<\/p>\n
Boy!\u00a0 4 months pass by quickly when you have a new toy to play with.\u00a0 We\u2019ve hit the ground running with a number of exciting projects that I\u2019ll post about in the upcoming few days, but I do need to focus for a moment (if for nothing than to get the idea out of my brain) about trouble shooting.<\/p>\n
At its core the 3D printer is a fancy hot glue gun with a motor attached to it.\u00a0 Think about that for a second; nice and simple right?\u00a0 Draw a cross-section of something, let it cool, and then raise up and draw the next cross section on top of it, and repeat.\u00a0 Done and done, time to go to bed.\u00a0 Understanding a successfully printed thing is dependent upon the expectations of quality on behalf of the user.\u00a0 Hand a print back to someone that asked for a model to be 3D printed, and you can almost read their face:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does it look so stringy?\u201d
\n\u201cI though the roof would be smoother.\u201d
\n\u201cWow that took a long time!
\n\u201cWhy did it loose so much detail?\u201d<\/p>\n
Trying to meet those expectations is when the fun new toy turns into a very tediously annoying tool.
\nLet\u2019s go back to my hot glue gun analogy.\u00a0 I encourage you to try this at home with a parent\u2019s supervision kids.\u00a0 Draw a circle on a piece of paper using a compass (or trace a plate if you have one handy)\u00a0 now put an even bead of hot glue all the way around on that line\u2026\u00a0 It\u2019s there, but it isn\u2019t all that pretty.\u00a0 Did you move too quickly?\u00a0 Was the glue not hot enough? Was the nozzle too far away from the paper?\u00a0 Did your hand wobble? Were you drawing too quickly? Etc, etc, etc…\u00a0 you see where I\u2019m headed, right?\u00a0 A cube printed at one temperature is going to look different and take longer than the exact same cube at another temperature (just like temp on the glue gun).\u00a0 Controlling all of these variables with the printer can become overwhelming, and impossible to tackle all at the same time.\u00a0 If you\u2019re printing for the first time, find where it is whithin your software that these variables are listed.\u00a0 Take time to test all of these variables out, or align yourself with a community that already has.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be glad you did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Boy!\u00a0 4 months pass by quickly when you have a new toy to play with.\u00a0 We\u2019ve hit the ground running with a number of exciting projects that I\u2019ll post about in the upcoming few days, but I do need … Continue reading