Questions on 3D Printing

a reply to: TheRedneck

Not being temp controlled might not be the biggest deal. For my printer, I ended up creating an enclosure out of cardboard (one of my favorite materials ever) with one side being acrylic. Then I controlled that environment with a micro computer and some sensors. I even went as far as doing things like exhausting the extruder fan externally.

Still have some issues with environmental changes even then, but it was much improved with some of the trickier materials. Something like PLA is pretty forgiving though.

On a semi-related note, storing your filaments can also be overlooked, but can be important. A sealed, air tight container with some kind of dessicant is all that's really needed.

Setting up remote viewing can be really super useful. Prints can kinda go to pot for various reasons and coming back to what looks like a ball of yarn isn't the best experience A little funny every time though.

For as much as I might want to learn welding, I just don't think it'll happen. A bone metabolism disorder and eight fractured vertebrae that only continue to break and never heal make some things more trouble than they are worth. Also have some metal joints, fractured ribs, ruptured & herniated discs, etc. but those pale in comparison to the spinal fractures. Those hurt.

a reply to: Serdgiam

Yeah, but setting up an enclosure in an already crowded shop is a lot more work than simply setting it up at home. Plus, more room to store the filaments. Only deal I have to handle now is getting my sister back over to go through the room with me; it's full to bursting with Mom's old stuff that we need to divvy up.

Come to think of it, that might be a good excuse to get her here to handle a couple of other details.

Sorry to hear about the bone problems, man... really, damn sorry! I was blessed with good bones (never had a break, although I should have had quite a few when I was younger). My only issue is age catching up to me. I wish I had known I was going to live this long; I would have taken better care of myself.

So I can only imagine the pain involved. I have a nephew who is a disabled vet now, Air Force, because of a damaged back. I have seen the pain in his eyes, and he isn't a wimp by any stretch of the imagination. I wish someone would modernize modern medicine so they could treat conditions as well as they want people to think they can treat conditions. You could learn to weld.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

I suspect you'll go through the same series of events I did, and eventually end up building that enclosure I will say that such an enclosure doesn't increase the footprint of the printer too much, maybe about 5%.

You can also design the filament storage so that it doesn't need to be accessible too often. By using PTFE tubing and some rubber gaskets, you can thread each spool to be accessible without ever needing to open the container. You just grab the filament(s) you need and run it to the extruder. My own plan was that the storage would be used as the base for the printer/enclosure. This creates a platform that has a rather small footprint overall.

And yeah.. the health stuff is immensely frustrating. My spine has been broken for about a decade now. They just have no idea why my bones don't model and heal correctly. I essentially have worse osteoporosis than the vast majority of elderly folks with the same condition.

My goal for years was to redesign the typical "house" from the ground up. Everything from energy to HVAC to cleaning to food production. The marketing package was going to be a 1400sqft living space that cost less than 50k, but with cutting edge technology, fully self-sufficient, and even "niceties" like a state of the art home theater (also of my own design, from the amps to the speakers). It would have been a tall order for even the healthiest of folks.. My dad and I were working on it and making good progress all the same, but he passed away about a year ago. I miss him. Interestingly, he had bone cancer in exactly the same area of my breaks.