Home
Creators
Search Recent Missing Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Looking for input on a 3D printing basics series! (Patreon)

Published:
2020-05-03 17:40:50
Imported:
2026-06

Content

A few years ago, I had worked with what is now LinkedIn Learning to produce a basics / primer series on DIY 3D printing. That series is now pretty badly outdated... and also behind a paywall. So the plan is to produce a new, updated series myself that is going to be available free for everyone here on YouTube. I've already got 10 episodes sketched out (planned release all throughout June), but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

So if you have any particular subjects that for example have taken you a while to wrap your head around while getting started, I want to know about them! Leave me a comment and I'll see if I can include an explanation in the basics series so that others won't have to go through the same struggles again 😉

Thanks!

Comments

Chris Lane- Venturi 3D

One thing brought up recently is the terminology difference between Cartesian Prusa "Bedslinger" style vs. CoreXY vs Ultimaker style vs Delta, etc. that people still aren't that clear on.

Chris Muncy

Tom, my biggest hurdles starting out years ago was the difference and proper application of hot end cooling and part cooling, when it's needed and when it's not. Tossed in with a bit of all metal hot ends and ptfe lined hot ends.

Danny

The hardest part for me is/was the differences between the slicing software and translating settings - for instance, model XXX on Thingiverse says to print with n wall thickness, but the slicer I use doesn't have wall thickness setting - how do I figure out what that setting does and how to find the equivalent in another slicer (and don't get me started about figuring out S3D's processes vs other slicers)....

Steven Knudsen

Assume you have it covered; review of 3D model design tools and comments on applicability. Suggest including the usual suspects, but not forgetting openSCAD and even BRL-CAD. Is printer calibration still a thing? I have seen lots of students just set up Enders, for example, and just start printing. I am no sure how dimensionally accurate they are, but maybe it's fine these days. Suggest as a possible "last" video something on advanced tuning for better prints. Again, sure you have all this covered.

Grégoire Saunier

Like Steven Knudsen, CAD modelling would be something I would really like to see. A 3D printer is like a small factory at home so knowing how to design things for your factory is very useful. Another topic which is always quite difficult is RepRap and Open Source. What is the difference between RepRap and Open source? What type of open source license should I use? What is a source file? What should I do if I modify and publish a part from someone else? Etc.

Matthew Byrd

After a moment of reflection, I guess the ratio of temperatures to printing speed took me the longest to wrap my head around along with the different types of extruders and hot-ends. What they were, where they performed best and why you might want one type over another. A lot of that didn't really really sink home until I built the e3d toolchanger and found out the problems that too long a length bowden tube could cause and how the mass at the point of printing truly effects print speed and quality.

MICHAEL MAXFIELD

Installing and using an add-on bed-leveling sensor (like BLTouch) on a cheap fdm printer (like a Creality CR-10).

Jon Twichell

A big issue I had starting out was getting the Z (vertical on my Prusa Mk3S) first layer height right. Providing some guidance to setting this would be a great help. I have been too low (which generally works out acceptably), and *Way* too high, terrified of bringing the print head lower for fear of my build plate. Finally figured out to just look at the spacing from the side. Maybe some shim stock of about the rignt ghicknedd that can be use to gently lower Z when hot? something like that. First PETG prints I just needed more retraction, or I got just enough goobers to collect on the print head and end up with the dreaded blob. Safely cleaning the print head even if the thermocouple wires are not involved was (still is) a bit of a mystery

Brad Brooks

At first, my issues where to just understand the whole process from a high level...design through print. I did not find a complete tutorial even though much Info existed. It didn’t address the entire view. Once I was able to piece this into together, I still sometimes struggle with simple real-time corrections based upon observation. Also, key indicators based upon finished print properties-the fault condition-correction.

Jeric Bautista

How about essential tools for getting started - screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, etc? And also what can you do with empty spools, or spools that are mostly empty

Lars Kuur

Hey, i think still today there is a problem when we discuss what a good print is. Angus from makers Muse and Steffan from CNC Kitchen does a good job quantifying these things, but I think for new users it is important to define for them how they can rate if it was a good print. I remember starting out, and just that it looked like what o wanted I was happy, dimension stability etc not important.

Rahul Singh

I believe one of the hurdles for a newbie is how to design things. I think a basic instruction / a coupe of lessons , about how to use software such a 3d fusion and or openscad might be very useful. there are so many people offering lessons about 3D cad, many of them are too detailed , others are without enough details. And fewer still are geared for people just getting into 3D printing. , Especially if you are trying to build a set of topics to help someone new to 3D printing.

W. Ian Douglas

I think common routine maintenance like what/how to tighten (belts), what/how to grease (bearings), what/how to check for wear (rods), how to tell if your bearings are going bad, how to change a nozzle and check that you've done it correctly so you don't end up with filament leaks, how to clean up filament leaks, how to protect against and clean up after a blob on the hot end.

Kurt Wubbels

Something that took me a moment to really understand was how to correctly purge and switch between filaments using a printer that didn't have a filament change procedure in firmware -- especially when moving from a high temp filament like PETG to a lower temp filament like PLA. I'd also like to see a step by step for how to fine tune a filament profile from scratch, starting with E-Step calibration, extrusion multiplier, first layer height, retraction, jerk etc. Many of these parameters impact others when you tune them, so it would be very helpful to understand which to start with and what the impact of tuning one might be on other values you've set.

Kurt Wubbels

It would also be useful, though perhaps not a "basics" level tutorial to have a guide on how to build / spec the control / motion / extrusion systems together in order to achieve specific speed or quality goals. You see a lot of printers with impractically large build plates for a 0.4mm nozzle or high speed kinematics with an 8bit controller board running marlin and it would be nice to see an explanation of what you should be upgrading in tandem to get a desired result.

Uwe Kliem

A lot of good themes in here, i liked the ones i agreed the most. I don't know if this is still in the "Beginners"-Section, but setting up an Octoprint-Environment would be a good input in my view. As a beginner looking around in the interwebs, you will see this miraculous term "Octoprint", but it is a lot of work to gather information about the "how to", and most of it is very nerdy stuff 😀.

Haytham Bennani

Hey! I think a basic primer on squaring up a frame (especially for a corexy) would be something useful to a lot of beginners, since a lot of people out there are running into problems with their printers that can be probably directly related to how well they've assembled the frame. Since its a basics series, giving people a solid primer on squareness and parallelism in the context of a 3D printer's movement components would really help. Applies to people setting up their first printer all the way down to more adventurous users who are playing around with rails and ballscrews to push a printer really fast.

Gerard Sharp

When I first started, the thing that bedeviled me the most was first layer. Everyone says it was important, but no one had a simple, clear, slow-paced video showing what "too close" and "too far" looked like. It wasn't until I got my second printer, a Prusa mk3, that I found forum posts with pictures that show the Goldilocks of nozzle distance: too close looks like this. Too far looks like this. "Just right" and the way the filament almost changes translucence when it is happy.

Gerard Sharp

Again, a slow, clear video showing the transition between the states and how to fix each one. Please.

Dennis Smith

I second Gerard Sharp's comment about how to get the first layer tuned in and how it should look. I have struggled with my Hypercube to get the bed leveled and at the correct height, but am finally happy with the results. You rarely touch on core XY printers like the Hypercube, maybe a video addressing their unique issues.

Keith Cress

You can always go over ALL the common problems, how to identify them, how to cure them. Problems like porosity, repeated weird patterns in prints, stringing, retraction, how to detect bad filament, water in filament, and identifying when support has to be used.

Dale Charnock

Hi Tom, your probably in the best position, re your comment feedback etc. from your YouTube videos to make the decision about the best content for this. I do agree it's a great idea, starting from the basics and advancing slowly - thanks, Dale

Eric Atkins

Hey Tom, I would imagine you are pretty bored with printer comparisons by now but something I think would have been totally useful to me before I bought my first machine was a straightforward explanation of the different printer formats. Even today, I am wrestling with purchasing a new machine and unsure which format I would actually be happiest with. If a new buyer could understand what a delta is better at than a cube or a prusa cartesian they might make a more informed decision on the first purchase. I also think pointing out the differences between bearing types would help a new buyer sift through some of the choices that are currently available since there are just so many now.

Protopasta

Two most common support questions we get are, "What temperature do I print at?" and "My printer is jamming, please help." Being stuck here in the basement for the last weeks, I can tell you that folks make so many problems for themselves and it's not their fault as they are not set up for success with the endless slicer parameters that beg to be tinkered without tempering. I think very few people understand that when you set a temperature for your heater block (it's not for your nozzle) that the length of this heater block and rate or time that it takes the material to pass though is what dictates the melt. People and slicers change rates unknowingly, change thermal load with fluctuating fans, and in the end, wonder why their "filament" is performing inconsistently. It's not the filament my friends, it's your hardware, settings, and approach. Trust me, the filament is far more consistent and reliable than your machine inputs ;-) I'd love for you to fix this :-)

Protopasta

And thanks for all you do Tom!!!

Jonas Idebrant

I would love a "beginners mistakes and misconceptions" episode. Examples: *Why you should not change flow based on the looks of the first layer. *Define what a clog actually is, people love to tell you that you have a clog or partial clog. But in my experience, the issue is most often a temp issue, extruder slipping or a bad hotend to bowden transition etc. Changing nozzle won't help that. A clog in my eyes is debris stuck in the nozzle or perhaps filament stuck in the throat due to heat creep. *Why measuring a single wall line width for calibrating flow may (dimensional accuracy) or may not (less packing density) be a good idea (at least in Cura, slic3r calculates it different). *That longer retraction distance isn't always better. I recommend starting with a too low distance and gradually increase it until it stops getting better. Then repeat the process with retraction speed if needed. *Mention that filament may need to be dried even if the roll is freshly opened. And how to spot that there is moisture in the filament in the first case.

Jonas Idebrant

I also have two golden rules for 3D-pringing: Only ever change one thing at a time and, Have fun! Some will tell you "if it ain't broken, don't fix it". That is a good point, you don't have to start your 3D-pringing journey with "upgrading" every part of your printer. But if you enjoy doing it, do it.

Alexander Teklenburg

Not sure if it's mentioned before but it's taken me years to realise that different filaments (of the same type) have their own printing requirements. My example is PLA where some brands need that PTFE lined heatbreak whereas I've always been using a full metal heatbreak and just been thinking I can't use these brands at all 😅

Ðementation

A problem I saw even on a Prusa printer was what happens when your bed warps, even by 1 mm. This can be adjusted but its obscure and I havent seen anyone talk about it.

Doug Cooper

I have built 2 FDM printers from scratch and I have to tell you that I couldn't have done it without your videos. I still go back to the old "Bed levelling", "calibration" videos. There are lots of poorly documented corners of Marlin that I am sure there is plenty you could do. For example: Levelling large aliuminum beds seems to be giving people trouble. I had to revert to manual mesh levelling from bbl (which worked great on my 200mm bed. At 300mm it screws up. Linear advance and topics like that are good and tuning acceleration and feed rates. Hope this helps. Happy to contribute more but this is getting long.

Dan Grigsby

Thomas, I think an episode on upgrades would be helpful. I started with an Wanhao i3 - the machine was barely recognizable by the time I upgraded to a Prusa. Obviously, the particular upgrades will be machine-specific, but the classes of thing (rigidity, bed leveling, hot end) will be applicable across various machines.

John Hutchinson

Buy a good quality printer (or kit if you have skills to build one). Decide on what makes "good quality" by watching some of your videos. You'll be able to get up and running with almost zero trial and error if you have a decent printer. Once you have a successful first print it is *way* easier to improve.

Luke Ingerman

I think a 3D basics series should include the basics of researching 3D printers and going through a trade off analysis on which one to buy. Then how to build the printer and verify mechanical operations. Then move on to workflows (where to find STLs, what tools are used to slice, and ways to print). The key here is BASIC workflows so stick with common free tools and SD Card printing to limit the troubleshooting aspects. All too often I here of people ordering their first printer and 10-30 mods so they can build the 'Best' version of XYZ printer based on what they heard on Facebook. They then get disenchanted as they do not have the basic knowledge to get their new Frankenprinter working. Focus should be on decent quality entry level printers and building them accurately/well, then workflow, then calibration and now that you have a functioning printer that is properly calibrated you can begin to mod and tweak things.

Sveinar Sandvin

Ever since windows 8, Microsoft has provided us with 3DBuilder. I think that software deserves a spot in a beginners series, as it is already in the hands of millions of potential beginners. With 3mf as its native file format, 3DBuilder covers most of my needs.

Liza

Hi Tom. Great idea, looking forward to it! Here's a topic: When you are a beginner and you first start out, you don't really know what are the things you need to know or where the resources are. So, some listing of important elements, in a manner that can be researched further would be useful. For example, names of items that may form part of a bigger assembly, the ways that you can destroy your machine, the ways you can set your house on fire or get yourself killed etc. You can't google something if it doesn't cross your mind, you know?

toms3dp
>>36312947

Thanks! There is a "common issues" episode planned which should cover your points reasonably well, and I've added "keep your filament dry" to the episode on "requirements".

toms3dp
>>36316192

Good point! It might be an issue for PLA, but I've seen massive differences in how ABS/ASA and the more obscure materials like nylons print from different manufacturers.

toms3dp
>>36323036

Autoleveling does hide a lot of it, but irregular warp can be a tricky one. Not sure if it's something I should concern a beginner with, as there are already enough things they are worrying about.

toms3dp
>>36327022

Awesome! I might look into some of the more intricate challenges that come up with building and modding printers, but for now I'm hoping that the beginners watching the series won't need to see the Marlin source code before their first print ;-)

toms3dp
>>36281703

I'll probably explain delta vs. cartesian, but for an actual beginner I think the cartesian system are all similar enough in what they can and can't do that other factors like bowden vs direct will have a much bigger impact.

toms3dp
>>36281815

Good one! I'll make sure to explain what the fans do, where they should be blowing and what settings generally work for which materials.

toms3dp
>>36282240

Yeah, the language barrier between different slicers is something that I don't have much appreciation for, either. I'll make sure to explain it!

toms3dp
>>36282309

Obviously I can't include a full tutorial of all the different CAD approaches out there, but I'll have some examples from each one and point people to more complete tutorials for each tool. I've never been a big proponent of "calibration" - while able to get that one print "perfect", the way calibration was usually done caused overall more harm than good. Ready-built printers these days come very well set up; the only thing that needs doing is maybe a slight tweak to temperatures and the extrusion multiplier for your specific filament.

toms3dp
>>36282848

I usually point out that getting a 3D printer without intending to print your own parts on it is kinda pointless ;-) The whole origin story and self-replication bit wasn't something I had thought to include, but it totally makes sense. Thanks!

toms3dp
>>36283491

That's a really good topic, but probably too in-depth for an audience that I'll be explaining how to load filament to ;-)

toms3dp
>>36283675

Great topic for a video by itself, but probably too advanced for a beginner!

toms3dp
>>36283903

I've already got a separate video on "getting your prints to stick" and I'll probably refer to that as well, but there'll definitely be a section on what a good Z adjustment looks like!

toms3dp
>>36284144

Got you covered! There's one video dedicated to showing the complete process including support removal etc., and while I can't cover every possible failure mode, I'll have a "common issues" episode in there as well.

toms3dp
>>36284300

Are there any tools you found particularly helpful? Empty spools are a tough one, I usually just drop them off for recycling.

toms3dp
>>36284448

How good is "good enough" will really depend on your personal expectations and what your printer can do - but honestly most printers are good enough these days ;-) I'll see what I can include!

toms3dp
>>36285281

Absolutely agreed - modelling your own parts is absolutely essential! There is a n episode planned on the common approaches of modelling parts, but I think a full guide on modelling in e.g. Fusion360 is something I should do in a different series.

toms3dp
>>36285558

Filament purging is a good one; but I'd rather not have a total beginner try and "tune" in profiles too much, as that often does more harm than good. There'll be a "common issues" episode that deals with a few common issues (ha - bet you didn't see that coming), tough.

toms3dp
>>36285749

Building a printer from scratch is pretty much the opposite of a "begginner course" :-D Maybe in a separate video.

toms3dp
>>36288271

I've actually got a video on setting up OctoPrint (I should probably update that at some point), but for the beginner series I'm trying to get people to understand what their machine is doing before instructing them to tack on "upgrades", mods or extra features.

toms3dp
>>36328053

I'll briefly touch on upgrades, but I'd rather not have a beginner try to mod their machines when they barely understand how it works yet.

toms3dp
>>36342299

I don't often use 3D builder other than for stl previews, but I'll look into it!

toms3dp

Good points! I think I've got most of it covered, but I'll add "how to destroy your printer" to the list ;-)

Sven Mueller

One thing a colleague recently did for our company makerspace group: Basics of design for 3D-printing. Various people did come up with "I can find STLs online that I can mostly use, except that I need to an additional hole here or an additional hook there." and the colleague offered a short course on how to load existing STLs in OpenSCAD (because that is what he uses) and add or substract simple geometries from there. Then offered a second course on how to create your own designs from scratch. A second colleague then came in with caveats of designing for 3D-printing (round holes on vertical faces are hard, how much overhang is feasible without supports, when to use custom supports, designing them into the part vs. slicer generated supports, ...) The second colleague used both OpenSCAD and Fusion 360. Anyhow, maybe also offer something in that direction? I don't think it matters too much for the audience which tool you use for the "caveats of designing for 3D-printing" part, though I think OpenSCAD is more for programmers while Fusion360 or similar more interactive/graphic oriented tools are more approachable in general.