I plan to stay as agnostics as possible do my best to stay away from a specific printer or slicer in my demo however to better enable the knowledge transfer I will be referencing several popular and free slicing software programs.  If you want to follow along during my demo, I recommend you download at least one:

• Cura 4.7.1
• PrusaSlicer 2.2.0
• ideaMaker 3.6.1

PrusaSlicer does not preview generated Gcode files.  In my demo I will be showing attendees how to check Gcode generated from a website.  Please download Cura or ideaMaker if PrusaSlicer is the primary program you use. I placed links to each software in the main project page links section.

Next, I have uploaded several .STL files to the GitHub repo (see links section). Download all the files under the “STL” folder to a local folder on your computer.

Investing in quality inspection tools will ensure repeatable results for years to come.  You do not need to purchase high end tools but you should stay away just buying the cheapest thing you can find.

• 6” Digital Caliper: A digital caliper with both English and Metric readout is an important tool that can enable proper 3D printer calibration.  This is a must purchase for anyone with a 3D printer.  
  • What You Should Look For: metal body, bright LCD display, 0.01mm resolution, shouldn’t cost less than $20
  • What I Use: iGaging 100-333-8B (budget) & Mitutuyo 500-196-30 (high end)
• Machinist Scale/Ruler: A metric scale is typically easier to use for measuring the filament length when calibrating your extruder E-steps.  It can also be used to visually inspect flatness of your printed parts.
  • What You Should Look For: metal, 6”/~150mm in length and 1mm graduations
  • What I Use: Mitutoyo 182-107
• Digital Scale: Documenting the mass of a printed part is a great what to quantitatively evaluate your part extrusion.  Comparing the mass of the same part (with different slicer settings) can many times be a better way to see true differences than using dimensional measurements or visual inspection.
  • What You Should Look For: 0-200g recommended, 0-100g required, 0.01g resolution
  • What I Use: Fuzion Digital Pocket Scale, 200g x 0.01g Jewelry Gram Scale

The steps necessary to calibrate a 3D printer are still far from easy and many times require complex settings in your slicer program or manually modifying your G-code in a text editor.  It is always important you understand what you are doing and not to leave calibration prints unattended.  You must be able to quickly turn off the printer quickly in case of emergency. 

In the demo I will be spending some time showing attendees a potential option of generating G-code using online macros to quickly and easily generate the G-code you need to compare different slicing settings.  As mentioned above, you should always monitor calibration prints since errors in programming can occur.

Next, in the demo I will be covering the topic of ways to best calibrate/set your first layer.  I will cover steps that will have you print a pattern of 25mm squares consisting of a single printed layer to evaluate both the level of your printer bed and the offset distance of the nozzle.  This process typically takes several prints and thus requires you to remove these single layer prints which with even a removable, flexible bed can still require a spatula type device for removal. 

Whenever you remove any print from your 3D printer bed it is important you use both proper tools and procedures to eliminate injury.  Here are some of my key safety tips for print removal:

• Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes.
• If your 3D printer is equipped with a removable, flexible bed, us it as much as possible in enabling print removal without using tools.  Flex, twist, bend in different directions before breaking out the tools.
  •  Pro Tip: I strongly recommend the installation of a removable, flexible bed system on your 3D printer if it wasn’t equipped with one from the factory.  A removable, flexible bed will significantly decrease the risk on injury and will also significantly extend the life of your print bed surface over a fixed bed that you are using tools to remove prints.  I have seen more injuries (and even injured myself) from removing prints from fixed bed surfaces than any other recurring task you perform.
• Many print surfaces rely on the bed cooling after the print is complete to aid in print removal.  Be patient and wait for you bed to cool before removing your print.  I typically wait until my bed is at or below 40C.
• If you need to use tool(s) for print removal please follow these tips:
  • Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes if pieces break off during the removal.
  • Use protective gloves such as cut resistant or mesh gloves, especially for the holding hand.
  • Cut away from your body. Make sure no body parts are in the cutting path, or in the path the tool might take if it slips.
  • Avoid removal tool(s) (i.e. spatula) that has sharp corners and knife sharp edges.  The Buildtak Spatula is my go-to tool when I need to remove a print from the print bed/surface.