Non-planar Ironing Makes Smooth Prints

September 15, 2024 by Al Williams 14 Comments

If you want to smooth out the top surface of your FDM 3D prints, you can try ironing. Many slicers allow you to set this option, which drags the hot printhead through the top surface with a tiny bit of plastic to smooth out the extrusion lines. However, a recent paper explains how non-planar ironing can provide a better result.

Usually, non-planar printing requires rotating the print bed in addition to the normal linear motion. However, you can also manipulate the layer height in real time to create bulges in the 3D print. This is the approach taken by Curvislicer, which shares authors with this paper. Another approach is to build a part conventionally but add non-planar printing to the last few layers.

The non-planar ironing is a variation of the latter technique. After slicing, the top layer of g-code passes through a Python script. The results on a test object look very impressive. We’d be interested to see how some more complex shapes look, though.

Of course, it looks like all you need is an ordinary printer, a modified copy of Slic3r, and the script, so if you try it yourself, let us know what you think. It would be great to smooth prints without extra chemicals and post-processing. While you can get good results, it is a lot of work.

Create Custom Gridfinity Boxes Using Images Of Tools

September 14, 2024 by Dave Rowntree 4 Comments

We love it when a community grabs hold of an idea and runs wild with it despite obvious practicality issues. Gridfinity by YouTuber [Zach Freedman] is one of those concepts. For the unaware, this is a simple storage system standard, defining boxes to hold your things. These boxes can be stacked and held in place in anything from a desk drawer to hanging off the side of a 3D printer. [Georgs Lazdāns] is one such Gridfinity user who wanted to create tool-specific holders without leaving the sofa. To do so, they made a web application using node.js and OpenCV to extract outlines for tools (or anything else) when photographed on a blank sheet of paper.

The OpenCV stack assumes that the object to be profiled will be placed on a uniformly colored paper with all parts of its outline visible. The first part of the stack uses a bilateral filter to denoise the image whilst keeping edge details.

Next, the image is converted to greyscale, blurred, and run through an adaptive threshold. This converts the image to monochrome, again preserving edge details. Finally, the Canny algorithm pulls out the paper contour. The object outline can be given an accurate scale with the paper contour and paper size specified. The second part of the process works similarly to extract the object outline. The second contour should follow the object pretty accurately. If it doesn’t, it can be manually tweaked in the editor. Once a contour is captured, it can be used to modify a blank Gridfinity base in the model editor.

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Printed In Space: 3D-Printed Metal Parts Shown Off After Returning From The ISS

September 8, 2024 by Maya Posch 21 Comments

The European Space Agency (ESA) is showing 3D-printed metal parts made onboard the International Space Station using a printer and materials the agency sent earlier this year. While 3D printing onboard the ISS is nothing new, the printing of metal parts in space is an important advancement. The agency’s goals are to be able to produce more tools and spares in situ rather than having to rely on resupply missions. An ambitious idea being pitched is to use captured space debris as input as well, which would further decrease the ISS’s dependence on Earth and expensive cargo runs from the bottom of the gravity well.

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Getting Started With Polypropylene (PP) 3D Printing

September 6, 2024 by Maya Posch 27 Comments

Polypropylene (PP) is a thermoplastic that has a number of properties that sets it apart from other thermoplastics which see common use with 3D printing, including PLA, ABS and nylon (PA). Much like ABS (and the similar ASA), it is a pretty touchy material to print, especially on FDM printers. Over at the [All3DP] site [Nick Loth] provides a quick start guide for those who are interested in using PP with 3D printing, whether FDM, SLS or others.

A nice aspect of printing with PP is that it requires similar temperatures for the extruder (205 – 275 °C) and print bed (80 – 100 °C) as other common FDM filaments. As long as airflow can be controlled in the (enclosed) printer, issues with warping and cracking as the extruded filament cools should not occur. Unlike ABS and ASA which also require an enclosed, temperature-controlled printing space, PP has an advantage that printing with it does not produce carcinogenic fumes (styrene, acrylonitrile, etc.), but it does have the issue of absolutely not wanting to adhere to anything that is not PP. This is where the article provides some tips, such as the use of PP-based adhesive tape on the print bed, or the use of PP-based print plates.

As far as PP longevity and recyclability goes, it compares favorably with ABS and PA, meaning it’s quite resilient and stable, though susceptible to degradation from UV exposure without stabilizers. Recycling PP is fairly easy, though much like with polymers like PLA, the economics and logistics of recycling remain a challenge.

3D Printering: Switch And Klip(per)

September 4, 2024 by Al Williams 13 Comments

Last time I tried to convince you that, if you haven’t already, you should try running your 3D printer with Klipper. There are several ways to actually make it work.

The first thing you need is something to run the Klipper host. Most people use a Raspberry Pi and if you already have one that runs OctoPrint, for example, you might well use it. Just tuck your SD card away in case you give up and install a fresh Linux system on a new card.

The Creality Sonic Pad has issues, but it does work.

However, a Pi isn’t your only option. You should be able to make it work on nearly anything that runs Linux. We’ve even seen it running on Windows under WSL. If you have an old laptop that can run Linux, that would work, too. We’ve even heard it works on a Chromebook.

The other option is to get a “pad.” Several vendors make touchscreens with some Linux single-board computer bundled together with Klipper preinstalled. For example, there is the Creality Sonic Pad, along with similar devices from other 3D printing companies.

If you decide to go that route, you might want to make sure it is easy to install your own software easily. Some pads, like the Creality unit, are notorious for having so much customization that they don’t lend themselves to upgrades unless they come from the manufacturer. In some cases, you can wipe out the stock firmware and install a normal operating system, but at that point, you could probably just buy a Pi and a touchscreen, right?

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Building A Stylish IPhone Standby Dock

September 2, 2024 by Lewin Day 6 Comments

[Scott Yu-Jan] is a big fan of the iPhone’s standby mode. Put the phone on charge horizontally, and it looks all stylish, with sleek widgets and clocks and stuff showing you information you presumably care about. [Scott] enjoyed this so much, in fact, he whipped up a custom charging dock to make the most of it.

The design was a collaboration with artist [Overwork], who mentioned the DN 40 alarm clock created by legendary designer [Dieter Rams]. [Overwork] sent [Scott] a draft inspired by that product, and he printed one up. It featured an integrated MagSafe charger to juice up the iPhone, and pressing into one side of the phone would pop it free. It was cool, but a little clumsy to use.

[Scott] liked the basic concept, but shows us how he iterated upon it to make it even nicer. He added in a wireless charger for AirPods in the back, gave the device adhesive feet, and a big chunky eject button to release the phone when desired.

You can also grab the files to print your own if you so desire! We’ve seen [Scott’s] work before, too, like his neat 3D scanner build. Video after the break.

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Big Benchy Is A Boat That Really Boats

September 2, 2024 by Lewin Day 16 Comments

Benchy is that cute little boat that everyone uses to calibrate their 3D printer. [Emily The Engineer] asked the obvious question—why isn’t it a real working boat? Then she followed through on the execution. Bravo, [Emily]. Bravo.

The full concept is straightforward, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. [Emily] starts by trying to get small Benchys to float, and then steadily steps up the size, solving problems along the way. By the end of it, the big Benchy is printed out of lots of smaller sections that were then assembled into a larger whole. This was achieved with glue and simply using a soldering iron to melt parts together. It’s a common technique used to build giant parts on smaller 3D printers, and it works pretty well.

The basic hull did okay at first, save for some stability problems. Amazingly, though, it was remarkably well sealed against water ingress. It then got a trolling motor, survived a capsizing, and eventually took to the open water with the aid of some additional floatation.

We’ve seen big Benchys before, and we’ve seen fully functional 3D-printed boats before, too. It was about time the two concepts met in reality. Video after the break.

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