Gina

Over 4 hours now and still fine. ETA looks like around 1am tomorrow morning but we'll see. Now seeing some definite surface structure.

Over 4 hours now and still fine. ETA looks like around 1am tomorrow morning but we'll see. Now seeing some definite surface structure.

Been going over 2 hours now and looking good. Probably something like 7 hours to go but as the print gets further up there will be less to do per layer so will get quicker. Current estimate is based on what has been, I believe. It doesn't look like Slic3r gives an estimate of total printing time.

Going well Been going 2 hours now and probably 7 left though may well be less.

That's neat

Modified the X carriage from my "Pilot" printer with a Volcano hot end, all metal heat break, 1.2mm Volcano nozzle and newer version heatsink. Cartridge heater, thermistor and fan have been retained to save re-wiring. This is a 12v 40W heater and a 12v fan. Later I shall probably upgrade to 24v 60W heater plus larger 24v fan and 3D printed air duct.

I'm currently printing this Glowing Moon from Thingiverse - top part for my long case clock moon phase dial. Except that I've cut off just under half of the back of the globe as that part is never seen. A hemispherical cover printed in opaque black PETG or ABS will cover part of the moon globe to show the phase.

The Titan has not been upgraded to Duet control board yet and uploading the gcode takes over an hour! On the Mini with Duet the upload only took a few minutes even though the file was quite a lot bigger. I have PETG printing well on the Mini so I'm giving it a go. It's up to layer 32 so far and been running for just over an hour. Estimated time left is around 8 hours ATM but as it gets up to the smaller sizes it should get faster.

PETG is printing well and sticking nicely to the glass bed and releases when cool.

Tried on my Titan printer which is much faster and has a bigger nozzle and printing time for PETG is estimated as just under 5 hours which is quite practical

On layer 6 now and the estimated time has come down to around 30 hours. I think that's probably as far as I'm going with this test.

Thanks I can have a glowing moon phase globe without the crater detail like I have in my wall clock with moon phase globe dial but the difference in transparency due to the way it has to be printed does not make for an entirely natural looking moon. Crater detail should overcome that as well as looking like the real moon. I'm prepared to spend a little time experimenting to see if I can accomplish this.

I've left the print running just to see what happens and it's now on layer 4 and the printing time estimate is around 33 hours. There are things I could try, such as using a type of filament that can have a greater overhang before it needs support such as PETG.

Been trying to print the moon globe and successfully printed the base part in PLA though it took quite a long time. The main globe is another matter - the gcode file is 73MB even for half the globe which is all I require for this clock and will take an estimated over 24 hours to print. However it's printed it needs lots of support. Also, although the bottom part printed fine, the top is having a problem sticking to the glass bed. I have some PEI on order which may be better but this print will use many times as much filament for support as for the wanted part and with such a rough surface of the moon, there may be a problem breaking the support away from the wanted part. So whilst it would be great to have a realistic moon phase display it hardly seems practical.

PLA printing perfectly on the glass plate. Stuck when hot and released when cooled down This is the base of a moon globe that I plane to use for my long case clock.

Good idea

Plate unpacked, copper foil strips added (for the Z probe to sense) and fitted into frame then frame placed over bed heater and polyurethane foam in position.

Glass plate arrived this morning.

I'm going to try PEI. UEETEK PEI Sheet 8" x 8" 1 mm 3D Printer Build Surface Ultem 1000 (With Back Glue) This can be stuck to the glass plate or not - double sided adhesive sheet is supplied to be used if desired. I'm going to try it without. It will be held by the 3D printed bed frame which I'm going to arrange to be easily removed from the Z carriage. ATM it's just sitting on it but I'm going to add quick release clips.

Not this time as it was the escape wheel and also LokBuild is not supposed to need a brim. TBH though, LokBuild has more problems than glass for most materials, I've found. And it's stuck so well to the glass plate that it's impossible to remove without risking breaking the glass. I have printed Nylon on borosilicate glass plate without a brim and it stuck well enough. I prefer to print gears and suchlike without brim because of the trouble of cutting/filing the brim off between the teeth. Maybe LokBuild is fine for special cases where there is a large overhang and small area on the bed but I've got used to designing my prints not to be like that and to have as much contact with the bed as possible. If I were to stick with the present 12v 220W heater pad, which is not stuck to the glass, I could swap plates. It's held against the glass with 12mm thick polyurethane foam. The 240v 450W heater pad I was planning to use has a self-adhesive top surface for sticking to the bed plate.

Tried printing PLA on the LokBuild - 200°C hotend and 50°C bed. Stuck firm in centre but curled up at edge.

My Mini printer is working well and seems accurate enough for the escape wheel so when I have finished a couple of higher priority projects I hope to get back to this one

Ordered a new glass plate :- Signstek 3D Printer MK2 MK3 Heated Bed Borosilicate Glass Plate Panel 213*200*3mm Due to arrive tomorrow.

Looks like interchangeable beds are required for different filament types. Though I did get Nylon to stick to glass on my Titan printer. Most seem to stick to glass even if with a bit of difficulty. Recommended surface for Nylon is Kapton film which I do have in a 200mm wide roll.

No good - can't use Nylon on LokBuild - sticks at first then starts curling off at around layer 3 or 4 even with bed at 140°C and hotend at 280°C