AUSTIN 3D Printing
3D Printing Thoughts
The 3D Printing Process
Last thoughts
- Obtaining a file to print:
- Or designing your own
- TinkerCAD - Mostly uses standard shapes to combine and subtract from each other
- Fusion 360 - indeed free for hobbyists/makers
- Sketchup - for super quick and easy designs, also in cloud these days
- Slicer Software - Feel free to contact me for slicer settings
- Simplify3D - about $150, I cannot recommend highly enough for FDM (fused deposition modeling) printers like the Creality Ender 3 - not sure about resin style printers. PS: There is going to get a paid update in the next few months I think to v5, so you may want to think about holding out until then to pay.
- Cura - I don't have tons of experience with it but it seems to be the next top slicer software and is free
- Slic3r - This is the free open source slicing program that I’ve heard is next best after Cura. (There are open source versions of this with Beta software like Non-planar 3d printing as shown here)
- Just a note, my understanding is that most resin style printers will primarily have to use the manufacturers software for this slicing step.
- 3D Printer
- I personally love the Creality Ender 3. It seems to have cut the costs where acceptable - like the frame being extruded aluminum - but that also makes the printer frame much more rigid and strong; whilst keeping the important things like the high end motors, belts, and hot end extruder good quality. If you see the Creality Ender 3 Pro, it does have improvements, but not worth the extra cost in my opinion. Links to deals below:
- Another notable printer is the Prusa MK3 - very similar to the Ender 3, but cost is about 5 times as much.
Last thoughts
- Filament - I love the Hatchbox brand on Amazon. Only ever $20 a spool and they have great stuff. There is cheaper stuff, but Hatchbox really does a great job and I don’t ever intend on even trying others unless I need to.
- Edit- Hatchbox is still great but sometimes limited in inventory so you may look at MatterHacker’s Build Series Filament.
- Youtube and other great resources:
- Maker’s Muse - has really great advice for print settings and little techniques for 3d printing. One notable one that I forgot to mention was especially for the red ABS, after removing the support pieces on the bottom of the discs there are lots of white lines where the plastic broke away (crystallization I think, you probably actually know what's going on there) and in order to get rid of that a few quick swipes from a heat gun reset the plastic enough to make the bottom the uniform red color again. This video has a few of his thoughts on a resin printer. He has tons of great tips and advice from better designing practices for 3d applications, to small settings changes that make great improvements on your prints.
- Thomas Sanladerer - I haven’t seen all of his stuff, but he has some cool projects as well as a few videos on 3d printing tips and notable printers.
- CNC Kitchen - Lots of great things you can do like heat setting threaded inserts into prints if you want metal screw threads for really strong parts along with in depth guides for how slicer settings affect part strength.
- 3D Printing Nerd - Less about tips, more about showcasing larger prints usually, but still quite informative.
- This Simplify3D Guide is incredible, especially when I was a lot newer to 3d printing I was on this page at least every week multiple times.
- Markforged video - just a 3 min video about 3d printing in general. I just got it in my email and its pretty good.
What is Octoprint and how is it used?
OctoPrint Server Abilities
Next, once the file is sliced and we have a printer, we can either take that .gcode file and place it on the SD card or upload it to an OctoPrint server connected to the 3d printer. For printing using the SD card, you will simply power on the machine and insert the SD card, then using the on-screen menu select the file you want to print. The RaspberryPi server however, runs an operating system called "OctoPrint" that lets the user log in remotely from the printer (you can use LogMeIn to connect to another machine in the same network if you're away) and upload the necessary .gcode files as well as view the machine and control it using a connected webcam.
Setup for OcotoPrint is relatively easy and there is a great video on the downloads page of the site shown here.
OctoPrint Hardware:
OctoPrint auto send sliced .gcode to printer from Cura/Simplify3dPaste this code in your slicer “post slice script” section:
curl -k -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR API KEY" -F "select=true" -F "print=true" -F "file=@[output_filepath]" "http://octopi.local/api/files/local" {STRIP "; postProcessing"}
OctoPrint Plugins - OctoPrint allows users to install plugins in order to provide remote connectivity and improved ease of use. Some of these plugins installed include:
AstroPrint: is a cloud platform that basically provides a way to connect to the printer when outside of the network. It also has features like searching for files on Thingiverse (popular 3d printing file repository) and printing right from your phone. I mainly use this as a backup access option in case my preferred monitoring plugins are not functioning properly.
Filament Manager: is about what it sounds like. Simply put, you can add "rolls" of filament to the settings pane of this plugin and if you keep the correct spool selected during prints, you can get a pretty accurate idea of how much filament is left and it can warn you if you won't have enough filament for a 3d printing job.
NavBar Temperature Plugin: may not be installed but is pretty self explanatory. I mainly use this to be sure the Raspberry Pi processor is not getting too hot. If it gets too hot it can have negative effects on your print. (Our Raspberry Pi has been set up outside the heated enclosure and also has a fan and heatsink so this ~shouldn't~ be an issue)
Remote Power Control: is not a plugin; rather it is the physical "Vesync" smart power plug that controls the printer's power. This is a good time to mention that you can download the Vesync app for the smart outlet here for IOS and it has great utilities like notification center widgets on iPhone, as well as on/off timers so you can have a print turn off ~30 minutes after it finishes in the middle of the night.
OctoLapse: Is not always used but simply put, it allows the user more control over time lapses. This can produce nice Instagram vibe time lapses such as this.
PolarCloud: is another highly preferred remote monitoring platform that allows features like remote monitoring and control, but the best feature is the ability to upload .gcode files for printing. This site is not super intuitive but you can probably figure it out with some time.
PrintTimeGenius Plugin: is simply a background tool that scans past .gcode files and compares them to how long they ~actually~ took to print so it can give better print time details based on the specific Flashforge printer we are using. Scanned files have a yellow star next to them.
Pushbullet: This is simply a notification plugin that sends a feed of images giving the user a periodic update on whatever is printing. Updates are given about every 120 minutes during a 3d print. You can access the website here or install the IOS app here --if you already use Pushbullet for other notifications such as Plex you can simply follow
The Spaghetti Detective: is currently still in beta but has powerful AI software that watches your 3d prints and notifies you (email, pushbullet, or even SMS text) if a print looks like it is messing up and spitting out spaghetti looking plastic, instead of completing a print. The software can even automatically pause or cancel your print. I just have it notify me on Pushbullet and text typically. Their site is here and is currently set up using my personal access token for ease, so if you're reading this, go ahead and make an account here and swap out the access token in the OctoPrint settings for SpeghettiDectective with your new one found by clicking the "Add Printer" button on the Spaghetti Detective site and go through the process.
Next, once the file is sliced and we have a printer, we can either take that .gcode file and place it on the SD card or upload it to an OctoPrint server connected to the 3d printer. For printing using the SD card, you will simply power on the machine and insert the SD card, then using the on-screen menu select the file you want to print. The RaspberryPi server however, runs an operating system called "OctoPrint" that lets the user log in remotely from the printer (you can use LogMeIn to connect to another machine in the same network if you're away) and upload the necessary .gcode files as well as view the machine and control it using a connected webcam.
Setup for OcotoPrint is relatively easy and there is a great video on the downloads page of the site shown here.
OctoPrint Hardware:
- RaspberryPi 3B+
- HeatSink to be sure it doesn't overheat
- Most webcams work fine
- Fan for 3d printed Case
- 3D Printed Case
- USB cable
- Use a good 5V power supply for OctoPrint such as a large iPad charging block
OctoPrint auto send sliced .gcode to printer from Cura/Simplify3dPaste this code in your slicer “post slice script” section:
curl -k -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR API KEY" -F "select=true" -F "print=true" -F "file=@[output_filepath]" "http://octopi.local/api/files/local" {STRIP "; postProcessing"}
OctoPrint Plugins - OctoPrint allows users to install plugins in order to provide remote connectivity and improved ease of use. Some of these plugins installed include:
AstroPrint: is a cloud platform that basically provides a way to connect to the printer when outside of the network. It also has features like searching for files on Thingiverse (popular 3d printing file repository) and printing right from your phone. I mainly use this as a backup access option in case my preferred monitoring plugins are not functioning properly.
Filament Manager: is about what it sounds like. Simply put, you can add "rolls" of filament to the settings pane of this plugin and if you keep the correct spool selected during prints, you can get a pretty accurate idea of how much filament is left and it can warn you if you won't have enough filament for a 3d printing job.
NavBar Temperature Plugin: may not be installed but is pretty self explanatory. I mainly use this to be sure the Raspberry Pi processor is not getting too hot. If it gets too hot it can have negative effects on your print. (Our Raspberry Pi has been set up outside the heated enclosure and also has a fan and heatsink so this ~shouldn't~ be an issue)
Remote Power Control: is not a plugin; rather it is the physical "Vesync" smart power plug that controls the printer's power. This is a good time to mention that you can download the Vesync app for the smart outlet here for IOS and it has great utilities like notification center widgets on iPhone, as well as on/off timers so you can have a print turn off ~30 minutes after it finishes in the middle of the night.
OctoLapse: Is not always used but simply put, it allows the user more control over time lapses. This can produce nice Instagram vibe time lapses such as this.
PolarCloud: is another highly preferred remote monitoring platform that allows features like remote monitoring and control, but the best feature is the ability to upload .gcode files for printing. This site is not super intuitive but you can probably figure it out with some time.
PrintTimeGenius Plugin: is simply a background tool that scans past .gcode files and compares them to how long they ~actually~ took to print so it can give better print time details based on the specific Flashforge printer we are using. Scanned files have a yellow star next to them.
Pushbullet: This is simply a notification plugin that sends a feed of images giving the user a periodic update on whatever is printing. Updates are given about every 120 minutes during a 3d print. You can access the website here or install the IOS app here --if you already use Pushbullet for other notifications such as Plex you can simply follow
The Spaghetti Detective: is currently still in beta but has powerful AI software that watches your 3d prints and notifies you (email, pushbullet, or even SMS text) if a print looks like it is messing up and spitting out spaghetti looking plastic, instead of completing a print. The software can even automatically pause or cancel your print. I just have it notify me on Pushbullet and text typically. Their site is here and is currently set up using my personal access token for ease, so if you're reading this, go ahead and make an account here and swap out the access token in the OctoPrint settings for SpeghettiDectective with your new one found by clicking the "Add Printer" button on the Spaghetti Detective site and go through the process.
