This episode kicks off with Stefan sharing his recent trip to Cologne, aimed at discovering new products for his online store. They briefly discuss Tom’s video on threaded inserts, including testing methodologies and Stefan shares his story about tackling a TikTok impostor. A significant portion of the episode features an in-depth discussion with engineers from E3D, shedding light on extruder testing, product development, and the nuances of testing methodologies. They discuss the challenges and strategies in developing new products, focusing on extruder efficiency, the impact of design choices on performance, and the balance between speed, quality, and reliability.
Tag: e3d
Rocky Mountain RepRap Festival & Prusa MK4
On this Podcast episode, Stefan shares his latest acquisition, the Vectorfinesse’s 3D-printed headphones. The discussion then shifts to his recent trip to Loveland, Colorado, where he attended the Rocky Mountain RepRap Festival. Stefan shares some of the projects he witnessed and highlights the differences between this new event and MRRF and ERRF. The conversation moves on to the upcoming REVO high flow and their experience with Prusa’s new MK4. Stefan also recounts his exciting experience driving a Tesla 3 rental in LA and collaborating with William Osman for a video. Lastly, the hosts tackle a listener’s question about how to dispose of a solar battery and give pointers on building one.
Prusa XL Delayed, Scams & NoZZles
Thanks to Siraya Tech for sponsoring this episode! Check them out at https://siraya.tech/products/build-resin-high-resolution-engineering-resin or on Amazon at http://go.toms3d.org/Siraya
In this episode, Stefan talks about what recently put him out of order for almost 4 weeks but how he used the time to discover some amazing new channels. Tom talks about his experience of redeeming his Prusameters and his recent CF lamination projects. Both quickly discuss their most recent videos on obsolete 0.4 mm nozzles and obsolete Volcano hotends. Next, they go through Prusa’s recent blog post in which the latest developments regarding the Prusa XL are discussed. Finally, Tom and Stefan talk about their plans with the upcoming ObXidian nozzle and the scam comments they were both victims of.
Why stuff breaks, Robot Arms & Home-Compostable PHA Filaments
Thanks to Private Internet Access for sponsoring this episode! Check them out at https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/TheMeltzone
This episode starts with a discussion about the longevity of common 3D printing materials and why sometimes filament snaps on its own in the Bowden tube. Next, Tom and Stefan take a look at Formlabs’ new FUSE 1+ 3D printer that claims to be able to do wasteless SLS printing, which would be an amazing step forward for that technology! Then there is a quick update on the BambuStudio source code that just was recently released. After that, Tom shares his interest in building a robot arm for filming, and 3D printing using DUET hardware and rambles about the ongoing E3D ObXidian teases that he’s fed up with. Then they talk about an STL subscription service and if that’s an alternative to buying files separately or by being a Patreon of designers. Finally, they have a talk about new PHA filaments that were just released to the market and claim to be really home-compostable.
Simplify3D V5 “confirmed” & REVO problems
The first topic of this episode covers a controversial article where the author “has the feeling” that the release of S3D V5 might not be far away though there is very little substance to that claim. More substantial news is that Anker, the power bank and electronics accessories maker, will get into the 3D printer market and will launch their first machine on Kickstarter soon. Next, Tom and Stefan cover 3D printable accessories for a new Ford truck and the Steam Deck, for which Valve recently released the CAD files. Next Stefan talks about an issue he recently had with his E3D REVO review unit and Tom discusses his Form 3 review machine that turned out to be an unreleased Form 3+ which he didn’t know about. Stefan quickly gives an update about the “killed” stepper driver. Questions cover 3D printer recommendations, especially pre-built core XY, and what happens to additives and pigments when you compost plastics.
Open Source CAD & Selling Stuff Online
This episode starts with a short chat about the festive season and the presents Tom and Stefan got, followed by a talk about open source parametric CAD software and other professional yet affordable options. Next, Stefan shares some experiences running an e-commerce business and what options for selling products online are. After that, they discuss the dangerous practice of smoothing FDM prints by spraying on printing resin. Printed Solid is yet becoming another company that switches to cardboard spools for their filaments and will also be contributing to the Foundation E3D will set up in Sanjay Mortimer’s name who recently passed away. Fuslab claims that the recent community-developed Rolling Screw Extruder is infringing on their patent even though prior art was discussed and built years before they filed their patent. Staying on the topic of patents, both shortly talk about a high-flow hotend patent that E3D applied for. The questions cover topics on the compatibility of E3D Revo on the Prusa MK3 as well as converting an old Prusa printer into a CNC router and preheating filament for higher flow rates.
“Get rich quick” with 3D printing / Meetups / Gearbest Dataleak
A new epdisode of the Meltzone Podcast has landed! Stefan and Tom talk about the highlights from Make Munich and what to expect from the upcoming MRRF, as well as their experiences with adding threads to 3D printed parts. Fiat has announced a customizable car (using 3D printed parts), E3D have announced their impossibly long Supervolcano hotend and Gearbest have release a huge dataset of their customer data into the wild – unintentionally. We hope.
Lastly, Stefan and Tom talk about way to make money with 3D printing and also about the ways you should probably avoid when trying to generate income in the maker ecosystem.
E3D Nozzle X Drama, Article 13 & 3D Scanners
On this news-packed episode Tom and Stefan talk about E3Ds Nozzle X drama and their new slicer Pathio as well as the ruthless marketing campaigns of some 3D printer manufacturers. The EU is about to vote on a new copyright law where Tom explains why this will be harmful for them as creators and for the general freedom of speech of everyone. Tom installed a new ventilation system in his studio because he had the suspicion that SLA resin fumes caused him having problems working there for longer periods of time. Both have already been working with different types of 3D scanners and outline which techniques there are and what you can use them for.
3D Printer Fingerprints & DIY Filament Making
Tom and Stefan talk about their experiences in annealing PLA prints and discuss the recent change in Fusion 360’s pricing model. Recently a paper on a so called “3D printer fingerpint” was released that claims to be able to track prints back the printer they were made on, with stunning accuracy, so they talk about how realistic this could be and what the implications of such a method might be. Tom recently came back home from his roadtrip all over Europe where he filmed bits for his RepRap documentary and talks about the new high temperature products he has seen at E3Ds headquarter. Finally Stefan recently built his DIY filament extruder and talks about his first experience in making his own filament at home.
Kit or self-sourced printer and picking the perfect filament for the job! (With RichRap and Sanjay from E3D)
Tom, Richard Horne (RichRap) and Sanjay Mortimer (E3D) discuss who 3D printer kits are for and when you should self-source instead, as well as what FDM materials are being developed, which ones are already available and where they each fit in!