I'm running up a curved surface for 3d printing. Have I got the orientations correct for a 3d printer?

I'm using FreeCad, did a 2D sketch in XZ orientation, then padded it (in Y) all using the "Front" view. Then when I move to top view, I get this:
Link to SVG Image on mega.nz which is hopefully X,Y, & Z in the correct places.

If it's not correct, what should I have done?

I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to accomplish here. The uploaded svg gives little clues. Could you post a screenshot the sketch and maybe screenshot of the model zoomed out a little and from an angle?

Models can easily be rotated in any direction to print. If you don't have a 3D printer you can still install Cura or Slic3r and see what the different layers will look like.

Thanks. I didn't really know that they could be rotated. I will certainly look at Slic3r or Cura, if they have linux versions. I also keep meaning to install windows 7 as w10 with updates is too much for this sucky laptop.

Cura and Slic3r certainly do run on Linux. I do all my designing and printing from Linux. I'd recommend Cura. It should be available in the repo, *buntu at least. If not, I think there is other means of installing. Slic3r is likely more readily available.

Personally I prefer PrusaSlicer-2.2.0 which is a fork of Slic3r. Rotating your model and scaling it, etc, is done graphically and is very easy, There are preset templates for Prusa 3D printers but it can also be configured for others (I have a GeeeTech Prusa i3 Pro B clone) Adding specific support items rather than the auto generated stuff is also catered for which is a nice touch.

I'm running Mint 18.3 on my Desktop and printing via a serial USB link using Repetier-Host_2.1.6

My

Play Bonny!

A Fork? Have you a Prusa Printer or something?

I figured I had to install Slic3r & Cura, and go from .stl to .gcode. Then it got messy.

I costed getting the thing printed, using the figure "…From as little as €0.16 per cm³…" and I came up with €350 - €400! That's more than the price of a cheap 3d printer. Typically, Amazon.co.uk are emailing me to finish buying a Sunlu S8 3D printer which I put in the basket to check carriage. But Amazon.co.uk have a note across top of page that because of Covid and export madness they are not currently supplying Europe from the UK Amazon. Ireland = Europe for Brexit purposes.

From what I gather, that Sunlu S8 is a poor 3D Printer anyhow. The obvious alternative is Creality, but I gather they are a mammoth assembly job, and they are FIAT (= Fix It All the Time) Printers. I've only one hand working, so all my mechanical & Electronic background is pretty useless. I've had that kind of thing before, and always kept them running well, but you spend more time fixing them than using them. I can't any more. And I only want 1 (admittedly big) job.

So, I think I'd better think it out again …

EDIT: Checked your printer, but Geetech aren't around my side of the world.

@Soadyheid I've got the Ctc DIY I3 which should be very similar to yours, a prusa I3 clone. Printed really bad when I got it. Over time I've printed parts to upgrade it a little and am getting nicer prints. As far as software, PrusaSlic3r seems more updated and a little nicer than Slic3r. I use Cura because I can print/preheat/control directly from it without needing to use an sdcard and the hard to use built in menu button on my printer.



@business_kid

I think any 3D printer will be a fairly big project to assemble. There's a lot of wires and bolts to route and install. Judging from the experience gained assembling mine, I'll bet you'll want a friend's help since it's certainly a 2 - 4 hand project. Once it's set up you should be fine although investing in a magnetic build plate will make removing prints a breeze.

My friend has a Anet E16 which is a creality clone although larger. It does very well for him. I got the cheapest printer available at the time(~90usd) and it works well for me, although it did not out of the box.

OK, In my searches, I've come up with the Anycubic Mega X on Aliexpress: €212.23 = $259.37 with free shipping from Europe.
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale...nycubic+Mega+x

It seems fairly easy to assemble, nice size, and generally usable, while not perfect. None of them are, are they?
Does anyone know of any rocks below water with this one? Tomorrow it's cheaper. So I have today for second thoughts

EDIT: Does anyone know how far a 1kg roll of PLA goes in cm³ or the imperial equivalent?

@ Mill J
That's why I use Repetier-Host 2.1.6 as a printer driver front end; it allows me to use the manual control section to pre heat the extruder and hot bed plus I can monitor the print layer by layer. I've also been able to use the temperature graph function to help cure some heating problems.

I've also tried running Octoprint on my original version Raspberry Pi which also allows you to slice your model. Dunno why that's an option as a dual core ARM processor takes ages when compared to my workstation's quad core Xeon. A big plus for Octoprint though is that you can attach a webcam to your Pi and monitor your print session via the Octoprint App on your mobile phone! Neat idea!

@business_kid
Check out Angus' Maker's Muse for printer reviews. He's got reviews of Anet, Creality and Ender printers, etc, if you check out his channel, plus I'd recommend Thomas Salander is a great source of reviews for printers, filament and all things 3D.

Note that there's a ton of information out there and a rather steep learning curve attached to 3D printing if you're new to it. It's not like setting up an HP laserjet and printing stuff out immediately. My printer was a kit and I took about a week to build it, not because it was difficult but I wanted to savour the experience plus the straight rods and threaded drive rods (Now updated to lead screws!) had to be "adjusted" to make them, er... straight, before construction. I don't think current printers have this problem, mine was built way back in 2016 if I remember.

Never thought to check this out, but all versions of Slic3r that I've used, including PrusaSlicer will give you stats on how much filament is required for a print in both metres and metric volume, plus the cost of the print if you enter the price of your 1Kg spool under the Filament config tab. It also tells you how long the print will take which I've found to be pretty accurate.

Note that you can run slicing software without actually having a printer if you want to check out what your model would cost, etc.

A couple of websites which may be of interest to you are Yeggi.com, a 3D print search engine for prints which have been uploaded to the web, covers sites such as Cura and Thingiverse. Very useful for downloadable .stl files

Also, the RepRap Forums, like LinuxQuestions is to Linux, is a great source of 3D printing knowledge.

Hope that that helps you out.

Good luck and Play Bonny!

Thanks for all software thoughts which are not forgotten. Tomorrow is Cyber Monday, apparently, So I'll buy then. Delivery is scheduled for end of month, so I'll have plenty of time to check out/load up software. You're right, I'm a 3D printing noob. My firm intention was to avoid buying a printer, but I'll save close to €200 by so doing.

You say load up 1kg & forget it. I will. With the size of this thing, I can't go hollowing it much more. It has to stick together. The surface area is massive, as it looks like 2 gable ended semi-detached houses except longer, and you're covering the bottom, sides,ends, & 2 sides of a peaked roof. The other stuff is not voluminous, but has to hold together 1200mm +(=47 +5/32 inches) in length. There is some wood to assist.

?

You might want to double check the dates on wherever you're seeing that.

And remember that there's no guarantee a marketing term actually means lower prices than usual, even if we were seven weeks in the past.

Also likewise that something being "on offer" is not proof of it being the best price/value around.

What exactly are you going to print? If you've gone for the Anycubic Mega X printer, the max build volume is 300mm x 300mm x 305mm so with a length of 1200mm you're talking at least 4 printed sections taking up your maximum print bed length. Note you normally have a 3 loop skirt set at about 6mm away from your print which helps to ensure the extruded filament is flowing properly. You might also want to design in some form of interface for the parts, a dovetail or something to join them together for strength? Hollowing out your print isn't normally needed, prints aren't solid unless you use a 100% infill, I use 30% as a default, 100% uses too much material and will also take forever when prints usually take hours. The percentage infill depends on how strong you need it. A 12Cm print of the Venus de Milo took me seven hours odd to print. Flat prints take less time than tall ones.

All the software I use runs on Linux. I design stuff with FreeCAD 0.18.4. My print volume is 200mm x 200mm x 180mm by the way. Printing face shield frames in early 2019, which took up most of the build plate surface area, showed up problems I had not come across previously.

Please feel free to contact me off line if you want as this is drifting away from being a Linux topic.

Play Bonny!

Thank you. I will. I'm still a bit away from printing, but I'll send you a PM.

Well, I did a 1+1=3 on that. Nevertheless, there's a sale on Aliexpress 11th-14th. and it's a lot cheaper than I can get it here.