patches

Found this thread from the Woodworking one. New to 3D printing, but have been 3D modelling for nearly 2 decades (AutoCAD, Inventor, Solidworks, Fusion, Revit, Navisworks, etc). Current setup: Printer I went with an Ender 3 v2 with a few small upgrades (dual gear extruder, Z-axis lead screw top bearing and some printed mods). I went with the Ender 3 v2 as s starting setup as it's affordable, has a 32-BIt board, silent stepper driver, glass bed and belt tensioners right out the box. Looking to add a BL Touch, Capricorn tubing, as soon as Aliexpress delivers! I'm also in the process of building one of the Ikea Lack enclosures for the setup. Modelling & Slicing For modelling I use either AutoCAD or Fusion360. (Current job doesn't provide me with an Inventor license, but that would be my weapon of choice if I wasn't stingy). I use Cura for slicing. Firmware I stumbled across this site which offers daily Marlin updates for a variety of printers and setups. Subscription is only 10USD/yr. Print Materials I haven't ventured into the more exotic materials yet, so just PLA and PLA+ so far. Once the enclosure is complete I'll try my hand at ABS and PETG. Also keen to try flexibles (TPU) although my extruder may not play ball on that one. So yeah, great to see others on here that I can learn from. I guess my initial questions are: Any cool cycling related prints you can recommend (Thingiverse etc). Anyone here have experience printing flexibles (particularly with a bowden style extruder)?

The old form vs function compromise. Whilst I like the look of sharp square edges, Comfort and damage resistance are important, so I ran a 3mm roundover bit on the trim router past the front top & bottom edges. I may run a 5mm if the 3mm isn't enough.

haha thanks! I did search, but seems I used the wrong term. These were the results that "3D Printer" yielded. "3D Printing" however yields way better results. Some good stuff on the thread you referenced. Thanks!

@bertusras and @Rocket-Boy, have either of you 3D printed flexibles (TPU) before? I believe extrusion can be a challenge if one doesn't have a direct drive extruder, or something like a SeeMeCNC EZR Struder. I'm running a dual drive bowden style extruder, which seems to have have very limited space for the filament to bunch up between the hobbed gear and the feed hole Keen to hear your thoughts. PS. I should probably start a 3D printing thread as I feel bad for hijacking this woodwork one all the time

hahaha kudos for being one of the minority that actually turns a wood pallet into something. For every one of you, there are dozens who have pallets rotting in their yard with the best of intentions. I was one of those

Ouch! I guess that thins out the application process a bit.

Yeah, the Australian system is even tougher, and I believe there are a number of additional criteria, like the majority of that parents children cannot still live in the country where the parent resides. At least half have to have left. A former colleague of mine had Australian PR and his wife wanted to get her parents over to Aus with them. Her parents still had 2 other children in SA that were able to look after them, so the Aussie government wasn't interested. He ended up moving to NZ just because they didn't have that clause and he was able to get them over. But yeah, as you say... it was all bad before. Now it'll be insane!

I wonder when they will reopen the parent resident visas and how big their backlog is? In July I'll be eligible to apply to sponsor my Mom on a resident visa (if they open applications by then). Catch is that nowadays they only take in 1000 applications/yr and I can imagine that with Covid, there are loads of expats who previously would not have considered moving their parents because they were in "safe and stable" countries like the UK or UK, but now NZ is a pretty attractive prospect (not only to those coming from developing countries like SA and India). So it's going to be flooded!

Myself and a friend entered into a weight loss challenge. Initially we were just going to see who could lose the most (as a percentage of their start weight), over the space of 3-4 months, and the loser would have to pay the winner $1000. The bet was too rich for my blood, especially in that one could work their butt off, and still be trounced by 100g and ed up $1000 poorer. So we came up with new terms. We each selected goal weights (approx 10% less than start weight). Both parties put $200 into a pot. If one makes their goal weight, they get their money back and can spend it on whatever. If they don't, they have to donate $100 to a worthy cause, and $100 to a cringy cause (like Trump's legal fees or Flat Earth Society) AND publicly post about their support for said cause on Facebook. Now if that's not reason enough, I don't know what is!

Pretty cool idea. Just like those travel scratch maps (largely gathering dust these days), there's a Rotorua redwood trails scratch map. https://maps4good.co/collections/frontpage/products/whakarewarewa-forest-scratch-off-3d-trail-map $6 from each map goes to the Rotorua Trails Trust.

I've been installing some Elfa hanging shelving/racking in the study, to make a home office space that can be adapted in the future (when the study may need to change into a nursery or kids room). Something like this: The Elfa system is awesome, adaptable and well made, but really hurts the wallet. For our 3300mm long wall we'd need 5x 610Wx 525D desktops. They retail for $140ea (around R1500). So in stead I decided a hack was in order. I procured 2 sheets of 2200x600x25mm oak vaneered furniture making ply. Trimmed them down to 500mm deep and 1650mm wide with the track saw. Then to compensate for the lack of clipping brackets (which the Elfa desktops have), I routed in some 12x12mm slots, lined up at precisely to suit the 610mm centres (one of the Elfa standard configs) so that the support brackets press-fit into them. By no means is this skilled or fine work, BUT I can highly recommend a track saw and some of the accessories available for them, especially for those who don't want to invest money or space into a table saw. I used the router adaptor for the track so that I could quickly and accurately route straight lines without clamps/jigs, etc. (One of these) There are also a lot of 3D printable accessories for Makita (and Festool) tracks on Thingiverse.

That cushion reminds me of those long marshmallows.

Had some good laughs at this https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/15-01-2021/five-ideas-to-fix-nzs-completely-pathetic-covid-qr-scanning-record/?fbclid=IwAR2-Cu7WahqaPDMFHqvY9AIgz9aHUFKPyT-3aSq7YYJUzQCiX88FSL2E_Ks

A friend of mine looked into this some years ago. In some countries Ikea first moves in with concept stores. These have limited stock, but the ability to order from the catalogue and facilitate shipping of a wider range. If these are successful and certain other criteria are met, they then expand into the full fledged blue box warehouse style operation. South Africa does seem like a prime candidate for Ikea. Population, growing middle class, cheap real estate, tc, so it's strange that Ikea hasn't thought about moving in. Perhaps the larger local players (Massmart and the like) have got some buddies high up that have the ability to make life difficult for the new kid on the scene. Interesting enough, Ikea has been in Aus since 1975. That's at least 10 years before the US and UK got their first Ikea. Also Egypt and Morocco already have Ikea, so SA wouldn't be their first foray into Africa. There's a pretty fascinating documentary series called Inside Ikea or Flatpack Empire (narrated by Olivia Coleman). In that, and inkeeping with the woodwork theme... Ikea accounts for about 1% of the total timber usage worldwide (over 13 million cubic meters/year). That's insane!

Sorry, I forgot to use the sarcasm font To date I have only had 1 power cut in NZ (planned or unplanned). It was unplanned and was fixed within 2hrs

That's pretty good. I looked at my "closest bill" in terms of kWH or Cost and I paid $99.64 for 334 kWH (so $0.298/kWH incl daily charge and GST) As for broadband, I forgot about 2degrees. Not a bad plan as it's $96pm for gigabit (currently I pay $109), plus they throw in 1yr of Amazon Prime Video (which I already pay for, so can scrap that) and $100 credit. Changes may be on the horizon!

hahaha! There's already something along the lines of what you describe: https://www.powerswitch.org.nz/whatsmynumber It's what I originally used to select my current gas and power providers. I was just lured in at the prospects of a "Free TV" (which I don't actually need ) But yeah, hard to compare apples with apples when some providers offer sign on bonuses, some offer 1hr free power/day, and so on and so on. Bring back Eskom! Take away the tough choices!

Ikea furniture varies. THey have cheap and cheerful products, as well as more pricey and designer ones made form solid timber etc. But from my experience it's always reasonably priced for what it is. Unfortunately we don't have Ikea in New Zealand, so visiting Ikea has become a mandatory part of each Aus visit I (about 2-4x a year pre-Covid). Those Lack side tables are about R120 each from Ikea in Aus. Even without Ikea here in NZ, we can get them, but we are at the mercy of 3rd party resellers who import a very limited range of product and gouge the prices. I paid about R275 each. Still far cheaper than anything remotely similar available from other NZ brands. Ikea has announced they will be entering the NZ market. I think the local competitors (Kmart, the Warehouse, etc), who sell inferior products for higher prices, are crapping themselves. The resellers can't be thrilled either as they become completely irrelevant. I can't wait though!

hahaha! Yeah I hate it when providers have deals and are more concerned with attracting new customers and do nothing for the ones they already have. (Insurance and mobile providers are notorious for this). My Bigpipe fibre has been pretty good. No issues. went with them as they offered 3 months free on a 12 month contract. I'm way past that contract now, so no reason not to switch. Electric Kiwi is also decent and our bills are low (gas cooking and water heating). They could be lower if we used the free hour of power better, but I'm too unplanned and lazy to try time my laundry etc with that hour so it's wasted on me. Trustpower's customer reviews aren't great, but both the fibre and the power rely on existing networks (Chorus and Vector) so how bad a middle man can they be?! I don't need a new TV/other appliance, but hey, it's *free stuff, right?! Ps. my increased activity on here is also stemming from 1st week work boredom. *Not really free, but the benefit seems to outweigh the cost

Has anyone here had any experience with Trustpower? I see they currently have a deal where one can get a free Samsung appliance when signing up for power or power + broadband. https://www.trustpower.co.nz/promotion/ww-details#fmaxww Their reviews aren't great. Their kWh rate is about the same as my current (Electric Kiwi), and the Fibre (Gigabit) is $10pm more than my current (Bigpipe). So I'm wondering what the trade-off is?!

Yeah, I like the integrated strain gauge system they use for bed levelling on the CR 6SE. Michael Laws (TeachingTeach) did say it may limit one in terms of upgrades to all-metal hot ends, or completely take direct extrusion off the cards, but that was based on his preliminary investigation (before official release), and by now there may be many aftermarket parts available to achieve this. As for the enclosure, I'm busy printing the parts to build an Ikea Lack enclosure (popular option for those using the smaller Creality & Prusa printers). Something like this, constructed out of 2 cheap Ikea side-tables, perspex, and some 3D printed parts.

Yeah I use a similar method, but with 80gsm paper. It seems to find just the right amount off "squish". The BL Touch is only really essential when one has a warped bed. I'm just lazy ave like gadgets. The first time I leveled the bed (paper and disable steppers etc) it was fairly straight forward. But then I upgraded the bed springs to the heavier duty yellow ones. Leveling that was a nightmare and I ended up going back to the stock springs. As for Marlin, have you seen the Aussie guy who rebuilds firmware daily and makes it available for a small fee of 10 USD/yr. https://marlin.crc.id.au/

I concur. The West Coast Riders Club stuff is a level up from most of the black trails at Woodhill. And the trails I've ridden in the main section (Baconator, Communal, Samtastic etc) are a lot more raw and techy than Woodhill. A fair bit of off-camber descending switchbacks etc. Loads of fun though.

Yup, ridden there before. Not extensively, but a bit on the West Coast Riders Club (WCRC) side and the Barlow road end. Some awesome trails! I do believe they become unrideable over the winter (leaving Woodhill as about the location of choice for most during that time), but from chatting with a colleague (who rides 2-3x a week) he far prefers Riverhead to Woodhill during the summer.

Yup! 26" dual. It's a large though, but more a medium by today's bike standards. Fork: 160mm Rockshox Lyrik Shock: Fox Float CTD Kashima Drivetrain: Shimano XT 1x10 with One-Up Range Extender cassette. XTR cranks Brakes: Hope Tech 2 Evo 4 pot Wheels: Spank Spike rims on Hope Pro 2 straight pull hubs (in the Team edition green) Bars: Renthal Fatbar Stem: Easton Havoc Seatpost: Rockshox Reverb 125mm dropper post. So overall it's a nicely specced bike. It could probably do with a once-over (particularly dialling in gears and servicing dropper), but rideable in current state. As mentioned, I'm more than happy for him to test ride it for a few weeks and see if it fits and if he enjoys it. We can then discuss price and what you think is fair, but it'll definitely be under $1000. EDIT: I supposed he's not quite tall enough for the upsell... a Husky 350 enduro bike that's taking up valuable garage space