7. 3D printing¶
In this week we are going to learn about 3D design and printing, we have two printers in fablab, the ULTIMAKER printer and the other one is the CREALITY and each one have its own software, As a group assignment we are going to compare between both printers and see how do they work and the better options depending on speed and quality.
Note that large files of the designs can not be added to any of the website (files) because they are two heavy, you will need to remove them then undo the commits
Group Assignment¶
We can choose a ready made FOR FREE design from THINGIVERSE there are multiple designs for free (simple and complex) that we can choose from,BUT as a test we choose the following shape to see the deference for the quality and speed, without a support between the printers:
For more details about filaments and nozzle type you can visit my partner site Ali Al Jishi.
Our group assignment is to compare between both printers by printing a simple shape that need supports to build, and see which one will print faster with good quality.
CREALITY 3D printer :¶
steps¶
We will start by connecting the Required filament to the printer, but first we will remove any old residue to make sure that the printer will melt the material perfectly based on its melting point, we used PLA which have a melting point of 220 C , to remove old material we will pres on the white button that hold the material wire in the tube then melt it to remove it (melting point differ between a material and other) , then we will pull the wire from the end of the tube and then connect the other filament but before connecting it to the nozzle we must remove any material that is still stuck by making it reach to the melting point , then adding the required filament (first break the top) then put it inside the tube until it reach the nozzle to melt it so it hold and press the button so if will be fully attached
You can follow the steps in the following videos:
You will send the file in gcode to the printer
Removing the old filament :
Adding the new filament :
After that we can use the wifi connection to send the files to the printer
BUT make sure to watch the printer work for the first few layers for about 10 to 15 minutes to check for any errors.
Result¶
Time needed to print was 50 minute
ULTIMAKER 3D PRINTER¶
The main deference we can notice from the beginning is that ULTIMAKER do not have wifi settings to download the design so you will need an SD card to download the file from your computer to the printer.
steps¶
We add the design that we want to print in the printer software in .stl form we can change color in the application to know the approximated shape , choose the nozzle size , material type, control size of the shape, choose if we want to add support, time needed for the design is 2 Hours which x1200% the time needed for CREALITY to print the same shape !
After finishing all the setting we download the file to the SD card and connect the SD card to the printer then choose th file to start downloading
All the steps are shown in the following video:
The result :¶
Time needed was 2 hours !
CONCLUSION¶
We noticed the significant difference in time, ultimakr needed more than two hours to finish printing and did not print the shape perfectly, because there was no supports the amount of milted material that fell was way more than the CREALITY. Also, ULTIMAKER did not print the edges inside the shape and missed few spots BUT CREALITY did have a better and more holding and secure shape, so we the better choice is CREALITY because it had a shorter working time needed and better finishing shape.
Individual assignment¶
FIRST TASK¶
every student was required to design a 3 D shape and use on of the printers, following the previous steps, for one of the printers but with more details, i used fusion to design a small bowl that need supports and choose CREALITY 3D printer
STEPS¶
Adding the files to the printer software
We can control the size and the shape but make sure to put them inside the board so the printer can work on the whole board area without facing a problem.
Choosing the material type, quality and details, more details will take more time for the excellent quality but standard process will take less time for good quality.
you can make the software create supports for the shape automatically
choosing the printer by connecting to the same wifi network
exporting the design file in gcode after slicing we see that the working time is 7 hours and few minutes.
Printer printing lyre by lyre
Printer final result
removing the support and the axis peaces
The final shape, to better the quality you can use sand paper to make it more smooth
Second Task¶
The following task is to search about a 3D scanning app on your mobile that is free to use and scan any object in 3D.
i will be using Scaniverse on my phone, it is a free app with multiple options that allow you to scan deferent shapes with deferent sizes and qualities for free.
to start scanning
mesh option to have the fully 3D shape you scanned
Putting the phone near the shape we want to scan
the results :