Filament switch: close up shots that highlights further the complexity of extruding plastics

I stumbled upon this old picture while looking for another one. It shows tiny carbon fibers embedded in crystal-clear polycarbonate, that happened when I switched from CFPLA to a crystal-clear polycarbonate (hellish stuff to print btw). Looking at it a second time makes me realize how complex extrusion is (more after the break).

A microphotography that shows carbon fibers during a transition from CFPLA to polycarbonate.

CNC fail? 3D printed design blows my ears instead of the dust

I bought a well-built Chinese CNC machine last year, namely a 4 axis CNC3040Z-DQ router/engraver, for about €1000 (as far as I remember).

Milling a PCB with a low cost CNC router/engraver controlled by LinuxCNC.

My initial need was to "etch" electronics PCB boards at home, to get rid of so called proto- and perf boards. This machine is overkill for the job, but I do not regret my purchase since it can do much more than PCB milling...

But only recently did I spend enough time to use it. Even though the reliability and consistency of a CNC milling machine is way better than that of a 3D printer, the whole process is cumbersome. It takes a lot of time to get used to the software, which is a decade behind the ergonomics of more intuitive 3D printing software. Worst, the controlling software like linuxCNC or Mach3 still require a parallel port and a special real-time distribution of linux. Both are a real pain because you need a dedicated and obsolete machine just to drive the CNC. Recent projects like GRBL are knocking at the door though, as an alternative to parallel port hardware: they rely on Arduinos, but are limited by the power of this platform. ARM-based boards are more promising, especially for fast machines, or when you have more than 3 axis of freedom (e.g. see 6DoF)

Note: I may write more about CNC machining at home, its software and process in other posts. But I start here with a quick, funny, and miserable failure of mine, that was meant to be an improvement in the first place. And, well, it mixes printing and milling so it is a good transition.

Home made filament drying box

How to make a simple dehydrator (drying box) with a solar vacuum tube

A short and probably overkill post for a passive and zero carbon footprint drying box (not counting the required one to make the tube).

I use a spare, high tech and powerful vacuum solar tube, but it is easy to make something with a copper or steel tube painted in black, around which you slide larger transparent plastic bottles. Such insulation is required to avoid the ambient air temperature from cooling your own heated air.

The second required item is a brand used low-tech cardboard box.

Four in the morning. Just had a few tweaks to finish my upgrade...

Eventually "implemented" my upgrade! I certainly did not think it would take me so long, but once you start to sort the mess that's below a 3D printer you just can spend days on it! There is a brief list after the break.

I am sure a lot of 3D printer owners share the "two minutes into two hours" syndrome.

Extremely fat extrusion with a 1 mm nozzle

Going "nuts" and 3D printing with a 1.0+ mm nozzle!

A ridiculously big 1.1mm nozzle make it flow like hell !

After some testing with a 0.3 mm nozzle, I really had to try and post my quick and dirty tests with a huge one.

In fact, I had lost my smaller drill bit set made for smaller holes... So I took a brass cap nut, screwed it on a threaded rod, put it under my vertical drill press with a "regular" small drill, and here we go. I measured afterwards it to be something like 1.1 mm. Interesting...

Now for sure it was funny as a friend told me I just had made the first Scoubidou machine! But the first prints still were surprisingly good! Not only can I print very fa(s)t, but it still makes a nice print in the end.

Now, there were a few quirks I should have taken time to fix (see below), but very big nozzles are now part of my consideration when I want to prototype quickly and/or when the printed object needs no special accuracy: refining the ergonomics of a handle, or printing a toy and so on.

3D printing with cheap Nylon trimmer line/string

Is filament quality so important after all?

I heard years ago that trimming line was one of the many materials that was tested on a 3D printer (the biggest list is probably here). This time I tried for myself, and it was also the proper occasion to deal with how "reliable" the material has to be (note that I wrote another post more specifically on how to print it).

Really, trimmer line may be a fully compatible filament !

My hot end is dying: the annoying PEEK thermal insulator started to melt (I suspect that the PID regulator overshot the temperature because of intermittent connection that I have fixed since). Still, it does not impede the flow much, so it gave me the opportunity to try some risky fun : what about this basic nylon trimmer line I got for free 10+ years ago when I purchased my gardening trimmer tool?

Major wood FDM printing breakthrough !

Extremely efficient wood 3D printing system

This is incredible...

No need for a hot bed, no issue with massive overhangs, no stringing at all, no retraction, grinding nor feeding issues, not even noise, smell nor chemicals.

Free and easy sourcing of material, highly portable, robust, self-powered and auto-adapting printing system. And damn, they even master wood gradients and polygonal infill!

Now, on the downside: it comes without a user manual and the system is incompatible with g-code. And sometimes, it stings.

How nasty.