3D printers and Alphadrome Members

[Eagle]

Check this out John.. http://blog.luxexcel.com/transparent-3d-printing/transparent-3d-print/

[robothut]

That does not apply to home hobby 3d printers Eagle.The technology used by most 3D printers to date—especially hobbyist and consumer-oriented models—is fused deposition modeling, a special application of plasticextrusion. The web site you were at is a optical cure resin set up, they have a few for home use but they suck. You can get sort of clear with our home 3d printers if you make a thin wall design and print it hollow with no infill. 

[Eagle]

Well there goes my idea for making the feet for Fireball XL5 Robert...Thanks John.

[robothut]

Here is a tip for any of you getting in to 3d printing. If you have a lot of plastic filiment laying around you need to keep it a way from humidity. So I found that cheep plastic containers from the dollar store and the desiccant packs the come with the plastic  is the way to go. The Sure Fresh 17 cup container's I bought will hold 1 large roll of plastic or two of the smaller size rolls.

[marco]

Good idea !

Have to find a jar for my 750 gr spools, they look wider than the ones you use ( 2.85  filament )

Marco

 

[robothut]

5 gallon plastic buckets "like what paint comes in" work great for stacking up filiment. You can get screw on lids for the 5 gallon buckes for food storage and that makes it easy to get in out fast. The containers will also keep dust and dirt off the filiment so that the extruder tips do not get plugged buy non plastic debrey. The plastic conainers I bought at the dollar store are 8.5 inches across and 5 inches deep.

[Eagle]

So,,how do you remove the humidity before snapping on the lids ?? Or residual humidity doesn't matter ?

[robothut]

The desiccant packs should remove the humidity. But if you know that your plastic has already been affected " stringy prints with poor quality with known good files and printer settings" then you can place the plastic in a box with a light in it. The low heat from the lamp will over a few days dry out the plastic and then you can seal it up. This is a common practice in thermal form plastic shops, they have small rooms or crates set up with electric heat set a round 90 to 100 degrees to pre dry there plastic, if you heat up plastic that  is not dry then it will bubble when heated a big problem when working in clear since its so visible. All the plastics come from the factories in sealed plastic bags with desiccant packs . If you lived in a area where the humidity is real high and your printer is in the same high humidity environment then you could put the plastic in contaire that has a small hole for the filiment to get out but keeps the bulk of the plastic sealed up with desiccant packs.

[robothut]

Do any of you remember the old Mattel Thingmaker toys ? Well there is a new one coming out this year and its a 3d printer for $300 bucks.

 

[Ranger]

That's interesting, thanks for posting John.

[robothut]

There is also a new type filiment being made and a special vapor pollishing machine that will make the 3d printed parts look like injection molded parts coming. And they have a clear that is clear and not just a milky white. By the end of the year. But it will cost more, about twice as much as PLA. It's called PVC "polyvinylbutyral" The company is Polysmooth.

[Ranger]

That sounds great John, it just gets better and better.

[Tinman]

So I'm only now realizing my knowledge of 3D printers is a bit outdated; I'm guessing they no longer use powder and adhesive with the finished product being extricated from a block of unused material?

[Brian..]

Each Christmas I promise myself one of these high tech gadgets. Last year I came close to buying a Chinese laser cutter before tales of neatly severed fingers and cataracts put me off. But the sheer speed, quality and ingenuity of your creations, John, could make this the year of the 3D printer.

 

[Tinplate6]

With all this activity producing Alphabots, is there any chance of an "Alpha-ray" gun project? A space gun with flashing lights and a sound chip would be cool...just saying.