Introduction

This project was relatively simple, but still rewarding. I liked that I was forced to use a method other than the Prusa to 3D print, so I got more comfortable using another machine. Overall this was a fun project and I learned a lot.

 

Steps

1. Choose Item & Back to Drawing Board

At first I wanted to try a bit of a harder object, so I picked a T-Rex that was supposed to be flexible. I printed it first on the Prusa, but it didn’t come out correctly and wasn’t flexible. I actually broke the piece trying to move it. I decided to switch to a simpler impossible object, a ball in a cube.

2. Print on PRUSA Sl1S

Once I decided on my object, I decided to make my first print. I decided to use the PRUSA Sl1S as one of my 3D printers. This printer used resin, and I was excited to try using this new type of printer. I took some time to get acclimated to the machine since I had never used it before, then I started my print. It came out really nice, and the machine was easy to use.

3. Print on Prusas

After printing my first successful object on the PRUSA Sl1S, it was time to print the remaining 4 on the Prusas. I followed the instructions to import my file, and scaled the object and added 3 copies to get what I needed. The print was going to take a few hours, so I started it and came back to get it later.

4. “Post Process”

My Prusa printed my 4 objects with a lot of supports, and I thought they would be easy to take off so I used a knife to try to pull them off. It ended up taking almost an hour of cutting to get the pieces to their intended shape, but it was still less time than running the prints again. The photos below show the Prusa prints with supports, all of the prints with the supports removed, and the objects in the capsules.

 

 

 

Cost Analysis

 

I printed one object on the PRUSA Sl1S printer, which used resin. The resin for this machine is on the expensive side, so I will estimate the cost of the resin I used to be $5 on the high end. The other objects were printed on the Prusa using PLA. The printing computer actually gave an estimate of the cost of the job, which was 75 cents. This project took me about 2 hours to complete, so I will estimate the cost of labor to be $30. This brings the total cost of the project to $35.75.

 

Reflection

 

The one thing I would do differently next time is double check my prints to see what supports are being printed, because removing unnecessary supports would save me a lot of time.