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Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I have been wanting to learn about 3D printing a long time so I really want this site to succeed but I have no previous experience with the subject. </p> <p>I was wondering how can I help the site at this early stage. I thought about asking about how to get started with 3D printing but SE explicitly discourages "easy" questions in the private beta.</p> <p>What can newbies like me do for the site at this stage besides voting questions and answers?</p>

<h1>Vote!</h1> <p>Private Betas love, love, <em>love</em> votes. Without votes, it's difficult to attain privileges, get rewards, and help push us out to public beta.</p> <h1>Ask Questions!</h1> <p>I know you said this:</p> <blockquote> <p>I thought about asking about how to get started with 3D printing but SE explicitly discourages "easy" questions in the private beta.</p> </blockquote> <p>But here's the catch. "Easy" isn't defined. If you have an "easy" question, but it is specific, high-quality, and to the point, and you can show some effort in it, then, please, go ahead and ask it!</p> <h1>Participate!</h1> <p>You have a voice in our meta discussions as well. You also have the authority to suggest edits, to posts, tag wikis, and tag excerpts. They also get you +2 rep for each that is approved, which can help bring you more afloat. You can also give your opinion in scope, by casting close and reopen votes as well :)</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Stack exchange isn't a good platform for product recommendations in general, but a few sites allow it with a tight focus and control. Some that have allowed it in the past have decided to discontinue it for a variety of reasons.</p> <p>I expect at the start we are going to get a lot of "What specific machine should I use" or "is there a 3D model of item X I can print".</p> <ol> <li>Should we allow product or part recommendations?</li> <li>If we do, what can we do to make sure they are limited, rather than open ended questions where dozens or hundreds of answers would be different but correct?</li> </ol>

<p>I agree with Jeff's blog post: <a href="https://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/11/qa-is-hard-lets-go-shopping/">https://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/11/qa-is-hard-lets-go-shopping/</a></p> <blockquote> <p>don't ask us what you should buy -- ask us <em>what you need to learn</em> to tell what you should buy.</p> </blockquote>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Given our successful private beta, soon after we go public it will be time for us to get our first crop of moderators, as explained in the <a href="http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/07/moderator-pro-tempore/">“Moderator Pro Tempore” blog post</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>About a week into the public beta, we will seek out members who are deeply engaged in the community’s development; members who:</p> <ul> <li>Have a reasonably high reputation score to indicate active, consistent participation.</li> <li>Show an interest in their meta’s community-building activities.</li> <li>Lead by example, showing patience and respect for their fellow community members in everything they write.</li> <li>Exhibit those intangible traits discussed in <a href="http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/05/a-theory-of-moderation/"><em>A Theory of Moderation</em></a>.</li> </ul> <p>Bonus points for:</p> <ul> <li>Members with participation in both meta and the parent site (i.e. interest in both community building and expertise in the field).</li> <li>Area 51 participation, social network referrals, or blogging about the site.</li> <li>Members who have already shown an interest or ability to promote their community.</li> </ul> <p>Candidates will be contacted and three of them will be selected to act as provisional Moderators until the community holds formal elections after the Beta period. Besides the normal abilities of a Moderator, they will:</p> <ul> <li>Have access to a special chat room where we will collectively work through the challenges of moderation and community self-policing.</li> <li>Organize the process of selecting the site's attributes (domain names, design issues, the FAQ, etc.).</li> <li>Rally community support and drive the mission of getting publicity for the site.</li> </ul> <p>Essentially, <strong>they will have the ear of the Stack Exchange team for anything we can do to help their sites succeed!</strong></p> </blockquote> <p>Although the moderators pro tempore will ultimately be selected by Stack Exchange, the purpose of this post is to seek out and propose candidates:</p> <ul> <li>Each nomination should be posted as an answer and it should include (at minimum) a link to the user's main and meta profile so we can check out their activity.</li> <li>Self nominations are encouraged, step up if you feel you can help.</li> <li>If you are nominated by someone else you should edit the answer and let us know if you accept or decline (explanation optional). If a nominee declines we will not delete the answer, as to not have someone else nominate them again.</li> <li>If you are nominating someone else, please mark the post as Community Wiki before saving. Meta doesn't allow suggested edits, so your nominee may be blocked from accepting the nomination.</li> <li>The nominations are not binding to Stack Exchange or the nominees. If you are being considered by Stack Exchange, you will get an official confirmation email at one point. </li> <li>Before nominating someone or accept / decline a nomination, you should read <a href="http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/05/a-theory-of-moderation/"><em>A Theory of Moderation</em></a> thoroughly to find out what's generally expected from moderators.</li> </ul> <p>If you would like to learn more about the role, please drop into <a href="http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/34216/3d-printing">chat room</a> where you can ask about the role from other moderators (they appear with a blue name in the chat room). Another chatroom called <a href="http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/2691/the-assembly">The Assembly</a> was created specifically for users and moderators to discuss moderation activities, moderators from all over the network are there to answer your questions.</p> <p>Once again, <strong>please don't hesitate to step up and self-nominate!</strong>. </p> <p>_{Thanks to <a href="https://chemistry.meta.stackexchange.com/users/30/fx">F'x</a> for the original version of this post <a href="https://chemistry.meta.stackexchange.com/q/113/17315">over on chemistry</a>.}</p>

<p>I would like to nominate myself, <a href="https://stackexchange.com/users/526476/matt-clark">Matt Clark</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://stackexchange.com/users/526476/matt-clark"><img src="http://stackexchange.com/users/flair/526476.png" width="208" height="58" alt="profile for Matt Clark on Stack Exchange, a network of free, community-driven Q&amp;A sites" title="profile for Matt Clark on Stack Exchange, a network of free, community-driven Q&amp;A sites" /></a></p> <p>While I might not have the wildest credentials or reputation, I have been around the StackExchange network for a while (11/2012) and generally know my way around the sites.</p> <p>Mostly active on StackOverflow, I answer when I can, and try and do my part to clean up the review queue: ~5000 review tasks; I plan on giving this site as much attention as I can.</p> <p>I started <a href="https://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/82438/3d-printing">this 3D Printing proposal</a> just under a year ago on Area 51, and am either way, glad to see the day we made it to beta.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Is it realistic or thought neccesary to develop a plugin/feature for this site, to automatically add a small info-box about a thingiverse link? An example of this is Apple's 3D touch technology. In theory, the plugin could recogize thingiverse links in questions and answers, replace the link with an image and the author/name of the project.</p> <p>I'm also volunteering myself to help with this if there's interest. (Experience with Thingiverse API)</p>

<p>Typically, it's a better idea to wait before you try to get this kind of thing integrated.</p> <p>Enthusiasm is great in a private beta, but for the early stages, direct that enthusiasm towards the Q&amp;A. That's what'll get this site on its feet and into a successful public beta.</p> <p>When the site's more stable and running nicely, then if there's a need (or want) for a plugin like this then the discussion about it can be had.</p> <p>(On a tangent - if such a plugin is going to happen, it may well be down to SE's developers to get it done, which might make getting assistance from the people on this site difficult.)</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>It is very easy to ask questions that only tangentially involve 3D printing, such as:</p> <ul> <li><p>How do I drill a hole in a 3D printed part?</p></li> <li><p>How do I paint 3D printed parts?</p></li> <li><p>How do I sand, smooth, etc...?</p></li> <li><p>How do I take a picture with a 3D printed camera?</p></li> </ul> <p>My last example is clearly not on topic, and the other examples aren't </p> <blockquote> <p>difficult, specific questions — the kind of questions pros and experts ask each other, not the kind of questions novices ask pros.</p> </blockquote> <p>However, the point is that it's very easy to involve 3D printing in a question that isn't about 3D printing. Drilling a hole in a 3D printed part is, for the most part, just like drilling one in wood. Such questions may be more suited for a general DIY/makers-type site.</p> <p>On the other hand, there do exist 3D printing specific issues (for instance, low infill or delamination can be a problem when drilling in a (FDM) 3D printed part).</p> <p>At what point does a question involving 3D printing become on-topic for our site? Should questions identify a specific issue ("I've tried drilling a hole, now my part has delaminated, what now?")?. Queries for general advice and best practice don't seem to fit the bill of being difficult and specific.</p>

<p>The dividing line of "tangentially off topic" is typically when the <em>actual</em> subject of the question being asked is only <strong><em>coincidentally</em></strong> adjacent to 3D printing. </p> <p>Here is a <em>clear</em> example illustrating the "tangential issue:"</p> <blockquote> <p>I printed a crane mechanism in 3D. How much voltage must I apply to the motor to lift 150 grams?</p> </blockquote> <p>I see this type of thing all the time. Users will go to the mat arguing that they are printing in 3D, so their question is on topic. It is not. The actual <em>expertise</em> needed to answer this question is in electronics. With a question like this, the premise that the user <em>happens</em> to be printing in 3D is entirely coincidental to the actual issue. </p> <p>The examples you cited above are a bit more iffy. I might argue some of them could (potentially) be on topic&hellip; if the issue of the material being printed in 3D is somehow germane to the problem. I actually don't know enough about the subject to say, so I'm only considering the possibility that it <em>is</em> relevant to this subject space.</p> <p>Let's not be too quick to start barring questions that aren't explicitly about the physical process of 3D printing literally. There are a lot of <em>industry issues</em> that could be interesting to include here. It's probably better to <strong><em>wait for actual examples before trying to create a general rule around this issue.</em></strong></p> <p>As a general rule for building this site, it is often better to wait for a preponderance of problems that occur <em>in actual practice</em> before we start seeking to create a lot of rules around hypothetical situations. Words to live by.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>This has inspired some discussion and I may be just splitting hairs, but I've always been confused by this strategy. The specific example I'm referring to is here: <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/29/60">https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/29/60</a></p> <p>In many cases on SE, I see people post "Answers" that basically say "Don't do what you're doing. Instead you can get to your goal by doing this." While it is often helpful, this form of answer is the bane of my existence as a user of SE sites.</p> <p>There are often cases when I am googling a difficult problem because I cannot do "alternative a" as suggested by the answerer. Then, I get to an SE question that asked about exactly the situation I am having. An answer of "Don't do that, do this instead" is upvoted, accepted, and the only answer. Thus, I am unable to solve my problem using SE. In other words, the Answer didn't apply to the question, and so SE led me down the wrong path.</p> <p>Am I doing something wrong here? Is this an expected/accepted pattern? Or is this something I should go the route of downvoting? Or like the poster of the above answer suggests, flagging?</p>

<p>Sometimes, "don't try to do what you're trying to do" is the only valid answer, see e.g. <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/66377/what-is-the-xy-problem">XY problem</a>.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p><strong>A big shout out to all of us for a successful graduation into private beta. Let's make it a success now, and make sure we graduate into a full-fledged site. So, this is one post which every user of a private beta site should read and act accordingly.</strong></p> <p>This is a reproduction of a moderator's (Richard) <a href="https://hermeneutics.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/49">post on meta.hermeneutics.SE</a>; I believe it is very much applicable to this community as well. Richard wrote a post encouraging voting. I think this is a big issue because rep is the basis of our "economy", encourages (good) user activity, sorts out our content and makes the site look active. In particular <strong>Question Votes</strong> make the site look more active.</p> <blockquote> <p>I cannot state this strongly enough. Voting is <em>absolutely critical</em> to the formation of a healthy SE site. And this is never more true than in Private and early Public beta. </p> <h3>Vote on Questions</h3> <p>Voting allows the community to determine what topics are allowed and what are not. Voting shows what constitutes a well-formed question and what is unacceptable for this community.</p> <p>If you need help formulating better questions, the blog post <a href="http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/10/asking-better-questions/">Asking Better Questions</a> might help you out. (Admittedly, it's geared towards the Stackoverflow crowd, but the philosophies there will help). Also, <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/how-to-ask">How to Ask</a> directly from StackOverflow is an excellent resource.</p> <p>Finally, I want to reiterate that <strong>Voting on questions is free!</strong> It doesn't cost you any reputation to to vote a question down. (Compared to answers:)</p> <h3>Vote on Answers</h3> <p>Voting on answers allows a dramatic increase in reputation. Like questions, it shows that you believe and support the answer provided. Also, vote answers up that you think are well worded and support the answer given. </p> <p><em>You don't have to agree with an answer to vote it up!</em></p> <p>To show that this is true, they've even created a <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/help/badges/63/sportsmanship">badge for voting up competing answers (called "Sportsmanship")</a>.</p> <p>If you think an answer is <em>useful</em>, vote it up. If you think an answer is <em>not useful</em>, vote it down. Either way, <strong>vote</strong>!</p> <p>If you need help on writing answers, the meta post <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7656/how-do-i-write-a-good-answer-to-a-question">How do I write a good answer to a question?</a> will help you out.</p> <h3>Final thoughts</h3> <p>If people do not vote, there won't be enough reputation on this site for it to be promoted. Reputation is very important to a StackExchange site as it creates the groups of people capable of maintaining the site.</p> <p>To show how critical it is, Jeff Atwood posted a blog article regarding this topic: <a href="http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/10/vote-early-vote-often/">Vote Early, Vote Often</a></p> <h3>Encourage others to vote!</h3> <p>Quoting RobertCartaino from chat:</p> <blockquote> <p>Vote, vote, vote. Encourage others to vote, vote, vote. On good content, leave signposts ("If you like this, please vote it up. It's important for the community!")-- in both meta and the main site. Maybe a few meta posts informing the users of the important of that type of participation. You are empowered a lot more than you know.</p> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p>Don't upvote bad content (edit/suggest how to fix it instead) but make sure you remember to vote, especially for questions; if you learned something from an answer on a question, the question's probably worth an upvote too so others can find the good information.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; [<img src="https://blog.stackexchange.com/images/wordpress/vote-here.jpg" alt="https://blog.stackexchange.com/images/wordpress/vote-here.jpg">]</p>

<p><strong>Yes!</strong></p> <p>Absolutely. We need to reward good answers, and raise rep levels so suers can get moderation privileges when they rise to the normal public beta levels.</p> <p>However, I think we should also downvote poor questions and answers. I haven't yet done so, partly because I've focused on rewarding the good posts. But downvoting is important, too.</p> <p>What happened to me yesterday:</p> <ol> <li>I posted an answer (my first) to a question.</li> <li>It was downvoted.</li> <li>A user who may/may not have been the downvoter pointed out something I was wrong about.</li> <li>There was a discussion in comments.</li> <li>I deleted my answer.</li> <li>I edited it.</li> <li>There was continued dialogue with the user and another. I improved my answer even further.</li> <li>Downvote was removed.</li> </ol> <p>I'm grateful to the downvoter, and to the comments. We need to establish what posts are good and bad in the site, and my original answer was not good. It was wrong in several points - and since the question was about <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/safety" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;safety&#39;" rel="tag">safety</a>, it was even more important for it to be correct. The feedback helped me to fix my answer, but if I had not done so, the downvote would have ensured that better answers went to the top.</p> <p>We should definitely upvote. But downvoting is good, too. Downvoters don't have to comment - that's never the case - but comments certainly help. They helped me.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>This site may attract questions such as</p> <ul> <li><p>Is it legal to sell 3D printed objects from a model repository?</p></li> <li><p>Are 3D printed guns legal in my jurisdiction?</p></li> <li><p>If my custom-built printer sets my house on fire, does the insurance cover it?</p></li> </ul> <p>Are such questions allowed on this site, or should they be redirected to a site dealing more commonly with laws?</p>

<p>Yes, such questions should be on-topic. There can be partial overlap in sites' scopes, and unique legal issues involving 3D printing can be addressed here. Users of this site are more likely to have specific expertise than users on a site that deals with laws more generally.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I believe this question is asked on every private Beta... what should be the name of our chatroom?</p>

<p><strong>The Hotbed.</strong></p> <p>Colloquially, "hotbed" generally refers to a center of activity. Here, it will have a double meaning (referencing the hot bed of a 3D printer.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>We currently have quite a few tags about filament:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/filament" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;filament&#39;" rel="tag">filament</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/plastic-filament" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;plastic-filament&#39;" rel="tag">plastic-filament</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/thermoplastic-filament" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;thermoplastic-filament&#39;" rel="tag">thermoplastic-filament</a></li> <li>etc.</li> </ul> <p>I feel like we need to clean these up and make clear what we'll use each tag for.</p> <p>Thoughts?</p>

<p>All filament used in 3D printing is thermoplastic filament, so plastic-filament and thermoplastic-filament are redundant.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>When 3D Printing moves into public beta, you're going to want to get the word out. And fast! One of the best ways to advertise ourselves across the entire Stack Exchange network is through community ads. </p> <h3>So what are these "Community Ads?"</h3> <p>Graduated sites allow the community to advertise relevant products or services within the site, using a system where the community chooses what to advertise. You can find these posts on per-site metas. Hint: these posts have the <a href="/questions/tagged/community-ads" class="post-tag moderator-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;community-ads&#39;" rel="tag">community-ads</a> tag!</p> <h3>Cool! What should the ad be like?</h3> <p>There's a few requirements for these ads. Most notably,</p> <ul> <li>They must be 300px wide by 250px tall, or double for "retina" displays</li> <li>There's a limit on file size of 150 kB.</li> <li>The image must be hosted on i.stack.imgur (the Stack Exchange image hosting service).</li> <li>Ads must be GIF or PNG (no animated GIFs).</li> </ul> <h3>What else should I know?</h3> <p>To facilitate easy posting to other sites, make sure that the embedded image is of the following format:</p> <pre>[![Tagline to show on mouseover][1]][2] [1]: http://image-url [2]: http://clickthrough-url </pre> <p>You can also include a message as a part of your answer with your own thoughts: why you chose some of the elements, and what sites the ads could potentially be posted to. Don't forget to critique each other as well!</p> <p><strong>Happy Designing!</strong></p>

<p>I'll try my hand at it and try to get the ball rolling.</p> <p><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/CBJNE.png" alt="Been here?"></a></p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>As you may or may not know, this is the third iteration of a proposal site that covers 3D Printing. The first 2 made it to the beta phase, but did not graduate from the beta successfully:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/41850/digital-fabrication">Digital Fabrication</a></li> <li><a href="http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/22246/personal-manufacturing">Personal Manufacturing</a></li> </ul> <p>Would it be acceptable to extract <code>good</code>/<code>relevant</code> questions out of these beta site question dumps and post them in the 3D Printing site?</p>

<p>If someone has a question from one of those older sites, they should go ahead and ask it. But a wholesale importing of content from elsewhere is not really a desirable way to build this site. </p> <p>There is a lot of ownership and careful curation that goes with vetting the content of this site. Questions imported from elsewhere would always have that air of odd, forgotten legacy content back-dated and <em>anonymous</em> with no owners or real-time vetting at all. If someone posts another answer or asks for some followup to one of these questions, no one will receive the notification. Essentially, we would be loading this site up with a lot of questions asked and answered a long time ago without imparting any of the benefits of reputation, ownership, or experience into the community that is supposed to take care of it.</p> <p>That's why we don't do it.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I feel like questions along the lines of, "my printer is crashing for no obvious reason, what should I do?" may be too broad and open-ended for this format. It's better handled by a forum where people can have running discussions to rule out a series of tests. What do you guys think?</p>

<p>For common problems that get asked a lot, I wouldn't just close these as <em>too broad.</em> A better solution is to create a <strong>canonical post</strong> like this:</p> <p><a href="https://superuser.com/a/260078/697"><strong>How do I troubleshoot when I have no clue where to start?</strong></a></p> <p>These attract a <em>lot</em> of users. </p> <p>The goal is to create a step-by-step trouble-shooting guide to explain what lights, nozzles, and sneedles to look when you're kwigger isn't going <em>zong.</em></p> <p>And don't just answer with a hyperlink to some other discussion group somewhere. Do everything you can to really overkill it. Write a detailed, step-by-step, ultra-clear guide, so when zillions of people with this problem go searching, you stand a good chance of the best possible answer on the web. </p> <p>This is one of those opportunities to attract some great new users who will add value for years to come.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>It's pretty manageable right now due to the low question rate, but I think maybe ~3% of all questions this site will get, forever, will be "what's the best printer" or "what printer should I buy" type questions. They're mostly coming from people who don't know enough about 3DP to articulate their requirements, so they're difficult to help and very unfocused. Is there a better way to handle this than locking them as they come up? </p>

<p>A good option would be to have several reference questions, such as "What to look for when comparing printers?" or "How to select a 3D printer?" to which we could redirect these users.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p><a href="https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/244366/how-do-i-tell-if-my-thermistors-are-10k-or-100k">This question</a> was migrated to electronics.SE. To me the migration makes no sense:</p> <ul> <li><p>The question deals with a problem that is relevant to the users of this site</p></li> <li><p>This site can provide a more specialized answer than electronics.SE can provide: you don't just need to know whether it's a 10k or 100k thermistor, but also figure out the correct thermistor table in your firmware. electronics.SE does not have knowledge of 3D printer firmware, which is the issue underlying this question.</p></li> </ul> <p>Obviously there's some overlap between Arduino/Electronics/3D printing, but what determines whether a question should be migrated?</p>

<p>The question was migrated because the specific question of "<em>How do I tell if my Thermistors are 10k or 100k?</em>" is going to be best answered by users of Electrical Engineering SE. This also provides the SE network with more appropriate traffic based on the question at hand.</p> <p>However, if the question of "<em>How can I change the thermistors settings in Marlin firmware?</em>" were to arise, then the question would be best suited here on 3D Printing. It might help both SE sites by providing links to each other's relevant questions for future users to reference.</p> <p>If the question was something like "<em>How can I wire a hotend?</em>", this would be more appropriate here on 3D Printing SE as users in Electrical Engineering SE may not know as much about the topic compared to users in 3D Printing. This may be a poor example, but the idea is that there is strict correlation between <em>hotends</em> and 3D printing, whereas identifying thermistors is not a specific topic to just 3D printing.</p> <p><strong>Update</strong></p> <p>After reading a few posts on SE meta, <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/10249/what-is-migration-and-how-does-it-work">this one</a> leads me to agree with you that this particular question may not have needed to be migrated. However, it exposes an important question of how we want to proceed with questions like this in the future? How far down the rabbit hole do we want to allow this site to go in this topic? I'd recommend others pitch in recommendations in answers here on what would be the appropriate topic in this case that can be applied to our <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic">On-Topic</a> page so that it may be amended.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I noticed that the most popular tag (82 questions tagged) is <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/3d-printer">3d-printer</a>, and that we also have a <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/3d-printing">3d-printing</a> tag (23 questions). These seem extremely redundant to me, given that they <em>should</em> apply to any question that is on-topic and thus serve no practical purpose. These tags are simply too broad.</p> <p>The usage guidance for 3d-printer is quite board ("Questions about a specific brand, model, or type of 3D printer.") and 3d-printing does not even have one.</p> <p>I would suggest to get rid of these tags. For comparison, <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/tags">Stack Exchange</a> does not have a programming tag either. However, they do have various tags that end in "-programming", such as "functional-programming", "linear-programming", etc... Our equivalents would be fdm(-printing), sla(-printing),...</p>

<p>This tag has been removed from the system and made intrinsic. </p> <p><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/untagged">Please cleanup the questions that now have no tags...</a></p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>In past few months, there are a devastatingly few number of users that cast up votes, and many of users aren't coming back to site, and existing users don't have so much reputation, because no one is voting up great questions / answers.</p> <p>So... let me start like this..</p> <p><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users?tab=Voters&amp;filter=all">THIS IS REALLY DEVASTATING</a></p> <p>We all need to vote up users and try to answer their questions, so we can get more users answering / asking questions. Main reason I'm writing this post is because this is great site, but we need new regular users that are going to vote and ask questions. I think it all came down to 20-30 active users, and rest of users aren't so active.</p> <p>I'm relatively new to site. I've decided to use it because it helped me a lot, and I'm doing my best to answer the questions. My main concern is also that my answers also don't get any vote up.</p> <p>So... I'll let it all out. I think that main concern that we need to focus on is motivation.</p> <p>WE NEED TO MOTIVATE OTHERS TO VOTE. And we all can do that if we vote other users up.</p> <p>That's from my perspective. Even one vote up motivates you to go further.</p> <p>I think that I explained what I mean. :) It's all in VOTE UP!</p>

<p>I completely agree! I just posted <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/197/3d-printing-se-beta-status">my own reminder</a>, focusing more on efforts to get us out of Beta.</p> <p>I'm sorry you can feel discouraged sometimes, I think a lot of users around the Stack Exchange network can feel that way at times.</p> <p>I think people sometimes forget that an up-vote to an answer isn't necessarily that it was helpful to you, specifically. But, rather that <strong>the answer is a good <em>quality</em> answer</strong> and <strong>will be <em>useful</em> to others</strong> as well!</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>This question may require migration to Meta.SE, as it could be a site-wide "bug", but I thought that I would test the waters here, to see if there is an obvious explanation.</p> <p>I noticed that a question of mine had been modified, on April 16, by "Song Khmer" <strike>in the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/unanswered">unanswered questions list</a>, when sorted by votes</strike>¹:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nY7mi.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nY7mi.png" alt="Modification listed"></a></p> </blockquote> <p>However, when checking the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/posts/3015/revisions">revision history</a>, the April 16 edit, by <em>Song Khmer</em>, is not shown. The last modification was the "https everywhere" edit, three days prior:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/p5B9M.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/p5B9M.png" alt="No apparent modification"></a></p> </blockquote> <p>I've not noticed the behaviour before. What is going on? Is it a bug, or something really obvious that I can't see? </p> <p>Was it a rejected edit? If the latter, then should it really be shown in the Unanswered question list? Shouldn't the modifications listed in the Unanswered questions list, actually only be accepted modifications/edits?</p> <hr> <p>¹ The unanswered list, and the sorting, are irrelevant to the actual issue.</p>

<p>Regarding the "invisible modification", there is technically a modification made multiple times by the user <strong>Song Khmer</strong> (now destroyed). This user was posting nonsense to your question by copying text from your question and posting it as an answer.</p> <p>The reason you probably did not see this in the revision history is:</p> <p>1) it wasn't a direct edit to your question</p> <p>2) I believe only moderators can see deleted posts.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2VAiLs.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2VAiLs.png" alt="enter image description here"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2VAiL.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer">click here for full view</a> of deleted posts</p> <p>I'm pretty sure that anytime someone posts an answer or edits your question, the post raises the modified flag. In this case, when the user was posting answers it would properly flag the post. But, the flag remained even after the answers were deleted (there were 3 answers).</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I have just edited a new post, <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/4153/help-understanding-bridge-settings">Help understanding bridge settings</a>, so that the video would be &quot;inlined&quot; and playable in the post itself¹.</p> <p>However, the video does not show up, and only the raw link (<code>https://youtu.be/HaeCBru3mOI</code>) is displayed:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/f7jmC.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/f7jmC.png" alt="Only raw link is visible" /></a></p> </blockquote> <p>This is the markup:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ukkfG.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ukkfG.png" alt="Markup of post" /></a></p> </blockquote> <p>I have used the <em>same</em> markup method, for inlining the video clip as this post, <a href="https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/34121/is-atc-communication-subject-to-fcc-profanity-regulations">Is ATC communication subject to FCC profanity regulations?</a>, on SE.Aviation:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kgTCg.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kgTCg.png" alt="Markup on SE.Aviation" /></a></p> </blockquote> <p>and there the video clip is inlined:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LrHrI.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LrHrI.png" alt="Post on SE.Aviation showing inline video clip" /></a></p> </blockquote> <hr /> <h3>TL;DR</h3> <p>Is video inlining disabled on SE.3D Printing, or is it because we are still beta?</p> <p>If it can be enabled , then should/could it be enabled?</p> <p>I personally think it would be useful to enable it, and save a few mouse clicks (and RSI) having to open the video in another tab/window etc. What do other people think?</p> <hr /> <p>¹ See <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/121209/allow-embedded-html5-youtube-video?rq=1">Allow embedded HTML5 YouTube video</a></p>

<p>Per answer to <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/296832/what-are-the-limitations-in-beta">What are the limitations in Beta</a></p> <p>"Inline videos is a feature that is off by default on all sites and only turned on if the community thinks it's necessary to improve the quality of a good portion of their question base." </p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>We have, now, assertained that <em>inlined videos</em> (for want of a better description) are currently turned off (disabled) for SE 3D Printing, but can be turned on at any time, and there is no need to wait for the site to exit Beta, see <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/226/is-the-inlining-videos-capability-turned-off-on-this-site">Is the &quot;inlining videos&quot; capability turned off on this site?</a></p> <p>The question now is, should we enable it?</p> <p>I have seen a few (2?) cases where the OP has linked to a video in order to succinctly describe their issue. As Ecnerwal points out in <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/4153/help-understanding-bridge-settings#answer-4157">their answer</a> to <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/4153/help-understanding-bridge-settings">Help understanding bridge settings</a>, watching videos, and in particular having to click on a link to watch them, can be somewhat onerous. Having the video inlined, <em>might</em> make it less so.</p> <p>BTW, I don't know what [backend or UX] disadvantages there would be to switching it on, although there are these <a href="http://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/226/is-the-inlining-videos-capability-turned-off-on-this-site#answer-400">cautionary tales</a>.</p>

<p>Per answer to <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/296832/what-are-the-limitations-in-beta">What are the limitations in Beta</a></p> <p>"Inline videos is a feature that is off by default on all sites and only turned on if the community thinks it's necessary to improve the quality of a good portion of their question base." </p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I can't find an answer to this question on the "mother" meta website; hope this is not related to my choice of words in the search box. </p> <p>The statistics of the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/">3D Printing</a> on <a href="http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/82438/3d-printing">Area51</a> show that only few items (questions and visits per day) are not up to par and need work. Do those need to reach a level of let's say "okay" before the site can loose the Beta stage?</p> <p>I'm interested to know what would be the requirements to get out of the Beta stage.</p> <hr> <p>Update September 5, 2019:</p> <p>It appears that the <em>"visits per day"</em> is <em>"excellent"</em> with close to three thousand visits. The "questions per day" still lack behind with a 3.0 value (<em>"needs work"</em>) while more than 5 is considered "healthy". All further stats seem to be <em>"okay"</em> or <em>"excellent"</em>.</p>

<p>This post, <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/197/3d-printing-se-beta-status">3D Printing SE Beta Status</a>, by tbm0115 highlights the <em>three main</em> sticking points (IMHO clearer than the Area 51 page):</p> <ul> <li>Questions per day</li> <li><strike>Users vs Reputation</strike></li> <li><strike>Visits per day</strike></li> </ul> <p>Once those reach the required levels then that should be it. So, there is quite a way to go...</p> <p>The stats can be seen here, <a href="http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/82438/3d-printing">3D Printing Area51 site</a>:</p> <h3>Stats progress</h3> <p>Note: Only <em>changes</em> are shown (no date information)</p> <ul> <li><em>Questions per day</em> <strike><strong>2.1</strong></strike> -&gt; <strike>1.9</strike> <strike>1.6</strike> <strike>2.1</strike> <strike>2.7</strike> <strike>2.1</strike> <strike>1.7</strike> <strike>2</strike> <strike>2.4</strike> <strike>3.0</strike> <strike>2.5</strike> <strike>3.9</strike> <strike>2.8</strike> <strike>3.3</strike> <strike>3</strike> <strike>2.7</strike> <strike>2</strike> <strike>1.9</strike> <strike>2.1</strike> <strike>2.2</strike> 2.4</li> <li><em>Answer rate</em> <strike><strong>96 %</strong></strike> -&gt; <strike>93 %</strike> <strike>95 %</strike> <strike>96 %</strike> <strike>97 %</strike> <strike>98 %</strike> <strike>96 %</strike> <strike>95 %</strike> <strike>94 %</strike> <strike>88 %</strike> 87 %</li> <li><em>Users</em> <ul> <li><em>200+ reputation</em> <strike><strong>56/150</strong></strike> -&gt; <strike>103/150</strike> <strike>113/150</strike> <strike>139/150</strike> <strike>144/150</strike> <strike>151/150</strike> <strike>161/150</strike> <strike>164/150</strike> <strike>179/150</strike> <strike>194/150</strike> <strike>282/150</strike>^* <strike>351/150</strike> <strike>358/150</strike> 359/150</li> <li><em>2,000+ reputation</em> <strike><strong>4/10</strong></strike> -&gt; <strike>8/10</strike> <strike>9/10</strike> <strike>10/10</strike> <strike>11/10</strike> <strike>12/10</strike> <strike>14/10</strike> <strike>17/10</strike> <strike>19/10</strike> <strike>22/10</strike>^* 27/10</li> <li><em>3,000+ reputation</em> <strike><strong>3/5</strong></strike> -&gt; <strike>4/5</strike> <strike>6/5</strike> <strike>7/5</strike> <strike>8/5</strike> <strike>9/5</strike> <strike>11/5</strike> <strike>12/5</strike>^* 14/5</li> </ul> </li> <li><em>Answers per question</em> ratio is <strike><strong>2.0</strong></strike> -&gt; 1.9</li> <li><em>Visits per day</em> <strike><strong>753</strong></strike> -&gt; <strike>4</strike> <strike>2324</strike> <strike>2648</strike> <strike>2675</strike> <strike>2774</strike> <strike>2844</strike> <strike>3041</strike> <strike>3707</strike> <strike>2934</strike> <strike>3290</strike> <strike>8756</strike> <strike>7146</strike> <strike>6773</strike> <strike>6718</strike> <strike>6682</strike> <strike>6627</strike> <strike>6582</strike> <strike>6247</strike> <strike>6207</strike> <strike>6081</strike> <strike>5929</strike> <strike>5541</strike> 5469</li> </ul> <p>^* This change in the number of users with <em>X</em> reputation is, in part, due to the move from +5 to +10 reputation for upvoted questions on <a href="https://stackoverflow.blog/2019/11/13/were-rewarding-the-question-askers/">13 Nov 2019</a> (see also <a href="https://meta.stackoverflow.com/q/391250/4424636">Upvotes on questions will now be worth the same as upvotes on answers</a>).</p> <hr /> <h3>Alternative Stats presentation</h3> <p>Latest statistic shown in bold -&gt; chronological history shown thereafter</p> <ul> <li><em>Questions per day</em> <strong>2.4</strong> -&gt; <strike>2.1</strike> <strike>1.9</strike> <strike>1.6</strike> <strike>2.1</strike> <strike>2.7</strike> <strike>2.1</strike> <strike>1.7</strike> <strike>2</strike> <strike>2.4</strike> <strike>3.0</strike> <strike>2.5</strike> <strike>3.9</strike> <strike>2.8</strike> <strike>3.3</strike> <strike>3</strike> <strike>2.7</strike> <strike>2</strike> <strike>1.9</strike> <strike>2.1</strike> <strike>2.2</strike></li> <li><em>Answer rate</em> <strong>87 %</strong> -&gt; <strike>96 %</strike> <strike>93 %</strike> <strike>95 %</strike> <strike>96 %</strike> <strike>97 %</strike> <strike>98 %</strike> <strike>96 %</strike> <strike>95 %</strike> <strike>94 %</strike> <strike>88 %</strike></li> <li><em>Users</em> <ul> <li><em>200+ reputation</em> <strong>359/150</strong> -&gt; <strike>56/150</strike> <strike>103/150</strike> <strike>113/150</strike> <strike>139/150</strike> <strike>144/150</strike> <strike>151/150</strike> <strike>161/150</strike> <strike>164/150</strike> <strike>179/150</strike> <strike>194/150</strike> <strike>282/150</strike>^* <strike>351/150</strike> <strike>358/150</strike></li> <li><em>2,000+ reputation</em> <strong>27/10</strong> -&gt; <strike>4/10</strike> <strike>8/10</strike> <strike>9/10</strike> <strike>10/10</strike> <strike>11/10</strike> <strike>12/10</strike> <strike>14/10</strike> <strike>17/10</strike> <strike>19/10</strike> <strike>22/10</strike>^*</li> <li><em>3,000+ reputation</em> <strong>14/5</strong> -&gt; <strike>3/5</strike> <strike>4/5</strike> <strike>6/5</strike> <strike>7/5</strike> <strike>8/5</strike> <strike>9/5</strike> <strike>11/5</strike> <strike>12/5</strike>^*</li> </ul> </li> <li><em>Answers per question</em> ratio is <strong>1.9</strong> -&gt; <strike>2.0</strike></li> <li><em>Visits per day</em> <strong>5469</strong> -&gt; <strike>753</strike> <strike>4</strike> <strike>2324</strike> <strike>2648</strike> <strike>2675</strike> <strike>2774</strike> <strike>2844</strike> <strike>3041</strike> <strike>3707</strike> <strike>2934</strike> <strike>3290</strike> <strike>8756</strike> <strike>7146</strike> <strike>6773</strike> <strike>6718</strike> <strike>6682</strike> <strike>6627</strike> <strike>6582</strike> <strike>6247</strike> <strike>6207</strike> <strike>6081</strike> <strike>5929</strike> <strike>5541</strike></li> </ul> <hr /> <h3>Additional points of note</h3> <p>The stats above aren't really the be all to end all... there are a few other considerations that I came across here, <a href="https://robotics.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1354/graduation-of-this-community/1355#1355">in this answer</a>, to <a href="https://robotics.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1354/graduation-of-this-community">“Graduation” of this Community</a>:</p> <ol> <li>A number of 10k+ users ( <em>n</em> &gt; 3 ) are required to access mod tools</li> <li>A number of 3k+ users ( <em>n</em> &gt; 10 ) are required to be able to fully vote</li> </ol> <h3>The final hurdle</h3> <p>The main sticking point, according to this meta post on Ethereum, <a href="https://ethereum.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/474/congratulations-ethereum-is-graduating">Congratulations! Ethereum is graduating!</a>, is 10 questions per day, which we are a long way from, and seems to be the last remaining issue. A link (<a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/257614/graduation-site-closure-and-a-clearer-outlook-on-the-health-of-se-sites">Graduation, site closure, and a clearer outlook on the health of SE sites</a>) from the Ethereum meta post to Meta.SE states:</p> <blockquote> <p>When a site starts to consistently receive 10 questions/day, we’ll consider it for graduation.</p> </blockquote> <h3>No graduation, but losing the Beta label...</h3> <p>Apart from graduation, SE management has recognised that small sites (with an active community) struggle to reach the 10 questions/day consistently. For sites that have been waiting to get out of Beta by graduation for 7-8 years, SE has decided to drop the Beta label. Please see <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/331708/congratulations-to-our-29-oldest-beta-sites-theyre-now-no-longer-beta?cb=1">Congratulations to our 29 oldest beta sites - They're now no longer beta!</a>.</p> <hr /> <h3>CSV Format</h3> <ul> <li>Format: <code>heading,data,date,data,date,...,data,date</code></li> <li>Date format: <code>YYYYMMDD</code></li> </ul> <pre><code>*Questions per day*,2.1,20170317,1.9,20180525,1.6,20180705,2.1,20180707,2.7,20180815,2.1,20180903,1.7,20181015,2,20181106,2.4,20190327,3.0,20190905,2.5,20191119,3.9,20210121,2.8,20210411,3.3,20210423,3.3,20210424,3,20210425,3,20210426,2.7,20210427,2,20210506,2,20210508,1.9,20210511,2.1,20210514,2.2,20210525,2.4,20210526 *Answer rate*,96,20170317,93,20180525,95,20180705,96,20180707,96,20180815,97,20180903,98,20181015,98,20181106,96,20190327,95,20190905,94,20191119,88,20210121,88,20210411,88,20210423,88,20210424,88,20210425,88,20210426,88,20210427,88,20210506,88,20210508,87,20210511,87,20210514,87,20210525,87,20210526 *200+ reputation*,56,20170317,103,20180525,113,20180705,139,20180707,144,20180815,151,20180903,161,20181015,164,20181106,179,20190327,194,20190905,282,20191119,351,20210121,358,20210411,358,20210423,358,20210424,358,20210425,358,20210426,358,20210427,358,20210506,358,20210508,358,20210511,358,20210514,359,20210525,359,20210526 *2,000+ reputation*,4,20170317,8,20180525,9,20180705,10,20180707,11,20180815,12,20180903,14,20181015,14,20181106,17,20190327,19,20190905,22,20191119,27,20210121,27,20210411,27,20210423,27,20210424,27,20210425,27,20210426,27,20210427,27,20210506,27,20210508,27,20210511,27,20210514,27,20210525,27,20210526 *3,000+ reputation*,3,20170317,4,20180525,6,20180705,7,20180707,7,20180815,7,20180903,7,20181015,8,20181106,9,20190327,11,20190905,12,20191119,14,20210121,14,20210411,14,20210423,14,20210424,14,20210425,14,20210426,14,20210427,14,20210506,14,20210508,14,20210511,14,20210514,14,20210525,14,20210526 *Answers per question*,2.0,20170317,1.9,20180525,1.9,20180705,1.9,20180707,1.9,20180815,1.9,20180903,1.9,20181015,1.9,20181106,1.9,20190327,1.9,20190905,1.9,20191119,1.9,20210121,1.9,20210411,1.9,20210423,1.9,20210424,1.9,20210425,1.9,20210426,1.9,20210427,1.9,20210506,1.9,20210508,1.9,20210511,1.9,20210514,1.9,20210525,1.9,20210526 *Visits per day*,753,20170317,4,20180525,2324,20180705,2648,20180707,2675,20180815,2774,20180903,2844,20181015,3041,20181106,3707,20190327,2934,20190905,3290,20191119,8756,20210121,7146,20210411,6773,20210423,6718,20210424,6682,20210425,6627,20210426,6582,20210427,6247,20210506,6207,20210508,6081,20210511,5929,20210514,5541,20210525,5469,20210526 </code></pre> <p>Auto-generate markdown lists and CSV: <a href="https://gitlab.com/testkins/se3dp_plotterscraper" rel="nofollow noreferrer">GitLab: SE3DP_PlotterScraper</a>/<a href="https://gitlab.com/testkins/se3dp_plotterscraper/-/blob/master/Area51Scraper.py" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Area51Scraper.py</a></p> <hr /> <h3>Graphical representation</h3> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MYOoT.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Graph of stats"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MYOoT.png" alt="Graph of stats" title="Graph of stats" /></a></p> <p>Graph script: <a href="https://gitlab.com/testkins/se3dp_plotterscraper" rel="nofollow noreferrer">GitLab: SE3DP_PlotterScraper</a>/<a href="https://gitlab.com/testkins/se3dp_plotterscraper/-/blob/master/StackExchange3DP_6.py" rel="nofollow noreferrer">StackExchange3DP_6.py</a></p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>What is the difference between <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/post-production" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;post-production&#39;" rel="tag">post-production</a> and <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/post-processing" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;post-processing&#39;" rel="tag">post-processing</a>, or are they synonyms? Should they be merged?¹</p> <p><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/post-production" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;post-production&#39;" rel="tag">post-production</a> has no description whatsoever.</p> <p>After looking at <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/70710/what-are-tag-synonyms-and-merged-tags-how-do-they-work">What are tag synonyms and merged tags? How do they work?</a>, We can make <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/post-processing" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;post-processing&#39;" rel="tag">post-processing</a> the master and <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/post-production" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;post-production&#39;" rel="tag">post-production</a> the slave <strong>synonym</strong>. This would seem to be a logical relationship given the number of questions tagged respectively. This relationship can be easily removed, if deemed to be incorrect.</p> <p>If, after some time, everyone is happy with this arrangement, then the two will be <strong>merged</strong>.</p> <p>Does that sound like a plan and does anyone have any objections..?</p> <hr> <p>¹ This question was moved from my answer to <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/151/naming-convention-for-tags-with-camelcase-or-pre-fix#answer-269">Naming convention for tags with CamelCase or Pre-Fix</a></p>

<p>These are <strong>NOT</strong> the same in a manufacturing, which 3D printing is primarily considered a part of.</p> <p>Post-Processing typically refers to additional steps that must/can be done to produce the nominally desired part. These steps can include deburr, grind, and other additive/subtractive processing on the physical part.</p> <p>Post-Production typically refers to any steps that typically do not "produce" or alter the dimensions of the product. These steps can include final visual and dimensional inspection, packaging, and sometimes even shipment.</p> <p>I would not recommend creating a synonym, but merely updating the definition of both terms.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p><em>Please note; Due to its very nature, this post is very subjective and is <strong>not</strong> intended to be a definitive list of categories. It is merely an attempt to offer one perspective of what has been suggested, and to ask &quot;How should we move forward?&quot;</em></p> <hr /> <p>Sometimes it is a bit hard to see the wood for the trees...</p> <p>Following on from tjb1's meta post, <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/134/post-closing-issues">Post Closing Issues</a>, it seems like we should widen the scope and be less strict about what is, and what is not, on-topic. What do people think? What additions, if any, should be made? Are there things that definitely should be on the list, that aren't currently?</p> <p>So, with respect to our <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic">On-topic page</a>, which needs updating, in order to get an idea of what people have been asking (&quot;why has my question been closed?&quot;/&quot;why is X not allowed&quot;), I've gone through the Meta questions and come up with a list of questions that mentioned the words &quot;<a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/search?q=ask">ask</a>&quot; and &quot;<a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/search?q=topic">topic</a>&quot;. I then pulled out the questions relating to specifically what types of questions can/can't be asked.</p> <p>A number of them seem to be able to be labeled as duplicates (inasmuch as they asked more or less the same thing), and so I have attempted to group them according to their suggestion request. The full list is at the bottom of this post.</p> <p>Even though I went through both lists twice - also, I didn't read <em>every</em> question and answer listed below fully - <em>there may be some suggestions that I have missed</em>. Please feel free to either suggest a change, or edit this post directly and add any that have gone astray (in that respect, maybe this question should be a wiki?).</p> <p>Whilst we maybe don't want to change the aim of the site too much (as doing so may put off some regular users), maybe the scope needs to broaden slightly, as to have a wider appeal and be more <em>inclusive</em>.</p> <p>BTW, a useful post to read is <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/6/what-should-our-documentation-contain">What should our documentation contain?</a></p> <p>Any thoughts, questions, additional suggestions that have not already been posted, agreements, or disagreements?</p> <h3>Update</h3> <p>The list below was integrated into the on-topics page, on the 8^th June 2019. See <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/413/on-topic-has-been-updated-finally">On-topic has been updated - finally!</a> for <em>further</em> discussion.</p> <hr /> <h3>TL;DR - Suggested topics</h3> <p>In the list below,</p> <ul> <li>Italics are used for notes</li> <li>Strikethrough is used for definitive no-go topics</li> </ul> <p>Whilst there may be <em>some</em> overlap, duplication and/or mis-categorisation, the list of suggested on-topics seems to be, essentially:</p> <ul> <li>Recommendations (Hardware and Software) <ul> <li><em>Note: Usually banned from SE - with the exception of <a href="https://hardwarerecs.stackexchange.com/">Hardware Recommendations</a></em></li> <li><strike>General Shopping - <em>opinion based</em></strike></li> <li><strike>First printer - <em>opinion based</em></strike>, <em>see <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/278/best-first-printer-closed-wiki">&quot;Best first printer&quot; wiki/blog/closed-question</a></em></li> <li>Best printer <ul> <li><strike>Overall - <em>opinion based</em></strike></li> <li>For specific task - <em>opinion based but allowable, although <strong>speed</strong> as a task is in a <strong>very grey area</strong>... this question <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10204/fastest-fdm-printer">Fastest FDM printer?</a> was closed for being opinion-based</em></li> </ul> </li> <li>Best software <ul> <li><strike>Overall - <em>opinion based</em></strike></li> <li>For a specific task - <em>opinion based but allowable</em></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>Software issues <ul> <li>Firmware</li> <li>Tools</li> <li>Coding/Compiling firmware (see <strong>Misc - Coding</strong>)</li> <li>3D modelling (<em>same as <strong>CAD</strong>?</em>)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Websites (<em>could come under <strong>Software</strong> and/or <strong>Tools</strong></em>) <ul> <li>Recommended sites <ul> <li>for knowledge</li> <li>for models</li> <li>for online tools</li> </ul> </li> <li>Issues with web based tools</li> </ul> </li> <li>CAD <ul> <li>Needs to show relevancy to 3D printing! (See Meta questions)</li> <li><em>Overlap with SE.Blender?</em></li> </ul> </li> <li>Printer DIY <ul> <li>Repair and maintenance (<em>both commercial and DIY repair of both commercial and DIY printers</em>)</li> <li>Construction</li> <li>Mechatronics</li> </ul> </li> <li>Components (<em>could come under <strong>Printer DIY</strong></em>) <ul> <li><em><a href="https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/244366/how-do-i-tell-if-my-thermistors-are-10k-or-100k">Thermistors</a> is a good example, see note ¹ below</em></li> <li>Help and Recommendations</li> </ul> </li> <li>Electronics <ul> <li>Printer related electronics</li> <li>Common electronic gotchas</li> </ul> </li> <li>Print Services</li> <li>Scanning <ul> <li>Also 3D Reconstruction (<a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/172/is-a-question-about-software-to-create-models-on-topic">example</a>)</li> <li>Software (<a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/8057/resources-on-getting-horus-ciclop-scanners-to-work">example</a>)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Bio-printing</li> <li>3D Models <ul> <li>Feasibility</li> <li>Availability</li> </ul> </li> <li>Sharing recommended settings</li> <li>Legal issues <ul> <li>Copyright (i.e. <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/164/can-i-print-my-own-lego-bricks">Lego</a>)</li> <li>Guns/Weapons</li> <li>Insurance (i.e. fire damage)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Manufacturers <ul> <li><strike>Best manufacturer - <em>opinion based</em></strike></li> </ul> </li> <li>Materials <ul> <li>Filament</li> <li>ABS</li> <li>PLA</li> <li>PETG</li> <li>etc.</li> </ul> </li> <li>Makerspaces</li> <li>Medical <ul> <li>Materials for medical use</li> <li>Medical quality printing</li> <li>Medical applications for 3D printed objects</li> </ul> </li> <li>Health <ul> <li>Closely related, and may overlap with safety</li> </ul> </li> <li>Safety <ul> <li>Fumes</li> <li>Print material suitability for foodstuffs</li> </ul> </li> <li>Non-3D Printing related <ul> <li>CNC (<a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10709/spindle-dc-motor-and-drill-bit-specifications-for-circuit-etching-cnc-machine">example</a>), (<a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10610/using-both-gcode-and-gbr-files-in-a-hybrid-3d-printer-circuit-etching-machin">example</a>)</li> <li>Laser (<a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6214/laser-engraver-with-smoothie-ramps-1-4-or-awc708c">example</a>)</li> <li>Routers</li> <li>Vacuum Forming</li> <li>Parts assembly (<a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3711/are-there-many-assembly-type-3d-printers">example</a>)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Misc <ul> <li>Not strictly 3D related, see <strong>Non-3D Printing related</strong> above</li> <li>Anything 3D related <ul> <li>Connecting 3D printed parts - <em>For example, <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/54/what-is-the-best-way-to-connect-3d-printed-parts">connecting 3D printed parts</a> is currently off-topic</em>²</li> <li>Coding - <em>For example <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3109/how-to-build-own-cura-gui">How to build my own Cura GUI?</a> - Coding Ultimaker Cura question, migrated to SO</em>³</li> </ul> </li> <li>Other <ul> <li>FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication)</li> <li>FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling)</li> <li>SLA (Stereo Lithography)</li> <li>DLP (Digital Light Processing)</li> <li>SLS (Selective Laser Sintering)</li> <li>DLMS (Direct Laser Metal Smelting)</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <hr /> <p><strong>Notes</strong></p> <p>Admittedly, there will be overlap with some other SE sites and whilst we need to avoid the <em>too-broad-black-hole</em>, we should also welcome all things that are 3D Printer related, so as to keep all relevant knowledge in a central location.</p> <p>¹ WRT <strong>Components</strong>, and taking the <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/177/why-was-the-question-about-thermistors-migrated">thermistors meta question</a> as an example, my first thought is that questions like this should remain, as they are pertinent to 3D Printing, otherwise we <em>could</em> theoretically end up compartmentalising printers and migrating off a lot of stuff to SE. Electronics, SE.Engineering, SE.Hardware Recommendations, etc.</p> <p>² The same applies to the <strong>Misc/Anything 3D related</strong>, in particular the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/54/what-is-the-best-way-to-connect-3d-printed-parts"><em>Connecting 3D parts</em> question</a>. Yes, as some of the comments state, you could remove the 3D printer part and then it is basically an engineering question. However, when taken as a whole, this question <em>is</em> pertinent to 3D printing of large models, in parts.</p> <p>³ Also under <strong>Misc/Anything 3D related</strong>, Coding Ultimaker Cura <em>is</em> a SO type question, but it is <em>also</em> 3D printer specific</p> <hr /> <h3>Additional suggestions in the future</h3> <p>Instead of posting a new question, it <em>might</em> be a good idea to post an additional answer, containing the suggestion, to this question - in order to keep everything grouped together. This will save on the pain of having to go through all of the Meta questions as I have just done.</p> <p>However, that might mean that the suggestion request would not have such prominence that it would do if the suggestion was posted independently as its own question... So (at the risk of duplication), if a new question/suggestion is posted, then it could be a good idea to also copy that new post and add it as an answer below.</p> <hr /> <h1>Meta Suggestions</h1> <p>These are the meta questions that I used to create the categories above:</p> <h2><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/search?q=ask">ask</a> - 89 questions <em>in total</em></h2> <h3>General scope questions</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/6/what-should-our-documentation-contain">What should our documentation contain?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/138/what-is-our-scope">What is our scope?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/239/what-is-your-opinion-on-se-meta-post-regarding-questions-that-cross-community-li">What is your opinion on SE Meta post regarding questions that cross Community lines?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/74/how-do-we-get-more-traffic-to-the-site">How do we get more traffic to the site?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/6/what-should-our-documentation-contain">What should our documentation contain?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Recommendations</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/219/ask-about-recommendation">Ask about recommendation</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/103/is-a-novice-question-on-a-specific-printer-allowed">Is a novice question on a specific printer allowed?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5/how-do-we-handle-recommendations">How do we handle recommendations?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/77/discussions-type-x-3d-printer-is-good-are-acceptable">Discussions type: X 3d printer is good? are acceptable</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/159/is-there-any-way-to-prevent-endless-best-first-printer-posts">Is there any way to prevent endless &quot;best first printer&quot; posts?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/219/ask-about-recommendation">Ask about recommendation</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/179/another-approach-to-solving-purchase-questions">Another approach to solving &quot;purchase&quot; questions</a></li> </ul> <h3>Software</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/172/is-a-question-about-software-to-create-models-on-topic">Is a question about software to create models on-topic?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Software Suggestion</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/252/software-suggestion-question">Software Suggestion Question</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/101/questions-about-software-and-websites">Questions about software and websites?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/185/are-software-recommendation-questions-allowed-here">Are software recommendation questions allowed here?</a> - <em>not in the <strong>ask</strong> list, but relevant here</em></li> </ul> <h3>CAD</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/204/the-fine-line-between-3d-and-cad">The fine line between 3d and CAD</a> <ul> <li>Followup: <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/501/cad-questions-review">CAD Questions - Review</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h3>Misc</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/21/are-questions-that-tangentially-involve-3d-printing-on-topic">Are questions that tangentially involve 3D printing on topic?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/147/hobbyist-machine-questions-on-topic">Hobbyist Machine questions On-Topic?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/217/generalized-questions-allowed">Generalized questions allowed?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/69/fff-fdm-vs-everything-else">FFF/FDM vs... everything else?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/67/fdm-printer-that-can-also-mill-and-engrave-whats-in-scope">FDM printer that can also mill and engrave -- what&#39;s in scope?</a></li> </ul> <h3>CNC</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/182/wondering-why-cnc-questions-in-general-are-not-welcome-here">Wondering why CNC questions in general are not welcome here</a></li> </ul> <h3>Printer not working:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/210/how-to-handle-why-is-int-my-printer-working-questions">How to handle &quot;Why is in&#39;t my printer working?!&quot; questions</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/83/what-about-mystery-problem-troubleshooting-requests">What about mystery-problem troubleshooting requests?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/129/repairing-3d-printer">Repairing 3D printer</a></li> </ul> <h3>Discovering 3D Printing</h3> <ul> <li>null</li> </ul> <h3>Print services</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/141/are-questions-from-people-who-lack-knowledge-of-3d-printing-looking-to-discover">Are questions from people who lack knowledge of 3D printing looking to discover how to have something printed on-topic?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/165/are-questions-about-online-3-d-printing-services-allowed">Are Questions about Online 3-D printing services allowed?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Model Feasibility</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/212/is-3d-printing-se-appropriate-for-getting-feedback-on-feasibility-of-a-model">Is 3D Printing SE appropriate for getting feedback on feasibility of a model?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Model Availability</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/260/are-questions-about-availability-of-3d-models-on-topic">Are questions about availability of 3D models on-topic?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Scanning</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/180/does-this-reworded-question-meet-the-se-requirements">Does this reworded question meet the SE requirements?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Bio Printing</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/123/bio-printing-questions-okay">Bio-Printing Questions Okay?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/138/what-is-our-scope">What is our scope?</a> - <em>not in the <strong>ask</strong> list, but relevant here</em></li> </ul> <h2><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/search?q=topic">on-topic</a> - 56 questions <em>in total</em></h2> <h3>Sharing Settings through out the community</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/145/are-questions-about-sharing-settings-on-topic">Are questions about sharing settings On Topic?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Printer construction - DIY</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/8/are-questions-discussing-printer-construction-internals-and-firmware-on-topic">Are questions discussing printer construction, internals, and firmware on-topic here?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Legal issues</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/32/are-questions-involving-legal-issues-and-3d-printing-on-topic">Are questions involving legal issues and 3D printing on-topic?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/412/closing-questions-about-knock-off-printers">Closing questions about knock-off printers</a></li> </ul> <h3>Filament/Materials</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/80/why-are-you-voting-to-close-this-question">Why are you voting to close this question?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/281/could-this-printing-material-recommendation-question-be-or-shaped-to-be-valid-on">Could this Printing Material Recommendation Question be or shaped to be valid on 3D SE?</a> - <em>not in the <strong>on-topic</strong> list, but relevant here</em></li> </ul> <h3>Laser</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/246/adding-a-laser-tag">Adding a &#39;laser&#39; tag?</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/404/is-laser-etching-specifically-a-question-linked-below-considered-to-be-on-topi">Is laser etching, specifically a question linked below, considered to be on topic?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Thermistors</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/177/why-was-the-question-about-thermistors-migrated">Why was the question about thermistors migrated?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Makerspaces</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/164/questions-about-makerspaces-and-3-d-printers">Questions about Makerspaces and 3-D Printers?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Mechatronics</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/138/what-is-our-scope">What is our scope?</a> - <em>not in the <strong>on-topic</strong> list, but relevant here</em></li> </ul> <h1>Actual questions (not meta)</h1> <h2><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/search?q=closed%3Ayes">Closed</a> - 73 questions <em>in total</em></h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3109/how-to-build-own-cura-gui">how to build own cura gui?</a> - <em>Coding Ultimaker Cura question, migrated to SO: <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/40909403/how-to-build-own-cura-gui">How to build own Cura GUI?</a></em></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/54/what-is-the-best-way-to-connect-3d-printed-parts">What is the best way to connect 3D printed parts?</a> - <em>General Mechanical issue</em></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6338/interesting-project-for-a-child">Interesting project for a child</a> - <em>Opinion based, but it was a HNQ</em></li> </ul> <h3>Scanning</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5699/is-there-any-public-and-reasonably-accurate-3d-scan-from-a-cray-2-computer">Is there any public and reasonably accurate 3D scan from a Cray-2 computer?</a></li> </ul> <h3>Laser</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10010/laser-is-engraving-the-negative-space">laser is engraving the negative space</a></li> </ul> <h3>Legal</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10200/3d-printer-part-clones-from-china-legality">3D printer part clones from china - legality</a></li> </ul> <h3>Recommendations</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10204/fastest-fdm-printer">Fastest FDM printer?</a></li> </ul> <h2>Deleted</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/326/understand-and-developing-firmware-ide-help">Understand and developing firmware - IDE help</a> - <em>Setting up a development environment</em></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5836/whats-the-least-amount-of-money-i-can-spend-to-get-a-decent-printer">What's the least amount of money I can spend to get a decent printer?</a> - <em>Shopping</em></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5742/designing-a-safe-and-crush-proof-pokemon-playing-card-box-using-a-3d-super-elips">Designing a Safe and Crush-proof Pokemon playing card box using a 3D Super-Elipsoid</a> - <em>Migrated to Engineering: <a href="https://engineering.stackexchange.com/questions/21885/designing-a-safe-and-crush-proof-pokemon-playing-card-box-using-a-3d-super-elips">Designing a Safe and Crush-proof Pokemon playing card box using a 3D Super-Elipsoid</a></em></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/8057/resources-on-getting-horus-ciclop-scanners-to-work">Resources on getting horus/ciclop scanners to work?</a></li> </ul>

<p>A couple of points:</p> <p>Asking for a machine to solve a specific problem, or software which can do something 'specific' is not really a shopping question, so long as the question is asked in the right way. We do need to avoid subjective questions, but sometimes this can be the result of a misunderstanding (i.e. find me a non-CN supplier of this budget Chinese printer {which also seems to be a decent product}).</p> <p>Topics which bridge into something like Electronics can be useful because the field is very large, and EE.SE makes an assumption of near degree level expertise. Useful answers here could be more 'off the shelf' routes to achieving what could potentially be fairly 'textbook' to someone with the right background.</p> <p>Same with making trivial changes to firmware, using a complex software tool for a trivial task, etc. If the task is common, relevant and bounded then a 'hand-holding' answer here will be much more valuable/findable than pushing questioners to a more specific site. Once people move from trivial use of these tools they may well end up needing to self-educate before they reach a point that EE.SE, or SO will accept their questions.</p> <p>We're at a difficult point between a mass market consumer product, and emerging tech. The IoT site has similar challenges.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>There are times when certain standardised comments are called for.</p> <p>Here are some examples (the links go to the various sections below, under the Answers):</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/303/do-we-have-standardised-comments#answer-305">General comments</a></li> <li>Prompting user to accept an answer - <em>in order to clear the unanswered question list</em></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/303/do-we-have-standardised-comments#answer-304">Problems with comments</a> <ul> <li>Answer posted in comments - <em>Solutions to the question posted in the comments, do not show up in searches</em></li> <li>Limiting comments - <em>Additional information, that <strong>may or may not</strong> have been requested is posted in comments, rather than as an edit to the question</em></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/303/do-we-have-standardised-comments#answer-402">Poor quality questions</a> <ul> <li>Ask a good question</li> <li>Unbounded questions</li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/303/do-we-have-standardised-comments#answer-393">Poor quality answers</a> <ul> <li>Short answer - <em>An answer lacking detail, no explanation provided</em></li> <li>Repetition - <em>No new information, the contents of a previously posted answer is repeated by a different user</em></li> <li>Link only answer - <em>Only a link is provided, with no summary, or content, of the link included</em></li> <li>Question posted as answer - <em><strong>Another</strong> question, (possibly) related to the OP's question, is posted as an answer</em></li> <li>&quot;Me too&quot; answer - <em>&quot;I <strong>also</strong> have this issue&quot;</em></li> <li>Edit to a previous answer - <em>user posts second answer with additional information, not realising that there is an edit button for their first answer</em></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><em>et cetera</em>...</p>

<h1>Comments</h1> <blockquote> <h2>Question in a comment</h2> <p>Hi and welcome to SE.3DP! Please do not ask new questions in comments. Without wishing to sound harsh, StackExchange is a Q&amp;A site, and not a forum of threaded messages. The reason for this is to aid the search for answers to issues, and provide it in a structured Q&amp;A way. I know that this might seem a pain, but can you repost your question using the <a href="https://x" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ask Question</a> link at the top of the page? When you repost your new question, please feel free to refer back to this original question using the URL, seeing as it is the reason why you posted in the first place.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>C&amp;P ⎘</strong></p> <pre><code>Hi and welcome to SE.3DP! Please do not ask new questions in comments. Without wishing to sound harsh, StackExchange is a Q&amp;A site, and not a forum of threaded messages. The reason for this is to aid the search for answers to issues, and provide it in a structured Q&amp;A way. I know that this might seem a pain, but can you repost your question using the [Ask Question](/questions/ask) link at the top of the page? When you repost your new question, please feel free to refer back to this original question using the URL, seeing as it is the reason why you posted in the first place. </code></pre> <blockquote> <h2>Answer in a comment</h2> <p>Comments are not recommended for any of the following: <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/help/privileges/comment">Answering a question or providing an alternate solution to an existing answer; instead, post an actual answer (or edit to expand an existing one)</a>. Feel free to post an answer instead. Thanks.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>C&amp;P ⎘</strong></p> <pre><code>Comments are not recommended for any of the following: [Answering a question or providing an alternate solution to an existing answer; instead, post an actual answer (or edit to expand an existing one)](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/help/privileges/comment);. Feel free to post an answer instead. Thanks. </code></pre> <blockquote> <h2>Limit Comments</h2> <p>It is better to <a href="https://x" rel="nofollow noreferrer">edit</a> your question to add information requested in comments, rather than adding more comments. Comments are for helping to improve questions and answers, and are distracting, so we try to keep them to a minimum. All of this information can be edited into your question to make it easier for people to answer your question. If all of the information is contained in one block then people don't have to read all of the comments to discover all of the information. Once all of the information needed to answer the question is contained within it, the comments can be tidied &amp; deleted.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>C&amp;P ⎘</strong></p> <pre><code>It is better to [edit] your question to add information requested in comments, rather than adding more comments. Comments are for helping to improve questions and answers, and are distracting, so we try to keep them to a minimum. All of this information can be edited into your question to make it easier for people to answer your question. If all of the information is contained in one block then people don't have to read all of the comments to discover all of the information. Once all of the information needed to answer the question is contained within it, the comments can be tidied &amp; deleted. </code></pre> <blockquote> <h2><em>Self</em>-answered in a comment - Initial request</h2> <p>Did any of the posted answers solve your issue? If so, please mark it as the accepted answer. If not, then either refine your question or please post your comment above (which appears to contain the solution) as an answer, and then mark it as accepted in 48 hours, in order to remove your question from the unanswered queue. Answers are not allowed in comments, and may be deleted. If your answer is posted as an answer then it becomes searchable and may help others with the same issue.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>C&amp;P ⎘</strong></p> <pre><code>Did any of the posted answers solve your issue? If so, please mark it as the accepted answer. If not, then either refine your question or please post your comment above (which appears to contain the solution) as an answer, and then mark it as accepted in 48 hours, in order to remove your question from the unanswered queue. Answers are not allowed in comments, and may be deleted. If your answer is posted as an answer then it becomes searchable and may help others with the same issue. </code></pre> <blockquote> <h2><em>Self</em>-answered in a comment - Second request (citing comment - obviously replacing the <code>blah blah blah</code>!)</h2> <p>Hi, could you post your comment <code>blah blah blah</code> as an answer (maybe expanding upon it as well, if possible) and mark it as accepted. That way your question will no longer be in the unanswered list. Thanks</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>C&amp;P ⎘</strong></p> <pre><code>Hi, could you post your comment `blah blah blah` as an answer (maybe expanding upon it as well, if possible) and mark it as accepted. That way your question will no longer be in the unanswered list. Thanks </code></pre> <blockquote> <h2><em>Self</em>-answered in a comment - Final Reminder (also citing the comment)</h2> <p>Hi, <em><strong>please</strong></em> could you post your comment <code>blah blah blah</code> as an answer (and expanding upon it as well, if possible and a photo as &lt;username2&gt; says) and mark it as accepted. That way your question will no longer be in the unanswered list. Thanks. (1) Comments do not show up in searches, (2) Your answer may help someone else (3) As we are a beta site we <em>really</em> need to keep the number of unanswered questions to a minimum, if we are to continue as a site (4) You will earn more reputation from votes and accepting your answer. Thanks in advance</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>C&amp;P ⎘</strong></p> <pre><code>Hi, ***please*** could you post your comment `blah blah blah` as an answer (and expanding upon it as well, if possible and a photo as &lt;username2&gt; says) and mark it as accepted. That way your question will no longer be in the unanswered list. Thanks. (1) Comments do not show up in searches, (2) Your answer may help someone else (3) As we are a beta site we *really* need to keep the number of unanswered questions to a minimum, if we are to continue as a site (4) You will earn more reputation from votes and accepting your answer. Thanks in advance </code></pre>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Our site is dealing with electronics and practical engineering, so we use formulas in questions and answers on occasion, most usually when we have to figure out electronic ratings. </p> <p>When we talk about the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/760/analytic-equations-to-make-algorithm-of-3d-printer">design</a> or <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/631/how-are-delta-movements-calculated">function</a> of printers more than "rule of thumb", we need complex math. When we estimate <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/4472/how-is-the-print-time-of-an-object-to-be-printed-estimated?s=4%7C17.5425">print times</a> formulas could be used to illustrate the calculations. When we want to estimate the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6557/is-the-110m-length-accurate-for-3-0mm-1k-spool">length of a spool of filament</a>, we need math. When we discuss <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/5155/8884">movement paths</a>, we also come into need for 3D geometry which can be simplified by using non-carthesian coordinates or functions - which in turn need manual typing of greek letters or proper formulas to be displayed well. </p> <p>Up to now I have been typing LaTeX formulas in online converters and copy paste the link to the image generated formula. This is quite labor intensive, especially since the SE does support built in MathJax.</p> <p>A recent <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/6540/5740">answer</a> showed LaTeX/MathJax code in the answer, but that did not render into an actual formula image as it is not enabled.</p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>Supply voltage $ U_S = 12V \or 24V $</li> <li>Logic Voltage $ U_L = 5V $</li> <li>Sensor Voltage $ U_sens = U_L$</li> <li>Temperature control (Hotend/Bed/Cooling fans) $ U_T = U_S$</li> </ul> </blockquote> <p>Why can't we enter formulas directly in posts?</p>

<p>$$\text{3D Printing Stack Exchange} \subset \text{Stack Exchange sites that use MathJax}$$</p> <p>There are <a href="http://data.stackexchange.com/3dprinting/query/879802/mathjax-inline" rel="nofollow noreferrer">~17 posts</a> that could use an edit. Most of those are prices that have been converted into MathJax. You can fix that by escaping the dollar sign:</p> <pre><code>$ =&gt; \$ </code></pre> <p>I'll work on those edits myself, but I'd love to get some help.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I'm seeing a current trend towards many questions only receiving a single answer, and according the the <a href="http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/82438/3d-printing">Area 51</a> stats, we ought to have an <em>average</em> closer to 2.5. Granted that some questions are really only in need of a single (obvious) answer, I think we're missing something here.</p> <p>I've seen a few questions with 'answers in the comments', which is understandable if a user wants to make a drive-by quick tip, but we should really be encouraging them to try and come back later to get the points due to them.</p> <p>Are users put off by an expectation that a wrong answer might lose them rep? Or by an overly high (assumed) expectation for making an answer?</p> <p>What can we do to raise ApQ, without dropping answer quality significantly?</p> <p>Some thoughts from IoT meta on why <a href="https://iot.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/291">more answers are good</a>.</p>

<p>Well done for bringing this up. I was looking at those numbers too. </p> <p>Referring to <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/264/what-does-it-take-to-get-out-of-beta-stage/265#265">this post</a>, almost all of the stats are improving (albeit) slowly, except for one, the ApQ </p> <blockquote> <p>Are users put off by an expectation that a wrong answer might lose them rep?</p> </blockquote> <p>It seems that way. Without wishing to provide a link to the actual comment, I noticed a comment the other day that suggested as much, and a nicely detailed comment was left instead. </p> <p>To be fair, I feel that way sometimes, and often hesitate (maybe rightly so to save myself from spamming the site) in posting questions on SE.Meta, as there are a number of drive-by downvoters there¹. Unless you have a definite bug that you are able to document clearly or have a well rounded proposal that can be implemented easily, then your question may end up downvoted. This is probably rightly so, TBH, in most cases, but nevertheless it can be discouraging.</p> <p>If you don't have much hard-earned rep then you may be less willing to risk it by posting a informative answer, that only answers half the question. Is that a bad thing? Well, it is a double edged sword. It is a good thing, because that promotes good solid answers, but with the downside that you point out (a lack of multiple answers per question).</p> <p>What can we do? Probably, not much other than creating a small community by promoting a friendly environment and communicating more clearly... Inviting people to chat in the chatroom, being more welcoming (with Hi and welcome), actually helping people without the old "Did you google this?" immediately. All of these things help a lot. And which we seem to have developed of late. So we seem to be getting there.</p> <p>I know that a number of members have already been adding answers to single answer questions as well as tackling the unanswered queue too. The more people that help the better...</p> <hr> <p>¹ Don't get me wrong, I looove (justified) downvotes, but I would like to know <em>why</em>.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I see a number of people writing "CURA", when I have always called it "Cura". So I started to wonder if CURA was a <em>capitalised</em> acronym, like LiDAR or NATO (but not like radar or laser).</p> <p>I had a look and the Wikipedia entry, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura_(software)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Cura (software)</a> doesn't appear to suggest that.</p> <p>So I wondered if it was a marketing thing.</p> <hr> <p>After all, over on SE.Arduino, <em>lots</em> of people write "Arduino UNO" - I myself did so to, for a long time, until Nick Gammon <a href="https://arduino.stackexchange.com/questions/13839/can-i-use-analogreadresolution-on-an-uno-or-leonardo#comment25114_13839">picked me up on it</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/6piXl.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Uno not UNO"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/6piXl.png" alt="Uno not UNO" title="Uno not UNO"></a></p> </blockquote> <p>I <em>think</em> that the reason that I did was that the Arduino pages write it in that way (arguably incorrectly) and it just seems to be a branding/marketing ploy.</p> <p>So, is this the same sort of thing with CURA? I am just wondering where it started and came from?¹</p> <hr> <p>¹ As one does on a boring rainy Sunday morning :-)</p>

<p>As of version 4 the splash screen has changed, also the branding/naming of the product throughout Ultimaker's website.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1eX3U.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1eX3U.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p> <p>Technically it is not <em>CURA</em> or <em>cura</em>, it is <em>Ultimaker Cura</em>.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>We have two tags: <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support&#39;" rel="tag">support</a> &amp; <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support-structures" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support-structures&#39;" rel="tag">support-structures</a> </p> <p>These two are essentially the same thing. Even the abbreviated tag-wikis are pretty much saying the same thing. IMHO, we should combine the two tags as they are superfluous. </p> <p>There was the Meta question: <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/q/168/11242">support-material / support-structures Tag unification?</a> which was about combining <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support-material" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support-material&#39;" rel="tag">support-material</a> &amp; <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support-structures" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support-structures&#39;" rel="tag">support-structures</a> which was turned down, but this request is quite different.</p>

<p>The tags <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support&#39;" rel="tag">support</a> &amp; <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support-structures" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support-structures&#39;" rel="tag">support-structures</a> are in fact referring to exactly the same thing!</p> <p>Furthermore, the meaning of support can be interpreted differently (i.e. helping out).</p> <p>I support renaming/merging the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support&#39;" rel="tag">support</a> labelled questions to <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support-structures" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support-structures&#39;" rel="tag">support-structures</a>. This implies that the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support&#39;" rel="tag">support</a> tag is removed and it could be reinstated at any time by new questions. Users with enough reputation can remove the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support&#39;" rel="tag">support</a> tag if it gets recreated and we could create a synonym later. </p> <p>In my humble opinion, the best solution may be to rename <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support&#39;" rel="tag">support</a> to <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/supports" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;supports&#39;" rel="tag">supports</a> and then make it a synonym for <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/support-structures" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;support-structures&#39;" rel="tag">support-structures</a>!</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>We were offered to <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/314/can-we-get-mathjax-enabled">get MathJax enabled</a>.</p> <p>Now, we need to decide on which character to have text between them parsed into MathJax! So please either add your suggestion or cast your vote!</p>

<p>Let's stay with the classic $.</p> <p>Example: \$\$\frac{1 \times 2}{2} = 1\$\$</p> <hr> <p><em>Now that MathJax is enabled, it renders to: $$\frac{1 \times 2}{2} = 1$$</em></p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Tag <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/nylon" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;nylon&#39;" rel="tag">nylon</a> exists already, but I think it would be incredibly useful to have a TPE/TPU tag and a tag for all flexibles as a category.</p> <p><strong>EDIT:</strong> It has come to my attention that the tag <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/flexible" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;flexible&#39;" rel="tag">flexible</a> already exists. I still would like to see a tag <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/tpu" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;tpu&#39;" rel="tag">tpu</a> though.</p>

<p>Let's stay with the classic $.</p> <p>Example: \$\$\frac{1 \times 2}{2} = 1\$\$</p> <hr> <p><em>Now that MathJax is enabled, it renders to: $$\frac{1 \times 2}{2} = 1$$</em></p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>For those who did not know, linking to off-site content in answers is a no-go at SE sites unless you provide context. From <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-answer">help</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Provide context for links</strong><br>Links to external resources are encouraged, but please add context around the link so your fellow users will have some idea what it is and why it’s there. Always quote the most relevant part of an important link, in case the target site is unreachable or goes permanently offline.</p> </blockquote> <p>What about linking to off-site content for questions? <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask">How do I ask a good question?</a> is not clear about that.</p> <p>A question on meta.stackexchange reads: <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/94807/auto-ban-questions-that-use-pastebin">"Auto-ban questions that use pastebin?"</a>. This hints to banning people that use external linking in their answer.</p> <p>I can image for large sites (hundreds to thousands questions a day) or specific sites (about programming) you definitely want a method to shift the quality of questions. But we are small. Furthermore, it is sometimes necessary (as the OP does not have the knowledge, and we don't have the overview) to ask for the complete file (e.g. configuration.h or G-code). You sure don't want people to post their complete configuration.h or G-code file into the question.</p> <p>As links to off-site content seem to die over time, what can we do best to preserve the information for the question?</p>

<p><em>Copied from chat</em></p> <hr> <p>I agree about the posting of the entire configuration file or G-code in a question is too big to fit, etc. What is really needed, and I've thought this for a long time, is a SE sanctioned version of PasteBin [functionality]. A persistent scrapbook/scratchpad site internal to SE (like the i.stack.imgur.com site) where <em>over-sized</em> chunks of code/configs/text can be pasted, without it being an external link (which carry the inherent risk of link death). That would be the correct solution, and I don't understand why that hasn't been set up. Seems odd to me.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I don't want to ask off-topic and opinion questions here, but I would like to find a cadre of others dialing in their devices. Any ideas?</p>

<p>I stumbled across this forum/group, <a href="https://forum.prusaprinters.org/forum/english-forum-original-prusa-i3-mmu2s-mmu2/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Original Prusa i3 MMU2S &amp; MMU2</a>, amongst all of the other <a href="https://forum.prusaprinters.org" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Prusa printers forums</a> on the <a href="https://blog.prusaprinters.org/prusa-i3/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Prusaprinters blog</a>, which seems fairly active. </p> <p>In particular, the <a href="https://forum.prusaprinters.org/forum/original-prusa-i3-mmu2s-mmu2-user-mods-octoprint-enclosures-nozzles-.../" rel="nofollow noreferrer">User mods - OctoPrint, enclosures, nozzles, ...</a> page seems like it might be what you are looking for.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I found this question, <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10010/laser-is-engraving-the-negative-space">laser is engraving the negative space</a> in the close queue this morning as being off topic. I was about to respond, and through I'd look at the community view on meta. I found this question and answer: <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/67/fdm-printer-that-can-also-mill-and-engrave-whats-in-scope/68#68">FDM printer that can also mill and engrave -- what&#39;s in scope?</a>, and this META discussion <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/349/is-it-possible-to-expand-the-scope-of-this-site">Is it possible to expand the scope of this site?</a> which suggests that it would be on topic.</p> <p>What should I do with the question? As a relatively low-reputation participant, I want to defer to the greater experience.</p> <p>Many of the problems of 3D printing and laser etching are similar, but not all. The equipment is much like FDM 3D printers, with some differences. How finely should we diagnose the nature of the problem before deciding if it is on topic?</p>

<p><strong>I say allow them.</strong> </p> <p>To let you know what's out there, I work at <a href="http://hyrel3d.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hyrel</a>. </p> <p>Our printers can take <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0lvN-aPYHI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">spindle (milling) heads and additional axes</a>, and even <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OceUiuTixPA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">diode</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/FnYDoNkgOrI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CO2 lasers</a>, and they all operate on the same gcode - we tell people E is for Emit as well as Extrude. We even have a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azFY-IqDB_0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">TIG welding</a> attachment. </p> <p>We also run our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIGeQmXNbNE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Fadal CNC machines</a> on our printer software and firmware. </p> <p>To many people this is a natural progression for a well-built 3D positioning system, and I encourage a broader definition.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Should we really close this question: <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10200/3d-printer-part-clones-from-china-legality">3d printer part clones from china - legality</a>..? </p> <p>Are legal questions on topic? We have a legal section in the <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/276/game-plan-what-is-on-topic">Game plan - What is on-topic?</a> and a <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/legal" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;legal&#39;" rel="tag">legal</a> tag.</p>

<p><strong>I say allow them.</strong> </p> <p>To let you know what's out there, I work at <a href="http://hyrel3d.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hyrel</a>. </p> <p>Our printers can take <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0lvN-aPYHI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">spindle (milling) heads and additional axes</a>, and even <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OceUiuTixPA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">diode</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/FnYDoNkgOrI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CO2 lasers</a>, and they all operate on the same gcode - we tell people E is for Emit as well as Extrude. We even have a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azFY-IqDB_0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">TIG welding</a> attachment. </p> <p>We also run our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIGeQmXNbNE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Fadal CNC machines</a> on our printer software and firmware. </p> <p>To many people this is a natural progression for a well-built 3D positioning system, and I encourage a broader definition.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>We should do some tag maintenance, especially regarding printers to make them easier to read. Use an answer to propose a change, merge or split. Discussions for each change should go into the comments of each change.</p> <p>Some things are easier than others: </p> <ul> <li><strong>Renaming</strong> a tag can be done with mod tools.</li> <li><strong>Alias/Synonyms</strong> are reasonably quick, often follow along renaming</li> <li>Some tags need <strong>manual (separation)</strong>. Sifting through what is and what isn't this tag has to be done to separate the stuff. It can be noisy to the front site but has to be done.</li> </ul>

<h1>Laundry list:</h1> <h2>Open</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/438">e3d</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/436">Creality</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/434">Filled PLA</a></li> </ul> <h2>Done</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/431">Anet</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/435">Flashforge</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/432">Ultimaker</a> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/437">Ultimaker 1</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/433">Cura</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/445">Monoprice</a></li> </ul>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Every time I write "Cura" in a question or answer, it gets edited to "Ultimaker Cura", <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/10940/11157">most recently</a> resulting in awkward verbose repetition that required additional edits to fix. I don't see any justification for requiring use of official verbose names for software products that can be clearly identified by a well-known shorter name. For example on computing SE sites we don't force users to write "Microsoft Windows" or "Redhat Linux" in contexts where "Windows" or "Redhat" would be understood. And even on this site I don't recall every mention of "Ender 3" getting edited into "Creality Ender 3".</p> <p>Is such a policy (it's effectively a policy, since it's enforced by edits made by a moderator) appropriate for this site?</p> <p>For what it's worth, as a new-ish contributor to this SE site, having nitpicky edits to all of my posts does not make me feel welcome and appreciated.</p>

<h1>Laundry list:</h1> <h2>Open</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/438">e3d</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/436">Creality</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/434">Filled PLA</a></li> </ul> <h2>Done</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/431">Anet</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/435">Flashforge</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/432">Ultimaker</a> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/437">Ultimaker 1</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/433">Cura</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/445">Monoprice</a></li> </ul>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Half a year passed since <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/430/tag-maintenance-summer-2019">Tag Maintenance Summer 2019</a>. A lot was done, some wasn't, so cleanup and rinse and repeat: Let's do some tag maintenance, especially regarding printers to make them easier to read. Use an answer to propose a change, merge or split. Discussions for each change should go into the comments of each change.</p> <p>Some things are easier than others: </p> <ul> <li><strong>Renaming</strong> a tag can be done with mod tools.</li> <li><strong>Alias/Synonyms</strong> are reasonably quick, often follow along renaming</li> <li>Some tags need <strong>manual (separation)</strong>. Sifting through what is and what isn't this tag has to be done to separate the stuff. It can be noisy to the front site but has to be done.</li> </ul>

<h1>Laundry list:</h1> <h2>Open</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/458/8884">Filled PLA</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/459/8884">Repair vs. Maintenance</a></li> </ul> <h2>Done</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/456/8884">e3d</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/455/8884">Monoprice</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/457/8884">Creality</a></li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/a/460/8884">Prusa</a></li> </ul>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>As the question states, should <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/bed" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;bed&#39;" rel="tag">bed</a> and <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/build-plate" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;build-plate&#39;" rel="tag">build-plate</a> be merged? Basically, both tags refer to the same part of the printer; <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/bed" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;bed&#39;" rel="tag">bed</a> should be a synonym for <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/build-plate" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;build-plate&#39;" rel="tag">build-plate</a>.</p>

<p>It should not be about merging of tags, rather we should come up with a proper terminology to identify the correct parts of the &quot;build platform&quot;.</p> <p>Basically, every printer consists of a frame with some sort of guide rails¹ moving a carriage. On this carriage a build surface is attached where the printer prints the print on; it is always the top of the stack. Note that this can be e.g. a moving Y-axis² or moving Z-axis carriage³. In some cases the carriage is missing and there is just a static mounting, then it's a platform instead⁴. It is basically irrelevant if the build surface is glued to the stack or removeable in some way or another.</p> <p>Between the carriage and the build surface you can have have a stack of multiple elements: a structure or structures, a plate, plates or matts, insulation, etc. This <strong>whole</strong> assembly of elements make up the build platform, an example is shown below.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/M3xCs.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/M3xCs.png" alt="Proposed build platform terminology" /></a></p> <p>Note that the linear support can be mounted in Y or Z direction. To tag the elements that make up the <em>build platform assembly</em>, a proposed solution can consist of the following terms for subassemblies:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/z-axis" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;z-axis&#39;" rel="tag">z-axis</a> or <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/y-axis" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;y-axis&#39;" rel="tag">y-axis</a> in combination with <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/carriage" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;carriage&#39;" rel="tag">carriage</a>,</li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/platform" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;platform&#39;" rel="tag">platform</a> (to support printers that have a solid platform, e.g. Hyrel/Delta)</li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/heated-bed" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;heated-bed&#39;" rel="tag">heated-bed</a> (aluminium bed or a silicone matt), which can have a</li> <li><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/glass-print-surface" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;glass-print-surface&#39;" rel="tag">glass-print-surface</a>, <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/pei-print-surface" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;pei-print-surface&#39;" rel="tag">pei-print-surface</a>, <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/buildtak-print-surface" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;buildtak-print-surface&#39;" rel="tag">buildtak-print-surface</a>, etc. possibly augmented with the additional tag of <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/removeable-print-surface" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;removeable-print-surface&#39;" rel="tag">removeable-print-surface</a> or <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/magnetic-print-surface" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;magnetic-print-surface&#39;" rel="tag">magnetic-print-surface</a>.</li> </ul> <h2>Annotations</h2> <ol> <li>The rails often take the shape of rods and bearings, linear rails of V-slot profile.</li> <li>Carthesian Portal or Cantilever printers</li> <li>CoreXY like the Hypercube</li> <li>Delta Printers</li> </ol>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Several questions are related to first layer calibration or issues: I found 43 of them with "first layer" in the title alone, 150 with "first layer" anywhere (no duplicates).</p> <p>I propose adding a "first-layer" tag to more easily retrieve said questions.</p> <p>I already applied it to my latest question without thinking about it, but I can remove it if desired.</p>

<p>I think the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/adhesion" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;adhesion&#39;" rel="tag">adhesion</a> tag should be used instead.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I've just noticed this Meta post, <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/364007/280335">Testing three-vote close and reopen on 13 network sites</a> and I wondered whether we should employ it here, and what do other people think?</p> <p>We are a smallish site, with a smallish number of active users (although it isn't <em>that</em> small, and is slowly growing over time, it should be noted). We don't have a problem with review queues building up <em>except</em> with the close votes. Some questions do seem to hang around for a while in the close queue.</p> <p>The problem with the close vote review queue requiring 5 votes when there is a <em>limited</em> number of active reviewers (where two of which are moderators) is this: If a moderator votes, then the question is automatically closed, even if there aren't 5 votes - if a moderator casts the first vote to close then the question is closed straight away, without waiting for another four votes - so the vote is not democratic, but instead, dictatorial in nature. As such, moderators tend to not vote, unless the question blatantly needs closing (i.e. spam, vulgarity, etc.).</p> <p>There are ways around this problem:</p> <ul> <li>sock puppets (moderators have a fake account to cast votes only in the review queue), or;</li> <li>waiting for four votes and then a moderator casting the fifth vote (or waiting for three votes and then moderators agreeing (behind the scenes) to cast the final two votes, etc.)</li> </ul> <p>However, these aren't ideal, and just shortening the queue might make things better. This need not be a permanent change, I guess, so if this site, for some reason, eventually exploded in popularity, the review queue <em>could</em> go back to five votes (but I'm not 100 % sure about that, see the SE.Meta post above to check).</p> <p>So... should SE.3DP jump on the &quot;three votes to close&quot; train? Or are things OK as they are? What do other users think? <em>Please</em> leave a comment or answer.</p> <p>To make things super simple, and if you don't have time to write a comment or answer, you can just vote on the <strong>Yes</strong> answer or the <strong>No</strong> answer.</p> <h3>End of voting date</h3> <p>To give this vote an end point, and not make it so opened-ended, I guess we should tally a &quot;final&quot; vote on the 1^st July 2021 - which is May 6 (trial start date) plus 45 days (length of trial) plus a little bit more. As we can't join the trial halfway through, there isn't much point to tallying up the votes before that.</p> <p>At that point Catija will be sent the results.</p>

<h2>Yes, we should have a <em>three</em> vote close question review queue</h2>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>We got <a href="https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/314/can-we-get-mathjax-enabled">MathJax enabled</a>. Today I learned that there is even more! We could have <a href="https://worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/9710/can-we-extend-mhchem-support-in-mathjax-to-include-physical-units?cb=1"><strong>support for Physical units</strong> enabled as part of the mhchem package</a>! We use physical units <strong>a lot</strong> and demand the SI formatting. Let me quote from Worldbuilding:</p> <blockquote> <p>Chemistry Stack Exchange is obviously the main consumer of this feature and has a <a href="https://worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/9710/can-we-extend-mhchem-support-in-mathjax-to-include-physical-units?cb=1">nice FAQ on its use</a>. The chemists get two things that we don't:</p> <ul> <li><code>\require{mhchem}</code> is implicit... you get support automatically without having to require it explicitly.</li> <li>They get physical unit formatting via <code>$\pu{273.15 K}$</code>, which currently renders as a grumpy error on WB.SE and WB meta that looks [with only mhchem enabled] like this <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/NyXoU.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/NyXoU.png" alt="mathjax markup error" /></a></li> </ul> </blockquote> <p><strong>Can we have that too? Pretty please?</strong> I am tired of having to type <code>$273.15\ \text{K}$</code> and such, especially if it is complex things in the unit!</p>

<p>The deed is done. Behold! In all its glory:</p> <p><span class="math-container">$$\pu{273.15 K}$$</span></p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>When I've printed an object I've had to choose between high resolution and quick prints. What techniques or technologies can I use or deploy to speed up my high resolution prints?</p>

<p>You could experiment with slicing. For example, you might not need high resolution all over the object, but you can speed up some straight parts by using greater layer high there. See a <a href="http://manual.slic3r.org/expert-mode/variable-layer-height">part of Slic3r manual</a> about such thing.</p> <p>It is also possible to print thicker infill every Nth layer, see <a href="http://manual.slic3r.org/expert-mode/infill-optimization">Infill optimization</a> in Slic3r.</p> <p>Other slicers might have those features as well.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I would like to buy a 3D printer, but I'm concerned about the health risks that are associated with its operation. Some groups of scientists say it can be <a href="http://www.techworld.com/news/personal-tech/scientists-warn-of-3d-printing-health-effects-as-tech-hits-high-street-3460992/">harmful</a> for humans.</p> <p>What do I need to consider before buying a 3D printer if I care about my health? Are there any safe printers?</p>

<p>Almost all 3D printers have issues that could cause health problems.</p> <p>FDM/FFF printers heat plastic to a temperature that may cause it to off-gas, and these byproducts may not be healthy.</p> <p>SLA printers often use epoxies that may off-gas, or may be somewhat toxic prior to being cured.</p> <p>Powder based printers can also off-gas, in addition to the powder itself presenting a possible hazard.</p> <p>Many hobbyist and small companies dance around the problem, and suggest that the machines always be used in well ventillated areas. Professional machines often have filters and ventillation systems built in.</p> <p>Rather than trying to find a "perfectly safe" 3D printer, spend some time deciding what you want to use one for, find printers suitable for your use, and expect that you'll need to provide reasonable ventilation for almost any printer. Plan your installation for that, and you should be able to make any printer safe for your required use.</p> <p>If, however, you plan on setting up a printer farm with many printers, and plan to have yourself or others spend significant time operating them, I suggest you work with a health and safety professional and have them identify possible hazards and plan mitigation.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I know the minimum layer height will effect how detailed of an item you can print and the amount of time it takes to print something, but is it necessary to have an extremely low minimum layer height if you plan to print only larger objects?</p>

<p>As with any manufacturing process, you'll need to learn to "use the right tool for the job". It depends on the requirements of the part. To answer your question, I would suggest using a larger layer height for the sheer fact of reducing print time on larger objects.</p> <p>However, it depends on the part and how small the details are on the part. If your part has sharp edges that are required for the proper functionality of the part, then you'll want to use a smaller layer height. Or if your part fits into another part, you'll probably want to use a smaller layer height.</p> <p>Another variable might be whether or not post-processing is necessary. Is this part going to be purposefully printed larger/rougher with the idea to use a Dremel later to smooth everything out? If yes, then use a larger layer height.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Plastic is used in 3D FDM/FFF printing partly because it had a wide temperature range for its glass state - where it can be flowed with some force, but won't flow due only to gravity.</p> <p>Most metals have a very narrow, or non-existant, glass state. They transition from solid to liquid with almost no flowable-but-not-liquid state.</p> <p>Are there any metals or alloys that display a glass transition state?</p>

<p>I"m no expert on this, but the article at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphous_metal" rel="noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphous_metal</a> may be relevant for you.</p> <p>There are some special alloys, such as gold/silicon and various titanium-based ones, that become "bulk metal glasses" if cooled extremely quickly (for example, by sputtering onto a spinning cold surface). The speed of cooling prevents crystal formation. Early BMGs were quite strong but brittle; improvements have reduced brittleness and required cooling speed.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>What are the main differences when using ABS over PLA and vice versa?</p>

<p>Paraphrasing <a href="http://www.protoparadigm.com/news-updates/the-difference-between-abs-and-pla-for-3d-printing/">this</a> site. Feel free to add suggestions in the form of comments and I will try to incorporate them.</p> <p>Summary</p> <ul> <li>ABS: Stronger, machinable, more flexible, and more temperature resistant than PLA. Typically printed on a heated bed. Warping is a common problem when printing ABS.</li> <li>PLA: Wider range of filaments available, easier and in some cases faster to print. Not as strong as ABS and the fact that its biodegradable could be seen as both a benefit and a drawback.</li> </ul> <p>Material Properties:</p> <ul> <li>ABS: Strong plastic with mild flexibility. Naturally beige in color. Can be filled and sanded. Higher temperature. Easy to recycle.</li> <li>PLA: Not as strong as ABS but more rigid. Naturally transparent. More difficult to fill and sand. Can sag in hot temperatures. Sourced from organic matter so it can be broken down in commercial compost facilities.</li> </ul> <p>Part Accuracy:</p> <ul> <li>ABS: Part warping is a significant issue. Sharp corners will often be rounded.</li> <li>PLA: Less heat required contributes to less warping. Becomes more liquid at common extruder temperatures so finer details can be printed.</li> </ul> <p>Safety and Handling:</p> <ul> <li>ABS: Strong burning/melting plastic smell is present when printing ABS. Health concerns have been raised regarding airborne ultrafine particles generated while printing with ABS (<a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.atmosenv.2013.06.050">ref</a>). ABS will absorb moisture causing popping when the moisture enters the hot end. This leads to discontinuities in the print job.</li> <li>PLA: Doesn't smell as strongly when printing due to its organic nature. Moisture can also be absorbed into PLA and can irreversibly damage it.</li> </ul>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>My MakerBot printer supports only two filaments at the same time.</p> <p>What are techniques to print objects with more than two colors for one object?</p>

<p>The most obvious solution is to pause the print and swap filament for another color.</p> <p>Another option is to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdlqGR5n9Zk">splice pieces of filament</a> together, though this does not allow very precise control of when the switch happens. There is also a device that can automatically slice filament this way.</p> <p>Finally, another option that uses very little external equipment is to <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Coloring_filament">use (permanent) markers to colorize light-colored filament</a>.</p> <p>Other options include upgrading to a printer with more hotends, or installing a hotend with multiple filament inputs and one outputs, but these options would involve significantly changing your printer setup.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I'd like to print modifications for my bird feeder, both to patch over the hail damage from last summer and to try to deter the neighborhood squirrels. I have an FDM printer (and experience with nylon, ABS, and PLA, though don't restrict answers to those if there's something else that's better), what kind of filament would stand up best to daily exposure to sun, rain, snow, etc?</p>

<p>PET(G) is a strong contender. It is very strong and water-resistant, and as such is often used to make pop bottles.</p> <p>PLA has a reputation for being "biodegradable" and therefore it is often discouraged to use PLA outside and/or in contact with water. However, PLA only biodegrades under very specific conditions which it won't generally be exposed to so it can be used (though, as a harder and less flexible material it is more likely to be damaged by hail).</p> <p>ABS and Nylon are good choices as well. Basically, any plastic you have on hand will last for years, even in an outside application.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>The surfaces of my printed parts using PLA plastic look rough and uneven.</p> <p>Would changing filament to a better one make any difference?</p> <p>If not, what kind of methods can I use to achieve a smoother finish for my for 3D-printed objects?</p>

<p>Your two easiest options are dipping your print in acetone or giving it an acetone vapor bath. Note this process generally only works with <strong>ABS</strong> not <strong>PLA</strong>, with the exception of some brands. There are <a href="http://fabsterdam.com/3dprinting/smoothing-pla/" rel="noreferrer">many</a> <a href="http://fabsterdam.com/3dprinting/smooooooth/" rel="noreferrer">articles</a> <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/community/10412-acetone-finishing-on-pla" rel="noreferrer">online</a> where you can learn more about the process.</p> <p>Aside from finishing, you will generally get a smoother looking end result by <strong>lowering the layer thickness</strong>, and <strong>removing any hysteresis/wobble</strong> in your print head making sure it's well calibrated.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>With an ABS or PLA extrusion 3D printer, are there any potentially negative quality differences that could occur if I try to print at a higher resolution?</p> <p>I am not concerned about print time as the equipment is not under high demand. I am, however, worried the device may be more prone to fracture, likely to have defects, or have other issues I cannot currently imagine.</p>

<p>The biggest effect I've see on resolution is due to plastic stress due to thermal gradients.</p> <p>The higher resolution prints build up more layers of material, and each layer has a cumulative effect on thermal stress. The upper layers pulling up more as they cool, and the lower layers curling up more strongly as the layer count is increased.</p> <p>To counteract this, a heated (or even just a draft free) enclosure makes a big difference. Having a heated print bed helps significantly, as long as the bed itself resists deformation (a sheet metal or PCB bed will bend more than glass under the same tension, for instance).</p> <p>The actual plastic strength, however, appears increased. Laying down thinner layers of material appears to increase the bond strength between layers.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I would like to print parts (e.g. jewellery) for use which I don't want to look or feel like a plastic, but metal-like, so briefly people won't see much difference.</p> <p>Are there any specific type of home-printers that can achieve that? Or it's rather kind of filament that you should use?</p>

<p>If you'd like to print on RepRap like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_deposition_modeling" rel="nofollow noreferrer">FDM printers</a>, you cannot print from metal, but you can use some filament that tries to look like metal. I have good experience with <a href="http://colorfabb.com/bronzefill" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bronzefill</a>, but there are plenty of others, just Google for <em>metal filament 3d printing</em>. Note that sometimes the parts need to be post-processed with a <em>rock tumbler</em>. There are <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/tag:rock_tumbler" rel="nofollow noreferrer">several open source DIY tumblers</a> you can build and use.</p> <p>If you actually want to print from metal, you would need SLS (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Selective laser sintering</a>) printer, which is much more expensive.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I am aware of several "clear" filaments for a ABS or PLA printer. They, however, have a cloudy or frosted glass appearance. I do not believe this is possible to eliminate but I believe it can be reduced.</p> <p>Are there effective ways to make a print have a more transparent appearance?</p>

<p>Use Taulman t-glase and after a light sanding with really fine paper (optional really, but go for it if you can), spray it with polyurethane varnish or something similar. Check out the article <a href="http://3dprint.com/29292/taulman-hacks-clear-t-glase-3d-printing-material/">here</a>.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>My printed parts consist rafts, supports and other extraneous filament when printing with ABS or PLA.</p> <p>What are efficient general techniques of removing them?</p>

<p>The best way to get rid of them is to change the design of the printed object to make them unnecessary.</p> <p>Instead of printing the one part with support material, the piece can be split into two or more parts which can be printed without support material and assembled after the printing.</p> <hr> <p>Given that this is not always fully possible, a convenient way to get rid of additional structures is to use a different fillament for them that can be removed easily. <a href="https://www.matterhackers.com/3d-printer-filament-compare">This list of printing materials</a> includes Polyvinyl Acetate (<strong>PVA</strong>), which is water soluble. You can wash the support material away given that your actual printign material is not water soluble. Here's a quote from the website (emphasize mine):</p> <blockquote> <p>PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate) filament prints translucent with a slightly yellow tint and is <strong>primarily used as a 3D printing support material</strong> because it is water-soluble, meaning that <strong>it will dissolve when exposed to water</strong> (and so MUST be kept dry prior to use). PVA is most often used with 3D printers capable of dual extrusion: one extruder printing a primary material (such as ABS or PLA) and the other printing this dissolvable filament to provide support for overhanging features. PVA 3D printer filament is available in 1.75mm and 3mm.</p> </blockquote>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I would like to understand the differences between rafts, skirts and brims. They appear in the software which I'm using to edit my 3D objects.</p> <p>Can anybody elaborate what are these and what are the main differences between them?</p>

<p>All three of these features are used to improve the quality and success rate of prints, especially those failing due to issues on the first few layers, or due to the small size of the first layer.</p> <h1>Raft</h1> <p>A raft is a horizontal feature made as the first few layers of a print, and is used to help with bed adhesion issues, primarily used with ABS. The first few layers printed are the brim (typically prismatic), with the part itself on top of it (with a small separation distance to aid in separation, to allow the part to be removed from the raft). This separation distance needs to be adjusted to allow the first layer of the actual part to adhere, but also for the raft to be removed easily.</p> <h1>Skirt</h1> <p>A skirt is a single-layer feature designed to help extruder priming and to establish a stable filament flow for an optimal first layer. They are generally a few passes around the first layer &quot;footprint&quot; in the rough shape of the first layer, but they do not touch the part itself or help adhesion directly (although having a primed and ready extruder helps extrusion on its own).</p> <h1>Brim</h1> <p>A brim can be considered a skirt touching the first layer shape. It is used to help adhesion, and increases the first layer surface area (thus having more area to adhere to the bed). Brims are best used for parts with small first layers that fail to adhere properly. They are generally done as perimeters (as opposed to the crosshatching of infill) to be easily removable without damaging the part.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I've acquired all the parts to build a Reprap Prusa i3 rework, the only missing part is the frame. </p> <p>I'm in doubt between a MDF cut (cheaper) or acrylic (more expensive), of course a cheaper one is my preferred option until I see any disadvantage on making it of wood. </p> <p>I thought about variables like heat and humidity and the possibility of expansion/contraction of the frame, is this a valid concern? Will I have more precision buying the acrylic one or is it irrelevant?</p>

<p>Generally speaking, MDF will weather OK. In areas of high humidity you might experience warpage, but you can mitigate that by sealing the surface with paint or varnish. However you will probably find that of the two materials, acrylic will be more stable over a few years.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>There is a 3D desktop printer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RepRap_project">RepRap</a> which can print most of its own components.</p> <p>Assuming each printed printer will print the next one and so on. Are there any limitation how many times this can be achieved?</p> <p>For example somebody printed for me printer and I do the same for my friends and they do the same for theirs. Can this go forever (since 3D model stays the same), or there are any serious side-effects/disadvantages of doing that continuously?</p>

<p>The files used to print these objects are digital, and do not degrade in any way after each printing. There are no side effects or degradation that occurs over time due simply to printing them multiple times.</p> <p>This is the RepRap philosophy, and the machines are actually designed with enough tolerance for printing and building mistakes that even if the print isn't perfect, it will not only work fine, but it can print a printer better than it was printed, with some care and attention to calibration.</p> <p>The process still takes a lot of human intervention, in the way of building the new printer and properly calibrating it. If there are errors in the printer or the prints it produces, they can almost always be attributed to the builder/calibrator/user, and not to the design or the fact it's the Nth generation of printer.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>On a number of occasions I've broken small plastic parts that are nearly impossible to replace but could easily be 3-D printed. The latest such mishap is the volume knob on the factory-installed radio on my car. </p> <p>I have little experience in 3D printing, and would like to be able to replace these parts with something very close to the original. Spending hours measuring and designing a replacement part that should be $5 isn't really an option. I need something to scan the broken pieces in 3D and somehow just seal up the seam where it's broken.</p> <p>Is there a scanning/printing/software system to do this that doesn't require a lot of 3D design experience?</p>

<p>The easiest way is as you currently do: model the pieces by hand, using (digital) calipers to measure them.</p> <p>Scanning technology isn't very good, and the models are not of printable quality. Usually, fixing a scan is more work than modeling an item from scratch.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I have a few kg of 3&nbsp;mm filament when I only have use for 1.75&nbsp;mm.</p> <p>How can I make 1.75&nbsp;mm from 3&nbsp;mm filament?</p>

<p>The best option is to find somebody in need of 3&nbsp;mm filament and trade them for it (either in exchange for 1.75&nbsp;mm filament or in exchange for legal tender with which to buy said filament).</p> <p>The next best option would be to cut it into small pieces, and feed those into a filament extrusion system such as the <a href="http://www.filastruder.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">filastruder</a>.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I am printing a print using PLA on a Prusa i3 printer and an MK8 extruder, at 210 degrees celsius, 60 mm/sec, sliced with slic3r. The print consists of a base, with 4 tower-like projections that then join with a near-vertical overhang slope that isn't posing a problem for my printer.</p> <p>However, even before the overhang begins, I am getting large amounts of strings as the extruder head jumps between the four towers in the print, leading to a "spiderweb" effect between them. How can I deal with these strings, and are they a warning that there might be something amiss with my printer, or possible other failures in other parts of the print?</p>

<p>Stringing is often a result of too-high a temperature, or insufficient retraction. When there is highly liquid filament in the nozzle tip, it can adhere to the remainder of the print while dripping as the nozzle moves, leading to a thin string of the filament forming. As further travel moves are performed in each layer, this turns to a web.</p> <p>The high temperature causes filament to be very liquid, causing it to move downward in the nozzle chamber easily, as opposed to having to be extruded forcefully due to viscosity. The temperature setpoint of 210 was high enough to cause this to happen.</p> <p>A second possible cause, insufficient retraction, can also be blamed for this issue. Retraction is a process in which the extruder reverses its movement to pull filament back up the hotend, preventing it from dripping at the tip, and forming a string. Most slicers will allow specifying a numeric value in millimeters of filament to be retracted. Remember that printers with Bowden tubes between nozzle/hotend and extruder motor will require increased retraction and priming (extrusion when starting to print after a retract-and-move). Note that too much retraction can cause other problems, such as insufficient plastic in the hotend chamber at the start of the next printing move, which can cause gaps and other issues.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I want to print a model of an animal cell.</p> <p>What I have so far: I managed to use different colors to print out the different parts of the cell.<br> My question is: what is the best way to connect plastic 3d printed parts?<br> Glue? Melted plastic? I need it to have a strong connection and not very visible when used well, and preferable dries fast.</p>

<p>For ABS print, I recommend <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone" rel="nofollow">acetone</a>. It is not a glue, but it will dissolve the plastic a bit and if you apply it to both connecting parts and push them together, they will stay connected after the acetone dries. However, it does not dry very fast and you have to be careful not to destroy the object.</p> <p>For PLA I usually use regular super glue (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate" rel="nofollow">Cyanoacrylate</a>).</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Is it possible to re-use ABS or PLA filament material from printed parts?</p> <p>If so, what is the techniques to reform it?</p>

<p>There are a few options.</p> <ol> <li>Machines are available which grind the used plastic into fine pieces, melt it down, and extrude it as filament to be reused. <a href="http://www.filabot.com/">Filabot</a> is perhaps the most well known.</li> <li>Depending on where you live the local recycling programs may accept PLA or ABS. They will then shred it and melt it down for reuse.</li> <li>PLA is bio-degradable so you can put it in the compost.</li> <li>I put scrap ABS in acetone which results in a slurry which can be used as a glue to attach ABS parts, fix cracks, and hold parts to the bed.</li> </ol>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I print ABS on a LulzBot Taz 5 and frequently have issues with the corners of objects lifting off the bed.</p> <p>My extruder is at 230&nbsp;°C and the bed is at 90&nbsp;°C for the first layer and 100&nbsp;°C for the rest of the layers.</p> <p>I have experimented with using ABS slurry (ABS + acetone) on the bed for increased adhesion, building a foam enclosure for the printer, and varying the fan speed. I have noticed the problem is more common the taller the parts are and the sharper the corner is.</p> <p>Adding ABS slurry helped for smaller parts (less than an inch tall) but with my more recent larger parts the adhesion to the bed was so good that the corners of the part lifting actually peeled the PEI tape off of the bed.</p> <p>I have tried using both a skirt and a brim with no change. The skirt stays on the bed, the brim gets pulled up with the corner.</p>

<p>The solution I prefer to prevent ABS withdrawal is using <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/BlueTape" rel="noreferrer">Blue tape</a> on the bed, and then spread a thin layer of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_acetate" rel="noreferrer">Polyvinyl acetate</a> (Vinavil glue). </p> <p>If your printer allows it, you can also print with the bed at 110°C.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Taken from the <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/60/47">answer provided by @EricJohnson</a>,</p> <p>When should I use a raft, and when should I use a brim? What advantages does each have over the other?</p> <p>Raft <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/rOghM.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/rOghM.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>Brim <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/9MnlZ.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/9MnlZ.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>A raft helps when the part has few points of contact with the print bed, and doesn't therefore adhere well at points within and without the part.</p> <p>A brim helps when the part doesn't adhere well around the perimeter of the part.</p> <p>There are very rare situations where you'll need both, but typically you'll only use one or the other.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I made a test print for a small gear (~ 1.5 inches in diameter) a few months ago, with a hole through the center. On the first try, the filament (ABS) fused to the print bed, meaning that I had to spend ten minutes scraping off material to loosen it. One solution to this is to use painter's tape spread across the print bed.</p> <p>This yielded a good print during the next run. The problem with this method was that some of the tape subsequently fused to the backside of the gear; it was so tight that I had to discard the prototype. Multiple varieties of tape made no difference.</p> <p>Is there a way to continue using this tape without having it fuse to the filament?</p>

<p>This can highly depend on the slicer you are using. Some software such as Makerware and Slic3r allow you to adjust the settings for the first raft/part layers. I might suggest adjusting this "Z0" point to about 1/4-1/2 of your layer height. Essentially the first layer (or two) will not adhere as well.</p> <p>This is just one suggestion of many solutions. Here are some other variables I could think of off-hand:</p> <ul> <li>Type of build plate tape (ie masking, painters, kapton, etc.)</li> <li>Type of material. I've noticed that PLA is very stubborn if you let the part completely cool after printing and that it's much easier to remove the part from the build plate/raft right after it's complete.</li> <li>Type of build plate. Are you applying too much heat (if you have a heated bp) for the material such as PLA?</li> <li>Try lowering your layer height. This will ensure that each strand does not have too much surface area and therefore less chance that it will create a vacuum affect with the build plate. This can, however, result in a worse surface finish.</li> </ul>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Acetone can be used to smooth ABS prints. What safety precautions should be taken during its use?</p>

<p>There are a few main safety precautions you should consider.</p> <ul> <li><strong><a href="http://sinkhacks.com/building-acetone-vapor-bath-smoothing-3d-printed-parts/" rel="nofollow">Make sure the area is well-ventilated.</a></strong> Acetone is flammable. A buildup of acetone gas could quickly get concentrated, meaning that a single spark could lead to disaster. Using a fan is good; angle it towards an open window. This is also to prevent exposure to acetone because of its toxicity.</li> <li><strong><a href="http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927062" rel="nofollow">Be prepared to fight a fire.</a></strong> Should vapor ignite, you may need to fight the fire. If it is large enough, then you should clearly evacuate the area. If it appears to be small, use dry chemical powder to snuff out the fire. Alcohol foam, water spray, and/or fog may be used on slightly larger fires. Acetone is not likely to cause a large inferno to rip through the building. But there's always the chance of a small fire. Be careful.</li> <li><strong><a href="https://rivercitylabs.org/acetone-smoothing-chamber-3d-printing/" rel="nofollow">Create a vapor chamber.</a></strong> This is another way to stop a potential fire from spreading. It can also reduce contamination.</li> <li><strong>Wear gloves.</strong> This can minimize any potential transfer toxic effects. However, skin exposure is unlikely to cause major issues.</li> </ul> <p>Acetone is toxic, as I mentioned before, but it is not highly toxic. Exposure via <a href="http://ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/acetone.html" rel="nofollow">the eyes and nose/mouth</a> is the main risk. Skin effects may occur (e.g. mild irritation), but they are minor and generally arise only after long-term exposure (hence the recommendation of gloves in some cases).</p> <p>Acetone exposure is only a serious problem when a person is repeatedly exposed to levels <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/67641.html" rel="nofollow">greater than 1,000 ppm</a> (severe effects only arise at much higher levels). It seems unlikely, given a proper ventilation system, that this will be an issue</p> <p>In addition to all this, basic safety precautions such as wearing a ventilator mask and goggles should definitely be taken. When working with any such chemicals with the potential for bodily harm, these should absolutely be used.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I would like to print multiple parts continuously (non-interactively), so I can leave the printer alone for a longer time. So after finish, parts could be moved somehow out from the printing area, so the next can start.</p> <p>Are there any methods of achieving that with standard desktop printers without having to use multiple printers?</p>

<p>The only thing I can think of off hand is an old mod for the early MakerBot machines. It first was released for the Thing-O'-Matic I believe, but is compatible with Replicator 1 machines (and its knock-offs). Here's the <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4056" rel="noreferrer">Thingiverse page</a>, but look up Automatic Build Plate.</p> <p>Essentially, you can use the Replicator G slicing program and there is a setting for "ABP" or Automatic Build Plate. This will basically tell the ABP to run its routine after the controller receives the response that the printing program is done and roll the finished part off the edge of the build plate, then start the same program over again.</p> <p>Drawbacks:</p> <ul> <li>I don't think it's easily compatible with newer machines/slicers. But, it's open source</li> <li>Pretty sure you have to use Replicator G, which is outdated now and may make your machine sound like it's going to fall apart (I know from experience)</li> </ul> <p>Going off of @Pete's answer about solenoids. It reminded me that someone integrated a <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:872617" rel="noreferrer">solenoid "ejector"</a> (aka Boxing Glove) for their machine.</p> <p>Update (06/08/2016):</p> <p>Forgot to mention that if you choose to create your own "Boxing Glove" or conveyor belt, some software such as Octo-Pi and Repetier-Host allow plugins. So, you could interface with your hardware via customized code and integrate the functionality directly into the slicing application for the full closed loop operation.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>For standard ABS and PLA filament, most distributors recommend storing the filament in an airtight bag. Does not doing this actually make print quality worse? I have left mine in the open for a year and have had no noticeable problems.</p>

<p><strong>Humidity may be the problem.</strong></p> <p><a href="http://3dprint.com/68083/airtight-filament-delivery/" rel="nofollow">Humidity tends to degrade filament, making it weaker.</a> If you leave a coil of filament out, over time it will be exposed to humidity. I have yet to hear of this happening over a short period of time - the real threat comes if you leave it out for weeks or months - but it can happen nonetheless.</p> <p>Contamination with other materials is possible but unlikely. The odds of some sort of impurity developing from nearby particles is extremely low unless the filament is actively exposed to some other material.</p> <p>In most cases, though, things should be just fine.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I want to fabricate a sample holder and shadow masks to use in vacuum chambers. The type of printing material is not important to me PLA/ABS/PC-ABS/nylon).</p> <p>I'm worried that 3d printed objects (FDM) would degas under high vacuum. Is that an actual concern?</p>

<p>Almost all of the FDM materials outgas even at normal atmospheric pressure, and, in fact, most plastics outgas. Further, FDM and many other printing processes do not guarantee no internal voids - meaning that putting a 3D printed object into a vacuum may result in breakage, cracking, and possible explosion hazards.</p> <p>For this reason I would focus only on SLA, as the model is printed within the liquid resin pool and should have a reduced possibility of internal voids.</p> <p>Finding a resin that has a low out-gas rate after curing, though, is still going to be difficult. </p> <p>For this to be answered more completely, you need to specify your tolerable outgassing rate, and the processes used inside the vacuum chamber. For instance the answer would be completely different if you are discussing an electron microscope vs a sputtering chamber. As a start you might consider companies that specialize in <a href="http://www.boedeker.com/outgas.htm">engineered materials intended for vacuum use</a>. They may be able to provide guidance as to which of their materials might be 3D printed and usable in your setup.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I have a 3d printer that uses ABS filament. The software I use will generate vertical supports for my objects before printing that can be easily broken off after they have been used during print to hold sharp angles up that would normally fall.</p> <p>After breaking off the stints, the print is far from smooth. Is there a material that is best suited for "sanding" down prints without damaging the print?</p>

<p>I use normal wet/dry sandpaper and it works just fine. If I remember correctly, I usually start with 220 and then work my way up to 400, 600, and 800.</p> <p>There are also foam or rubber sanding pads available that work really well when you're sanding something organically shaped.</p> <p>The grits you start and finish with will depend on how rough your surface is.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I'm going to 3D print a part that needs to meet certain strength requirements, due to its usages. I know how strong a particular plastic (eg. comrpessive/tensile/shear strength) is when dealt with in a solid chunk, but not when it is 3D printed. What is a good way to estimate the change?</p>

<p>I use normal wet/dry sandpaper and it works just fine. If I remember correctly, I usually start with 220 and then work my way up to 400, 600, and 800.</p> <p>There are also foam or rubber sanding pads available that work really well when you're sanding something organically shaped.</p> <p>The grits you start and finish with will depend on how rough your surface is.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>When you add a raft in Slic3r, the first layer of the raft prints at the first layer speed. After the raft is finished, the first layer of the print prints at the standard speed. How can I make the first layer of the actual print slow down to the first layer speed?</p>

<p>This is still work in progress, and here is what I have so far, but first:</p> <p><strong>A useful alternative for similar problems:</strong></p> <p>A problem very similar to this would be to use different settings for different parts of a model in Slic3r. For most settings, this can be achieved through <a href="http://slic3r.org/blog/modifier-meshes" rel="nofollow">modifier meshes</a>.</p> <h1>Post processing scripts:</h1> <p>As far as I know, Slic3r does not give you the option of setting the speed of the first layer after a raft directly, but they do allow you to run <a href="http://manual.slic3r.org/advanced/post-processing" rel="nofollow">post processing scripts</a>; that is, to automatically run a set of operations - programmed by you - on the g-code output.</p> <p>Although far from trivial, you can in theory make a program that runs through the output g-code, adjusts the settings to your preference, and then saves it again at the target destination.</p> <h3>Tuning overall printer speed through g-code:</h3> <p>As it turns out, there is a <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/G-code#M220:_Set_speed_factor_override_percentage" rel="nofollow">simple g-code command</a> that sets the overall speed of your printer's operation:</p> <pre><code>M220 S[some number] ; see the link above for compatible firmware </code></pre> <p>A <a href="http://reprapworld.com/newletters/newsletter_4_201438.pdf" rel="nofollow">newsletter</a> from Reprapwold explains that:</p> <blockquote> <p>For example M220 S50 will reduce the speed to 50% of the original sliced G-code. If you want to hurry your print to the finish in time for dinner, use M220 S200, to print twice as fast (200%)</p> </blockquote> <p>In other words, just like some printers allow you the change speed mid-print, you can use the M220 command to override the current speed used, either through a user interface such as PrintRun, or by fiddling with the original g-code itself.</p> <h3>Manipulating the g-code output to adjust speed settings:</h3> <p>The easiest way to achieve our goal would be to manually manipulate the output g-code file through a text editor, and insert our M220 command in appropriate places:</p> <ul> <li>Set M220 S50 just before the first <em>perimeter</em> layer (after the raft's <em>interface layer</em>), to slow down the first layer of the actual model.</li> <li>Set M220 S100 sometime after the first perimeter layer, to resume the normal speed settings.</li> </ul> <p>In order to do this, though, we need to be able to distinguish these two points in the g-code output.</p> <h3>Distinguishing insertion points:</h3> <p>Slic3r offers a setting under <code>Print Settings -&gt; Output options -&gt; Verbose G-code</code> that - when enabled - inserts written comments all throughout the g-code files generated. </p> <p>If one inspects a g-code file outputted for a model with raft, one will find the comment:</p> <pre><code>; move to first perimeter point &lt;- lets call this A </code></pre> <p>and </p> <pre><code>; move to next layer (x) &lt;- lets call this B </code></pre> <p>littered several places throughout the gcode. </p> <p>It is under my <em>impression</em> that the <em>first</em> occurrence of comment <strong>A</strong> happens right after the raft is finished, and before the actual model is being printed, while the first occurrence of comment <strong>B</strong> succeeding comment <strong>A</strong> can be used to set the speed back to normal.</p> <p>It should be noted, however, that <strong>the comments in the output g-code does not seem fully consistent</strong>, and I would therefore not recommend anyone to automate this logic into a script without possibly finding other, more reliable breakpoints, and thoroughly verify these through several different models. </p> <p>I have not looked into the details of writing an automatic script for this task as of yet.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Assuming you have a high quality printer with a fast processor, will you see a noticeable improvement by upgrading from 16X/32X microstepping drivers to 64X/128X microstepping drivers? (e.g. smoother surface finish). In what ways do they perform differently from the more common 16X or 32X stepper drivers. I'm thinking the RAPS128, Silencioso, and Trinamic drivers vs the DRV8825, A4988 and A4988.</p>

<p>You will likely not see a noticeable improvement by upgrading from a 16x or 32x to a 64x or 128x microstepping driver. Depending on the motors you're driving and the size of the load you could actually see a decrease in quality.</p> <p>Although microstepping increases theoretical resolution it does not necessarily increase accuracy. The reason is that microstepping significantly limits the incremental torque of the motor. This means that you may ask for a step but not get one because the torque of the step won't be enough to actually turn the shaft.</p> <p>As an example: a motor running in full steps will have 100% of its rated holding torque. Moving to 16 microsteps/full steps drops this to ~10%, 128 drops it to ~1%.</p> <p>The practical effect of this is that in high torque situations (such as printing at fast speeds) the motor may end up skipping some of the steps. In this way the increase in resolution can actually lead to a decrease in accuracy (smaller steps but they may not actually be taken).</p> <p>A relevant calculation to do would be to work out what the different number of microsteps to full steps works out to in terms of horizontal, vertical, or whatever movement the motor drives. You can do this by measuring how far the stepper moves said surface in one revolution provided you know the number of steps it takes per revolution.</p> <p><strong>Example:</strong> </p> <p>With no microstepping: 1 turn/inch * 200 steps/turn = 200 steps/inch or .005 inch/step (127 micron resolution)</p> <p>With 16x microstepping: 16 * 200 steps/inch or .0003 inch / step (8 micron resolution)</p> <p>In this example 128x microstepping would be absolutely foolish. Every situation is different and you should use this information to make a decision based on your setup. Many manufacturers have recommendations on how far their motors can be microstepped.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I've had my printer for almost a year now.</p> <p>Is there something I should be doing to maintain the motors?</p>

<p>No, stepper motors do not require maintenance. They are a brushless kind of motor, so they do not have brushes that need to be replaced.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>What materials which are <a href="http://www.shapeways.com/materials/">commonly used in 3D printing</a>, are food-safe?</p> <p>Are there any certifications/grading process for such materials, which can help me with my cross-checking and selection?</p> <hr> <p>I have been using an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_deposition_modeling">FDM printer</a>.</p>

<p>Food safety is a property of both the process and the material. You can't stick food-safe material in a printer that has previously been used to print something food-dangerous and expect the result to be food safe.</p> <p>The only way to know if a given material is food-safe is to ask your supplier, but a lot depends on how you then process it. For instance, FDM printers often have brass nozzles, which contain lead. To print food-safe materials, you need to use a stainless steel nozzle.</p> <p>Food safe materials can be identified by mean of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_safe_symbol">an universal symbol</a>.</p> <p>Moreover, to ensure food-safety of a 3D printed model you may need to further process it (for instance, by vapor smoothing or coating with a food-safe lacquer). Some claims circulate on the internet that 3D printed models may have surface porosity in which bacteria can grow, but I've not been able to find a reliable source for this claim. Still, you need to be cautious.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Suddenly, my printer has started producing prints that have a very pronounced layering. Normally, the alignment between layers is very good, and the prints look very smooth. Suddenly, the prints have become much worse and the layers are misaligned with respect to each other.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MgWVx.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MgWVx.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>The part on the left is my "normal" quality, while the part on the right show the deterioration. Here is another picture (in which the good part is on the right):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/c1I5Q.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/c1I5Q.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>The parts are both printed with 0.1mm layer height, and identical slicer settings/filament. I am printing on a custom-built FDM printer; the mechanism is roughly similar to that of an Ultimaker.</p>

<p>It appears the heatbreak of my E3D nozzle had worked itself loose from the heatsink, allowing the nozzle to wobble around a bit. Because the nozzle was still tight against the heatbreak I didn't experience any issues with my hotend, but because the heatbreak was slightly loose the nozzle wasn't properly constrained and moving around a bit.</p> <p>A quick turn to tighten the heatsink back into the heatbreak was enough to fully resolve the issue. My prints are as smooth as ever now.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I am working on a robotics project and need to print some gears. These will probably by under a LOT of pressure. Which material/filament should I choose so that the gears don't wear off easily?</p> <p>PS: Newbie here...</p> <p><strong>EDIT:</strong> According to my instuctor, it has to be some sort of plastic (not metal). It also has to be lightweight...</p>

<p>So, as you say you want to materials for printing robotics parts. And as you have not given any budget constraint, I would give you a list of materials which would help you achieve the task, and you can choose amongst them accordingly.</p> <ol> <li>Plastics: Basically used for building prototypes. Nylon Polyamide should be a choice for you.</li> </ol> <blockquote> <p>Polyamide 3D printing is achieved through SLS 3D printing. It offers strong and flexible prints. The upside of this material is that the printing technology requires minimum preparation of the 3D file before printing. There is no need for support. And it also offers the possibility to create intricate shapes and moving part in just one go. After the print the polyamide can be polished and dyed.</p> </blockquote> <ol start="2"> <li>Metals: Metals like Brass, Alumunium and Steel should be a good choice.</li> </ol> <p>But, if I were to achieve your task, I would select carbon fiber. some details about it:</p> <blockquote> <p>Carbon fiber consists of 90% carbon atoms, each fiber is 10 times thinner than a human hair. Carbon is especially prized for its lack of combustibility and infusability but also by its incredible strength (stronger than steel) and ability to create flexible structure, light weight and corrosion resistance. Its melting temperature is 1500, this heat there are only carbon.</p> </blockquote>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I would like to print edible cookies or ornamentation for a cake.</p> <p>Is printing with edible materials achievable by standard thermoplastic-like 3D desktop printer? Or you need to buy a special printer to do that?</p>

<p>You can, but that doesn't mean it's very easy.</p> <p>You don't have to buy a special printer, but you need a special extruder (such as <a href="http://www.structur3d.io/" rel="noreferrer">http://www.structur3d.io/</a>). Most of these systems can print anything with the consistency of Nutella. However, many parts of the printer may not be food safe.</p> <p>Another option (if you simply want 2d designs) is something like the <a href="http://www.pancakebot.com/" rel="noreferrer">PancakeBot</a>. It can probably also "print" with anything that has the same consistency of pancake batter.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I would like to print fancy plastic cutlery sets or plastic glasses.</p> <p>Is it safe to do it? Or bad for your health, if so, why?</p>

<p>As others have pointed out, PLA isn't specifically not food safe, but materials that have been printed previously can contaminate the PLA.</p> <p>Additionally, anything 3D printed is extremely porous. Once a part is used for food, moisture and bacteria will accumulate in the pores, and can never be completely cleaned out, contaminating any food that contacts it. It can't be sterilized either, because the temperatures needed for sterilization would deform or melt the plastic.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>In my slicing software (Slic3r) some of the vertices/walls of my model seem to have disappeared, so that the inside of the model - which should be solid - is visible, while the surface appears as a thin shell.</p> <p>Why does this happen? Is it still safe to export the model for printing?</p>

<p>My understanding is that this occurs when the object is not a true solid. Since an STL holds the triangulation of each face and spline, the slicing engine is not &quot;smart&quot; enough to determine if there is a gap in the model and therefore if it should be filled in and how. When the slicer encounters a gap, it will either treat the endpoint as the end of the feature or navigate to the next point on the layer, resulting in either gaps in the print or extra inclusions that don't make sense.</p> <p>I've noticed that my models will fail as a true solid when I use complex solid tools such as Union, Subtract, and Trim. A lot of times there will be a rounding error in how these tools interact with the solid model that will result in a small (sometimes not very small) gap in the outer shell of the solid model. When exported to an STL, the gap is retained.</p> <p>@kareem mentioned it in their answer, but Microsoft does provide online tool(s) for 3D Printing including a solid repair tool. Use <a href="https://tools3d.azurewebsites.net/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Microsoft 3D Tools</a> to upload your STL and try to automatically detect and fix issues with your file(s).</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I'm interested in designing &amp; 3D printing as a hobby (e.g. printing chess sets, small toys for family etc.)</p> <p>Conducting a Google search has brought up a range of small, cheap printers, but beyond that I don't know how to differentiate them.</p> <p>E.g. selling points include:</p> <ul> <li>"liquid light-sensitive resin"</li> <li>"partially assembled" with "very few parts and minor configuration"</li> <li>"Wi-Fi enabled"</li> </ul> <p>My question is, <strong>which features are going to benefit a small-scale, new enthusiast to 3D printing?</strong></p> <p>PS. The software I intend to use is Windows 10 3D design</p> <p>PPS. I'm not a graphic designer by any means, just a new enthusiast.</p>

<p>Here are few things to consider from my point of view</p> <hr> <p><strong>Printing technology</strong></p> <p>The first thing that you need to take into account is printing technology. The most common[citation needed] right now is Fused Filament Fabrication. "Liquid light-sensitive resin" is being used in Stereolitography and Digital Light Processing - the SLA printers I found are less common and more expensive than FFF ones.</p> <hr> <p><strong>Price</strong></p> <p>Need to decide on budget. You can buy printer for 60k USD and 400 USD. Quality is somehow linked to price but that's not a rule. You can buy a shitty printer for a lot of money.</p> <hr> <p><strong>Printing area</strong></p> <p>Bigger allows you to print bigger things. You need to ask yourself how big things you really want to print. Remember that 3d printing is quite slow process - how often you will want to print big things that will take 60hrs+ to finish?</p> <hr> <p><strong>Printing materials</strong></p> <p>What kind of materials you want to print with? Some materials will need higher temperatures so check the max hot-end temperature, some will require heated bed.</p> <hr> <p><strong>Assembled or DIY kit</strong></p> <p>You can usually get kits for self-assembly cheaper than Ready-To-Print machines. However, it will require additional skills (i.e. soldering), tools and time to assemble. I am not sure if I would buy DIY kit for commercial use, but as an enthusiast I immensely enjoyed putting my Rostock Max together.</p> <hr> <p><strong>Reviews and reputation</strong></p> <p>It is generally safe to buy printer that already has some users. Beware of new magical Kickstarter printers which will "change the 3d printing forever". Reddit /r/3dprinting suggests that your new printer should meet 3 criteria:</p> <ul> <li>Printer passes the youtube test - has lots of youtube evidence that this particular printer is working.</li> <li>Printer is out of the pre-order phase. This means that all pre-orders have been delivered.</li> <li>Printer has a reputation of working well among current users.</li> </ul> <p>I found it to be a very good set of rules.</p> <hr> <p><strong>Upgrade capabilities</strong></p> <p>That's very user-dependent, but this point is very important to me. I want to be able to change and improve certain parts of my printer. Check if you can switch the extruder, replace the hot-end etc. </p> <hr> <p><strong>Support</strong></p> <p>I think one of the most important points. See if you can find a forum for your printer and how active community is. It will be immensely helpful if something goes wrong (and it will). Also, company support is very important. What will happen if you need a replacement part or your printer will stop working altogether?</p> <hr> <p>This list is definitely not complete. There are many more things that might be taken into account like configuration (delta or XY), multiple extruders, closed cases etc.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I'm reading about wiring up the electronic components to my Prusa i3 using an Arduino Mega 2650 and Ramps 1.4.</p> <p>I have step sticks, a heated bed, and a <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B007KG0ZYI" rel="noreferrer">Switching Power Supply 12v Dc 30a 360w</a> (more details on that later when I can add which ones to the post).</p> <p>I've heard that if you wire it wrong and plug it in, you can do anything from starting a fire to burning out your boards.</p> <p>What are some tips of things to check before plugging it in? Are there any common mistakes that I can avoid?</p>

<ul> <li><p>Polarity matters, sometimes. Be especially mindful of the wires from your power supply to the board, as getting those the wrong way around will definitely cause damage. Heated beds and extruders are not polarity sensitive, and can go in either way. Fans are polarized, but will probably survive if you get them backwards - they just won't run. Stepper motors don't care about polarity, flipping the connector around just makes them run backwards.</p></li> <li><p>Take special care with endstops. The endstop connectors have 3 pins (VCC, 5V and signal), endstops with 2 pins are usually connect to GND and signal. Putting a 2-pin endstop across 5V and GND will destroy the 5V regulator.</p></li> <li><p>A common cause of damage is wires not being clamped in their respective terminals properly. The offending wire will arc, melting and destroying the connector. Tighten down screw terminals properly, use proper crimps if you have them. Soldering the ends of wires going into screw terminals is not encouraged, but if you do solder the ends then make sure to check after a while and tighten the screws again.</p></li> <li><p>Put the stepper drivers in the right way around.</p></li> <li><p>For things like the heated bed and wires going to your power supply, use sufficiently thick wires. Especially with the heated bed, a lot of current flows through the wires and flimsy wires will heat up and melt.</p></li> </ul>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Printer: FDM printer (FDM == Fusion Deposition Modelling).</p> <p>Raw Material: Thermoplastics.</p> <p>How do I do multicolor printing? What changes should I make to the printing process/to the raw material used?</p> <p>(Answer in the context of printing a basic 3X3 Rubix cube)</p> <hr> <p>Bonus: What are the best practises while doing multi-colour printing? (&lt;-- This is opinion based and/or broad, so pl add an answer to this point as an extra to your answers if you can. It would greatly help people getting started/practising with multi-colour printing) </p>

<p>There are a few different approaches I've seen which you could look into.</p> <p>The easiest and most common is multiple extruders, each with a different color of thermoplastic. Tools like Pronterface and Slic3r have built-in support for multiple extruders. With multiple extruders you can get one color per extruder; there's no clear way to mix colors and get a color between the input materials' colors.</p> <p>Another, more complicated approach is to use a single extruder with three inputs, like <a href="http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Diamond-hotend-Prusa-i3-Extruder-Full-kit-E3D-V6-Brass-Multi-Color-Nozzle-3-IN-1/32516521911.html">this one</a>, where thermoplastic from the three inputs can be mixed in varying amounts to get color gradients between the input colors. With red, yellow, and blue filament, you could get a rainbow of colors...albeit without any control over value (white to black) or saturation (bright vs dull color).</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I have noticed that <a href="http://slic3r.org/" rel="noreferrer">Slic3r</a> offers a speed setting called "<a href="http://slic3r.org/blog/new-stable-1.2.9" rel="noreferrer">auto speed</a>" meant to give a constant filament pressure at the extruder, which I believe could eliminate filament grinding issues at higher printing speeds. </p> <p>According to the tooltip in Slic3r, auto speed is calculated from two parameters:</p> <ul> <li>Maximum speed</li> <li>Maximum volumetric speed</li> </ul> <p>Maximum speed speaks for itself, but how can I calculate the maximum volumetric speed of my print?</p>

<p>Auto speed is calculated from maximum volumetric speed in mm³ per second. If you normally print at 80 mm/s, your extrusion width is 0.5 mm and you are printing 0.2mm high layers, your volumetric speed would be 80 * 0.5 * 0.2 = 8 mm³/s, which is the volume of plastic extruded by your printer every second when printing at that speed (not accounting for any die swell).</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I upgraded to an Mk9 dual extruder, and it came with thermocouples installed instead of the thermistors I had before. </p> <p>No matter what I did with the thermocouples, the indicated temperature jumped around by as much as 30C or more. In short, after several weeks of fiddling I never got the thermocouples to work well, and replaced them with thermistors, which have been fine.</p> <p>So my question is: what is required to get thermocouples to give reliable, consistent, accurate readings? Are they just incredibly touchy?</p> <p>Some things I tried include:</p> <ul> <li><p>Of course, one must add circuitry (typically a thermocouple amplifier board such as <a href="http://wiki.ultimaker.com/Thermocouple_Sensor_Board_v1">http://wiki.ultimaker.com/Thermocouple_Sensor_Board_v1</a>), to convert the tiny voltage differences to larger differences usable with Arduino or similar analog inputs.</p></li> <li><p>Place those boards close to the thermocouples, but far enough that they are at pretty stable temperature themselves.</p></li> <li><p>Have absolutely no wire extensions of splices, changes of wire types (material), etc.</p></li> <li><p>Avoid doing repeated measurements too fast.</p></li> <li><p>I replaced a thermocouple board with 5V through a potentiometer to the analog input pin, to rule out problems in the Arduino, pin configurations, or software, and got stable readings.</p></li> <li><p>I checked for shorts-to-ground from the heater block, both sides of the thermocouples, the heater itself, etc. None found.</p></li> <li><p>The thermocouple wires are surrounded by a braided shield (not common or shorted to either thermocouple wire); I tried grounding that at either end and at both ends, to the heat block, the printer frame, the power-supply ground, and the RAMPS board ground. These had various effects (sometimes large), but I couldn't find any configuration that made the readings stable (much less accurate!).</p></li> </ul> <p>Anything I'm missing?</p> <p>Thanks!</p> <p>Steve</p>

<p>Thermocouples work by passively generating VERY small voltages via the Seebeck effect -- usually a few tens of millivolts. They're literally just a pair of wires made from two different special alloys, electrically connected together at the "hot" end. That wire junction can be mounted inside whatever kind of attachment tip or lug is desired.</p> <p>The fact that they're very simple and passive devices makes them extremely precise and consistent between TCs of the same type, MUCH more so than thermistors. Any type-K thermocouple in the world will give you the same accurate output +/-1-2C or so. You can even cut a thermocouple in half, re-twist the ends of the wires together, and it'll still work! </p> <p>However, the very small (millivolts) signal they generate is quite susceptible to electrical noise and circuit design. The signal voltage has to be greatly amplified to be useful. So it doesn't take much EMR from your heater or stepper wires to interfere with the TC reading. A frequent problem with TC circuits in 3d printers is the dreaded GROUND LOOP -- if the "hot" tip is electrically connected to the hot block, voltage and current on the heater and motor wires can induce small currents through the TC wires that totally screw up the millivolt signal. The amplifier picks up these stray voltages and it throws off the temp read. So, there are some important guidelines for keeping noise out of the TC wires:</p> <ul> <li>The TC wires must be electrically insulated from the mounting hardware (eye lug, thermowell, whatever your extruder has). You can check this with a multimeter -- you want infinite / out of range resistance from the TC leads to the mounting tip and hot block. While you're at it, make sure your heater cartridge wires aren't shorting to the hot block -- that's unsafe and can also cause problems with TCs.</li> <li>Keep the two TC wires close together, and not immediately parallel to noise sources like PWM-controlled heaters or stepper wiring. If you must run the TC in a bundle with the other wires, TWIST the heater/stepper wiring pairs. (For steppers, twist each coil pair to a different pitch if possible. You don't need to twist the separate coil pairs to each other.) </li> </ul> <p>Another common issue with TC circuits is the COLD JUNCTION COMPENSATION. A thermocouple doesn't measure tip temperature, it measures the DIFFERENCE in temperature between the hot tip and the cold junction where the TC is connected to either the amp or copper wiring. The TC amp has an onboard thermistor that it uses to add the temp at the cold junction to the measured signal from the thermocouple. There are a few things you need to do to make sure the cold-junction compensation works properly:</p> <ul> <li>You should run TC wire all the way from the "hot" tip to the TC amp. You CAN splice it and install plugs, but only with more type-K TC wire and proper type-K thermocouple plugs. These use the same metal as the TC wire so they don't generate undesired junction voltages that interfere with the TC signal. If you splice copper wire between the TC and the amp, any temp differences along the copper will not be measured! This is a particularly big problem if you splice to copper inside a warm enclosure and then run copper to an amp outside the enclosure.</li> <li>The amp should not be super hot. The onboard thermistor is designed to accurately measure temperatures reasonably close to room temp, not hot-block temps. </li> <li>There should not be large temperature gradients near the amp or between the TC wire termination and the actual amp chip. Place the amp far enough away from the hot end and other heat sources (like stepper motors) that it isn't experiencing weird temp profiles.</li> </ul> <p>If you do the above, the TC will output a good signal, and the amp will read it properly. But there's one more hitch. The mainboard has to know how to understand the amp's output. 3D printer control boards that are designed exclusively for TCs, like Mightyboards, usually use digital communication between the amp and the main control chip (MCU). This is high-reliability and does not require any special firmware configuration -- support is baked in. But if you're strapping an external TC amp onto a board that is expecting thermistors, <strong>you will have to tell the firmware how to read the signal from the amp.</strong> The most common technique is for the amp to output a linear voltage signal to the MCU's normal thermistor input (ADC). Then you configure the firmware to use the appropriate "thermistor table" (really a voltage lookup table) for that particular amp. Depending on your controller board, you also may need to make sure the regular thermistor pull-up/pull-down resistors aren't affecting the amp's output.</p> <p>So you need to make sure:</p> <ul> <li>You don't have electrical noise issues</li> <li>The cold-junction compensation is working as intended</li> <li>The firmware and controller board is configured correctly for your amp chip's output</li> </ul> <p>If you do all that, a TC should give superior accuracy and reliability over a thermistor. </p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I'm considering buying <a href="http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&amp;products_id/783/cPath/1680">this package</a>, the Kossel, as my first 3D printer. </p> <p>It's not the cheapest model, but apparently a high resolution and stable, which is what I'm after.</p> <p>The question is, what is the life expectancy of this printer, given the component list? Assuming the printer is constructed properly and properly taken care of, but used once or twice a week for several hours.</p> <p>Is it possible to make an estimate of how many years this particular printer could be used before it starts showing signs of wear? </p> <p><strong>Parts list:</strong></p> <p>1x Complete set of platics for Kossel Mini (PLA)<br> 1x Kossel mini Extrusion set<br> 1x traxxas (set of 12)<br> 1x Carbon Tube (kossel printing arms) Set of 6<br> 3x Square slider (40cm)<br> 1x Megatronics v3.0 - Kossel kit<br> 1x Heated Bed glass round 17cm diameter (Borosilicate)<br> 1x Kapton heater mat round 16cm diameter<br> 1x Power supply 12V (240/115V / 20A MAX)<br> 3x Aluminum Pulley GT2<br> 5x Timing belt 1m x 6mm (GT2)<br> 1x E3D v6 - HotEnd Full Kit - 1.75mm<br> 1x Hobbed bolt v1.1<br> 1x Brass drive gear (Wade's compatible)<br> 6x Bearing 623ZZ<br> 125x (1 pcs) Screw M3X8 Philips<br> 125x (1 pcs) Washer M3 normal<br> 125x (1 pcs) Nut M3 normal<br> 6x (1 pcs) Screw M3X16 Philips<br> 12x (1 pcs) Screw M3X25 Philips<br> 6x (1 pcs) Screw M3X20 Philips<br> 10x PTFE tubing, 2inner/4outer diameter (10cm)<br> 1x Bowden setup - J head comp. plug set (1.75mm)<br> 1x E3D v6 - Threaded Bowden Coupling - 1.75mm<br> 2x (1 pcs) Screw M3X40 Philips<br> 6x (1 pcs) Screw M2X16 Philips<br> 1x Power cable 1.8m<br> 6x M4 Threaded rod - Custom length </p>

<p>Much like your car, the number of miles, or the number of prints that you can get out of it is entirely up to how well <strong>you</strong> can maintain it.</p> <p>A 3D Printer is a machine, and a machine needs general maintenance; if you see something starting to break - or get worn out - or anything abnormal, fix it.</p> <p>I am sure that if you had something like a MakerBot, it would require less maintenance then a fully home built machine, but if you are building it from scratch, I am sure you don't mind.</p> <p>I am still rocking a 3 year old home built MendalMax, and have both made some improvements, and had to make some repairs along the way - but it is still in damn good condition.</p> <p>For a $600 investment, I can say you will get a few years out of it if you take proper care of it. By the time the end of its life comes (5+ years), I am sure there will be much better printers available for cheaper, and you will never look back :)</p> <ul> <li>Tighten all your nuts and bolts</li> <li>Keep it calibrated</li> <li>Keep belts properly tensioned</li> <li>Oil X, Y, and Z rods</li> <li>Clean of any dust and scrap plastic (compressed air can?)</li> <li>Clean hobbed bolt</li> <li>Clean extruder</li> <li>Ensure all electronic connections are secure</li> <li>Check wires at points of movement for wear</li> </ul> <p>!remindme 5years</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>How do I determine how much an individual print costs?</p> <p>I'd like an answer including support material, failed prints, and (ideally) wear and tear / printer maintenance costs.</p> <p>To clarify, I'm not asking how to <em>predict</em> the cost before printing, but rather how to calculate the actual cost after printing. Though predicting the cost beforehand is useful as well.</p>

<p>For <a href="http://3dprintingfromscratch.com/common/types-of-3d-printers-or-3d-printing-technologies-overview/#fdm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">FDM</a> printing: </p> <p>Both Cura and Makerbot Desktop (and perhaps others I'm not as familiar with) will give you a preview of both the length and weight of your print, including supports/rafts. Once the print is done you can weigh it on a kitchen scale.</p> <p>PLA Filament currently runs about \$23/kg on Amazon, which works out to \$0.023/g. Multiplication can then give you a good estimate of materials costs for a print.</p> <p>Only experience with your specific printer will give you an idea of how often you're going to hit a failed print, and how often you're going to need to replace parts. For wear and tear you could try using a depreciation model of 2-3 years, but that's only an estimate.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I would like to make custom cake molds. </p> <p>I've asked about this in a few stores that specialize in cooking equipment, they said this wasn't possible. </p> <p>I wonder if 3D printing makes it possible. It would require a material that is food-safe, as per <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/147/which-are-the-food-safe-materials-and-how-do-i-recognize-them">Which are the food-safe materials and how do I recognize them?</a></p> <p>However, there are two extra conditions:</p> <ul> <li>The material must be able to withstand the heat of an oven or microwave, and not mix with the dough.</li> <li>It should not be too difficult to remove the cake from the mold after it is ready.</li> </ul> <p>The first condition is where this question is a little different from <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/181/can-you-use-pla-material-with-food-and-drinks">Can you use PLA material with food and drinks?</a> - that question is about cutlery and glasses, not about things that go into the oven or microwave.</p> <p>Is there a material that can be used for this purpose?</p>

<p>For <a href="http://3dprintingfromscratch.com/common/types-of-3d-printers-or-3d-printing-technologies-overview/#fdm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">FDM</a> printing: </p> <p>Both Cura and Makerbot Desktop (and perhaps others I'm not as familiar with) will give you a preview of both the length and weight of your print, including supports/rafts. Once the print is done you can weigh it on a kitchen scale.</p> <p>PLA Filament currently runs about \$23/kg on Amazon, which works out to \$0.023/g. Multiplication can then give you a good estimate of materials costs for a print.</p> <p>Only experience with your specific printer will give you an idea of how often you're going to hit a failed print, and how often you're going to need to replace parts. For wear and tear you could try using a depreciation model of 2-3 years, but that's only an estimate.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>When the print head changes direction, the printer must accelerate and decelerate the print head. When calibrated correctly, the printer is able to do this quickly and without causing the printer to shake too much, without drastically slowing down the print process.</p> <p>If I set it too high, my printer shakes violently, especially during infill. If I set it too low, print times are doubled or tripled.</p> <p>What process can I follow to determine (or how can I calculate) the fastest acceleration value my printer can use without causing problems in my print?</p> <p>I'd prefer a process I can follow over a formula I can plug values into, especially if the formula includes magic numbers.</p>

<p>A tool that you might find useful for experimenting with acceleration is <a href="http://prusaprinters.org/calculator/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RepRap Centrals Acceleration Calculator</a> (at the bottom).</p> <p>By setting an <em>acceleration</em>, <em>length of travel</em> and <em>target speed</em>, you can see:</p> <ol> <li>The theoretical speed that can be achieved during the travel with your set acceleration (yellow line).</li> <li>The distance required to reach your target speed, and for how long it will hold that speed before slowing down (blue line).</li> </ol> <p>For instance, setting <code>acceleration = 3000, length = 30 and speed = 150</code> means it will travel 4 mm before reaching its desired speed of 150 mm/s, while that same acceleration theoretically could give a speed of 300 mm/s for the given distance: </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/g13l3.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/g13l3.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p><strong>Calculating speed, acceleration and jerk:</strong></p> <p>In many cases your printer will have some limitation in maximum speed or settings given by your provider that can be used as a starting point. If not, trial and error is the most straightforward way of doing it. </p> <p>I would separate speed calibration into three task:</p> <ol> <li>First find the <em>maximum speed</em> your printer can tolerate. One way of doing this is to print an object with long travel distances, and vary the maximum travel speed.</li> <li>Using the calculator above, increase the <em>acceleration</em> for various traveling distances until you get suitably smooth acceleration curves for your desired speed for medium to long traveling distances.</li> <li>Adjust your <em>jerk</em> setting to allow for quick speedup on short traveling distances. Jerk speed is the speed that the printer will immediately jump to before taking acceleration into account. With a jerk of 20mm/s, the printer will make an immediate jump from 0 to 20 mm/s, and thereafter speed up to the desired speed by following the acceleration profile.</li> </ol> <p>As a rule of thumb, it might be smart to then set the actual speed, jerk and acceleration approximately 20% below the the maximum found as a safeguard when printing. </p> <p>Also, bear in mind that <a href="https://www.google.no/search?q=stepper%20motor%20strength%20curve%20NEMA%2017&amp;espv=2&amp;biw=1920&amp;bih=985&amp;tbm=isch&amp;tbo=u&amp;source=univ&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi74aLL46fKAhVIdCwKHdJbDa4QsAQIGg&amp;dpr=1#imgrc=NbUjFTxiWehyKM%3A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the strength of stepper motors lowers for higher speeds</a>, so that the nozzle will not hold its path very well if obstructed. If this becomes a problem, consider lowering the speed. </p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Using a thermoplastic MDF printer with a 0.4mm extruder nozzle, I frequently have trouble with the nozzle getting clogged.</p> <p>I am not sure what's causing the clog, but my guesses are dust and/or burnt filament (from leaving the hot end on without extruding).</p> <p>What can I do to prevent, or at least minimize, the extruder nozzle getting clogged?</p> <p>Bonus question: What other common causes of clogs are there? (ie what should I watch out for besides dust and leaving the hot end on?)</p>

<p>Lubricating the filament is the most common solution I've heard of to stop filament jams and clogs. Lubricating makes for a smoother ride through the print head. While you're at it, make sure that the filament is clean. The best way to stop jams from dust is to get rid of the dust in the first place.</p> <p>Some people recommend <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:103729" rel="noreferrer">canola oil</a>, which I've heard works reasonably well for both ABS and PLA (though especially for PLA). You can even <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:52203" rel="noreferrer">3D-print dust filters/lubricators</a>, if you think this could be a serious issue.</p> <p>I personally try to clean the print head regularly, after every couple prints or even after each print, if I have time. Something sharp, like tweezers, can pick off bits of filament near the tip of the nozzle. I haven't tried other utensils yet, but there are certainly other tools that would work. I've also heard of people regulating temperature with a fan, in order to prevent partially melted bits of filament clogging up the inside of the nozzle, but I don't know if that's effective.</p> <p>In some cases, the problem could even be as mundane as a support issue. I once set up a spool of filament, only to have a jam when the support for the spool failed, leaving the line of filament tugging at the nozzle and clogging it. Taking steps to prevent this from happening can be simply and effective. Whatever the cause, preventative measures are always my choice.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I've occasionally had issues with excess filament residue getting stuck to the print bed. <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/78/how-can-i-stop-my-print-bed-tape-from-sticking-to-the-filament">There are ways to prevent this</a>, but sometimes even these precautions aren't enough. Over time, residue can build up. I've observed this in some printers, though not others.</p> <p>Are there any techniques to best clean print beds? In the past, I've used various typical cleaning supplies, with different degrees of success. However, I don't know if this will lead to damage to the printer over time.</p> <p>The printer I'm using has a glass print bed, which I occasionally partially cover with blue painter's tape during printing.</p>

<ul> <li><p>If you are printing with ABS (or PLA), acetone will dissolve it. Simply pour some on the bed and wipe it off (beware, acetone can damage beds that have a coating or a plastic sheet over them, be sure to test this first).</p> </li> <li><p>Heating the bed back up may make the plastic softer and easier to remove.</p> </li> <li><p>If you are using tape on the bed, you could remove the tape to remove the plastic stuck to the tape.</p> </li> </ul>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>My thermoplastic FDM printer has a heated bed and uses glass as the printing surface. Sometimes the glass will chip or break entirely when I'm removing my print. This happens most often when the print has a large area in contact with the glass.</p> <p>What can I do to keep this from happening?</p>

<p>Some things I've tried that have helped:</p> <p>Lay down a layer of masking tape. Most people who do this use blue painter's tape. The plastic should stick nicely during printing, yet release reasonably easily when you remove the print from the heated bed.</p> <p>Lay down a later of Kapton tape. The principle is the same as masking tape, but Kapton tape has a smooth surface and is more durable than masking tape. The down side is Kapton tape is far more expensive, and applying it correctly is a LOT more work, since you have to use water and you have to keep bubbles from getting underneath it.</p> <p>Put some ABS scraps into a bottle of Acetone, and allow the acetone to break down the ABS til you have a slurry. Spread this slurry as evenly as possible across the build plate, and allow the acetone to evaporate away. This leaves a thin film of ABS on the plate, and will release much better than if you print directly onto the build plate. I recommend using clear ABS if you can, since some of it will stick to your print and clear will be the least visible. You'll need to re-apply it regularly, since it will come off with your print where it touches the build plate. <strong>WARNING</strong>: Use proper ventilation and avoid contact with acetone. That stuff's not good for you. Also it's flammable, so keep a fire extinguisher nearby.</p> <p>I prefer the ABS/acetone slurry method, but it requires good ventilation and a handy fire extinguisher. Also note that you don't have to print in ABS to use an ABS/acetone slurry; I print primarily in PLA and it makes no difference.</p> <p>I've also heard of others using a glue stick or some other surface treatments that allow for good adhesion during printing while still allowing for easy removal.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>For a science project, I'm 3D-printing some custom pipes and tubes to regulate the flow of gas (a combination of ethyl alcohol and water vapor) through an apparatus. They need to be pretty small, as the entire experiment is designed on a small scale. I'd also like the use a little filament as possible.</p> <p>How thin can I make the walls of these pipes and tubes before either they collapse or gas leaks out? I know that's possibly an engineering issue, but I'd also need to take resolution into consideration. Ideally, the pipes would be about two centimeters in diameter, possibly a little larger or a little smaller in some parts. I'd most likely use ABS, but PLA is my backup in case there's some unforeseen reaction between the gas and the pipes.</p> <p>The printer I'm using is an FDM printer, a version of the MakerBot Replicator.</p>

<p>The thinnest wall your printer can print is determined by its nozzle size, and will be a little thicker than that nozzle size.</p> <p>A great challenge when dealing with thin, hollow cylinders is that the cross-section has very little surface area and it can delaminate easily, especially if the tube is long.</p> <p>You could try printing the tube with a very thick extrusion with, and using only a single perimeter. That would give better gas-tightness and layer adhesion than two, thinner perimeters, but it may turn out too fragile for your application. In that case, you'll need to print additional perimeters. Sticking to thicker extrusion widths would still be beneficial.</p> <p>At a two centimeter diameter I'd say the single perimeter has a decent chance of working if you handle them gingerly.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I often switch my print material, i.e. ABS / PLA / Wood / Flex,</p> <p>How can I best clean out my extruder between them to ensure I don't contaminate my next print?</p>

<p>In most cases, removing the old filament from the printer, inserting the new filament in, and running the new filament through the printer for a short period of time will clean the nozzle. The skirt of the print can also be a time during the actual print for the old filament to be flushed. Assuming the skirt is long enough, all that needs to be done is the new filament inserted and the print started.</p> <p>Assuming that extruding new filament does not fix the problem, there is a more serious problem such as a clogged extrusion head that needs to be fixed with other methods.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>After multiple jams from bulging filaments on two spools I'm getting frustrated. One, right before a job was done.</p> <p>Is there something I can do to prevent these bulges in filaments from ruining jobs?</p> <p>What can I do to prevent this from happening in the future before it's a disaster?</p> <p>He's a picture of one I found using google.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/6UvLW.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/6UvLW.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>How to catch <em>and</em> fix these on the fly? That would be difficult..</p> <p>But this is an issue you really should not have.</p> <p><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/q/84/47">Could it be an issue with filament storage?</a></p> <p>Or is it coming from the manufacturer with these bulges? If so, I would try contacting ( you may have gotten a bad batch? ), or finding a new retailer if this happens often.</p> <p>I have gone through a lot of pounds of both ABS and PLA and never come across this. </p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I am designing a part that has to clamp around a 11mm bushing, and due to other design constraints, it has to be printed with a semicircle-shaped overhang:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LcLSm.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LcLSm.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>This is proving very challenging to print. Two copies of this part have to clamp tightly around the bushing in all directions. Support material is rather hard to remove from the very top of the arc (where the overhang angle is the highest) and I often end up removing just too little of the support material (so the part doesn't fit around the bushing) or too much (and the bushing can wobble around).</p> <p>Is there any way I can modify the design of this part (bearing in mind that it absolutely has to be printed in this orientation) to make it more tolerant of my inaccuracy when removing supports, or is there perhaps some way to manually design supports that are easier to remove (Simplify3D and Cura both don't quite cut it)?</p>

<p>If your printer is printing support material that is too strongly attached, you can increase the space between the support and the part in some slicing softwares. On Cura it is located in the "expert settings" menu (you can open it by pressing Ctrl + E), under the "Support" text. Try fiddling with the "Z distance" setting until you find the right setting. You can also change the type of support and support infill amount and see if it have any positive or negative effect.</p> <p>Edit : I think you should also redesign your part : it seems that it cannot lock the bushing on. The semicircle should be a bit smaller to have a bit of space between your two parts. This way the bushing will be secured firmly by the tightening force of the screws and precision should be less of an issue.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I'm thinking of recycling some filament from a couple of recently failed prints. I can reuse them in the future for basic prototypes, so I'm not concerned with whatever weird mixture of colors come out (they are of a few different colors).</p> <p>The thing is, I have both PLA and ABS, in small quantities. I originally intended to simply use each one separately, but it occurred to me that they could be mixed.</p> <p>If I recycle PLA and ABS together into one strand of filament, will there be any negative side effects (e.g. reduced strength)?</p>

<p>This is not a good idea. Both filaments have different melting points, that of ABS being much higher than that of PLA. To melt the ABS you have to heat the plastic to the point where the PLA starts to degrade.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>I am operating a laser sintering machine, using polyamide 2200 powder (with a grain size of approximately 50 micrometers). During a print, a lot of powder goes unsintered and can theoretically be reused. However, using purely recycled powder degrades print quality to an unacceptable level.</p> <p>Mixing a little used powder into a larger amount of fresh powder seems to work well though. What is the greatest ratio of used to fresh powder that still gives good results, and is there anything I can do (pre- postprocessing) to allow more powder to be reused?</p>

<p>You'll find generally that mixing 40% new polyamide with 60% recycled polyamide will result in a reasonable finish and part. You will obviously want to use all new for parts requiring the best possible finish and mechanical properties, but this mixture will be very difficult to tell apart from a fully new mixture part:</p> <p><a href="http://www.paramountind.com/pdfs/eos_pa2200_mds.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.paramountind.com/pdfs/eos_pa2200_mds.pdf</a></p> <p>This is more detailed research showing how used powder changes and how that affects print quality here:</p> <p><a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13552540910960299" rel="nofollow">http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13552540910960299</a></p> <p>Searching for the research paper title may find a free source, but the linked resource does require a subscription or payment to that service.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Usually it will either will rip the tape, or break the print somehow. Currently using ABS on a taped glass bed with a layer of hairspray for adhesion.</p>

<p>I moved to a plain glass heated bed with a brush applied acetone and ABS mixture. Using an old emptied nail polish bottle with brush, I added some acetone and then threw in ABS pieces until it reached a brush-able consistency. I then brush it on the glass build plate where I believe the print will occur, and it works very well. On removal of the part the coating comes with it.</p> <p>I just found previously that ABS would adhere to my kapton taped heated bed too strongly to use, and so while this involves a little work before each print, it's overall better than kapton for me.</p> <p>I did experiment with sheet metal beds coated with kapton, but they curl during printing due to the ABS thermal stress, allowing my parts to be concave on the bottom side. Easy to remove from the plate, though, since it flexed. There may be a good middle ground material but I didn't experiment further.</p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Let's say I print a part out of ABS and wait for it to cool. I could theoretically do this with several copies of the same printer, modified to use print beds of different compositions.</p> <p>Will the material a bed is made out of affect how long it takes a part to cool?</p>

<p><strong>What bed material cools faster?</strong></p> <p>I found an <a href="http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html">extensive list</a> which relates various materials to their <em>thermal conductivity</em>, k [W/mK]; the lower thermal conductivity, the better the material insulates, and the slower the print bed will resist changes in temperature - both heating up, and cooling down. </p> <p>Here are the thermal conductivity for some common materials for 3d printer beds:</p> <pre><code>Aluminum 205 Glass 1.05 Acrylic 0.2 Air 0.024 (for reference) </code></pre> <p>There is also the matter of thermal capacity, but I will not go into that right now (need to do some research myself first!).</p> <p><strong>Will bed material affect cooling time?</strong></p> <p>Bed material, I believe, is not necessarily related to print cooldown time: it depends on the situation, such as whether we are discussing cooldown during or after printing, and if the bed is heated or not. </p> <ol> <li>If you are <em>not</em> using a heated bed, I believe the bed material doesn't matter at all.</li> <li>With a heated bed <em>while printing</em>, only the first dozen layers or so are probably affected by the rising heat sufficiently that it affects the printing process.</li> <li>With a heated bed <em>after printing</em>, the thermal characteristics of the bed will determine how quickly the print cools (and thus can be removed).</li> </ol> <p>Also remember that other physical properties, such as flatness (both cold and during heating) of the bed material is vital for successful prints, and that not all materials can tolerate heating equally well! </p>

Instruct: Given a question paragraph at StackExchange, retrieve a question duplicated paragraph Query: <p>Why do we have two standard filament sizes, 1.75&nbsp;mm and 3&nbsp;mm? Does it really make a difference when printing? Or is the 1.75&nbsp;mm just for smaller printers?</p> <p>In what situations should I be using 1.75&nbsp;mm?</p> <p>When should I be using 3&nbsp;mm?</p>

<p>There's no appreciable difference. Just use the filament that fits your particular printer.</p> <p>If you don't yet have a printer, then I'd get one that uses 1.75&nbsp;mm filament:</p> <ul> <li><p>1.75&nbsp;mm is increasingly becoming the "standard", thus being easier to get. Some filaments are not available as 3&nbsp;mm.</p></li> <li><p>1.75&nbsp;mm filament allows for finer control, because feeding in 1&nbsp;mm of filament corresponds to less plastic extruded.</p></li> <li><p>1.75&nbsp;mm filament requires less force to extrude. Compressing 1.75&nbsp;mm down to 0.3&nbsp;mm takes less force than doing the same to 3&nbsp;mm filament.</p></li> </ul> <p>However, the advantages are fairly minor. I don't see any reason to replace a functioning 3&nbsp;mm extruder with a 1.75&nbsp;mm one (yet).</p>