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Enclosure for Prusa1

Enclosures create a controlled environment around a 3D printer, stabilizing the ambient temperature and protecting prints from drafts of cold air. This is very useful when printing with high-temperature filaments like ABS, ASA, and Polycarbonates, which are extremely finicky. These filaments tend to contract significantly as they cool, leading to warping and layer separation/delamination.

An enclosure maintains higher ambient temperatures around 3D printed objects, reducing the temperature difference between freshly extruded layers and the print bed. This dramatically reduces warping and improves layer adhesion, making complex prints with these materials possible. Enclosures also help keep the build area and printer clean and dust-free, which is a pretty big problem in the Makerspace.

To combat this issue, I decided to modify the existing shelf/platform that Prusa1 sits on. This proved to be a bigger challenge than I initially thought, as the wood had warped the platform from a square into a parallelogram by about 1/4 of an inch. I found this out the hard way after realising none of my measurements lined up despite all being correct.

I started by screwing one 2×2 and two 1×2 pieces of wood into the walls of the existing platform to create a frame that would support the side panels. I used the Kreg jig to drill pocket holes into each board in order to keep the screws hidden. I then used a sheet of MDF from the laser as the right-side wall, with a cutout and duct for the printer’s power supply to keep it from overheating inside the chamber. I screwed this piece in using some clamp-style brackets that I printed in PETG.

I also installed a second webcam taken from an old Polar3D printer in the top right corner of the chamber to provide a second angle for print monitoring via Octoprint. You can watch the live view from this camera at http://20.1.0.17:8081/ or via Octoprint while on any TFS WiFi network.

After that, I began working on the top panel, since it was too big to fit in the laser I had to make it in two pieces, which required lots of measuring and sketching to compensate for the slanted-ness in the structure. I made sure to use more of the cheap MDF for the laser to figure out the initial shape before cutting it out on the more expensive acrylic. I included a central cutout for a magnetic filament guide that has 5 holes in it, allowing for filament to pass through into the enclosure and enabling future MMU compatibility.

The final part was the door. I had originally wanted it to be a two-part articulating design as it would be more out of the way when open, and since we don’t do much ABS printing, that’s the state the enclosure would be in most of the time. Of course, this proved to be more challenging than I first thought. The weight of the door caused it to sag quite a bit on the hinges and made it quite flimsy and delicate and so I decided to switch to an upwards-opening design. This design is significantly more robust, but it gets in the way of the spool rack, which can make accessing the filaments a bit more inconvenient. It also can’t open a perfect 180°, meaning it has to be held open with a string instead of a latch or magnetic system, since it can’t sit flush with the rest of the structure. The hinges are a 3D printed design by wd73_ on Thingiverse and are attached to the door with M3 bolts from a box of spare Prusa parts.

Wooden spoon

I carved a wooden spoon for my first makerspace project. It’s a little rough but I don’t think it’s terrible for my first time. I learned how much pressure to put with the tools, which way to cut, what types of wood is best for what, etc. I think next time I’m going to precut the wood with the laser cutter and then carve in the details.

3d printed Goku

For my Makerspace project, I created a Goku figurine. Goku is a fictional character from the book and show Dragon Ball Z, which I really enjoy. That’s why I chose to make him for my project.

Here’s how I made it: I first visited printables.com to find a model I liked. Once I found one, I downloaded it and uploaded it to the 3D printing program. I adjusted the size to my preference and started the printing process, which took about 8-10 hours. Peter helped with all the setup, and his assistance was very much appreciated.

Picture of Goku figurine

wooden Christmas trees

one thing that chicken middle made for the craft fair was small wooden Christmas trees around nine and a halve centimeters tall which were painted Green and decorated with different color markers to look like ornaments after we colored them we drilled a hole at the tip of each tree so we could, either with string or ribbon, make a little loop so they could be hung. although these did not really sell really well they were fun and easy to make and was worth the effort.

one of the trees before being painted.

Nigerian Stick part like 3 or something,

As you all know, I’ve been making (attempting) a spear. Here’s a quick recap of what happened.

First, I found a stick and started making a spear. Then came interims and I was forced to make it international, I decided to do it based on South Africa, but that was ugly and I didn’t like it, so I continued to do more research till I discovered Nigeria!!! They have some very beautiful carvings, anyway once I started etching animals into it, I dropped it and the spear snapped in half. Now I am left with a half-Nigerian and half-wird pointy stick. BUT when it dropped two small pieces came off, and soon enough I will make them into knives, then I shall be able to dual-wield knives.

I also worked on helping @hope-g with making a crown and Uber-Eats backpack for her snake.

A crown for Ocean (my snake!)

This is a 3d printed crown. The first time I tried to print it, it was wayyy to big , so I scaled it down and reprinted it.The second time it was the perfect size which is 45mm.

November Ajax the Antweight Robot (Part 1 Motors)

For my makerspace project I am building an Antweight Robot ( like BattleBots but smaller) called November Ajax ( after my favorite movie pacific rim). so in march I am going to be working on motors (propulsion system) for my robot, what I decided to do is to make my own hub motor, a hub motor is an type of motor that sits in the actual wheel/tire.

this is the start of a soon-to-be hub motor.

drawing practice.

for the past week I have been working on improving my drawing skills. I have been mostly working on drawing eyes and mouths. I will eventually work on drawing noses but they are hard, and I don’t like to draw them so I will do them later. I am very happy about how my sketches turned out. I use Pinterest for my drawing inspo. 🙂

Shark Coaster

To make this shark coaster I used Doc’s Supernote. I drew a lemon shark, a great white shark, a whale shark, a hammerhead shark, and a mini shark. I drew each of these designs on the Supernote and uploaded them to the computer and then I copy and pasted it onto Corel. I had to copy, past, and crop the drawing several times because I drew them too close together. Then I decided to put the species of each shark next to the drawing to add extra detail. After the design was all done and polished up it was ready to print. I used general hardwood for the coaster, and it took a few minutes, but overall not too long.

Dual Sickles concept

My idea for this is that it will be two wooden Sickles, I also wanted to make two because I thought it would be an interesting idea. I have not made it yet so this is the concept which shows the dimensions of what I want the final product to be. I plan for them to be 12.5 inches in height so it will be around the same size of a real sickle. I do need to do some testing for this project but I think that it will be finished soon.