Using the 3D Printer ‐ Rules and Recommendations - Carleton-SRL/SPOT GitHub Wiki

Introduction

This wiki outlines the rules and recommendations for using the 3D printer located in the student office:

Printer

Rules and Recommendations

This 3D printer does not belong to the Spacecraft Robotics Laboratory - it belongs to me (Alex!). However, I thought it might be fun to leave the printer in the student office and allow anyone with an interest to make use of it. But, there are some rules and recommendations I would like followed if you plan to use the printer.

  1. Please respect the equipment. It's not that fragile but it's also not impossible to damage. Please try to treat it like it is your own piece of equipment.

  2. Personal use is welcome, but BYOF (Bring Your Own Filament). Anyone may use the printer for personal projects, but you will need to bring your own filament as this cost can add up quickly!

  3. Lab-related prints can use lab filament. The printer may be freely used to print anything for the lab itself! If you are printing something for the lab, please run it by Professor Ulrich or myself. If it makes sense to print, the lab filament can be used.

  4. Avoid overnight prints when possible. A common print failure is for filament to jam, and a lot of filament can be wasted if a print fails overnight.

  5. While you can pause a print, it tends to result in poor print quality because the printed parts will cool down. I would recommend trying to let it print all at once.

  6. Be mindful of the noise the printer makes in operation. The printer is not exactly quiet. If you plan to print something that takes a long time, please make sure your fellow office-mates are okay with the noise!

[!NOTE] There are a TON of resources online when it comes to using these printers! Go watch some YouTube videos and do some small test prints before you try something bigger.

Printer and Filament Details

Printer Model: The printer is a Creality Ender V3-SE.

Filament Type: The recommended filament is PLA with a diameter of 1.75 mm. I would prefer if people stuck with this type of filament as it is less likely to cause problems.

Slicer Software: I highly recommend using Ultimaker Cura.

CAD Software: Use whatever software you prefer. If you have never done any CAD design, OnShape is a great browser-based option that has a pretty good free version.