3D Printers

[kresty]

Since I was asked about my 3D printer, here goes:

I have a Replicator I Clone, more specifically a whitebox flashforge creator. FF seems to have stopped making them, however you can still find Replicator clones on ebay.  I'm running the Makerbot firmware on it and use MakerWare, where it thinks it's a Replicator Dual.

The bed wasn't flat so I put a sheet of glass on it, printing some clips to hold it in place, then using spring clips after realizing/discovering that printed clips are going to loosen when they get warm   I also laser cut walls for the 3 open sides to keep heat in better for ABS printing.  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:617513 has the files for the sides, but I don't know for sure if all clones are the same shape.  That helped a ton to prevent warping.  I thought about adding a top cover, or corner plugs, but haven't really felt the need to go ahead and do that.

I use hairspray on the glass to help get the parts to stick.  Other people have success w/o hairspray, but it seems to work for me.  Cooling helps the parts pop off.  Hairspray builds up, so don't respray every print. 

One bit I really like about the FlashForge (at least my model) is that the extruders have PTFE tubes in them to guide the 1.75mm filament.  I think what that really means is that they were 3mm extruders that someone stuck a PTFE adapter in to reduce the diameter.  But I like them because I bought a little strip of tube off ebay.  If they get clogged, I "just" swap out the little tube (and check the nozzle).  It seems to be a lot more serviceable than some of the newer machines I've seen, where sometimes the printer's down for some time trying to figure out how to clean the extruder.  The tube I bought is like 1', so I just cut the length I need.

Different filaments, even the same vendor, seem to need different temps.  I have several spools of different colors, so I've taken to writing the good temps on the spool when storing so I have better luck next job.