Single walled print at 0.17mm layers, with a 0.25mm nozzle on a MakerGear hotend.
Slic3r gcode parameters are after the pictures.
; generated by Slic3r 0.7.2b on 2012-05-06 at 01:09:14
; layer_height = 0.18
; perimeters = 1
; solid_layers = 4
; fill_density = 0
; nozzle_diameter = 0.25
; filament_diameter = 1.73
; extrusion_multiplier = 1
; perimeter_speed = 45
; infill_speed = 80
; travel_speed = 100
; extrusion_width_ratio = 0
; scale = 1
; single wall width = 0.28mm
I’ve finished building a MendelMax 3D printer. The controller is a RAMPS 1.4 from Ultimachine, and the hot-end is a MakerGear plastruder, with a 0.25mm nozzle, pushing 1.7mm filament. I used the MendelMax “1.0″ parts, as the “1.5″ hadn’t been released when I started printing.
MendelMax
I recently switched to the Kliment fork of the TonokIP fork of the Hydra-MMM firmware.
The tiny pauses between g-code segments are all but gone, and I’ve been re-printing some things
to do before & after comparisons.
The black PLA-4043D Hyperboloid was printed with the Tonokip firmware, and the recent natural 4043D PLA was printed with the Kliment firmware.
Both were printed through a MakerGear plastruder with a 0.35mm nozzle, at 0.25mm layer heights. I’ve been using the same hot-end for a while now, and have put nearly 15lbs of PLA through it. The took 2 hours each, give or take a few minutes.
Hopefully my picture managed to capture the difference in surface quality. Hit the full-size photos to see it better.
Just few minutes in
About 25% done
Finished print, unretouched photo. 
Left is tonokip, right is Klimentip.
Penrose Triangle in progress
Done.
Trial run, at %25 size
I did a test print at 0.08mm layers, the smallest layer height I’ve attempted yet.
I used a Makergear Plastruder, and black Ultimachine 4043D PLA.
Skeinforge sliced it onto 187 layers. It was not a fast print, taking about 2.5 hours.
Aside from a kind of smeary top layer, it came out ok.
Pictures follow:
0.08mm Nophead pulley in progress.
0.08mm layers
No manual cleanup done yet.
These two pulleys are the final print of a complete Prusa Mendel parts set I’ve been printing for a friend. It took about 3 weeks of evenings on & off. Most of the parts were printed one at a time, I didn’t use the production parts files.
The parts are now in the hands of Eric, hopefully he’ll be printing in a month or so.
Here’s some pictures.
Pair of Printed PLA Prusa Pulleys
Done!
It's like a quarter of a Mendel set.
Those spans are magic!
I made some links of chain, arranged just so that I could slip a previously printed link over two adjacent links, while they were still being printed. Purists may take exception, but I think it’s kind of cool.
The links were printed with a 0.4mm MakerGear nozzle, using 0.26mm layers. All the ‘extra shells’ settings in Skeinforge->Fill set to 0, the infill turned way down, and lots of cool air..
Almost done printing
Each link is about 10mm * 15mm
41 links, printed in batches of 5.
I made a new Z-axis motor coupler, as I suspect the old one was slightly off-center & causing wobbles to show in printed parts. The new one seems better, but I still have a little bit of wobble from a still undetermined source.
new Z axis shaft coupler
Here are a few recent prints. I recently started using the “Dimension” module within Skeinforge to retract the feed-stock between moves, and it’s really helped reduce the “stringies” that’d happen between parts.
I'm six little teapots.
These rings printed fine, but a few lost their grip right as the print finished.
Vertical rings
Hot off the printner, no cleanup done
teapot on a US quarter, for scale.
I’ve managed to connect a webcam to the ArduinoMega that is controlling my 3D printer, so now I can trigger a picture from the G-code that the printer is reading to make the part.
This means I can take a picture at the beginning of each printed layer, and make time-lapse video like this:
