With temps around 13ºF and icy roads and sidewalks I was kinda bored so I thought 3D printing something would be useful/fun. I found an ice scraper model and printed it using ASA. ASA is a dream to use on my Core One. Definitely my favorite “tough" filament.

I love the combination of these two!

Sooooo satisfying

I bought a spool of Sunlu filament for the first time (matte black). Being used to Jessie and Prusament I didn’t react positively to how loose it was wound. But I’ve used up nearly the whole thing with now problems and it was cheap.

First 3D design and print of the year is trivial: needle caps for non-sharp needles.

One is for a syringe used in lubricating linear rails and the other is for cleaning fountain pens.

Got my tea lights today so now the aforementioned cottage lights up 🎄

I printed the parts yesterday and did the assembly this morning while waiting for the laggards to wake up so we can open presents. Tree light for the interior is still on the way.

Model: https://www.printables.com/model/682489-xm

Removed some decals yesterday and just noticed this accidental juxtaposition.
@josefprusa

Excited to try this new Canopus Note. It was a winner of the Tokyo Stationery Award this year and cited as the best for all kinds of pens and inks. Should be fun. I love good paper and notebooks though I have to admit I under utiilize them.

I took advantage of Prusa's filament sale and free shipping, as you can see. Four of the spools are the new reusable model with NFC tags and the other two are old school. Note the NFC spools apparently eliminate the need to secure the two sides with a bolt if drying at very high temperatures.

This includes my first roll of ASA and four new colors. Time to print some samples and fire up the dryer.

A littlle his-and-hers fun with the Core One. These are stands for our iPhones. My first time etching (?) a heart this deep. Very pleased with the look (top left of the red shows what looks like a line but it was just wisp).

Afterwards I (finally) checked the belt tension: the bottom one was already perfect and the top one was slightly low. Easily fixed

Studies in geometry

Looks like I’m ready for 2026 already!

My Hobonichi Original arrived today. I’m glad I decided to switch from the A5 to the smaller A6.

Also new to me this year is using an official Hobonichi cover. Last year I used a clear one. The Tamagotchi cover looks and feels really nice.

I have never used masking tape on a print before but my TPU has been sticking far too well to my textured sheets. I had a smooth PEI sheet that was past its best so gave it a try. Worked like magic. The model printed perfectly and came right off.

More wildlife, this time an armadillo hunting food alongside the exercise trail. I hadn’t seen one in over a year and was missing them.

I have never been so close to a wild deer in my life. Quite the start of our morning hike.🥾

After a few years in the 3D printing hobby I discovered a new way to fail. I was a bit mystified and it was repeatable on two attempts.

When I loaded the STL into PrusaSlicer it complained about a thin part and recommend supports. There was no thin part and even when I selected "Supports Everywhere" the slicer didn't actually generate any supports. I figured I'd just print it…

Something between Fusion and PS was clearly screwed up. I re-created the model a different way and it printed fine!

Using some automotive weights to add stability to a tall 3D print. Fun times.

A couple of layers later they disappear.

In the "they can't all be winners" category: this print using PETG Carbon Fiber failed at about 30mm. Not sure what happened - the model printed using PLA just fine. I'm wondering if our storm influenced the PETG-CF but I didn't notice a power glitch. The temp and humidity did fluctuate. Maybe a reminder to consider an enclosed setup (Core One 🙃?).

Trying it again with standard PETG 🤞🏻

I may not have upgraded my printer (yet?) but I did upgrade my dryer this week. I have been using a Sovol SH01 dryer the past couple of years. It was still working but with a max temperature of 50C it was inadequate now that I use a wider range of filament types. Actually not even adequate to properly dry PETG.

This Creality dryer looks cool with nice presets and goes up to 70C. Still not enough for PC CF, for example, but it is close enough for me (I think).

Pulled a 3 year old spool of Prusament Transparent PETG out of storage and was surprised it printed well without drying first. It has a reputation…

We drove out to a pine forest for a hike today. Should I be embarrassed that my first thought upon seeing these giants was “what a great ham radio antenna I could put in them”?

I pulled a 2+ year old spool of Amolen wood filament out of its vacuum storage bag and put it straight through the printer. Looks great and that light burned wood smell is TDF.

Being a nerd I was excited when my Prusament PC Carbon Fiber filament arrived early enough to fire off a couple of prints. I really like the look which matches parts on newer Prusa printers.

Pictured at top is the PCCF print made on a satin sheet and below it a PETG CF print from a textured sheet. The PCCF was a breeze to print and when the build plate cools it slides right off.

Also its cool this filament was made in CZ on the 21st and is in my hands 6 days later!

I’ve never been fond of benchy but this dancing benchy really appealed to me and broke down my resistance. Printed using Jessie’s Brad’s Orange Glitter filament.

Dancing Benchy by phildesign3d | Download free STL model | Printables.com https://www.printables.com/model/1213590-d