#82

I just started with Tinkercad. It’s great! Haven’t tried closing the loop and printing something out yet. The free software optimist in me says “there will be great free and open source software to support many hardware printers” but the skeptic says “the big value is in the software and proprietary formats are how narrow minded people collect all that treasure.”

It seems the sad story is how MakerBot went from leader in the open hardware community to literally a sell out. I don’t think I can even update the firmware (required if I want to replace an extruder) on this 5 year old Replicator without registering the serial number and running their desktop software.

#83

Yeah it was funny see that all that (from a distance) implode.

Thankfully most stuff is now open source and/or there are loads of open source options.

It’s definitely worth printing some stuff, even if its just knick knacks and such. The first few things I printed were some clips for some IKEA furniture I have. I learned a lot in just dealing with the process too, seeing how slicer settings impacted stuff, setting a first layer (don’t know how leveling works on the replicator), etc…

Just search for random shit on thingiverse.com and see what catches your fancy.

#84

IMG_20191104_095237
IMG_20191104_095237.jpg3024×4032 4.12 MB

I’m starting to get it now. It seems the MakerBot desktop software is the thing that slices the model and fills in structure between gaps. This took 7 hours with 10% fill (the default). The cover is a little hard to remove. Otherwise it’s awesome! Thanks for the design.

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#85

I’d like to buy a Shapeoko 3XL or even XXL in Europe, I’ve found https://www.robotshop.com They sell the Shapeoko 3 and ship (free) from EU
They don’t sell the Makita or Dewalt in every country but apparently they’re easily found on Amazon or elsewhere.

Now that I know the price of the CNC itself, I’m trying to list all the additional things/tools/elements that are absolutely needed… That’s the most complicated part for a newbie like me :smiley:

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#87

Not sure which direction you decided to go @Rodrigo @Nordseele but I just got an email for the Carbide3d annual sale which gives a discount for packages shipped outside North America.

Don’t know how it works out vs Robotshop after discount, shipping, tax/vat, currency conversion, but heads up in case it helps.

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#88

Thanks ! Yeah I’ve received this email too but I have to investigate a little bit more before buying one. I want to cut and engrave wood I know it does that well but I’d also like to cut and engrave aluminium panels for eurorack, I need to be sure 100% sure I can do that with the Shapeoko before getting one… It’s also difficult to have a clear understanding of all the additional tools necessary and what cost it represents on top of the machine itself :slight_smile:

#89

It can definitely do aluminum, both cutting an engraving. I’ve done a bit with hammond enclosures for pedals (totally stock machine), and there are users on the C3D forum doing insane things with solid block.

Agree that the “stuff” is a hidden cost. At a minimum you’ll need cutters, collets (depending on what cutters), some sort of vacuum system or enclosure. Depending on where you intend to put it, an enclosure is great to help manage the dust and noise.

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#90

I have no experience with CNCs, but I have made a number of Eurorack cases with a laser cutter. A budget laser cutter will limit you to materials not much thicker than 1/4". For a portable case that might take some abuse on the road, you might want a more robust piece of wood. That said, I’ve been satisfied with my 1/4" plywood cases.

#91

Yeah I saw that. I ended up ordering one at the start of the month (which I haven’t even opened up the box due to a big performance tomorrow).

I did get a 10% off since they had a short sale, so that was a nice perk.

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#92

Finally got it assembled and wired up (definitely more complex than putting together a 3d printer)!

IMG_9963
IMG_99634032×3024 1.29 MB

I still need to square and tram it, along with all the other fine-tuning stuff. Thankfully Winston Moy recently did a video on that stuff:

(I actually need to do a bunch of upgrades for my 3d printer too. I ordered a bed leveling thing, a little camera for the raspi that drives it, etc… Just need to get around to it)

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Transducers / Exciter Speaker
#93

Here are a few of my 3D projects:

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#94

It looks like too nice of a space to be putting that, perhaps… I’m envisioning woodchips and dust everywhere…

#95

Cool! That’s pretty timely! Just about to strt an Arc clone!

#96

Tell me about it… it’s across the room from my 3d printer too, so not ideal.

For now I plan on babysitting it with a vacuum smack up against the cutter sucking everything up, then medium-term will be a proper dust shoe, and long-term will be an enclosure (+ dust shoe).

The way our place is laid out for now, there’s basically indoor-ish space, or outdoor-ish space that’s cold/damp, so not a good option for now.

#97

How’s it working out for you?

#98

I’ve not actually done much yet. I ordered the dust shoe around christmas but it hasn’t arrived yet (I basically ordered it to my folks place in the US and then they will send it over in a care package with other random bits like that).

I did recently upgrade all my 3d printer stuff, with a new hot end, auto bed-leveling etc… and that shit’s amazing. Huge difference.

I also bought one of those official raspberry pi cameras to hookup to my octopi but I can’t seem to get it working. I’ll troubleshoot that some more.

#99

Which hotend did you get? (I have an Ender 3 and might want to upgrade)

#100

I got a Micro Swiss one, so one of the slightly fancier ones.

It’s hard for me to say what difference that has had on its own as I did a whole bunch of other things at the same time, but it definitely heats up much faster (I had damaged/removed the “sock” on my stock CR-10s hotend).

In terms of bang-for-the-buck, I wouldn’t say it’s super high though. Having some capricorn tubing, all metal extruder, and auto bed-leveling are easier/cheaper upgrades. Same goes for the actual nozzle as mine had gotten quite gunked up.

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#101

I was thinking of trying one of the micro Swiss clones from AliExpress (which are really quite cheap).

#102

Finally finished the “Janko keystep” print and assembly. This was several days worth of printing:

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