DESKTOP AM

Living Hinges

Living Hinges aren’t just for CNC work, they can be 3d printed as well. Stereolithography files of models designed with hinges have popped up on various online printing communities.

Free Software & Slicers for Desktop FFF* Printers

*Fused filament fabrication

Modeling Software	Slicers	Combination	Slicer/ Printer Mgmt

3D Crafter	Cura	3D Builder	Klipper/fluidd
Blender	KISSlicer	IceSL	Klipper/Mainsail
FreeCAD	Repetier Host	Idea Maker	OctoPrint
MeshLab	Slic3r	MatterControl	Printrun
OpenSCAD		Meshmixer
SolveSpace		PrusaSlicer
Tinkercad
Wings 3D

Sometimes, you end up doing something you didn’t know you had an interest in doing and you become obsessed with it. Such is my now near addiction to empty filament spools. I’m not at the point where I want to buy filament just to print models for empty spools, but I feel myself drawing close.

Empty Filament Spool Ideas

What to do with empty filament spools? That question has been asked for some years now. I have seen it asked more frequently in Facebook printer groups during the past few months. The answer has not changed much over the years.

Is A Chair Cushion Possible With colorFabb LW-PLA?

Upon seeing an announcement about colorFabb’s LW-PLA, my first thought was cushions. The filament was on back order at the time and I waited a few months for it to arrive. I waited again before I tried printing with the filament as I learned a direct drive extruder was best. Finally, in February I was able to begin printing.

Installation Notes – CR10 Mini – 2nd Z-Axis

There are two reasons I installed a second z-axis; one reason was to balance the weight of a direct drive extruder I planned to install. The other reason was to balance the weight of the x-axis in general. I noticed in December that the axis was lower on the right side of the machine by about 4 mm. Considering that my first 3D printer was about 13 inches wide with dual z-axes, I was always leery about having a printer with a wider width and one z-axis. I suppose this upgrade was inevitable.