3d-mess-20140905

OK, “crap” wasn’t the first word that came to mind when I saw this mess.

After using two very different types of 3D printer, I can say that, thus far, there’s a lot to learn about this new technology than people think.

It’s not just “create something in CAD, slice it in, say, KISSlicer, then send it to the printer from Repetier.”

Sometimes – more often than I like – a print fails. In this case, two sets of the struts that hold the head came loose after hours of printing. There’s not much you can do about it except fill the garbage can and start over after, you hope, fixing the problem.

Other times, the plastic fails to adhere to the table. That’s happened with both the Cubex and the Cereberus deltabot style printer.

You need to have a good to great understanding of the underlying technology and a LOT of patience. Fortunately, I have a lot of the latter, and the Grabers are helpful about sharing the former.

The Gigante printer is supposed to be ready today. If everything is working right …..