Re: [MakerGear] New to 3D printing, just ordered an M2. What to learn and read and do between now and delivery?

[Jay Couture]

Well, it's not out yet but there's this one:  http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-RepRap-Printing-Desktop/dp/1449310427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343417014&sr=8-1&keywords=reprap 

reprap.org has tons of articles, a forum, and wiki. Look for threads that have a lot of replies. That usually points you where there is a lot of interest and possibly a new issue/resolution. Watch video (look for repraplogphase's channel on youtube). If you want to see the most up-to-date conversation eavesdrop on the IRC channel.

You are going to be one of the beta testers for M2, including a new(to me) electronics board called Rambo, a premade frame, and new HPB design. Which means new documentation and a new set of potential questions/issues. Rick pushes the envelope and his designs are solid and the M2 is a work of art.

-Jay

On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 11:55 AM, Matt Stohrer <stohre...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hey everyone!

I repair saxophones for a living and have a familiarity with hand tools, material properties, and basic lathe/mill machining and I have a small lathe at home.  I am computer literate to the extent that I built my little wordpress website and I am the go-to tech guy in my group of acquaintances but I do not code.  I have android and windows machines (and am thinking about going back to linux to force myself to become more computer literate).  I plan to use my 3D printer to experiment, have fun, print my new son some toys, print stuff for around the house, and if I can find a food-safe material that fits my needs, make saxophone mouthpiece prototypes.  

So... what should I do for the next 4-6 weeks (which was the order lead time given on the site) to properly prepare myself?  What programs do I need?  Are there any books, e or paper that are good?  Any excellent crash-course type websites, FAQ threads, etc?  I've been searching but I'm a bit overwhelmed- kind of in that place where I know enough to know I don't know enough to know what I need to know next, you know?  (heh)

Thanks for any help, and I apologize for asking questions that have undoubtedly been asked before.  

[Ross Mosshart]

This may sound somewhat like diving off the deep end, but reading as much of the reprap wiki as possible is the best thing you could do.

[John Yang]

I'd say browsing thingiverse and gathering a good list of items you
want to print would be a good use of time. It'll also give you a
better idea of what the machines are capable of doing.

[Matt Stohrer]

thingverse, reprap wiki, got it.  Thank you very much.  

I did a bit of looking around before purchase and it seems that although this is an un(consumer)tested design, the company behind it is known for a) solid products and b) excellent support, nearly 24/7 via IRC.  I was also attracted to the solid frame, which since I plan to move it around a bit (my workshop is split in two) would be good for not having it go out of whack.  Hopefully it works out well.  

[Ross Mosshart]

The "nearly 24/7 support" thing is no lie, I've seen Rick answer a question at midnight, then another at four in the morning.

[Rick Pollack]

hey....we never said we do 24/7 support via IRC though! most support is M-F during business hours.

[David Sharp]

I wouldn't call it untested.  The design is similar to the Mosaic (M1), and the Mosaic has been on sale to consumers for almost a year now.

Dave

[Triffid Hunter]

On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 2:55 AM, Matt Stohrer <stohre...@gmail.com> wrote:
> So... what should I do for the next 4-6 weeks (which was the order lead time
> given on the site) to properly prepare myself? What programs do I need?
> Are there any books, e or paper that are good? Any excellent crash-course
> type websites, FAQ threads, etc? I've been searching but I'm a bit
> overwhelmed- kind of in that place where I know enough to know I don't know
> enough to know what I need to know next, you know? (heh)

you'll want to skim through the various calibration articles, jump
into irc and ask 'calibration?' and the helpful bot kthx will bomb you
with links :)

Familiarise yourself with pronterface and slic3r, and read some of the
more interesting blogs like http://hydraraptor.blogspot.com

You may also like to grab sprinter and marlin firmwares and have a
poke around in their configurations

[Matt Stohrer]

Awesome, thank you.  

[Matt Stohrer]

Rick is all around us

Hehe yeah I know the IRC thing is just bonus!  But if it means anything to you, just the fact that you guys care enough to be around more than you say you are supposed to be made a big difference in my purchase decision.  

[Matt Stohrer]

wow, excellent.  thank you!

solidworks seems to be what is standard for saxophone stuff, so if it also works well for 3d printing, that seals the deal.  

On Friday, July 27, 2012 8:37:20 PM UTC-4, BSWilson wrote:

Here's a good link to all the other links:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/makergear/NYqjxepoq_4

I would also highly recommend procuring a copy of Solidworks and going through the included tutorial.

[makishev]

IMHO, Solidworks is cumbersome and not suitable for a freshman. 

Autocad is a benchmark, but it is expensive (as well as  Solidworks)

I am trying Blender right now.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender_(software) 

It is free and capable of producing .stl files.

суббота, 28 июля 2012 г., 6:37:20 UTC+6 пользователь BSWilson написал:

[Charles Warner]

Blender is a very powerful program, but not something that will be easy for a newbie to handle.  A lot of people are using OpenSCAD, but I find that hard to navigate.  FreeCAD is probably a good place for a newbie to start.  I personally prefer BrlCAD or Salome- BrlCAD may be a bit difficult for the newbie, but Salome is pretty intuitive (actually intended as a platform for CAE applications, but easy graphics and *.stl generation).  All of these options are Open Source, and probably more suitable than some of the commercial offerings (unless you are generating sufficient business to justify an exorbitant licensing fee).

Charlie

[Nolan Poe]

I'm a solidworks person. Never managed to figure out how to use blender, although it looks like a very powerful program. OpenSCAD looks nice too. It seems like it does a good job parameterizing the model if you write your script well.

It all comes down to preference and price, really. Try out the free stuff first.

[B W Evans]

Shameless plug here, but Ive been working on a new book for Apress this last year or so called Practical 3D Printers, that you might want to check out. We are wrapping up production now although while I don't expect it to make the Aug. 8 deadline I know the publisher is committed to having the book out real soon. In addition to the Mosaic M1 being on the cover when its finished (there's a surprise there for you Rick!) MakerGear features quite a bit in the book.

While I couldnt provide instructions for every printer because that would be out of date buy the end of the first draft, Ive tried to run the gamut from surveying the way different 3D printers work, the various elements of the tool chain that are available (anything from Skeinforge to Slic3r), and common print settings, all the way to multi-part models in OpenSCAD, using MeshMixer and MeshLab, and even an intro project in SketchUp. Now there's nothing in there about Solidworks or Autocad but Ive tried to make it a solid introduction that will serve as a foundation as you learn more applications.

It's been a lot of fun writing and I had the pleasure of working with Tony Buser as the Tech Reviewer. (Check out his many things on Thingiverse) Overall, its the type of project where I hope there's something in there for everyone. Have a look at it in the next couple of weeks if you get a chance and let me know what you think.

Cheers-

B.Evans

[Rick Pollack]

Ha! Any more details as to the content? I bet an M2 would look really nice on the cover - especially if the book title was lasered into the the build platform like this :)

[BSWilson]

Folks, please let Autocad die.  It's a relic of the past that should never be included within ANY discussion on 3D modeling, unless you were talking about "ancient lousy softwares that should be deleted from the consciousness of mankind".

I'd wish a debilitating brain aneurysm on someone before suggesting Autocad.

[B W Evans]

Rick, I'll make a separate post soon about the details of the book once I have a better idea about the publishing date. And yeah the M2 would be on the cover but you were too slow sending me my free printer!!! (J/K....)

B

[BSWilson]

Hey Matt,

I found another link you may find helpful:

http://solidoodletips.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/software-walk-through/ 

[makishev]

Can't wait to see the book.

[makishev]

I don't know why you say that about Autocad. But I don't want to start a holy war here. 

понедельник, 30 июля 2012 г., 23:32:33 UTC+6 пользователь BSWilson написал:

[Fiid Williams]

When you talk about AutoCad; are you talking about the traditional product, or Autocad Inventor?

I've been using Inventor and found it to be pretty decent, and much more tailored to making a part with specific dimensions.  They have a product evangelist who's put out a whole bunch of videos (YouTube) on how to model various things with Inventor, which seems to be a good product to know.  If you're using it for academic purposes, it can be gotten for free as well, and they also have a Mac product in beta.

--Fiid.

[Rick Pollack]

I could send you a very high-quality cover-ready photo :) It would look very sharp!

[Matt Stohrer]

wow, more replies!  This is not your average forum, with so many folks actually responding to newbie questions.  

Thanks for the links and the info.  I've been watching/listening to videos on youtube and anywhere else I can find it while I work and browsing around before bed on whatever I can find.  Starting, just barely, to understand the process.  Hopefully if I keep it up, by the time my printer arrives once I put it together I can actually print my hello-world equivalent within a few days of mucking about.  

On Friday, July 27, 2012 12:55:49 PM UTC-4, Matt Stohrer wrote:

Hey everyone!

I repair saxophones for a living and have a familiarity with hand tools, material properties, and basic lathe/mill machining and I have a small lathe at home.  I am computer literate to the extent that I built my little wordpress website and I am the go-to tech guy in my group of acquaintances but I do not code.  I have android and windows machines (and am thinking about going back to linux to force myself to become more computer literate).  I plan to use my 3D printer to experiment, have fun, print my new son some toys, print stuff for around the house, and if I can find a food-safe material that fits my needs, make saxophone mouthpiece prototypes.  

So... what should I do for the next 4-6 weeks (which was the order lead time given on the site) to properly prepare myself?  What programs do I need?  Are there any books, e or paper that are good?  Any excellent crash-course type websites, FAQ threads, etc?  I've been searching but I'm a bit overwhelmed- kind of in that place where I know enough to know I don't know enough to know what I need to know next, you know?  (heh)

[BSWilson]

Traditional Autocad.  I haven't played with Inventor yet.  Most companies I've had dealings with stuck to Solidworks, ProE, or Catia.