Archive for category: Communites

By Mustafa Alkhulaitit – Project Manager

This research study is targeting the heated bed technology for 3D printers. Advantages and disadvantages will be analyzed in depth in this blog. First of all, there are many reasons why every 3D printer needs a heated bed. Heated beds are used because they dramatically improve the quality of the printed object. The quality is greatly improved because heated beds keep the extruded plastic warm and as a result, prevent warping. The main reason why a heated bed must be added is to prevent warping. Warping is a common condition caused by plastic on the edges of the part cooling down at an uneven rate when compared to the plastic inside of the part. The result is that corners warp up and deform your model.

Heated beds work by keeping the object warm during the whole printing process which keeps the material at or above heat-deflection temperature. Keeping the parts in the heat-deflection range ensures that the part remains flat on the print bed. There are multiple types of heated beds such as:

Aluminum Clad Resistors

• • Cheap price compared to other types
  • Handles both types PLA and ABS
  • 12V powered

Figure1. ACR Heated Bed

• PCB Heat Bed
  • Even heat distribution
  • Simple implementation
  • Small space required
  • Lightweight
  • More expensive than the Aluminum Clad Resistors
  • Has two sides: top side is safer, while the bottom side is more effective and heats up quicker

 

• Silicon Heating Mat
  • Fast heating and reliable
  • Very low height
  • Easy to install
  • Integrated thermostat

Figure3. Silicon Heating Mat

 

The following table shows the deflection points for the PLA and ABS:

PLA	ABS
50-60⁰C	100-110⁰C

In general, adding a heated bed platform will greatly improve reliability, which is one of our main objectives.  The only exception where we are not going to need a heated bed is that if we use Nylon as our printing material. If Nylon is used, a wooden platform is enough for the object to remain stable on the platform.

By Gregorio Rios – 3D Modeling

Auto leveling is the process of having a servo attached to the side of an extruder along with a switch to test several points on the printer’s bed.

Fig. 1

3D Printers require their print bed to be perfectly level to the print head. If it’s not properly leveled it will not stick to the bed and may fall off, or warp. Auto bed leveling does not level the bed itself, it helps compensate for the bed not being leveled. Physically leveling is a tedious but a necessary process for 3D printing.  Having to level the bed every time you print without auto bed leveling involves making multiple adjustments: getting a corner in the right position, adjusting and verifying that other corners did not get out of alignment before rechecking.

The way that auto bed-leveling works is by analyzing several points on the bed and taking that data to calculate the plane that the print bed actually sits on. The calculations are done by modifying the software responsible for printing. The printer is then adjusted so that the printed objects are perpendicular to the bed, which is not leveled.

The only items you need are a servo and a switch. Both the servo and the switch will attach to 3D printed mounted parts. A servo allows the 3D printed arm to swing down, so that the switch can test several points on the bed. With this simple process it will make printing more proficient without too much prep work.

Fig. 2

By Jessica Salazar – 3D Printing

This frame is based on twelve pros designs. The printer is made of 3mm laser cut steel, making a structure very sturdy.

 Pros:
– Steel is 10 times cheaper than aluminum
– Laser cutting steel is easier and cheaper than cutting aluminum
– Steel is stronger than aluminum

Cons:
– Steel is 3 times heavier than aluminum

 The design of this structure was made with a lot of carvings in order to reduce weight.  These carvings, holes, tab and rounded corners where made to accommodate parts while providing a good fit.

 

By Mustafa Alkhulaitit – Project Manager

There are multiple objectives for the advanced 3D printer project. Those objectives will eventually lead to the requirements of the group, where requirements will determine the type of upgrades and improvements that will apply to the printer.

The objectives can be summarized as follow:

• Reliability – how reliable is the printer and the printed object
• Elimination of shape restrictions – there are many shapes that cannot be printed by regular 3D printer
• Repeatability – loss of precision after the first print
• Resolution – how clear is the printed object
• Reducing print time – time to setup and time to print

For each of our objectives, we will have a research study that will be posted in future blogs.