3d printing News - Page 12 of 15 - CNX Software

October 24, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Voladd Cloud-Connected Linux 3D Printer is Powered by BeagleBone Black Board (Crowdfunding)

So far, all of the 3D printers that have been reviewed on this blog require you to design or download a 3D object on your computer, and print it from an SD card. But thanks to OctoPrint software and cheap ARM Linux developments boards, it has become possible to add a Linux computer with webcam to remotely start and control the 3D printer for a few dozens dollars. Karl has even released an OctoPrint image for Orange Pi Lite board. Voladd 3D printer already embeds a Linux board, namely the BeagleBone Black running Debian, which allows the 3D printer to be easy to use since no software installation is required. You can start printing by selecting an object in a web browser or an app in your smartphone, and they’ve also taken steps to eliminate/reduce maintenance tasks, such as the inclusion of a filament cartridge. Voladd 3D printer specifications: Internal […]

October 21, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

XYZPrinting da Vinci Color Low Cost Full Color 3D Printer Combines Filament with Inkjet Technology

3D printing has become even more affordable this year. If you are on a budget, Anet A8 3D printer going for under $150 is often recommended on the web, but if you have a bigger budget, you’d get printer with a metal extrusion frame, larger build volume, and overall better quality, and Creality CR-10 3D printer is often recommended by reviewers for people with a $300-$400 budget. All those printers print with a single color, which depends on the color of the filament used. The cheapest way to get a colored sample is to paint it yourself after printing. There are printers with dual extruder allowing to use two filament rolls with different colors, but when Karl reviewed Tevo Tarantula 3D printer with dual extruder, he found it was hard to print, was unconvinced with the results, and found it to be an unnecessary upgrade, preferring painting instead. At the […]

October 3, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

$99 101Hero PYLON is a Poor 3D Printer, But Could Prove Useful to Learning 3D Printing Technology

Anet A8 was one of the first sub $200 3D printer I found last last year, reviews were surprisingly positive. It is now sold for around $150 shipped (with A8PRINT coupon), and experienced reviewers often recommend it to people wanting to get started with 3D printing on a budget. But last week, as I browsed products on Banggood, I found something even cheaper with 101Hero PYLON 3D printer going for $107.99 shipped with coupon 349da5, and further research lead me to the official website where they sell it for $99 excluding shipping, and provide documentation and video tutorials. 101Hero PYLON 3D printer specifications: Printing technology – FDM (Fused deposition modeling) Host Material – Steel + ABS XYZ Bearings – Steel Print Size – 100 x 100mm Layer thickness – 0.1mm Nozzle diameter – 0.4mm Printing material – PLA Material Diameter – 1.75mm Power Supply – 20W Dimensions – 260 x […]

September 29, 2017October 25, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 6 Comments

Tronxy X3S 3D Printer Review – Part 1: Build and First Prints

Karl here with part 1 of Tronxy X3S build. It is another large volume printer to fully assemble on your own. Taking between 8-10 hours to put together. I have high hopes for this printer. Key things I like: metal frame, dual X, large build volume. Just from looking at it I don’t like the fact that it has no parts cooler but is easy to remedy. Tronxy X3S Specifications Let’s look at some specs. 300 x 300 x 400 mm hot bed (Actually get 330x330x400 build volume) Hot bed temperature: 40 – 110 Deg.C Nozzle temperature: 170-275 Degree Marlin 1.1.5 Frame material: Aluminum Extrusion I have not taken the hotend apart yet so not sure about the nozzle temperature going over 245°C. I will take it apart for the next part. If you are not familiar you don’t want to get lined nozzles above 245°C, or the lining starts […]

September 18, 2017September 17, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 6 Comments

Designing a 3D Printed Jig to Flash Firmware to ESP8266 based Light Bulbs

Karl here. I have to say that my favorite part of 3D printing is designing things from scratch. Recently a reader was asking about a way to flash a lot of Ai Lights on a project he was working on. I suggested 3D printing a jig that pressure fits pins. He didn’t have a printer, and we exchanged contact information and he sent me one of the lights and some pogo pins from Amazon. Design in Fusion 360 I started by taking a picture of the light to get my pin placement. I set a scale by measuring a known distance then printed and tested. It took about 3 iterations to get them to line up in real life. Keep in mind camera lenses distort reality and knew It would take a couple times. I would just let a few layers print then stop and line everything up. I had […]

September 2, 2017October 21, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 6 Comments

2017 Tevo Tarantula Dual Extruder 3D Printer Review – Part 2: Auto-Leveling, Dual Color Prints, Flex Filament

Karl here with final part of Tevo Tarantula dual extruder 3D printer review. The kit that was sent by Gearbest has a large bed, auto leveling, dual extrusion, and flex extruder of which I only found the flex extruder appealing to me. I have had this printer for a while now. It was relatively easy to setup, but near the end of the build it did not cover every aspect. There are lots of videos and a big Facebook group if you run into any troubles. Overall it is a good printer, but some of the features I initially thought I would like turned out to not be very useful. Auto leveling I tried my hardest to get this to work even going as far as to upgrade the firmware, but because they had a printed bracket on it, it drooped on my first high temp ABS print. I removed […]

July 17, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 3 Comments

Tevo Tarantula 3D Printer’s Large Dual Extruder Auto Bed Level Sensor Firmware Upgrade

What a title. Just a quick update on the Tevo I am reviewing. I didn’t want to upgrade the firmware, but I read so many posts on Facebook about it I took the plunge. I didn’t like was the firmware that came with it. It only did a 3 point level, and seemed to go outside the build plate dimensions. The first 2 printers I have reviewed were Marlin, so it was what I am most familiar with. I used Jim Brown’s Marlin fork as a base. It was missing dual extruder and auto level sensor in the pre-configured profiles. It took a while, but I was able to add the extra features. The auto bed level sensor connects to where the normal Z end stop sensor is connected. I would like to warn you to warm your bed for 5 minutes for the best reproducible results. I tested several […]

July 11, 2017July 11, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 20 Comments

How to Use Octoprint on Orange Pi Lite Board, Amlogic S905X and S912 TV Boxes

Karl here. This was article originally going to be how to setup Octoprint 3D printer server on an Orange Pi Lite. But after looking and running through the instructions it seemed like it would be too much so I created an img to simplify things. I also explored running Octoprint on an Amlogic S905x or S912 device and it turned out to be an even better solution. You get a case, power supply, and eMMC flash storage. What is Octoprint? I use Octoprint mainly for its ability to start and stop prints without having to use an sd card. Time lapse is also a nice feature. And one last thing is that I setup a pushbullet notification when it is complete. For a full list of features check out http://octoprint.org/. What is needed? Orange Pi Lite board provided by GearBest for the article, or an Amlogic S905X or S912 Android […]