Still Making

There’s a phrase, “Everyone’s a Maker” that refers to the capability anyone could have to make things, all they would need is a 3D printer.   People who spend time 3D printing are “making” things and are therefore “Makers.”

Initially when we got the first 3D printer I was obsessed with keeping it occupied.  I would wake up in the middle of the night and go check on how the current print was doing and if it had completed, I’d start a new print.   On many nights, I’d stay up late because only forty-five minutes or other short amount of time remained for the currently printing job to finish.  If I went to bed, the majority of the night would pass with the printer idle. 

I’d wait the forty-five or so minutes, get the current job off the build plate, start the next job and then finish up any post-processing needed for the just-finished model.   All in all, most nights I was up far later than I should have been and then back up either in the middle of the night or early in the morning to start the cycle all over again. 

Things have changed since that time.  First, there are multiple printers.   Sometimes they’re all busy overnight but commonly I have them off until the morning.   Second, when I do send a job to print overnight, many times it’s ten to fourteen hours long.   There is no need to change jobs in the middle of the night. 

And third, I’m just more laid back about the printing now.   Printing was new and exciting.  I’m still just as enthusiastic about 3D printing, but I’m more relaxed about timeframes of getting things completed within.   The three FDM (or filament) printers I work with make getting things done far more quickly.   

And lastly, I trust the printers more now that I understand how they work better.   I have them tuned and I know how to send jobs to the printer.   That doesn’t mean things don’t fail.   Everyone has failed prints.   It just doesn’t happen as often.  

Tonight though as I was called upstairs for a farewell dinner with my in-laws before they leave for Florida for the winter, I kicked off a job on my most trusted printer.  I saw that it was printing so I left without a further thought.  I came back downstairs an hour-and-a-half later to find this blob.   The cube-shaped indentation is the extruder head imprint.   The job must have failed not thirty seconds after I left and then melted filament piled up on itself and all around the extruder until I came back.   It took a good while to clean out. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son had two much sitting still today (digital) and was a bouncing off the walls mess at dinner.   School is back in session tomorrow and the digital will go away. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter had no idea how long my hair was.   There are so many things that we take for complete granted that are just known, because our eyes are always taking in our surroundings.   For my daughter, her world is a lot smaller in many ways.