Month: November 2017

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New to 3D Printing?

Here are a list of tips I’d give to anyone looking to getting into 3D printing or has just recently purchased a 3D Printer.

Watch a LOT of YouTube / Facebook

There are a LOT of resources for learning how to 3D print and one of the best is YouTube. Here are just a few people I would recommend you follow:

Keeping filament dry

  • Store your filament in dry place. I’m not just saying this… DO IT! I learned the hard way. I had a bunch of different filaments and I was having a hard time figuring out why my prints were turning out poorly. Finally, after drying them with a food dehydrator and putting the in a dry box. I’m getting really good prints.
    • Filament is hygroscopic, it absorbs moisture from the air and will mostly likely over time cause poor performance (here is more information)
    • I’ve created Containers that I can print from they only costed about $25 a piece to make and I can hold around 4-5 rolls of filament in a box. Here is a video from Thomas Sanladerer demonstrating how to create a dry box.  I based my box off of his.
    • If you are just starting out I’d do this right away, then you won’t need to a food dehydrator later. However, if you want too… you can learn more on this page and there is a table with settings for drying your filament.

Enclosure

  • If you are printing with ABS you’ll want an enclosure. ABS is really sensitive to a temperature change. If you’re printing in a relatively cool place, the print will cool too quickly and cause warping and layer separation.
    • Added bonuses of an enclosure is less fumes and quieter printing.

It is getting late, so more to come soon.

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Olsson Ruby Nozzle

So a while back I purchased the Olsson Ruby nozzle. I print a few exotic materials like MatterHackers ABS Greenglow, Proto-Pasta’s #Highfive Blue, and I just purchased Ziro’s Marble. Since I was planning on printing more and more exotic filaments (e.g. Carbon Fiber). I decided it was time to upgrade my nozzle. It was pretty easy actually.

Most of the instructions came from the Olsson Ruby website support instructions.

  • First thing I did is print a torque wrench for installing the new nozzle. This is a very cool model and it turned out great.
  • Then I followed the Prusa i3 MK2 steps for replacing the nozzle (here).
    • However, I would suggest doing steps 1-5 first, then heat up the extruder before removing the nozzle.
  • Using the new torque wrench I was able to quickly install the new ruby nozzle.
  • Lastly, I ran a test print and adjusted the live z settings.

So far so good. I’ll keep you updated.

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Here’s my story…

I’m a Pacific Northwest native. I grew up in the greater Portland metro area and currently reside in Vernonia, Oregon.

I’ve always had a passion for computers. When I was in the 2nd grade my father purchased the “Trash 80” (i.e. TRS-80 or Tandy Radio Shack 80 personal computer). I remember getting magazines with pages and pages of code. I would spend hours typing in that code into the computer and was AMAZED with the results. I was HOOKED!

For the past 19 years I’ve worked in software engineering. I continue to learn and evolve my craft. Taking online training classes from Pluralsight to building a home security system using a RPi. I enjoy programming at home and work.

I try to find a balance by playing tennis and doing home improvement projects around the house.

I’m a father of four and between them, projects, and work they keep me busy.