Alternative uses for 3d printers

[curious aardvark]

So these days I tend to change a fair few tablet and phone screens when the glass gets cracked.

These are always glued to the bloody devices.

So I use the build plate on my flashforge to heat the glue up to the point where you can seperate glass and case.

Most people use hot air guns - but I reckon being able to set an accurate temperature makes it a lot less likely I'm melt or fry anything important. And I can evenly heat up a larger area.

So do any of you use your machine for anything other than printing ?

[EagleSeven]

This Winter I May use it to Heat our House ! LOL

If that don't work, I could always Chop it Up and put it in the Fireplace ! LOL

[Davo]

I use mine for laser cutting of packaging foam.

Some customers use it for adhesive and hot glue deposition.

[EagleSeven]

I use mine for laser cutting of packaging foam.

What Slicer software do you use when using the Laser attached to printer ?
Or is it done with Manual jogging settings ?

We considered adding a Laser to our printer but not sure about best way to control it's movement ?
If there is no good software then it seems that there is no advantage of adding Laser to printer ?

[curious aardvark]

Don't count davos - those are all genuine uses fora hyrel :-)

I'm looking for stuff that isn't in the manual :-)

[dunginhawk]

I used mine bake a cake the other night. I had the bed at 120c and the bottom turned out a bit darker by the time the rest of the cake got done, but it worked.
i think if i were to do it again (and why wouldnt i) ill let the chamber heat up for an hour ahead of time so i can help offset the cooking deficiencies

edit: in the same night, because i needed softened butter for the cake frosting, i used the bed to melt the butter in a metal bowl. Worked great.

[Davo]

What Slicer software do you use when using the Laser attached to printer ?
Or is it done with Manual jogging settings ?

I bring in a 2d dxf file and convert it to gcode; I think it's a Repetrel function, not even calling a slicer. And we analyze it to order the moves efficiently (it's not always one long continuous cut).

However, you could model the shape you wanted cut and then slice it with one solid perimeter, perimeters first, and then delete all layers above layer one, and then delete all lines of infill. This would leave a single path of perimeter. Then, by adjusting your print speed, you would control the amount of penetration; darker colored foam generally cuts faster than lighter colored foam of the same composition and density.

[Mjolinor]

For my laser cutter I use Marlin with some mods and Inkscape with a plugin to generate the Gcode as either a raster or a cut depending on what the plugin sees in the drawing. Raster or cut is done by layer and the layer name defines the laser power and the function, raster or cut.

To perform the raster in Marlin I added a G7 instruction to Marlin and another guy wrote hte plugin to make the G7 commands.

It's all talked about in the Google Group:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!fo...ensource-laser

[EagleSeven]

I bring in a 2d dxf file and convert it to gcode; I think it's a Repetrel function, not even calling a slicer. And we analyze it to order the moves efficiently (it's not always one long continuous cut).

However, you could model the shape you wanted cut and then slice it with one solid perimeter, perimeters first, and then delete all layers above layer one, and then delete all lines of infill. This would leave a single path of perimeter. Then, by adjusting your print speed, you would control the amount of penetration; darker colored foam generally cuts faster than lighter colored foam of the same composition and density.

Thanks for the Info !

Yep, just Strip down the code until you have Only what is needed.
That sounds like a Fun Project !

[EagleSeven]

For my laser cutter I use Marlin with some mods and Inkscape with a plugin to generate the Gcode as either a raster or a cut depending on what the plugin sees in the drawing. Raster or cut is done by layer and the layer name defines the laser power and the function, raster or cut.

To perform the raster in Marlin I added a G7 instruction to Marlin and another guy wrote hte plugin to make the G7 commands.

Oops, now you are making it sound too Complicated ! LOL