/3DPG/

>General info
3D-printing is the common name for what is technically called additive manufacturing. Traditionally, manufacturing methods used to be subtractive: you start with some material, take a lathe/mill/hammer and chisel/whatever and remove all material that is not the end product. Additive manufacturing start out with nothing and adds material in just the right places to form an end product.

The most common forms of 3D-printing for hobbyists right now are FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) and SLS (Stereolithography), with FDM being the most common and most discussed type in /3DPG/: most of the information in this pastebin applies to FDM. FDM boils down to taking filament (basically plastic wire in a standardised thickness) and shoving it through a heated nozzle. That nozzle is then moved in three dimensions (hence the name 3D-printing) to extrude material and form the end product.

Workflow for 3D-printing is as follows:
>Obtain a 3D-printer, assembly if necessary
>Obtain filament
>Design a product using CAD
>Turn CAD file into machine code using slicing software
>Start printing
>Fail
>Troubleshoot
>Repeat last few steps untill succesful

https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base
https://www.3dhubs.com/what-is-3d-printing
https://opendesignengine.net/projects/vg3dp/wiki
Additive Manufacturing Technologies:3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping, and Direct Digital Manufacturing, Gibson Rosen Stucker

>Buyers guide
The best value printer to buy right now is the Creality Ender 3. Under 200 USD, bolts together easily and has print quality to rival much more expensive models. If you want a bit more print volume the Creality CR-10 is also a good pick.
The old golden standard used to be the Prusa i3: based on the Reprap project they feature good print quality and components, but it's also much more expensive than the Ender 3 - which is exactly why the Ender is so damn good for it's price.
Note that all printers, especially the good ones, get cloned by the Chinese in an instant. Banggood, Alibaba, etc. can therefore offer cheap imitations. This can be a bad thing (as can be anything on those sites), but that's not always the case.
Some Chinese companies have evolved from making simple sopies to genuinely improving them and pushing the market further: Creality can be considered an example of this.
Are you a professional and do you want a printer that just works out of the box for a few thousand more? Buy an Ultimaker.

https://www.3dhubs.com/best-3d-printer-guide [Outdated as per 1-1-2019]

>Filament
This stuff is the food of your 3D-printer: feed it garbage, and it will shit on your carpet. Simply put, a spool fo filament is just a spool with plastic wire on it. Sounds simple right? The main problem manufacturing this stuff is controlling chemical composition and ensuring a consistent diameter of the filament, which is not as easy as it sounds. Buy namebrand stuff if you're starting out, only with some experience should you move on to the cheap, possibly unreliable stuff. Remember, there's nothing more expensive than a failed print.
Filament comes in different thickness (usually 1.75 and 2.85mm) and materials. The most common materials right now are PLA, ABS and PET. PLA is really easy to print with and should be your starting material. ABS is stronger but much harder to print, which explains the popularity of PET: it has most of the strength of ABS without the printing difficulties.
http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/28-material-guide
http://www.matterhackers.com/3d-printer-filament-compare

>Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting what went wrong on that list print is an art to be mastered. Simplify3D has a great guide on their website, if that fails, use the other two below. If that doesn't work, post your failure in the thread, we can then have a laugh at you and possibly come up with a solution.
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/

https://reprap.org/wiki/Print_Troubleshooting_Pictorial_Guide
https://support.3dverkstan.se/article/23-a-visual-ultimaker-troubleshooting-guide

>Where to get 3d models?
There are huge online communities where people share 3D files to be printed, some of them are mentioned below:
https://www.thingiverse.com/
https://www.grabcad.com/

https://www.yeggi.com/
https://www.youmagine.com/
https://www.myminifactory.com/
https://www.3d-druck-community.de/showthread.php?tid=214

>Making 3D models yourself
3D-printing requires CAD-software (Computer Aided Design) and a design (duh). Optimising your design for 3D-printing can make a huge difference in both print time and failure rate:
http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/38-designing-for-3d-printing

As for CAD-software, you can use a plethora of programs: Solidworks, AutoCAD, Fusion360, doesn't really matter. Fusion360 is free for hobbyist users and relatively easy to learn, so I'd recommend that unless you have particular requirements.
https://www.blender.org/
https://www.onshape.com/
https://www.openscad.org/
https://www.freecadweb.org/
http://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview

>Slicers
Once you've made a design in CAD, you can then export it as .stl (Standard Triangle Language) or .3MF (3D-manufacturing format).
These files types can then be used by a slicer program, which then slices (hence the name) it into layers for your machine to print.
These layers can then be exported to your machine in .3MF or .gcode (machine code) format, through an SD-card or cable connection.

The three biggest slicing programs right now are Cura, Slic3r and Simplify3D, each has it's pros and cons.
Cura is free, will suit most amateurs just fine with an easy interface, and yet has enough depth to it for expert-level users.
Simplify costs money (but is easy to pirate) and has slightly more expansive options than Cura does.
Final choice would be Slic3r, the OG open source slicer - perfect choice if you're a /g/entoomen running some wierd Linux distro.

>Calibrating a printer
https://prusaprinters.org/calculator/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Wb0i0-Qvo
https://www.youtube.com/user/ThomasSanladerer
https://reprap.org/wiki/Triffid_Hunter's_Calibration_Guide
https://support.3dverkstan.se/article/30-getting-better-prints

>Hotend
E3D and their V6 hotend are the industry standard right now if you want to build your own printer.
Micro-Swiss offers a lot of ready-to-go kits to upgrade existing printers, might want to check those out.
If you need high temperatures (>300C), consider a Prometheus V2 or B3 Pico. For sheer print speed, the E3D Volcano is hard to beat.

>Extruder
Bondtech/BMG extruders are probably the best in the market right now - but also the most expensive.
A good alternative would be the E3D Titan - a compelling package when combined with the E3D V6 hotend.
You could also stick it to the man and print your own: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2289203





>How to make a new /3DPG/ thread
Save some of the images from the previous thread, upload them to:
https://www.befunky.com/
Use them to create an new image for the OP. Remember to put /3DPG/ in the subject line, and use the copypasta below:

>Copypasta
[Edition] Edition
Old thread: [Link to previous thread]
All the info you need about 3D-printing: [Link to this pastebin]

Need help with prints? Go to:
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/

If that doesn't help you solve your print problems, please post:
>A picture of the failed part
>Printer make & model
>Filament type/brand
>Bed & extruder temperature
>Print speed