31
votes
Accepted
When to use 1.75 mm vs 3 mm filament?
There's no appreciable difference. Just use the filament that fits your particular printer.
If you don't yet have a printer, then I'd get one that uses 1.75 mm filament:
1.75 mm is ...
- 14.8k
29
votes
Accepted
How is PLA different from ABS material?
Paraphrasing this site. Feel free to add suggestions in the form of comments and I will try to incorporate them.
Summary
ABS: Stronger, machinable, more flexible, and more temperature
resistant than ...
- 1,551
21
votes
Accepted
Mushy small top layers?
Layer Times
See my answer to this question and pay particular attention to my suggestion about a minimum layer print time. I'm not sure if all slicing engines provide this option, but I know ...
- 6,284
19
votes
When to use 1.75 mm vs 3 mm filament?
There are a few factors to consider those two:
3 mm
More rigid - easier to print with flexible plastics. I couldn't make my 1.75 mm printer print with NinjaFlex using standard Bowden extruder.
Can ...
- 456
16
votes
Accepted
What are the reasons for my 3D prints having large numbers of strings between parts of a layer?
Stringing is often a result of too-high a temperature, or insufficient retraction. When there is highly liquid filament in the nozzle tip, it can adhere to the remainder of the print while dripping as ...
- 852
16
votes
When to use 1.75 mm vs 3 mm filament?
I generally agree with the points in masteusz's and Tom van der Zanden's answers, but I would add a bit more detail. Generally, the differences are minimal, however:
Generally speaking, a 1.75 ...
- 363
16
votes
Accepted
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an all-metal hot end compared to one with a PTFE heat break?
This is a good question to make a comparison table. All-metal hotends Vs. PTFE liner hotends.
All metal:
Works well for high (+250ºC) temperatures filaments like nylon or PC.
No need to replace the ...
- 306
16
votes
Accepted
Why does hairspray work as an adhesive for ABS?
First of all, not all hairsprays work. The chemicals in hairspray that causes the bonding is "VA/Crotonates Copolymer", it is also called "vinyl acetate/crotonic acid copolymer". ...
- 34.5k
15
votes
Accepted
Resolution Drawbacks
The biggest effect I've see on resolution is due to plastic stress due to thermal gradients.
The higher resolution prints build up more layers of material, and each layer has a cumulative effect on ...
- 1,843
14
votes
What could be causing my y axis to slip?
(source: all3dp.com)
Your printer is skipping steps in the y-direction. This can have several causes. Take a look into Shifted layer guide on RapRap.org which lists 29 possible problems that can cause ...
- 1,911
14
votes
Accepted
Will I see a noticeable difference switching from a .4mm to a .3mm nozzle?
1) Smaller nozzle advantage: sharper "corners" (higher X and Y resolution)
2) Larger nozzle advantage: faster 3d printing (because you can print the shell faster as each perimeter can be thicker so ...
- 944
12
votes
Accepted
Printing screws - is the output usable? (M3 or M4)
well... it's hard to imagine printing M3 or even M4
I haven't try but I haven't because I'm pretty sure it's not possible (on my printer of course)
but some time ago I've tried M8 which is of course ...
- 3,456
12
votes
Accepted
Do 3D printers really reach 50 micron (0.05 mm) accuracy?
There's not a simple answer to this question, or if there is, it's "no". However the situation is a lot more complicated. When printer specs cite accuracy like this, they're usually basing the claim ...
11
votes
Accepted
How to print an overhanging arc
You could modify it as shown in my picture. I added lines tangent to the 11mm circle and in this example I set them to a 40 degree overhang which should be fine, the top line is also tangent to the ...
- 2,090
11
votes
When to use 1.75 mm vs 3 mm filament?
I think (as do a lot of others) that the differences are rather minor. So just my 2 things I know from experience. We've been using 3 mm for some years and now we are moving towards 1.75.
1.75 mm ...
- 1,106
11
votes
What could be causing my y axis to slip?
In my experience, the most common reason for positional offset during printing, is the motor skipping steps due to physical impact.
Your stepper motors do not give positional feedback to your ...
- 3,987
10
votes
3D printing for outdoor use: "What types of filament are most weather resistant?"
PET(G) is a strong contender. It is very strong and water-resistant, and as such is often used to make pop bottles.
PLA has a reputation for being "biodegradable" and therefore it is often ...
- 14.8k
10
votes
Accepted
How do I keep my extruder head from getting clogged?
Different types of hotends and extruders can lead to different problems associated with clogging. Based on my personal experience the leading causes of clogs and jams are the following
Foreign ...
- 403
10
votes
How thin can I make the wall of a pipe?
The thinnest wall your printer can print is determined by its nozzle size, and will be a little thicker than that nozzle size.
A great challenge when dealing with thin, hollow cylinders is that the ...
- 14.8k
9
votes
What are the reasons for my 3D prints having large numbers of strings between parts of a layer?
Here's just a few of the things you might want to look into.
plastic - some plastic types are more stringy than others and there's also variation between brands and colors.
moisture in filament - ...
- 688
9
votes
How to print an overhanging arc
I think a lot of this depends on the slicing engine you're using as to what options you have. I use MakerWare (now MakerBot Desktop) which has many options for the support scaffolding as well as other ...
- 6,284
9
votes
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an all-metal hot end compared to one with a PTFE heat break?
Yeah, Yeah... Old topic I know, but still an ongoing topic for new and old hands alike.
"All metal or PTFE lined" along with "Bowden or Direct drive" Those are the questions!
This is a very unusual ...
- 91
9
votes
Do 3D printers really reach 50 micron (0.05 mm) accuracy?
One of the things I was told about was that many printers don't necessarily have that crazy precision of 0.05 mm (50 micron). Another person told me something different - he said most of those ...
- 14.8k
8
votes
How is PLA different from ABS material?
The problem is that it's almost impossible to answer the PLA/ABS question just by looking at the material characteristics as it is so dependent on the application and even the specific object you're ...
- 91
8
votes
How do I do multi-colour printing?
There are a few different approaches I've seen which you could look into.
The easiest and most common is multiple extruders, each with a different color of thermoplastic. Tools like Pronterface and ...
- 1,476
8
votes
My heated glass print bed keeps chipping and cracking. How can I prevent this?
I use the glue stick method. I like to take my build plate out and put it in the freezer. The different coefficients of thermal expansion between the glass and plastic usually means that the part just ...
- 181
8
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to use an aftermarket controller on a MakerBot?
You can put pretty much any controller in pretty much any printer, with a few noteworthy details you need to keep in mind for a Replicator 1.
Makerbots use thermocouples. Most RepRap style 3d ...
- 6,536
8
votes
Accepted
Layer delamination
Cool environmental conditions are the single biggest contributor to ABS delamination. Delamination or edge/corner cracking is caused by warping stresses when the first layer adhesion is stronger than ...
- 6,536
8
votes
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an all-metal hot end compared to one with a PTFE heat break?
In general, metal extruder without PTFE feeding is useful when printing with materials that require high temperature to melt: 300oC and above.
Polycarbonate with recommended printing temperature at ...
- 878
8
votes
Printing screws - is the output usable? (M3 or M4)
Yes. This question and most of the answers are old, and 3D printing has come a long way in the past 4 years or so. Alexandre Strube's bumping with one up-to-date answer inspired me to take another try ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible