Beginning Your 3D printing Adventure

[retiredEE]

Hi Neighbor,
I had no idea how rewarding my 3D printer would become to me at the start. I wish these 3 videos and current release of the incredible FREE Orca Slicer were available when I started my adventure. I would like to share this tidbit to make your 3D printing adventure an enjoyable one. You might be considering adding a 3D printer to your tools collection and selecting the most appropriate one can be a daunting task. After watching theses videos it will become much simpler. 3D printer technology is evolving very fast and printer prices are becoming very affordable so it is an excellent time to get started. My creative wife and I both use the 3D printer for our projects and enjoy discussing what we will 3D print next. For Valentines day we printed more than thirty 3D hearts in red filament that can be use to hold your cell phone or tablet. The cost of theses hearts is less than $1 and everyone has commented on how they appreciated getting one. We completed the Boy Scouts of America Pinewood Derby project with our grandsons and used the 3D printer in designing, mounting and testing the derby cars. It is amazing how having a 3D printer has changed our lives.

Technology for sure can be intimating. We tend to justify doing things the way we have always done them but we also have an innate ability to apply a tiny bit of creativity to improve our methods. If you enjoy creative tinkering in any medium than you will probably need to consider a 3D printer to take your game to the next level. If you do, you will have access to a whole new world of creative solutions made available mostly for FREE from the community. You will be able to add (3D print) tools and gadgets that will truly make a difference.

There are sooo many Youtube videos on getting started and just watching them trying to extract valid information can be a drain. For every really good video there are 10 times that number that have old or just bad information in them. The 4 main items you will need to consider before starting your 3D printing adventure are:
1. Which 3D Printer to purchase or build
2. Which 3D slicer software to use
3. Which projects and filaments to get started with.
4. Which CAD 3D modeling software to use to make custom designs

Believe it or not, starting with the 2nd item (Slicer Software) will help you make a better decision for selecting a 3D printer and this is why I'm recommending you watch these 3 videos first:

https://www.facebook.com/the3drev/videos/938354767678700
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kck5jv2-uao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp51hgBL4NM

When I received my SnapMaker V2 3D printer gift from my generous son, I of course used the Luban slicer software packaged with the printer. This had serious limitations and I wanted to print ASAP and foolishly threw down $200 on the latest v5 of Simplify3D recommended by a dozen youtubers. After a month I was looking for a more responsive slicer solution that had the latest 3D printing techniques available. This upgrade was the incredible FREE SuperSlicer in combination with awesome OctoPrint hardware. OctoPrint uses a tiny (embedded) computer, typically a raspberryPi, to add features that might not have been included with your 3D printer. The SnapMaker WiFi interface is almost unusable because it is mounted inside 2 levels of metal enclosures and had no external antenna options. I had to USB thumb drive (SneakerNet) between the desktop PC and the 3D printer in the garage before I added OctoPrint. OctoPrint also allows me to add 2 cameras to monitor the print and take time lapse videos (so cool). I have one camera for the print bed and another focused on the print nozzle. This is really valuable for trouble shooting and I can monitor the project from anywhere, even from my cell phone. Newer and most higher end 3D printers may already include something similar to OctoPrint already integrated in the basic printer and you should consider this with your 3D printer purchase.

After your watch the videos suggested above, install the FREE OrcaSlicer software and peruse the already integrated printer list. These are popular models with lots of community support and likely to reduce new user frustration levels. The videos refer to Bambu Studio but OrcaSlicer has combined the Bambu open source code with SuperSlicer open source code and made it available for FREE. I would avoid any 3D printer that uses propriety software, Klipper is going to be slightly better than Marlin for your printer main controller software if you need the latest features and worth spending a bit more for it. Both Klipper and Marlin are open source so in theory should not affect the printer cost. SnapMaker 3-in-one solution (3d printer, laser engraver, CNC) is novel but not worth the extra cost as the engraver and CNC features are very limited. And filament contamination is something you want to avoid to reduce clogging your printer nozzle. Having a heated PEI print bed is an absolute 3D printer must-have item as well as automatic bed leveling. .

You will want to include an enclosure and a filament dryer almost immediately once you get your 3D printer selected, so purchasing it at the same time is wise. Of course you can use 3d party enclosures or build a DIY version. If you want to 3D print inside your home than the enclosure should have a vent fan and exhaust tube to port the fumes elsewhere.

This is getting a bit long so rather than add more details it is safe to say that I'm glad to answer your questions on anything I've skipped over. It would be wonderful to have a bunch of neighbor to share our projects and findings with in the world of 3D printing.
Maybe this link for the Orca Slicer will be helpful?
https://github.com/SoftFever/OrcaSlicer/releases

[MaryB]

Thanks for all this great information and sharing your experience with 3d printing!