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Topics - pedwards2932

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1
General Discussion / Forum isssues?
« on: February 05, 2019, 07:44:09 AM »
Anybody else been having issues with accessing the forum?  I have been unable to access for the last couple of days.....it happened about a week ago as well.  I can get to all other internet sites but am unable to reach this forum....tried on Edge and Chrome neither worked.

2
Mini CNC / Waiting for my mill
« on: December 30, 2018, 08:29:49 AM »
I have done some research on CNC mills and have a question or 2.  With 3d printing you use a slicer program to get the different layers - do you do something similar with the CNC mill?  If I use T2 I assume it can only do 2D.  How do you add the z adjustments in T2? do you manually enter them.  I have looked into Mach 4 but it is pretty expensive.  I like to use Sketchup for my STL creation and I bought a decent slicer (Simplify3d) wonder if there is a way to modify the g-code from it to work with the CNC mill?

3
T2 Engraving / Size/Resolution
« on: October 22, 2018, 04:43:33 AM »
I think I had asked about this before but still need some clarity.   I was designing a decal sheet in Inkscape and had the decals precisely sized for the airplane I am building.  When I printed it from Inkscape it was exactly the correct size.  When I pulled it into T2 and traced for cutting out the decals the cut was much smaller than the print.  I remembered from before that I had to change the DPI.  The last time I did I had to bump it to 256 dpi.  On this one 256 was not large enough it turns out it was about 500 dpi so I am guessing by multiples it should be 512.  I found that Inkscape allows you to change the DPI on a png pretty easily.  My question is how do you know what factor of resolution you need.  I just did this by guessing then running the cut to see if it was correct.  Also is there any "undo" function in the trace function on T2.....occasionally you need to undo and retry but I couldn't figure out how....I don't think control Z works.

4
General Discussion / Quick and Cheap Laser Cover
« on: October 15, 2018, 04:56:19 AM »
I printed up some fittings to use to make a cover for my laser (wife is home now so I can't do it on the stove anymore...been relegated to the garage).  This is mainly to keep from burning anyone's eyes that may come in while I'm working.  I am going to use a mattress inflator to draw out the smoke and smell.  I plan on putting a hatch in the top so I can open it up to see how it is progressing.  If I can find some reasonable laser safe acrylic I will use that as the hatch.  The sides and tops are made from Dollar Tree foam board.  The whole thing comes apart easily so I can store it flat.

5
T2 Engraving / Trace/Auto trace
« on: April 24, 2018, 11:14:50 AM »
I am trying to make a decal and want to set up T2 to cut an outline of the .jpg.  When I use auto trace it picks up a variation in the color of the jpg and adds extra lines.....I just want to cut around it.  I couldn't get trace to work at all....not sure if I am doing it correctly.  Is it going to be possible to trace around the outside of this to just cut out the decal?

6
T2 Software Updates / Can't get automated update
« on: February 21, 2018, 07:21:02 AM »
Invariably I am in the middle of a project and when I open T2 it wants to do an update but I want to defer the update until I have time to do it.  After I finish what I was doing I no longer get the prompt for the update and when I "check for update"  I get you will be notified or need a beta tester number?  I am on 1.5c so I know I don't have the newest version....how can I get it to reprompt to get the upgrade?

7
General Discussion / Focusable 5.5W?
« on: December 05, 2017, 08:51:03 AM »
Anyone see or buy this?  https://www.banggood.com/445nm-5_5W-5500mW-Blue-Laser-Module-With-Heatsink-For-DIY-Laser-Cutter-Engraver-p-999283.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN

Seems big problem with the older 5watt was you couldn't get a small focus point.  I get really good results with the my 2.5W but if this works better might be worth it.

8
General Discussion / So much conflicting information on Anet A8
« on: October 03, 2017, 06:04:27 AM »
I have finally made all the mods to my Anet A8 where I can pretty much get it to print right every time.  One of the suggestions that seems to have a lot of conflict is about the mainboard not being sufficient and the power supply needs to be upgraded.  Also they have separate mosfets for the heat bed and nozzle.  I bought the mosfet kits but the more I read it seems these may or may not be a good idea.  I'm confused as to if I should upgrade the power module to the 30 amp and add the mosfets.  Folks on this forum seem to be sensible....should I leave it alone or is it a fire hazard to not make the power module/ mosfet upgrade?

9
General Discussion / Anet A8 extruder bracket
« on: September 06, 2017, 06:49:28 PM »
When I look at the extruder bracket it isn't parallel with the heat bed so the nozzle is at a slight angle.  Is this normal?  It seems to print okay but it doesn't look correct.

10
General Discussion / A8 mods......seems the printer has me working for it
« on: September 04, 2017, 06:53:04 PM »
On Thingiverse it seems like there a massive number of modifications to make printers better.  So now I spent a ton of time printing up "improvements"  mostly for belt tightening.  I printed a filament guide and it has already broken.  I am using PLA at 210 degrees 60 degree heat bed.  I am using Hatchbox Black PLA and it was 100% fill.  The clip portion that holds the guide on broke....seems like it shouldn't have been that brittle.  I'm new at this not sure how you get the best temp settings any suggestions?

11
3D Printer Software / Sketchup STL size issues
« on: August 25, 2017, 03:56:55 AM »
Well, got my printer working and have printed one or two of the test files and it works.  I am amazed at how little information is available on how to process your own files but as usual with enough internet searching I was able to get it to print a Sketchup drawing I made but the size was all wrong.  When I imported into CURA it was too large for the table and this was a shim that was 5/8" in diameter.  I exported in mm and then it would fit in CURA.  Next issue was figuring out how to get the Gcode (also getting the PLA into the extruder is a bear).  That problem solved and it printed!  But it came out about twice as large as needed?  I am guessing maybe 2.54...something to do with converting inches to mm.  So long story short does this mean I need to do all my drawings in mm so the conversions won't mess up?  Can I do my drawing in inches and then convert to mm in Sketchup?  All this for a simple shim that I could make in a few minutes with hand tools but where would be the fun in that.....welcome to the world of 3D printers.....a tool we get and then have to search for a purpose.....

12
General Discussion / Is there a speed limit......
« on: August 23, 2017, 06:33:02 PM »
I was trying something interesting...I lost my Cloudbuster so I am putting together another.  I decided I wanted to try making tissue trim for it.  I tried my craft cutter...epic fail.  I thought why not the laser.  It worked perfectly.  I put a piece of paper under the tissue and set the speed as high as I could.  I was using T2 and when I was setting it up I tried 3000 and it was still cutting paper but it didn't seem to get any faster even when I went to 6000 so I am guessing there is a speed limit.  My laser isn't TTL so adjusting the power doesn't work real well.  It cuts fine at 230 power but if I went to 225 it doesn't cut at all.  So is there a speed limit?

13
General Discussion / Finally got it together
« on: August 14, 2017, 04:07:47 AM »
I ordered this: AnetŪ A8 3D Printer DIY Kit 1.75mm / 0.4mm Support ABS / PLA / HIPS about a month ago and had series of things that got in the way of assembling it.  This weekend after about 4 hours I think I have it all together.  The heating plate had tape on it which I removed....is it necessary to use tape when printing?  Also it looks like the nozzle that attaches to the front fan on the element is lower then the extrusion nozzle so I am guessing I need to modify?  Anyone have this printer?  They must update them a lot as the video's that I used for assembly have some differences from what they sent.  Since mine is only about a month old I would assume it is the latest version.
I have seen some disturbing stuff on the internet about this printer in that the power supply in inadequate and would need to be replace?  Not sure how valid all that is......they were saying the printer was a fire hazard?  At any rate I am going to attempt to set it up tonight and make my first print.  It only came with a short piece of PLA so I am going to have to order some....any suggestions on what to get?

14
General Discussion / Finally started my ventilator box
« on: June 25, 2017, 06:10:43 PM »
I have been procrastinating this for a while but got a good start today.  My parameters have changed,  I want a box that can easily be disassembled.  I have included some pix of the progress.  The corner pieces are the key....I was going to just make them a tight but it seems harder to assemble.  I am going to loosen the slots and use eyelets and rubber bands to keep it together...once I have this worked out I will post pix.  I plan to use dowel pins in the corner brace to align the top cover.  I  have some acrylic to make viewing portals as well.  I also included a pic of it folded down to show how it will store.

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General Discussion / Took the plunge
« on: June 22, 2017, 03:40:08 AM »
I have one of these on order:  AnetŪ A8 3D Printer DIY Kit 1.75mm / 0.4mm Support ABS / PLA / HIP
Just wanted to get my feet wet with this and at 175.00 figured I could only get burned so bad.
I have the most experience with Sketchup,  I have used Blender but found it to be much harder to use.  Are any of you using Sketchup for 3D design?  I am sure I'll have a lot of questions once I get started......not really sure why I got it except the price is no longer prohibitive and it looks like folks here have made some pretty interesting parts with them.

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