world maker faire NY who is goin...

[jsc]

Since it weighed two kilograms, I would estimate that it used approximately two spools.

[markb]

I read it to quick and did not see the weight.
I bet that was fun changing the spool at the right time.

[Tim]

Wasn't there once a forum thread asking who had the longest print time for a single object? I think that takes the prize.

I hope the spools didn't need to be changed at 3:00am.

At 2kg, the second spool either ran out or was close to running out at the end of the print, too. And slicers are notoriously bad at calculating print times, so even though you would be certain that you would use up more than one spool, you could never be sure about the second one. . .

[Lateralg]

I agree with all the good things said about the M2.

I also would like a much larger build surface, and some significant strides toward reducing model separation from build plate. Provisions for 2-4 IR lamps equally spaced would be a benefit.

Also, higher-speed printing.

[insta]

To all wondering, it took almost an entire 5lb spool. I bought a clearance one (lime green) from Ultimachine. I also had to make a table-mounted roller for it since the spool was too large to fit on the side of the M2.

Wanna know a kicker? That was the second one. First one failed at NINETY GODDAMN ONE PERCENT COMPLETE. The clearance filament was textured and caused just enough friction in the feed tube that the drive gear stripped it out.



edit: yes I had to buy 2x 5lb spools for one print.

[jsc]

There was some talk a while ago on the google group about using IR lamps, and someone was carrying out an experiment, but I'm not sure what became of that. It's surprising that there are no 3D printers that use IR lamps for anti warping.

insta, so your one print was, what, $160 in filament or so? Ouch.

[Lateralg]

There was some talk a while ago on the google group about using IR lamps, and someone was carrying out an experiment, but I'm not sure what became of that. It's surprising that there are no 3D printers that use IR lamps for anti warping.

I believe IR lamps have promise. With the M2 it's difficult (not possible?) to equally apply IR energy to all four corners. Maybe a more intense effort would find a way.

[jsc]

Ah, I found the thread I was thinking about: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/makerge ... Cca58_-HUJ

Is that you, Gary? Have you done any more experiments with your lamps?

[jimc]

i have a couple medium wave lamps in my shop and i can say it would be extremely difficult to aim those at the bed and get to a decent temp without melting or deforming some of the surrounding components. i could easily melt my filament drive or a wire harness even though the heat is focused and concentrated. its far easier to just start printing with pet+ or colorfabb xt. one thing i did notice at maker faire is many filament companies are catching on to the pet thing. when that gains momentum and prices start to drop, which they already have, i think that will eventually take the place of abs. it will become a more workhorse material.

[Tim]

I also would like a much larger build surface, . . . Also, higher-speed printing.

These are trade-offs, of course. I don't know what drives the size of the designs (maybe somebody like Rick can chime in?), but clearly the length of the leadscrew is one, and the weight of the entire Z stage. Especially for a cantilevered Z stage like the M2 has. The size of the heater under the build plate. I don't think I saw a printer with a (significantly) larger build area than the M2 that also had a heated build plate. I guess I should have mentioned that with respect to the gCreator gMax: Big build area. No heat.

You can crank up the speed all you want, but you just keep decreasing the quality of the print due to vibration and lashback. I deal with lashback on a frequent basis at work in the area of signals and systems for communications, so I'm familiar with the effect, but I'm not at all familiar with the mechanical version of lashback, or have any idea what you can do about it. As for vibration, I think the M2 really shines in this respect. I haven't seen any print defects that I could ever prove were the result of vibration. But (except for the occasional demo outside the house) I keep my M2 on a heavy table and let the floor absorb most of the vibration.

By the way, the giant delta printer at the Maker Faire mentioned somewhere toward the top of this thread had a cylindrical build area with a diameter of four feet and a height of nine and a half feet! No filament for that thing---they fed it a barrel full of nurdles through a shop vac hose.