How to: 3d printing
| Reserve things in the Makers Lab (TTH ground floor) | https://www.supersaas.co.uk/schedule/makerslab/Makerslab_reserveren |
Prepare your 3D model for printing
3D printing is mostly 2D printing over and over again. In order to print your 3D object, we need to "slice" a 3D object into 2D layers.
In order to do this, we are using a tool called Prusa slicer (https://www.prusa3d.com/prusaslicer/)
Basic slicer knowledge
The three most important aspects of 3D printing are:
- The filament
- The infill
- The layer height
Filament
The filament is the type of plastic you are printing. As with all materials, different types of plastics have different properties.
Properties can be color, elasticity, sturdiness, etc.
For printing, the most important thing about each filament is the plastic it's melting point. All the filament holders should have a sticker on their side saying:
- The type of filament it is
- The ideal printing temperature.
Infill
The infill will be expressed as a percentage. The higher this percentage will be, the stronger your 3D model will be but the more time it will take to print.
However, generally speaking, 10-20% of infill should be fine for basic models.
Layer height
The layer height will be expressed as millimetres. This will tell the software how many millimetres each "slice" will be. The lower this number will be, the finer the details of your 3D model will be but the more time it will take to print.
Printing your print
At the HvA we have a makers lab in the ground floor of the Theo Thijssen Huis (TTH). This is the place where you can print your 3D models and they can help you set-up your prints.
3D printing troubleshooting
For an in depth guide of the most common printing issues have a look at https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/
3D printing in the MDD lab
We do not support any trouble-shooting for the printers in the MDD lab any more.
All information provided below are some old notes
You need to be connected to the eduroam or hva network to connect to the printer
Robo (Rowan)
Printing with Prusa slicer (recommended)
Through the configuration wizard add a custom printer.
- Give it a recognizable name to you (like Rowan)
- Set Marlin 2 for as the firmware type
- Use Marlin (legacy) if Marlin 2 is not available
- Set the Bed size to x: 197mm and y: 197mm
- Set the Nozzle diameter to 0,4mm and filament diameter to 1,75mm
- Set the Extrusion temperature to 200°C and bed temperature to 60°C
Prusa ( Harry)
Updating the firmware
Because we have a broken temperature sensor port you need to modify the firmware slightly. Have a look at https://alexmeub.com/fixing-prusa-mintemp-with-firmware/ on what to do