148 replies to this topic

[starcraftjunkie]

I'm slightly embarrassed to say I use Tinkercad.  I run Linux, and not many user or cost friendly options there.  I can kick out a pretty simple design pretty quickly with the Tinkercad site.

 

I've been having nothing but problems with SketchUp. I'm moving onto Fusion 3D from AutoDesk because I have a student license so it's all free to me. My SketchUp model didn't agree with my printers printing software. I cannot use 3rd party software which sucks.

[noebl1]

A friend of mine uses Fusion and raves about it. There is a Web based version they are moving to, so hoping they continue the free hobbyist version and I can use that

[noebl1]

Today's design experiment;  small formicarium that goes onto a boxbox container for hydration. Purpose is to fill with a mix of coconut fiber and sand, with a 3.4mm gap between the glass and the bottom within the large section.  The T shape is for a small about of hydrostone to hydrate from the bottom.  The theory being such a small surface area for hydration could be offset by the coconut fiber absorbing moisture, so didn't want too much hydration.  Was thinking with very very small ants like Ponera and Brachymyrmex, could burrow thru the 3.4mm of substrate more naturally, and potentially be seen from above.  The area on the top is similar to the AC Test Tube portals, so a removeable mesh screen cover for maintenance or adding food.   1/4" ID Vinyl tubing can be inserted, though guessing could be superfluous unless need the ants to move.  

 

EDIT:  Bottom area is 3x4" in size for scale.

 

 

Edited by noebl1, December 10 2017 - 2:22 PM.

[Pyrosmog]

I've recently been designing 3D printed nests for my tetramorium colonies as well! I'm a noob at keeping ants, this is my first year to have a colony with workers. If I need to patch any holes  on the interior of my print, any recommendations for filler material that would be ants friendly?

 

Here was my first attempt: hexagonal pattern wrapped around a cylinder with moist cotton in the middle. I'm working on an improvement for this one that will let me hydrate the nest without having to remove the outworld.

 

And here is the one I'm printing right now:

[noebl1]

I've recently been designing 3D printed nests for my tetramorium colonies as well! I'm a noob at keeping ants, this is my first year to have a colony with workers. If I need to patch any holes  on the interior of my print, any recommendations for filler material that would be ants friendly?

 

Here was my first attempt: hexagonal pattern wrapped around a cylinder with moist cotton in the middle. I'm working on an improvement for this one that will let me hydrate the nest without having to remove the outworld.

 

 

That's pretty cool, the cylinder design is really creative; hadn't thought of something like that before.  Is the lower one a maze converted to nest design?  I hadn't thought of that either.  I had been drawing them out and exporting designs as an SVG in 2d, then importing into Tinkercad to turn into 3d chambers.

 

I haven't found anything I like yet to fix them...  I've been considering something like this for repairing prints: http://the3doodler.com/

 

One of the parts I had purchased for my new printer broke this week; turns out the guy printing the parts skimped some and I snapped a low infilled clip for the fan shroud.  Spent the weekend rebuilding it with a better fan and repairing it, really close but not quite happy with the results yet.  Ahh the joys of 3d printing

[Lazarus]

Loving all the ideas, tips, and samples here. Have not done any 3D printing myself but I wanted to tell others that they should check out their local library, especially if they live in larger cities.

One branch of our city library has two quality 3D printers as well as two laser cutters. They are free to use, but you pay for any filament used. You do have to book about a month in advance which is the only issue.

They also have a free mandatory short course I took where they explain the basic of how to use them. The hard part for me is finding the time for some designs I had in mind.

Feel free to share STL files.

[starcraftjunkie]

A friend of mine uses Fusion and raves about it. There is a Web based version they are moving to, so hoping they continue the free hobbyist version and I can use that

It's not intuitive at all. It's been a major struggle. I'm getting the hang of it. It seems more like a "I want to sit here for hours doing tedious adjustments, but make them 100% precision" kind of software. Whereas sketchup is more a quick thing that doesn't really have much support for 3D printing.

 

I've recently been designing 3D printed nests for my tetramorium colonies as well! I'm a noob at keeping ants, this is my first year to have a colony with workers. If I need to patch any holes  on the interior of my print, any recommendations for filler material that would be ants friendly?

 

Here was my first attempt: hexagonal pattern wrapped around a cylinder with moist cotton in the middle. I'm working on an improvement for this one that will let me hydrate the nest without having to remove the outworld.

 

And here is the one I'm printing right now:

 

Fancy. I would suggest silicone that's good for aquariums to seal cracks and whatnot. Just make sure it has time to cure and has no ants in it while you do it.

Show me a finished one!

 

 

 

I've recently been designing 3D printed nests for my tetramorium colonies as well! I'm a noob at keeping ants, this is my first year to have a colony with workers. If I need to patch any holes  on the interior of my print, any recommendations for filler material that would be ants friendly?

 

Here was my first attempt: hexagonal pattern wrapped around a cylinder with moist cotton in the middle. I'm working on an improvement for this one that will let me hydrate the nest without having to remove the outworld.

 

 

That's pretty cool, the cylinder design is really creative; hadn't thought of something like that before.  Is the lower one a maze converted to nest design?  I hadn't thought of that either.  I had been drawing them out and exporting designs as an SVG in 2d, then importing into Tinkercad to turn into 3d chambers.

 

I haven't found anything I like yet to fix them...  I've been considering something like this for repairing prints: http://the3doodler.com/

 

One of the parts I had purchased for my new printer broke this week; turns out the guy printing the parts skimped some and I snapped a low infilled clip for the fan shroud.  Spent the weekend rebuilding it with a better fan and repairing it, really close but not quite happy with the results yet.  Ahh the joys of 3d printing

 

 

I had success on https://makeprintable.com/It's pretty neat and fixed one of mine that SketchUp exported. It's more geared for people paying though, so no good for budget people like me.

 

 

Loving all the ideas, tips, and samples here. Have not done any 3D printing myself but I wanted to tell others that they should check out their local library, especially if they live in larger cities.

One branch of our city library has two quality 3D printers as well as two laser cutters. They are free to use, but you pay for any filament used. You do have to book about a month in advance which is the only issue.

They also have a free mandatory short course I took where they explain the basic of how to use them. The hard part for me is finding the time for some designs I had in mind.

Feel free to share STL files.

 

Hit me up in a message, I could probably put together a ZIP file with all my STL files I've used so far. Save you time and effort.

 

 

 

 

 

Finals for school are finally over. Between work I'll actually finish a design. I've been set back way too much. I feel Fusion 360 will be what I need to finish it though. I also wish I had a better 3D printer, my school one is pretty hit or miss.

[noebl1]

 

Finals for school are finally over. Between work I'll actually finish a design. I've been set back way too much. I feel Fusion 360 will be what I need to finish it though. I also wish I had a better 3D printer, my school one is pretty hit or miss.

 

 

I think that's fairly true for most consumer/prosumer printers; they can be finicky and require maintenance.  My first printer was Solidoodle 3 (no longer in business), and advertised as "works out of the box".  Not entirely, and took a lot of care and some mods to get it printing stabley.  The slicing software also is a constant source of potential problems, where a simple mistake on a setting, and your prints fail with strange results. I just spent a week debugging why my first layers were a mess, and turns out somehow it was set to 200% extrusion for the first layer.  Regardless I know what you mean

 

EDIT:  Congrats on finals being over! It's always a great feeling

Edited by noebl1, December 11 2017 - 3:51 PM.

[starcraftjunkie]

 

 

Finals for school are finally over. Between work I'll actually finish a design. I've been set back way too much. I feel Fusion 360 will be what I need to finish it though. I also wish I had a better 3D printer, my school one is pretty hit or miss.

 

 

I think that's fairly true for most consumer/prosumer printers; they can be finicky and require maintenance.  My first printer was Solidoodle 3 (no longer in business), and advertised as "works out of the box".  Not entirely, and took a lot of care and some mods to get it printing stabley.  The slicing software also is a constant source of potential problems, where a simple mistake on a setting, and your prints fail with strange results. I just spent a week debugging whey my first layers were a mess, and turns out somehow it was set to 200% extrusion for the first layer.  Regardless I know what you mean

 

Mine is the opposite. It's all closed source software. Almost all of the functionality of the speed, cooling, etc. is all built in. Only their software works for printing so it's really limiting. My biggest issue right now is that sometimes in specific locations, the layers won't adhere to the bottom layer (not the pad, this is at like layer 5-6) and it'll "bubble up" and warp until the nozzle comes over it and burns it. It leaves these weird raised pockets that are burnt. I tried their support but no avail.

[noebl1]

 

 

 

Mine is the opposite. It's all closed source software. Almost all of the functionality of the speed, cooling, etc. is all built in. Only their software works for printing so it's really limiting. My biggest issue right now is that sometimes in specific locations, the layers won't adhere to the bottom layer (not the pad, this is at like layer 5-6) and it'll "bubble up" and warp until the nozzle comes over it and burns it. It leaves these weird raised pockets that are burnt. I tried their support but no avail.

 

Got a pic? I may be able to help.  Is a layer not adhering to the previous layer, bubbling up and then burning? Something like this: https://ultimaker.co...layer-bubbling ?

 

My OCD tendency is try to get perfect layering; it drives me nuts when I get some layer that are not perfect.  We're on shutdown for 2 weeks for the Holidays soon, so hoping to do some work on the printer.  It's a custom D-Bot printer I sized to 300x300x310mm.  I definitely learned a lot building it.

[starcraftjunkie]

 

 

 

 

Mine is the opposite. It's all closed source software. Almost all of the functionality of the speed, cooling, etc. is all built in. Only their software works for printing so it's really limiting. My biggest issue right now is that sometimes in specific locations, the layers won't adhere to the bottom layer (not the pad, this is at like layer 5-6) and it'll "bubble up" and warp until the nozzle comes over it and burns it. It leaves these weird raised pockets that are burnt. I tried their support but no avail.

 

Got a pic? I may be able to help.  Is a layer not adhering to the previous layer, bubbling up and then burning? Something like this: https://ultimaker.co...layer-bubbling ?

 

My OCD tendency is try to get perfect layering; it drives me nuts when I get some layer that are not perfect.  We're on shutdown for 2 weeks for the Holidays soon, so hoping to do some work on the printer.  It's a custom D-Bot printer I sized to 300x300x310mm.  I definitely learned a lot building it.

 

That looks exactly what I've been running into. I can't seem to find help on the subject because when I word it in google, it always comes up with the bottom layer not adhering which is not the case for me.

 

This is one of my pictures. It's always large patches of purely solid layers, never walls or short span lengths.

[noebl1]

Is that ABS or PLA?  Also what temp are you printing at?

 

Does the software for the printer let you adjust bed height?  Does the printer do any sort of bed leveling?  Are there 2 cooling fans; 1 for the extruder and a 2nd for the print?  You said this happens on top layers too?

Edited by noebl1, December 11 2017 - 5:31 PM.

[starcraftjunkie]

Is that ABS or PLA?  Also what temp are you printing at?

 

Does the software for the printer let you adjust bed height?  Does the printer do any sort of bed leveling?  Are there 2 cooling fans; 1 for the extruder and a 2nd for the print?  You said this happens on top layers too?

PLA, and I think at 210. I found the lowest temp before it starts stripping. This also did it with ABS at 270-290.

 

Yeah, I can automatically do it but I generally level the bed with the card you slip under the nozzle and manually lower it down until there is drag on the card. Yeah, two fans. Big one on the bottom and one for the extruder top.

 

It's for anything solid and across a large area. It's not between the bed and the raft which I was saying is the only thing that shows up when I google up warping. It just makes it difficult to solve.

[MaxGen]

This is usually a result of the nozzle being too close to the bed.  I'd try increasing the space between bed and nozzle a minute fraction.  It's a balance between good adhesion and that bubbling you see.

[noebl1]

This is usually a result of the nozzle being too close to the bed.  I'd try increasing the space between bed and nozzle a minute fraction.  It's a balance between good adhesion and that bubbling you see.

 

 

That was exactly what I was thinking too.

 

Also those temps seem really high as well, wonder if it's misreporting the temp.  I print PLA around 185.  That being said, my Solidoodle was off by 20 degrees (or something like that), so had to offset accordingly until I replaced the extruder and temp sensor.

[starcraftjunkie]

This is usually a result of the nozzle being too close to the bed.  I'd try increasing the space between bed and nozzle a minute fraction.  It's a balance between good adhesion and that bubbling you see.

Are you sure? I feel like that if the tip is too high it just strings out and loops around because the nozzle is too high. I will try to raise it up then and see what it does.

This is usually a result of the nozzle being too close to the bed.  I'd try increasing the space between bed and nozzle a minute fraction.  It's a balance between good adhesion and that bubbling you see.

 
 
That was exactly what I was thinking too.
 
Also those temps seem really high as well, wonder if it's misreporting the temp.  I print PLA around 185.  That being said, my Solidoodle was off by 20 degrees (or something like that), so had to offset accordingly until I replaced the extruder and temp sensor.

I can try lower numbers and see. I have a design I repaired that I'll try tomorrow. I'll see what it does.

[noebl1]

I can try lower numbers and see. I have a design I repaired that I'll try tomorrow. I'll see what it does

 

What resolution are you printing at? I find at .3mm, a business card is about the right height.  I find it should slide through and rub the hot end slightly, but still slide easily without force.  It's subjective unfortunately   

 

This of course can be totally invalidated by auto bed leveling, which will detect and potentially try to offset it for you.  I've only had familiarity with open-source firmwares like Smoothieware and Marlin for that, not sure how a proprietary one may work.

 

EDIT: Also get a set of digital calipers, they are awesome for troubleshooting and calibrating.

Edited by noebl1, December 12 2017 - 2:30 PM.

[starcraftjunkie]

I can try lower numbers and see. I have a design I repaired that I'll try tomorrow. I'll see what it does

 
What resolution are you printing at? I find at .3mm, a business card is about the right height.  I find it should slide through and rub the hot end slightly, but still slide easily without force.  It's subjective unfortunately   
 
This of course can be totally invalidated by auto bed leveling, which will detect and potentially try to offset it for you.  I've only had familiarity with open-source firmwares like Smoothieware and Marlin for that, not sure how a proprietary one may work.
 
EDIT: Also get a set of digital calipers, they are awesome for troubleshooting and calibrating.

I use the supplied card that the manufacturer provides. It kinda auto levels, but it's hit or miss sometimes.

[Hunter]

are you selling

[starcraftjunkie]

are you selling

I probably will. I have a bunch of them laying around. I was going to sell them cheap because they're not flawless, but they're still functional. I'm talking close 20 bucks for the big ones (4"x4"x1") and buyer pays shipping from the US.

What are you looking for? If my design prints well tomorrow I'll have a quick method to make custom designs.