3D printing
As the designing is completed , now time comes for 3d printing so i can validate interconnectivity btw my design
For this i went through 3 different type of printer
1. Anet A2 plus
2. Makerbot Z18
3. Stratsys F370
![](img/Final Project/80.jpg )
Starting with anet a2 plus , as this is is my personal printer so i thought that i can easily work with my prints from my home
![](img/Final Project/81.jpg )
I added stl file for the print in cura software for slicing And kept the layer height to 0.2mm and 15% infill initially
![](img/Final Project/82.jpg )
Then i saw that it was taking 7 hours and i thought it is too much for only a test print si i increased the layer height to 0.3 mm and reduce infill to 10% nd got a print around 5hr 30min , si i printed it
![](img/Final Project/83.jpg )
I was not happy with the quality as my anet a2 is a DIY printer and i say tha there is merging of 2 layers at some point du to lack f bed levling on my side so i decided not to work on my printer for my particles
Plus i saw that it is very difficult to let the printer work for 5 hrs , during electricity cut
![](img/Final Project/84.jpg )
You can see the point on the bottm layer where it merged
![](img/Final Project/85.jpg )
Then i switched ti makerbot Z18 , it is a very good printer at our lab so i though it should be better to print from a good calibrated printer
![](img/Final Project/86.jpg )
I saw the same result as for 0.2mm layer height and 15% infill , it shows the same time so i thought i should try
![](img/Final Project/87.jpg )
Like last time i again increased the layer height to 0.3mm and the build time reduces
![](img/Final Project/88.jpg )
So i added the 2 pieces a tones to print
![](img/Final Project/89.jpg )
You can see the print after 12hrs
I was not happy with qaulity as n it has lots of strings and there was no smoothness here , my instructor told me that this happened because of the old hot end and there is someamount of material stuck in nozzle
![](img/Final Project/90.jpg )
So i needed to switch to 3 printer i.e stratasys f370 , it is a very good printer and can give highest finish possible ,
but like always there was again a problem , that our machine lack of soluble support material , so iwas required to work with only pla
![](img/Final Project/91.jpg )
This is the sliced image of the part
![](img/Final Project/92.jpg )
When i looked closely i spotted that the slicer software grabcad in the case of pla material doesnt ask about the how much support we want to give , which posses a huge problem
![](img/Final Project/93.jpg )
If you closely look on these parts , these were meant to be hollow but they have support building in them which was not shown in any other software slicer
![](img/Final Project/94.jpg )
This effects the interlocking capability of my modules so i was only print 1 piece from stratsys which unconviniently i have to place at the bottom
![](img/Final Project/96.jpg )
Time to print the electronic boxe , this was a long print due to its big geometry , it took 9hrs 30min to print this , but the mateial consumption was realy nominal
![](img/Final Project/98.jpg )
Then i printed its cap
![](img/Final Project/101.jpg )
This is a pcb mount which i printed so i can elevate the pcb