3D Printing and wall switches

I picked up a Monoprice Mini Select 3D Printer.  I've been browsing Thingiverse looking for items.
 
I came across this little gem.  It's basically a switch cover that blocks use of a toggle on a switch, but does so without covering it.  Clever.
 
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:69806/
 

 
This being a way to keep a switch powered on for socket-based automated lighting.

Pretty confident if I ever tried to put that in my home, my wife would punch me in the face, hah!  That being said, it's really clever and a cool use of a 3d printer.
How do you like your monoprice printer?  What have you printed with it so far?  Was sort of thinking about getting one recently

Upside with 3D printing is you can choose from a very wide range of colors and materials.  There's even wood-based extrusion material, sand and stain-able.  You could just as easily choose a white, off-white or other color to match existing wall plates.  Doing them in orange, well, yes, that'd be a decor mistake.  Especially if you're trying to use it for "behavior modification".  But I could definitely see using the orange on switches for things like a furnace, water heater or other device that's supposed to remain powered-on at all times.
 
I'm astounded how trouble-free the Mini has been to use.  Really, really reliable thus far.  I'm not pushing it but a dozen prints into it and I've yet to have anything go wrong.  The bed has a tape cover on it (which you do NOT remove) and I've managed to rip it.  I've bought some 6" wide blue painters tape and that seems to working nicely.
 
There is a lot of potential for things being finicky.  But with this printer and the latest beta 2.4 of the free Cura software I'm not having any troubles.   Cura is the software that converts from STL to the Gcode format that the printers all use.  You put the gcode files onto a microSD card and put that in the printer.
 
I've 'remixed' one model where something was too large to print on the Mini.  I imported the model into Sketchup (after loading the STL extension for SU), cut out a section, moved the two pieces back together and then exported it back as an STL file.  I ran it through the Cura slicer and the printer cranked it right out.  Doing more sophisticated modeling is going to take some learning, if just to figure out which software is worth using.  Some stuff is free, some paid but all of them have a learning curve.  The hard part is knowing which commercial ones would be worth paying for.  I'm willing to spend but don't know enough yet to know what to choose.

I've wanted to try a 3D printer, and this one looks perfect.  Can you switch a color in the middle, or is it pretty much one color per item?

This has one extruder.  I've read of folks setting their jobs up such that they manually switch filaments.  I've read of folks doing all kinds of shenanigans with their printers.  I'm new to this and don't know enough to say whether you can or can't change filaments well enough to make it look OK.
 
What I can say is there appears to be able 2-3 inches of material remaining in the hot end (the print head) if you just pull back the filament.  That is, when I change filaments (between jobs) I typically see about 2-3 inches of the first extrusion showing up in the last color.  Which is ok when you're doing prints that have a skirt (line around them), brim (flap, like a hat, for adhesion) or a raft (literally a bed of material with thin little support nubs under it).
 
Whether that'd work to change colors for the switch circle-bar I can't say.  Know that everything gets extruded on the same level.  So if that circle was the highest thing on the print then, yes, it'd probably work.  You'd probably want to create the job such that some initial amount of it was in the base color and then continued in the next.  This would probably hide the transition quite well.
 
But, as I mentioned, I do not yet have the skills to make that happen.

Now that I've had this beastie cranking along these past few days I can begin to understand why people own more than one.  Print times can be slow.  Laying down filament in .4mm strands can make for very long print times.  All those little lines, back-and-forth, layer-by-layer...  
 
The longest job I've yet printed was 5 hours.  And that was a clamp for Dyson vacuum accessories.  Works nicely, btw.  
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1788378
 
The Cura slicer software gives estimates, both on print time and amount of filament to be consumed.  It's a bit optimistic on time, as that 5 hour job was estimated at ~4:30.  This is likely due to my not having the exactly correct specs plugged into it.  There's a lot being calculated, including time to retract the filament before doing a move.  I don't have my software precisely configured for all those little variables.
 
If I stick with this I'd likely consider something with support for 2 extruders.  If just to be able to do prints with dissolvable support material.  Prints need support just about anywhere there's an overhang of more than a millimeter (ramps can cantilever out a fair bit).  The slicer software will attempt to do this for you. But then you need to manually clean up the print by snipping off the supports.  With dissolving material you'd just dunk the print and it'd melt away the supports.  But a second extruder could just as readily be used for another color, or even a different material.
 
Right now I've only been printing with PLA.  There's a whole slew of other materials like ABS, PETG, Nylon, even a wood filler type.  I picked up a sample bag of PLA, with a bunch of different colors.  I think they're about 2m each of PLA.  Enough for several small items.   I've already made a few hose clamps pretty close to Festool green for my dust collector and track saw.
 
I don't know that "everyone" would find use for one of these.  They can be made pretty trouble-free but they're still basically little automated glue guns.  As such there's potential for setup issue, maintenance and any number of other complications.  They're not yet at the 'inkjet printer' stage of evolution.  Maybe still at the electronic typewriter stage, using separate inked ribbons, not yet using something like a Selectric cartridge.  Which puts them just as far behind as a typewriter was from a color laser printer.  Progress continues to be made, but it's no longer in the prototype stage.

Great thread.  Keep us informed of all the things you print, especially related to HA!

One idea I've been considering has been to make a jig to allow adjusting LED tape mount angles.  I'd like to find the most effective angle, and diffuser cover, to cast the best pattern out of a cove running around the ceiling.  It's tedious experimenting with this given they're 10' off the floor.  Having something with some graduated markings and a couple of wing nuts would make it less of a hassle.  

That and possibly some custom mounts for cameras and motion sensors.  Ones where site-specific conditions might be better served with something custom.  
 
The tricky part is modeling, then waiting for test prints, then repeating the process through different design iterations.

Just got my printer. I can't believe it cost under $200 and they sent it next day delivery for free.  Now to figure it out. :blink:

ano said:

Just got my printer. I can't believe it cost under $200 and they sent it next day delivery for free.  Now to figure it out. :blink:

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Oh well, I guess I know why.  :unsure:   No the Monoprint Mini is a great printer. I made a cat, and an elephant. I figured our the best settings in Cura (no small feat.) I loved it, I printed and it was great, then it stopped. :angry2:  I have no idea of the problem, but I was changing a filament, put in the new one, and nothing. Nothing came out of the nozzle. I took the head apart and couldn't find the problem. A small amount of plastic came out but very little. So I packed it up and its headed back to Monoprice.
 
I have decided I liked 3D printing so much I'm going to buy a better one. Still deciding on the model.

I have a friend who has a Makergear M2 and is very happy with it. This is his third 3D printer, and he's found that you tend to get what you pay for.  More expensive printers have better servo motors and tighter mechanical tolerances, resulting in better printed results.

RAL said:

I have a friend who has a Makergear M2 and is very happy with it. This is his third 3D printer, and he's found that you tend to get what you pay for.  More expensive printers have better servo motors and tighter mechanical tolerances, resulting in better printed results.

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$200 for ok.  $2000 for 'very happy'.  Not sure I need an order of magnitude increase in expense.  But then I'm not pushing the limits of the technology or using more complicated materials. 

ano said:

Oh well, I guess I know why.   :unsure:   No the Monoprint Mini is a great printer. I made a cat, and an elephant. I figured our the best settings in Cura (no small feat.) I loved it, I printed and it was great, then it stopped.  :angry2:  I have no idea of the problem, but I was changing a filament, put in the new one, and nothing. Nothing came out of the nozzle. I took the head apart and couldn't find the problem. A small amount of plastic came out but very little. So I packed it up and its headed back to Monoprice.

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Filament quality varies, so I'd be curious what brand you were using.  I've had great luck, thus far, with Hatchbox, Inland (house brand at Microcenter) and some eSun samples.  There's a Mini Select group on Facebook that's VERY quick with help.  Questions, especially ones with pictures or video, get answered pretty darn quickly.  
 
When you change filament you generally can't just pull it out.  Well, you can but it's often best to do a heated pull (aka 'atomic pull').  Run the temp up to 200 push in the new filament until you see the new color coming out the head.  Then back the temp down to 90 and pull it back.  This lets your new filament get into the heater block, mix with what might have been left and pull it the old stuff back out.  You'll see a clumpy bit of the old color on the new.  
 
If a simple thing like a blocked head are going to have you sending things back then 3D printing might not be the hobby for you.  It's still definitely in the 'typewriters with ribbons' stage of technological development.  
 
The Ultimaker line gets good marks but they're not in the bargain price category, by any stretch.  The makers of the E3D hot end 
 
Monoprice announced some new models at CES.  One being an evolution of the Mini (and there will be upgrade kits for existing units).  The others are new.  The delta style is getting a lot of interest (basically a print head on a spider instead of a gantry, allowing for a taller working area).

Wow didn't know that Micro center PC places where still around.
 
So what specifically are you tinkering with relating to the 3D printer? 
 
Custom wall switches or covers?
 
Here purchased a custom box / case made for the Pine64 machine from a guitar maker in Spain.  It was an easy to put together box.  First small 7" in wall touch screens here were mounted in plastic clam shells re purposed from automotive head rest use.

pete_c said:

Wow didn't know that Micro center PC places where still around.
 
So what specifically are you tinkering with relating to the 3D printer? 
 
Custom wall switches or covers?

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Microcenter has several relatively nearby locations, 2 in DC suburbs and one up in Baltimore.  They've actually got pretty decent inventory and prices.  Handy for when you want to lay hands on something before buying.  Especially if it's something you'd want to return locally if there's anything wrong with it.  Amazon certain makes a lot of buying easier but I still support local places whenever possible.  
 
I do some woodworking and have a wood carving CNC machine.  What I haven't yet had is enough time spent with various modeling environments to get some of my designs created.  Lots of 'little things' that would make life a little more convenient.  Like custom holders for phone/tablet/device chargers.  I hate setting cables all over the place.  I've had an idea in my head for a while involving some exotic woods.  Sticks laminated and then cut on the CNC to fit the devices.  Using 3D printed inserts/parts for where wood isn't the best choice.   From the phone chargers it leads to some other kinds of device holders, like custom-pocketed profiles for remotes.  Instead of just cramming them into various off-the-shelf organizers.