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Well, I say 'accidentally'....
I purchased an Elegoo Centauri Carbon last night after mulling over where to put it for the last couple of months. I've never used a 3D printer before and already have a couple of things I want to print out (one of which I'll have to design first, but it's a very simple thing). But as a newbie, what advice would current users have and what would you recommend to try printing out initially?
Also, do you have suggestions on where to download designs from?
Cheers
It's a big topic.
What are your intentions? Design your own stuff & print it? Just find interesting stuff online & print it?
I got a 3-D printer about 8 or so years ago, primarily with the purpose of creating my own designs to problems & printing them out.
Plenty of people seem to just be happy with downloading & printing trinkets & interesting 'stuff'.
Are you familiar with the workflow? Assuming you are making your own designs, the workflow goes something like:
- design part
- export as stl
- open in slicer software of your choosing, and slice
- send sliced file to 3-D printer & wait.....
What to print out initially.....? I started with a 3D-Benchy and some calibration cubes to get my printer set-up & adjusted. But, with the advances in printer technology & features you might not need to bother with that.
I would start small & work your way up. You see Facebook posts on 3-D printer groups where people have bought a new 3-D printer with zero experience & wonder why their 48hour print of a full-size Boba Fett helmet keeps failing.
Where to find files? Back in the day, it was Thingiverse. I used that for ages, but it really went downhill & I haven't looked on there for ages. There are plenty of 3-d printer parts libraries out there. I suspect a quick Google search will see you right.
What are your intentions? Design your own stuff & print it? Just find interesting stuff online & print it?
I got a 3-D printer about 8 or so years ago, primarily with the purpose of creating my own designs to problems & printing them out.
A bit of both really. I come from a design background (although admittedly a very long time ago, where prototyping would be created by hand), and have an idea on the workflow of creating an item.
It's possible that this could become a never-ending list of questions, but having had a look around, what would be a good easy design/CAD package to use for not much money? I basically just want to mess around and try things out initially without too much outlay.
what would be a good easy design/CAD package to use for not much money?
Free, choice of (at least) two:
Fusion 360. Need to install on your PC so has hardware requirements.
OnShape. Web based so can be used on anything.
Both ok if you haven't used anything else, and very popular so lots of 'how to' stuff on Youtube.
I suggest starting with OnShape, just because it's web based, so no installation needed.
The choice is pretty big for CAD... At the easy/free level, Sketchup works, but it's not the most accomplished for complex parts. OpenSCAD and FreeCAD are OSS options that you can install, Onshape exists on the web and is pretty accomplished. I really do need to sit down and learn how to use FreeCAD, but I don't have the need to do complex parts right now.
A friend uses Blender for his prints, but he's used it for graphics/animation, so is used to it.
Ultimaker Cura is a good slicer.
On the CAD side, I use Fusion360. It has some annoying quirks, but for a free package is pretty powerful.
Unless you are doing large complicated models and/or complex surfacing it should run OK on a half-decent laptop.
I think there is a cheap option on Solidworks for hobbyists, which I keep meaning to try.
Fyi, I bought the same printer a few weeks ago.
Prints great with the slicer software that comes on the memory stick, but when I updated to the latest one off the Elegoo website it kept crashing the printer. So definitely use the older version for now!
I've been using it at work (engineering teacher in a secondary school) and I bought it to try out before getting the dept to buy a couple more, to replace our older Creality Ender machines.
It's far more stable (apart from the slicer software issue), prints literally 5 times faster, with far better quality. Love it (so far!)
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Cura doesn't currently have presents for the Centauri Carbon, so not sure if you can use that without a lot of fiddling around with settings.
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CAD software wise we use SketchUp free for simpler parts and designs, as it's much more intuitive for the students to pick up.
For more complicated designs - gears, threads, etc. we use Onshape. It's free, but the learning curve is much steeper.
I think you need a change of mindset. Aside from the downloaded trinket making which I've never really got my head around wanting to do, what you have just embarked on is getting back into designing now you have an easy manufacture outlet. The printing is single digit percentage of workflow. Some filaments take a bit more getting your head around (tomorrow I'm helping a student get the settings right for a product made of PETG and foaming tpu in a machine that can handle twin simultaneous filaments) but most of it is hardly more complicated (or satisfying after the first half a dozen uses) than an inkjet printer. The real mental stimulation comes from the designing and CAD modelling.
For it not to get dusty quickly you need a steady stream of 'projects' you want a bespoke plastic widget for.
Can you name 6 to get you started?
I use Fusion 360 (education licence rather than the free, but mostly the same) and actually really like it. I came from Solidworks and after a bit of transition period think it's great. It's massively changed in the last 6 years so anyone's thoughts about it who has not used it since COVID are largely irrelevant. They release an update every month without fail and whilst some months it's pretty subtle the cumulative effect of the changes is huge.
My summer personal project is using a 3d printer to manufacture the moulds to cast silicone moulds to then cast plaster moulds for slip casting. I've got a range of cups and mugs I'm hope to make for friends.