3D Scanning and Printing
Group Assignment 2021 (Héctor and Gustavo)
Test the design rules for your 3D printer(s):
- Formlab
- Sigmax
- Discovery
Formlab 3D printer :
Preform software
To test the printer and know its characteristics, we are going to use Surgical Guide resin. We will use this because it is the one we have loaded in the tank and thus we take advantage of this.
First, we open the Preform program and select our printer, according to the manufacturer's list. In this case, we are working with Form 3B (for biomedical use).
The next step we will do is to load the stl files of the test templates, to see to what extent you can work with unsupported angles.
** Care must be taken to ensure that the machine can operate with unsupported structures. Otherwise, the material can stick to the resin tray and cause the part to go bad.
** the software helps with this verification. Show three checks. If they are in green, it can be printed correctly. If they are in yellow, it can be printed, but something defective may come out. If it is red, it cannot be printed.
Depending on the material chosen, the software lets you configure a layer height. This height is set by the manufacturer, and can only be changed based on their values.
When we have everything configured and verified, we can launch the 3D printing to the printer. Now you can see on the touch screen of the Form, how the code is loaded from the file. When it is loaded, we can print it, follow the steps indicated by the 3D printer and the part will begin to print.
Results:
Sigmax R19 3D printer :
This printer that we are going to use has an independent double head. Each can print in a different color or material.
It also has the peculiarity of using two special modes, one that allows printing a piece with each head at the same time (the software divides the bed in half, so that each head has its part). And the other mode, allows to use the two heads so that one prints a part and the other prints the mirror of the part, at the same time.
BCN3D Cura software. To print with this printer, open source software can be used. But to use all the functions of the printer correctly, it is convenient to use the modification of Cura that the manufacturer offers.
To test the templates to see the working angles with supports and free adjustments for moving parts, we have worked with PLA material. It is one of the easiest to print and with "lower" temperatures (190-220 degrees).
With cure, we will configure the extruder nozzle, the layer height, the temperature and material settings, the temperature of the bed, the number of perimeters, the filling density, the filling pattern and the other speed settings and factors that may depend on our machine.
** EACH MACHINE IS A WORLD, THE CONFIGURATION MAY CHANGE EVEN IF THE SAME MODEL IS USED
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To save the file generated with Cura, the files are usually saved in two ways, one in 3mf to save the entire project with its configuration and be able to work it from another place or with other people, and the gcode file that contains the code to print on the model.
Results:
Discovery 3D printer :
This printer is a large format printer. Allow you to print large volume 3D models.
The material it uses is in the form of 1.75mm coils. They can weigh 8kg. The material is of the thermoplastic type.
It has two materials that are extruded by a "Y" shaped head.
To generate the gcode, we use the Cura software, with the profiles provided by the printer manufacturer.
with cura, all possible parameters can be adjusted, as with any other open source printer.
** 0.4mm nozzles can be used, but it is better to use 0.6 or 0.8 nozzles (even 1mm) to print parts faster, with higher layer height. This reduces the printing time, which can be days.
Sometime after this week, we unblocked the printer and looked for the fault. The result was that the system did not cool well. We emptied the cooler reservoir, filled it with distilled water and with that it worked.
To print the characterization parts, we use Premium PLA.
We have tested with this large format 3D printer, because Gustavo will print the skate on it, for his final project.
We have also used a 0.6mm nozzle a little larger than the standard 0.4mm nozzle.
Results:
Ender 3 Pro :
This Open Source 3D printer model allows you to affordably print numerous types of filament: PLA, ABS, PETG, flexible, among others, in a print volume above the standard. Its main characteristics are:
Being open source, it can be used with various 3D printing software. We have used it with Cura because it allows you to make modifications to certain 3D printing parameters, as well as being free software.