3D Printing

Klipper guide part 2: MKS Gen L/TMC2208 + Wrecklabs Printhat

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Klipper is a special firmware designed to perform the heavy lifting of calculating kinematics on a Raspberry Pi and therefore simplify the job of the existing 3D printer mainboard. This allows very precise stepper motor timing and potentially much higher speeds.

In this installment, I swap the Ender 3 mainboard for an MKS Gen L and setup TMC2208s in UART mode, the LCD, and hot end activated fan. It wasn’t easy so the config file is provided below. TMC2208s are notorious for not getting along well with Klipper, especially in stand alone mode.

PinkyPi X – WaveShare GamePi15 RaspberryPi Zero Game Console.

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PinkyPi X is now available for download on Thingiverse.com. This is based around the WaveShare GamePi15 game hat and a RaspberryPi Zero.
As always, the original Sketchup source files I created when designing this case have been included.

You can also download our precompiled RetroPie 4.5.1 image from our Downloads.
This image has preconfigured controls, and utilizes the fbcp-ili9341 display driver and PiSNES for the best available speeds you can get on a Pi Zero.

If you like the work we do, and would like to support us, please consider a one time or reoccurring donation to our new Patreon we are setting up.
You can also follow along in the build and join in the conversation on our forums in the PinkyPi X thread.

Achieve true 3D printing with non planar slicing

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This is the most interesting thing I’ve done with my 3D printer in some time. Instead of printing in a series of 2D planes stacked up to form a 3D shape (2.5D), this non planar technique creates geometry with true 3D tool paths that can eliminate the steps often seen on shallow surfaces. Based on the amazing Masters Thesis of Daniel Ahlers and the University of Hamburg, this development can be tried yourself if you are willing to put in some time to setting it up.

In this video I’ll lead you through step by step on how to setup a virtual Linux machine on your PC, compile the custom version of Slic3r and then share with you my results. The future is bright and I thank people like Daniel Ahlers and Moritz Walter for leading the way.

SKR Mini E3 – The best Ender 3 upgrade from stock?

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I’ve made videos on Ender 3 mainboard upgrades, but this one has been highly requested. The SKR Mini E3 from Bigtreetech is a drop in replacement board that also comes with pre-made firmware.
For the price, I consider this incredible value. Mine had one hitch but my free firmware files below will prevent that happening to you. This upgrade is so great because: It negates the need to spend time, effort and money on a bootloader.
It updates your printer to the newest Marlin with all safety features enabled. It has a more powerful 32bit processor It is more exapandle: No pin27 board needed for BLtouch and support for touch screens, UPS and PSU relays.
Integrated TMC2209s mean no more zebra stripes and no need to spend money on TL smoothers TMC2209s mean much quieter, no need to spend money on stepper dampers Plug and plug plus affordable

How to sculpt for 3d printing in blender 2.8!

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Learn How to Sculpt for 3d printing in blender 2.8! we go over most of the brushes, how to turn on dyntopo, (if you sculpt and arent familiar with dyntopo this is a must watch!) and some simple settings you need to know about to effective sculpt your 3d printer models in blender 2.8! blender 2.8 is the latest version of blender, and constitutes a game changer for the software. it is now a killer app! and it is absolutely free!

Using a 32 bit Raspberry Pi to boost your 3D printer mainboard – Klipper Ender 3 guide

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Klipper is a special firmware designed to perform the heavy lifting of kinematics on a Raspberry Pi and simplify the job of the existing 3D printer mainboard. This allows very precise stepper motor timing and potentially much higher speeds.
In this video, I present a step by step guide to installing and configuring Klipper on an Ender 3. It includes the base set up as well as how to get a BLtouch and pressure advance working.

3D Printing of Nonplanar Layers for Smooth Surface Generation

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Additive manufacturing processes are inherently subject to discretization effects. For most technologies, stair-stepping artifacts impair the surface quality of 3D printed objects, especially when the surface slope is close to horizontal.

In this video we propose a novel Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) slicing approach that combines nonplanar and planar layers, increasing printing quality and resulting in smoother, stronger object surfaces. Our slicing algorithm automatically detects which parts of the object should be printed with nonplanar layers and uses a geometric model of the printhead and extruder to generate collision-free toolpaths.