3D Printing on glass is an easy and relatively low-cost upgrade for your FDM style 3D printer. We have found a bare glass surface to be the sweet spot between too much and too little adhesion for PLA and PETG filaments. Too little adhesion leads to the part lifting and warping which can lead to failed prints and deformed parts. Too much adhesion makes it very difficult to remove the parts even after they cool. We have tested 0.125 inch standard soda-lime glass and borosilicate glass and have found borosilicate glass to withstand higher temperatures needed for certain filaments. For safety reasons alone, borosilicate is worth the higher costs.

[fa icon="clock-o"] Dec 16, 2016 5:07:53 PM [fa icon="user"] Mark Edstrom [fa icon="folder-open'] Tutorial
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This is a dust shoe attachment for the Inventables X-Carve CNC with the DeWalt DWP611 Router option. Adding a dust shoe is an easy and inexpensive way to upgrade your X-Carve. The dust shoe connects to a vacuum that extracts the chips created while cutting. The chips no longer get caught up in the cutting tool during each pass and do not get deposited on the rails for cleaner, more accurate cuts.
[fa icon="clock-o"] Dec 1, 2016 11:13:41 AM [fa icon="user"] Mark Edstrom [fa icon="folder-open'] Tutorial
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We get a lot of people asking us about our in-house prototyping and manufacturing processes. We love sharing what we've learned in the trenches!
Today's topic is how to take a bunch of Amazon parts and make a low cost (< $75) adjustable DIY vacuum pickup tool (with a foot pedal) for doing manual pick and place.
Why is this useful? It helps you prototype boards faster and with less effort! In our tests we were between 60-90% faster with the vacuum pickup than with tweezers.
[fa icon="clock-o"] Nov 8, 2016 7:50:00 PM [fa icon="user"] Jared Go [fa icon="folder-open'] diy, pick and place, smt, Tutorial, vacuum pickup
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