[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]
On 14/10/20 21:42, Kevin wrote:Like others have said - most printers are OS agnostic, and simply need a G-code file (which you often supply on removable medium anyway) to make them 'go'. What you use to design your works (2D/3D/etc) is entirely up-to-you and is independent of the 'code' you generate, and you will typically use a separate program to 'slice' your work into 2D layers for the printer to read. All the intermediate file formats are mostly standardised between all packages, so you can do your design in eg. TinkerCAD on the web, Fusion360 in Windows or Free/Opens-CAD in Linux, Ultimaka's Cura runs in both Windows and Linux (much of it is python) and slic3r is an alternative for Linux. You can even set up a Raspberry Pi as an inexpensive 'server' for your printer using a distro called 'OctoPi' (the server is called OctoPrint) and it will take care of the slicing and spooling processes for you! The Exeter FabLab built two Prusa3D printers from scratch, and both have been in use (one was a private project) by various users successfully, and produce quite reasonable prints. Kits are around the 200-300 mark as you may already know. I have an XYZ Davinci I have been donated, which I'm about to retrofit with a third-party after-market E3D print head, and it has its own Arduino processor on board to convert the G-code commands to servo motor drive. I can/will upgrade the firmware to unlock the device (widely publicised) so all these things are very 'hackable' these days. All in all, save learning 3D CAD/drafting from scratch, the rest is quite trivial really, just jump in and get started .. Cheers, Michael. |
Attachment:
signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature
-- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG https://mailman.dcglug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq