Hey folks. I could use your help. Please suggest some topics for future 3d Printing videos so we can continue to learn together.
Irv
I would suggest a video on supports. How to make them work and easy to remove.
Recently I got several comments on thingiverse where people asked how I got rid of the supports. It even got more crazy as someone printed my caliper printer calibration tool at an 45° angle to be able to print the part without support and just have support underneath. Some other guy made a version which can be printed in two pieces to avoid supports. I printed around 12 of them, flat and with support and never even though about the support I was using. I just removed it in less than 15 seconds.
So my topics are:
a) calibrate a printer and setup a slicer correctly to get nice and easy removable supports.
b) when printing without supports is saving plastic and when it does not. (I am sure the redesigned calibration tool is wasting plastic as the minimal used supports get replaced by walls and screw hole walls of the new surfaces, when printed as box and lid.)
c) printing without support became a new religion. People spend hours to make a simple print support less or a design takes longer to create as support related print-ability is effecting the design itself.
Resources:
My model: 3D Printer XYZ Step Calibration Tool (Customizable) by geit_de - Thingiverse
Remix without support: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4619634
When reading the comments you will see more people struggle to remove support for some reason. I never had any issues with removing supports with in seconds.
It is even the other way around. To avoid bending and lifting I print ABS on 3mm supports with brim instead of a raft, because it is way faster, takes less materials and eats any bed adhesion issues that come with ABS. Since the brim is on the support ifself I don´t even need to remove that as it is part of my support.
I would rather print with supports as risking a failed print, which is wasting a hell lot more of plastic and time.
To stretch that even further: I did not change any settings in Cura (beside temperature, cooling and the brim around support option (not sure if ZigZack was the default support pattern)). It just works with all my printers out of the box, so my guess is that people have over extrusion, so the support just glues onto their part or they tinkered at the wrong places in their slicers.
A third kind of intermix topic is the general need of support and the “religion” of avoiding that at any costs. I covered it in a topic here already at the drvax forum.
As a newbie, I would love to see a video about supports. I printed one of the beer guns, Bottle Opener and Cap GUN! by 3Deddy - Thingiverse, which has an elevated horizontal surface for the handle on both sides of the body. I printed it with the default Cura supports and nothing was easy about removing the supports from the handle. I was amazed to get through the process without blood. I keep thinking I’m missing something with regard to supports.
I like the suggestion of a video on supports. One thing I don’t see a lot of tutorials on the tricks one can use to avoid having to use supports.
Also, I think a tutorial on using Preview mode in Cura–what to look for and how to fix common issues (e.g., gaps in walls, z-seam alignment) would help beginners.
Cheers!
I agree about the video on supports. I would add that I think a comparison on how well different slicers do supports would be a great segment of the video. It might help confirm of refute the claims I’ve heard that Simplify3D does the best supports. And, yes, tricks & techniques for avoiding the need for supports would be another great segment.
How about a video on upgrading Creality contol boards (Ender 3, 5, etc.) to the new 32-bit 4.2.7 version. Then, how to add a generic BL Touch (as opposed to a Creality supplied version) to the new board. By generic, I don’t mean a BL Touch knockoff; I just mean a version other than one all packaged up by Creality, with adapter plates, etc.)
I don’t completely disagree with your points, but I will push back on a couple.
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while there are many channels out there, Irv brings his own twist to the videos he produces, a twist I appreciate. For example, I find Chris Riley’s Basement almost impossible to follow. I watched a few of his videos but gave up on them.
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I’m not at all suggesting Irv turn his channel into 1 that’s just about printer hacking. But the 4.2.7 board is quite new. I think a video about its features, and especially things to be wary about, would be useful, even though its useful life would be limited. And, as I said, I wouldn’t watch a video about it on Chris’ Basement.
Just had a thought. In a YT video someone speculated that some stringing on a Benchy was due to the slicer rather than the printer, its settings, or the filament. That got me wondering, has anyone done a video, or series of videos, in which they print exactly the same model, on the same printer, using the same filament, varying only the software used to slice & print the model. The idea, of course, is to highlight differences, if any, between different slicers.
This is a wonderful discussion. Exactly the type of give and take I was hoping for. Thanks for the ideas.
P.S. I will be doing some additional videos comparing the same prints from different slicers.
Irv, it looks like the new PrusaSlicer (currently in alpha) would be an excellent candidate slicer for a comparison video.
This is usually only a faulty retraction setup in the slicer, as you need different retraction speeds and length depending on your printer. The rest is e-step calibration of the extruder (over extruding) and the filament used (temperature to high and every filament gets stringy)
Beside that it all depends on the use of retraction. Cura by default does not retract, when it drives inside support or infill. This is why that always looks a little dirty, but it saves time and results in better print as even a bogus retract gives decent result as the nozzle stays primed most of the time.
Fair enough, but I still think it would be a good idea to put the top 5 slicers up against each other. To start, print a torture test using the slicer’s default profile for the chosen printer. Compare the results to see which is best. Then tweak each slicer to get the best result possible and again compare the results. Other scenarios are, of course, possible.
If someone has done this already, I haven’t come across it. And, even if they have, how long has it been since it was done? 3D printing tech is advancing so quickly now, no doubt, in part, due to the upsurge in interest due to the pandemic, I think it’s time to revisit what’s possible and what the best tools are.
DrVAX’s latest video was great stuff, “How to 3d Print Toys | Movable Parts”.
I printed the negative space test from the 2015 Test Models and had the problem with the last 0.2mm pin being fused. I noticed the Cura offers surgical settings for flow percentage and I found that setting “Inner Wall(s) Flow” to 90% fixed that issue while allowing flow to be 100% for the rest of the print.
I had just done the extruder calibration a couple of days ago, so I’m just going to go with that inner wall 90% setting for all my future prints.
Thanks, great topic for the video. I have about 5 more print-in-place articulating things in my list of models to print now.
I like the idea of a slicer comparison, but I would orient such a video more towards the beginner 3D printer and not so much as a “shoot off” because I suspect they all do well enough for a beginner (or they wouldn’t be a top 5). Factors that could be considered: availability of printer profiles for popular printers, ease of setup and use, ability to use as an “expert” as the user gains familiarity, and perhaps some simple "torture tests – like benchy, the articulated butterfly, and perhaps a stringing test and a bridging test.
Also, i’d like to add my thanks for your latest video. Very fun (and educational)!
Cheers
P.S. – A video on post processing for the beginner too!
Another idea, still slicer related. I’ve just spent the past couple of hours trying to find out how the Prusa Slicer Print, Filament, & Printer menus actually work. Specifically, how does the “Save settings” feature work? If I use the same name for all 3 menus, do the settings for each menu get saved to the same file? I can’t remember completely clearly but, when I was using PS, it seemed to do weird things with the settings file(s). How do I back up the settings files… EASILY. How do I restore/import them? It all seems to be a great mystery. I’m sure there must be some logic to the way it works, but it would be nice if the developers would let the rest of us in on it.
I guess what I’m really asking for is a “best practices” video.
Dang, I just need to keep diving through the archive of videos DrVAX has already done. His video on supports answered so many of my questions–wonderful supports tutorial!
I have some catching up to do.
I can understand where @Geit is coming from with regard to watching revues on new printers that are basically knock offs of old printers. But I think they all do revues because they get sent a new printer to review which they probably keep.
I did find one recent revue interesting, JGMaker Artist-D Dual Extruder Review - YouTube I would wait for the kick starter to end and the dust to settle if I had the space for it and the money to buy it. I like the fact that you don’t waste a lot of filament printing in two colours or two different types of filament. It would certainly add a lot of different possibilities it would be hard to achieve with my Ender 3 pro.
I backed that project, and ponied up for the Pro version afterward.
DrVAX also backed the project.
I remember you said that. I hope you get one and tell us how it works out for you. I might just flog my Ender 3 pro and get one too.
I find it strange and worrying that big established companies now abuse Kickstarter not only to find out if a product is interesting, but also fund money over it, while smaller projects fail because of all the scams done in the past (not only 3d printer related)