Earbud holder with keyring tab...

The Earbud Holder from Thingiverse caught my attention recently. There was a comment asking if it could have a key chain loop added... it sure can! It's a matter of personal preference whether you print the version with or without the keyring tab, or take the design further. It's great how designs evolve. I fitted a small ring and short length of cord to the holder.Notes:I dropped the original Core .stl into Sketchup and drew on a tab with a...

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A focus on ABS and a new printer hood (with video clips)

ABS is a tough, impact and temperature resistant plastic. It can be injection moulded and extruded. It has many common uses, from Lego to car bumpers. Being able to print in ABS is an important progression for me in terms of the robustness of the objects I might design, prototype and print.My first ventures into printing with ABS did present some challenges. It's extrusion temperature, in the region of  240 Deg C, is a good deal higher than...

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Christmas printing fun...

Thingiverse Santa Sleigh driven by the Snowman! Some red acrylic paint easily added a touch of colour to the white ABS plastic.A variety of other Thingiverse Christmas ornaments!The Angel was creating by tracing some internet clip-art in Sketchup, extruding the shape a few mm and cutting slots so the two halves slide together. It's a simple construction but looks well.Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to a...

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Printing a clock...

I've always had an interest in clocks. They can be hypnotic and fascinating, masterpieces of mechanical engineering, and things of beauty. But could a clock be printed on a home 3d printer? Would it work? I was delighted to see a clock published to Thingiverse (The Makerbot clock) but was disappointed to learn that the hardware kit was no longer available. That didn't deter me.The finished item is a simple and pleasing open style,...

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Bridging gaps (video clip included)...

Once your machine is printing well there are always new challenges to be overcome! I was printing some Mendel90 parts this past week and found some of the parts needed bridging, e.g. the bar clamps:  http://www.thingiverse.com/image:110664 , not to mention the x-motor-bracket:  http://www.thingiverse.com/image:110722There are many bridging calibration test pieces out there and I was inspired by the thingiverse hollow cube and quickly...

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Heated bed with three point leveling...

This recent collection of improvements to my printer stemmed from a desire to try some ABS printing, which I haven't actually got to yet. Again a case of one thing leading to another... It needs a higher heated bed temperature (110deg C I believe), and my resistor heated-bed just couldn't achieve those temperatures.I'm a fan of the three bearing y-carriage. I converted my y-carriage to a three bearing rig a while back (here), but the print bed (upper...

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Turk's Head print...

The Turk's Head print came out so nicely I thought I'd give it a little space of it's own. It might even make a novel Scout woggle, but you might want to use the version without a base and take on the challenge of a supported print!I printed it in PLA at .3mm layer height with a .45mm width and 20% infill. It was set to a perimeter speed of 30mm/sec and left to chug away while I walked the dog.What I have observed when printing in black...

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Y-carriage changes...

I've recently changed the number of linear bearings (LM8UUs) under my y-carriage, reducing the count from four to three. While my y-carriage was running smoothly enough I could detect slight binding on either end of the travel and I couldn't get rid of it no matter how much tweaking I did to the positions of the four bearing mounts. My suspicion was down to slight irregularities or even minor bows in the rods. I'm sure precision ground rods...

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60mm fan holder for Gen6 cooling...

Quick Post: It's good to keep the electronics cool. I salvaged a lovely quiet 60mm fan recently so I printed off a holder from thingiverse for it (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:13469). I modified the base plate of the holder so it clipped on to the printers threaded rods. See photos...There was a bit of stray airflow on to my printed bed, so I slotted a clear plastic lid behind the board to stop unmanaged airflow to the bed. I'll also need to...

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More extruder talk...

There's such a variety of RepRap part designs out there that you really have to match them up carefully if you plan to upgrade any individual aspect of your printer. You can 'pick 'n' mix' but as I've learned you should think it through and double check everything before starting in to an upgrade. Here are some examples of the minor issues I bumped into when I bought a new extruder hot-end, the J-Head IV-B.The j-head has a 16mm diameter insulator...

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PVA coated print bed experiment

There was a recent suggestion on the forum from Enlightx that a coating of diluted PVA (50:50), painted on to the print bed would aid adhesion of the printed object, preventing warping or even breakaway. The suggestion was echoed and tried by Rich on his blog. I gave it a go, diluting to a ratio of 1:8. At this point I've been using it for over a week, printing each evening. Here's some feedback on the experiment.It brushes on easily and...

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The Hot-end...

The majority of extruder hot-ends on the market at the moment come as kits of varying degrees. There's a certain amount of assembly you have to do yourself, but this is changing rapidly, and not too soon I think.(J-Head IV-b shown above.)It comes with a resistor and thermistor but they are not fitted. Fitting them is 'fun' the first few times, but after a while becomes a bit tedious. I can see the expanding market moving to some level of pre-assembly,...

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