Month: October 2017

Where do you keep your 3D printer ?

I want to buy a 3D printer. I came to know that the fumes from melting ABS or PLA filaments are injurious to health.Is it true that the smell is very high ? Where do you keep your 3D printers ?I don’t want to keep my printer in garage or some unattended place as it can catch fire. http://ift.tt/2y7AIby

Maker Select v2 vs Taz 6 (Unfair but interesting Comparison)

My first and only 3D printer was the Taz 6. I’ve been printing on it for over a year and have gone through probably 30+ spools of filament. I love the machine and would buy another one if given the chance.I was intrigued by the relatively low price and community around the Monoprice Maker Select v2. When it went on sale last week I picked one up for $250. I really didn’t know what to expect.When I first un-boxed the hardware it looked really flimsy and I wasn’t even sure if it was going to print. The sheet metal holding the Y axis pulley wasn’t square and a few other things just looked off.I setup the machine in about 10 minutes and began doing this “bed leveling” I had read so much about (but never experienced.) I leveled the bed so close to Z-Zero that the nozzle scraped against the build plate. It was actually so tight that the plate blocked the filament and created a clog between the nozzle entrance and the feeder. After an hour of messing with the machine I put it away.Next day I decided to take another stab at it. I took apart the extruder assembly and removed the blockage. I re-leveled the bed and gave a little bit more room on the Z axis. I printed one of the sample files and it came out pretty decent.I moved onto to setting up Cura. I downloaded the latest version and followed a few different instructions. No matter what I did the printer was behaving erratically. It would print a small section, move to the limits of the X axis, print a small section, move to the limits of the Y axis, and repeat. Almost like it was trying to re-home every 10 seconds. I swore a bunch and then put everything away.The next day I decided to take the version of Cura from the sd card that came with the Maker Select. This worked perfectly from the start. The version is older but seems to be similar to the Lulzbot version of Cura.I moved onto printing a Benchy. The sample prints had all used pretty large rafts that took awhile to print. I don’t like rafts and have traditionally done skirts on my Taz. The first two prints failed because they didn’t stick to the bed. I increased my first layer width to 125% and the third print stuck. It took about 1:25 to print @ .3mm per layer.Overall I was really impressed with the benchy results. It had a few more defects than the Taz but it was much closer than I had expected. Being encouraged by what the printer had done so far, I ordered a glass bed and thicker Y Carriage Plate. I plan on doing the Z axis brace as well.So while the Taz 6 is clearly the superior printer, I’m very happy with my purchase of the Maker Select. There is a certain comfort in knowing exactly how something works. While the Taz is pretty much set it and forget it, the Maker Select requires some struggle. This learning curve has a benefit in that it makes you familiar with the machine. I’m confident now that I can do some of the mods and get my prints looking great.The Taz is a workhorse. It will print for months with no maintenance or failed prints. It’s also quite a bit faster. I can print decent looking benchys in 30 minutes. When I tried to push the Maker Select my benchys turned to shit. I imagine with some of the stiffness and cooling mods I can push it harder.Even though the Maker Select is 1/10 the price of the Taz, I still find the Taz to be worth the price. The combination of build area, reliability, and ease of use make the Taz unique. It fits my requirements for a printer. If I wasn’t print as much and I didn’t need a large build area, I could see the Maker Select as a great and affordable solution. http://ift.tt/2wEoCn7