3D Printing | Appleton Makerspace1

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3D Printing

What is it?

3D printers are used to create shapes by heating plastic filament and depositing that on build platform. However, someone needs to create the 3D model before it can be printed. There are many online sites that sell 3D models, but you can also create your own. Welcome to the next wave of manufacturing!

What skills are need in 3D printing?

There are many skills needed for 3D printing (besides patience and good troubleshooting skills.)

3D modeling (building a model in Fusion 360, or Solidworks, or many others)
3D scanning (using a laser-based scanner to scan a real-life object)
Filaments (learning the unique characteristics of each type of filament is crucial)
Processes (learning the process of resin printers vs filament printers is another area of study)

3D Printing Tools

3D printing requires that you learn the operation of one of several printers we have available. The process is similar in all, you acquire a model (online or build your own), you setup the print, you slice the print into layers, then you load the sliced file onto the machince.

Filament Manager

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Manufacturer:

Creality

Model:

CFS

CFS (Creality Filament System) is Creality's solution to allow 1 print head to extrude different filaments within the same print.

3D Printer (filament)

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Manufacturer:

Elegoo

Model:

Neptune 4 Max

Print volume 420 x 420 x 480 mm. This printer has manually activated semi-automated bed leveling

3D Printer (filament)

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Manufacturer:

Elegoo

Model:

Neptune 3 Pro

Print volume 225x225x280 mm

Resin Printer

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Manufacturer:

Anycubic

Model:

Photon Mono 4K

Resin printer. Printable volume 6.5x5.2x3.1"

Filament Manager

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Manufacturer:

Prusa

Model:

MMU 2s

MMU(Multi-Material Unit) Prusa's solution to allow 1 print head to extrude different filaments within the same print. These use fewer steppers than the box-style filament feeders such as the CFS, trading greater programming and design complexity for fewer expensive parts.

3D Printer (filament)

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Manufacturer:

Prusa

Model:

I3 Mk 3s

With a printable area of 250x250x210 mm, these printers are reasonably sized for many projects. They are equipped with ruby nozzles, and should be the printers used if you're using abrasive filament. Both have MMUs connected, but those can be bypassed at need.

3D Printer

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Manufacturer:

Creality

Model:

Ender 3 v2

Print volume 220 x 220 x 250 mm

3D Printer (non-cartesian, filament)

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Manufacturer:

FLSun

Model:

T1 Pro

FLSun has more expensive models, but this model shares with those the maximum print speed. The speed is the major appeal for this style of printer. This is a delta style printer. These printers trade the need to do math for greater speed. Cartesian printers(like the Prusa) have simpler solutions to moving around while delta printers use geometry as the motion of the motors does not drive the print head in a primary direction(up/down, left/right, forward/back).

3D Printer (filament)

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Manufacturer:

Creality

Model:

K2 Plus

With a printable area of 350x350x350mm, this printer has the largest printable area of our current 3d printers. This is one of Creality's larger and newer models and it is connected to a CFS.

3D Printer

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Manufacturer:

Elegoo

Model:

Saturn 4 Ultra 16K

Current Elegoo flagship resin printer, this has a printable volume of 211.68 x 118.37 x 220 mm. The resin tank is heated so it can print reliably despite fluctuating room temperatures.

3D Printer (filament)

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Manufacturer:

Elegoo

Model:

Neptune 3 Max

Print volume 420 x 420 x 500 mm. This printer has manually activated semi-automated bed leveling

3D Printer (filament)

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Manufacturer:

Elegoo

Model:

Neptune 2 S

Print volume 220 x 220 x 250 mm

Resin Printer

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Manufacturer:

Elegoo

Model:

Mars 3 or 4

Resin printer. Printable volume 143 x 89.6 x 175 or 153.36 x 77.76 x 175 mm

3D Scanner

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Manufacturer:

EinScan

Model:

Pro 2X

Filament Holder

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Manufacturer:

Makerspace

Model:

Prusa Fillament Holder

This rack has 5 numbered slots, 1 for each input to the Prusa MMU 2s. It was designed by a member using OpenSCAD for the 3d printed parts(currently PLA), and PVC pipe and fittings. The spools can tilt forward for ease of loading/unloading.

Wash & Cure

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Manufacturer:

Anycubic / Elegoo

Model:

Elegoo and Anycubic wash and cure stations

Used in resin printing to remove not fully cured resin and to finish curing prints after they've been removed from the print bed. Interchangable within size constraints.

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