Editing 3D Printing

See [[TAZ 4 Procedure Documents]] for help with things like removing and replacing the Budaschnozzle.

==Lulzbot TAZ 4 Printer==

I bought the [http://www.amazon.com/LulzBot-TAZ-4-3D-Printer/dp/B00JXQZ8CC Lulzbot TAZ 4 from Amazon/Prime]... only $2,194.95, free shipping.

The manuals are included, but you will need to read carefully, and also research some on the web.  Calibration of the Z-axis is critical to successful printing, and this process is not really well presented for the brand-new user.  (I'm sure any teenager can figure it out themselves; a 60 year old like myself - as technical as I am - had to do some research.)

==Filament from Shaxon at Fry's Electronics==

I went online to the Lulzbot site to order filament - don't bother.  Seems like most of their filament gets shipped from the UK, so my initial order for about $100 worth of filament was going to cost over $100 extra in shipping charges!

Instead, I wandered into the Phoenix Fry's Electronics, and they had a reasonable supply of filament from a company called Shaxon.  I bought three rolls of 3mm filament in 1 kg/2.2 lb reels for $24.99 each: PLA White, PLA Blue, and ABS Yellow.

==Modeling Software: FreeCAD==

I had initially tried using [http://www.blender.org/ Blender] for my 3D modeling; in fact, I used it to create my first 3D print of a beveled 10mm cube.  But I quickly found that Blender is best suited for animation modeling, and while it will model some things and output the required STL file, it really wasn't conducive to what I needed to do.

I also tried Adobe's free [http://www.123dapp.com/ 123D Design] program.  While the program itself really seemed to have potential, the whole online login and cloud storage experience was extremely frustrating, so I eventually gave up on Adobe.

Currently, I'm using [http://www.freecadweb.org/ FreeCAD]... I guess "learning" is more accurate.  FreeCAD seems to have what I need, and so far in the learning process (1 day, as I write this!), it really looks more suitable, and has a more professionally done feel (in my opinion).