3DPrinting

I've been given some linear rails, and the only thing I can think to do with them is build a large format 3d printer. I have two 750mm and two 670mm rails, two carriages each.

I know there are several open-source plans for printers, and I could use a cool project to work on. I already have a smaller printer to work with so I can already make a lot of the parts.

Has anyone done this before? What printer did you build, and do you have any recommendations and things to look out for?

Get it while it's hot! New goodies to use and an improved UI for users.

360° camera owners know how insanely delicate the lenses are. This is a 3D-printed cover to protect the lenses of a Ricoh Theta X camera, a base to bolt onto something heavy to create a stable stand and a variant to mount on a selfie stick.

Despite the tech-cool factor of the project, Tom's Hardware does not condone making your own weapons system at home.

I wanted to make dumb merch for my dumb game to see if I could. Turns out I can, and the next time they'll be better. I think they turned out great!

So I've been Looking into getting myself a Prusa for a while now, Namely as a Backup for my Lemony ol P1S. One of the Issues thats been particularly bad on that Machine are VFAs, so thats something I Largly wanna Mitigate with my Next Machine...

So how are your Folks Prusa MK4S's, Core One's and Core One L's doing when it comes to VFAs? I remember when the Core One Launched that it was a Major Issue, was it ever Improved upon?

I'm currently building a hobby workshop. Mainly for woodworking, but having a 3D printer seems to be a good add-on.

My workshop is unheated and can't be fully closed, so Its dry but humidity will come in and it can get cold during winter (-5°C coldest, freezing is rare).

I don't need to print under those conditions but storing the printer without damage would be necessary. Is this possible or rather not advisable?

Edit: Thx for all the answers, you are great!

Credit to Pi-thon from DaveMakesStuff on thingiverse.

I'm somewhat puzzled which settings I need to look at in PrusaSlicer to solve those thin slits between perimeters. I've dialed in the flowrate optimally for dimensional correctness and 245°C (PETG) works really well for both flow and overhangs.

At first I thought of extrusion width, but that also increases the distance between each line. Raising the flowrate closes them, but also makes the printed parts grow in each dimension outside if the intended size.

Where am I missing something? Which settings do I need to adjust to not screw up everything else?

EDIT: It's not just corners!

First time using TPE. Overhangs are pretty rough on a MK3. The rubberiness of TPE is more like a vulcanized natural rubber used on surfaces like conveyor belts. It is similar to bike hoods. That first textured print is still too rough and rigid for a thing like bar tape.

In terms of the part itself, it is a termination point for the handlebar tape so that the shifter body is not integrated into the bar tape and can be removed if needed. I am testing a printed index mechanism, so maybe I am the only real use case.

Dropped one of my wife's favorite mugs. Anyone up for a paid commission/challenge to print a new handle? Have you ever seen this work? Thanks!

About half the time recently when printing with PLA, I see that holes or loops have a line of filament running approximately through the middle which seems to be one of the inner perimeters having detached and contracted, but is still attached on both sides. Is it a temperature thing, an extrusion thing? I can't find a pattern. Bed adhesion is great. Bambu H2C, mostly printing with Bambu Basic PLA.

My FPV goggles have no internal battery, they need to be run off a 2s-8s LiPo or 5v from a USB port. This lets me use a reasonably safe power supply instead of strapping a raw lipo to my body.

I made my own 3D printer in 2014 (E3D, Core-XY, oversized Nema motors, ...), but it has been sitting in the garage for too long and it's a bit bulky, finicky and so on. A good first try IMO back when crappy chinese ones was 700-800€ on AliBaba... But because my kid asked me if we couldn't buy one, and this one specifically, I checked it out, it's ~300€ which I thought was way too cheap for something reliable but things have changed in the 3D print world it seems, and I haven't kept up.

So I'm mostly looking for something reliable (or easily fixable, I do have printed a bunch of stuff so I know how things work, at least I have had all the basics problems :-) ) and in a box, no need for anything fancy.

I read that the hotend isn't interchangeable, or you go third-party, but I will mostly (only?) use PLA which is not very abrasive.

I also read that you can use other slicers, which is nice. Future proofing is nice.

Thoughts / recommendations ?

Thanks!

Edit: Kid just sent me the " 3D Bambu Lab P1S" too, but I think I don't like the closed echo system of the Bambu... is it a legit concern ?

Hello everyone,

I'm asking the Lemmy: I've been the owner of an Ender 3V3 SE since Christmas and am quite happy with the printer so far. The price/performance ratio is good. Minutes. Only the fan noise when you turn on the printer and preheat it for the first 5 minutes worries me. It doesn't sound healthy. In my opinion, it's both fans, first the power supply, and when you preheat PLA, the hot end fan as well. When I print, everything sounds as it should.

I've included a few video links:

Power supply:

https://loops.video/v/e97ZQ8YsEa

https://loops.video/v/e987R8wBEb

Then I preheat for PLA:

https://loops.video/v/e98jjSpPEe

I'm curious to hear what you think.

Best regards,

Patric

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Remember one month ago Italian police seized an extremely dangerous pla letter opener and a teenager's printer?

They're back

First they seized "a factory" of PLA knuckles: https://www.ildolomiti.it/cronaca/2026/un-15enne-e-un-13enne-producevano-tirapugni-con-le-stampanti-3d-della-scuola-hanno-anche-minacciato-un-compagno-che-voleva-denunciarli (a 13 years old kid printed multiple copies with the school's printer)

Now they went to the home of another middle schooler to seize his printer because he printed a prop from assassin's Creed: https://www.rainews.it/tgr/bolzano/articoli/2026/02/lame-stampate-in-3d-sequestrate-in-una-scuola-di-bolzano-eb67732d-a7a1-4eac-842b-a0bf7a87e937.html

I feel much safer now that those factories of dangerous weapons are now seized

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/opensource/p/1823177/3d-printer-reviewers-being-honest-in-this-industry-will-put-you-out-of-a-job

This is the emails between the YouTuber YGK3D and Anycubic, it seems like they won't send 3D printers to reviewers who mention their GPL3 license violations. > > tl;dr Anycubic uses open-source software for their firmware, but doesn't make it public as per license agreement, and they don't seem to be friendly to anyone who calls this out. > > More info: https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxIMpZTkXqFo0H6pDwhZpdYqMYvLhPvWA5?lc=UgxA-4LYvwrnonXuXsZ4AaABAg >

(Continued from https://lemmy.world/post/43278229 a few days ago...) So, I tried fully removable for the index, but that is impractical as far as the size, space, and complexity. I can't see a way of maintaining concentricity.

Next I tried making various hollow spaces where the main pawl slaps the index with every shift. I wondered if it would sound or feel any different, but no dice. Printed pawls (don't last long) sound very different. The index tooth shapes sound a little different, but messing with the spring preload makes more of a difference.

I spent way too long trying to get a side screw mount to clear the shift lever arm. It is super challenging to mess with two angled vectors pointed across a Cartesian coordinate system and then adding two rotational components of a round object while locating a screw head and square nut around a central shaft... and thinking about print orientation. I broke my rigid sketch based linear workflow to make that one happen. I had to model separate bodies, then use assemblies to layer the coordinate systems.

Then I decided to stop screwing around and simping for big hardware. Obviously the curved shape of the removable index is a printed spring. I guess I was passively thinking I needed to avoid that flexibility or loading. It took me rotating the side bolt from center-ish, to as high as possible before I saw a good way to limit deflection while keeping a snap fit. The fit is actually too good now. I need to make an easier way to remove the thing and alter a bit of geometry to make more removal clearance.

One of the problems with removal of the index from the body is that the pawls need to be in the highest gears to access the location where there is space to slide it out. This makes the screw retained version want to fly apart once the screw is removed. Then omg it is a pain in the ass to get the thing back together with the index back under the pawls. So to solve this, I made an extra index address at the very end where the pawls can park outside of the removable section. This works fantastic, but creates a new problem. That location will be blocked by the RD high side limit screw on the bike. I have a few ideas of how to remedy the issue, but I think the best one is to make a little barrel limit device that sits on the exposed section of the RD shift cable at the RD, between the clamp bolt and housing termination. That could be removed to give access without altering the RD/cable. Another way, but much more involved design, is to create a release mechanism into the barrel.

I've been wondering if I could somehow add a small amount of adjustment to the whole index by changing the distance between the barrel and central axle by a millimeter or so. I had been thinking of simple ways to create such a variance, but adding a bunch more complexity, it might be possible to add the ~3mm of extra shift cable travel needed to get the pawls past the RD limits without releasing the RD cable.

For the rear cassette, I have plenty of room between an 11 speed 11-28 that I typically ride and my spokes. I wish I could find HG 10t cogs or a 9t built into a lock ring. Alas it is easier to extend the big cog side. While I cannot make a regular cassette cog fit, I can easily create a dished carrier for mounting a small chainring at the spoke side. Pretty silly to me as I never even use the 28t, but it would be funny to joke about the marketing of ""12 speeds"" and how my chainring on the back is smaller than many mountain cassettes now. I have a bunch of 38-42t inner chainrings I could use.

On another tangent... all of the 3d printed brake hoods I have seen are hideous. Still, I wonder about TPE as a replacement for bar tape and maybe even hoods. What if it was more modular. What if it was made so that the print creates ribbon like strands and these are braided on the bars. What if nice bar tape equivalent could be removed without damage. What if it was washable. What if the whole road bike system is made to be serviceable piece meal instead of all or nothing.

Then it occurred to me today, with my index measurement tool I made, all anyone needs to do is measure and print their own tuned spacers between the cogs of the rear cassette and every combination is possible. That is the Occam's Razor of solutions. All the fuss and marketing boils down to the size of those little rings of plastic between the cogs.