Stream of I3V 12" Build Consciousness

[lakester]

OK, that's good to know. I worried that the fan's seal against the shroud might not be sufficient, but as I look more closely, it's actually pretty tight.

Thx!

you can initially flip[ the fan over and have it draw air through the HE fins instead of blow air through them... it helps quite a bit, quick simple and works... temps arent effected... at least as far as everyone that has tried it is concerned

[lakester]

I'm hating myself for giving FreeCAD another chance today.

I thought just maybe if I could get the 2d rendering I needed in either SVG or DXF, I could import that into FreeCAD and use it only for extrude or loft operations, and thence to STL.

Ha.

The DXF import code just doesn't seem to want to work. Looks like the importDXF install doc may be out of date, and I've tried all the likely install locations. It appears that the code is being found, but some kind of internal error is causing FreeCAD to blindly generate a generic boo boo message. I've downloaded the version the docs on github indicate are appropriate to FreeCAD 0.15..., but no joy.

SVG import gets closer, until you try to apply a thickness to a Solid/Face that had its origins as an SVG path. Then..., FreeCAD actually just exits.

FWIW, I used Inkscape to generate the vector files, simply because in this application, the nature of the part is artsy, not so much mechanical. Attempting to design things in FreeCAD would be futile anyway, per my rant in another thread.

Per comments PyramidDave made in another thread, my sense is that OpenSCAD will be part of the solution..., it's just proving to be a challenge to create the STL that OpenSCAD will need.

Oh! WAIT A MINUTE!!!

Looks like OpenSCAD can import DXF as well as STL! Cool! Inkscape can generate DXF.

Honestly..., this really is a preferred path even if FreeCAD were cooperating. I can create the 2D using a tool appropriate to the content type and then use OpenSCAD to generate a canonic 3D part that will essentially be a fancy cookie-cutter encapsulating the extrusion of the 2d line drawing.

OK..., gotta stay cool..., stay calm! (itsgonnaworkitsgonnaworkitsgonnaworkicanfeelit!!! )

[TopJimmyCooks]

sketchup ftw

[Chadd]

Sketchup has it's limitations also. I get pretty frustrated every time I use it to draw something.

sketchup ftw

[lakester]

Yah..., sketchup isn't available on Linux. If I really get in a bind, I'll give it a shot on my MBP, but actually, for my current "artsy" plans, I'm actually kinda jazzed about the InkScape/OpenSCAD combo.

Hopefully in a week or so, I'll have a feeling whether it'll work or not...

Thx!

[lakester]

Updated Extruder and X-carriage...

This project has gone on hold for a bit. I wasn't comfortable that anything I was planning was with certainty gonna make anything "better". Shinier and prettier, yes. But not necessarily better.

I've got sufficient info now to rethink things a bit, but not gonna get to it immediately since I've got some stuff that needs printing.

ABS, warping, and delamination...

I needed to print some fairly large ABS parts. The problem was warping and delamination issues on the first layer. I was pulling my hair out since I suspected the cooling fan mod I was planning would address that..., but not without kinda major disassembly, and without certainty it would really fix the problem. So...

Enter the Hilbert Curve...

I know a picture is worth a thousand words, and I've got pictures..., just don't feel like uploading them to this site. Sorry!

But..., think of the part I'm making as sort of like a large hockey puck.

No matter the temps I used, the rectilinear bottom layer only ever produced something akin to a 200 string guitar. Everything was in alignment, just not properly laminated/adhered.

So I started looking at infill patterns, thinking that perhaps something more convoluted would help. Well..., it does!

So while the warping problem wasn't addressed, the lamination issue was..., and I like the aesthetics of the finished piece.

Warping was diminished SOME, but not enough to say "good enough".

That Dang HE Cooling Fan...

This fancy, large, hockey puck-like part was the perfect smoking gun for the well known stock MF HE cooling fan problem, i.e., over cooling the part. It was obviously no coincidence that the Y-min end of the part exhibited the worst warping by far..., right where the HE fan air was continually exhausting.

BUT..., the printbus and clough42 solutions both required a degree of fiddling that I just didn't feel quite committed to just yet.

Luckily, I came across this:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:641891

this allowed me to test the fan reversal in the most robust way possible, and prove once and for all if the fix would be worth the trouble, with the absolute minimal disassembly work and potential for wasted effort.

It's ugly, it requires fiddling to print (rotation, support material, and judicious adjustments by dremel), but it works great!

It also gave me some great feedback regarding a mod I was thinking of making to one of the other designs.

I had originally thought that the air passing through the HE was of sufficient volume as to not really pick up much heat. And so..., I was thinking it would be a great idea to deflect that exhaust flow to the extruder stepper.

Now..., I don't think that quite so readily. While it still MIGHT be a net win for the stepper..., I gotta say the air that comes out of that exhaust is surprisingly..., warm. Almost hot at times.

Etc...

So..., I've slowly begun backing off temps again, now that the HE cooling is sorted out a bit better. Will continue to experiment.

I can't say for sure that, given the HE fan fix, that the Hilbert Curve top/bottom infill is still needed..., but it looks really nice..., and is particularly attractive following an acetone treatment. So where possible, I'll continue to take the time hit and use it.

It's hard to want to take the printer apart at the moment, simply because it's doing what I need at the moment.

Once I've gotten past the "antique dining room table reinforcement" project, I'll probably pay more attention to the fancy-fying of the the extruder and x-carriage.

[Renfro]

Just assembled my 10" yesterday and was worried that would end up having to go out and find extra M3 nuts. 30% of mine were bad.

[Chadd]

Just assembled my 10" yesterday and was worried that would end up having to go out and find extra M3 nuts. 30% of mine were bad.

I had the same issue.

[lakester]

I periodically go looking for a good deal online for a small parts bundling of metric hardware common for reprap type printers. Would just like to have a small supply on hand of common stuff w/o getting gouged too badly. So far..., no joy.

[CalifDan]

www.mrmetric.com

I have used them. Great prices even on small quantities. They ship 2nd day small package so the shipping can be more than the parts unless you plan out everything you want. I have used them for about a year when I need metric hardware.