Well usually filament will have a tolerance of about 0.05mm or better (diameter), and that's for 1.75mm filament.
Yes, you can get nozzles quite small, E3D has 0.25mm nozzles. I've heard of 0.1mm. 0.4mm is a good middle point between speed and detail, it's probably the most common overall size. Obviously a smaller tip will greatly increase your print time but I assume it will increase your quality by allowing you to print thinner layers. Now the most common way to increase detail is too simple print thinner layers, but I'm not sure how limited I am with this 0.4mm nozzle, so far I've only got done to 0.1mm layers. I just found a good read on filament tolerance: LINK
I haven't gone through all the math of that page yet, but it does say that the error with 3mm filament is lower. Which is obvious from a statistical analysis point of view, but it doesn't seem like it's necessarily the case in practice once you take into account the cross-sectional area ratio problems, the angle limitations of your extrusion motor and backlash on your extruder gearing.
The only thing I'm aware of is the ability to change layer thickness during slicing.
Fair enough. Looks like I can look forward to some incredibly long print times, then!
Actually I started out thinking the same. But ABS is nice! I really like the texture, and of course the flexibility. I would almost prefer it over PLA, but that's just my personal preference.
Actually it's the cooling that causes warping. ABS can expand up to 1% when melted, so it's the uneven cooling of layers that causes warping. As long as you can keep the print above it's glass transition temperature (around 105 degrees C). Now I've been heating my heatbed to 105C, but obviously only the bottom layers are hot enough, so the taller you build, the quicker the layers cool. So an inclosed chamber is really the only option. Unless you use brute force to hold it down from warping away from your platform (ABS dissolved in acetone applied to my glass).
Yeah, I've only heard good things about ABS, that may be the direction I go in. I said that because I'm not intending, by and large, to be producing functional parts with it, so the physical properties of the plastic I use are irrelevant outside of the print area. But since ABS seems to behave better in the printer as well as making tougher parts, that may be the direction I end up going anyway.
Yeah, I misspoke a little, I meant slump, not warp, but it doesn't seem like 105C would be enough to cause that if it's extruding at 200-something.. Definitely sounds like a heated enclosure is the way to go.
I ordered my hotend from Filastruder. $3 shipping via USPS. Thats the best way to get it if you're in the US. Filastruder is the official US supplier.
Yeah, I discovered that later, it's pretty handy! Are you thinking about those dual extruders for support material yet? I'm not sure if I shouldn't build a little extra X-direction to take the wider head, even if I don't use it at first.
Yes the sain smart kit came with, I wanna say 2 thermistors, but they didn't have any documentation on their resistance or rating (100K ohm I assume). So I went ahead and used one from a set I bought, for the PCB. As for the hotend, it's supplied with a nice one. But it's only rated for 300C max, so I would have to get an alternative thermocouple to achieve high temps (I may have to in order to print PC, it flows at around 300C).
Oh, ok. Yeah, I read thermistor and thought thermocouple, for some reason. I think I want to try that, since PC and nylon are super useful if I do end up producing end-products (rather than parts of mouldable masters). Gearing and mounts may be useful for other stuff i have planned (mini diode laser cutter!) and being able to print in PC would be insane. Wonder what its strnegth is like compared to standard (extruded? rolled?) PC sheet.
I bought a kit off ebay for $30. Really nice quality! Theres a lot of people that have kits already printed and ready to ship, for common printer models. I haven't look into shapeway much, but I'm sure this is the most cost effective way.
Again, Ebay is your friend here. Most people get their parts from there. I bought just about everything for this project from ebay (except fasteners & threaded rods).
Oh, ok. I'll check it out, though I'm concerned about proper retraction from printed straight spur gears. Would it be better to try to get helical ones? Or even some cheap brass gears, maybe, Amazon does some reasonably priced ones. Do you have any problems with backlash causing ooze using the "eBay specials"?
I have a sort-of relationship with the guys at OpenBuilds, and I like their hardware, though I do buy plenty of general purpose hardware on eBay, it's my go-to for sure!
Actually that's how it used to be. Nowadays it cost the exact same to run both 1.75 and 3mm. Just check filament suppliers by you (they're the same in the US). And everything seems to be focusing more on 1.75 lately. Personally I would stick with 1.75 because it's easier to manage, and it seems logical that it's easier to control for the extruder (doesn't have to move so slow to be extruded). Also there's a lot of talk about the back pressure on 3mm vs 1.75mm.
Really it boils down to the cost of filament.
Interesting. I'll bear that in mind, and look into the back-pressure stuff.