Tag Archives: 3D Printer

3D Printer Filament & Slicer Profile Handling and Tracking

After owning and using a 3d printer for more than a couple of years, you now might have a collection of filament of different types, colours and suppliers. You will have notice that, even if you only use one type of filament,such PLA, the same g-code file does not always transfer reliably to another similar reel of filament. So, after calibrating a new reel of filament, how do you keep track of filament with associated g-code?

Airtripper’s Direct Drive Bowden Extruder V3 BSP Edition

The Direct Drive Bowden Extruder V3 BSP Edition was first introduced on Ebay back in March 2013, followed by public release of all the design files in August. So to avoid confusion, this article is the documentation for the above extruder and not a new extruder release. While the bowden extruder continues to be popular it seems important to produce some documentation for it, even if only to provide some sort of version history.

Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor – Design & 3D Print

Continuing the Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor series this topic is about getting the plastic parts configured to fit the chosen load cell. Included is a guide to configure the OpenSCAD model file with image references for most of the variables for easy set-up. Be sure to read the section “Choosing A Load Cell” for a guide to getting a load cell to fit the filament force sensor bracket.

J-Head MK-IV Hot End Clone Design Quick Review

Got myself a J-Head MK-IV Hot End clone, from Ebay (snipermand), to see if it will be good enough to replace my heavily modified Mendel Parts Hotend V9 clone; and since the J-Head MK-IV is a clone, this is my quick review to share my purchase experience. The review also includes an illustration of how the different components fit together, how the J-Head clone stacks up against the original J-Head and conclude whether Hot End clones are really worth considering.

Marlin Firmware v1, Basic Configuration Set-up Guide

While my latest experience with 3d printer firmware is still fresh in the mined, I’ll share some notes about what settings you need to know to get a basic Marlin firmware configured enough to get a 3d printer working. The notes will focus on the Marlin firmware v1 and will include setting up the click encoder and LCD panel. But before going straight into getting the Marlin firmware configured, I’ll first quickly introduce you to a handy tool called WinMerge.

Airtripper’s Bowden Extruder V3 – Updated Design

The Airtripper’s Direct Drive Bowden Extruder is now at version 3 with the design files ready to download from Thingiverse. A lot of work went into the design to improve the usabillity and the look of the extruder. The design is stronger with a much cleaner 3d printed finish, and filament changing is now much easier than before.

Sumpod 3D Printer Filament Handling for Extruder

The more improvements and new features added to the Sumpod 3d printer the more I want to use the 3d printer, and adding better filament handling has gone a long way to improve the 3d printer’s ease of use.
The Sumpod’s sturdy construction has allowed me to set up a filament spool rack on the top of the printer.

Hot End Design on 3D Printer Extruder

So, this is an introduction to my latest 3d printer extruder system with a detailed view of the Hot End, Cold End and Nozzle. There are plenty of pictures and a detailed ilustration that shows details about the 3d printer extruder system I’m currently using. I explain some of the pros and cons, and explain why the latest extruder system I’m using works.