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3D Cad
As I was once a programmer I found OpenScad, free, very intuitive and simple to use. The only draw back being that the version for MacOS was very down level, but it was dragged back up to date this past summer.
Slicer
I found Slic3r easy to learn to use and it produces good prints, but I can not get it to selectively produce supports. I have tried 3 different versions of CURA but initially failed to get a profile that works for me. Finally this summer I tried again and eventually got a V4.2 profile to work. But I have not worked on moving over to it.
Print Bed
I am using the stock bed with some 75mm wide Painters Masking tape bought from Screwfix in the UK. This seems to work OK, but it gives a textured surface to the base that some do not like (they prefer the flat surface given by Glass)
I have since replaced this with a Two Trees spring steel base from eBay which gives excellent adhesion and ease of print removal. But this is at the cost of low heat bed temperature as the magnetic sheet provided acts as an insulator between the heat bed and the steel plate. The thermistor is attached to the heat bed and not the steel plate so will need some manual calibration adjustment.
Filament
I have stuck to generic no name PLA from China initially with a bed temperature of 60C and a filament temperature of 200C. I have recently dropped the initial bed temperature to 55C and reducing this down to 50C after layer one.
There seems to be a move to PLA+ which I have found to need slightly higher temperatures of 60C and 205C.
Use a skirt
Three or more circuits – Not because it improves the print directly but because a) it cleans out most problems in the extruder and gets the filament running smoothly before the print starts and b) it immediately shows up any problems with bed levelling
Layers
I have found that a 0.30 mm first layer gives good adhesion to the print bed and a layer thickness of 0.2mm fine or 0.3mm draft works well. If I drop the first layer to 0.2mm I find I need to up the number of skirt circuits to clean out the extruder…
Accuracy
Design yourself a couple of print tests – specifically to find the a) linear accuracy of the 3 Axis and b) how extrusion bulging affects the holes (eg screwholes) in the print. With a) loose belts can produce a rhombus rather than a rectangle or an oval and not a circle. With b) the ripple produced by layer over layer can reduce the width of gaps left in the print and this will vary in multiple axis. I have to increase most clearance holes by at least 0.2mm radius or get the drill out afterwards.
Lubricate the 8mm steel rods and lead screws
Get some PTFE lubricant spray to regularly grease the Axis Rods and Lead Screws this will reduce friction, lower the noise levels and enable the use of lower motor currents giving cooler motors
Changing filament
I gave up on trying to join two pieces of filament, it is possible using a piece of Bowden PTFE tube – but I find it simpler to just cut the old one off at the extruder top and run Pronterface to
a) heat the extruder up
b) back up the existing filament so that you can pull it out
c) prepare the new filament by a) smoothing it straight and b) shaping the end into a point (heat 5cm from the end with a gas lighter, then pull it apart and cut the point with scissors/side cutters).
d) hold the extruder button down (carefully pinch the entire assembly rather than lean on the button and bend the X carriage and assembly) then just manually push about 10cm of the new filament through the extruder.
Update: I have recently modified the printhead carriage, to remove the extruder fan heatsink as it is not really needed and then hinged the fan at the edge so that it can be rotated out of the way when changing filament.