3d printing jabber
I was waiting for Dan but the moment I started this, he came out of the can. How in hell does he go in there for so long at a time? I can't imagine wanting to spend so much time in there outside of the tub. It's cold, the seat isn't exactly ergonomic. it smells to some degree or another at least when in use.
Well anyway. Found some inspiration for my 3doodler pen so after a year of owning it and being merely offended with it, I think it's going to become useful. I've ordered some PLA with it. Why they included 2 abs and no pla sticks I don't know. I've learned that I can make a surface sticky with hairspray, paper, or acetone melted abs to get the drawing to start. I've learned from my 3d printer what sorts of structure forms to aim for. Now I've seen some ideas where you start on the flat but peel up the 2d into 3d space and add more on the 2d level as you go. Or build in flats and glue together at angles to each other, etc. Once a base structure exists in the vertical, you can start hanging strands and objects into it as well. Flat objects can be bent into shape and deformed gently while warm also, so you can build perhaps a buckyball form on the flat then fold it and glue it into a nice bucky sphere. These could be wrapped around other things, or put onto other forms to build up strong stable forms in 3 dimensions. If you want to be technical, use clear glass prepped with a dissolved abs smear and put it over a design you'll follow. Yes, I see it in my head, this is going to be fun. But it's thursday before I can find time to play again. The weather has gone up again so it's time to get out and get groceries tomorrow. On Wednesday an artist is coming around to set up a commission for some motorscooter goggles and jeweller's spectacles with brass articulated loupe lenses.
Whew, that'll be interesting!
I've been building a treasure chest with shod feet. The boots were easier to make than paws but even they are turning out to be too detailled for our printer. The box base which printed best needs the horizontal ledges tapered in spots so they work without supports, or I can print with supports, which is my preference. Given the 7 hour print time, though, that too will wait a while. I'll print up the lid in the morning. I'm working in sketchup to create it and use a plugin I found on the makerbot blog to export to STL. I'm extremely pleased with how that part works but not so much with the little problems. Currently the worst is the stuff not cooling fast enough as it comes out. I think we need to put it in a cooler place. Dan thinks it needs more air movement or that there's a fan not running. I will look at the fan tomorrow, and try printing with the door open. we'll see. I'm not at a point where I'd publish the model yet but I see great potential for it on my etsy shop with my painting skills. With the 3d doodler pen and the PLA filament I just ordered, I can also patch and fix them better. Right now we're seeing a lot of holes in the print caused by poor filament feed. Not sure why it's feeding so badly, but it results in a worm-eaten look. The 3d pen could be used to patch these holes as well as reattach or replace broken detailing, attach smaller parts into a larger part, add unique decoration on the surface that the printer couldn't do, and more! It's too bad it uses a smaller filament guage than our makerbot or I'd just use that stuff in it.
Ok, bedtime, really. I'm having so much trouble sleeping, I should hit the pain pills tonight.
Well anyway. Found some inspiration for my 3doodler pen so after a year of owning it and being merely offended with it, I think it's going to become useful. I've ordered some PLA with it. Why they included 2 abs and no pla sticks I don't know. I've learned that I can make a surface sticky with hairspray, paper, or acetone melted abs to get the drawing to start. I've learned from my 3d printer what sorts of structure forms to aim for. Now I've seen some ideas where you start on the flat but peel up the 2d into 3d space and add more on the 2d level as you go. Or build in flats and glue together at angles to each other, etc. Once a base structure exists in the vertical, you can start hanging strands and objects into it as well. Flat objects can be bent into shape and deformed gently while warm also, so you can build perhaps a buckyball form on the flat then fold it and glue it into a nice bucky sphere. These could be wrapped around other things, or put onto other forms to build up strong stable forms in 3 dimensions. If you want to be technical, use clear glass prepped with a dissolved abs smear and put it over a design you'll follow. Yes, I see it in my head, this is going to be fun. But it's thursday before I can find time to play again. The weather has gone up again so it's time to get out and get groceries tomorrow. On Wednesday an artist is coming around to set up a commission for some motorscooter goggles and jeweller's spectacles with brass articulated loupe lenses.
Whew, that'll be interesting!
I've been building a treasure chest with shod feet. The boots were easier to make than paws but even they are turning out to be too detailled for our printer. The box base which printed best needs the horizontal ledges tapered in spots so they work without supports, or I can print with supports, which is my preference. Given the 7 hour print time, though, that too will wait a while. I'll print up the lid in the morning. I'm working in sketchup to create it and use a plugin I found on the makerbot blog to export to STL. I'm extremely pleased with how that part works but not so much with the little problems. Currently the worst is the stuff not cooling fast enough as it comes out. I think we need to put it in a cooler place. Dan thinks it needs more air movement or that there's a fan not running. I will look at the fan tomorrow, and try printing with the door open. we'll see. I'm not at a point where I'd publish the model yet but I see great potential for it on my etsy shop with my painting skills. With the 3d doodler pen and the PLA filament I just ordered, I can also patch and fix them better. Right now we're seeing a lot of holes in the print caused by poor filament feed. Not sure why it's feeding so badly, but it results in a worm-eaten look. The 3d pen could be used to patch these holes as well as reattach or replace broken detailing, attach smaller parts into a larger part, add unique decoration on the surface that the printer couldn't do, and more! It's too bad it uses a smaller filament guage than our makerbot or I'd just use that stuff in it.
Ok, bedtime, really. I'm having so much trouble sleeping, I should hit the pain pills tonight.