Ezra Harris

Tag: 3D Print

  • Upgrading My 3D Printer Motherboard

    Recently I bought a new 3D printer motherboard; this motherboard is used to compute and control the motors, heaters, and fans for the average 3D printer. I purchased this motherboard to learn how to program a printer from scratch. A significant upgrade from this motherboard is swappable TMC drivers. TMC drivers are basically what provide and control the right amount of voltage that supplies the stepper motors.

    Calculating Vref is essential because if the motor does not get the right amount of voltage or too little, it can mess up the stepping. Either skipping (which will affect print quality) too quickly or not turning as much as it should. Or even overheating.

    I was able to calibrate the right amount of Vref (Voltage) for each stepper by using a formula that All3DP had on their site; with the right Vref, you can turn a small screw on the actual TMC drivers and check the voltage by using a Multimeter (more info here). In my case, I purchased a bundle that comes with the board and the TMC drivers. There are different types of TMC drivers, which came with TMC2209 “Silent Drivers” (super informational video on how silent drivers work here)

    Bigtreetech SKR 1.4 Turbo

    I used an old PrintrBot Simple Metal with most of its original parts for my first test on this board. I was able to calculate the right Vref, thanks to the help from my brother, Nicholas. Printrbot went bankrupt in 2018 and hasn’t fully released a new printer. Although Brook Drumm (the owner) has tried to start another project in 2020 with PlyBot. Luckily there’s a lot of documentation on the Printrbot and its motors, heater, and hotbed. As well as complete .step files on BrookDrumm.com, I was able to design and 3D print using Fusion360, a simple board adapter that screwed into the original frame and fit the new board.

    PrintrBot Simple Metal

    I had an issue with the board with an external screen that I bought called a BTT Mini 12864, a small cheap LCD screen with an SD card slot. I found it most helpful since the board would be less accessible to put an SD card into. But it took a while for me to get the card slot working in Marlin (the 3D printer’s Firmware). After a lot of googling and messing around with the code, I found my main issue, I had to enable the SD card to be set to LCD instead of Onboard SD. I can now use my external screen with an SD card which makes it easier to put print files onto the printer and start printing.

    3d printer screen
    3D Printed Screen Case

    Links:

    Amazon Bigtreetech LCD screen

    Amazon, Bigtreetech SKR 1.4 Turbo

    Printrbot

    Previous post about Printrbot

  • My Project Printer: A Year in the Making

    For the past almost year, I have been working on a project printer that I bought; the original frame and parts were from a CR-10 S5 (with a 500x500x500 build size) the first couple of test prints worked, but they were not optimal with many issues, elephants foot, layer line issues, and a couple other minor issues, some of the problems I was able to fix by tweaking hardware.

    But most of my issues I could fix by changing my slicer settings; I currently use PrusaSlicer v2.5.0; I used to use Cura slicer; I swapped slicers because of the easier-to-use interface and the number of features built into the base program. Overall I prefer it for its interface and configurability, which makes it easier to swap machine settings from my Ender3 to my project printer. As well as built-in support for Octoprint.

    After an army of calibration cubes and Benchy’s, I could finally tune my prints to the best of my ability. I use a .6 nozzle, and I figured the best results are with a .3 layer height and about 70 mm/s (it can depend on a print-by-print basis) for PLA. I also have changed many more settings, which you can find here:

    https://github.com/BillyDaBones/Project-Covenant-3D-Printer

    The main issue I ran into was warping on the print bed when printing thinner models, and the way I solved it was by having both a higher bed temperature and a short 1-minute pause before printing after the bed had heated.

    I have previous short posts and status updates on the printer projects at my Instagram (here)

  • Octoprint

    Over the year, I’ve used Octoprint for my 3d printers. Octoprint is a server that hosts on a Raspberry Pi (and now even an Android device), which then you connect to your printer, which you can connect using the local IP. Octoprint is mainly used for managing your prints since it’s a lot easier to upload the.GCODE files to a local server and have Octoprint start, stop, and pause the 3D print with a press of a button. Many other features make Octoprint one of the best companions for a 3D Printer.

    One of the other benefits is its plugins; since Octoprint is open-source, they fully support plugins by independent developers; Octoprint has been out for almost a decade now, there are many plugins in its library. Some of my favorites include:

    • PrintTimeGenuis. Which uses an algorithm that can accurately predict how long a print will take, I have used this many times, and after about a month of printing, the plugin can predict the exact time all the way down to the number of minutes a print will take.
    • Octolapse, Octolapse is a plugin that has a highly comprehensive way of taking time-lapses of your print; instead of just taking a video and speeding it up, it can tell the printer at each layer of plastic to move to a fixed point and take a picture, which ends up being similar to a stop-motion video. The amount of options you can change to take time-lapses is fantastic, and why it is a favorite of mine.

    Another valuable tool is Octoapp (android exclusive) Octoapp is a fantastic app by Chris Würthner, who made it work around Android OS. Like many other developers, Chris benefits from a subscription to the app in which the user gains more features, which with a small amount each month, is a great way to support the developer and get valuable upgrades to the app. Many plugins work inside the app, including PSUControl, MultiCam, Octoeverywhere, and many more. What I like is that the app is primarily bug-free when it comes to the interface and is definitely built with the user in mind, such as the quick switch option, pausing and canceling prints, having a swipe to confirm option.

    There are many really nifty and interesting plugins that have been made for every use case available below is a link to every plugin in Octoprint’s public repository, which is constantly being updated with new plugins.

    https://plugins.octoprint.org/by_author/

    Other links:

    Octoapp by Chris

    PrintTimeGenuis plugin by Eyal

    Octolapse plugin by Brad

    Octoprint.com

    Octoprint on Android

    The best Cura plugin for Octoprint

    Note: I am not a developer, nor am I affiliated with Octoprint by any means, just a Octoprint user who is grateful for the many developers who make 3D printing a better experience.

  • Best 3D Printer Model Sites

    When getting introduced to 3D printing, it was a little challenging to find the right 3D model site where I could find accessible/affordable 3D models. After almost two years of experience with 3D printing, I’ve found my favorite spots to find fun and exciting designs that others have made. Here’s my list:

    1. Yeggi.com is a site for looking on other websites for your desired 3D models. It performs best if you have a specific model or idea in mind that you can search with keywords. For example, suppose you are looking for a particular adapter for a hotend for 3D printer. In that case. It’s easier to find a mod that someone has made with that machine in mind by using keywords like “Hotend adapter for ender-3” or “3D printer adapter for hotend,” and it would display the results from dozens of 3d model sites.
    2. Formerly prusaprinters.com, Printables, is a popular site similar to Thingiverse but has many more features such as Contests, Rewards for posting models, and gaining likes, downloads, etc. Rewards work in a way that you earn “PrusaMeters” every time you make a post and acquire a milestone in likes, downloads, makes, and followers. You can then redeem for rolls of filament (PETG, PLA, ASA, Resin) merch and guides. The contest’s prizes typically include “prusameters,” filament. And with the rare chance of a big contest, a Prusa 3D printer.
    3. Thingiverse is another free popular 3D model site with a pretty extensive database of 3D models and has been around for a long time. I still use this site mainly because of the number of 3D models and the vast number of users it still has. I also like their main page recommendations, which typically have exciting and practical designs that I print when im bored and out of ideas.

    Want to see what else I’ve done with 3D printing? Click here

    What is your favorite 3D model site? Comment below!

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