I finally got around to testing the Filistruder and let just say it could have gone better. At first I got a tangled mess of PLA.Apparently extruding PLA was not the best choice on the first run of extruding since it turns out to be much harder to extrude consistently.  I decided to do PLA since that is what I use in the Replicator 2.  The filament that comes out of the nozzle is VERY pliable.  I suspect that I can reduce this some by lowering the temperature but not by much.  By supporting the filament by had and monitoring it very closely I ended up making some filament that might be usable (although its probably not worth the trouble).

On a positive note the filament that comes out is very clear and if I try really, hard supporting the filament by hand, it is consistent in color and shape.  I am also surprised at how much filament is made from a small handful of pellets.

I think that I am going to have no choice setting up a filament puller similar to http://solidoodletips.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/filament-winder-intro he is using an optical sensor to gauge the speed at which the filament is being extruded to change the speed of the puller and spooler.  This all seems like a lot of trouble but for now it is definitely worth it since making my own filament will reduce the price to 1/3 of the current price.  I think that I may try to improve on the design by making the setup in a more vertical configuration since I have limited bench space.  I also think that a wheel directly in front of the filistruder, something that has a high thermal mass like a big steel wheel, will help cool the filament in a much more consistent manor.

Ultimately I knew going in to this that this is not a consumer ready product but there is a lot of potential.  The developers are actively working on improvement even while they are over run with activity in shipping out all the kickstarter rewards.  So far the concept seems to be quite sound and I think that with some additions, making useable cheap filament should not bee too far away.

Just a reminder of the presentation that I will be giving

Intro to 3D printing and 3D design Fri, June 21, 7pm – 10pm @Unallocated Space

Also as promised (although a bit late) here are the slides I will be presenting if you want to get a sneak peak: Introduction to 3d Printing

I was recently over my parent’s house and my mom informed me she has purchased two toothbrush holders that stick on the back side of a medicine cabinet door.  She paid $3.99 each plus $2 for shipping.  This is obviously just silly.  I told her to send them back.

It took me about 20 mins to design and 1h 20min to print.

Haven’t posted in a while but I have been busy.   I have been working on my presentation for the intro for 3D printing and I am almost done with those.  I will post the files once I get the done.

I made another successful order from http://www.makexyz.com/.  This time it was for two custom cookie cutters. I designed them myself based on supplied photos.  They came out great.  I am thinking that a custom cookie cutter might be a quick and easy demonstration for the 3D printing presentation.

I have another order in the works to print a Mendel.   This is fantastic I was looking forward to when I printed another printer with my printer (would this be considered 3D printer reproduction?).

Any way enjoy the cookie cutters.

Step 1 is to sketch the design out.  As you can see once I had one I just duplicated it and scaled to make 4 designs.  Outer most and inner most define the flange around the top of the cutter for stability and a flat area to press on. the inner two define the cutter.

Step 2 extrude the design to the appropriate height: 

Now print:

As a side note I use netfabb studio (http://www.netfabb.com/) to calculate the volume here is what that looks like:

The local hackerspace Unallocated Space forums asked if anyone was willing to give a presentation on 3D printing and I accepted.  Like all the events there it will be free to the public (donations accepted).  If you like what I am doing here come by and listen to what I have to say. Here are the details of the event.

Event: Introduction to 3D printing and 3D design

When:Fri, June 21, 7pm – 10pm

Where:Unallocated Space (map)

Description: This will be an introduction to 3D printing and 3D design. I will give a brief overview of 3D printers, printer technology and printing services. Most of the presentation will be on the uses of the free software Autodesk 123D design. I will demonstrate how to get started with generating a 3D model that can be created with a 3D printer. This presentation will focus mostly on technical drawing (since I am not an artist). Time permitting we will walk through the design of an actual object. I will bring along my Makerbot 2 for visual reference and hopefully some instant 3D gratification.

Agenda:

• What is 3D printing
• 3D printers
• Getting started 3D printing
• Introduction to Autodesk 123D design
• Simple object design walk-through
• Demonstration of design of an object

About me: I have had a MakerBot 2 for about 6 months now and have been documenting my experiences here http://3dprintmd.com/print . I have experimented with quite a few free 3d design programs and found Autodesk 123d design to have all the features needed and it is the easiest to use. I have had some success in providing 3D printing as a service through makexyz.com and directly selling designed and printer objects. I would consider myself a 3D printer enthusiast (not quite an expert yet). My professional experience is as an IT consultant specializing as a windows, high availability, data protection and virtualization SME. I have been an electronics hobbyist for the last 10-15 years.

Suggested items (not required):

• PC (123D only supports Mac or Windows)
• Autodesk 123d design (free). Download here http://www.123dapp.com/design

As a follow-up to an earlier post:

http://www.3dprintmd.com/print/printed-case-for-vga-to-component/

A friend posted comments in a forum that he frequents asking if anyone is interested in a case that we designed to hold a Analog RGB to component adapter that he has (http://tulip-house.ddo.jp/digital/ANALOG_RGB_COMPONENT/english.html) and at least one person has bought one.  This prompted me to do some updates to the design to make it better.  We decided to charge $15 (plus shipping) for your choice of colors that I currently have on hand (Clear (natural), Green, Yellow, Translucent Blue, Orange, Red).

Until I find a better method, post a comment here if you are interested.  Now available on my store http://www.3dprintmd.com/print/3d-printed-items-for-sale/.  Here are some pictures of the slightly updated design this one is in translucent blue.

I have some excellent news I would like to share.  When I started this blog my intent was to share my 3D printer and printing experiences and I am happy to announce that the sharing of the printer has started.  I saw an article on http://www.3ders.org/ for http://www.makexyz.com/ which is a service where you can list your printer so that people can search their local area for people with a 3D printer that is willing to print objects for a marginal fee. So I listed my printer:

http://www.makexyz.com/printer/michael_mcco

This past weekend I got and completed my first job from this site.  It was quite easy to use and only required minimal effort.  Here is how it works.  The user goes to the http://www.makexyz.com/ site and searches their area for a 3D printer.  They then upload a STL file to the site and select the color print and quality.  The invoice is then sent to the printer (me) to accept the order.  The order is charged by the cubic cm (I have my Makerbot 2 listed at $.25/cm³) and I can accept it as is or modify the invoice and send it back.  In this case the print needed support material so I had to slightly modify the price to account for this.  I send back the invoice; the user accepts it and I print it.  The user has the choice to have it shipped or they can ask for a pickup.

Hopefully this will make sharing my printer with people around me even easier.  Here is the first job as it was printing: