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Wordle 1,139 4/6
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Within you lies the power for good - Use it!
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Wordle 1,139 2/6*
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Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have. -Anon
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. -Frederick Nietzsche
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Wordle 1.139 4/6
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GCS/GE d--(d) s-/+ a C+++ U+++ P-- L+@ E-- W+++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
The shortest horror story: On Error Resume Next
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Wordle 1,139 4/6
⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛
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Ok, I have had my coffee, so you can all come out now!
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Wordle 1,139 4/6*
🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛
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Wordle 1,139 4/6
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"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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Wordle 1,139 3/6
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Jeremy Falcon
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Has anyone here tried them?
I've been looking at them recently and would like to hear some feedback from existing users. What to look for and what to avoid, what brands deliver value and which disappoint, that sort of thing. I'm not going for the priciest models, but I don't mind paying several hundred$.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Never tried one yet. I'm just here for emotional support and to follow the thread. 
Jeremy Falcon
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Roger, I've had 2 and presently have a Prusia model, probably 2 years now and really like it.
See my 3D Printing - 101[^] , might help you decide.
I like that I can go from design to product in so short a time.
A home without books is a body without soul. Marcus Tullius Cicero
PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - Release Version 1.4.0 (Many new features) JaxCoder.com
Latest Article: EventAggregator
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Great article, Mike! Thanks! I can't wait to print myself some new teeth!
Will Rogers never met me.
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I had thought of doing that, just got the last 7 pulled a couple of months ago...then I came to my senses. 
A home without books is a body without soul. Marcus Tullius Cicero
PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - Release Version 1.4.0 (Many new features) JaxCoder.com
Latest Article: EventAggregator
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What material would you recommend for that purpose? I don't see Zirconia as an available filament.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Hmm, not sure what filament would be food safe.
I did find this Dental 3D Printing Materials Guide - SprintRay Inc.[^].
All I can find right now, been on the road for the last 26 hours with little sleep. I hate flying anymore, especially with the computer glitch a couple of weeks ago.
A home without books is a body without soul. Marcus Tullius Cicero
PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - Release Version 1.4.0 (Many new features) JaxCoder.com
Latest Article: EventAggregator
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I've tried to avoid flying since they created TSA. I used to fly most of the time for work, but I don't think I will ever do it again. If I can't drive it, I ain't going.
Will Rogers never met me.
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He should be asleep right now, but @OriginalGriff has a fair bit of experience with them.
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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Thanks, Peter... I have an order already set up for the unit Mike recommends, but Ill hold off until I hear from Griff. I highly respect both of their opinions.
Will Rogers never met me.
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I have two types of 3D printer: FDM and SLA: there are advantages and disadvantages to both. (Both are Anycubic since the reviews I checked out said they were the best "bang for your buck" in their class.)
FDM is quicker to print, but (in my experience) fiddlier to set up and more prone to major mess-ups.
SLA prints more slowly, but has much higher resolution and reliability (if you follow the rules)
I started with an FDM - they work by laying a bead of melted filament to form a layer and then raise the head to print the next layer. They are effective, but ... you have to get the bed absolutely right: a "low corner" means the filament may not "stick" well enough and pull free of the base. At which point it melts all over the Hot End that extrudes the filament and forms a glued on birds nest which is a total PITA to clean. It can also be difficult to work out exactly what temperature things should be set at, and to keep drafts away from the work so it sticks properly.
They do work well with several different materials and once printed are stable and ready to rock'n'roll.
Then I got an SLA - these use a monochrome LCD panel to either let UV through (where you want material laid down) or not (where you want a gap) then raise the workpiece ready for the next layer. That's a slower process (because there are a lot more layers per cm of height) but the time to print will be the same regardless of the complexity of each layer unlike FDM where it's a function of how much the head has to move to form each layer.
You can get different materials including a "tough ABS like" resin that I'm having great success with.
Clean up: Oh boy. FDM clean up can be either negligible or major, there doesn't appear to much much middle ground except for "stringing" where the hot glue leaks out while the head is moving between print sites in the layer - this can cause some very "hairy" prints, but fine tuning of speeds and temperatures can reduce this -0 there are a lot of variables to work through here though! No special equipment is needed to clean between prints though - just a small amount of Isopropyl Alcohol and lint free cloths (but a small chisel can help when you get a meltdown  )
SLA post print finishing takes more work: the resin needs to be cured (and I recommend a UV curing station, but you can just leave it on the windowsill and let the sun do it, you don't have a lot of control over the UV that way, and it needs to be rotated to ensure even coverage). Clean up can be a pain - you need to get the unused resin out of the tank or the solar UV will eventually set it into a brick, and you do need to wash the freshly printed model to remove unwanted resin before curing - that means copious amounts of Isopropyl Alcohol (I buy it in 5L tanks and built a special cupboard to keep it and the resin in as it's a serious fire hazard in those quantities). There are tricks you can use to make it easier though.
I don't recommend the wash-n-cure stations though I have one purely because they use a lot of IA and if you don't keep your eye on it the residual resin they wash off will cure onto the basket you wash the models in and it will be impossible to clean! Excellent as curers, but for washing I prefer a manual approach with a spray bottle and a glass bowl.
How you print determines how you design: because FDM uses a "hot melt glue gun" approach, it doesn't do well spanning gaps without significant bridging - so you may have to design as several pieces and glue them together, but SLA needs planning and supports to prevent the work piece "popping off" the base while printing. Happened to me a few times until I learned to trust the slicer.
During Covid, I used the FDM to print face masks and it worked brilliantly, but I haven't used my FDM since I got the SLA and ABS-like resin.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Oh, yeah - CAD software will be needed. I ended up with Fusion 360 (they have a fully featured free version for non-commercial use): Adventures in 3D printing Part 1: Fusion, you CAD![^]
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I have AutoCAD, but I guess I have to upgrade to a 3D version of it, or change to another (more affordable) product. Thanks for the excellent feedback on the types of printer available, btw!
Will Rogers never met me.
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I have one that's about 4 years old, and I love it.
Expect to make a lot (and I mean a lot) of mistakes. You'll have prints fail for no apparent reason, and gravity is a thing that must be respected.
Learn about how the printer actually works. Unlike a normal printer, you will probably have to pull the print head apart and re-build it multiple times, especially as parts wear out.
I use OpenSCAD to create my files. They export into STL's which I then load into the FlashForge slicer program. I then set up any supports, chose the extruder to use (I have a dual head, so I can print two filaments at once, I use it to create panels with clear plastic sections for back lit designs), and press the "make it so" button. I've only downloaded a couple of things from thingyverse, I mostly make my own designs.
Prints can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 24 hours to run through, depending on the size, the quality and the complexity, although the software I have can usually guess within a few minutes how long the print will actually take. I also tend to slice larger designs by using cut outs and other guides to help me line up multiple pieces. It's surprisingly difficult to get two pieces of a single 3d print to line up nicely if you've simply slice a model in two.
Read reviews, work out what you want to use it for, since different printers will have different dimensions, and little point getting a large printer to only print out 1 inch / 2cm figurines.
Good luck
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I've got 2 FDM printers, both from CReality. I've had the Ender-3 for about 4 years and picked up a discounted CR-10S about 6 months ago. They are similar except for size; the Ender-3 is limited to about an 8-inch cube while the CR-10S will do a 1-foot cube (actually both go slightly taller).
Both of these are pretty basic and a lot of the stuff I've added over time is now standard on the latest printers. The most significant is that most new printers automatically measure how flat and level the print bed is; when I started, it was all manual!
Fairly early on, I added a Raspberry Pi to control the printer via USB so I could sent models to the printer via the network rather than messing about with SD cards.
I find it an enjoyable hobby to be tinkering with hardware, e.g. when the printer jams, but I gather many people just want to design and print, which is what a lot of the manufacturers now offer. I've had no problems with my CReality printers; the Ender-3 and it's variants are some of the most popular printers so think others agree.
I've never tried SLA, but am put off by the need to handle liquid resin. While there advantages in the resultant prints, my cats can't do much damage if they paw at a roll of filament whereas I'd be worried about having bottles of resin around.
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See Griff's response; it says a lot.
A friend of mine has about 4 or 5 Ender-3 printers, and he recommended an Ender-5 Pro, so that is what we got.
I have not ventured into 3D designing my own items; I find pre-made models I like and use them.
My wife makes soap and personal care products like lip balm; so I found a screw-thread dragon egg mold and printed it at about 2 inches high. She put the lip balm in it and sold it at a ComiCon/DragonCon type craft fair - they went over well.
We 3D printed a LOT of small dragons, gnomes and fairies to give away to the kids; they were quite happy.
I like to play table top games, so I 3D printed a dice tower for myself.
When we got married 20 years ago, my wife and I took the same size wedding ring; her hands have swollen and she can't where her ring. She asked me to 3D print one. I found a model and printed rings from 19 mm to 25 mm diameter; she picked one, and I picked one. I have been wearing it and the gold band for months now.
The material we use is PLA and we like to try different color schemes; either single color, bi-color or rainbow (color shifts through the spool). We have it set up in our living room on an old desk (heavy) with a table top screwed down into the desk (raised edges to stop items from rolling off and bigger than the desk). There is NO fan or other breeze near it; I can watch it print throughout the day.
And, yes.. it is a lot of fun.
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I use primarily FDM printers, I've had them for about 8 years and they are certainly fun. I recently finished an F1 RC car that I printed all the parts for.
Prusa and Creality make some really decent and reliable printers, though I currently own a Snapmaker Artisan. I use it for all 3 purposes (3d printer, laser engraver, cnc machine) so it works well for me.
OriginalGriff had some great things to say about both common types of printers so no need for me to add more about that.
- Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. (Optimus Prime, or Michael Bay, but I prefer Otpimus Prime)
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