Get Ahead with 3D Printing

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I have an odd problem with using Autodesk Print Studio. It uses a completely different approach to supports to Cura, and also allows you to easily slice bits of badly designed parts and print them as multiple items for gluing together.

The problem is that when it starts a print it goes down on the z-axis flat out, and can stall the steppers (perhaps I need to up the current a bit?) There's no dedicated setting for z-speed, so I can't slow it down without slowing down the whole print process.

When this happens the two Z-axis steppers can get slightly out of synch, upsetting the carefully done bed levelling.

So, I thought, I'll stick a little pointer on top of each z-axis screw so I can easily see if the two steppers are, ahem, in step.

Then I had a better idea, grabbed an STL of thingiverse, added a 5mm hole in Turbocad and…

Hopefully, by their vigilance at all points of the compass they will also keep the three evil spirits of poor bed adhesion, combing and filament stripping at bay!

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Neil, instead of the skulls why not print a couple of toothed pulleys and put a belt between the two shafts? Should then keep them in step, perhaps!

John

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Journeyman on 06/05/2017 15:47:00:

Neil, instead of the skulls why not print a couple of toothed pulleys and put a belt between the two shafts? Should then keep them in step, perhaps!

John

It's been done, but to be honest the skulls have now shown me that the two steppers DON'T get out of step when they stall.

Also, the skulls are much more fun

I wish I could find a setting to stop this as it affects about 1 in 3 print runs, but never happens with Cura. At leats it always happens in the first few seconds, not 8 hours in!

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

Can you tell your slicer to add A feedrate instruction or edit the gcode manually .. to include a feedrate…otherwise marlin (are you using marlin?) has g codes to to set max feedrate

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Yes, Marlin-based firmware, at least it works fine using Ultimaker settings in other programs as well a the custom ones that came for Cura. Cura has some really good points, like 'invisible' and very effective repairs, but the only slice it does is to let you 'sink' the model into the baseplate, autodesk lets you have much more control and do multiple slices. I am just getting the knack of using Turbocad to edit STLs. The latest version of Cura has lots of bells and whistles but seems to have lost even the 'sink' option.

Still making baby-steps with g-code. It's probably the most unpleasant programming language aside from the ones written to be deliberately obscure. I found controlling a dot-matrix printer with escape codes easier!

Big challenge for me now is to find a few more 'engineering' projects to prove the usefulness of 3D printing.

Neil

[Nick HulmeParticipant @nickhulme30114]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 06/05/2017 16:32:02:

Big challenge for me now is to find a few more 'engineering' projects to prove the usefulness of 3D printing.

Neil

Neil,

Custom brackets for switches and sensors along with enclosures for the associated electronics and displays come to mind.

– Nick

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Nick Hulme on 31/05/2017 15:52:22:

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 06/05/2017 16:32:02:

Big challenge for me now is to find a few more 'engineering' projects to prove the usefulness of 3D printing.

Neil

Neil,

Custom brackets for switches and sensors along with enclosures for the associated electronics and displays come to mind.

– Nick

Indeed you are right.

I've come up with a few ideas, one of them will be in the next Ed's Bench, another is a remote on/off switch for the ATX power supply, which Stub Mandrel has put on Thingiverse.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2339808

Neil

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