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3D printing groups
36 of the Best 3D Printing Facebook Groups – Maker Hacks
Author: Chris Garrett
Facebook has quickly become THE place to discuss 3D printing. Here are the best places for quality 3D printing discussion, getting help with your 3D printer problems, and making new friends:
Facebook has quickly become THE place to discuss 3D printing. I have to say I probably spend more coffee break time geeking out about 3D printing on Facebook than anything else, which explains why people keep saying they are bumping into me more and more online.
Here is my list of the best places to go in Facebook for quality 3D printing discussion, getting help with your 3D printer problems, and making new friends:
- Maker Hacks – Well I have to start with the group that started this website, right? Maker Hacks is not just for 3D printing, but electronics, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, laser engraving and anything else making related that you can think of.
- 3D Printing Club – This is the biggest low drama 3D Printing group I have found with over 27,000 members.
Others might be bigger, but this group has best signal to noise ratio due to the actively engaged http://3dpc.tech moderation team (including me!)
- 3D Printing for Everyone – Inclusive, welcoming, friendly, and troll-free – all are welcome, from newbs to experts, and no question is off limits.
- 3D Printing – Ignore the URL that says Makerbot, this is for all makes and model users of 3D printers. At 40,000 members and growing it is the fastest expanding group out of all that I have seen.
- 3D Printer Chat – The group associated with the excellent 3D printing website (I am biased, I write for it), 3D printer chat
- Under Construction: Open Source 3D Printing – Unlike the branded groups, this is the open source group, discussing RepRap and all open source 3D printing and hardware.
- 3D Printer Builders – Building your own 3D printer?
- RepRap – Group dedicated to the RepRap DIY/open source 3D printers
- 3D Printer DIY – DIY 3D printer owners and DIY 3D printer discussion.
- 3D Printing Hobbyists – As the name suggests, a place for 3D printing hobbyists to discuss and trade.
- 3D Scanning and Printing – Want to bring something from the real world into the digital and back again? This is the place to find out more.
- 3D Printing Experts – Once you are no longer a beginner, you might find a home here.
- 3D Printing Ballers – For 3D printing “ballers”, whatever one of those is 😉
- 3D Printing – A smaller group but sure to grow
- 3D Print Laser and Milling – For folks who make with more than just plastic!
- 3D Printing Business Worldwide – For people using 3D printers for business or business around 3D printing.
- 3D Printing Club for Teachers and Schools – 3D printing in education.
Prop Making, Drones, and RC 3D Printing
- UK R2 D2 Builders – Build your own Astromech!
- 3D Print Props – If you are into cosplay or just having cool 3D printed pop culture items, then this is the group for you.
- BB8 Builders Club – Talking of pop culture, everyone wants a working BB8 right? Right?
- 3D Printed Multirotors – For folks building their own quadcopter, drone or other flying machine.
- Open RC Project – A group about 3D printing your own remote control products!
Brand-Specific
- Wanhao Duplicator i3 – The Wanhao Di3 facebook group is super active and helpful. If nothing else, check out the comprehensive sticky message links.
- Prusa i3 Mk2 Official – Official, and best, group for the Prusa i3 Mk2 (Josef Prusa is an admin).
- Printrbot – This is the new Facebook group for Printrbot owners, and it is already becoming a fave of mine!
- Wombot 3D Printer Family and Wombot 3D Printers – For Wombot fans and users. Yes, there are two.
- Flashforge – Flashforge, Wanhao D4, CTC community
- TEVO Black Widow Owners – For the TEVO Black Widow – not just helpful but necessary for owners of this printer!
- Wombot Owners – The unnofficial Wombot owners Facebook group.
Again, if you want actual help with your Wombot, join this group. - Folgertech Owners – Group for Folgertech printers.
- Creality CR10 – For the Creality CR10 printer.
- TEVO Little Monster – The group for the TEVO Little Monster Delta printer.
- ANET Group – Official group for the Anet series of printers, including the popular A8
Country/City Specific
- 3D Printing Canada and 3D Printing Calgary – For Canadian 3D printer owners. It’s good to have a local perspective, especially when not all products are available or reasonably priced for Canadians.
- 3D Printing UK – UK 3D printing community
- 3D Skrivare Sverige – Swedish 3D printing group
What are your favourite groups that I missed? I’d love to know if there are cool places I am not visiting, and I will add any more to this list that I hear about.
Category: Ideas, Strategies, and AdviceTag: community, facebook, links
About Chris Garrett
Marketing Director by day, maker, retro gaming, tabletop war/roleplaying nerd by night.
Co-author of the Problogger Book with Darren Rowse. Husband, Dad, 🇨🇦 Canadian.
Check out Retro Game Coders for retro gaming/computing.
☕️ Support Maker Hacks on Ko-Fi and get exclusive content and rewards!
3D Printing groups | Meetup
Largest 3D Printing groups
1
Manon
Organized by Manon
2
Hardwired NYC: Frontier Tech & Deep Tech (a FirstMark event)
7,291 Members | New York, USA
Matt Turck
Organized by Matt Turck
Matt Turck
Organized by Matt Turck
3
Freeside Atlanta
6,505 Freesiders | Atlanta, USA
Freeside Atlanta
Organized by Freeside Atlanta
Freeside Atlanta
Organized by Freeside Atlanta
4
Art Circle - New York
5,686 Art Lovers | New York, USA
Art Circle Social
Organized by Art Circle Social
Art Circle Social
Organized by Art Circle Social
5
Ace Makerspace
5,470 Makers | Emeryville, USA
Rachel McCrafty
Organized by Rachel McCrafty
Rachel McCrafty
Organized by Rachel McCrafty
6
Dallas Makerspace
5,162 Makers | Carrollton, USA
yashsedai
Organized by yashsedai
yashsedai
Organized by yashsedai
7
Academy for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
4,560 Members | Chennai, India
Arjun v
Organized by Arjun v
Arjun v
Organized by Arjun v
8
Decatur Makers
4,175 Makers | Decatur, USA
Decatur Makers
Organized by Decatur Makers
Decatur Makers
Organized by Decatur Makers
9
San Francisco Biotechnology Meetup
3,978 Scientist entrepreneur | San Francisco, USA
Catherine Seo
Organized by Catherine Seo
Catherine Seo
Organized by Catherine Seo
10
Cambridge Hackspace
3,930 Tinkerers | Somerville, USA
Ed
Organized by Ed
Ed
Organized by Ed
Newest 3D Printing groups
NCSU Raleigh SolidWorks User Group (SWUG)
5 Members
Started Nov 22 in Raleigh, USA
Parents of Future Engineers aka Tots and Bots
3 Members
Started Nov 15 in Asheville, USA
JP's Open Lab
12 Members
Started Nov 5 in Orlando, USA
Bournemouth SolidWorks UserGroup SWUG
5 Members
Started Nov 2 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Concordia Montreal SolidWorks User Group
31 Members
Started Oct 12 in Montréal, Canada
Salvage & Restore for Charity
15 Members
Started Sep 14 in Morristown, USA
3D printing technologies.
What to choose 3D printing with metal or 3D printing with plastic? 3D printer technologies FDM VS SLA VS SLM
Hello everyone, Friends! 3DTool is with you!
3D printing or additive manufacturing is a general term covering several kinds of processes. Each type of 3D printing has its own advantages and disadvantages. And each of them is designed for specific purposes.
In this article, we provide some simple tips to help you choose the right type of 3D printing for your needs. The graphs and tables provided in this article are intended as a quick reference to determine which type of 3D printing best suits your needs.
Type selection 3 D printing by supply
Materials for 3D printing usually come in the form of filament, powder, or resin (liquid photopolymer). Polymers (plastics) and metals are the two main groups of materials for 3D printing.
Other materials (e.g. ceramics or composites) are also available. Polymers can be broken down into thermoplastics and thermosets.
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3D printers FDM/FFF for plastic printing
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3D printers for 3D printing with liquid photopolymers
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3D printers for metal
If the required material is already known, the choice of 3D printing technology is relatively simple, since only a few additive technologies produce parts from the same materials. In these cases, the selection process is usually reduced to a comparison of costs and physical properties.
3 D plastic printing (thermoplastics)
Thermoplastics are best suited for functional applications, including the production of end-use parts and functional prototypes.
They have good mechanical properties, high impact resistance, wear resistance.
They may also be filled with carbon, glass, or other additives to improve their physical properties. 3D printed thermoplastics (such as ePA, Nylon, Formax) are widely used to produce parts for functional industrial use.
SLS parts have better mechanical and physical properties, as well as higher dimensional accuracy. FDM is more economical, and with this type of 3D printing, the speed of order fulfillment is increased.
The diagram below shows the most common thermoplastic materials for 3D printing.
Explanation of diagram : The higher the material is in the pyramid, the stronger its mechanical properties and the more difficult and expensive it is to print:
3 D printing with liquid photopolymer resins
Liquid photopolymers (resins) are better suited for applications where detail and precision are important, as parts made using this technology will have smooth surfaces.
Details up to 5cm will be printed with higher quality than 3D printing with plastics like in FDM or SLS.
Generally, photopolymer resins have high stiffness, but are more brittle than thermoplastics, so they are not suitable for functional applications. Special resins are available for engineering applications (simulating the properties of ABS plastic or Nylon). For example, a wide range of resins with various properties is in the arsenal of the American company FormLabs.
Metal 3D printing
Metal 3D printed parts have excellent mechanical properties and can withstand high temperatures and loads. Free-form 3D printing capabilities make them ideal for industrial applications.
Parts printed using DMLS or SLM technology have excellent mechanical properties and precision.
Use of other materials in 3D printing:
Other materials can also be used in 3D printing, but they are not widely used due to their limited specificity.
These materials include ceramics and sand.
Note:
Due to the nature of additive manufacturing, 3D printed parts will have anisotropic mechanical properties, meaning that they will be weaker in the z-direction. For functional machine parts, this characteristic should be taken into account when designing the model.
Early on, it is important to determine whether a part needs to be functional, or if it just needs to have good visual characteristics. This will greatly help in choosing the most suitable 3D printing process.
Generally, parts made from thermoplastic polymers (FDM technology) are best suited for functional parts, while thermosetting materials (liquid resins) SLA or DLP technology are best suited for 3D printing small and complex geometric parts, such as jewelry or for dentists. .
Functionality 3 D printed parts:
The diagram below defines the most appropriate type of 3D printing for functional requirements.
Additive Manufacturing Essentials :
- When developing a prototype, it is important to determine what accuracy is required for the product. Generally, choosing an additive technology with higher precision increases the cost of 3D printing.
- The overall strength of the part depends on various mechanical and physical properties. When high strength and rigidity are required, metal 3D printing or FDM printing reinforced with continuous carbon fibers are the best solutions. An example of FDM 3D printing with reinforcing fiber is Anisoprint Composer A4 3D printer
- Do not forget that there are engineering materials for 3D printing with special. properties such as heat resistance, flame retardance, chemical resistance, or which are certified biocompatible (e.g. for dental applications).
Appearance 3 D printed parts.
If the appearance is the main task of your prototypes, then the choice of additive technology is subject to the scheme below:
Here is some more information:
- SLA or DLP 3D printing produces parts with a smooth, cast-like surface. Details will be as from the store.
- SLA/DLP parts print translucent, but can be post-processed to be nearly 100% optically transparent.
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Selection of 3D printing technology according to production possibilities.
It is important to have an understanding of the main types of 3D printing in order to fully understand their key advantages and disadvantages. .
Here are some handy rules to help you:
The platform size determines the maximum dimensions of a part that the 3D printer can produce. For parts that are larger than the printer bed, consider switching to an alternative 3D printing technology or cutting the part into multiple pieces that can be glued together after printing into a single model.
The need for supports determines the level of design freedom. Processes that do not require supports, such as SLS, or when using dissolvable materials (as in FDM printing with 2 extruders), have fewer disadvantages and can create free-form structures more easily.
To summarize:
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First of all, determine what task you set for 3D printing. Functionality or appearance of a part.
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If more than one type of 3D printing is suitable for the task, then the selection process is reduced to a comparison of financial costs.
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For functional details, choose FDM technology over printing with SLA or DLP liquid photopolymers.
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For appearance and aesthetics, SLA or DLP technologies are the best option.
- For functional metal parts, CNC milling can also be considered. As an alternative to 3D metal printing.
And that's all we have! See you soon!
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• By email: [email protected]
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3D Printing and VK: Six Newbie Mistakes
Two events prompted me to write this article.
First, one of the 3D printers knocked on my PM and complained that there were almost no orders for 3D printing, and people did not understand why it was needed. Showed his group in VK. There is a type group, but there are no orders.
The next day a man knocked at my door from a city far from me. And he asked if I could make him a part. To my question - “I’m actually from the Urals”, he answered - “send it to me by mail”. This surprised me and I typed in VK the name of his city and “3D”.
I immediately got kicked out by a dozen 3D custom printing groups in this city.
The man couldn't even find them. And quickly came to me. Of course, I sent him links to these groups.
All these events prompted me to write this article. In it, I want to point out typical mistakes that most of those who want to make money make from time to time, and then they say that nothing works. Everything is working. You just need to do the right thing and be smart about it.
Introduction
VK is just one of the advertising channels. First of all, to attract individuals.
NO! I have already hesitated to say that physics is NOT a business. This is “hack work” and just additional income, nothing more. That is, there is no big money here. Although advertisers with large orders came to me through VK. And I know people who promote a certain product/service created with 3D printing. But they have found this niche. Nobody said that the same thing will take off with you. First, find someone who needs it, then make the product. “Yuriks” have all normal money.
And they are usually not in VK.
Therefore, do not hope that if you made a VK group, money will flow to you like a river. I repeat - this is ONE OF the many channels of advertising.
Its main advantage is that it is free. Therefore, they should be used. Spending 15 minutes daily on a group is not a huge amount of time.
I understand that everyone is lazy and wants to make money with a shovel just by placing an ad. But that doesn't happen. You need to work every day to promote your products/services.
And now I'll go over the mistakes.
First mistake
Stop posting gnomes already. Well, to hell, nobody needs them for money. If you craft stuff for cosplayers and you have clients, that's one thing. And if you don’t know such people, and you yourself are not fond of it, then I’ll reveal a terrible secret - 99% of people don’t fucking need it!
Show real solutions. Not just a bauble - a toothbrush hanger. And normal solutions - here a concrete mixer broke down - we helped him.
Or the car broke down such crap that you can’t buy anywhere.
Second error
Publication frequency. If you post one message per group, once a month what are you waiting for? How many people do you think will see your ad? Do you think people are just waiting for you to post your creative? In order for people to see your message with at least some percentage of reliability, you need to post at least every other day. Better every day. And even several times a day. People don't know about you and don't want to know. They need to be “annoyed” in order to be constantly in front of their eyes. This is especially true of the publication of ads in local flea markets.
Third error
Publish news about 3D printing. Yes, people do not care where and what kind of printer appeared. They need a solution to their problems. For example, print a gear for your grandmother's favorite meat grinder (although they usually don't have money))). You need the right content for your product.
Fourth error
No reposts! I generally roll on the floor when I see this on a regular basis. What do you want to achieve? Advertise those groups from which you repost? If I see interesting material, I will go to read the original.
Reposts are understandable for plastic manufacturers, printers. They show the use of their product there. By analogy - if a person on his page boasted of your print, then it definitely needs to be reposted as social proof.
The reposts of what I described in the third error especially deliver.
Fifth error
Where are the tags??? How do you think a person from another city found me? Yes, tags! VK works great with tags and should be used. Nothing prevents you from putting the grid and the right words. This is free advertising. In addition to VK, tags work great on Instagram.
Sixth error
Just because you created a group doesn't mean anything. It's just a showcase. To which people must be led.
