Schlagwort: FDM

  • Beginner’s Guide on How to Buy a 3D Printer

    Beginner’s Guide on How to Buy a 3D Printer

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    So you want to buy a 3D printer? Read this guide before you go shopping to get the best printer for your needs and your budget.

    You’ve heard so many great things about 3D printers and what you can do with them. There are so many wonderful machines which can make your builder’s dreams come true. But if you want to buy a 3D printer, what model should you choose? How much should you spend? And where’s the best place to buy a 3D printer? Here’s a guide to the most pressing questions when buying a 3D printer.

    How to Buy a 3D Printer – Question #1: Should I Buy a 3D Printer?

    Before you start shopping, first think about what and how often you want to 3D print. Here’s our experience in a nutshell:

    • If you are eager to try out the technology, you’re probably better off visiting a Fablab or a Makerspace near your location. As 3D printers are expensive and have a steep learning curve, you’ll get help directly from the good people there – and you can save a lot of money if you don‘t click with the technology.
    • If you just want to have a single part printed once a month, there‘s no need to buy a 3D printer yourself. It is significantly cheaper to use 3D printing services and networks such as 3D Hubs, i.Materialise, Sculpteo or Shapeways to get your stuff printed professionally. There are a lot of alternative 3D printing services you can use. To get the best price, please use All3DP’s price comparison service.

    So, if we can rule out these exceptions, you are a candidate to buy a 3D printer.

    How to Buy a 3D Printer – Question #2: What Type of 3D Printer Should I Buy?

    Currently, there are nine major 3D printing technologies (read all about them here). As you probably don‘t want to buy a $500.000 metal 3D printer, there are just two consumer 3D printer types which are relevant. They are called FDM and SLA.

    1. Buy an FDM 3D Printer

    FDM is the most common 3D printing method used in desktop 3D printing. Thermoplastic filament is heated and extruded through an extrusion head that deposits the molten plastic in X and Y coordinates, while the build table lowers the object layer by layer in the Z direction.

    This type of 3D printers is a cost-effective means for product development and rapid prototyping in small business and education sectors since it’s capable of fabricating robust parts reliably and quickly. They use a variety of interesting materials.

    If you buy a FDM 3D printer, you can choose from a variety of brands, there are at least 50 great companies to choose from. You can find the best FDM 3D printers here, the prices ranges from $300 to $5000.

    2. Buy an SLA 3D Printer

    SLA works by exposing a layer of photosensitive liquid resin to a UV-laser beam so that the resin hardens and becomes solid. Once the laser has swept a layer of resin in the desired pattern and it begins to harden, the model-building platform in the liquid tank of the printer steps down the thickness of a single layer, and the laser begins to form the next layer. Each layer is built on top of the preceding one.

    Like the FDM 3D printer technology, objects with overhangs 3D printed with this type of 3D printer will require support structures. And after printing has completed, the object must be rinsed with a solvent. Sometimes it’s also baked in a UV oven to finish processing.

    SLA creates smooth surfaced objects with extreme detail, and it’s increasingly popular in industries like jewelry and cosmetic dentistry for creating castable molds.

    The price range for an SLA 3D printer is between $3000 and §10.000. You can find the best SLA 3D Printer models here.

    How to Buy a 3D Printer – Question #3: Where Should I Buy My 3D Printer?

    If you want to buy a 3D printer in  2017, you can choose from a lot of options. Here are some 3D printer buying tips:

    1. Buy a 3D Printer from Amazon

    3d printers on amazon

    Amazon is a great source for buying 3D printers. They offer lightning-fast delivery, have most items in stock, and you can count on their reliability and obligingness.

    All3DP offers several articles on buying 3D printers and 3D printing accessories at Amazon. They are updated on a regular basis.

    But please be aware that of 3D printer manufacturers don‘t sell their printers through Amazon – but you can buy most of the 3D printer models directly from the manufacturers. Here are the best makes and models.

    2. Buy a 3D Printer For Less Money

    prusa i3 kit

    If you don’t have a ton of money on your hands, you still can buy a great 3D printer – here’s a list of the best affordable 3D printers.

    Of course, you can always buy a second-hand 3D printer. Here‘s what you have to consider:

    It doesn’t stop there. If you have some experience in building things, you can also buy a 3D printer kit. You’ll have to assemble the printer yourself, but that’s probably the best way of learning the most about your 3D printer. Most kits cost significantly less than assembled 3D printers. You can find the best models here.

    3. Buy a 3D Printer on Kickstarter

    Quite frankly: If you’re just entering the wild and wonderful world of 3D printing, better refrain from backing a great looking, dead cheap 3D printer at Kickstarter or Indiegogo. First, you won’t get instant gratification and will have to wait several months (if not years) until the printer arrives. Second, there’s a risk in buying a 3D printer through crowdfunding. There are a lot of things that can go wrong, fraud being one of them.

    But if you know what you‘re doing, a Kickstarter 3D printer can be a great way of getting a cutting-edge 3D printer. Also, many great 3D printing companies on Kickstarter.

    All3DP provides a weekly updated and annotated list – you find the 9 Kickstarter 3D Printer Projects Live Right Now here.

    How to Buy a 3D Printer – Additional Info: What Else is there to Know?

    There’s a lot to learn when it comes to 3D printing. Here are some resources that will help you understand 3D printing better:

    If we can help you in other ways on buying a 3D printer, please let us know in the comments.

    Website: LINK

  • New 3D Printer Firmware Uses Raspberry Pi to Speed Up FDM Printing

    New 3D Printer Firmware Uses Raspberry Pi to Speed Up FDM Printing

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    GitHub user KevinOConnor has created Klipper, a 3D printer firmware that uses a Raspberry Pi to parse G-code, map out curves, and set accelerations, improving the speed of FDM 3D printing. 

    While one of the key advantages to 3D printing is quick production time, there is still much work to be done when it comes to keeping FDM technology up to speed. Last month, we saw engineering researchers from the University of Michigan develop an algorithm that increases print speed without sacrificing quality.

    In a recent post on Hackaday, we learned of a new 3D printer firmware that takes a unique approach to improving print speed. Created by GitHub user , Klipper is written in Python code and handles most of the functions that traditional firmware does.

    However, instead of using an 8-bit Arduino or something similar–which most 3D printers use–run the Marlin or Repetier firmware, Klipper utilizes a Raspberry Pi board. According to the article, the new firmware “communicates with the onboard microprocessor by providing a schedule of when to do what tasks.”

    With Klipper, these microprocessors can handle timing and things like motion control for both the axes and extruder. Since the code is capable of controlling multiple processes at once, you would technically be able to have a processor for the extruder and each stepper.


    Raspberry Pi board

    Klipper: Changes the Way Your 3D Printer Thinks About 3D Printing

    There are several features that make Klipper advantageous over other common 3D printer firmware. For starters, each stepper event is scheduled with a precision of 25 microseconds or better. It calculates step times based on the physics of acceleration and machine kinematics, creating a quieter and more stable printing experience.

    Secondly, the microcontroller firmware is easy to reconfigure and supports most microprocessors found in 3D printers, including common 8-bit and 32-bit CPUs.

    Klipper is also able to reach higher stepping rates, which equals higher print velocity. An older microcontroller can achieve rates of over 175,000 steps per second, while rates even up to 500,000 per second are reportedly possible.

    To prevent oozing from taking place during high speed printing, Klipper implements a “pressure advance” algorithm for extruders. There’s also a “stepper phase endstop” algorithm that aims to improve the accuracy of endstop switches. For the Z endstop, this could enable a more precise first layer height, as well as improve print quality and adhesion.

    There is some tuning that must be performed in order to successfully run every aspect of Klipper. For instance, the pressure advance algorithm requires a machine-specific constant. More information on tuning and setup can be found on GitHub and Hackaday.

    Although the 3D printer firmware is paired with a Raspberry Pi in this case, users can also utilize a BeagleBone or even a Linux computer to run Klipper. This method is both largely experimental and untested, but it offers a potential game-changer in the way our 3D printers operate.

    Check out the YouTube videos below to see just how fast and smooth 3D printing can be with Klipper.

    Source: Hackaday

    Website: LINK