Non-Planar Layer FDM...
Interesting article over on hackaday.com: http://hackaday.com/2016/07/27/3d-printering-non-planar-layer-fdm/
Now that the MK2 uses mesh bed levelling this is a possibility! Looks good! 😎
Re: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
This has nothing to do with mesh bed leveling. As you can easily see, bottom layer is flat. It is much like some sort of dynamic layer height, which should be no problem on MK2 since it uses lead screws on Z axis.
Re: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
I was just going by what the article says. I assumed that what they meant was that the firmware needs to be able to do on the fly z height adjustment in the same way that the mesh calibration must do to even out the differences. Looks very cool 😎
Re: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
Yeah, the Mk1 can do that as accurately as the Mk2 if modded (bodged) slightly.
Cool thing to do; I can imagine the slicer getting it wrong occasionally ans sending the nozzle from one side to the other. Oh, me of little faith...
Peter
Please note: I do not have any affiliation with Prusa Research. Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage…
Re: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
Call me the pessimist, but couldn't the PINDA probe be an obstacle when doing prints with dynamic layer heights? Christophe.p did design a protective "hat" to mitigate such a possibility though.
Re: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
Call me the pessimist, but couldn't the PINDA probe be an obstacle when doing prints with dynamic layer heights?
The only difference between optimist and pessimist is information available. 😉
Surely it WILL be an obstacle as well as cooling fan casing, which is on the same (very low) height. I think there should be some avoidance algorithm in effect, similar as with "Complete individual objects" option in Slic3r.
Re: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
I would rather say that The only difference between optimist and pessimist is a half glass of beer ^^
Anyway as Peter I consider that the weak link here is the slicer.
I'm like Jon Snow, I know nothing.
Re: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
Well the article and comments explain that you need a very pointed nozzle, and a probe like on the MK2 would definitely be in the way a lot of the time, and of course the slices would have to be designed to handle this new concept! Someone has already started writing a slicer for it: https://github.com/nick-parker/bread
It would certainly be a cool feature for a future MK15 though!
Re: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
It sounds cool, but there are many obstacles to implement this slicing method. Some of you mentioned the collisions with the PINDA and fan, but the biggest show stopper to make this method usable in general case are the computational requirements.
Compare a DLP SLA printer with a FDM printer. The DLP printer just displays a slice for a while, then moves the bed up. A slicer for a DLP printer is trivial compared to a slicer for a FDM printer, which needs to plan a tool path. But the tool path planning has a reasonably limited search space, when the slices are parallel. The search space will explode though, if you try to plan non-planar slices. It is a cool toy project, but it is very limited to prescribed layer distortion or to special cases like following a top surface. To make the method general, you need a couple of orders of magnitude more computational power IMHO.
Then there is the issue of the nozzle tip. No nozzle tip could possibly be completely sharp for physical reasons. There is always a flat ring surface at the nozzle tip, which helps to iron and squish the extrudate to the preceding layer. If you are able to manufacture a very sharp nozzle tip, I think your layers will be not that well bonded.
Vojtech
RE: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
I would really like to see more on this topic in the development path of 3D printing as I have a feeling this could be a huge game changer for whoever really manage to design a 3D printer for this purpose with all the variables taken into account. In the videos that I have seen so far it talks mostly about the aesthetics gains that it brings which in itself is significant enough, but think of what could be possible in terms of strength enhancements for things like carbon fibre re-enforced filament if you are not bound by vertically stacked layers. What if you were able to tilt the print head and rather print in any plane and crossing the directions of the fibres in any direction you would need for the best strength...
RE: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
Requires a lot of modding to make it work - basic physics on a V6 nozzle have these inherent limitations - not to mention the additional limitations by having a print fan shroud that further limits angles.
RE: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
it would only work with a printer that doesn't have a fan shroud and other objects that are near the plane of the nozzle tip. so with a narrow nozzle in a cylindrical heater and no cooling ( means probably using a high temp filament in a heated enclosure) it might be something more that a theoretical concept
RE: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
Think of a 0.40 mm conductive nozzle (carbon nanotubes?) that is 220 mm long, rigid and inflexible, 0.41 mm thick at the widest point, 0.41 mm extrusion width, with an RF heat source (love to see the FCC type classification for that amplifier) to keep the entire length at the print temp.
RE: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
I do think it would take some really creative and substantial re-design, but I still have a feeling that a lot more is possible if people with the right skills, tools and some time for experimentation on hand put their minds to it.
RE: Non-Planar Layer FDM...
Any source materials for Non-Planar Printing on the Original Prusa i3 MK3? Can you recommend a nozzle for the purpose?
Source of the idea:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3842477