A lot of people have asked me about my Wombot Exilis XL 3D printer experience since I ordered it almost a year ago.
Why have I been so hesitant to talk about it?
Read on to find out … [Read more…]
Upgrading the Wanhao Di3 from Good to Amazing
The Wanhao Duplicator i3 Prusa style printer is my second favourite, and most-used, printer out of my entire collection.
As a budget, pre-built printer, it is the printer I have recommended most.
Out of the box it is a good printer, but with a bit of effort and a few dollars you can make it amazing.
There are also some upgrades that are cool but not entirely necessary (though I would never stop anyone from tinkering, that’s half the fun!).
Let’s take a look at my experience, and you decide which you want to do. Deal? [Read more…]
Make your own PEI 3D printer bed and get every print to stick!
One of the reasons Prusa Mk2 and Lulzbot printers are so reliable is they have a special PEI surface to print on. In my experience it is one of the best print surfaces, needing no glue for PLA or ABS. So why should other printers miss out? Well, if your bed is smaller than 254 x 224 mm you are in luck! [Read more…]
Easy (and Cheap!) Craft Foam Wheels for Robots and Toys
Need some wheels for your robot or kid’s toy, but don’t want to spend the crazy prices or wait ages for delivery?
When I’m making robots and toys for my kids I am always gobsmacked at how much the wheels for toys cost. Seriously, for a smaller than 3″ piece of plastic, a few millimeters thick, prices like $7.00 to $15.00?!?
It’s crazy.
To keep rolling along on your projects, without sticker shock, follow the instructions below to make your wheels for pennies a piece. [Read more…]
Original Prusa i3 Mk2 Build and Review
Original Prusa Mk3s Review
Original Prusa Mk3s Review is now available!
Continue reading for the old i3 Mk2 review below.
The Original Prusa i3 Mk2, not just any “Prusa i3” 3D printer. Reviews of 3D new printers can get you in trouble at best of times, RepRap or not. Heck, I used to recommend one particular printer that I no longer can recommend just through long term ownership experience. But the Prusa is especially tricky. It’s famously ubiquitous and people have been waiting for an update for a long time. In some ways expectations and hype can destroy a product before it gets a chance to prove itself. Another dangerous area is where copycats degrade a brand at no fault of the originator. Both are factors when talking about the Prusa 3D printer. The design is so popular, so well known, and revisions are so anticipated, it’s almost unfair to go into a review as someone who has been around 3D printers for any length of time. And yet, how could you not?
This is my review after building and owning the kit for a week. It’s my first impressions of the build and in use. I will come back and give my longer term impressions. Sound fair? OK, then let’s continue … [Read more…]
Pocket CHIP Review
We already walk around with supercomputers in our pockets, so why back this Kickstarter for a portable Linux-based handheld? Well, it’s actually pretty neat!
2010 MacBook Pro SSD and Battery Upgrade
One of the things Makers are known for is not just building new stuff, but for getting a lot of use out of old stuff. Repairing, reuse, repurpose is as much part of maker culture as the creativity and engineering aspects. With that in mind, when my old MacBook Pro started showing signs of age, I knew what I had to do!
How to Make a DIY “Internet of Things” Thermometer with ESP8266/Arduino
Thermometers are useful things in general, but especially when printing ABS in an enclosure. Part of the point of an enclosure is temperature control, right?
When I built my IKEA enclosure I knew I was going to need a temperature monitor, but an off the shelf thermometer wasn’t going to be enough. I needed it to work over the internet!
Want to see exactly how I did it? Read on! [Read more…]
Warp-free ABS printing on the Wanhao Di3
ABS is a wonderful plastic. It’s tough. It’s paintable. You can sand it, smooth it, and you can glue it together with “solvent welding”. But the ABS fumes are horrible, and that is without adding solvent vapour on top.
Today I printed an ABS warping torture test at beautiful quality at 60mm/sec, and it came out flawless and fume-free, stuck with only glue stick and a heated bed. 2-3 years ago I would have been laughed at if I said I was going to try that on a <$500 printer, but here we are.
Check out the timelapse: [Read more…]
IKEA 3D Printer Enclosure Hack for Wanhao Di3
If you are 3d printing with ABS you can find it warps, cracks, and basically misbehaves unless you can contain draughts and can maintain constant temperatures. Do you need to spend a fortune on a fancy enclosure? Well, turns out, no, you don’t! In fact, you can get everything you need at IKEA for around $60USD or so. [Read more…]