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@NoisySilence This one is for you...

This is the video that got me into doing super high quality prints on my FDM printers. The video goes into this way better than I will be able to but there are a few comments:

1) Seriously, give it a try... your printer can probably do much higher quality than you ever thought

2) Slow WAY down... the "Top layers = 9999" hack he talks about is really doing nothing except halving the print speed for all the layers. Slow down to like 25mm/s and this is not really needed.

3) Find the 'magic numbers' for your stepper motors through experimentation. In theory 0.04 layer height should have been optimal for me but 0.05 is what actually works for me.

4) Run a bunch of heat column tests. Every filament, brand to brand and even spool to spool needs different temps for really smooth surfaces.

5) ...and stringing tests. "z hop on nozzle moves" is your friend. Stringing causes surface warts and surface warts look like shit.

6) Experiment with ironing.

7) If you are using PrusaSlicer or Slic3r... Don't. Go download Cura. I know the UI is less intuitive but it really can do everything Slicer can and do it all better... The gcode rendering is better. Trust me on this one.

@NoisySilence This one is for you... This is the video that got me into doing super high quality prints on my FDM printers. The video goes into this way better than I will be able to but there are a few comments: 1) Seriously, give it a try... your printer can probably do much higher quality than you ever thought 2) Slow WAY down... the "Top layers = 9999" hack he talks about is really doing nothing except halving the print speed for all the layers. Slow down to like 25mm/s and this is not really needed. 3) Find the 'magic numbers' for your stepper motors through experimentation. In theory 0.04 layer height should have been optimal for me but 0.05 is what actually works for me. 4) Run a bunch of heat column tests. Every filament, brand to brand and even spool to spool needs different temps for really smooth surfaces. 5) ...and stringing tests. "z hop on nozzle moves" is your friend. Stringing causes surface warts and surface warts look like shit. 6) Experiment with ironing. 7) If you are using PrusaSlicer or Slic3r... Don't. Go download Cura. I know the UI is less intuitive but it really can do everything Slicer can and do it all better... The gcode rendering is better. Trust me on this one.

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[–] • 0 pt

There are several websites with huge numbers of models that you can download for free.

I would start with:

https://www.thingiverse.com - The search function sucks though so...

https://searchthingiverse.com - Also searches other sites, recomended

https://www.myminifactory.com

https://cults3d.com - Requires you to make an account to download so not my preference but it has a lot of models. Also not all are free.

This should get you going on most things... some more obscure models take a little more effort.

[–] • 0 pt

This is what I was wondering. At SOME point they will start CHARGING (after addicting people to 3D printing).

I'm sure ANYTHING interesting or useful COST MONEY. Right? Unless you are a 3D math nerd, this hardware is USELESS.

[–] • 0 pt

So I have some good news for you on this one. The 3D printing community is dominated by folks with a libertarian mindset and spirit of colaboration. 3D printing is the one place where OPEN SOURCE WON.

The Hardware designs for my printer are open source. The firmware is open source. The drivers are open source. The design software is open source And the models are almost all open source.

Every year or so a company tries to come in with a proprietary product ... and fails. The 3D printing open community does not stand for it... they out-inovate and open source everything. The companies that are successful are the ones that embrace this... that inovate and give back. Yes, I paid for my printer but what I was paying for was the manufacturing. They produce at volume and mark up and I pay for the convenience of pulling something out of the box and turning it on. I literally could have built it myself if I wanted.

I have literally never paid for a 3D model and I have printed A LOT of things.

[–] • 0 pt

Until they come up with a NON mathematic (knowing) way to "describe" something/anything, the usefulness of a 3d printer will be SEVERELY limited to the AVERAGE person. Perhaps a "Drawing" app on a PC who's output is the match that describes how a 3D printer would create it. Even then, it will be limited.

NEW things will need COMPLEX (usually) descriptions (describe love)....to create/reproduce. THAT takes TIME and EFFORT (brains), and people get PAID for that. and "billionaires" are NOT into giving that away.