Week 6 : 3D Scanning and Printing

This weeks group assignment is to find out the design rules of the 3D printer in our lab

Ultimaker Cura 2+

The 3D Printer in our lab is a Cura Ultimaker 2+. At the front there is a SD card slot, a small screen and a rotatable button for navigation and selection. The power switch is placed at the back, and also the filament roll is mounted at the back. The extruder can move along the X-axis & Y-axis and the bed moves in the Z-axis. This machine has an option for mounting a second extruder. It has got a layer resolution upto 20 microns.

Printer Specification

1)Build volume : 22.3cm x 22.3cm x 30.5cm

2)Print speed : 30mm/s - 300mm/s

3)Travel speed : 30mm/s - 350mm/s

4)Filament diameter : 2.85mm

5)Nozzle diameter : 0.4mm

6)Nozzle temperature : 180-260 degree celcius

7)Bed temperature : 50-100 degree celcius

8)Printer Technology : Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)

Design Rule Test

For testing the design rules of the 3D printer we chose to print the file "Test your 3D printer! v3 by ctrlV" from Thingiverse.

After downloading the file, we uploaded it into the Ultimaker Cura slicing software.

We set the printer to the following setting.

Click the slice button at bottom right corner. Now the software will slice the object into layers and also generates the gcodes for printing each layer. The software also show the time required for printing and the amount of filament required.

Then we saved the file into the SD card and gave it for printing. The printer will take sometime to reach the required temperature. When the nozzle (210 degree celcius) and the bed (50 degree celcius) reach the specified temperature it will automaticaly start printing.

This is the final print out we got. It looks good and clear, but we need to measure it to find how accurate it is.

Print Comparison

1) M4 nut should fit perfectly :

M4 nut fits perfectly, But it is a tight fit.

2) Wave, rounded print :

Wave crust are not perfectly round whereas the wave troughs are rounded.

3) Star, sharp edges :

The edges are not sharp, but can be made sharp by slight sanding.

4) Name, complex shapes :

Name came out good, can be made better by sanding.

5) Holes, size: 3, 4, 5mm :

Printed hole sizes: 2.78, 3.78, 4.76mm. The hole sizes are slightly small

6) Minimal distance: 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7 :

We counldn't measure it since the clearence are really minute

7) Z height: 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1mm :

Printed value: 0.25, 0.45, 0.6, 0.78, 0.94, 1.09, 1.24, some of the Z heights are not obtained

8) Wall thickness: 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7mm :

Printed wall thickness: 0.57, 0.77, 10.8mm. Walls of thickness 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 & 0.4mm where not obtained.

9) Bridge print: 2, 4, 8, 16mm :

Bridges are formed between each pillar with some tiny protrusion.

10) Sphere, rounded print, 4.8mm height :

Sphere is rounded with a height of 3.12mm.

11) Sphere mix, 7mm height :

Sphere mix of 4.9mm height

12) Pyramid, 7mm height :

Pyramid of 4.8mm height

13) Overhang angle: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70 :

Overhang shows stability but slight defects.

14) Warp, does it bend? :

Warp came out perfect but inside the warp there are tiny globules of PLA.

15) 3D print font, optimized for 3D printing :

Fonts are almost good.

16) Surface flatness :

Surface came out well.

17) Spike, 21mm height from bottom :

Spike height from bottom is 17.74mm.

18) Hole in wall, 4mm dia :

Hole is 4.15mm dia.