@rsmi4522 Hello and thank you for using the forum!

I don’t think the problem is on your end.
I’ve looked into the changelog on the latest PrusaSlicer 2.8 release and saw they have changed some things related to configuration files.

I’ve updated our configuration files to match and can confirm it is working on windows/linux.
Can you please try and download the updated config again with this link and report back?

@ahoa4149
Hello,
The FabLab will be open throughout the mid-semester break, except on public holidays Friday (Mar 29th) and Monday (Apr 1st).
For prints today the earliest time for collection would be Tuesday, Apr 2nd.

@RdzorDr95
Hi David,

Thanks for joining the forum.
The NUPBOX is capable of printing Polypropylene. However, a print platform coated with Polypropylene tape or MagigooPP will be required. I recommend using MagigooPP for more reliable results.
Once you have the filament and suitable platform adhesive, please book a consultation with me to configure a new profile so we can add PP to the list of filament presets for the NUPBOX.

Welcome

As we kick off a new semester, we’re thrilled to share some exciting developments and updates with you. We’ve been working hard to make the FabLab an even more valuable space for our users.

A Quick Throwback

Before we dive into what’s new, let’s take a moment to reflect on our journey together. The image below, captured in 2018, shows the humble beginnings of the FabLab – a modest corner barely spacious enough for a handful of users and their projects.

The achievements we’ve made as a community are a testament to our combined creativity, innovation, and hard work. As we look at how far we’ve come, let’s carry this spirit forward into an even brighter future.

What’s New This Semester?

Fresh Faces on Our Team
We’re delighted to welcome Sarah Lin, Justin Wootton, and Greg Gardener to the FabLab team. With a wealth of engineering knowledge between them, they’re eager to assist with your projects and share their expertise. Let’s make them feel at home!

Electronics Bench and Training Modules
We’ve set up an all-new soldering and electronics bench. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your skills, we’ve got you covered.

Updated Credit System
We’ve reworked our credit costs and allocations to reflect the real-world value of running our equipment. 1 credit is now approximately $1 AUD. This change is designed to help our users better understand the costs associated with prototyping and be more competitive moving into industry.

Credit Discounts
In recognition of efficient resource use, we will now be introducing credit discounts. This initiative will include benefits like reduced costs for 3D printing during off-peak hours, such as overnight or over the weekend.

Low Balance Notifications
You will now be notified when your credit balance is running low.

Feedback That Shapes Us
A huge thank you to everyone who participated in last year’s survey. Your feedback has been invaluable, and we’re actively working on addressing the issues highlighted, especially regarding the inconveniences of our equipment booking system.
Bringing more equipment online is also one of our top priorities. However, balancing expansion while maintaining quality support with fixed resources is no trivial task. Rest assured we are committed to making the lab better each semester and considering only the best of solutions.

Your Patience is Appreciated
We acknowledge there have been some delays in bringing our new team members on board, impacting booking availability. Your patience during this is greatly appreciated. We’re doing everything possible to streamline the process and return to full capacity.

For Our New Users

Please visit the faq page and induction and training processes on our wiki. This is your go-to guide for getting started in the FabLab.

For Our Continuing Users

Credit Allocations:

• AMME Thesis and HDR Users: Credits have been assigned to you automatically.
• Unit of Study Users: Please ask your tutor or course coordinator to add you to the credit group allocated to your course.
• All Other Users: All active users of the lab have automatically been assigned 30 credits. For further credits, please book a consultation and drop by the lab to chat with us, or email us at amme.lab@sydney.edu.au and we will do our best to assist you.

We’re here to support your creativity and learning, and we encourage you to make the most of the FabLab’s resources. Let’s work together to create an inspiring and productive environment.

Thank you for being a part of our community!

@jzhu3707
I recovered the settings from the gcode file on the server.
In prusaslicer go to

File -> import -> import config..

And select this file

wing_settings.gcode

@jzhu3707
Hi Jiajun,

Do you have the exported gcode for the wing that was printed or is it still saved on the dashboard?
All settings are stored in the gcode file which can be re-imported back into prusaslicer.

Otherwise I’ll try to guess what settings were set

@pphi4608

Hi!
Are you looking to hide the layer lines on the prints or just paint a specific colour?

@zzha1258

Hi Victor,
Thanks for joining the forum.
We use E3D-V6 compatible nozzles on the Nupbox printers. Here is a great article that goes into more detail about some different options:
https://www.lpomykal.cz/v6-v5-brass-nozzles/

If purchasing a nozzle for use with carbon or metal fill filaments, it must be abrasion resistant. Tungsten carbide nozzles are a great option and are available from PhaserFPV https://www.phaserfpv.com.au/collections/3d-printer-nozzles/products/phaetus-tungsten-carbide-175mm-nozzle-ps-m6-v6-nozzle

Our standard nozzle diameter is 0.4mm. If you’d like to experiment with other options, that will be fine however we will need to change the machine back to its standard configuration after each job.

@Johnny-Chen

Hi Johnny, Thanks for joining the forum.
I have never tried this, so I can’t speak from experience. There are however a few things that come to mind that may present some issues if you decide to proceed with this method:

• A skin printed in vase mode is likely to deform/balloon as the foam expands, so there would have to be some way to maintain the external geometry of the skin and force the foam to expand out either side. Like this https://hackaday.com/2019/04/21/making-a-flying-wing-with-expanding-foam/
• For the internal components, how will they be inserted? Will they be in place as the foam expands around them or inserted after? If before, how will they be aligned? Keep in mind that adding any internal geometry means that vase mode will no longer work. If after, there will be significant manual labour precisely cutting out holes in the foam for the spar and servos.

If those issues can be accounted for, it’s likely worth exploring as the method would be great for complex parts not achievable with a foam cutter while also saving on CAD design time. If however, the only goal is to save time manufacturing or weight of the final product, I am doubtful this method will provide any edge.

Please report back with results if you do go ahead and try this. I would be interested to hear your findings!

We have equipment that may be able to produce something that could work. However, achieving a sharp edge at the top of the triangular prism and a length of 30cm will be difficult.
So before getting into potential manufacturing methods; How important is achieving this exact geometry to the application? And if it is, do you have a method of measuring the geometry of any produced part?

Hi Maddy,
Thanks for joining the forum. The lab is staffed during the semester break, and the bookings calendar has since been updated to reflect our availability. There are plenty of slots next week for you to start work on your project.

@hraj4649
Hi Vihash,

Thanks for joining the forum and posting.
Requests for additional FabLab resources are best handled through private messages here or by email, as they are considered on a case-by-case basis. I will send you a PM shortly.

In general, as we balance resources to many ongoing projects in the lab, we aim to understand as much about the project as possible before allocating more credits. This is to ensure we can reasonably provide or suggest modifications/alternatives, especially in critical cases such as for a Thesis.

Hi James,

What are you constructing and what’s the size of the brackets you need? Do you have any rough designs or drawings to share?

@james-young2952

Hi James,

Thanks for using the forum, and apologies we have not been as active here as we’d like to be at the moment. It’s been a rough semester so far getting things organised, and yes, we were affected by the flooding among other things but are finally able to open back up to everyone. We will be bringing more equipment online than we’ve ever had before and are excited to see you make good use of it!

Feel free to let us know if you have any more questions.

Ben

Hi Lucas,

Welcome to the forum - thanks for joining. With regards to inductions, we will be releasing details shortly as I know everyone is eager to get their projects underway. The good news is there should be capacity for training on some of the less heavily used equipment like the CNC router this semester.

Do you know what materials you would predominantly be working with? MDF? Foam?
If you’re working with foam a lot, our CNC hot wire cutter might also be another good option.

Looking good. Here’s that digital potentiometer video I was talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uezoQ5fkixY

Theres some people in the comments saying you could digitise the buck converter without any desoldering or fancy extra chip. May be worth looking into?

You don’t have to remove the original potentiometer of these buck converters. You just need to “inject” some extra voltage to the shorted pins (pin 2 and 3) of the onboard potentiometer through a resistor and by this you can trick the buck controller chip and control it perfectly. I did this already quite some time ago using a MCP4725 12-bit DAC and an SZBK07 buck converter. This DAC has higher resolution than those digital potmeters, so you can control the voltage on a really fine scale.

@rachelchoi
Hi Rachel,

I think that sounds like a great idea and we’ll do our best to facilitate. I’ll be in touch to set up a time for a video call. Although it’s not confirmed, it looks like we can start trying to resume normal operation in the Fablab come December. I’ll be sure to post an update here once we have more information on that.

@julian_guinane

A couple of places come to mind you might want to check out however I have not personally used these services.

• Phaser 3d. FDM printing only, located on the central coast. I have had a good experience buying other things from them in the past.

• 3D printing studios. FDM, SLA and SLS printing service located in Sydney and the suppliers of our Sinterit Lisa Pro SLS machine. We had a good experience dealing with them as well.

There is no guarantee at the moment but we are also discussing the possibility/feasibility of setting up remote access to one or two Fablab 3D printers to help Thesis B students get through the semester. I will make another post at a later date if things can be organised.

No Makerspace staff on campus

Due to the current lockdown measures, no makerspace staff are permitted on campus. A such, there is no way for us to complete any requests submitted until restrictions ease. If your work is critical, please consider using an external 3D printing/manufacturing service and sharing your experience on the forum here for others.

We can still provide remote assistance

Although we may not be able to run equipment in the lab for a little while, we are still happy to assist with your project in any way we can remotely. Please get in touch with us on the forum here or email amme.lab@sydney.edu.au.

We appreciate your understanding during this difficult period.

Generally, I will need the tool either always normal or parallel to the surface depending on the tool.

We might need to have a look at extracting some more data when exporting in future then since xyz coordinates won’t be enough for this.

Definitely keep us updated on how things progress!