FORGEFRAME
Everything is held together in a frame. There are
many materials this can be made from, but the
rigidity of the frame is critical to the accuracy of the
printing. The stiffer the frame, the more accurately
you’ll be able to print.
EXTRUDER
There are three basic parts to an extruder – the
motor that pulls in the filament, the heater that melts
it, and the nozzle through which it’s pushed into the
printer. All three functions are critical. If the motor
can’t grip the filament properly, it can slip, and this
causes print problems. The heater has to be held
at the right temperature for the material being used
(different filament types need different temperatures,
and not all printers can get hot enough for all
filament types). Nozzles can wear out, particularly if
you use one of the more abrasive filaments.
REEL HOLDER
You get filament in reels, and this needs to feed
freely into the printer. Many printers ship without reel
holders, and printing your own holder is a common
first project for 3D printer owners.FILAMENT
This is the material that your printer makes objects
from. The most important thing is to make sure that
your printer is compatible with the filament, and the
most important points here are the temperature your
printer can achieve, and the diameter of filament
your printer can accept.
There’s a dizzying array of filaments available, and
they vary in terms of colour, strength, flexibility, and
look. Most printing filament is made of polylactic acid
(PLA) a bioplastic that’s fairly easy to work with. One
problem with PLA (and some other filaments such
as ABS) is that it absorbs moisture from the air, and
this causes problems when printing, so it needs to be
stored in as dry a place as possible.PRINT BED
This is the bit that is printed on. While it may sound
basic, there are a few things to consider. Firstly,
the print bed has to be exactly level. Each layer of
print is only a fraction of a millimetre thick, so if the
print bed is off by even a tiny amount, it can cause
problems with the print. Some printers require you
to level it manually (such as using screw adjusters),
while others have auto-levelling.
You print hot plastic and then it cools to solidify.
If you print hot plastic directly onto a cold print
bed, this can cause problems like warping. Having
a heated print bed gives you more control over the
cooling process, and results in better prints.