Rostock MAX v2 User's Guide
#2 Start Simple.
We have a tendency to want to jump ahead to more complicated prints, faster printing, bigger
prints, etc. There are many aspects to successful 3D printing, everything from the printer (which in
itself has a mechanical system, electronics system, hot end, extruder, heated bed, firmware), to the
slicer (and all of the parameters available to control the slicing), to the filament itself, to the actual item
being printed. With so many variables (100s, maybe 1000s of them) it is really important to pin down
as many of them as you can.
One very easy place to do this is with the model itself. Develop your experience printing the
same model over and over until you nail it. Even with a simple model, you can (and should) approach
printing it with a methodical approach from the ground up. That's the next strategy.
#3 Practice in Measures.
I play guitar and was basically self taught. When I found new music to learn, I did what many
untrained folks do and practiced the part over and over again from beginning to end. If I made a
mistake, I started over. Then, I took lessons from a trained musician. My very first lesson was worth
every penny! My instructor watched me learn a piece and then said "Practice in Measures". What he
meant by this was to learn the first measure (music is divided into small blocks of notes called
measures which are small and relatively simple). Practice it until it is perfect. Then, practice the second
measure until it's perfect. Next, combine the first and second measures until that is perfect. Continue in
this way until you've learned all the measures and combinations of them. In complex pieces, there will
be a few measures or sequences of measures where you need to put in a lot more practice.
The advantage of this approach, my instructor said, is that you are not wasting lots of time
playing measures you already know. The practice of playing from the start until you reach a difficult
spot and make a mistake is that you play, say, 30 seconds (or more) of music you already know to hit a
1 second spot you need to practice. So in a 30 minute practice session you are really only practicing
what you need to practice for 1 minute! This completely changed my approach to practicing everything
from guitar to 3D printing to machining to learning CAD, to...
How does this apply to 3D printing? Easily, start with a simple object to print and practice
nailing the first layer. Once you have that nailed, print the rest of the object. Once you have the entire
object printed successfully, change slicing parameters and start over (nail the first layer, ...). Practice in
measures.
I can't say enough about getting that first layer right, the subject of the next strategy.
12 – A Strategy for Successful (and great!) Prints - 98
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