3D printer? - Page 2

Barrowman · 12-12-23, 04:12 PM

The printer you linked to looks good for the price. You can download many 10's of 1000's of stl files from thingiverse. You can download the Creality slicer app and use it to create gcode - the instructions the printer needs - from the stl file. Save it to an SD card which you then plug into the printer and tell it to print it.

jeff5may · 12-12-23, 08:54 PM

Hehehe firearm parts! That's so government like the J6 committee still pushing so the Cheeto can never ever ever make anything (great or otherwise) again. Meanwhile, 3d printers selling like Glocks. Better buy up them bullets, the gummint cornerin the marquet. Filling up the chest for WWW

Seriously though, my youngest son bought an ender 3 pro rebadge around 2 years ago. It's been used A LOT. We started out making preprogrammed stuff with it. Sun visor clips, plastic chains, spacers, adapters, etc. Two tons of "things" out there in the Web. No fancy PC needed. I have downloaded "things" with my phone, put them on a memory card and printed them that way. It's like checking out at the gas station pump, tiny screen and all.

It eliminates the need for a whole section of the garage. All those cribs full of plastic drawers of plastic parts, gone. Shims, spacers, doorstop/wedge things, washers, drywall anchors, etc. Those little cam lock inserts that economical furniture is assembled with and impossible to find locally: print off a dozen in a half hour. Small things are what they are best at making.

That being said, if you're creative, they're like any other robust shop tool. You can accessorize and automate, make them stronger, upgrade your heart out. I put Autodesk fusion 360 and cura slicer on my home theater PC to whip up crazy stuff with. Anything that will play full HD video is good enough. The old turtle PC on the fixit bench wouldn't do it because it wouldn't support openGL new enough. I think it came with windows XP or ME loaded ... I had to put windows 10 in the htpc so it would play Dolby digital on Netflix and such.

Any more, I print everything out of ABS filament. Glues together with solvent cement, scrap can be recycled into "ABS juice" and painted onto "things" like shellac. Main reason is because it's more heat resistant than the other common filaments and not as prone to go stale. Spray paint sticks well, too. Downside is you have to have still air around it while printing. I treat the print bed with a coat of wood glue and water every few prints to help keep the objects anchored firmly, even after building a shroud for the printer. ABS, nylon, polypropylene, etcetera don't like drafts or temperature swings.

It all depends how much tinkering and/or fabricating you do. If only occasionally, find someone who has one sitting around doing nothing. They're everywhere, kinda like drill presses.

Xringer · 12-12-23, 11:07 PM

I think it was California that was going to ban the 3D printers.
Just today, I saw a video saying the regime wants to ban
the exchange of files for gun parts.
I don't know if they voted on it yet.
https://youtu.be/b2mSYtAeSz8

Some crazy people down in DC these days.

Here in Massachusetts we have a massive anti-gun bill in the state house cooker. It's got everything that that all the other anti-gun states have and more.
She's going for the record.
Good night guys!

12-12-23, 11:07 PM	#13
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	I think it was California that was going to ban the 3D printers. Just today, I saw a video saying the regime wants to ban the exchange of files for gun parts. I don't know if they voted on it yet. https://youtu.be/b2mSYtAeSz8 Some crazy people down in DC these days. Here in Massachusetts we have a massive anti-gun bill in the state house cooker. It's got everything that that all the other anti-gun states have and more. She's going for the record. Good night guys! __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

12-12-23, 04:12 PM	#11
Barrowman Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: North Lincolnshire, England Posts: 29 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	The printer you linked to looks good for the price. You can download many 10's of 1000's of stl files from thingiverse. You can download the Creality slicer app and use it to create gcode - the instructions the printer needs - from the stl file. Save it to an SD card which you then plug into the printer and tell it to print it.

12-12-23, 08:54 PM	#12
jeff5may Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA Posts: 2,431 Thanks: 431 Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts	Hehehe firearm parts! That's so government like the J6 committee still pushing so the Cheeto can never ever ever make anything (great or otherwise) again. Meanwhile, 3d printers selling like Glocks. Better buy up them bullets, the gummint cornerin the marquet. Filling up the chest for WWW Seriously though, my youngest son bought an ender 3 pro rebadge around 2 years ago. It's been used A LOT. We started out making preprogrammed stuff with it. Sun visor clips, plastic chains, spacers, adapters, etc. Two tons of "things" out there in the Web. No fancy PC needed. I have downloaded "things" with my phone, put them on a memory card and printed them that way. It's like checking out at the gas station pump, tiny screen and all. It eliminates the need for a whole section of the garage. All those cribs full of plastic drawers of plastic parts, gone. Shims, spacers, doorstop/wedge things, washers, drywall anchors, etc. Those little cam lock inserts that economical furniture is assembled with and impossible to find locally: print off a dozen in a half hour. Small things are what they are best at making. That being said, if you're creative, they're like any other robust shop tool. You can accessorize and automate, make them stronger, upgrade your heart out. I put Autodesk fusion 360 and cura slicer on my home theater PC to whip up crazy stuff with. Anything that will play full HD video is good enough. The old turtle PC on the fixit bench wouldn't do it because it wouldn't support openGL new enough. I think it came with windows XP or ME loaded ... I had to put windows 10 in the htpc so it would play Dolby digital on Netflix and such. Any more, I print everything out of ABS filament. Glues together with solvent cement, scrap can be recycled into "ABS juice" and painted onto "things" like shellac. Main reason is because it's more heat resistant than the other common filaments and not as prone to go stale. Spray paint sticks well, too. Downside is you have to have still air around it while printing. I treat the print bed with a coat of wood glue and water every few prints to help keep the objects anchored firmly, even after building a shroud for the printer. ABS, nylon, polypropylene, etcetera don't like drafts or temperature swings. It all depends how much tinkering and/or fabricating you do. If only occasionally, find someone who has one sitting around doing nothing. They're everywhere, kinda like drill presses.