How about a 3D printer section?

[Alan B]

I have a Raspberry Pi with Octoprint feeding my Prusa MK3. After slicing a model it takes two clicks to send the file and start the print. It is really convenient and reliable. No need to fiddle with SD or USB Flash memories to transfer gcode files to the printer.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

The Voron 2.4 is an excellent 3D Printer, and there are some good kits coming out now making it more accessible to build. The r2 update will be out soon with minor improvements and a major manual rewrite.

I've been following the Vorons for awhile now and have chosen the Trident in 250mm for my first Voron build. For my purposes the 0.1 is too small, the 2.4 is overly complex and the Switchwire's moving bed is less than optimal. I am in the parts collecting phase at this point, unfortunately the good quality kits for the Trident aren't available for awhile yet.

For those building a Voron 2.4 the LDO kits will be available in a few months and are of excellent quality. LDO makes a lot of the Prusa components so that gives one some calibration of the quality.

Other high end 3D printers one might consider are the Railcore, RatRig and the coming in 2022 Prusa XL.

Thanks Alan for the feedback on the Voron and other potential options.

I've decided to make my own mount to convert my ender 3 max to a direct drive extruder using existing bowden components and a couple new parts. That will tide me over even longer as will an enclosure based on lack coffee tables and sonopan and 3d printed fittings.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Yesterday I nearly pulled the trigger on a resin printer when I discovered the cheapest monochrome LCD models were going for less than 250 bucks US and yet still offered incredible detail in tiny prints for lost wax type investment castings.

I do small scale modeling and some limited jewelry and have wanted to get into vacuum investment casting and get my wife into jewelry work as well. She really needs a hobby.

I decided to hold off for a while to see how things shake out and perhaps get higher quality and slightly larger build plates... and see what consumer DLP versions will come out as well. I preferred DLP projectors to LCD ones, and think perhaps the edge will also go to dlp in resin printing.

Bike mounts and other such parts are also much better in aluminum too.

I've read that manufacturers planned consumer DLP versions but they've yet to materialize. I think they've decided to use cheaper 4 and 6K LCD screens instead and sell dirt cheap models

 

[nicobie]

I resisted switching my Ender printer to direct drive thinking to keep the gantry weight as light as possible so as to not affect printing speed. But after thinking about the heavy bed on the Y axis and realizing that it was going to limit the speed of the printer anyway, I went ahead with buying the Micro Swiss setup. The machining on their parts is beautiful to my eye. I got the extruder kit for about $40 on a black friday sale. I don't see how they can turn a profit at those prices.

I've been a bit sick and the shop is kind of cold so I don't have it installed yet. Having trouble deciding which fan duct to use on it. I've printed a couple different ones so far and not really happy with any of them. I do know that I'm going to use Sunon 5015 part blower fans and a 4020 Noctua hot end fan.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I resisted switching my Ender printer to direct drive thinking to keep the gantry weight as light as possible so as to not affect printing speed. But after thinking about the heavy bed on the Y axis and realizing that it was going to limit the speed of the printer anyway, I went ahead with buying the Micro Swiss setup. The machining on their parts is beautiful to my eye. I got the extruder kit for about $40 on a black friday sale. I don't see how they can turn a profit at those prices.

I've been a bit sick and the shop is kind of cold so I don't have it installed yet. Having trouble deciding which fan duct to use on it. I've printed a couple different ones so far and not really happy with any of them. I do know that I'm going to use Sunon 5015 part blower fans and a 4020 Noctua hot end fan.

Those are very good choices on the fans. Centrifugal Blowers are essential for any ducted part cooling set-up. One system I really liked had the fatal error of using two axial fans for parts cooling. Aside from less static pressure and flow it adds huge weight in form of large ducts. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4886226

The micro swiss is indeed a beautiful piece of CNC work but well north of $100 here so it is a no go for me, unless I were to just machine an entire one.

I'm more leaning towards the hydra set-up. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4062242

 

[Alan B]

I like the Dragon hotend, but the new E3D Revo Mini will be the leader when it gets here. Micro Swiss is well made but falling behind the current tech. The transition from hard and tricky to change nozzles and heat breaks to trivial one handed hotend maintenance is coming very soon.

 

[goatman]

the pneumatic pc4-m10 fittings for the bowden tubing
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B077MJZGLD/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1p13NParams&smid=A2ERI74FFBS1IL&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyOVBSSFNESk0wSUJDJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTcxMDgxMzlZSEhBQkVFNEM0MSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzk1MzIyMjBROU9HSTRRVzRKNiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbDImYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

ive gone through 3, they just fail for no reason,

whats a good brand to get

 

[nicobie]

I've had the same problem. Before I went with a direct drive extruder I printed a thicker C-clip for the fitting. That seemed to fix the slippage.

 

[goatman]

wound up with getting these biqu pc4-m10, they dont feel cheap,a little beefier. nice and snug on the capricorn tpfe tubing

https://www.amazon.ca/BIQU-Straight-Pneumatic-Connector-Extruder/dp/B01IB81IHG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=biqu+pc4m10&qid=1644165941&sr=8-1

 

[nicobie]

I just got one of these. From what I understand they are necessary for a lot of different filaments.

 

[spinningmagnets]

Here's a short video showing "over-molding". I'm sure everyone has seen cordless drills that had a hard plastic body with rubber in sections to improve grip and make the holding more comfortable.

This clip shows a 3D wheel+treads printed to use as a core. Then silicone is cast over it to make the mould. Remove the core and then take another 3D-printed spoked wheel (with no treads) to insert it inside the mould. Then, a castable rubber is poured into the mould to attach to the spoked plastic wheel.

End result is a hard plastic wheel with a solid rubber tread.

https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/u2j2co/3d_printing_to_make_a_tyre_and_a_wheel_rim/

 

[Alan B]

With a multimaterial printer one should be able to print TPU and PETG together directly. Perhaps the coming soon Prusa XL.

 

[goatman]

I just got one of these. From what I understand they are necessary for a lot of different filaments.

2022-03-23 18_00_56-Google Photos - Photo - Google Photos.png

i thought you already had a sunlu dryer?

 

[nicobie]

I gave it to my son in law and bought their newer model that heats to a slightly higher temp useful for nylon filaments.