3D Printing

[GregLaROCHE]

3D printing looks to be really interesting. I’ve bought myself a printer and want to get started designing items in Tinkercad and printing them. Are there 3D printers here who can give me direction to where I can learn more about putting the entire process together? Most of the videos I’ve watched have have been difficult to understand because the software they are using seems to be a different version from what I’ve been able to download. I’ve gotten pretty good with Tinkercad, but am running into problems getting my designs loaded into a slicer and then into the printer.

I am using a Flashforge Creator Pro and have tried to use their Flash Print as well as Cura slicer. For sure part of the problem is that I haven’t been fooling a lot with computers for many years now. Just simple Word or Excel and email, has been all I’ve needed them for.

Any particular videos on the subject and perhaps a good forum, where they are discussed, would be quite helpful.

Thanks

[RedlegEd]

Hi,
Congratulations on getting into something new. I've only been printing for a year or so, and have learned a few things, but mostly, it's been by watching videos and trial and error. One thing I might suggest, if you haven't already done so, is to start printing simple items from Thingiverse. This is mostly just to get to know your printer, how it works, and what slicer settings seem to run best. I use Cura as a slicer, but there are many others that are very good. Chuck Hellebuyck on YouTube has a channel called "CHEP (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsdc_0ZTXikARFEn2dRDJhg)" and he does a great job explains things very well. It will be a learning curve for you, but if you can cast bullets, and reload ammunition safely, there's no reason you can't do this too. Just remember you can't learn it quickly and easily, so take the "crawl, walk, run" approach by learning how to print first, then move on to design.
Ed

[Kyle M.]

I've only been printing since April of 2018, and I still have a lot to learn. I started out using Cura but there are so many options you can turn on that it can be overwhelming. Of course these advanced options are great if you are an advanced user. I switched to Prusa slic3r and have been using it ever since with no issues. It just seems like an easier slicer to use to me. I got my base setting from YouTube videos and then researched and tinkered from there. I have only ever printed PLA and PETG myself and I try to avoid prints with supports because it's a lot of cleanup work. I have the Monoprice Maker Select V2, which is the same printer as the Wanhao Duplicator i3 but rebranded.

[flyingmonkey35]

Ive been buliding and using 3d printers since 2014.

Pm me if you have quesitons

I have several cartisions (prusa stlye)
A few delta,s

And two sla printers.

I really need to sell a few of them.

I really like prusaslicr as its free and updated a lot.

Simplyfi3d is still the best paid one out there.

You will find that pla will work for 90% of all your parts.

If you need it stronger go petg.

Stay away from nylon and carbon fiber filimants. They are insanly expenaive and require a heated build chmaber.

Abs is tricky in its own right. But will make lovely strong prints. But needs a box to keep the temp stable.


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[lksmith]

Been tinkering with 3d printers a few years now, but far from an expert. Started with an Anet A8 (Prusa i3 clone)since it seemed popular, but I just don't have the time or patience to tinker with it. Went to a Davinci Pro Jr 1.0, it's a single head, non heated bed, plug and play type printer.
Been very pleased with it. Just got a BIBO dual extruder that I have yet to set up.
I use Solidworks for my designs, I just couldn't get the sketchups and tinkerCAD's to do what I want. For a slicer I use Cura. I did learn that you want to keep your filament in a drybox of sorts.
About pulled my hair out trying to figure out why my printer suddenly wouldn't print worth a flip, turns out filament had absorbed too much humidity from the air. Dried it in an oven and like magic it worked again

Welcome to the hobby can be fun and/or frustrating. I bought into the media hype about being able to easily print guns (stupid to believe anything they say I know) so was disappointed because it wasn't as easy as it was made out to be and I had gotten my hopes up too much about it. However I realized I needed to take it slow and start small and have enjoyed it since.

[Scrounge]

3D printing looks to be really interesting. I’ve bought myself a printer and want to get started designing items in Tinkercad and printing them. Are there 3D printers here who can give me direction to where I can learn more about putting the entire process together? Most of the videos I’ve watched have have been difficult to understand because the software they are using seems to be a different version from what I’ve been able to download. I’ve gotten pretty good with Tinkercad, but am running into problems getting my designs loaded into a slicer and then into the printer.

I am using a Flashforge Creator Pro and have tried to use their Flash Print as well as Cura slicer. For sure part of the problem is that I haven’t been fooling a lot with computers for many years now. Just simple Word or Excel and email, has been all I’ve needed them for.

Any particular videos on the subject and perhaps a good forum, where they are discussed, would be quite helpful.

Thanks

There is a 3D Printing subforum under special projects, now, since it keeps coming up. https://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?329-3D-PRINTED-RELATED-ITEMS

I own a 3D printing group at groups.io, https://groups.io/g/3D-Printing-for-Metal-Hobbyists

and I'm a member of a group that discusses 3D printing, CNC, etc., also at groups.io https://groups.io/g/digitalhobbyist

None of these groups are there to make money, they're groups for hobbyists to talk to other hobbyists, and I don't make any money recommending them, either.

Bill

[bakerjw]

Save silica packs. Everyone saves them for me. You dry them in an oven and put them with your filament to keep them dry. PLA will absorb moisture.

Thingiverse is a great place for projects to print to get a feel for setting up your printer. I recently printed out a few dozen cappers for cap and ball pistols that everyone wanted.

[bruce drake]

have patience and let the machine run! ;) I've done die boxes, ammo boxes, accessories for the presses and a ton of other items I've found on he web that caught my interest. a little addictive.. ;)

[Scrounge]

have patience and let the machine run! ;) I've done die boxes, ammo boxes, accessories for the presses and a ton of other items I've found on he web that caught my interest. a little addictive.. ;)
That only works if you have stable power. Get a momentary blackout or brownout, and the printer can either quit entirely, or go nuts and either ruins the print. Can also waste filament. There is a reason some folks have a camera pointed at their printer, and/or an UPS to keep it powered. We get a lot of power hits in my neighborhood, and I've seen both things happen during a long print session. YMMV, of course. Sometimes everything works perfectly, too.

[Handloader109]

Good luck. I started with a cheapie that I put together and I bought a pruisa mk3s last year and there is a world of difference in fighting to get a cheap printer going well and just printing with petg and pla with almost zero failure. zyltech, a d Paramount are two material suppliers that are both good and decently priced

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[GregLaROCHE]

Thanks for all the help and advice. I finally got past an obstacle when I found out that I had downloaded the wrong program. The title was the same except for two different letters. I’ve been able to print a baby Yoda and the printer is now half way through a 3D Benchy, that looks like it’s going to turn out fine. Next I need to start with some of my own designs. Thanks again to all.

[MrWolf]

I've printed a lot of organizing items like battery storage, coin battery, socket, and wrench organizers. Definitely need to learn to do my own programming. Hardest part for me so far has been finding the right setting for PETG on my Creality cr6-se printer. Got PLA down but the filament does not work for everything. I had already installed a back up power supply became loose power briefly quite a lot around here and my generator does not kick in for five seconds.