j-head design.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2NczwiszSKc/UmVomKpbk8I/AAAAAAAAIeg/UFAXNPJR8KA/s1600/M90_1Fan_then2_Insulation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" isa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2NczwiszSKc/UmVomKpbk8I/AAAAAAAAIeg/UFAXNPJR8KA/s640/M90_1Fan_then2_Insulation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Figure 3</div>
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Figure 4 is probably the most impressive. It shows the insulated heater block in operation with both fans OFF. To me it's the most impressive because the power draw (green graph) is barely above 25%. It shows that the silicone tape is a very good insulator, and really outperforms my skinny Teflon jacket. I must add that this particular test (Fans off) did unease Alan, and he didn't run it very long as he has had his share of extruder jams in the past.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1gdrRrLF-k/UmVojopCgEI/AAAAAAAAIeY/Gbuh9vsaTtQ/s1600/M90_No+Fans_Insulation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="419" isa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1gdrRrLF-k/UmVojopCgEI/AAAAAAAAIeY/Gbuh9vsaTtQ/s640/M90_No+Fans_Insulation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Figure 4</div>
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Quick Conclusions:</div>
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The silicone tape is an excellent insulator, and an enhancement worth considering.</div>
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Indirect cool air (air drift) from fans has a greater impact on the power required to maintain hot-end temperatures than one might think, due to the cooling effect of such air.</div>
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Thanks to Alan for the graphs. Hope folks found it of interest. Questions and comments welcome as always.</div>
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Regards,</div>
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NumberSix</div>
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Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-8222066581900082952013-10-20T12:41:00.000-07:002013-10-20T12:41:46.764-07:00Print Bed levelling: 3 versus 4 support points...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The importance of a well levelled print bed can not be emphasised enough. The lower the layer height you print with the more critical having a perfectly level print bed becomes for trouble free adhesion of the first layer. The use of a Raft or even altered first layer width or thickness is often a compromise for imperfect bed levels or surface flatness. This is functionality accommodated within slicing packages, e.g. Slic3r. I've never had much success with rafts as they have always proven difficult to detach from the printed object. Rafts are commonly used in commercial printers and also successful on the UP! printer, but the secrets of good raft separation still seems to elude the OpenSource community, it being theorised to be perhaps both material and software related as discussed <a href="http://hydraraptor.blogspot.ie/search?updated-max=2012-11-25T01:33:00Z&max-results=3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> by Nophead, although Chris' desire to get to the bottom of this does extend to having good peel-away support, not just raft.</div>
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I think, in printers where the print bed is typically un-clipped to remove the finished work, the precise levelling of the print bed can't always be guaranteed so rafting is a good compromise. If you don't want to use rafts or alter the first layer width/thickness then a very level print bed is essential for good contact of the first layer.</div>
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I opted to use the <a href="http://www.panucatt.com/product_p/hbp200.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Helios Heated Print Bed</a> (HPB) in my scratch-build Mendel90, instead of the more popular Prusa HPB (typically red). I have a Prusa HPB already so its interesting to compare.</div>
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My initial expectation was that the Helios would be even more suited to 3 point support and the inherent ease of levelling that brings. The Helios board is twice as thick as the Prusa board. However, I think my expectations have risen over time, and in borrowing a dial gauge to level the new M90 Print Bed I was disappointed by not being able to get it as level as I'd hoped with just three points of support. The problem came down to a slight warp in the HPB, which can't really be described as a fault, as the the deviation is only about .2mm along one edge that was only supported in the middle.</div>
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Perhaps if I used thicker glass then the clamps would pull the board straight and leveling would be fine with three point levelling, but I am happy with my light glass (1.3mm thick), as it keeps the overall print bed weight and inertia down.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F5uNp4bJvAg/UmPYb7mUeSI/AAAAAAAAIeM/Vs4fWVvW3Dc/s1600/DSC_0366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" esa="true" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F5uNp4bJvAg/UmPYb7mUeSI/AAAAAAAAIeM/Vs4fWVvW3Dc/s400/DSC_0366.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Helios comes with long M3 counter sunk screws, some washers, spring washers and nuts. I like the ease of adjustment that spring loading the bed brings, but you have to use strong springs here to avoid wobble.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMs2GTDgyHI/UmJ_QQeLEsI/AAAAAAAAIdQ/4Ybr4DUGZlI/s1600/DSC_0553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" esa="true" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMs2GTDgyHI/UmJ_QQeLEsI/AAAAAAAAIdQ/4Ybr4DUGZlI/s400/DSC_0553.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Photo showing counter sink screw, washers and bolts that come with the Helios board. I use a strong spring (also shown). The Helios fittings are stainless steel which conducts less heat, a good think in this situation.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zM-oTsWHRjs/UmJ_UH9ezZI/AAAAAAAAIdo/Y-aTGDOxHlU/s1600/DSC_0562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" esa="true" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zM-oTsWHRjs/UmJ_UH9ezZI/AAAAAAAAIdo/Y-aTGDOxHlU/s400/DSC_0562.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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An essential prerequisite is that the x-axis has been levelled with respect to the printer base. This can be done with a vernier callipers (see photo above), moving the callipers from left to right and turning the Z leadscrews independently of each other, until the x assembly is perfectly parallel to the base.</div>
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To hold the dial gauge to the x-carriage I printed off Nopheads <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:23907" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dial gauge holder</a>. If your dial gauge has a narrower (8mm shaft) this other clamp may fit better (<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:92852">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:92852</a>).</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_bxTEz7nWCY/UmJ_RLn_ceI/AAAAAAAAIdY/triTwzZ4x6Q/s1600/DSC_0557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_718124="null" esa="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_bxTEz7nWCY/UmJ_RLn_ceI/AAAAAAAAIdY/triTwzZ4x6Q/s320/DSC_0557.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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You don't have to have a dial gauge to level the bed but it's more time efficient if you have access to one. You can level the bed by using a sheet of paper or feeler-gauge to set the gap under the nozzle at various locations around the bed, and adjusting the bed height until the gap is consistent.</div>
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I did some video recording while adjusting the bed level, and generally checking the level after adjustment. I'm sharing an edited down version of my recordings below. It is not intended as an instructional video so don't view it as such. In the first section you will see me adjust the nuts to raise or lower the bed. There is only .1mm between each of the visible numbers on the dial gauge, and the smaller incriments are just .01mm, but what I concluded by the end of the first section was that I was not going to level the bed on the right hand edge. The second section of the video shows how well I was able to level the bed with four adjustment points (each corner). If you observe the movement in the dial gauge as it moves around you will see that the bed is levelled to within a very tight range, estimated +/- .02mm!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/sdHmJRFFhIc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b>Conclusions:</b></div>
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4 adjustable points of support will (most likely) be better than 3 if the print bed top layer consists of the HPB board and thin glass.</div>
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3 points of adjustment is easier to level, but the board or glass must be rigid and flat.</div>
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A dial gauge makes bed levelling easier and quicker.</div>
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A well levelled print bed enables consistent printing of first layers, giving good print quality and reduced risk of print warping or detachment during printing.</div>
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Hope it was of interest!</div>
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NumberSix</div>
Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-59529380215418788492013-10-15T15:51:00.001-07:002013-10-15T15:52:38.359-07:00Does insulating the heater block make a difference?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was interested to examine what difference insulating the hotend heater block would make to hotend performance. I used some Teflon sheet material [ptfe] (sandwich toasting bags!), cut it to shape and then secured it in place with some kapton tape. I've done this in the past as you'll see from <a href="http://numbersixreprap.blogspot.com/2012/07/hot-end.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this post</a>, but I've never done a graphed comparison of "before" and "after" insulation.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IjDMbSV9KpU/UlmGLLA5zYI/AAAAAAAAIbA/M5djrUFdHz4/s1600/DSC_0482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_678466="null" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IjDMbSV9KpU/UlmGLLA5zYI/AAAAAAAAIbA/M5djrUFdHz4/s400/DSC_0482.JPG" width="400" xsa="true" /></a></div>
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Photo above showing <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Jhead#Introduction" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">J-Head hotend</a> with newly insulated heater block.</div>
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For comparison purposes I dug out a graph of temperature (Deg C) and power (%) over time (minutes) which I had recorded for the same hotend without insulation, while heating to an arbutrary target of 220 Deg C. The J-head was fitted to the printer and both fans running, one <a href="http://numbersixreprap.blogspot.com/2013/09/active-cooling-of-j-head-insulator.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">under-carriage fan</a>, and the print cooling fan. This graph is below, Temperature over Time in Red, and % power to heater in Green, no insulation on heater block for this graph.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ad4mca1ZrHU/UkyQAiYep4I/AAAAAAAAIYs/6kFp7JeQ8bI/s1600/Hotend+graph2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ad4mca1ZrHU/UkyQAiYep4I/AAAAAAAAIYs/6kFp7JeQ8bI/s640/Hotend+graph2.JPG" width="640" xsa="true" /></a></div>
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After insulating the heater block I repeated the graphing of the heating process and the tick-over at 220 Deg C which I allowed to run for a few minutes. Graph below...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A3odKkG1bI/UlqX13N6UeI/AAAAAAAAIbs/3AyRAJ5t5FY/s1600/Temperature+Graph+20131013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A3odKkG1bI/UlqX13N6UeI/AAAAAAAAIbs/3AyRAJ5t5FY/s640/Temperature+Graph+20131013.JPG" width="640" xsa="true" /></a></div>
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<strong>Comparison and possible benefits of insulation:</strong><br />
<em>Less power required to maintain a given temperature.</em> For my setup, the same target temperature was maintained with <40% power in comparison to approx 50% power for the uninsulated heater block. This is beneficial since having capacity to deliver more heat may enable faster extrusion.<br />
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<em>Insulation protects the heater block from stray cooling air.</em> If you are running a cooling fan on PLA then air may also spill over and cool the hotend. It has to reacts by increasing power to maintain temperature. Insulating the heated block reduces the impact of the work cooling fan on the hotend. There is less conflict or fighting between heating and cooling needs when the heater block is insulated.<br />
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<em>Slightly faster time to target temperature for insulated heater block.</em> Not significant.<br />
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<em>Reduced convective heat once the heater block is insulated.</em> This a very positive benefit as it reduces the risk of insulator temperature rise and hotend jams. It can reduce the risk of x-carriage warping also, where PLA x-carriages are used.<br />
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<em>Reduced radiated heat.</em> If you can insulate most of the base of the heater block then there will be less heat radiated toward the printed work. This is good when printing narrow or detailed pieces, and when printing slowly. Often, you slow down when printing fine detail. Cooling of the printed work is essential at this stage to prevent distortion so insulation preventing radiated heat is of benefit.<br />
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<strong>Technical Notes:</strong><br />
This comparison was conducted with a 30 Watt, 15mm x 6mm, 12v Cartridge Heater in a J-Head Mk V hotend. The controller uses PWM, and PID control cuts in within 10 Deg of target temperature.<br />
PID was retuned and new values set in the Marlin firmware following the insulation of the hotend heater block.<br />
The temperature graphs are automatically plotted by <a href="http://www.repetier.com/documentation/repetier-host/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Repetier Host</a> software.<br />
Both graphs were plotted while the printer was static (not printing).<br />
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<strong>Conclusions:</strong><br />
You could use a variety of materials to do this insulation, including <a href="http://hydraraptor.blogspot.ie/2013/10/mendel90-design-improvements.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">silicon tape</a> or <a href="http://bukobot.com/hot-end-thermal-management" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">glass tape</a>, to potentially even better effect. It is a bit tedious a process but well worth considering.<br />
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There was no comparison made between print quality from an uninsulated versus insulated heater block. The advantages of an insulated heater block are more interms of increased power efficiency, more precision of temperature control, and reduced risk of hotend jamming, rather than print quality increase.<br />
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It would be interesting to see others publish such graphs for their printers so comparisons could be made between systems. It would also be good to see hot-end manufactures supply hotends pre-assembled and insulated (like Nophead), or at lease with some suitable and easy to apply insulation material included in hotend kits. I would see this as a selling advantage, even if at a marginal additional cost to the consumer.<br />
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Thanks for viewing!<br />
NumberSix</div>
Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3491371204425376883.post-2964845185035098692013-10-13T13:07:00.000-07:002013-10-13T14:46:36.797-07:00Halloween printing fun begins!The Halloween printing fun has begun... I hope everyone has enough orange and black! There's a great range of bits 'n' pieces out there to print or you can always draw up something of your own. I've started with a Pumpkin. This one from Thingiverse <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:134066">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:134066</a><br />
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As I ramp up the challenges for my M90, this print tested it well. The Pumpkin is hollow inside, and top closes right in. It actually printed without support to my amazement. There was a bit of spaghetti on the underside of the roof but that wasn't an issue for this object.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nH1j4ZgLLw4/Ulryi43T4ZI/AAAAAAAAIcI/qnlLni9_1Zg/s1600/DSC_0509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nH1j4ZgLLw4/Ulryi43T4ZI/AAAAAAAAIcI/qnlLni9_1Zg/s400/DSC_0509.JPG" width="396" /></a></div>
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Just to set off the Pumpkin, and lower the position of the LED Tealight I drew up a base in Sketchup. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BddmVWs7Ok8/Ulrys1LqfVI/AAAAAAAAIcg/1piYMPRlRLo/s1600/PumpkinBase.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BddmVWs7Ok8/Ulrys1LqfVI/AAAAAAAAIcg/1piYMPRlRLo/s400/PumpkinBase.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OGFE02u_ycg/UlrykcLAdYI/AAAAAAAAIcU/MIJXdHrhGVI/s1600/DSC_0513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OGFE02u_ycg/UlrykcLAdYI/AAAAAAAAIcU/MIJXdHrhGVI/s400/DSC_0513.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
For the finishing touch I put three stick-on feet on the base!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qcflkQyuFnY/Ulrylg9_mqI/AAAAAAAAIcY/jY7n8Sou9z8/s1600/DSC_0514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qcflkQyuFnY/Ulrylg9_mqI/AAAAAAAAIcY/jY7n8Sou9z8/s400/DSC_0514.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Tech Notes: 3mm PLA, .5mm nozzle. Pumpkin printed with .25 layer height, 2 perimeters, 50% infill. Speed set to 40mm/sec. Small brim and first layer at reduced speed. Temperature 185Deg C, Heated Bed at 70 Deg C. Glass with PVA solution coating. I had no warping or lifting. Clicked right off when cold.</div>
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The black base was printed at .3mm layer height and 50mm/sec. 10% hex infill. I'd slow down the top surfaces and increase the number of layers on the top surfaces if using hex infiill in future. It was slightly gapped in places as it tried to bridge a 10% hex infill.</div>
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Both parts were sliced with Slic3r. Cooling was enabled under the Filament Settings (defaults used). I have a cooling fan with variable speed on the M90. Detail on it's set-up in a previous post... <a href="http://numbersixreprap.blogspot.ie/2013/09/cooling-fan-speed-control-via-azteeg.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. I think it's helping greatly with PLA print quality.</div>
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I printed at about 60% of published size as a first run of this. I think the M90 could easily handle it at 100% size.</div>
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Happy printing!</div>
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NumberSix </div>
<br />Ivor O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246251303703200543noreply@blogger.com0