steven@thorstad.ca

New Thor3D Filament In Stock

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We have seen people wanting more color choices for their 3D printing materials. This is especially true with ABS users that only have about 10 different MakerBot brand colors to choose from. To offer a wider color selection to our customers we have now brought in a Thor3D house brand of filament. Compared to MakerBot plastic it costs roughly 50-65% of the standard price and offers the same print characteristics you are used to. We have found both the ABS and PLA to print well using the standard settings that MakerBot filament uses. Try some of our Thor3D filament today and broaden your color selection while also reducing your print costs. We currently only have Thor3D ABS in stock, but we will be adding Thor3D PLA to our online store in the next couple days.

Repairing and Viewing 3D Models with netfabb Basic

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When you are creating 3D models, some programs such as Sketchup may not output a 3D model that is exactly as you would expect. When you create a 3D model using some programs, it can be fairly easy to make a simple mistake that actually creates a hole in the mesh. These holes often don’t get noticed until you actually try your 3D print and it may have you wondering what is up with your printer as it won’t be printing anything like you would expect. Holes like this and other issues like self-intersecting parts create a 3D model that is considered non-manifold. When a 3D model is non-manifold most slicers won’t be able to properly slice the file therefore the 3D model must be manually fixed or have a repair tool used on it. To manually fix the part may be very time consuming as you will have to locate … Read more

Converting a 2D Image to STL

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We have found it to be common for people to have 2D images of logos or other high contrast images that they want to 3D print. To 3D print these many people would recreate their 2D images from scratch in a 3D modelling program while maybe making use of the image as a reference. This process got to be fairly time consuming in order to accurately replicate the details and the fonts that were used. As such there have been several methods developed to convert your 2D image into a 3D model. Inkscape to OpenSCAD This is a fairly straight forward free method to convert your 2D images to STL. This process uses the two programs Inkscape and OpenSCAD as well as a plugin for Inkscape. This process has been around for a little while now and there are already some great instructions for how to do this process you … Read more

Removing 3D prints from the build plate

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How to Remove a Stuck Print When you have a print that stuck too well to the build plate it can be very frustrating. Here are some techniques we use to make this process a little easier. The first step is if possible remove your build plate. It is much easier to both damage your print and injure yourself if you are struggling to remove a print in the confined space inside the printer. It is also wise to wear thick gloves on both hands for really stubborn prints as the tools used to remove prints generally are somewhat sharp. We mainly make use of large dull knives as tools to remove prints as they can get under a print fairly easily at a corner and with a rolling/twisting motion rather than a prying motion and can generally remove a print without damaging the tape. Another widely used item to remove … Read more

MakerBot Desktop Version 3.4

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Some of the new versions of MakerBot Desktop occasionally alter the functionality of the software for some users. Here are some links to version 3.4 for any users who are looking to roll back their software a few versions: Windows 64 Bit : http://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads-makerbot-com/makerware/MakerBot_Bundle_BETA_3.4.1.48_x64_Install.exe Windows 32 Bit : http://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads-makerbot-com/makerware/MakerBot_Bundle_BETA_3.4.1.40_x86_Install.exe Windows 8.1 64 Bit : http://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads-makerbot-com/makerware/MakerBot_Bundle_BETA_3.4.1.124_8.1_x64_Install.exe Windows 8.1 32 Bit : http://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads-makerbot-com/makerware/MakerBot_Bundle_BETA_3.4.1.94_8.1_x86_Install.exe Mac : http://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads-makerbot-com/makerware/MakerBot Bundle BETA 3.4.1.48.dmg