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We have both Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Stereolithography (SLA) printers at Makersmiths.

The 3D printers at MS-L (Leesburg) and MS-P (Purcellville) are lovingly maintained by a crew of not-so-magical elves. To keep this mash-up of commercial and frankensteined printers running is no small feat. Please read and follow the guidelines on this page and in this section to help us keep them running.

There is work on updating how to use the 3D printers, so please reference the 3d Printer Room Plans for more information

Safety Rules

Red Tool Training

There are 2 separate Red Tool classes for 3D Printing at Makersmiths, one for FDM printing and one for SLA printing.  These classes must be completed before you may use the printers on your own.  Classes can be found on the Event Calendar.   These classes will be taught at least once a month.

Safety Rules

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Use care around heated beds and hot ends	3D printers use heat had have HOT parts
Watch your spool for jams	Jammed filament ain't no fun for nobody.
When things go horribly wrong tell someone	If we know what happened we have a better chance to fix it...or prevent it next time.
Use care around heated beds and hot ends	3D printing uses heat. Heated beds can be up to 100°C and hot ends up to 250°C. If not careful you will get burned.
Do not attempt to adjust the printers	If you don't know what you're doing you can cause more harm than good.

There is a support contact for each printer,

Contact the steward or post your issue to

the 

the #3dprinting Slack channel.
Do not change the printer's EEPROM settings	Your changes may work for you but mess it up for others.
Keep metal objects (spatulas, pliers) away from the nozzle	Metal tools can scratch or damage soft brass print nozzles and other parts.
Cancel your job immediately in case of unusual noises or smells!	Use common sense...if it sounds like ball bearings in a washing machine then it's probably not working right.
When (not if) the printer breaks...	Unplug it Place a note on it Let us know through  the #3dprinting Slack channel ...and don't sweat it. Printers break all the time.

TOP

Beginning 3D Printing

To Get Help

Post a message to the #3dprinting Slack Channel.

Direct message to the 3D Printing Steward (sometimes they also have their phone number in slack to call)Before using the 3D printers, please attend a 3D Printing Basics class. If none is scheduled post a note to the #3dprinting Slack channel. The slides for the class can be viewed here.

Troubleshooting

3D printing can be difficult. If you experience problems there are folks who can help. First, review the guides here and for the specific printer. If you still have a problem, post to the #3dprinting Slack channel.  Even if you find the solution, let us know, so that we can be aware that it might be an issue for others, and try to prevent it from happening again.

Software

Ultimaker Cura

Pros:

Ultimaker Cura is the slicer of choice for many open source-based 3D printers for it's relative ease of use

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Cons:

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Slic3r

Slic3r is open source and can be difficult to use. For advanced users it has fine-grained control and can produce excellent prints.

Pros:

• Can produce excellent prints
• Easy to use GUI

Cons:

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Elegoo Cura

Elegoo has their own fork of Cura tuned for their printers. 

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FlashForge FlashPrint

Pros:

• Very easy to use for FlashForge
• Very well-done slicing options

Cons:

• Only supports FlashForge printers

MakerBot Print

Pros:

• Very easy to use interface

Cons:

• Only supports MakerBot and FlashForge

Cura LulzBot Edition

Cura for LulzBot is an open source slicer based on Ultimaker Cura and tuned for LulzBot machines.

Latest version is 3.6.37, but there are issues with the installer.   Install 3.6.23 first, then install 3.6.37

MatterControl

MatterControl is the most flexible of the software listed here. It's open source and easily extensible via custom printer profiles. 

"MatterControl is a free, open-source, all-in-one software package that lets you design, slice, organize, and manage your 3D prints. With MatterControl, you can design your parts from scratch using the Design Tools, or visit the Design Apps to browse existing projects. You can also slice your designs using a variety of advanced settings for customized support generation, software bed leveling, and integrated controls for dual extrusion using powerful 64-bit processing. When you have all the variables managed, you can print straight from MatterControl - no need for multiple programs - MatterControl does it all."

Pros:

• Very easy to use
• Broad set of profiles for printers and materials
• Extensible printer profiles with inheritence
• Supports every printer we have (except Rostock maybe - to be tested)

Cons:

• UI can be a little confusing at first
• Canned profiles may need tweaking

PrusaSlicer

PrusaSlicer is open source and can be difficult to use. For advanced users it has fine-grained control and can produce excellent prints.