Prusa i3 3d printer

[tom_tom_go]

At least it lives Rik, well done.

[ge_rik]

PS - The printer is actually an Anet A8 clone. Not sure why it was listed as a Prusa i3 (clone)

[ge_rik]

PPS I think it would have been difficult to have produced a representation of wickerwork in any other way. So maybe 3D printers have a role - albeit a very niche one

R

[Peter Butler]

Well done Rik, quite an achievement to get it working at all, I had concerns.
Now for that white elephant.

[Jimmyb]

So when are you taking commissions

[philipy]

Well done on getting it going.
I do like the pigeon basket, but 'nuff said about the barrel! However the good news is that you've made a start on filling a box with duff prints "which might come in handy one day"! (Mine is rather fuller than I'd like!)

However, as you can see the striations are fairly prominent. I'm not sure if this is because of the quality of the printer, the quality of the drawing or there are some settings which I can adjust to improve matters. I did increase the size from the original drawing, whether that makes a difference to the quality? Any suggestions?

I'd suggest as a first you should look at the layer thickness settings in Cura. I print virtually everything at 0.18mm and 15% infill seems to work well for most things.
Don't know what size nozzle your machine has? Mine is 0.4mm, but I know others are available.

[ge_rik]

I think it must be something to do with the drawing. I've just printed part of a wheelbarrow and that seems a lot smoother.

DSCN0459.JPG (69.22 KiB) Viewed 5148 times

.
Struggling to print the other parts of the barrow but maybe it's because I scaled them all down. Might be that some things have a limit beyond which they can't be shrunk...

Rik

[tom_tom_go]

What are the print speed times like Rik?

How much power does it consume when printing, does it have an amps rating?

[ge_rik]

What are the print speed times like Rik?

The barrow and the wicker basket each took about an hour.

How much power does it consume when printing, does it have an amps rating?

No idea, Tom. There's a small heating element for the print head, but no more than a hot glue gun would use, there are five stepper motors, but they won't draw much, a couple of 12v fans like those found in a computer and, of course, the electronics board. I doubt it draws very much when in use - probably around 20amps at 12v = 240W ???? Unless anyone knows any different.

Rik

[metalmuncher]

I'm a bit surprised you actually got a fully functional printer for £80! Print quality is about what you would expect for initial prints on a cheap kit, I wonder how much you will be able to tune out the artefacts in software parameters and how much is caused by the mechanics of the machine.

Looks like the machine doesn't have a heated bed? If not, power consumption is probably quite low - I would say less than 100W once its up to temperature and printing. The hotend usually has a 30-40W cartridge heater, but once it reaches temperature the electronics will just pulse power to maintain temperature so the average power would be much less. In general, the cost of filament will be much more than the electricity costs.

[ge_rik]

.... Looks like the machine doesn't have a heated bed ....

Actually it does, controlled via a thermistor. Considering what I paid for it, I'm well pleased. Still got to get to grips with its capabilities (and non capabilities) and in some ways it's a bit Heath Robinson, but that somehow mirrors my approach to the hobby - if I can find a way of doing something cheaply, I will

Rik

[ge_rik]

This may not look much but getting to grips with Sketchup and figuring out how to get curves on curves for the seat backs was a challenge in itself! I need to improve the mounting between the seat and the back, but basically I'm almost ready to go into production.....

IMG_0532.JPG (79.02 KiB) Viewed 5418 times

Also need to tweak the size slightly, but that's easily done.

Feeling quite chuffed!

Rik

[BorisSpencer]

It looks like you've printed them pre-upholstered with some sort of velour.

[philipy]

Those are excellent Rik. Well done at such an early stage in the learning curve.

[ge_rik]

It looks like you've printed them pre-upholstered with some sort of velour.

I could say I planned it that way, but in reality it was pure happenstance.

Rik

[ge_rik]

Those are excellent Rik. Well done at such an early stage in the learning curve.

Took a fair bit of trial, error, watching YouTube videos and googling but they've turned out ok. I'd like to really get to grips with SketchUp. It looks like it can do some amazing stuff, but it's not always intuitive.

Rik

[philipy]

but it's not always intuitive.

No it isn't although I found that once I did actually find a specific technique it was kind of obvious. The one thing that I still CANNOT get to work consistently is rotating an object. I know how to do it but I can never select the correct plane, dunno why.

BTW in case you haven't found out about them yet, there are two plug-ins that you should get. One is the stl exporter and the other is the consistency checker which is called Solid Inspector 2.

[gregh]

I don't know if you ever watched Wil E Coyote, who had a business card that I always wanted.
I think you deserve it...

Ge_Rik
Ge_nius

[ge_rik]

I don't know if you ever watched Wil E Coyote, who had a business card that I always wanted.
I think you deserve it...

Ge_Rik
Ge_nius

Thanks Greg
I'm not sure I deserve that accolade. I see myself more as a slogger. I get where I'm going by sheer cussedness rather than intelligence. But then, maybe an intelligent person wouldn't bother trying in the first place....

Rik

[ge_rik]

No it isn't although I found that once I did actually find a specific technique it was kind of obvious. The one thing that I still CANNOT get to work consistently is rotating an object. I know how to do it but I can never select the correct plane, dunno why.

BTW in case you haven't found out about them yet, there are two plug-ins that you should get. One is the stl exporter and the other is the consistency checker which is called Solid Inspector 2.

Hi Philip
Same here. I did actually manage to rotate the seat back from vertical to horizontal but Im not sure I could reliably repeat the process. Oddly enough, when I imported it into Cura it was vertical again - and I found it's easier to rotate it and lay it flat in Cura. A lesson learned.

I'll seek out those plug-ins. I exported the drawings as .obj and they imported OK into Cura. Not sure which format is the best at preserving detail.

I'm going to write a couple of blog posts on my experiences in case anyone fancies having a go themselves. It will definitely be an Idiot's Guide....

Rik

Rik