Aloha,
I got an Elegoo Carbon FDM coreXY printer and a roll of PLA from the same brand. I’ve read that some filament brands are better than others but I figured I’d start easy.
I’ve taken STLs to the library to print, but I’ve not done my own before. What’s all this slicer stuff? What other software and tools do I need? Thanks!
Unless you live somewhere with a really low humidity, get something to store your filament rolls in. I like the Sterilite 54 Quart Gasket Boxes. They will hold a dozen rolls of filament. Put humidity meter and a big cloth bag of silica gel in there to keep it dry. Bake the silica gel when the humidity starts rising to regenerate it.
The 4 liter cereal storage containers work well for storing single rolls. You can print a spool holder that will fit in them so you don’t have to take the filament out of the box to print with it.
Get or make a filament dryer too. The filament usually comes wet even though it’s packed in a vacuum sealed bag.
Very interesting, thank you. I suppose it isn’t “wet”, but it’s humid enough to have problems adhering?
The filament absorbs moisture and that causes print quality issues. It can cause things like bubbles, stringing, poor layer adhesion and a rough finish. PLA will get brittle when it absorbs too much moisture.
Excellent to know. Thank you!