The 3d printer has been running nearly non-stop since I received it, and thus far, I have been very happy with the results. The sample filament didn’t last very long, but my first major project is to create an “upgrade” to the machine itself, which adds adjustable feet to help with leveling and a strong brace to help keep the z-axis perpendicular. Over time, the z-axis will tend to lean, which this should avoid, and leveling is a pain in the stock machine. Most of the parts are pretty fast to print, though I have made them longer due to bundling numerous models in a single run. The main supports of course take the longest thus far, but turned out decently well.
In the process, I am learning all about how to use Cura for converting to Gcode, Tinkercad for creating 3d STL files, and a bit of Photoshop, Inkscape, and Blender for converting 2d images into solid 3d models. Challenging, but my general engineering background makes most of the concepts familiar, even if I don’t know what I am doing.
As a side benefit which I didn’t realize at first – when Cura does the slicing for the GCode, it also creates an estimate of the amount of material required. Based on my informal testing and models, this is surprisingly accurate. Which in turn makes it much easier to predict how much filament you will need to finish a given project, or if the spool has enough remaining. With some basic cataloging and inventory tracking, it should be possible to minimize the amount of waste.
My first custom project is going to be a set of rubber stamps (TPU filament), using the sports team’s logo as the basis. The design is ready, I am waiting for a spool of flexible NinjaFlex to arrive this week to actually try the printing.
