Robotics by TK

Improvement in quality I decided to try 3D printing with PETG since PLA has limitations when it comes to heat resistance and strength. People in 3D printing forums suggested PETG and ABS, but they warned me that PETG is difficult to print. I had scoured the internet trying to find out what perfect 3D printing profiles would result in good quality prints. Almost all of them emphasised that a hot-bed was needed. Now I have two 3D printers, one with a hot bed and one without. My 3D printer with a hot bed has a Bowden Tube, and some people warned that PETG does get stuck in Bowden Tubes sometimes, which scared me a little bit. So, for my first PETG filament test print, I used a 3D printer with a direct drive extruder but no hot bed. I was initially scared that it wouldn't stick. But my first test print went well. The print was a 3 mm cube, and the resulting brim stuck well. Next, I decided to print a more complex image to see how it would fare. I had set the recommended PETG profiles;...

  So the other day, I lost two essential parts from a STEM toy kit. Not to worry I can always print a replacement , I thought.  I opened up OnShape and got to modelling. Using Vernier callipers, I measured their sizes and made exact dimensions on my CAD model.  Now, 3D Printers aren't usually very precise. You should account for a 0.03-0.05 mm tolerance when making a CAD Model. Because when I would print the part, and measure it with Vernier Calipers the holes would be smaller by about 0.03 mm. This meant that the part wouldn't fit in the holes. You can offset this by using the Hole Expansion setting in Cura, which works perfectly fine. But when it comes to the parts that need to be fitted, changing the settings in your CAD model is the way to go. I printed many versions of the hexagon shaft part, until I made one that fit perfectly with the other stem toy parts. Looks pretty nice, doesn't it?

Anyone who works in the 3D Printing sphere can attest that Meshmixer is an amazing software when it comes to mesh repair, cutting up prints into smaller parts and for adding some last minute digital sculpt alterations to our models. But how would one even get to enjoy what Meshmixer has to offer if it crashes every time you open it? Well, luckily I have found a solution for this! Firstly, make sure you have tried the solutions given in the official Meshmixer FAQ page. If it still doesn't work, then you can try solution number two! From my limited understanding (and scouring of internet forums), the problem could be that we do not  have a graphics card that has built-in OpenGL support. Thus, we need to place the opengl32 library file in Meshmixer's file location. Here is the link for the opengl32.dll file. But a google search for opengl32.dll will help you find another link as well. (Note the size should be 25MB so be mindful of that when installing the file.) This video  helpe...

  Guess what these are ? And what they're made from. (Hint: Check the post's tags!) I can't share the details yet, but if you are curious you'll have to come down to our company in Multan to figure it out!