3D Printing

All of our content around 3D printing

How to Dissolve PLA and Smooth It: Chemicals to Use

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If you have PLA stuck on your print bed or nozzle, or you just want to smooth your PLA prints a little and remove layer lines, you’re probably looking for a way to dissolve PLA filament or smoothen it. In this post, we’ll look at the various methods you can use to dissolve PLA and … Read more

The Ultimate Cura Support Settings How-To and Guide

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Supports are essential components to 3D print certain types of models. Cura is a very powerful slicer that has many support settings you can customize to get the results you want. Learn how to configure Cura support settings in this easy-to-follow guide. FDM 3D printers work by putting down layer upon layer to build a … Read more

3mm vs 1.75mm Filament For 3D Printing: Difference?

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3D printing is a fast-growing industry, and the difference in filament sizes can be confusing. There are two main sizes of filaments(and by extension, 3D printers) that you can buy – 1.75mm and 3mm. The difference between these sizes is in the thickness of the material used to create your object. If you’re not sure … Read more

Best 3D Printer for Miniatures: 10 picks for high-detail printing

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If you’re a fan of wargames terrain or have the slightest interest in 3D printing miniatures, then you’ve landed at the right place. A 3D printer for miniatures provides you with the ultimate solution for enthusiasts of tabletop games! With that said, after much research and deliberation, we feel that the best 3D printer for … Read more

Best Flexible Filament: 7 Picks for Flexible TPU 3D Prints

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As a general rule, all flexible filaments are made of Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE). This is a blend of hard plastic as well as rubber. Indeed, as the very name suggests, these types of materials are highly elastic in nature. They allow the plastic structure of the filament to be both stretched and flexed very easily … Read more

3D Printing PETG on Glass: A Quick and Easy Guide

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PETG is rapidly climbing up the ranks of the more popular types of printing filaments out there. As a matter of fact, it is now considered to be one of the very best 3D printing materials around when it comes to outdoor work. However printing with PETG is not very easy unless you are using … Read more

What Temperature Can PLA Withstand(+ How To Strengthen)

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PLA is one of the most user-friendly filaments to use, but it’s no secret that PLA(polylactic acid) can’t withstand much heat at all, so you have to consider where you’ll use your PLA parts and make sure they won’t be exposed to too much heat. So what temperature can PLA withstand? To understand the temperature … Read more

Ender 3 Nozzle Size (Pro and V2): What Is Supported?

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The Ender 3’s stock nozzle is a 0.4mm brass nozzle with an M6 thread. It conforms to MK8 hot ends, which are the standard for most home 3D printers thanks to the wide adoption and easy availability of parts and spares. The Ender 3 is one of the most popular 3D printers on the market … Read more

What is the Strongest 3D Printer Filament?

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Do you need to 3D print really tough parts? If you want to know which is the strongest 3D printer filament, we’ll show you the top candidates for the toughest 3D printer filaments out there. 3D printers are incredibly useful but in order to get the toughest 3D printed parts possible, not only do you … Read more

Is PLA Aquarium Safe? What You Need To Know

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Since 3D printing is such an amazing supplementary hobby to other hobbies, many aquarium enthusiasts/3D printing enthusiasts may be wondering if PLA is aquarium-safe. So is it? PLA is aquarium safe if you treat it with a waterproof coating. If left as is, the PLA will absorb water and slowly disintegrate. While the PLA itself … Read more

Is PETG Food Safe To 3D Print With?

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It isn’t easy to walk down the aisle of any sort of food store without ever coming across something made of different types of plastics. From jars of jam, jellies, and marmalades to bottles of soda to cookie plates, your food is in close contact with a certain kind of plastic. One that has been … Read more

ESUN vs Hatchbox: Comparing Two Popular PLA Filaments

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Arguably, the single most popular filament currently available for FDM 3D printers is the amazing PLA filament. It is inexpensive, can work at high temperatures, and it can be used to create glossy finishes, without too much hard work. Best of all, most printers can handle it very easily and create awesome prints with them. … Read more

Best Filament For Lithophanes: What to Use

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Lithophanes are some of the coolest things you can print with your 3D printer. When you shine a light through a lithophane, the image that you printed on it appears in the shadows. The key to getting a good lithophane is to use the right kind of filament. So what’s the best filament for lithophanes? … Read more

Best Filament for Ender 3 – Our Filament Guide

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3D printing has exploded in popularity over the past several years. What was once a prohibitively expensive hobby is increasingly accessible. The Ender line of 3D printers in particular represents phenomenal value for money. In this guide, we’ll try to find the best filament for Ender 3 printers. The best option out there for you … Read more

How to Glue PLA Parts Together

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There are many 3D printed models that you can’t print in one piece. You’ll have to glue them together for the final result. So how do you glue PLA and what are the best glues for PLA? Let’s dive in. These methods are really easy and safe, too. Glue PLA with adhesive Cyanoacrylate is a … Read more

Best Dual Extruder 3D printer: 7 Models Reviewed

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Printers with a single extruder head have some limitations in this arena, for example, they can only work with a single material and color. This is where the dual extruder 3D printers come in. Dual extruder 3D printers lets you work with different materials and different colors at the same time letting you get more … Read more

PETG UV Resistance: How long can you leave it in the sun?

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Every 3D printer needs at least some sort of raw material that it can use to safely and easily print the desired 3D build. Just as a conventional 3D printer uses ink and paper to create words and imagery, so too does the 3D printer need certain specialized raw materials to create different objects. The … Read more

PLA Not Sticking To Bed: Possible Solutions and Fixes

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PLA is by far and large, the single most popular FDM printing filament available today. PLA filament is very forgiving for newbies who don’t have much experience with this filament type. It is always very important that the very first layer of your 3D print is always very strongly connected to the printer’s build platform … Read more

What’s Cura Z Offset and How To Use it

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The Z offset is a very powerful setting in your 3D printing toolkit that you can use to make micro adjustments to your nozzle height. This is very useful when you’re 3D printing a wide variety of materials and some have thicker extrusions than others. The Z offset determines how far or close the nozzle … Read more

Anycubic Resin Settings – A Beginner’s Guide

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Anycubic printers are becoming firm favorites of 3D-printing fans around the world. Their resin-based methods offer superior levels of finish, durability, and speed. If you’re new to this method, though, there’s a learning curve involved; Anycubic resin settings can take a little trial and error to get right. That’s where we come in. This page … Read more

3D Printing Elephant’s Foot: What it is and How To Fix

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Elephant’s Foot is an unsightly 3D printing error that is quite common. It’s what happens when the first layer is a little bit bigger than the rest of the layers, often accompanied by a slight bulge towards the bottom. This happens for a number of reasons, all of which can be fixed. Under normal circumstances, … Read more

Best 3D Printer Under $1000: 10 mid-budget picks for versatile printing

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There are numerous 3D printers available today and they perform a vast number of operations, ranging from creating new product prototypes to medical applications. The budget printers are ideal for beginners, students, and simple hobbyists alike. However, if you are really serious about printing 3D you will definitely need something with a bit more pizzazz … Read more

Tevo Black Widow Review: Is this large 3D printer worth it?

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The Tevo Black Widow 3D printer is rapidly catching up in the popularity department with its more well-known counterparts, such as the Creality and the Anycubic lineups. The good people at Tevo have upped their game with the Black Widow thanks to its extra-large volume. Learn more in this Tevo Black Widow review. The Tevo … Read more

Filament Sticking to Nozzle: Possible Fixes and Solutions

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There is no doubt that getting melted filament stuck on the nozzle of your 3D printer can get quite annoying. This holds particularly true because it can be hard to very hard to clean properly. Many of not most people who are into 3D printing tend to go through this annoying difficulty of their filament … Read more

PLA vs PETG: Differences and Which Is Stronger?

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PLA and PETG are two of the most popular 3D printing filaments around: so what are the differences between PLA and PETG, and which one should you be using for your prints? Let’s take a look! PLA vs PETG: Fundamental Differences and Strength PLA and PETG are both polymers and belong to the family of … Read more

Best Filament Dryer: 4 picks and Some DIY Methods

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One way to drastically improve the quality and consistency of your 3D prints is to make sure that your filament is very dry as you 3D print it. 3D printer filaments tend to be hygroscopic, meaning they absorb water. Unfortunately, this water can wreak havoc once the filament is in your hot end and superheated … Read more

How to Fix and Prevent Z Banding and Z Wobbling

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Tired of seeing bulges and ribs on the walls of your 3D printed model? In this post, we’ll explain how to fix Z banding and Z wobbling, which is the usual culprit for these issues. Ribbing or Z banding is one of many common issues to plague 3D printers. It tends to make layer lines … Read more

3D Printer Layer Height vs Nozzle Size Explained

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One of the most basic things to underamstand about 3D printing is the relationship between layer height vs nozzle size. While the two values are related, they’re not the exact same thing! When I got my first 3D printer, I thought that a 0.4mm nozzle meant I could use a 0.4mm layer height. Boy, was … Read more

Best 3D Printer for Cosplay: 7 Picks For Making Amazing Costumes

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Before the advent of the 3D printer, cosplay was a very time and energy-consuming exercise, which is why making realistic cosplay costumes was not everyone’s cup of coffee. Now it is possible to create extremely intricate and complex works of art that not just look good but are also wearable too. All of this is … Read more

Wanhao Duplicator 7 Review: A Superb DLP Printer

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Ever since it was released back in early 2017, the Wanhao Duplicator 7 (also known colloquially as Wanhao D7) series of printers has caused quite a bit of a stir in the DLP 3D printer markets of the world, so we’ve gone ahead and done this Wanhao Duplicator 7 review for you. Back when the … Read more

Marlin vs Skynet Firmware For Anet A8 Compared

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Before we answer this question, we have to figure out what is firmware in the first place? In a nutshell, it is the code that makes your 3D printer work and come alive. In other words it can simply be termed as “software for hardware.” Many of us consider various devices as strictly hardware but … Read more

PLA Print Temperature For Nozzle and Bed: An Easy Guide

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One of the biggest challenges when printing with any filament is dialing in the correct printing and bed temperature. PLA filament is one of the most commonly and universally used 3D printing filaments out there, so what’s the ideal PLA printing temperature? This is a question that commonly comes up for many first-timers to 3D … Read more

How To Tune 3D Printer Jerk and Acceleration Settings

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If you’re constantly running into 3D printing issues which are not resolved no matter what you try, there are two lesser-known settings in your 3D printer that you may wish to tweak: the jerk and acceleration settings. A word of warning: jerk and acceleration tuning is an advanced tactic. We don’t recommend doing it until … Read more

Simplify3D VS Slic3r – Which One Should You Choose?

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The best 3D printer in the world can let you down if you don’t have the right software to back you up. There’s a ton of choice out there when it comes to the printing programs you use. Want to get to the bottom of the Simplify3D VS Slic3r debate? We’re here to help. We’ve … Read more

Cura Tree Supports: What Are They and Recommended Settings

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Cura Tree Supports are an innovative new way to generate supports. Cura has long been at the forefront of ease-of-use and advances in 3D printer technology, and the list of awesome new features is always growing. Cura’s tree supports is a notable addition to supports, something that is often a thorn in the side of … Read more

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