Some day I want to build a 3D printer, but until then...

[cymon]

Right now a 3D printer is outside of my grasp. Both in terms of money and... well, moneys the biggest concern right now. A place to put it is another eventual concern. But by the time I have the money...

Anyways.

Until that day I want to do as much as I can to prepare for it including using someone else's to practice modeling and get a feel for the troubles of printing real things. You know, make the dream more real.

So I appeal to you for help.

It seems to me that only bill2or3 and Sea Shadow have one on these boards. Basically, can I borrow your machine? I don't want to take it. Just have you print out a couple of things that I've designed, or tell me what i need to do to make them printable.

On IRC Bill (probably the same bill?) has already given me some pointers and based on his advice I've adjusted my models and have the following:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/51874/banqi1.x4.stl
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/51874/banqi2.x2.stl
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/51874/banqi3.x2.stl

These are Chinese Chess set pieces. The final pieces should be about the size of a checker piece, maybe a little smaller. 1" in diameter should be about right. The x4 and x2 indicates how many times this model needs to be printed to get a full set, but that's for my information mostly.

Does anything else need to be done with these models? Would anyone able be willing to print me out one of them so I can see the actualization of my idea? Would I need to compensate you for the job?

[Sea Shadow]

I've taken a look at the .stl's you provided, the models themselves look good. If you could re-export them with the units set to MM I might have a go at printing them out. I don't know how well the little details would turn out (grip in the blade or the horse's mane) but its worth a shot.

I can print a few pieces for you to help you on your way, and if you want me to print up a whole set we can work something out.

[cymon]

(06-27-2011 02:53 PM)Sea Shadow Wrote:  I've taken a look at the .stl's you provided, the models themselves look good. If you could re-export them with the units set to MM I might have a go at printing them out. I don't know how well the little details would turn out (grip in the blade or the horse's mane) but its worth a shot.

I can print a few pieces for you to help you on your way, and if you want me to print up a whole set we can work something out.

I've updated the links above with models scaled to mm.

Just building these things has been a hack of a learning experience. I don't think this will ever be a cut and dry process.

[Sea Shadow]

Well I started a print, we will see how they turn out. Also they are a bit on the large side (at least based off of your previous description). The appear to be approximately 2 inches in diameter.

[cymon]

(06-28-2011 04:30 PM)Sea Shadow Wrote:  Well I started a print, we will see how they turn out. Also they are a bit on the large side (at least based off of your previous description). The appear to be approximately 2 inches in diameter.

That is a bit large. I thought I was doing them 27mm or 2.7 cm or a little over 1 inch... I wonder if that was their radius, not diameter... shoot. May need to scale them down 50%.

Are you on the IRC?

EDIT: Files linked to above have been edited to be 50% smaller now. Hope that's (finally) right. Repeating links here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/51874/banqi1.x4.stl
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/51874/banqi2.x2.stl
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/51874/banqi3.x2.stl

Now I have a new question if the little bit of bevel I put on the edges of the pieces was a good idea or if I'm messing things up by not having a flat base. What do you guys think?

[Sea Shadow]

It really depends when it comes to the bevel. Ideally, it wouldn't be an issue, but due to thermal shrinkage it can cause the part to warp up and peel away from the print bed. A heated bed helps to keep the print warm so that it doesn't do that, but even then you still can experience some thermal shrinkage causing the part to break free and the print to fail. I don't see it being an issue though.

Though due to my printer setup I have to deal with other issues, such as my extruder drive gear popping off the stepper motor mid print yesterday while making those oversized chess pieces.

Time for another attempt.

[cymon]

I'm really hoping this turns out well because I've got at least 2 other things that I want to model for more pragmatic purposes. What I've learned from this experience about scaling has really helped because size is important in these next two. Maybe I'll go ahead and try doing the modeling today.

What program do you use to prep the stl models for printing? How far can I take this process without actually having the printer?

[Sea Shadow]

The parts turned out ok, a few surface flaws due to calibration issues on my part, but I will have to wait a few days before I can have another go at them (visiting family for the holidays). Once I get parts I am satisfied with I will post pictures. If you want you can drop by the space to take a look at some of the parts that were printed. I left a stack of 4 pieces on Tim's desk in the event that you happened to drop by while I was not there most of last Saturday.

The program I use to process the files is called Skeinforge (version 41, can't remember what build). It is an amazing program but also very complex. It lets you adjust every single little detail you could imagine and is very machine specific. It takes anywhere from several hours to months to properly calibrate a machine. I recently reformatted and did a clean install on my reprap server computer so that I could test out some of the more recent builds of software. So far I am about 80% of the way to where I will be satisfied.

If you want you can download Skeinforge and practice setting it up, but with out a machine to use for a reference point the generated files will be nothing more than a novelty. You can test out the G-Code interpreter for blender if you want, but even then that will not enable you to generate files applicable to my (or any other person's for that mater) printer, due to the aforementioned complexity of the g-code generation software.

[cymon]

Check out the latest featured item on Thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:10500

So what's happened is a guy out in MA saw my set on Thingiverse and being a fan of the game started printing it. I contacted him and he sent me the prototype. It's a thrill holding something you've designed that's been made real by the computer. In fact this whole experience has made the 3D printing experience very real for me, which is exactly what I was going for.

I still wish there was someone convenient to me that I can do some more printing with. I have a couple of models, some of which are actually pretty pragmatic, that I'd like to try out before sharing with the world. Actually, the more pragmatic ones are no good for sharing since they're kind of one-off things. Perfect for the idea of 3D printing, tho.