In contemplating a future Prusa Core One purchase I was asking myself if it would feel justified. It dawned on me one metric would be to check how much I use my MK4S. It turns out so far this year I have used it all but 2 days. I don’t print items for sale just for things we can use. Over the past 90 days usage is only slightly less. Seems a favorable metric.

My first real PETG carbon fiber print. These are parts to replace some existing ones on my MK4S. Very happy how easily it printed and how well it turned out.

I sent the transcript of my chat with Prusa support to myself for future reference. When I looked at it in Mail Apple Intelligence offered to summarize the lengthy chat and did a great job. First time using it and impressed, for now.

Today in 3D printing:
I used a hardened Obxidian nozzle for the first time. And printed a carbon fiber filament for the first time.

Lesson learned: the default infill pattern in PrusaSlicer is no bueno with my CF filament because it is more susceptible to patterns crossing themselves. Gyroid FTW.

Otherwise, like everything else, drama free on my MK4S.

P.S. Prusa’s chat support is soooo good.👍🏼

Finally got a chance to use a refill unit for Prusament Galaxy Black. Saved money, saved plastic and this is an American-made refill. 👍🏻

Yet another in my line of oddly specific models posted to Printables. I've become really fond of these thin and lightweight Japanese notebooks.
printables.com/model/1164946-d

I’m printing my first model with weights.

TIL I need to be very precise about what layer to pause on to insert them lest the nozzle scrape across the top. Kinda obvious but newbie here 🤪

I think I also learned the weight may hamper bed adhesion in some manner. They’re on top of the bottom 1mm of layers and don’t extend the whole length making the weight distribution uneven. Got a surprising amount of warp so I added a hefty brim so we shall see. The prototype I painted didn’t warp at all.🤔

I’ll get a Prusa Core One to replace my MK4KS at some point this year. Economically I should buy the upgrade kit but I’m a bit nervous about the upgrade given how different the two are mechanically. And as a new upgrade kit I can imagine there being months of kinks to work out.

Impulsively I like to just order the Core One in the naive hope I could sell my MK4S for a worthwhile price.

Yeah I’m jonesing a bit

My APRS RX iGate hasn't seen any traffic the past few days though there are packets going by. My Kenwood D75 is receiving them and the iGate should see the same packets. Reboots haven't helped and I haven't found anything to give a hint what's going on.

Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend...

Published another one of my oddly specific models: A stand that holds a caliper, two rulers, fillet finder and layer thickness guide vertically to conserve desk space

printables.com/model/1162397-v

Today I published my smallest model yet requiring only .3g of filament. It is for an oddly specific need but does serve a useful purpose.

printables.com/model/1159721-c

I got my hackerboard GPIO today and installed some headers then 3D printed a case to mount it to the MK4S’s frame. I’ll probably try to implement some sort of light control. Some day.

I guess I went on a shopping spree the past few days because now I have shipping notices from JetPens, Adafruit, Printed Solid and Prusa. I'm gonna be busy with projects once it all arrives (nothing major though).

I’ve been wanting to snag some Prusament PC Blend Carbon Fiber filament but it has pretty unobtainable usually selling out before I even get a “back in stock” email. Got lucky today thanks to a redditor and got an order in 👍🏼🥳

prusa3d.com/product/prusament-

I woke early and decided to create my first model in . The out of the box experience on my Mac mini with a high DPI display was unusable due to the display implementation. E.g. fonts in the sketcher were completely unreadable they were so small. I’ve improved it some but it’s a tough road because UI settings are scattered widely in preferences. Still not happy with it.

In my searching I couldn’t find a comprehensive solution just lots of posts about high DPI issues. Just a roadmap item.

I’ve never used a glue stick on a PEI sheet when 3D printing. Yesterday I decided to use one on an old PEI sheet that lost it’s natural adhesion.

I’m definitely not a fan. The model did print without warping but the bottom looks pretty crappy and of course the PEI looks like a mess. Glad I don’t have to deal with it.

We made beef gyudon for the first time. What a simple and delish comfort food for winter! No wonder it is so popular in Japan.

The light on the front of our house was burned out so I put in a fresh bulb. And it still didn't work. Then another and another and no joy. None of the sockets work. The porch lights is on the same circuit and works fine.

(Rhetorical) How does a light fixture just stop working? There is no physical damage.

I'll be the good husband and tell my wife we need a new fixture rather than trying to re-wire it or whatever it needs. She's wanted a different design anyway.

My Magic Mouse has gone belly up - mouse clicks are often missed. I'm hoping to get by without this one until Apple introduces the rumored new/improved model.

Well this is annoying. I recently re-ordered the vacuum storage bags for my filament. When I tried to use one today I discovered it was next to impossible to get the filament spool to fit. In fact for one brand of filament it was impossible. I checked and the vendor has indeed shrunk the bags. This is apparently a common size now.

It took some digging to find ones that were larger and even they are smaller than the ones I've used the past few years. 🤞🏻🤷🏻‍♂️

I have a Prusa hackerboard coming in the next few days. It was cheap so I included it an order from PrintedSolid with a couple of other things. No clear plan for what to use it for but the name suited me? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I did recently create a LED light bar for the frame. It is only white LEDs but a multi-color strip controlled by the hackerboard might be fun.

It suddenly dawned on me that if I want to print something longer than the print bed and if it is narrow I can extend theeffective printable length by placing the model on the build sheet diagonally. D'oh!

I started a long 3D print today. Initially it was doing fine. Then I started hearing a loud squeak, yikes! I just lubed the smooth rods 2 days ago so all I could think was a bearing was shot. Went over to the printer and put my ear down near the bed trying to locate which bearing was squealing and couldn’t.

I finally looked up and realized it was the filament spool as it rotated on the holder. Squeal depends on speed and angle to the print head. Whew! Gonna have to come up with a fix.

Closing the loop: after 2 rounds of acetone cleaning adhesion hasn’t been restored. I’ve tossed an order PrintedSolid.com way for a spare Smooth sheet and I’m also getting a hackerboard to play with.

For me, doing a 3D design of any complexity is like creating a software project: just as I get it to work I want to burn it down and re-do it with better or more elegant technique(s).