Introduction: 3D Printing Experiments.

About: I'm a designer from the UK currently doing a masters at The Royal Academy of Art Den Haag.

Little tricks and experiments you can do with an Ultimaker original+. Changing filament mid print. Creating a knit like/ spider web effect. Or just printing a lovely 3D printed bracelet designed by our teacher Joris Van Tubergen.

Step 1: Tools and Equipment

Things you will need:
  • Ultimaker Original+
  • PLA filaments.

Step 2: Nearest Fab Lab

Don't have a 3D printer? Then find your nearest FabLab here:

https://www.fablabs.io/labs/map

They will have a machine you can use.

Step 3: Getting Going on the 3D Printer

  • download file, upload it onto the 3D printers SD card and insert the card back into the printer. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:8488
  • Turn on the printer.
  • On the main menu find the prepare file. Then find preheat filament and select the filament you are using. In my case PLA. Wait until the temperature has reached the required temperature to melt that filament.
  • Open the latch on the side and feed in the filament and wait until it starts coming through the nozzle.
  • On the menu find print from SD card. Find the file and press print.

Step 4: Multi Coloured

This is easy just cut the filament and manually feed it into the machine before the previous one runs out.

Step 5: Knitted Effect.

Another easy effect. On the menu settings on the printer you will come across something called flow rate which is the volume of material extruded per second. The extrusion is defined by the speed, the temperature, nozzle size and layer height but the Ultimaker team have made it simply more confusing by calling it flow rate. Anyway if you increase the flow rate slightly it will create this effect. You may need to play around a bit depending on what nozzle size you have and material.

Step 6: Spider Web Effect

Lets get physical.

Some people might not want you to do this to their printer so check that the owner is ok with this first.

This is another easy effect created by physically moving the z axis up higher than the printing height. The higher you go the stringier it becomes.

Have fun!