chrisp

Yeah, I remember AaronAlai's design and I also designed a couple pairs before that, which I successfully printed. These are more aerodynamic and much harder to print. I would really appreciate it if someone could take my original file and add proper support in Meshmixer so I can test out my print again. I am having trouble using Meshmixer and don't have the time to learn it properly. Here is what my print came out like back in December, this was my 3rd print ever. This is fresh off the build plate without support. (well, support touching build plate only) Here is the same pair after I sanded and painted. I can easily design these so the arms are hinged. All I need to do is create the cavity for the lens to sit in. I don't see it being an issue to mount the lens.

I was thinking about designing replicas of Oakley Gascans in an attempt to successfully print them in flexible pla, which will then allow the use of the original lenses to be popped in and out as needed. They have a much easier curvature to print than most of the other styles and I believe they will work. If all goes well, I have a design that just might work with ninja flex. From all of the information I gather, ninja flex is super strong and stretchy. My design requires the sticky/stretchy factor to promote the frames to just sit on one's nose without the use of arms. I guess it could be directly described as the style worn by Morpheus in the Matrix, but they are far from the same design. I would be willing to work together with someone who has the same interests.

Ah, I haven't used the one made by Dremel, but I have heard complaints about it being less than desirable. No sorry i don't, but you can find it on Thingiverse or Youmagine. Can't remember which one I downloaded it from. (BTW it is not my design)

Yes, but it needs a little more meat just above the carriage to even out the weight from the dremel a bit. That will be my next modification this week. @JonnyBischof What do you mean? The one I designed doesn't work right? I use it all the time and it works great. I created the files with little tolerances so everything fits as snug as possible. Of courser it's not going to be exactly like an all metal drill press, because it's made of plastic, but it's very effective. Maybe your looking for a plunger type press? @LeoDDC Sorry to hear your Batman print got messed up.

Can't wait to try it out!

Oh, I also forgot to mention that I totally redesigned the workstation that was taken down from youmagine. Here is my current progress. 100% working, but I need to add to the top of the carriage. I redesigned everything. (It's starting to look and feel very sexy!) :cool: It spins on axis where the dremel is mounted and where the rods sit in the base. *The dremel mount now has even support, proper ventilation for the exhaust fans, and the cap can be screwed back on to secure the dremel in place better. *Instead of using gears, I designed some cylinders with sleeves and holes every 15 degrees with a nut secured inside to lock in the all-thread attached to the knob. *The carriage no longer uses linear bearings! I designed a unique channel all the way through the carriage to slide up and down the rods. *Epoxy is no longer needed, as the back/top knob holds everything in place when tightened. *The back/bottom knob on the carriage uses the same method as the last design, where a nut is mounted inside so pressure can be applied to the rods and hold the carriage in place. *Here's the biggest change, yet the best one. The base is much smaller and sleeker cutting the print time and material in half. Also the Cylinders that hold the rods are printed separately, then attached later when the base is screwed into desk. the green cylinder in the pic rotates 360 degrees, but only locks in forward facing or sideways.(i might change this to be every 15 degrees later) There is a 608 skate bearing mounted underneath the cylinder to help is spin freely. I will most likely share these files soon, I just need to use it for a while and make sure it's complete.

Paul & ProfePaco: Here is the link http://printinz.com/ They contacted me about using this build plate and in return I am giving them my thoughts and experiences with it. I live close to the distributor in the U.S. It just so happens this build plate is much better than expected and I see myself using it from now on instead of glass. Everything can be found about it on the website above. Here's what it looks like installed

The feet underneath touching the build plate are only 2mm thick. I used brim on my first print with the white pla, but it was not needed. I haven't tested a long thin object, but im sure it will adhere, this plate is awesome. I forgot to mention that you can use both sides of plate as well. I'm using it on my UM2 in the pic above. It fits right in place of the glass, just slide the glass out and the fibrous plate back in then secure clips. It's the same exact thickness as the glass.

Been having so much fun with this new build plate and flexible PLA that I had to print some vibration isolaters. The build plate is my favorite new item due to it's overall simplicity. No more using glue or heated bed or worrying about my prints adhering properly. The biggest improvement is the time saved by not using the heated bed. Prints start in about 1 minute or less. (I used to wait 5-8 minutes for the build plate to heat up)

@Ian that's a very interesting design! I would like to see it in action. Can you post a video of just that?

@LeoDDC: The quality is extremely nice to the touch, but it seems to have tiny holes throughout that kind of bother me. It can almost be described as being porous, but rubbery. I absolutely love the flexible material and am looking forward to purchasing some ninja flex soon. I just can't seem to think of much to use it for at the moment. I printed this last night from thingiverse. A flexible watch band for my ipod nano

Thanks for the heads up! I will definitely use this to create something for my boy.

I decided to go ahead and finally try out the Flexible White PLA that I purchased from Ultimaker back in December. Here is my first and second print with it. The first is a simple gasket for the water hose outside which was missing. (Worked perfect first try, no more leaks) The second is the frog from thingiverse which seemed like a suitable test subject. Both were printed on the new build plate from PRINTinZ.com with these settings: Layer height 0.1 Shell Thickness 0.4 Default Retraction Settings Bottom/Top Thickness 0.4 Fill 100% Speed 30mm/s Heated Bed OFF Cooling Fans OFF Temperature 225 C

I only meant that if you use your method with the 3mm opening of the bearing, you might notice it before it enters/gets stuck in the extruder.

As long as you catch the bulge before it rides up against the extruder, you can cut the filament and remove the bulge, then reinsert 2nd piece of filament from roll behind the cut as it enters the extruder. I have done this a couple times without any problems using pla.

I printed the entire Tantillus case using Ultimaker pearl white. One of my favorite colors. Look at my gallery to see some pics. I can't post pic from my phone.

Supposedly you can print ABS without a heated bed on this plate as long as it's not a large print. I have not used ABS with my new machine yet, as I would like to keep my teflon coupler from deformation. However, I would suggest closing the front of the machine to lock the heat in so the print does not crack. I will be ordering a couple more of these plates for my Tantillus build. On a second note, I did try my first print using a heated bed with this new plate installed and the print stuck so tight that I had to literally pry it off the surface. No damage was done to the plate. Nick, I haven't used that specific type of plate, but it looks very similar. I guess these are made with different materials, no heat needed at all on the bed. *On the website it's clear as to the limitations of this plate*

I always have trouble getting the PLA to stick unless there's enough heat. I just recently received a generous gift from the guys over at http://www.PRINTinZ.com. It's a fibrous build plate that fits in place of the glass plate perfectly.(Even better than the glass which is lighter and flexible) Here is a pic of what it looks like installed on my UM2. I printed this quick test design: Black PLA Layer Height 0.1 Shell thickness 0.4 Bottom/Top Thickness 0.4 Infill 0% Speed 30mm/s Hot-end temp 200C Buildplate Temp OFF Fans 50% The tubes are 4mm diameter. The surface is better than blue tape and it comes out incredibly smooth. This is definitely the ideal build plate to use for support structures that are thin/small. No long wait for the build plate to heat up. The printing starts super quick.

OOOOOh, I want one!

The brackets that came with my new garage door opener did not fit the rails as planned so it gave me another useful reason to print. I know it's not a big deal being a stationary bracket, but every time I design, print, and make use of an idea in the real world with a physical object, I am always blown away and completely satisfied. Every time is like using the printer for the first time when it's your personal creation. I mounted the sensors with the same hardware it came with and mounted the bracket to the existing bolt and nut located on the garage door railing. Everything worked first try without adjustments. Who new a couple brackets could make one feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

pratik, The few times I used ABS with the UM2 these factors seem to be the most important: I used the glue stick. I heated bed to max, which was 110 degrees C. I used black, so the hot-end had to be set at 260 C. Side cooling fans were off. I covered the front to lock in the heat

That grip came out amazing! Makes me want to design some for my mountain bike.

Nice write up! The only flex I've used is the ultimaker brand to make some gaskets. It works quite well.

Simply Brilliant! That's thinking out of the box.

@Nick Foley I should have clearly stated that ABS is not as environmentally friendly. It is not biodegradable like PLA. That is all the reasoning I need to make the statement above. Maybe I should change that remark to "people using ABS only". I am big on recycling no matter what the material might be. All of my cardboard, plastics, refrigerants, food leftovers, water, etc...all gets recycled. So don't get misdirected by one's opinion to try and add to a topic with advice. My intent is only to show my point of view. I'm sorry if you don't agree. As stated above, the little bit of plastic since December that I have laying around only equates to maybe 1 pound of waste. I'm sure everyone has a different amount depending on how often they make use of their printers.