Category Archives: Printing

4D Printing?

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Fred

This is honestly not a late April Fools joke.  TED Fellow Skylar Tibbits gave a TED talk to describe the research and development partnerships his MIT lab is making to develop 4D printing.  What is 4D printing?  Well, you should watch … Continue reading →

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Must Get One

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Fred

[Update: this was an April Fools joke perpetrated by thinkgeek and disseminated by 3D printing enthusiasts] I can’t wait to review the first Play-Doh 3D printer. It’s another “I wish I though of that” product as it gets kids thinking … Continue reading →

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Getting Great Prints with Enclosure on Solidoodle 3 Printer

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Fred

As mentioned previously, I’m enclosing our Solidoodle 3 printer to try to get better results through minimizing warping and parts not sticking. As a slight aside, the Cubestick on glass is now working very well for sticking.  The trick is … Continue reading →

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Cubify’s Cubestick “Magic Glue” for Non-Cube Printers?

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Fred

We’ve had some trouble with prints sticking to the print bed over the last year and a half since we acquired our first 3D printer.  It’s mostly a matter of choice.  It’s not that we want poor adhesion, but we … Continue reading →

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3D Printing Filament Tool

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Fred

Update: See updated design and photo of the prototype that can automatically feed at the end of this post (I have not yet tested heating). As much excitement as there is around the 3Doodler kickstarter project, it turns out that … Continue reading →

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3Doodler Kickstarter

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Fred

To be filed into the “I wish I thought of that” category is a new extremely minimalist for of 3D printer – the 3Doodler.  Every time I describe fused deposition modeling (the long-winded way of talking about the most common … Continue reading →

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Large Print Test for Solidoodle 3

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Fred

Although I ran a few small successful tests, this print job was meant to test quality for larer prints. You may notice a couple small objects printed in the back. Overall, the three objects filled about 6″x6″ on the platform … Continue reading →

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I Love the TLC

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Fred

Want a custom 3D-printed “I ♥ [Heart] TLC” magnet?  While supplies last, the TLC will be giving them away for those coming to the Technology Learning Center on Valentine’s Day to work on their academic projects. 

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Exhaust Design

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Fred

Although there is nothing toxic about 3D printing with ABS (check out an MSDS for ABS and research posts such as http://www.instructables.com/id/Is-3D-Printing-Safe-or-DIY-Testing-for-HCN-from-/ ), it does have some odor.  The magnitude can be reduced by enclosing the printer (presumably giving the volatiles … Continue reading →

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Solidoodle 3 First Printing

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Fred

After setting up the printer using Solidoodle’s settings for Repetier , I proceeded to level the build platform, test its flatness, and proceed to the first test print.  The platform was found to be about 0.04″ (~1mm) out of level.  Once … Continue reading →

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