Month: September 2016

Plastic leaking up through the hotend, dripping into prints, causing a lot of problems

I have a folgertech Kossel 2020, this is the closest picture I could find, this is what I have minus the dual fan aluminum plate thing.Plastic is leaking up through the bottom (Where there’s a gap between the hotend and the heatsink), spilling over the hotend, sliding down the hotend (in the process plugging up the set screws for the thermistor, let’s hope that never craps out), crawling under, down the nozzle, and finally, onto the print.Basically, every 45-60 minutes it globs down onto the print. Then it solidifies, and then when the nozzle smacks into the glob, it’s pretty loud, and about 50% of the time the belts skip on the gears, ruining the print. Anyone have any ideas? http://ift.tt/2cdEHJD

Is wet PLA conductive?

Greetings, hiveMind!The Title says it all – almost. Probably the PLA must be wet with salt water or other impurities. So if this is true, can we not make semiconductor circuits by adjusting the impurities in the water? What about PLA-based metal filaments like CopperFill and all those other “Fill” filaments?Maybe we will use non-porous filaments as the insulators and wet paths or hollows to guide the different semiconducting liquids to their junctions, and “wet” PLA for the conductors. This circuit block would be any shape and possibly operate in a few tanks of liquid, be water cooled, and make circuits?Just curious, Les http://ift.tt/2c5r8KX

Unified Bed Leveling only scans 6 points on the bed as opposed to 16

For the unitiated, I’m using the absolute bleeding edge branch of Marlin devel-ubl, which provides an automated mechanism for mesh based leveling..So looking at the main readme, I sent G29 P1 M, however, only 6 points on the bed gets scanned.In my firmware I have set the following:#define MESH_MIN_X X_MIN_POS #define MESH_MAX_X X_MAX_POS #define MESH_MIN_Y Y_MIN_POS #define MESH_MAX_Y Y_MAX_POS #define MESH_NUM_X_POINTS 4 // Don’t use more than 15 points per axis #define MESH_NUM_Y_POINTS 4 #define MESH_HOME_SEARCH_Z 4 As per the screenshot: http://ift.tt/2bRb3sE It is clearly visible that there are 16 points that need to be populated, however only 6 are set.Anybody have a clue?Thanks http://ift.tt/2bYAc1L

Buying the Monoprice Maker Ultimate 3D printer. What is the absolute toughest, no-compromises, stinky filament money can buy?

I’m looking for the absolute toughest (structurally) filament money can buy that my chosen printer can print. Think things like hood struts or casters for heavy objects. Is it Triton, nylon, or something else? Thanks. I don’t know if any all-metal hot ends are available for this printer yet (doubt it), but how does Ultem compare to the rest? I’m guessing I probably can’t print ultem at all with this, though – the temperature would melt any plastic parts inside the print envelope. http://ift.tt/2bYnwb2

Folgertech FT-5 or Makerfarm Pegasus 12″?

By the end of the month I’ll most likely get another 3D printer and thus time I’m going bigger and I’ve narrowed it down to two options. Either the Folgertech FT-5 or the Makerfarm Pegasus 12″. Here’s the pros and cons I’ve come uo with between the two.FT-5 (Cost: $499)Pros● Has a bigger Z axis of about 51mm ● Costs $151 dollars less ● Larger community than Makerfarm Pegasus (as of right now I cannot seem to find a Pegasus Facebook group) ● Can print at high speeds ● Can print accuratelyCons● (I haven’t ever bought from Folgertech before, I’m going off of what others say) Instructions are confusing ● Can be a hassle to wireMakerfarm Pegasus 12″ (Cost: $645)Pros● Sells E3D Titan and E3D V6 along with Printer for less than what you’d pay for at competitors (Titan plus E3D V6 combo is $77 dollars if I remember) ● More easier instructions from what I’ve heard ● Rock solid constructionCons● Community lacking (again can’t seem to find a Makerfarm Pegasus Facebook group. I mean if Robo3D can have one why can’t the Pegasus have one?) ● Costs for than FT-5 ● Not a whole lot of mods out there for the Pegasus in comparison to the FT-5In all as of right now I am leaning towards an FT-5 because I am within budget of the printer and I’ll also slap a Titan and Volcano on it as well (also side question how does the Volcano fair out with flexible filaments because I have a roll of Ninjaflex that still needs printing) but I’m open to changing my mind. All comments and input welcome. http://ift.tt/2cdcClI

Best “frame and hardware” only kit I can use my old printer’s electronics with?

So a while ago I built a Prusa i3 I bought for cheap and it has been through a lot, many upgrades, different extruders, taller frame, things like that. I am tired of that printer now and just want to experiment with some other types of printers, maybe a delta printer? Is there any frame and hardware only kits people can recommend that I can transfer the electronics from my old Prusa into? Thanks! http://ift.tt/2cfYDK7