Creation Station: La Quinta's MakerSpace

By Michele McNeilly   With the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been cases of fear, isolation and devastation that we watch every night on the news.  But out of this pandemic we have seen stories of courage, strength and generosity that have emerged from all points around the world.  We see our First Responders and Medical Professionals battling everyday to help those affected by this virus, risking their personal health to help others get better, to live and to thrive.  Our essential workers in the food and grocery industry work their day to day jobs stocking shelves, getting food to our families to make sure no one is left in hunger.  But this is also a time for Makers to offer their aide in the battle.   In the last few weeks there has been a global effort for anyone with a sewing machine or 3D printer to offer their services for local hospitals and healthcare facilities by making essential personal protective equipment (PPE). PPEs are clothing, ...

Montana Mask - Makerspace Live! Relevant Links: Make the Masks for the STL files: https://www.makethemasks.com/ Ultimaker Cura is the Slicing engine I used: https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura Transcript: William: "Hello Makers! Today we're going to be 3D printing a filtration mask using a small, budget printer. For this project we will need elastic bands (though I have string pictured), and we'll need some filtration material like a cutoff from an N-95 respiratior. We're printing in black and white [Oops, black PLA] on a Monoprice Select Mini. Be sure to check us out on Facebook and in person when we resume operation! Today we'll be printing the Montana Mask which can be found at Makethemasks.com. The Montana Mask is a 3D printed respirator which can be used and is designed to help stretch out the supply of N-95 respirators.  You can find the files under the "Make the Mask" subsection of that website, un...

Post-Processing Permutes Pre-Perfect Prints into Post-Perfect Parts           3D printing is a fun and exciting hobby to adopt! It can be a shock, however, to see your first prints and notice the effects of the 3D printing manufacturing process: visible layers of plastic, printing (mostly) in one color, strings and flashing from untidy nozzle pathways, or a surface finish that does not agree with your imagination. Post-Processing your parts after the print can help you achieve the manifestation of that vision of your part you hold in your mind's eye. Let's explore a brief overview of some post-processing techniques which exist for printed parts! Sandpaper!, 1 Sanding:           Sanding with sandpaper or sanding sponges can abrade the outside shell of your print into a smooth surface. The process starts with by using a lower grit sandpaper until desired smoothness is obtained, then proceeding to a higher grit sandpaper to rep...

Plastic Procurement Plainly Put           Which Plastic to pick?, 1           3D printing is an exciting and fun hobby to dive into! Taking ideas from inside your head or off of the internet and being able to feel them in your hands only a few hours later is a feeling worth experiencing. Once you grasp the notion firmly, you will find the ability to solve problems you didn't even know you had before! But how do you select which plastic is perfect for your part? Are you floundering while finding your filament? Read ahead, and perhaps you will find yourself closer to your first or finest print!             Printer Considerations:           The first question one must consider when deciding what filament to acquire should be "what filament does my printer need as configured?" Most printers are built to be reconfigurable to use different sizes of filament an...