It’s finally 3-D printing time. I’ve been wanting to learn how to use the 3-D printer for a really long time. In my impression, it is one of the most front-line technology that is also available to the public. Honestly, I was amazed that it actually started to exist in the last century, cause I can still remember when news came out that some team in Australia succeeded in printing an artistic metal chair. I thought that was when it came alive, and I was 11. Apparently, the concept of 3-D printing, or Additive Manufacturing, had long existed.
I did know how 3-D printing works, but I was punched in the face by reality–it cannot print in any direction, and it requires supports. Gravity really isn’t a friend sometimes. Supports are SOOOOOOOO annoying. (What if we build a 3-D printer that can function in gravity for astronauts?) Anyways, it’s been a long week to finally get my desired print.
First, MakeBar s*cks. If your print need supports, you should not use MakeBar printers, or you will regret. The supports it generates are so unreasonable that they are hard to take off, they mess up with your print and at certain points, where you need supports, it does not generate one for you, so you will have a nice dangling effect on the bottom of your print. It was so hurtful to try to take off the support with your hand. I tried several prints on those printers, but no matter how I change my settings, I could not get a satisfactory print for my Mobius’ bangle file. I was really ambitious at first–I am going to print a puzzle dragon (I don’t have to design it anyway, love Thingiverse ). However, puzzle pieces don’t work so well as the printers are not suitable for high fidelity parts. And this is the best I could do:
What a cute wingless furious chicken. Don’t ask me what happened to the wings, they weren’t even as strong as the supports. But I did learn things though. So, if you arrange parts together in the software, you are able to print them as one object, and you don’t need to worry about the weak puzzle connections
I then decided to print a simpler object, a Mobius’ bangle. It was a murder scene.
Idk what to call them:
The best I could get:
Oh, and I tried to heat the part a little bit up with heat gun to produce a smoother surface. And evidently, it was not a wise decision. I also tried the hand-drier, and surprisingly, if you put your hand under it too long, your hands feel burnt.
So I reasoned, what if I print something that does not need support?
Nah, it gives me really weird unintended connections like spider webs between the major print structures.
Thus I turned to the Formlab. The machine was a piece of art, but it didnot work. 🙂 (trying to make a happy face). 6 times! Everyday I went to the OEDK and found that it was not printing anything on the base. I scraped the bottom of the resin tray, and filter the resin, and tried again and again. Joe, Fernando, I couldn’t remember how many lab assistants, and I tried so hard so figure out the problem, but to no avail. At last, when I was playing around the settings on the printer, I found the “z-offset” setting. I offset it by 0.2mm, AND IT WORKED!
Taking off the supports was still a bit annoying, as they leave a tiny white spot on your object, but the print was gorgeous! It was actually better to twist the supports slowly, which weakened the the connection and the supports came off pretty easily. One thing though, the material is much softer than that used on MakeBar printers, and it was actually not water-tight. as I put the vase-shaped part in the alcohol bath, alcohol got inside, and started to leak when I took the part out. Oh, and the material was really sticky.
I also tried to use the printers in the wetlab, and I still do not know how they work, but I got my part, and it was amazing. No need to peal the supports manually, just a water-bath, problem solved.But, printing pads are really wasteful. Who designed that thing????
In remembrance of all my attempts, here are two nice family photos
3D printing was definitely fun! But if the machines could be smarter or if could do a simulated run, with more advanced print-analysis, less time and material would be wasted.
P.s.
What I printed secretly ()~(), don’t tell anyone
