Very nice! Looks great!!

I usually just swap out the hot end, given the typical low cost. But that only is needed about once a year. Most the time I do that simply because it's easier (and quicker) than trying to clean a clogged hot end.

All;

Not quit 3D Printing, but I understand that this is currently the best place to share designs.

I've completed my Class of 1812 Whole Playfield Protector. I've attached a picture before I peeled off its protective film, so you can checkout the fit. The edges are clean, any wrinkles is just the protective film coming off of the plastic.

It's made of 0.02" PTEG. I cut it out using a drag knife on my CNC machine. My CNC is only 2' x 2', so I had to use tiling. Tiling allows me to cut projects of any length, 2 feet at a time.

If you would like a copy of the design or close-up pictures of the fit: Please send me a Pinside Message.

- Mark

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That's awesome! And Class of 1812 is a grail machine for me, my GF loves it. Good to see you keeping yours in good condition.

What are you using for a CNC?

Thinking of buying a Prusa mini as my first printer. I've seen a lot of people had problems with the Enders, so that's why I'm leaning toward the Prusa. Is it recommended to learn a design software like Onshape or fusion360 before buying a printer?

It actually might be beneficial to do it the other way around where you learn printing first and then learn some modelling. That way you'll understand the limitations of a printer and what design elements make sense for a part that is going to be 3d printed. Things like avoiding overhangs and having a flat surface to use as a base.

You also don't need to be super proficient in modelling to take advantage of the printer, so you can learn it as you go and get as good as you need to be for the designs you want to make.

If your goal is to have a good print at the end of the process (vs just learning how to model), start with learning how to get good prints. There's a bit of a learning curve that is steeper or more gradual depending on the printer you get. The Prusa Mini is a great start. Not the cheapest (as I'm sure someone will point out in 3...2... 1...) but it's the quickest to getting going and actually having a good result. You don't learn as much as quickly than if you're having to tweak things to high heaven, but that's the tradeoff, and at least you get an actual result instead of a spaghetti mess.

Then after you've gotten a decent understanding of what goes into printing (and therefore understand how the models work a fair bit), then you can dive into Tinkercad or Fusion360. There's so much stuff available on Thingiverse and Printables you'll never run out of things to try.

wow, really? I read the exact opposite

I was just gifted my first printer, the Anycubic Vyper. So far I am loving the ease of this printer, especially the auto bed leveling. It just worked without issue right out of the box. I am still learning, and have not tried anything too complex yet.

What is everyone's recomendation for beginner friendly 3D design software? The top 3 I have seen are Onshape, Fusion360, and TinkerCAD.

Start with Tinkercard if you are a total noob to 3D design. Fusion360 is what I currently use since it's free for hobbyists. I'm no expert and can make anything I need so far in Fusion.

I agree that TinkerCAD, or even the 3D Builder program that comes with Windows 10/11, is an ideal place to start for beginners. Either should give you a good introduction to the basic "language" of 3D design.

I use Fusion 360, and for what it is, I think it's surprisingly easy to learn, while still having a deep set of features. So far, it's done everything I've needed. But I have also run into a few different bugs that took me hours each to work around. Being free for hobbyists is obviously a big appeal, and one major reason I use it. But I would like to try Solidworks one day. Or maybe OnShape, but even Fusion 360's "always connected" design can be a problem at times, so I'm not all that keen on using a 100% online program like OnShape.

I do pretty much exclusively engineered designs. I'm not sure how well any of these programs would work for sculpting/artistic designs. I have heard (mainly from my kids) that Blender is a more appropriate program for that sort of thing. Blender can also be used for technical design, but I have personally found it a lot harder to learn than Fusion 360 was, mainly because its user interface philosophy is focused on a different audience, introducing a lot of complexity that has nothing to do with the kinds of designs I am doing.

Was documenting my Tron topper build and I have a few random 3D printed parts. Not worth putting in my thread, but figured since I had photos I'd put them here. This is what I love about 3D printing, the feet and PCB tray are really quite simple (and both modeled in TinkerCAD for the record, still not fast enough in Fusion 360 to just reach for it when I'm in "project mode" and moving quickly). But they're exactly what I needed to fit my need.

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The foot for instance has a little post in the middle that a piece of EVA foam locks onto when I'm wrapping it around the sides:

tron-foot (resized).png

There's nothing off the shelf quite like it. And the PCB tray is again a simple part, but it has a perfect cutout in it so the through hole pins from the connector and the capacitor have a place to sit.

I find the majority of my designs and prints are this kind of thing, easy and tiny parts that exactly fit the need I have. It's hard to imagine what I'd do without a 3D printer now, it's just so damn useful.

Very cool. I’ve got my resin printer for detailed stuff but I think I’m going to go ahead and snag a P1P too, as my first FDM.

Off topic, did you somehow print/make the glass/plastic part for your Tron topper? Seems like a fun corresponding thing to try out sometime too, but I have no idea what’s involved. I loved the 3d shadow box Alien topper that someone made and always wonder how it is done.

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking into them, TinkerCAD felt a little too basic for my needs. I will give Fusion360 a try.

Fusion360 is great. If you ever get stuck there is usually a youtube vid that can guide you through whatever process you're trying to learn

Everything but the parts I just posted above is laser cut. I won't drag this thread off topic too much, but I will say a laser cutter really compliments a 3D printer. You get subtractive on one end, and additive on the other, and that gives you a lot of power. I have a CNC too, but tbh I've barely used it since my laser and 3D printer solve so many problems already.

For more detailed shots of the Tron plastics I just posted a ton of process and closeup pics to my thread, you can check them there to not derail this one.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tron-interactive-topper-pre-orders-aurich-mod/page/2#post-7289230

My brother switched from the ender to the mini at his business because the enders were giving him so much trouble. He has half a dozen minis running with no issues.

Fusion 360 is way more powerful. And does so many more things. That said, you can do a ton with TinkerCAD, it's much less basic than you might think once you learn to add and subtract shapes with it.

Checking the forums for any product will make you think things are always broken. Because nobody goes to a forum to tell everyone how smoothly things are working, they go there for tech support when something is wrong.

I'm no Aurich, but it depends on what you want to do with it. I've been in the market for a few months, done a ton of research, and for a "desktop" 50W laser I'm a fan of the OMTech Polar & Qweike Cloud.

FYI: I want to be able to cut clear acrylic, which no diode laser can handle.

So to make this slightly topical the first thing I'd say is stay away from any laser add-on for a 3D printer. If it's strong enough to etch and cut things it's strong enough to f*ck your eyeballs. Only use enclosed lasers with proper shielding. Full stop as far as I'm concerned. Also, fume extraction is a real thing, again, enclosure!

I would personally recommend this as the lowest "worth bothering" machine:

https://omtechlaser.com/collections/machines/products/40w-co2-laser-engraver-cutter-usb-032b-us

With the Lightburn compatible upgrade board. Lightburn is great software, powerful, easy to use, and worth spending the extra to have vs the garbage software you'll be stuck with otherwise. And it's both Mac and PC compatible for whatever your OS of choice is.

So around $640. That's I think the minimum, spending less just buys you frustration.

For deeper conversation maybe we need a new thread, I don't want to talk about non-3D stuff too much and irritate people who are here for that.

Edit:

Who is, really?

I like OmTech, as evidenced by link above, for "Chinese clone lasers sold by a company you can reach on the phone for support". My laser is an OmTech. And I would 100% buy your recs over a Glowforge. Avoid GF if you can imo.

A 40W CO2 laser will cut clear acrylic quite well (also other translucent colors). I currently outsource all of my custom plastic laser cutting to a company that uses a laser with these specs (I have both 3/32" and 1/8" extruded and cast acrylic cut and etched), and the cuts come out perfect.

Okay, I'm just gonna answer questions and if anyone is rolling their eyes at laser talk it's not my fault, the person who started this thread is forcing me!

Yes, 40w is great. I use a 50w, and I can cut through ¼" acrylic and quality plywood (crap wood has glue and fillers that will cause struggles). A 40w will probably handle the same fine, with slower speeds.

With lasers you get this funny thing when it comes to power. More power = more cutting. But the higher the power the higher the minimum power you can run it at. So delicate things, and etching, can become trickier with powerful lasers.

For a lot of uses you really don't want to go super high, unless cutting is your main goal. 40w is a little on the low side, but very usable and versatile still.

The main downside to a K40 style laser isn't the power really, it's the bed size. You will want something bigger if you get serious. I have 600x400mm and I wish it was larger sometimes.

Probably just need to change the title of the thread to include both technologies.

3D printing and laser cutting are extremely relevant tools when it comes to pinball, and nice to have discussions about both. I too previously purchased a CNC machine, but now it is just a door stop. I consider myself to be a fairly advanced 3D designer/printer, and as mentioned before have been exploring laser cutting now (making a space for it is really my only limitation at this point). My CNC went to bed because I've decided that it is easier to do the design and then pay someone to laser cut, and the results are significantly better.

As Aurick mentioned, material size should be a major consideration when choosing a laser cutter, IMO. Both models I referenced above can handle stock up to 21.1" x 11.8".

Also, you should check out the "Make or Break Shop" channel on YouTube for all kinds of laser cutter reviews and comparisons.

I've built two MK3S printer kits. The first one took me 8 hours and the second 6 hours since I was much more familiar with the printer. Both times I started in the morning and worked straight through. Take your time, follow the online instructions in detail, and you'll do great.

Mine sits in my home office behind me in the open air, and is even under an air vent. I've printed over 23 Kilometers of filament with nearly 602 days of print time on my MK3S+ (started as MK3 and upgraded to S then S+), and have never used an enclosure with PLA, PETG, and some FLEX. I've even printed smaller ABS models successfully. Not saying that enclosures are bad, but in most common use cases they are not needed.

So on the laser cutting questions, is anyone using a laser to cut white woods or are they still mostly being CNC’d with a router? I built a Mostly 3D printed CnC to cut my playfield white woods, but a liver cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment have sidelined my homebrewing pinball pursuits for now. Is it cheaper to contract the playfield out than cut it in house?

Can't speak first-hand to your question, but I've done multiple playfield art designs for a couple of people and as far as I know their playfields were all cut via CNC.

The MK3S+ is rock solid and as far as my experience goes there is no mod that will make it print better - save your money. If you want to do something for aesthetics or practical use improvement then by all means do so.

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You can, but I guarantee you there will be no noticeable change in print quality. Prusa has engineered this printer to the max and has released multiple upgrades for it over the last few years. If an aluminum z-mount would have made a difference, then they would have offered it. I've seen plenty of videos of all kinds of Prusa add-ons that are supposed to improve the print (which is already excellent), and in each and every claim the results were unable to be verified by the reviewer. I've even tried a few things and designed my own replacement parts over the years, and again nothing improved the actual print quality.

The only way to really do a whitewood on a laser realistically would be to do it in layers. Unless you've got a beefy laser cutting through a whole playfield ain't gonna happen, and if it does it will probably char it more than you want. It's just not an ideal tool for that.

Also, a laser is basically a 2D tool. You etch a surface, or you cut all the way through. It doesn't do pocket cuts. Most whitewoods are going to want that for things like inserts and various mechs.

But if you cut a few thinner layers and glued them together later you could work around some of that. I don't think it's a great method.

Also, you'd have to do each cut in parts, with a slide through for your laser. Almost no one had a bed big enough for a whole playfield in one go.

I just got my Prusa MINI+ last week. I'm a noob at this. I put it together on Saturday and started monkeying around with calibration and printing on Sunday. I think I made the time to calibrate it longer than it needed to be. I printed out a few things already...including the obligatory benchy and the mr_tantrum pinball holder. The only issue I ran into was one of the prints not sticking to the PEI bed with a PLA print. I had to increase the bed heat. I guess the environment and ambient room temp is impacting that aspect (printer is in basement). I'm wondering if an enclosure would help regulate that.

Yes.

I laser etch for my job, so I was able to test cut my playfield using a 100w laser. It is very doable, but there is still the issue of the ball through that still needs a CNC or 3d printing it. I went the 3d print way for now.

More power doesn't always mean better cutting, if it's charred it's too much power. For cutting thick material like 1/2in piece of wood I went slow like 5% and 50%-60% power. I don't focus on the top I actually focus 1/4in down into the wood. Maybe I should start a laser cutting and etching topic.

Do it! I'm an experienced amateur, definitely don't know everything about it, would welcome hearing more experienced voices.

I picked up a used Prusa that came with a creality 3d printer enclosure and I really like it so far. My work shed gets too cold some days and I hit the printer in the enclosure with a hair dryer to just to get started.

Eh, PLA -> No. ABS ASA ->Yes

What brand filament are you using and what temps? There is no need for an enclosure for PLA printing. Sounds like a first layer bed leveling issue to me and/or print bed cleaning. Do a first level calibration and do it again until you nail it. As the printer is doing its test rub your fingernail over the line it lays down. If the filament comes up with little to no force, lower the print head. Keep doing this until you have to apply some force to get the print line to come off the plate. When done you should be able to peel the little square off in a single sheet. BTW, I'm assuming the mini does first level calibration similar to MK3S

Also, the PEI bed needs to be completely free of contaminants. Over time I found that even high concentration alcohol did not give me consistent results. I switched to Acetone I buy by the can at HD/LOW, wipe the bed with a small amount using a paper towel between prints (bed hot or cold), and prints stick perfectly every single time (I am not exaggerating). Some have argued Acetone is not safe, but it is. I'm on my fourth or fifth can now. Acetone is not toxic, but you just want to make sure you close the can between use. BTW, this is the same stuff you use to dissolve super glue and that all of the women in your life use to remove nail polish.

Roughening up a PEI sheet/bed with some green scotchbrite can also improve bed adhesion. I am using just hot water and some detergent (for doing the dishes) to clean a PEI sheet.

Agreed, there is no need for an enclosure with PLA. In fact you want PLA to cool as fast as possible.

If you're not getting good bed adhesion you should make sure the build plate is super clean, make sure the first layer is calibrated well and that the temp is set right for the bed. (60c has always worked for me)

Using a large area test print works best since you can have good first layer calibration in some parts of the bed but not others which will lead to lifting and curling.

I've mentioned it before but if you have a smooth PEI sheet acetone will refresh it back to almost new.

Well, he asked if an enclosure would help, my general answer was yes, an enclosure always seems to help keep variables at a minimum.

Besides calibrating the head and leveling the bed, here’s the trick to getting PLA to stick to the PEI sheet. Hairspray. Just a light dusting of super hold on the sheet will make even the most finicky PLA stick. Some have tried glue stick on blue painters tape, but the smoothest, most reliable PLA bed adhesive I have used has been good old Aquanet Super Hold, or just about any bargain superhold hairspray. Let it dry completely. Cleans off with rubbing alcohol. If printing exclusively with PLA, you can get a PEI sheet to last years on your hotbed by using just hairspray and alcohol.

Also, large area PLA prints do get less warping when using an enclosure in my experience, that and a heated bed. People say you don’t need a heated bed for PLA, but if you are doing a larger format ramp mold, or prototypes with a lot of surface area, the heated bed helps with maintaining adhesion by reducing warping, something PLA does real well without any help. Just been my experience after printing crap for over 10 years.

I had a PEI sheet sitting in my '3D printer stuff' drawer. Actually forgot I had it. Decided to finally give it a try about 6 months ago and I can't rave enough about it. I use to use rafts as sort of a 'better safe than sorry' default - not even a concern now, even for small parts. PLA just adheres w/o issue. Been cleaning w/IPA without any issues, but will use naphtha when needed for a good cleaning.