Tag Archives: ceramic tape

PLA on the way!

Posted on by

I just saw MakerBot’s blog post saying they finally got in a batch of MakerBot approved PLA.  This is supposed to be nigh magical stuff.  It prints at a cooler temperature than ABS, it has a low shrinkage factor meaning it won’t warp much if at all, it will stick to blue masking/drafter’s tape not requiring the use of an acrylic build platform, and it’s very clear.

While I was at it, I also ordered an extra brass nozzle, brass barrel, PTFE insulator, ceramic tape, nichrome wire, thermistor, and I asked for some MakerBot stickers to adorn my laptop.  :)

Heater barrel – backasswards?

Posted on by

Dangit.  According to the very latest changes to the MakerBot assembly wiki, I put the heater assembly together with the heater barrel upside down.  I’m not entirely sure what this means for my heater.  Clearly it was working well enough that I could extrude reasonably well.

The questions is – do I leave it as is or disassemble/reassemble?

If I leave it as is, I suppose there’s a chance I could bulge the insulator, ruining it.

I’ve already disassembled/reassembled once because of a bad thermistor connection.  If I disassemble again, I’m thinking the ceramic tape and nichrome may have had it.  Not to mention that I’m probably going to have a royal mess of plastic inside the barrel and nozzle to clean up.