Tasteful showering

Yes before you ask I did go proudly out and about yesterday wearing this. The print quality could be better but he kinda looks mean with his one eyebrow and stuff. I think its to do with the cooling fan anyway and all I need to print is a duct that directs the air more precisely like this one below by Cyrrus on Thingiverse (still a work in progress.) There are a number of different designs there, I don't think any that would fit my machine perfectly so I'll probably have to design one myself or remix someone else's.

Cool air at the moment of extrusion helps to solidify the plastic in the desired shape

Other than that I've been desperately printing hooks for the shower curtain and I finally got one to come out like I wanted it to. Lots of adhesion problems. I used Pritt Stick and sugar water and after hiking the temperature up to over 200° it finally stuck.

I must try hairspray, perhaps that would work better, a lot of reprappers swear by it. Unfortunately the wife doesn't have any cheap hairspray but so-called hairspray mousse. From what I've heard generic sticky chemicals in a can do the best job, no point smearing Wella mousse on my heatbed.

Much better than the little metal hooks on the left no?

And here's a close up of the finished article, still not without imperfections, but nobody is. Well once I get the fan duct made and blowing I assume all my 3D prints will be completely free of the signs of manufacture, then it will be a case of optimising for speed of print.

At the moment I am happy slowing it down to make it right, like with a lot of things in life, patience is a key element to successful 3D printing. Taking that element of it away would make me appreciate the end results less. Yes the younger generation, I know.

For the kids that I want to teach how to 3D print, the quicker the process is, the more likely they are to remain interested. Is that really what you want though, every kid of every character being interested? Aren't the kids whose attention span barely exceeds that of a chipmunk going to lose interest shortly after they gain it, or feign it?

Harsh on some kids I know. But 3D printing is not for everybody, certainly not yet. Most people don't even have a use for it. In most households a 3D printer would sit around unused for most of the time. Even in the future it will still just be the family member(s) with the most design gumption and imagination that want to play around with it.

Thats the way I envision my shop anyway in case any of you were wondering. Not just a one stop shop for reprappers to come and get their spares, or the latest upgrades, but a free arena for children (of all ages) to come and make customised toys according to their directly imagined vision.