To test one of our 3d printer (a Makerdreams iNvent One)
i choose a stress-test model
from Thingiverse and sliced it with Cura.
I was already familiar with this slicer: it's the standard choice here @ Crunchlab.
This test model is shaped to test critical features like overhang angles, bridging, spikes, minimal distances, holes in walls and rounded (spherical) surfaces.
Slicing parameters:
Before the first print i purged the nozzle to remove old PLA residue in the hotend.
I also checked the print bed level calibration with the old paper sheet "trick":
put a sheet between the nozzle and the bed and calibrate the bed until pulling the
sheet there is just a bit of friction.
Final considerations:
The minimum distance between two wall achievable with this printer is 0.2 mm.
Overhangs without supports are good until 50°, layer height is the key parameters
for slightly inclined surfaces and for walls estetics.
Print speed is a key parameter and has direct effect in printing quality.
I decided to print something useful and not just a demonstration of the capabilities
of 3D printing.
Last year I bought a new Sony mirrorless but it's a bit too small for my hands :)
There are official battery grips but they are a bit expensive and not really useful
with usb charging so here is my lightweight improved grip.
USB charging is good but i still might want to change the battery so i designed it
with a recessed slot for the battery lid.
I know this is not an extreme feature to showcase 3D printing capabilities like
an hollow twisted tube but I think this recessed slot isn't machinable with a 3-axis
CNC and it may be too hard even for more advanced milling machines.
Then i sliced the exported STL file with a new slicer suggest by a friend: IceSL.
The interface seems still a bit rought but it has nice features like dynamic layer
thickness/infill/supports + native multicolor/material support.
I used a black PLA for the print test but i don't really liked it so a tried the
orange one.
I discovered that different color from the same manifacturer may have different
temperature response: with this orange PLA at the same 205°C temperature I was able
to get much more precise prints!
I was ready to print but... Murphy law applies even to 3D printing: the hotend was clogged!
Hotend maintenace was succesfull so here come hero shots!
No STL: it was a bit to heavy for FabAcademy repo! Anyway it's easy to get it importing Iges or sldprt files or exporting it from OnShape!
I'm not a real fan of 3D scanning and i looked for easly scannable stuff.
Crunchlab's Maneki-Neko was nice enough.
I tried a photogrammetry Android app: SCANN3D.
The scanning process was very easy: take a picture when dots on the screen are green.
But then disaster!
I wasn't able to get a single nice 3d model with SCANN3D! Only weird meshes even
with simple objects like a marking pen!
I'm planning to try another photogrammetry software, this time windows based: Zephyr.