Beginners Guide To 3d Printing at Home PDF

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Beginners Guide to 3D Printing at Home

The most common 3D printing questions answered in one place!
Issue 3 (July 2015)
BusinessMindsetExpert.com – Leading the no B.S. fight for freedom against the daily grind… Contents
Preface
At the time of writing this I've been running 3D Print Headquarters for nearly 3 years, since November 2012. During that time our readership has grown
substantially and the 3D printing world has changed so much.
This is a fast moving industry with stories of new exciting developments and technological advances hitting the news every week. We've reported
many of these to our followers on our 3D Print Headquarters website as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
With the price of 3D printers traditionally being so high, consumer interest in 3D printing has, up until recently, mainly been in the amazing capabilities of 3D
printers. For years these capabilities have been restricted to research projects at academic
institutes or large businesses with lots of financial backing.
However, things are now changing. For the home consumer 3D printing no longer needs If you wish to contact me regarding anything you have
to be theoretical and out of our reach. Technology and cost is no longer a barrier. read in this eBook, you can find me here:
Many 3D printers now cost no more than a high end traditional 2D laser printer. 3D printing http://Twitter.com/3DPrintHQ
at home is now within our reach, if we're willing to learn a little about it and just give it a go.
http://Facebook.com/3DPrintHQ
That's why we've created this FREE eBook, a Beginners Guide to 3D Printing at
Home. http://LinkedIn.com/company/3d-print-headquarters
Whether you're new to 3D printing or not, give this eBook a read, buy yourself a 3D printer http://Plus.Google.com/+3DPrintHQ1
and become part of this amazing new technology. http://YouTube.com/3DPrintHQ
Finally I'd like to thank all our website readers as well as our social media followers. http://Instagram.com/3DPrintHQ
Without you 3D Print Headquarters would have faded away long ago, but instead it has grown
into what it is today. http://3DPrintHQ.com
Info@3DPrintHQ.com
Best regards and happy 3D printing,
Jason King – 3D Print HQ
© 2013 - 2015 3DPrintHQ.com All Rights Reserved
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Table of Contents (Clickable)

What is 3D Printing? ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1
What are the Benefits of 3D Printing? ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
How Much Does Owning a 3D Printer Cost?......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
What Sort of Things Can I Make?........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
How Do I Design/Download 3D Models? ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
What Materials Can I Print With?............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
How Long Does it Take to Print Something? ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7
What 3D Printing Equipment Should I Buy? ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Can I 3D Print Without Buying a Ready Made Printer?...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
What About Setup, Adjustments and Calibration? ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 12
Where Can I Find Spare Parts and Supplies? ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
How Do I Learn the 3D Printing Related Jargon?............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
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prototypes had to be created manually unlike the situation now where they
What is 3D Printing? are created digitally and then sent to a printer for fabrication.
3D printers basically take digital information sent to them via 3D slicer and
then based on the data sent, an object is created. The blueprints of the
object to be fabricated are often
created using 3D modeling software.
The data is then usually saved in Many people describe 3D
STL file format, in order for the printing as the process of
additive manufacturing machine (3D creating something out of
printer) to correctly interpret what’s nothing, it's magical the first
to be created, before finally being time you see it in action...
sent to the printer.
3D laser scanners can also be used to produce computer models from an
existing object, but the model will often need tweaking manually before it’s
sent to a 3D printer for fabrication.
In summary, 3D printers are special
3D printing allows designers to types of printers that can print three
manufacture structures which dimensional objects layer by layer (a
were previously impossible little like an ink jet printer with a
using traditional methods... vertical z axis added).
3D printing refers to the process of using a digital model to make 3D objects
of varied shapes and sizes. Up until recently, 3D printers used to
be large, very expensive industrial machines but not anymore.
During 3D printing, objects are fabricated by adding layers of printing
material one on top of the other successively until the final object is created. Nowadays there are some really compact and portable 3D printers that can
be conveniently placed and used in the office. It is for this reason that it is
This is why the technology is known as ‘additive manufacturing’. This is in
starting to become acceptable to refer to 3D printing as ‘Desktop
contrast to ‘subtractive manufacturing’, which traditionally uses milling,
Fabrication’.
drilling and filing to create objects.
Affordable home 3D printers are almost always thermo plastic extrusion
3D printing dates back to 1984 when
printers, so this is what we’ll refer to during the rest of this book. These
Soon every household will own the first 3D printer was designed and
print using successive layers of melted plastic. This is usually ABS or PLA,
a 3D printer, well it happened invented by Chuck Hull, who later
but we’ll talk about this in more depth later on.
with 2D printers and it'll soon created 3D Systems, one of the
happen with 3D printers too... largest 3D printing companies in the It’s important to point out at this stage that as home 3D printing technology
world. stands at the moment, even if a printer claims to be plug and play it
probably isn’t.
This printer used a technology called stereolithography. Over the years
however, more advanced and efficient 3D printers have been invented with 3D printing takes some effort and to keep your printer running well takes
improved features and functionality. time and patience. Things will go wrong and at some point you’ll have to
learn how to fix your printer, whichever one you decide to buy.
3D printing is increasingly becoming popular in prototyping. Before the
technology became more popular; modeling prototypes was not only difficult
but time consuming and expensive as well. Mostly this was because
3DPrintHQ.com – Bringing your imagination to life with 3D printing made easy... Page 1
Now you will start cutting, drilling and filing away unwanted parts from the
What are the Benefits of 3D large piece of material, almost like sculpturing, until you eventually have the
ideal object you wanted to fabricate.
Printing? In both methods you will get what you wanted but the only difference here
is, while in the additive process you only use what you require, all the
unwanted pieces of material cut out in the subtractive process are often
never reused.
So, a lot of material wastages are
created along the way which literally 3D printing means no more
means there is very inefficient use of molds, setup time, cutting,
resources. drilling, filing, sanding, and
leftover waste material...
Another upside of 3D printing over
mass production is that the former is
less time consuming than the latter. Creating a single prototype can take
days or even weeks when using a mass production approach. This can be
reduced to only a few hours if 3D printing is used. Therefore with 3D
printing, one can create significantly more unique prototypes than in mass
production.
Keep in mind that the fabrication process gets even faster when you are
using high end 3D printers. Also, there are many objects which are really
difficult or impossible to create using traditional manufacturing methods.
Although 3D printing is yet to be fully utilised at an industrial level, there are These can be created easily using 3D printing.
many reasons why 3D printing enthusiasts are striving to replace the classic
mass production technologies with 3D printing. 3D printing is also a less costly method than mass production. In 3D
printing, you can buy a product from a foreign country for instance, but
First of all, unlike mass production where there are usually a lot of material instead of the product being shipped to you, the seller will just send you the
wastages which result in unnecessary costs, 3D printing causes little if any design online. Once you receive the design, you can print the object
wastages. 3D printing achieves this because of its additive style of wherever you are. Essentially there will be no need to ship the product from
printing/fabrication; where materials are added in a series of layers, as the seller’s location to the buyer. Lack of shipping costs means cheaper and
required, to form the final object. Since only the relevant materials are more affordable goods to customers.
added in the right places, there are no wastages involved.
By eliminating the need for shipping objects and products, 3D printing will
To further reduce waste from 3D printing (models which went wrong) there now enable entrepreneurs to fully reach to a worldwide market. Your
are machines out there like the Filabot recycling machine which can recycle product will not only be accessible to customers near your business
old/failed prints into new filament to use again. These machines can also operation premises but to literally everyone who needs it across the globe,
recycle old milk bottles and other plastic waste, making this a great way to provided they have internet access.
help the environment.
By recycling plastics and reducing transportation, waste, cost and time 3D
Mass production on the other hand uses a subtractive process to create printing is great for the environment. 3D printing is also being utilised
objects. In order to better understand how the subtractive process works in heavily by NASA, because as you can imagine, spare parts in space are not
mass manufacturing; imagine you have a large chunk of raw material with readily available so they’re starting to make them on demand!
which you want to create a final object of your choice.
This is the major reason why some 3D printers are still only accessible to
How Much Does Owning a 3D large organizations and well established small businesses.
Despite the daunting high prices of
Printer Cost? these printers, there is still hope The Printrbot Simple Kit 2014 is
that they will soon be accessible to available for $349 and the 2013
everyone as their prices are model won the “Make: best
constantly dropping. value printer” award…
It is for instance expected that most
3D printers will not cost any more than $2000 come 2016. Although even
this will still be fairly expensive, it will be undoubtedly be a huge drop from
their current pricing.
With projects like the Buccaneer and Printrbot springing up, sooner or later
3D printers will be well within the affordability limit for anyone who’s looking
to invest in them.
The Printrbot is fast becoming a game changer as it is one of the most
attractive and presentable 3D printers under $350. It functions well, is
compact and just the kind of printer that you would feel proud to have on
your desk at home.
As well as the printer itself you’ll also need to consider the price of filament,
which will be used to construct your 3D objects. Some printers only allow
you to use the manufacturers own
filament, which can bump up the
Many 3D printing patents from cost.
the late 80's are running out,
allowing better and cheaper 3D It’s important to find out whether
printers... this applies to your printer, or if
you’ll be able to use cheaper filament
from any source you choose. Good
filament usually costs around $50 per kilogram and while you’re learning
With all the advantages of 3D printing, owning a 3D printer is beneficial for and experimenting you’ll use quite a lot of it.
any business or entrepreneur. However since 3D printing was introduced
There’s also 3D design software, tools and spare parts to consider, but we’ll
into the market, the main setback hindering its mainstream adoption has
talk about the different options for those later on in more detail. All in all the
been the extremely high costs of purchasing 3D printers.
cost of 3D printers is dropping all the time and as competition between
Buying 3D printers from leading manufacturers such as 3D Systems and suppliers increases prices are set to drop much further.
Stratasys is still quite expensive for the larger segment of consumers to
Fundamentally home 3D printing technology is quite simple, so prices could
afford.
potentially drop significantly in the next few years. Check out our most
Particularly when it comes to 3D printers designed for commercial and popular blog post yet about calculating your own 3D printing costs. We even
industrial use, one has to be ready to part with approximately $20,000- provide a FREE online 3D printing cost calculator.
$25,000.
□ Food: creating custom items made from chocolate is becoming more
What Sort of Things Can I Make? popular and for less than $5000 you can now buy one for your home
from companies like ChocEdge. NASA are even making pizzas now!
□ Vehicles: the Urbee is the worlds first 3D printed car, which is
impressive in itself. However this amazing technology is already
being utilised in the aerospace industry to create RAF fighter jet
parts.
As if that is not enough, 3D printing can also be used to create artwork,
jewellery, guns and even houses.
Well, some of these things cannot be fully relied upon yet because of a few
challenges such as the reliability and durability of the material used. This will
change with time though as more improvements in technology are made.
There are many things that can be made through 3D printing. Cool Toys are The intriguing part about creating objects or prototypes using 3D printing is
examples of the simple objects that can be easily fabricated by most 3D the fact that there are no limitations concerning the design of objects you
printers. You can make thousands of objects with your home 3D printer. can create. In fact as we mentioned earlier, many items that can be created
The best way to sample these is to visit Thingiverse, where you can easily using 3D printing are very difficult or even impossible to create using
download as many as your computer can store. There’s too many to list traditional manufacturing methods.
here. Actually the main limiting factor with Forget buying spare parts for
3D printing is your imagination. 3D broken toys, household goods
Even more amazing things can be made using industrial quality 3D printers or even cars, just download the
and although these cannot me made with your average home 3D printer, printers can print virtually anything
(home 3D printers have a few CAD file and print your own...
they’re worth a mention here too:
limitations) that’s been properly
□ Guitars: before 3D printing was introduced, the main method of designed by 3D modeling software, no matter how complex.
making guitars was via the subtractive process which involved a lot
of wastage. 3D printing now presents a new way of making guitars This is why 3D printing is expected to trigger increased entrepreneurial
where there aren’t any wastages and a unique guitar design can still activities, because everyone will have the perfect opportunity to convert
be achieved. their idea into an actual object or product and share it with the world. The
Liberator 3D printed gun is a good example of an idea turned into an actual
□ Clothing: 3D printing can be used to make fasionable clothes for object through 3D printing.
both men and women. The technology has been tested and has been
able to make funky looking nylon women dresses and bikinis. A couple of years ago it would have been deemed totally impossible to
create a gun without using the conventional method let alone using plastic.
□ Prosthetics: for victims of serious physical injuries, 3D printing But 3D printing proved that this could be done. Nonetheless some objects
provides a better solution for leading a normal life through the can only be created by advanced models of 3D printers.
creation of effective prosthetics.
Some 3D printers, mostly the cheaper models, are only meant to create
□ Body Parts: 3D printing can be used to create body parts for rather simple objects. Therefore to some extent the products or objects one
example heart implants, which can be given to needy patients. can create will have a lot to do with the 3D printer that’s being used in the
Organovo is a company on the NYSE which is making amazing fabrication process.
progress in the area of bioprinting.
As well as the things we’ve already mention, there are many more amazing
items which 3D printing can be used to create.
software are what will enable you to create whatever 3D objects you have in
How Do I Design/Download 3D mind without necessarily having professional design skills.
Models? There are several 3D modeling tools that one can choose from. Some of the
most popular software includes SketchUP, Tinkercad, Seamless 3D,
Anim8or, 3Dtin and Blender among so many others. You can choose any one
of these depending on which one works well for you. Most of this software
can be conveniently downloaded online.
Some software can be really
difficult to use and worse yet, if Imagine downloading CAD files to
you do not have any designing print products at home rather
skills. So you will want to ensure than buying them from shops...
that you have software that is
simple to use.
You will want to check and compare the features of different software prior
to choosing the one you are going to use. What I did though is try all the
free ones and see what suits you.
As much as I love Tinkercad for it’s simplicity I’ve recently started using
OpenSCAD. It’s more difficult to use but I’ve designed a few cool items with
it that are quite popular on Thingiverse.
Sometimes you may not have the time to do the designing yourself or
perhaps you may not have any easy to use software to make the same
possible. Whatever the case, you do not have to design your own models.
This is the question anyone who’s new to 3D printing often asks. How can I Downloading 3D models online is also a very good place to start. You will
make my own 3D models and objects? 3D printing is not difficult and find many free models online, showing numerous applications of 3D printing.
contrary to popular opinion, you really don’t have to be a design These pre-made designs can be best found from websites with 3D design
professional to create a stunning 3D model or prototype. repositories such as Thingiverse, 3D Warehouse and a few others. The free
Despite the fact that being a professional designer can help you create more models can be anything from phone cases to key rings, customized medals
intricate and amazing things using 3D printing, generally pretty much and various creatively designed toy-like shapes that you may want to print
everyone can fabricate spectacular models with the technology. for your child.
Even then, designing any 3D Before we leave this section, don’t forget there are many free and simple
model will require you to have options for 3D design software, like SketchUp (originally created by Google)
SketchUp is a tool originally from and its free plugins to convert the files to STL to send to your printer. Also,
some basic skills on how to use 3D
Google. It’s a great entry point Tinkercad and OpenSCAD as mentioned above are also free tools which I
modeling software.
into the world of CAD design... use myself a lot.
All 3D designs need to be created
or downloaded digitally on your PC before they can be printed through a 3D
printer.
When designing the model you want to create on your PC, you must use a
3D modeling tool (software) that you are comfortable with. These tools and
unlike the fumes from petroleum based plastics like ABS. Read our very
What Materials Can I Print With? popular 3D printing safety article for more info on this.
If making clothes, or objects that are required to be lightweight, you may
want to use a nylon (polyamide) 3D printing material, but nylon is difficult to
use and not for the beginner.
Even though most of these materials have been quite common for 3D
printing, none of them has offered a reliable solution for printing large
objects. These materials are not as strong as they need to be for them to be
relied upon to print large objects.
This is what prompted the creation of a new and more robust material for
3D printing: graphene. Graphene is a 3D printing material is not something
you can easily use at home, but it’s so amazing we had to mention it here.
It’s made from graphite and was discovered by scientists from the University
of Manchester. Graphene has many
advantages over the other Belgium bio-medics have
conventional 3D printing materials. implanted a 3D printed jawbone
made from titanium into an 83
For starters, it is tougher than steel, year old woman...
a better conductor of electricity than
copper, is nearly transparent and is
super light.
If you are thinking about creating 3D models there are usually a bunch of For some interesting materials which you can use in any PLA printer, check
materials that you can use such as wax, titanium and photopolymers. ABS out ColorFabbs bronzeFill, glowFill and woodFill PLA composite plastics. I’ve
and PLA plastic are nevertheless the most commonly used home 3D printing also created some amazing model RC car tyres in NinjaFlex rubber recently.
materials.
If you’re contemplating creating final products that you will later on sell to
ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) is a fairly tough material which is why the public, it is important to be extremely careful about the material and
it’s mainly used to fabricate objects like car bumpers. printer settings you choose.
ABS comes in many different colors. There are two downsides of using ABS Learning how to achieve the best quality prints though material selection
plastic though. First and foremost, objects made from it often suffer from and settings is all part of the fun though and for a start, just enjoy the
warping. Secondly, it is non-biodegradable. learning experience.
PLA (Polylactic Acid) is quite the opposite of ABS. It is biodegradable, one of Something I’ve started doing recently is designing and prototyping my own
the reasons why many people prefer it and it is also less likely to cause objects, then sending the final designs to Shapeways, who will print them to
warping. a very high standard. I’m currently awaiting delivery a gold plated piece of
jewellery I have designed myself in OpenSCAD! Check out my website
Printing your 3D models with PLA is mostly advisable for people who are
because if you read this after September 2015 I will have written about the
new to 3D printing as it cools quite fast so doesn’t warp too much and is
whole experience.
easy to use.
Being organic PLA is also a sustainable material, often being made from corn
starch or sugar cane. Any fumes given off during melting are also non-toxic,
whether it is hollow, a lattice structure or solid can make a big difference to
How Long Does it Take to Print the printing speed. Also the layer height (resolution) can have a big impact.
Quite often the 3D printer you are using can influence the time taken to
Something? print a 3D model. If you want a faster machine then you may have to spend
more money. You could also increase the printer speed settings and layer
thickness to speed up prints, although the quality may suffer as a result.
By and large, an ordinary 3D plastic extrusion printer (the most common
home printer type) will take 30-60 minutes to print small sized and less
intricately designed objects. For larger objects with size greater than 100 ×
100 × 20mm, a 3D printer may take
much longer, say 6-10 hours at least.
Loughborough University
Usually the higher the resolution are now using 3D printing
required for printing an object the more to quickly create houses
time it will take before the printing using concrete as a
process is complete. This is why it is printing material...
often recommended that large objects
should be printed overnight.
This way you do not have to waste time sitting there and waiting for the
fabrication to finish. You can be printing smaller objects during the day, then
leaving larger ones for overnight printing. It is the best way to make the
most out of the printing capability of your 3D printer.
Always remember that after printing, most of the objects will still be rough
and not really in a state that you would want to take them in the market.
This is where finishing practices like polishing or sanding and spraying with
automotive/metallic sprays comes in. It helps smooth out the texture and
3D printing is certainly a fast method of prototyping or creating 3D models give your objects aesthetic appeal. I’ve also started using dry brushing
but especially if it is your first time using the technology, it’s good to know which transforms some objects by highlighting the surface details. All this
at least how long it would take you to print something. takes time too, so factor this into your timescales.
Well there is no easy way of calculating 3D printing speed universally. The Vapour polishing is a technique that some people are starting to use to
reason behind this is people make many different objects and models. improve the finish of their ABS plastic products. It uses vapour from
Consequently the time taken will always depend on the particular object you chemicals like acetone, which slightly melts the surface of the object
want to fabricate. allowing the surface tension to smooth the surface.
How complex your design is and how large the object you’d like to create The fumes from such chemicals are often toxic and flammable so we cannot
will be, are the two fundamental factors that determine how long it will take recommend trying this, although it’s a useful technique to know about.
to print something. Obviously if you’re printing using a food like chocolate (yes this is possible)
Objects that have a complex design will most certainly need more time for then don’t go painting or polishing it if you or anyone else ever intends to
printing than those with basic designs. On the other hand, the larger the eat it.
object the longer it will take for the object to be printed. The fill pattern,
Your choice of filaments should also be based on the specific colors you
What 3D Printing Equipment require for printing the 3D models you have in mind and the size of the
filaments.
Should I Buy? 3D printing filaments often come in two different sizes, 1.75mm and 3.0mm.
The later is the traditional size of 3D filaments but ever since the 1.75mm
diameter filaments were introduced, 3D enthusiasts are finding that it is a
much better alternative to its larger counterpart.
Filaments of 1.75mm can be fitted
into a 3D printer more easily and are
less stressful to control and use than Although you can learn lots
filaments of 3.0mm. from books and websites,
nothing beats actually trying
Acquiring a Computer Aided Design stuff out and learning for
(CAD) software program will also be yourself…
important.
A CAD software program more or
less works the same as Photoshop. In essence you cannot design any digital
3D model to be printed without using this type of software.
You should also add 3D printing books on the ‘to buy list’. 3D printing books
will give you a feel of what 3D printing entails and the learning experience is
also fun.
As a newbie when it comes to home 3D printing, you sure can use a lot of
advice on the dos and don’ts when starting your own 3D printing activities
at home.
There is some equipment you need to have ready before you take delivery
3D printing books are an ideal way to educate yourself and offer some basic
of your new 3D printer and print your 3D models at home. There are also a
training skills to people who are adopting 3D printing at home.
number of tools and accessories that you’ll find useful as time goes on and
you become more of an expert.
Secondary Equipment
Important Equipment As well as the basics like a printer, filament, software and a good 3D
printing book for beginners you’ll also need some other basic tools and
Probably the most important thing you
accessories to help you maintain and obtain the best performance from your
There are many free 3D will have to buy is 3D printing filaments.
new printer. Here’s a few of them:
modelling tools out there, Normally you will have two options
when it comes to buying printing □ Tool Box: some of these can be 3D printed and will even clip to the
besides the obvious
filaments, that is, ABS or PLA filaments. side of your printer to help keep them together.
SketchUp, many even run in
your web browser... Check whether your printer can be □ Allen Wrenches: you’ll probably need three or four of these with
setup to use both PLA and ABS, or just sizes being dependent on which one’s fit the bolts in your printer.
one, as with some low cost printers.
□ Scissors: these are useful for all sorts of tasks but particularly for
cutting tape and trimming filament.
□ Digital Callipers: these are a priceless piece of equipment and you’ll As a result you can now quite easily get most items you are looking for
find yourself using them a lot. Measuring the exact width of your online, in one place.
filament is one important use but we’ll talk about why in a later
Check out Amazon’s new 3D printing store to see some of the great 3D
section about printer setup.
printers and accessories which are readily available right now.
□ Cricut Spatula/Razor Scraper: either of these will be fine, but the
razor scraper has more uses. The main use of both is to help remove
prints from your build plate.
□ Long Nosed Pliers: these are also useful for removing builds but
they have multiple uses as you start to perform your own printer
maintenance.
□ Screwdriver Set: again, depending on what screws your printer
uses, you’ll need a few of these to carry out maintenance.
□ Flashlight/Torch: useful for illuminating the hot end of the extruder
so you can see exactly what’s going on, especially when things go a
little wrong.
□ Acetone/Denatured Alcohol: depending on what kind of plastic
you’re printing with these chemicals are useful for cleaning your build
plate after a print.
□ Accurate Scales: these are not vital but by weighing an empty
spool, then a spool with some filament left, you can calculate how
many grams of filament you have remaining. Most slicer software will
tell you how many grams of plastic you need to make an object, so
you can work out if you have enough before you start. You can also
calculate your print costs using scales.
□ Teflon Lubricant: this is great for lubricating your moving printer
parts. Just make sure you only lube the parts you need too, so refer
to your instructions.
That’s quite a list but don’t worry,
you won’t need these all
More and more high street
immediately and all at once.
stores in the USA and UK are
stocking 3D printers now, so Just remember that as you become
they can always give you advice more expert at using your printer
on the latest equipment. Or just you’ll start to need them more and
ask me… more.
Sometime back it would be taxing to
acquire 3D printing equipment but not any more. Amazon early this year
opened a new and separate section of their stores that offers 3D printing
equipment and supplies.
Secondly, some 3D printing service bureaus may sometimes delay shipping
Can I 3D Print Without Buying a your orders triggering many other inconveniences. Concisely, outsourcing
means you won’t have control over the creation of your 3D models and
Ready Made Printer? prototypes.
You will always have to rely on 3D printing companies, make orders in
advance and practically move along with their time schedule. This can limit
your experience as far as 3D printing is concerned.
Remember though, that by outsourcing your 3D prints to another company
(as I do with Shapeways) you can choose from a vast array of technologies
that will suit the objects you wish to create. Much of the equipment required
for some high end print jobs is well beyond the affordability of the home
user, who could never afford to purchase the equipment themselves.
Building Your Own 3D Printer

At the present time, some of the cheaper 3D printers you can buy are still
priced at close to $2000. For an ordinary occasional consumer, this is
definitely not economical.
Especially since most people do not
really intend to start large scale Amazon and Maplin are two
production of 3D objects, it is not household names who are now
logical spending so much on a stocking 3D printers and the list
printer which you may only use once is growing...
in a while.
It is due to the setbacks involved in outsourcing and buying 3D printers that
many people decide to build their own printers. Just for the record, building
your own 3D printer is the cheapest way to acquire a 3D printer. Often you
will not spend any more than $1000 to build your own printer.
Yes, you can! A bunch of people today are in fact building their own 3D
printers. Nonetheless why should you build a 3D printer when you can In fact if you are going to assemble the printer yourself, you may just need
outsource your 3D printing or save yourself the hassle of building a printer about $500 for buying essential parts and that would be all. The price may
from scratch and simply buy one? only get to around $1000 if you are buying the parts and then paying
someone else to do the fixing and assembly for you.
Outsourcing On some occasions (and yes depending on how good your assembly skills
Outsourcing is a good option to consider but it usually works well for people are) hiring someone to build the printer for you may be inevitable.
who only need a few orders. So if you just occasionally need 3D printing Fortunately though, there are countless beginner guides online that can help
services, outsourcing could suit you best. you do a successful 3D printer assembly yourself.
Outsourcing however does come with its own pitfalls. One of its major Most kits for 3D home assembly which you’ll find online detail a step by step
drawbacks is that it is normally an expensive alternative when huge orders process that one can easily understand and follow, to enable anyone who’s
are required because you will have to pay for hefty shipping charges. out there and needs a 3D printer, build their own with ease.
Some kits may even be accompanied by special videos that will show you in Particularly if you bear no building skills, talking to other people who have
real time, how you can make the printer step by step. managed to build their own 3D printers will put you in a better position to do
so yourself.
With such comprehensive guides, and with some basic skills in building and
assembly, building your own 3D printer can become quite an easy task. As a final note, at the time of writing Would you prefer to buy your
YouTube is also a very good resource for step by step build or setup this the Printrbot Simple kit (search 3D printers pre built or are you
instructions. for the latest models here) is one of brave enough to build your
the cheapest and easiest kits to start own?
Open source 3D printer projects always come in handy when building a 3D
with and is receiving very good
printer. The RepRap project can for instance help you build your printer
reviews.
successfully. Through the combined ideas of many 3D printer experts, this
project now offers educative kits and guides on how to build exceptional
home-made 3D printers for less than a thousand bucks.
DIY 3D printer kits also assist you in
understanding some of the basic
RepRap kits may be a bit
parts you will have to purchase to be
complex for beginners, but the
able to build your 3D printer.
idea of creating 3D printers
which can replicate themselves Such kits explain to you
is amazing… recommended software to buy, the
best filament size to select, as well
as other accessories that your 3D
printer will need for it to be up and running.
On top of that, remember that once the printer is assembled and working,
you can often use it to fabricate many of its own spare parts! This is what
makes the whole idea of building your own 3D printer more economical than
buying one.
Take note that not all kits may really work for you or may be as easy to
understand.
The best kits for beginners need their instructions written in a simple, easy
to understand language. The kit should also have a lot of pictures showing
what to do in every step of the assembly process.
Therefore as you are searching for that ideal kit that will guide you through
your journey of building a 3D printer, it pays to search around and inquire
from other 3D enthusiasts on what really works.
While searching around, you may also pick a few more tips that will give you
a more successful experience in building your printer. The essence here is
gathering as much information as possible so that you do not face any
difficulties when it comes to finally making the purchase and building the
machine.
Let’s first get this clear, a beginner cannot normally build and setup a 3D
What About Setup, Adjustments printer in a day, so don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself. Start by making
some goals for each day such that the task is divided into small daily goals
and Calibration? that are achievable.
Most people are able to do the
adjustments and calibration by PLA filament is biodegradable,
following all the instructions on the easy to print with, requires
kit to the letter. minimal printer setup and is
Levelling the printer bed is safe to use. This makes it ideal
something that everyone has to do for home use...
with a new printer. This can be
tricky, but it’s necessary because
you have to start with a flat and level print surface or each print will go
completely wrong from the start.
Some printers feature auto levelling, but these are expensive and are not
that common yet.
Here’s some other adjustments and setup tasks you might eventually want
to make so that your prints turn out much better. Don’t worry though, you
don’t need to do any of these immediately:
Some people who build their own 3D printers prefer to hire someone, often
with expert knowledge, to handle the adjustments and calibrations. □ Tweak the Temperature: you’ll need to alter the temperature
between ABS and PLA if you’re using both. Also, tweaking the
Surely there is nothing wrong with approaching an expert to finish up this
temperature has other effects on the quality of prints so it’s
critical part of building a 3D printer, but at some point you should learn to
interesting to experiment with.
do it yourself.
□ Measure the Filament: finding an average filament thickness can
One thing though, getting someone to do this for you will probably cost you
improve performance because most software allows you to enter the
money. So if you are really out to save some bucks and still get yourself a
exact width (within 1/100 mm is enough) so it can print optimally.
printer, you might want to explore other options.
□ Tweak the Speed: you can alter the printing speed depending on
Assuming that you have bought
what material you’re using. Also, printing speed can alter the print
Auto levelling build plates are a yourself a good DIY kit, the kit
quality depending on how detailed the print is. Slower isn’t always
great idea but if you want to should explain every detail that
better quality as you might expect so experiment with this.
keep costs down then you’ll should make it possible for you to
have to learn to do it setup your printer and make □ Cover the Build Plate: wrapping your build plate in 3M blue
manually… whatever adjustments or calibrations painters tape will allow your PLA prints to stick with the right level of
that are necessary. adhesion for great prints. This is available from Amazon too. Or you
could then advance to a high strength hairspray instead, like
The bit that often scares people is when you see the stepper drivers, stepper
AquaNet which I use myself.
motors, nuts, control boards, connectors and some of the other parts that
are required for assembly all in front of you making you think like ‘Now □ Upgraded Parts: there are upgraded parts for many printers
where do I start?’ Incidentally, everyone gets this feeling when they are just nowadays. Some you have to buy but others you can download and
about to start building their 3D printer. print yourself. A glass, slate or lexan build plate is a good upgrade to
start with.
□ Tweak the Layer Thickness: altering the layer thickness can speed
up your prototype prints or print in better quality but slower.
Experiment with this too so you find a happy medium for each print.
□ Create a Test Object: create or download a thin circular disc object.
These are great for making adjustments as you print, like
temperature and levelling the build plate.
Remember, there are plenty of instructional videos and enthusiastic people
out there willing to help you if you ask. Part of the fun is in the learning so
don’t be scared, try to enjoy it.
Nevertheless Amazon has started providing spare parts only for printers
Where Can I Find Spare Parts and from leading manufacturers like MarketBot and 3D Systems. It is anticipated
however that they will soon be providing spare parts for all other types of
Supplies? printers.
In summary, many of the supplies
your 3D printing experience will Additive printing has many
require can now be found on Amazon. uses for the military, out in
These include filaments, 3D printing the field or onboard ship
books and CAD software. where spare parts aren't
available...
As high street stores like Maplin in the
UK start to stock 3D printers, it won’t
be long before you can nip down to your local store to buy spares and
supplies.
At the time of writing this some Radioshack stores in the USA are now
stocking 3D printers and parts. Some dedicated 3D printing stores are also
appearing in the larger cities.
Finally, how about 3D printing your own spare or upgraded 3D printer parts?
Now there’s an interesting thought and many people are already doing this!
There is no easier time to purchase 3D printer spare parts and supplies than
this. Amazon’s new 3D printers and supplies section has made everything
easy for anyone who needs vital spare parts and supplies for building or
using a 3D printer.
You no longer need to go to your manufacturer or visit many websites just
looking for a given part.
An open source RepRap 3D Amazon’s 3D printers and supplies
printer can print many of its section enables you to shop for all the
own spare parts! things you need from one place.
The section is also beneficial to people
who would like to purchase upgrade parts to replace existing problematic
printer parts.
How Do I Learn the 3D Printing

Related Jargon? I hope you enjoyed reading this eBook. If you wish to contact
me regarding anything you have read here, or just to say hello
then you can find my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+,
YouTube, Instagram, Website and Email contact details in the
Preface up at the top of this eBook.
Also, I’d be really grateful if you could write a quick
testimonial and email it to me, if you enjoyed reading this and
found it useful. Testimonials are the best way of encouraging
others to download and benefit from this FREE eBook too.
Thanks for reading and happy 3D printing…
Confused by any (or all) of the 3D printing related terms and phrases
floating around nowadays?
Check out our new online 3D Printing Glossary. We’ll be updating this Jason King - 3D Print HQ
glossary regularly so feel free to bookmark it or add it to your favourites.
Incidentally a few months ago we doubled the number of terms in our
glossary and improved the definitions too, so we’re doing our best to help
you understand 3D printing and enjoy it more.
Also, if you feel there’s any important terms we’ve missed from it, let me
know and I’ll be glad to add them.

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Motivational Mindset – Top Fifty Blog Posts Ever

Beginners Guide to 3D Printing at Home

Issue 3 (July 2015)

Best regards and happy 3D printing,

Jason King – 3D Print HQ

© 2013 - 2015 3DPrintHQ.com All Rights Reserved

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Building Your Own 3D Printer

How Do I Learn the 3D Printing

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