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Thank you kman and ultiarjan! The forum just ate my reply to you - don't ya just hate that.

Looking at the kits you show above I have the sense there's a lot of work involved in getting them to that stage. Like grinding a telescope mirror to near optical perfection.

It's being sold as Wanhao Premium quality. Chinese. Who knows what lurks in the filament composition. You never need to worry about commenting on what you notice. I'm here to learn. Thanks kman.

I was a little apprehensive from what I've heard about printing with orange PLA. The model is a Thingiverse LegoRobot. Sure enough, after 2 or 3 layers the print started to go wonky. All the other PLA filaments I've printed with so far have come out really nicely. The settings I used for other colors were faster overall. So I slowed them down for the orange PLA as per the settings pic below. UM2+ Temp = 210C/60C. Bed levelled twice. Bed adhesion: Geert's salt water method. Nozzle atomic cleaned twice. The orange PLA in the pre-print phase was extruded very sluggishly, about half the speed of other colors but the stream was nice and thick. Please have a look. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

I meant, via some new ways of thinking, for printed model output quality to be high enough that all the sanding and futzing around is nearly eliminated. Although I can appreciate that for some the sanding and futzing is part of the enjoyment of bonding with the print

I get it - there's more to primers than I first thought. Or for print quality to go through the roof and be affordable

A long slow mild earthquake would do the job

That's an amazing finish kman!!! Thanks for posting these. Shows the importance of choosing appropriate filament and primer colors. I've been thinking about how to paint the masks i printed and how to mask different areas for different colors. The idea of cutting up masking tape doesn't appeal very much so I've drawn on my pottery experience and ordered some latex masking liquid which, when dry, can be peeled off like post-sunburn skin. Don't know how well it will work but it's worth a try.

You guys might appreciate these pics of gypsum crystals that grew in a huge underground cavity in Mexico. The cavity would have been filled with superheated mineralized liquid from which the crystals gradually grew over thousands of years.

Nikola Tesla has a famous story to do with resonance. On one of the steel upright beams of his workshop they mounted a small compressed air vibrator hooked up to a very big air compressor. They started the compressor and as the pressure/vibration increased, so did the resonant frequency. They noticed different parts of their workshop began to vibrate until the building itself began to shake. Fearing imminent collapse they destroyed the vibrator with a sledgehammer since there was enough remaining air capacity in the compressor to structurally damage the workshop building.

Acetone is described as a very weak acid. Dish-washing liquid is suggested as another acetone stopper.

Nothing specifically - I just wondered where it was. And I thought I might be missing out Cura 2.3.1 has been doing a fine job and giving excellent results, even in Fast Print. But thank you for responding.

Amazing info - much appreciated. I hear what you say about shooting and testing first!

Geert - is this a typeface/character set I might use? Thank you.

Hi kman -- this comment of yours stuck in my mind and I'd like to ask you: Do you use an automotive etch primer before you apply enamels? The etch part is not really required is it since it is applied to plastic and not metal. What's your strategy when using auto paints? Thank you my friend.

Ok thanks. In this case can anyone please tell me which version of Cura is compatible with my UM2+ and Win7 Ultimate SP1 32bit. What is your recommendation? I've searched on this forum and Google and the Cura version zig-zag is enough to make my head spin. I guess this is because many of you folks sweat out Cura in your spare time - and thank you for performing that labor of love! Anyone else care to comment, please jump in

I've searched long and hard for "Machine Settings" for my UM2+ in 2.3.1 and found a number of references in Search, but have not been able to locate them. Perhaps they're hidden or have a different name or perhaps I'm looking right at them and don't recognize them Thinking it may have been an installation screw-up, I've just stripped out all references to Cura 2.3.1 on my Win7 32bit PC, cleaned the registry and Users folder and reinstalled Cura but still no Machine Settings window. What am I missing? Thank you.

I modded a cheap Ryobi vibration sander to serve as a massager for aching muscles. It has variable vibration speed and plenty of power. These are the sanders that have a triangular head. That might do what you need for around $40 to $50.

Update for you kman: my first 3D design and STL model using DesignSpark Mech. After a lot of hitting the wrong buttons on the DSM menubar > my first 3D design - a small 110x110x20mm open tray for my USB sticks and other workspace clutter. Hardly worth a mention but I'm pleased as punch. Thanks to you my friend

What an amazing program. I've been watching a few of their basic vids and found myself going Wow! Wow! Wow! I can understand this! DesignSpark Mech and I click. I looked at this program many moons ago and rejected it because of its download size (419MB). I used a much-loved music program in a past life called C-Lab Creator which was 1MB (floppy) in size, ran on an Atari1040ST and was lightning fast...but it turned me into a sizephobe . Those days are long gone. 17 years tutoring - you're a smart guy and a treasure for the folks here. (however I won't hold you to mythical perfection!) I want to thank you again for pointing me to this door kman. I feel my energy to create has returned.

Man did you ever hit the nail on the head with this one! You're not telepathic are you? I could not believe the looseness of the language used in some progs and tutorials - and the web generally I'm just checking out your link, thank you kman.

I was going to PM this to kman who has huge experience of 3D modelling, but then I thought my question to him and possible forum responses may help others who find themselves walking in my beginners shoes. I have zero experience in 3d modelling. I've d/ld and looked at FreeCad, Meshmixer and OpenScad and come away confused. I've learned Photoshop and Dreamweaver over my years as a web designer and can use them almost intuitively - but 3D modelling leaves me perplexed. I'm a visual learner and I learn by doing, as in "Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, let me do it and I've "got it"! I'd appreciate your advice on what software I can noodle my way through to what I'd like to model: printer parts, simple engineering parts such as brackets to hold stuff, how to make a model thicker and stronger, how to stretch part of a model, how to create holes, how to slice off what I don't need, how to turn a 3d model into a valid STL I can use on the UM2+. Thanks for listening! Please chime in if you want kman

Thank you kman! I'm learning that calling a Cura feature by its correct name is frequently the key to finding it in Search. After your tip the search doors suddenly opened. i.e. it's not a hand appendage, it's a finger!

Thanks gr5. I searched and searched but could not locate this "don't force Z value to be zero". Tried all sorts of keyword combos but nada so far.

Spot on kman!