You Learn From Your Mistakes

Never has it been more true that you learn from your mistakes than it is when you're 3D printing.   I know this blog isn't about 3D printing, but since it's my latest obsession, it's mostly what I have to talk about these days.   School with my daughter is grueling (for her and for me).   My son is surely days away from puberty if the amount of testosterone-fueled intensity is any measure, and COVID-19 adds that extra special layer of fun to the barrel of life we find ourselves floating down the rapids in.   But 3D printing is the thing that's teaching me the most lately when it comes to patience and learning from your mistakes. 

'Mistakes' isn't even the right word for it, because it's not mistakes really.   It's learning what settings and configurations need to be made to get, first of all, a print to just work and second, to get the print to look right.  Failed prints are just a part of the process.   It's not like paper which is mostly the same aside from thickness.   Every filament has it's own special needs that must be catered to to get that beautiful little print at the end of a long wait. 

There are some materials that are 3D printer "easy mode" and happily print what you want with usually a reasonable result within a wide tolerance of settings.   You can tweak it and get better prints, but once you figure out the basics for your printer, it's not hard.   Some of the more enticing materials need to be babied to work.   

I've been changing nozzle diameters lately, going from a small 0.4mm opening which squirts out small amounts of filament at a time, resulting in high-accuracy prints.   I've moved up to a 1.0mm nozzle in the past few days and have been experimenting with something called "vase mode" which, when working, makes super sturdy prints in a fraction of the time.   Also, vase mode is fun—if you can get it to work. 

Typically, I would have given up on something by now due to frustration but instead of getting frustrated, it just adds to the challenge.   I don't get mad when something goes wrong, I just look into why and try again.   Interestingly enough, all this failure has been kind of fun. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son has been so intensely energetic lately.   Intense in that he will scream at you or anyone at the slightest provocation.   We're working on this and he doesn't even realize he's done it when you point it out and he immediately apologizes.   He's driving his sister crazy though. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter has been listening to some audiobooks that feature a clan of cats.   She knows all about cat behaviors now from an anthropomorphized standpoint.  She speaks to us in terms of cat speak.  None of us understand what she means.