3D Printing Blog

How to Orient 3D Prints

2018-06-25T13:44:00-05:00

The main reasons you will need to think about print orientation is for aesthetics, strength, and supports.

With FDM printing you will get the greatest amount of detail in the Z direction. (The vertical direction) The reason that is, is due to the how a printer is constructed. The standard nozzle diameter is 0.4 mm but in the Z you can have layer heights of 0.1 mm or smaller. That is a gain of 75% or more detail. The down side to this is it usually takes longer to print and is overall weaker.
Strength is the next thing to keep in mind. When you are trying to decide the best orientation based on strength, it is best to think of a 3d print like a piece wood. The layer lines in a 3d print act like the grain structures in wood. The layers of a 3d print will all ways be the weakest part of your model. You wouldn't build a bridge with vertical end grain so you shouldn't do the same with a 3d print. Ideally you would want your grain to be perpendicular to the load. This isn't always possible in a signal print so if strength is something you're after, it might be best to break up your model with that in mind.
In an ideal world you should always aim for zero support structures to cut down on printing time and post processing but that is usually easier said than done. Some tips for designing files that don't need supports is to avoid overhangs (Features that angle out more that 60 degrees or features thatl start printing in midair before joining your part) and use bridging to your advantage. Sometimes supports are impossible to avoid but if you rotate your model sometimes you can limit the amount of support your will need to generate and remove.

Top 5 Printing Mistakes

2018-06-18T12:03:00-05:00

Incorrect bed leveling
1. If your print peels up or the nozzle gets jammed around the first few layers, your bed might not be leveled correctly. To level the bed correctly follow these guides. Ultimaker 2+ bed leveling guide, Ultimaker 3 bed leveling guide, Ultimaker S5 Bed leveling guide
Incorrect Settings
1. If you are not using Ultimaker materials it is easy to forget to double check your material settings. In Ultimaker Cura make sure you select the correct base material profile first, by selecting PLA for instance in the upper right of the program, then go to advanced setting, open the material tab and make sure those settings match the manufacturers recommended setting for your material. If you have an Ultimaker 3 or newer and use Ultimaker branded materials you will not have to worry about this issue.
Tangled Filament
1. If you see your printer printing in mid air, it doesn't always mean you have a clogged nozzle. First make sure your spool rotates freely. If it doesn't, you might have accidentally slipped the end of the spool under a winding and caused a knot. Sadly, this problem wont show up until hours after you start a print and it's not an easy problem to spot.
  1. The best way to prevent this is to never let go of the end of the filament and always thread the filament through the holes on the of the spool before you let go of it.
Not Using Support Material
1. It is easy to forget or miss overhangs if your are not paying close attention. Luckily Ultimaker Cura highlights overhangs in red so if you see that on your model don't forget to turn on supports before you send your print.
Not Monitoring Your 3D Print
1. This is an easy habit to get into when using an Ultimaker printer but every hour or so make sure to check on your print. If you have an Ultimaker 3 or newer this is as easy as opening up Ultimaker Cura, clicking on the Monitor tab at the top left and then clicking on the camera icon on the specific printer you would like to monitor. If the video feed isn't available make sure you are connected to the same network as the printer.

Top 5 Websites With Free 3D Printable Models?

2017-09-05T19:06:00-05:00

Don't have the time 3D model what you want? Don't worry, there are 1000's of free 3D models just begging you to print them! Before you spend hundreds of hours modeling an entire Iron-man suit for your next cosplay adventure, check out one of these sites and you might just find what you are looking for.

Here are my Top 5 favorite depositories of free 3D Models ready to be 3D printed:

https://www.thingiverse.com/

https://www.youmagine.com/

https://pinshape.com/

https://www.myminifactory.com/

https://cults3d.com/

The great thing about these websites are, they are populated by people like you. So if you can't find what you are looking why not share your 3D models with the community to pay it forward. You might make someones day with you own creation.

How to increase print accuracy on the Ultimaker 2+ and 3 using Cura?

2017-07-28T16:50:00-05:00

The solution that mostly that gets thrown around is to model in some extra tolerance so when it comes off the printer everything will have a better chance of fitting. But that is sometimes easier said than done. If you are not using a CAD software where that solution can easily be implemented or if you downloaded a model that was not meant to be 3D printing or even if you don't want to ruin your model by adding hypothetical gaps in between your parts, no worries! There is an easy solution built into Cura.

Through my extensive testing of Ultimaker machines, I have come to realize that they error on the side of being over sized by 0.4 mm in the x/y axis to take into account a finishing process like sanding or chemical smoothing. But that is only helpful to the artists out there not so much the engineers or the people who want dimensional accurate parts straight off the printer. Luckily the fine folks at Ultimaker have programmed in a solution to this problem within Cura itself.

First things first I would recommend doing a quick test print on your machine to get a base line to start with.Download Model Here

Step 1: Print this model. If you want to see how I quickly modeled this is Fusion 360 head over here

Step 2: Get out those calipers and measure your results. As you can see the parts were built right on top of each other and the goal is to make them fit perfectly together. Don't expect them to fit the first time you print.

When I measured my results I got 20.4 mm on the outer dimension which is 0.4 mm wider than it should be according to the diagram above.

Step 3: Take the difference you see and divide it by -2

My part was 0.4 mm too wide so I will divide 0.4 by -2 and that equals -0.2

Step 4: Adjust the Horizontal Expansion setting in Cura. (By default this option is hidden, to unhide this option, follow these simple steps)

Click Custom on the upper right
Click the gear in the Shell dropdown. (when your mouse hovers near it, it will appear)
Scroll down a tiny bit and check the box next to Horizontal Expansion.

Step 5: Type that into the Horizontal Expansion box and do another print.

With a little bit of pressure you should be able to push them together and get a really tight fit.

Step 6: If it's still too tight or if it's now too lose, adjust the Horizontal Expansion until you get that perfect fit!

Just remember to turn this feature off if you plan on doing dual color prints because this will cause a tiny gap between your parts and it wont look as nice.

I hope this helps and if you have any more questions please feel free to email me and I will be happy to assist you. Ryan @3dv.com

How easy is it to use an Ultimaker 3

2017-07-11T14:34:00-05:00

3D printing is now easier than ever and is no longer for the technically gifted. If you have a model with a solid foundation and you don't have any overhangs you can print like this until your hearts content. If your still not convinced by its ease of use, follow us over the next few week as we show you how to use this wonderful printer. If you don't know how to model but want to start printing in the mean time head on over to www.Thingiverse.com or www.youmagine.com and there you will find thousands of models to print. The model we chose to print in this video was excellently crafted for FDM printers like the Ultimaker 3.

When you are buying an Ultimaker you are buying quality. All of the technical work is done for you and all you need to do is pick your print quality, tell the printer if you want to use supports and then add some build plate adhesion if you desire and hit print! It's that simple.

But, if you are an advanced user and love tweaking your setting you are in luck. Ultimaker puts no restrictions on its software and there are dozens if not hundreds of setting you can play with.

We will try cover all of this and more in the weeks to come, stay tuned!