3D printers - eliminating vibrations.

[Walter]

Hey everyone, this is a bit left field, but I do a lot of 3D printing, and among external things (not the printer equipment) you have to consider are:

• Heat and humidity (it affects the filament, and the quality of the print)
• Vibrations when printing (vibrations affect the accuracy of the print if there are vibrations as the print head/bed/filament spool moves.

So I thought a few ideas of what I have done to make things much better might be of interest.

My workshop is in a shed, not air conditioned, but draught, moisture and dust free. A portable Air Conditioner keeps it good in summer, although it never gets too hot anyway.

I wanted to improve things without spending too much, and without getting too complicated.

A sturdy table is a must, and a cement floor, although I have anti-static plastic matting for most areas in there.  This isn't a place for my garden tools.😁

Moving the filament holder OFF the 3D printer is a must. Most 3D printers have the spool hanging off the frame somewhere, and as the spool unwinds, you can build up resonances and vibrations. Filament is most often 1Kg, so that's a lot of weight you don't need.

So I bought some Flexi Storage Shelving and matching brackets - easy to put up, so easy my wife is afraid at the number I have used in the house now.

I 3D printed a filament holder that keeps the filament safe and easy to unwind (the old filament spool is still on the frame, to show it's original position):

 

So the next thing to do is further educe the source of vibrations by putting the whole printer on a foam mat. Some people swear by bricks, not me, the foam also cuts down the noise.

So I bought a few packs of interlocking foam mats, (I only need one mat, but so cheap I bought some for the future when the grandson is playing in his outdoor set).

That foam mat cuts down hugely on the vibrations. I could post images of before and after print jobs to show the difference, but I threw the old prints away 😫

Total cost, around $65.00, and I have stuff left over for other uses.

So I'm printing out vases for Christmas for some of the relatives (yes, waterproof) and toys for the nephews, nieces and grandkids.

Some of these are my own design (FreeCad)

[Brad]

The Lab I belive have a 3D scanner.

https://makerspaceadelaide.org/  is another option,I don't think they have a scanner though.

[Seaton]

Well done, I designed up some damping feet for my printer and printed with the ninja flex (NinjaFoot by seaton - Thingiverse). by controlling the print infill % controls how much dampening the foot achieves.

For the filament I use an old food dehydrator and run my filament through that before I print, Nylon and PLA are most susceptible to moisture and usually store them in bags with some descant bags (the little bags that you get in various things that say do not eat). these bags can be re-charged in the food dehydrator so can be re-used.  I keep all the ones I get in electronic equipment at work so have a bucket full.

First layer adhesion issues are mostly down to bed levelling, correct gap between head and bed, and also bed surface.  One of the best investments I've had is a BLTouch bed levelling sensor, most of the newer printers have options to add this as well as the relevant firmware so its not hard to implement.

[Kermit]

From looking online, there might also be human figurines that came with it.

[Super_D]

yes they could be made on a 3D printer..