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First experiences with RS PRO IdeaWerk Pro 3D Printer

Hello, I want to share my first experiences with the RS PRO IdeaWerk Pro 3D Printer (862-5705) which I won in the recent DesignSpark 3D Printer competition.

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Installation

After unboxing everything and reading the included manuals and quick-start guides, I followed the steps to prepare the printer.

Installing DesignSpark Mechanical 2.1 (to draw 3D images) and DoraWare-P (to convert the 3D images to gcode files that the printer can read to print the file) worked fine on my Windows 10 PC.

My first print and learning to draw in 3D

For a quick test, I printed a simple cube. This drawing was provided on the included USB stick (which holds all the documentation, examples and software programs) to test the printer and to see how things are working. Here I found out that 3D printing takes time, this a small cube (1x1x2cm) takes about 20 minutes of printing! 

But now starts the fun part: drawing physical objects. I was a little bit familiar with Fusion 360, and now also a bit with DesignSpark Mechanical. 

I started drawing the cube, there are some examples provided with the included USB stick (which hold all the documentation, examples and software programs).

Tip #1: 

www.thingiverse.com is a website with thousands of 3D designs which you can try and print easily! 

Tip #2: 

Fun fact is that the Windows 10 3D Paint easily can view the 3D objects in an easy-to-use viewer. 3D objects made in DesignSpark Mechanical can easily be painted for fun results. Of course, those edited/coloured in painting software will not be printed since the printer can only print in one color (without changing filament).


The Rubiks Cube project

Here starts my original idea: A 3D printed rubiks cube. This cube contains 27 cubes (3 x 3 x 3), which are held to each other by magnets. The center cube has strong neodymium magnets (6x3mm) and all the other cubes have smaller magnets (4x3mm), since the force on the center is stronger than the outside, it should be possible to rotate around this center cube.

There are 27 different cubes needed with 2 types of holes (to insert the magnets) and 6 different designs (that simulate the different colors on the outsides of the cube. This makes all of the 27 cubes unique.  

I ordered new magnets, when they arrive I have to measure them accurately to adjust my drawings for that because a 0.1mm deviation could mean that the magnets do not fit inside the printed holes. I've the designs of all the 27 cubes ready, so once I receive the magnets (and can measure the exact dimensions and correct them in my drawings) I can start printing the 27 cubes. 

Here is the first version of a cube: 

20181007_135051_afb1df8bd838be74ba2d80285aca1d00727bd856.jpg3D RS logo

I couldn't find a 3D file for the RS logo, so I drew one myself. I imported a 2D RS logo and draw lines over the logo to make a 2d logo (in a 3d file). This 2D drawing can easily be extruded in the Z-axis to create a 3D object. After rounding the corners the file can be exported to a .stl file. This .slt file can then be read by Doraware to generate the gcode (.wtk) file which the printer can read. 

The RS logo (with the printing-bed still attached)20181001_232942_e514a55c1c361ade9d5ca09122b00581a577505a.jpg

Here is a time-lapse video of printing the RS logo:


Copy and paste is easy now ;)
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The file of the RS logo is included as an attachment should you wish to try. 

Electronica 2018 

I will visit the Electronica Fair in München next week, I'm looking forward to meet other DesignSpark people there! 

Thanks for reading.

Marcel Kruse 
(Marc3l)

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Test Engineer. Love to play with embedded hardware and software.
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