What 3-D Printer Filament(s) Do You Use

[PDB]

On 10/08/2024 at 16:54, EvilC57 said:

...Or if you want a simpler, easier system that's more intuitive to learn on, Tinkercad web based 3D CAD is a good place to start. I've used it for a couple of years now, and like it. However it is limited compared with the much more powerful Fusion 360, which like Andy-H I'm playing with, but finding it a much harder learning curve.

I've been only using FreeCAD and did find it a steep learning curve but it has served me well and I have got by with its workflow. I'm now designing a complete airframe and I keep hitting snag after snag with FreeCAD which for me is proving time consuming to solve. I've given Fusion 360 a go and it's made the job a lot easier helped by the large number of YouTube videos and very good documentation. A lot of the concepts I've learnt in FreeCAD translate over so transitioning to Fusion 360 hasn't been that bad and I'm finding the UI and workflow has for me less friction and I can get on with design rather than troubleshooting issues.

 

Here's the YouTube channel that helped me the most https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3qGQ2utl2A

[EvilC57]

7 hours ago, PDB said:

Here's the YouTube channel that helped me the most https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3qGQ2utl2A

Yes that’s the course I’ve been using. Maybe it’s an age thing, but I find I have to watch a bit, then pause it and Alt-Tab to F360 while I try what he’s just taught for myself, before continuing a bit further through the video.

[leccyflyer]

Thanks for the link to that You Tube course, it might be the final step to see me really give Fusion 360 a concerted effort, having not really got to grips with it to date.

[Ron Gray]

My advice regarding YouTube courses is don’t plough through them! Try designing your model and when you get stuck Google it, a vid on how to do it will invariably pop up.

 

PS PDO is my go to reference source for most things Fusion 360!

[PDB]

2 hours ago, EvilC57 said:

Yes that’s the course I’ve been using. Maybe it’s an age thing, but I find I have to watch a bit, then pause it and Alt-Tab to F360 while I try what he’s just taught for myself, before continuing a bit further through the video.

Not just you, he does rattle through quickly, a 15 minute tutorial takes me well over an hour. 😂

 

[EvilC57]

1 hour ago, Ron Gray said:

My advice regarding YouTube courses is don’t plough through them! Try designing your model and when you get stuck Google it, a vid on how to do it will invariably pop up.

 

PS PDO is my go to reference source for most things Fusion 360!

Can’t say i entirely agree. That approach is OK once you have a basic grounding in F360 (or whatever), and know how to work your way around it. But faced with just a blank grid and XYZ plane markers on first entering Fusion, I thought ‘what do I do here?’. Sometimes (as someone more or less once said), you don’t know what you don’t know. I knew nothing of the concept of drawing a 2D sketch, and Extruding it to make a 3D object when initially faced with the F360 interface.

[PDB]

On 16/08/2024 at 09:08, leccyflyer said:

Thanks for the link to that You Tube course, it might be the final step to see me really give Fusion 360 a concerted effort, having not really got to grips with it to date.

 

3 weeks in using Fusion everyday, getting more comfortable with it and cannot see myself going back to Freecad now. The UI is a big step up and the parametric timeline works without breaking a design, something I had a lot of problems with in Freecad.

 

I'm running a decent spec laptop but find Fusion can sometimes get stuck processing a largish shell or complex extrusion, you can see in task manager how much CPU it is using during these operations and it has crashed a couple of times.

 

I'm designing my first airframe to 3D print from scratch and for me I'm finding it a very steep learning curve but getting there with small wins each day. 

 

Not sure I'll stick with Fusion longer term as I might have a go with Solidworks once I've finished with this airframe.

 

 

[Nigel R]

Thanks for link to the vid course PDB. Bookmarked 🙂

 

I'm just using cheapo PLA on an Ender3 with pre-rolled designs -  very early days for me with 3d printing though and yet to truly get to grips with it. The Ender is sloooow but seems pretty capable and is incredible value.

 

Mine has a very bumpy print bed however which I have struggled to get flat. I'm ok with small area prints but anything bigger than about 5" x 5" starts to get sketchy adhesion.

 

Any recommendations for a worthwhile upgrade here?

[leccyflyer]

I've just recently changed my flexible magnetic print bed on my Creality Ender 5 Pro, as I was concerned that the higher bed temperature needed with ABS was degrading the magnets. I replaced it with a flexible steel PEI print bed from Creality, which is said to be usable at those higher temperatures. The magnetic adhesion has been much stronger and the surface is very hard wearing with excellent adhesion for ABS. 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Y48Z3GX/ref=pe_27063361_485629781_TE_item_image

[EvilC57]

1 hour ago, Nigel R said:

Thanks for link to the vid course PDB. Bookmarked 🙂

 

I'm just using cheapo PLA on an Ender3 with pre-rolled designs -  very early days for me with 3d printing though and yet to truly get to grips with it. The Ender is sloooow but seems pretty capable and is incredible value.

 

Mine has a very bumpy print bed however which I have struggled to get flat. I'm ok with small area prints but anything bigger than about 5" x 5" starts to get sketchy adhesion.

 

Any recommendations for a worthwhile upgrade here?

Never had a problem with the bed being bumpy with my Ender 3 V2. It’s a flat piece of glass with some kind of (I believe) carborundum coating. I do however have continual problem with the bed levelling drifting up and down, and have to do a manual levelling exercise before nearly every print.

[PDB]

2 hours ago, Nigel R said:

Mine has a very bumpy print bed however which I have struggled to get flat. I'm ok with small area prints but anything bigger than about 5" x 5" starts to get sketchy adhesion.

 

Any recommendations for a worthwhile upgrade here?

 

Has it not got a glass bed which should be true?

 

A quality of life upgrade for me was the Creality Magnetic build plate which I found made life a lot easier.

[Nigel R]

No, my bed isn't glass. Sounds like a small upgrade may be in order.

[Ariel]

Try printing with a 'Raft'. It will be a setting in your slicer software. Uses more filament but not as much as the print falling over after a couple of hours.

I have an Ender 5 with the touch probe and the magnetic build plate came with it. I clean off any dust and give it a clean with isopropyl alcohol if it hasn't been used for a while.

I also got the Sonic Pad- Klipper with mine because it was bundled on offer at the time. Once dialled in it makes a huge difference to speed and levelling. Pretty sure it will work with the Ender 3 but wait until they have a deal on them. Once I have done the levelling routine it stays consistent for ages.