What wet filament actually is and why it ruins prints “Wet filament” is the hobby term for a 3D printing filament that has absorbed atmospheric moisture. All the plastics we print — PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, nylon, polycarbonate — are hygroscopic to varying degrees, meaning they pull water vapor out of the air and…
What wet filament actually is and why it ruins prints “Wet filament” is the hobby term for a 3D printing filament that has absorbed atmospheric moisture. All the plastics we print — PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, nylon, polycarbonate — are hygroscopic to varying degrees, meaning they pull water vapor out of the air and…
Why a camera is the first OctoPrint upgrade worth installing OctoPrint camera setup is not something I bothered with for my first year of printing, and I regret that more than almost any other decision in this hobby. I resisted putting a camera on my OctoPrint instance for longer than I should have. The turning…
Why a camera is the first OctoPrint upgrade worth installing OctoPrint camera setup is not something I bothered with for my first year of printing, and I regret that more than almost any other decision in this hobby. I resisted putting a camera on my OctoPrint instance for longer than I should have. The turning…
Why cure time is not a single number How long to cure resin prints is the question every new SLA owner asks by their third print, and the honest answer is “it depends.” The first resin print I ever cured sat under a 405 nm UV station for forty minutes because I panicked and assumed…
Why cure time is not a single number How long to cure resin prints is the question every new SLA owner asks by their third print, and the honest answer is “it depends.” The first resin print I ever cured sat under a 405 nm UV station for forty minutes because I panicked and assumed…
What “strongest” actually means for PETG “Strongest PETG” is an incomplete question until you specify which kind of strength. Tensile strength — how much force the print takes before a wall pulls apart — is one metric. Impact strength, the ability to absorb a sudden hit without cracking, is another. Layer adhesion, the glue between…
What “strongest” actually means for PETG “Strongest PETG” is an incomplete question until you specify which kind of strength. Tensile strength — how much force the print takes before a wall pulls apart — is one metric. Impact strength, the ability to absorb a sudden hit without cracking, is another. Layer adhesion, the glue between…
The kinematic style most beginners buy without realizing it When I teach new hobbyists at my local maker space, the same question surfaces within ten minutes of them seeing my Ender 3 next to a Voron 2.4: “Why does your bed move on that one and not on the other one?” That difference is the…
Why PEEK Demands the Highest Temperatures of Any Common 3D Filament Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) sits at the top of the engineering thermoplastic ladder for 3D printing. It’s a semi-crystalline polymer with a melting point of 343°C and a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 143°C. To print it well, every thermal zone of the printer…