3D printing New Zealand : October 2016

Thursday 27 October 2016

Cubicon plug n play 3D printer review

Here is a video review on the cubicon single 3d printer

3Designs new look trade me store

3Design New Zealand have been selling 3d printers on Trade me for over four years now and it still accounts for a large percentage of our company sales,In the early days of setting up our business it was very hard for us to determine which direction we needed to go as 3D printing in general was very new.Trade me gave us the ability to expose our brand and services nationally while we developed our brand behind the scenes. The great thing for us was being able to sell our products through a trusted channel for an affordable price while we found our feet. Four years on and 300 reviews later our business on trade me is still growing,

Check out our all new trade me store!

Click here

Tuesday 25 October 2016

New 3D printer farm being build in New Zealand

Most people think of 3D printing as a prototyping technology rather than a production technology. That is, they would never think to use it for making large batches of end use parts. And most of the time they’d be completely right.

However, there are some interesting circumstances when the most common and cost effective method of 3d printing (fused deposition modelling) is actually the best choice of production technology.

Of the dozen common methods of plastic manufacturing, 3d printing offers its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages.

Products produced from 3Designs 3D printer farm

3Design has set up New Zealand's first 3D printer farm to accommodate businesses who want small runs of custom made products with out the large price tag. They have set out to create a mini factory that with the goal to have 30 x 3d printers by mid April next year. ( 2017 ) ential testing has taken place over the past few months with amazing results.

3D printing favors customization and is excellent for small quantity batches. It allows you to make parts with as much variety and complexity as you want at no additional cost. It allows you the flexibility of changing a product after production has started, also at no extra cost.

For More information on 3Design please see details below

Technical Director
email: design@3dinnovation.co.nz

Managing Director
email: robert@3dinnovation.co.nz

Showroom hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30am-5.00pm

Open weekends by appointment only.

Road front showroom:
74c Maleme Street
Greerton
Tauranga 3112
New Zealand

Ph: 07 929 7278
info@3dinnovation.co.nz

Sunday 16 October 2016

3D printer maintenance

Maintenance. A well treated 3D printer should give you years of trouble-free printing. Here are some suggestions on how to keep your pet 3D printer well maintained.

Oil your X, Y, and Z rods. I do this about once a month.
Periodically tighten nuts and bolts. Again, monthly.
Periodically test and tighten belt tension. I check and adjust belt tension rarely – usually only after I see a printing problem develop.
Periodically test your filament tension. Too tight and you’re putting extra strain on the extruder motor. Too loose and you’re not really getting the best extrusion possible. As plastic filament actually has a slight variation in its diameter, this is something I monitor whenever I am printing. It’s partially a way for me to fuss over my robot as it is happily printing away. If I notice that the extrusion is suddenly too thin, a quick adjustment to the filament tension screw will fix this. I’ve heard that adding a second nut to the filament tension screw prevents the screw from loosening slightly over time.
Repair or replace. Having a 3D printer means that if a part breaks or wears out you can actually replace it. Just accept the fact you’re going to bend, pop, snap, crackle, or pop a part. When that happens you’ll need to rig or hack a temporary solution while you print up a replacement part. One benefit to a solid plastic replacement part to a component that’s assembled out of layered plastic and/or plywood is that there are no parts to loosen over time.
Floss extruder gear. Use something soft-ish like a toothpick to pop the plastic bits out of the gear’s teeth.
Keep firmware updated. firmware has come a long way and I’m pretty sure it to go even further.
Keep software updated. Software is constantly under development.
Replace warped build platforms or build surfaces. A flat even build surface will ensure nice flat builds without having to worry about the extruder head crashing into the platform.
Keep your plastic in a cool, dry place. As mentioned above, the filament’s diameter can very slightly.
Check wire connections on any moving axes. The cable clips attaching motors, endstops, and various other bits to the XY stages can work themselves loose after time. I check these whenever I see that a cable might be working itself loose.

3Design specialise in high quality Servicing and Repair of 3D Printers via our Tauranga 3D Printer Service Centre.

We have many years experience in 3D Printer Service and Repair and have used this expertise to set up the Tauranga 3D Printer service center capable of servicing up to 25 machines a week.

We specialise in, and stock parts for

Createbot , Mankati,Wanhao,Cubicon.

Getting your Machine to us

DROPPING OFF YOUR MACHINE
You can drop your machine off at our shop (Note: Machines must be booked in)

Road front showroom:
74c Maleme Street
Greerton
Tauranga 3112

COURIER COLLECTION
We can also arrange collection (via NZ couriers), and return delivery. Costs are usually $50 for Nationwide, Contact us for a full quote and PACKING INSTRUCTIONS - Proper packing is important to ensure your machine does not suffer expensive damage during transit

SERVICE COSTS
We charge a $115 initial inspection and service fee (per machine). Cost may vary depending on machine type and complexity. This includes initial diagnostics, and a clean, alignment, lubrication and general service.

for information contact us here

Tuesday 11 October 2016

10 free 3D printing software downloads

3D print models are typically distributed in a file format called STL. 3D printer slicer software is needed to convert an STL file into G-code, language which can be understood by a 3D printer. It’s called a slicer because that’s literally what it does; it chops up the 3D model into thousands of flat 2D layers that the 3D printer can fabricate as a physical object.

Cura is the standard slicer software for all Ultimaker 3D printers, but it can also be used with most other 3D printers, including RepRap, Makerbot, Printrbot, Lulzbot, and Witbox. It’s fully open source and can be extended via a plugin system.

This 3D printing software is very easy to use and allows you to manage the most important 3D print settings in a clear interface. Start in “Basic” mode for rapid onboarding, where you can choose reconfigured printer quality settings. When you need more precise control over the print quality settings, switch to over “Expert” mode.

You can also use Cura as 3D printer host software for direct control over your machine, but the 3D printer needs to be connected to the PC for the duration.

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 1 Cura

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 2 Craftware

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 3 1233D

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 4 3dslash

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 5 Tinkercad

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 5 3Dtin

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 6 sculptris

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 7 viewstl

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 8 repetier

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 9 FreeCad

10 free 3D printing software downloads # 10 sketchup

For information on 3D printing see 3Designs details below

Contact Details

Technical Director

email: design@3dinnovation.co.nz

Managing Director

email: robert@3dinnovation.co.nz

Showroom hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30am-5.00pm

Open weekends by appointment only.

Road front showroom:

74c Maleme Street

Greerton

Tauranga 3112

New Zealand

Ph: 07 929 7278

info@3dinnovation.co.nz

Monday 3 October 2016

How to make ABS juice for your 3D printer bed

Use a small glass jar with an air tight lid. You can find these at most hobby shops. Empty nail polish bottles also work by they are small.
Fill about half way with straight acetone (or however much you’d like if you’re using a larger jar).
Add ABS. ABS takes time to completely dissolve in acetone, so the smaller amount you use the quicker the results. We like to simply print a one-layer thick square sheet (or just start any print and stop it after the first layer), and then cut it into pieces. Snipping small pieces off the end of your filament works too, but it’ll just take more time to dissolve.
Wait and stir. Repeat until all the ABS is dissolved.
There’s no perfect ratio of ABS to acetone. Just use less ABS to make a thinner solution (great for surface finishing), or more ABS for a thicker solution (great for bonding or mending parts).
Bonding small parts together to create larger or more intricate ones (it’s just a bit easier to apply than straight acetone).
Improving the surface finish of your part (simply paint it on or dip your part into it).
Mending cracks in your parts (if you don’t feel like reprinting/redesigning them).
Use it as an adhesive on your heated bed plate to prevent lifting/shrinkage of your ABS part.

View our you tube video tutorial here

for more tips and tricks on 3d printing view our website tips and tricks here

Contact Details