April | 2017 | Deanna's World

I got JGAurora 3D printer a few months ago. I learned a lot about 3D printers by assembling it myself. It was like assembling a computer. It comes with videos, a user manual, and Cura on an SD card.

I’ve already made a few upgrades. I got a PRINTinZ plate for my bed. I had to design and print a little stint to lift my Z-axis switch up by 4mm to get the plate to fit. The plate is very smooth, so the prints come out significantly smoother when I was using blue tape. The filament sticks to the plate better and pops of the plate easily. I also made a spool holder. The spool of filament rolls very smoothly on barrings. I might add a few more upgrades later.

I’m starting to develop a work flow. First, I use a program called 123D Design to design my 3D objects. After saving the objects as STL files, I use Cura to generate the G-code files. I save the G-code on and SD card. The SD card is inserted into my printer. After that, it’s just a matter of picking the file to print from the SD card.

You don’t have to be a 3D designer to get into 3D printing. There are sites where you can shop for the files or even download them for free. Thingiverse, for example, has a 3D printing community where people share designs. So far, I’ve printed The $30 3D scanner V3 by daveyclk and Jointed Robot by Shira from Thingiverse. The scanner is a turntable with a spot to hold your phone. It’s used in conjunction with 3D imaging apps to stitch multiple pictures of an object together to create a 3D image. I haven’t tried it yet, but the scanner has a lot of good reviews. I made the robot to get a better idea of how I might make joints in future projects. It’s good to see how other people put their designs together. I haven’t posted much on it, but if you’re interested, you can follow me on thingiverse here.

It’s so fun having a 3D printer. I have been into arts and crafts all of my life. There is only so much detail you can get with ceramics. I like the precision of 3D printing. I love how easily a piece can be replicated; the detailed memory of a piece stored on a tiny little SD card. 3D printing is awesome!

Edward and I went on a photo trip to Daffodil Hill.

Daffodil Hill is only open a few weeks a year, weather permitting. Visit their website and call ahead to make sure the gates will be open. Arrive there early for good parking. Entry is free. Donations are welcome. They sell flowers at the gift shop. There’s a picnic area near the entrance. We ate at the snack bar across the street where they were barbecuing hot-dogs and hamburger.

Daffodil Hill is charmingly rustic. While you’re there, you’ll defiantly know you’re way out in the country. You might loose track of the time by a hundred years or so, though.

There are a wide variety of daffodils. They are mostly yellow or white or a combination of the two. They’re all beautiful.

There are also a lot of tulips at Daffodil Hill. While most of the daffodils are in the fields, there are planters full of colorful tulip accents everywhere. It seemed like every time I found a good shot of the flowers, a crowd of people would line up behind me to take the same picture.