Category: Prusa - iCreate iLearn

3D Printing with Ribbon Integration Using Makers Empire

8/28/2018

While looking at tweets, I ran across an idea that inspired me. It was a post about 3D printing and using tulle to create jewelry. It started to make me think about designing bracelets integrating 3D printing and ribbon.

First Iteration

My first iteration was using the braille font in Makers Empire but I started to have printing difficulties. After my first print, the printer went completely down so I had a break of several weeks to replace the extruder.

What I noticed about my first design was that the dots were too tall and not that interesting so I went back to the drawing board.

Second Iteration

My second design was larger in size. I didn't realize until it was printing that the smaller stars were actually floating and not level on the design plate which caused them to print in the air. The more delicate little star is something that I will be deleting in the next iteration because it has a higher rate of failing with the ribbon design.

I printed about 5 layers before adding the ribbon with painters tape so that the print is adhered through the ribbon. I chose specific ribbon with the finished edge and thin interior. Now I need to print it one more time and finish the edges.

Candle Holders, 3D Design, Makers Empire.... Final Prints

3/26/2018

With any learning experience, you learn along the way. 3D printing is always a learning journey between what is designed and what can be successfully printed.

Throughout this project, I was constantly evaluating what students were understanding about the software and how it would translate into a final 3D design. For some students it is a simple transition from the virtual 3D world into the physical print while for others there is a definite learning curve.

As we played with Makers Empire and learned how to manipulate shapes through the snowman challenge and other challenges, I realized that too many of the students really couldn't see what they were creating in the physical environment which is why we used model magic and took a learning session to physically create a candle holder. It was also important that students not accept their first physical design as I planned to require multiple designs in Makers Empire before students would select their final design.

Working with exact dimensions really created a challenge when designers moved beyond the circle shape in their designs. The candle holders needed to have a minimum diameter of 42mm and a height of 60mm.

As final designs are being printed, designers failed to take into account what that would mean when using a star or heart base. Also thin walls with holes and overhangs resulted in several failed prints. Bigger holes also created challenges for the printer.

To make each print unique, I am using a rainbow gradient filament so not only is each design unique in shape but also in color.

Valuable learning pieces that needed to take place still resulted in final pieces that may not all work for candle holders but are beautiful in their design.

understanding the transformation of design into product
the impact of design choices in a specific medium
the use of removal and specific dimensions

Prusa MK3, Makers Empire, and Student Prints

2/6/2018

Students have now selected their final prints that they have designed with Makers Empire and the printers are hard at work.

Our newest Prusa MK3 is printing some beautiful designs. It sits right next to my desk while the other one has to be printing in the other room because it is so loud.

Check out some of the cool prints! The white prints are from the Prusa.

Makers Empire, Prusa .... Happy Dance!

1/23/2018

So the students have been using Makers Empire for several weeks now and the designs that our students have been making far exceed any designs students have created in the past. Today was our last day of exploration and challenges. Next week students will be selecting their final print design and colors.

Our Prusa MK3 just arrived today. What a beautiful, quiet, quality printer!

Prusa 3D Printer Customer Service .... Superb!

1/21/2018

As our students are working with Makers Empire to create amazing 3D designs, our replacement printer is on the way. Prusa has been one of the printers I have been most excited to learn with. Our first go around with the MK2S didn't work as well as I had hoped but it did help me to really understand the mechanics of 3D printing. Realistically any 3D printer has a learning curve but it is truly the company that stands behind the printer that matters even more.

With the Prusa MK3 and Makers Empire software, I feel like I have found the sweet spot for our students to learn and create quality 3D designs and prints.

Prusa MK2 Adventures....

12/30/2017

Last year I purchased for our school the best performing printer on the market.... it prints with such high quality but I learned in the process some really important lessons.
1. Cheap filament comes at a cost - filament diameter varies and can affect the extruder. Erroring on the side of cheap is not always a good plan. I have now started to buy filament from Atomic, a company in Indiana.
2. Learning is essential for anyone who is creating in 3D - I was fortunate to have a friend who steered me to a Facebook group dedicated to the Prusa printer. It was through this group that I was able to learn about new prints as well as find resources when I couldn't solve challenges.
3. Our community is rich with help - When I couldn't get the printer online, I wrote a post on Facebook and another owner in the Fitchburg area, Mark Mayo, took hours of his life to help me fix the printer and understand how to use it more effectively.
4. Prusa has amazing customer support - Yesterday I reached out to Prusa again after Mark and I had spent several hours with the printer. Shane listened to what was happening and after explaining the situation, he offered to replace the printer under the year warranty (AMAZING!).

Filament Jams

Through the process of having multiple filament jams, I was able to understand the pieces that make up the extruder head. Mark explained all of the pieces and what they do. I feel like even though this wasn't a lesson I wanted to learn, I now have a much better understanding of the pieces and their functions.

Wrong Reassembly - Understanding Tension

Tension and not understanding how to reassemble something you take apart is an important lesson. Thank goodness I had a community built around the printer who would watch the videos and tell me what I was doing wrong.

Print Settings

Sometimes the little tweeking that other people understand makes all of the difference. Thanks to the community and Mark Mayo for helping me figure out the printer settings.

Temperature Matters

Leaving a printer in a cold room is not a good plan.

Prusa Customer Service = Amazing!

The Bugs Have Begun.... 3D Printed Insects

10/10/2017

Yesterday first graders started to create their insects that will be coming to life over the next few weeks.

At first, we were going to use Morphi but due to a costly update, we resorted to MakerBot PrintShop and white paper with black markers. In the past, Morphi has been our go to app to have students draw in 2D and switch to 3D but with the new update, we couldn't afford to purchase 60 licenses for the project and installing and deleting the app so different students could export their designs was not worth the trouble.

Prusa i3 MK2 woes

9/4/2017

So this summer I took our new school 3D printer, the Prusa i3 MK2, home in hopes to learn more so that I could use it more effectively with our students. It sat for about a month and then I decided I would try a new filament besides PLA. I printed once with PET and then went back to PLA. I was having difficulty slicing and finding the right print settings to create beautiful prints like what is on the SD card. I had been having these problems with student pieces which was why I wanted to learn more over the summer.

I'm not new to 3D printing but I am new to this machine. I've spent countless hours fixing the Makerbot but I had high hopes for this newest printer and the possible simplicity of a different machine. After printing several prints, the PLA clogged in the extruder and it wasn't a simple removal. This is when my problems started. Removing the clogged PLA required taking apart the extruder. Now I have filament feeding problems, X axis problems, and Z axis problems.

Prusa support quickly responded when I reached out to them. I also found a Facebook group that was quick to help. But my troubles still exist....

So I've reached back out to Prusa which has been fantastic responding because I recognize my limitations and after spending 5 hours or more trying to troubleshoot, I need to reach out for help. I am extremely thankful for the Facebook group and Prusa support but I think it is time for someone to actually look at the machine besides myself.

NinjaFlex Learning Curve

4/20/2017

Today the NinjaFlex filament arrived and I was ready to create the Lego Tape by Adafruit.

But.... my learning curve is a little steep right now. First I wasn't preparing the machine right. The default NinjaFlex on the Prusa didn't match the printing guidelines that came with the filament. Of course I didn't realize there was a NinjaFlex printing setting at first and if the nozzle isn't heated correctly no filament will come out. The filament is amazingly flexible which provides a little bit of a challenge when loading since I have only used PLA.

Even though I didn't obtain a successful print yet using NinjaFlex, I did learn some pretty valuable things about the new printer. Biggest lesson - Don't walk away when printing with a new filament! I spent a little while peeling off all of the mess from the extruder head. I will try again next week after I research NinjaFlex printing a little more.

Prusa i3 MK2 Arrived

4/11/2017

It has arrived. The Prusa i3 MK2 has arrived after a long awaited time. The add on 4 color extruder will be coming. Today I unboxed it and set it up. It was really very simple. The simplicity of setup, quality of print, and low sound of printing was quite impressive.

After calibrating the machine and doing the test print, the frog made its debut print. I can't wait to try different filaments and learn how to use the Slic3r and Colorprint software.