Heat treatments are post-processing techniques commonly used to change material properties, either physically or chemically. Annealing is one such treatment, and you might have heard about it within the context of 3D printing. It’s said to make 3D printed parts perform better, but how exactly does this process work, and what can be achieved with PLA? In this article, we’ll explain how annealing works and describe a couple of procedures you can try at home. Let’s get started! What Is Annealing? Annealing is a heat treatment used to increase the ductility of metals
Author: 3dLab World
3D Printing ASA: The Best Settings & Printing Tips
Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate, also known as ASA, is an engineering thermoplastic with a similar molecular structure to the very popular and commonly used acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, a.k.a. ABS. ASA is known for its high impact and good chemical resistance. It can handle high temperatures (softening at 105 °C) and has great dimensional stability. Compared to ABS, ASA is UV-stable and maintains its appearance and resistance even after long exposure to sunlight and water. It’s in many common products, including auto parts (bumper covers and side mirror housings), gutter and
Filament Tangle on Spool: How to Prevent & Solve It
3D printing filament spooling is an important yet often overlooked part of 3D printing. It’s not usually something to be concerned about, as filament generally comes perfectly spooled right out of the box. Properly spooled filament is fundamental for a good 3D printing experience, to avoid under-printing, vibrations, mistakes, and more. However, when filament tangles do happen, it can be a nightmare to put up with, and even more complicated to solve. But it doesn’t have to be! Here are some tips and tricks to prevent and solve
The Best Large 3D Printers in 2024
Sometimes, you don’t want to break up that large part into smaller, easier-to-print pieces for your average-sized 3D printer at home. Whether for part strength, geometric complexity, or, let’s be honest, pure laziness, there are times when a large-format desktop 3D printer is exactly the right tool for the job. We get that. Picking a large 3D printer is pretty straightforward – there’s only a handful of them out there to begin with. Choosing one that’s going to make the printing easier is where it gets trickier. Well,
The Best 3D Printing Books in 2024
3D printing is an incredibly cool technology, but it’s not always the easiest to learn from the basics on up. Luckily, the technology has been around long enough now that many books have been written about it, most seeking to educate eager learners. Some are even entertaining and accurate! (Unlike the textbooks and guides you got in school.) Like many technologies though, 3D printing is progressing fast. So, guides need to be updated often, or they risk becoming obsolete. We’re keeping our eyes peeled for any new additions to the 3D printing
Prusa i3-Series Overview: The 2024 Models Compared
Prusa Research is one of the largest companies in the hobbyist 3D printing market. Founded in 2012 by Josef Prusa, the startup has grown to reach every corner of the world. The goal of Prusa is to create reliable machines made of high-quality components while still maintaining an affordable price and an open-source nature. Although Prusa offers a few different models of machines, the most iconic of their 3D printers is the i3 series, which served as inspiration for many printers in the following years. After the first model was released in
Direct Drive vs Bowden Extruder: The Differences
The vast majority of fused-deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers have either direct or Bowden extruders. And while the basic principle is the same – the use of an extruder to push filament through a heated nozzle – the difference lays in where that extruder sits. Direct extruders are mounted on the printhead and pushes the filament directly into the hot end. Meanwhile, Bowden extruders usually have the extruder mounted on the frame of the printer. As such, the filament travels through a PTFE tube to reach the printhead. Thanks to advances in hardware, the
Free Laser Cut Files & Designs: The Top Sites of 2023
Home-based laser cutters are becoming more common, thanks to rapidly dropping prices and improving technology. You may have heard that you can make almost any image laser cut. If you already have some experience in the subject, you know that you need to convert the image to a vector file format. But have you ever wondered why this process is necessary? Graphic image file formats like BMP, JPG, and GIF are composed of pixels, which are small squares that represent the image in dots, like a mosaic. The mosaic effect that
Top 5 Best Raspberry Pi 5 Projects to Try in 2024
Single-board computer (SBC) fans have been waiting with bated breath for the much-anticipated release of the Raspberry Pi 5. At long last, it’s arrived! While the new Pi 5 shares many features with former Raspberry Pi models, such as full-size USB ports and a 40-pin header, it boasts many new and exciting attributes. Some of the notable aspects of the Pi 5 include a 64-bit quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 processor, a custom RP1 I/O controller, and MicroSD card support for high-speed SDR104 mode. We’ve scoured the internet for projects that make use of the
15 Great 3D Printed Miniatures Accessories for Gamers
In the confines of imaginary realms and the depths of digital dungeons, players find fertile ground for their creativity to blossom. Today, we stand at the crossroads of technology and entertainment, witnessing a revolution that not only redefines the way we play, but also how we shape our adventures. Join us in this universe, where tiny heroes and villains come to life through the magic of 3D printing. In this article, we’ll delve into the challenge of manual labor of painting miniatures and building accessories, a task that