The Shop > CNC
So I bought a 3D printer....
tom osselton:
I’ve Been trying to make a Baby Groot for my granddaughter I’ve done the head twice now the last time it got down to the last 1/2 square before falling of its perch!
Baby Groots first haircut!
Now he is just someone’s Chia Pet!
Brass_Machine:
Tom,
That still is pretty impressive. What are you using for a printer?
Eric
Joules:
Well done Eric, I hope it brings you years of pleasure and opens up new ground in Mad Modding... I use Simplify3D proffesionally. I think for the money (free) Cura outperforms it hands down, I might add, I still use Cura to keep my hand in as I am not sure I like the route Simplify are going. Much happenning here, with a resin printer waiting in the wings and a new K40 laser sent to me for long term evaluation and modding :thumbup:
Here's a couple of examples from last years printing work. Testing out an idea for a thermostatic valve control, using 3D printed parts for R&D. Mapped the movement of the bellows, then create the mechanism that will operate the valve, based on movement available and dead band required.
ddmckee54:
I tried Cura, I tried Slic3r, I tried the Prusa version of Slic3r. Then I bit the bullet and bought Simplify3D, yup it's worth the money.
While I was waiting for my first printer to arrive , never did but that's another story, I played around with various free slicing and printer simulation software packages.
When I tried using Cura, my biggest issue with it was generating supports, it would miss areas that needed support and try printing in mid air. That works for bridging, but trying to START printing in mid air just doesn't work.
For the money that you spend on it, nadda-zip-zilch, Slic3r is a great product and I think the Prusa version of Slic3r is even better. I used them for a couple of years but...
I found that if Slic3r cannot fit a complete perimeter pass into an area it will leave it empty. Think about printing a wall that's less than 1.5mm thick, you'll get an air gap. During the build that may be OK, it'll be weak, but hidden. On the final layer that's not a good thing. Simplify3D gives you the option of filling these areas in the perimeter with either a single pass or solid fill. I made the mistake of trying the solid fill option, ONCE. Watching the printer try to do a solid fill on a 0.5mm gap for 15-20mm convinced me I didn't want to try that again, didn't think the printer would survive the shaking.
Simplify3D also lets you do things like changing speeds, layer height, temperatures, etc. during the print. To do that with Slic3r or Cura you need to slice the model various times, then find and stitch together the appropriate parts of the gcode files. It can be done, but it's a hassle.
If you're just starting out in 3D printing Simplify3D is probably not worth the investment at that time, you've got too many other things to figure out, how to get the first layer stuck to the print bed, what is acceptable print quality to you, how fast can your machine print before the quality turns to crap - minor stuff like that. However if you've been printing for a while and want to increase your print quality, then Simplify3D is worth it.
Don
Brass_Machine:
Thanks Don for your response.
Eric
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