So ... 3d Printers....

[pbj]

I watched that video.  That was basically the worst example imaginable.  Why didn't that guy make a second attempt that wasn't a shitshow?

[yotsuya]

Haven’t assembled yet, but I did upgrade my bearings to the Ingush DryLins...

[HaRuMaN]

You're supposed to suffer through the stock build first, then print upgrades as you go.  Wimp.   

[RandyT]

I watched that video.  That was basically the worst example imaginable.  Why didn't that guy make a second attempt that wasn't a shitshow?

You aren't kidding.  Looks like they spent a lot of time and money to make a piece of scrap.

Based on some reviews, a better material for lost wax is found here.  Lower melt-out temp, and supposedly leaves the mold much cleaner in the end.  The Moldlay material has been reported by some to leave a lot of charred residue in the mold.  Your mileage may vary.

[yotsuya]

You're supposed to suffer through the stock build first, then print upgrades as you go.  Wimp.   

I’m picking up a ton of printed upgrades tomorrow from Arcadenut.

You going to the repair party, homes?

[HaRuMaN]

You're supposed to suffer through the stock build first, then print upgrades as you go.  Wimp.   

I’m picking up a ton of printed upgrades tomorrow from Arcadenut.

You going to the repair party, homes?

Nope, got too much going on.  Soccer for the boy, roller skating birthday party for the girl, not to mention the 20 or so bartop orders waiting to be slot & shipped. 

Really wanted to go, I've got like 4 dead KI pcb's and would love to make a working one out of them.

[nitrogen_widget]

I watched that video.  That was basically the worst example imaginable.  Why didn't that guy make a second attempt that wasn't a shitshow?

You aren't kidding.  Looks like they spent a lot of time and money to make a piece of scrap.

Based on some reviews, a better material for lost wax is found here.  Lower melt-out temp, and supposedly leaves the mold much cleaner in the end.  The Moldlay material has been reported by some to leave a lot of charred residue in the mold.  Your mileage may vary.

Slow work day.
Learning how to use a 3d printer to make molds for the molten aluminum i'm going to have after I melt down some lawnmower engines in the diy smelter i now want to build.

[Slippyblade]

...molten aluminum i'm going to have after I melt down some lawnmower engines in the diy smelter i now want to build.

You too?  I've got two large trash cans of crushed aluminum cans out back waiting for that exact same thing!

[Howard_Casto]

I've been wanting to do one and it doesn't look that hard, but the thing is, I'm a bit on the clumsy side and I'm afraid I'll burn my face off. 

[nitrogen_widget]

get an LCD welding mask.
covers the face and only goes dark when it senses dangerous levels of light like a welder spark or an eclipse.

[Howard_Casto]

I might try that. 

My mofset came in today.  I was looking at pre-made mofset holders for the a8 and I'm not a fan.  Most put it too close to the board.  The whole point of using one is to get heat away from the main pcb.  I drilled a couple of holes and mounted mine a couple of inches above the pcb.... Mine has a housing around it and heat rises, so it should be good.  I've gotta hunt up some wire tomorrow and finish the install. 

[jdbailey1206]

[yotsuya]

I’m sorry, I’m still trying to figure out a way to integrate a fish tank.



I just need to finish solidifying the wiring. I plan to do it right the first time.

[yotsuya]

Oh, what’s a good way to level the heater bed?

[Howard_Casto]

Move the bed via either the on-board menu or within cura to a corner with the tape or whatever you use already on the bed.  Stick  a piece of typing paper under the nozzle.. you should feel a bit of tension as you move it in and out, but the paper should go under... use the included screw driver to adjust.  Now repeat for the other three corners of the bed.

[yotsuya]

Move the bed via either the on-board menu or within cura to a corner with the tape or whatever you use already on the bed.  Stick  a piece of typing paper under the nozzle.. you should feel a bit of tension as you move it in and out, but the paper should go under... use the included screw driver to adjust.  Now repeat for the other three corners of the bed.

Thanks, Howard!!

Anyone here do the auto-level upgrade?

[05SRT4]

On both of my printers I cleared the auto level Gcode. I just manually level like Howard mentioned. Once you do it a few times, it will only take a minute or two.

Im excited to see that test cube when you're set.

[05SRT4]

I’m sorry, I’m still trying to figure out a way to integrate a fish tank.

I love this site

[yotsuya]

On both of my printers I cleared the auto level Gcode. I just manually level like Howard mentioned. Once you do it a few times, it will only take a minute or two.

Im excited to see that test cube when you're set.

I got all the wiring set and fired that mother up. Tested all the connections, seems good. Hope to print the cube tonight.

When I start the machine, it says “Welcome to Omni”. Should I play around with the default firmware or just flash it to Skynet before I do anything?

[Howard_Casto]

The default firmware is crap.  Go ahead and switch to Skynet/Marlin

[yotsuya]

The default firmware is crap.  Go ahead and switch to Skynet/Marlin

Will do. Thanks!

[Howard_Casto]

Oh and also.... most of the included test models are horribly optimized.  Unless you don't mind wasting a lot of time and filament, just skip them.  Do the cube, then go to thingiverse and start finding stuff there until you are ready to 3d model. 

[HaRuMaN]

Yup just start with the 20mm cube and go from there.

[yotsuya]

Yeah, I just plan to do the cube.

So I downloaded Skynet 2.2 and am looking at the directions, Seems simple enough, but I do have a question. It sys you need to select the correct probe configuration before you compile. There are two choices I think that would apply to me - Stock A8 with front left tubular sensor or Stock A8 with official rear sensor. My machine is totally stock, so which applies to me? According to the comments in the code, it says "I recommend for the A8 that you use the front mounted sensor (8MM) because they give greater sensing distance). Or is this for a auto-level sensor and I don't need to uncomment anything here? Advice?

[Howard_Casto]

Full stop.  The latest version of Skynet is 2.3.2.  You don't really comment or uncomment anything.... you download the master zip file, go to the Skynet folder, go to the anet a8 folder and then select the appropriate configuration file to put in the main Skynet folder.  There's an illustrated readme if you scroll down the included link. 

https://github.com/thijsk/Skynet3d

I believe cura isn't included in this zip, but I have the older version of the zip file if you need it. 

[yotsuya]

Thanks for the link - yeah, that's different than what's in 2.2.

Pretty chuffed - should have some time this week to print my cube!

[yotsuya]

I installed Skynet 3D last night. Compiled & flashed flawlessly. I want to finish cleaning up my wiring tonight and then I will be ready to print The Cube.

I did order some inexpensive but I highly rated filament to start testing out. The funny thing is the first set of things I plan to print out is upgrades for the printer.

[yotsuya]

ProTip request - do you print out one thing at a time, or do you print out a bunch a little things all at once?

[pbj]

Print this and send it to me, kthx...

https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-print-models/miniatures/figurines/pirate-figurine

[nitrogen_widget]

Jeff Dunham printed this things head on his 3d printer.
took 8 days.

[yotsuya]

Print this and send it to me, kthx...

https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-print-models/miniatures/figurines/pirate-figurine

I will hand-deliver it to you at ZapCon next year.

[yotsuya]

[yotsuya]

I will post more in just a bit, but let me say right now that bed leveling is a pain in the dick.

[Slippyblade]

What infill % is that?  Looks very dense.

[yotsuya]

What infill % is that?  Looks very dense.

Mexican I don’t know, everything is the default right now.

[Howard_Casto]

ProTip request - do you print out one thing at a time, or do you print out a bunch a little things all at once?

Print out one thing at a time.  If a print screws up it's better to screw up one thing instead of 8 things.  Of course once you are more confident you might want to print batches of parts.... I'm still not that brave yet. 

[yotsuya]

Ok, here’s my cube pix...









The edges are nice and crisp, as you can see. I’m curious about the layer fill. Also, on the Z sides, you can clearly see some gaps.

Now, I didn’t change a thing in Cura, just loaded the cube from Thingiverse, hit print, and this was the result. Any tips?

[yotsuya]

 Btw, this was the THIRD try. Back to auto-leveling being a PITA, I thought I had it leveled once, but clearly it was too high, as nothing stuck to the bed. So I adjusted... and the nozzle ended up tearing up the tape. I have thick painters tape, so I tore up that yellow and put the blue down. I finally got the nozzle low enough, adjusted the Z stop switch, and then success. But my dick be painin’.

[HaRuMaN]

Wow that's ugly. 

[yotsuya]

Wow that's ugly.

So what I do I to fix it, homes?