#RepRap Adventures #16 - No, no limit?

Full resolution available for avid clickers.

No print too long. No print too high.

Everyday practical application of RepRap

We often talk - and to be honest, brag ;-) - about how practical RepRap is, and all the things we could or plan to do. Still, most of the time we share things that look cool, but might have no practical application apart from being neat. Having a RepRap 3D printer in your home opens up an incredible world of DIY-solutions that have previously been difficult, impossible or expensive. Once you manage to "tune" your mind, and see the possibilities you have, there is no limit to what you can do.

Once my 2-year initial "look at all the cool stuff I can print"-phase slowed down, I find myself - apart from new printer parts - mostly using my RepRap for things around the house. I would therefore now like to share some images of objects I have designed and printed for a special practical application in mind.

 This is one of the very first things I printed on my Sells Mendel back in 2010.  

#RepRap Adventures #15 - Enough is enough!

Click Click?

Now, that wasn't very nice, was it. What happens next? Stay tuned! Although the comic is far from dead, I can't promise how often I'll manage to add strips in the immediate future, so don't hold your breath.

I've started to use Gimp a lot more lately and find it very good for quick sketches, so I wanted to use it on #RepRap Adventures as well. So far I'm not convinced it is faster nor much better than Inkscape, but while Gimp handles text and multiple layers organizing terribly, it does open up for some more options regarding detail and colour so I'll stick with it for a while and see. Perhaps I'll end up with a hybrid workflow of some sort.

#RepRap Adventures #14 - When is it my turn?

Click for lower resolution.

Things take an unexpected turn!

Make sure to follow this storyline from the beginning, then perhaps it makes a bit more sense.

Disclaimer: I have not tried printed bushings myself, and I hear they can hold up for quite a while if printed strong and used properly. Still, I prefer LM8UU's. ;)

You can print your own ponies with thing 6123.

#RepRap Adventures #13 - Why not print her a few?

No less than 480000 pixels if you click.

They're back! This is the beginning of a small story arch I have planned for a while. There is no schedule for release, but I'll post them as soon as I finish a new one.

Tutorial - Printing from Minecraft with Mineways

Mineways.com has been getting a lot of well deserved attention lately. In short it's an excellent Minecraft export tool, tailored towards Shapeways printing. While us DIY enthusiasts can't do full colour prints (yet), Mineways is still an excellent tool for exporting models for home 3D printing, and it's quite user friendly compared to certain other attempts.

Here's a few videos where I show my first attempt to do a large print of a landscape, and then a smaller print. If you have some experience with WorldEdit and 3D printing, it should be pretty straight forward to follow.

This post is a detailed tutorial on how to use Mineways to export printable stl files for a RepRap or derivative machines. The details are from a large-ish landscape model, but the principle is the same for all types of exports.

PLA Review - Supply3DPLA Autumn 2011 batch

A bit flimsy, but overall good spools.

My Prusa Mendel is really proving itself, and have worked reliable for quite some time now. Having a reliable printer means it eats filament like a hungry hippo, and it was time to stock up. Since I have previous good experience with Supply3DPLA, I wanted to try the colours in the new PLA batch they got in this autumn (was it october/november?).

This post is rather long, so I'll try a jump-cut...