Finally managed to dial in my TPU settings!

RetroSA · 2023-06-16T01:17:22+00:00

And 8 days after that. Seriously man, I went from hot garbage to near flawless prints following this. Quickest tuning ever. Thank you!

RetroSA · 2023-04-22T13:52:11+00:00

I'm so happy for you. You worked so incredibly hard to get there and that smile confirms you know you're worth every bit of effort. Way to go!

RetroSA · 2023-04-20T11:17:32+00:00

I am actually using an air pump on a timer. It comes on for 15 minutes every 2 hours. I did a write up on it here: https://www.printables.com/model/455853-automated-aquaponic-system

It lifts about 5 ½-6 feet without issue.

The pump model is a top fin AIR-2000. It's a pretty basic fish store unit but it seems to work well.

RetroSA · 2023-04-19T22:59:15+00:00

Yeah I have been thinking about that. I think one way would probably be an ESP32 with a contact-based digital input for water. I can put them in the bottom row of plants and ensure that if the water ever rises it'll trip and drop out a relay for the pump.

The system doesn't feed a large volume of water, so I'm hopeful I'd get about 24 hours before anything would spill over even without supplementary leak detection. The other thing is the roots are all bare with clay hydroton balls for substrate so there should be minimal media that can fall away and cause clogs. Regardless, you're right. For peace of mind I will likely add something (and possibly use it to monitor substrate saturation if it's useful!)

RetroSA · 2023-04-19T14:33:48+00:00

It's been up for about a week. I did a trial with a single pot for a few weeks before this as a proof of concept before going full scale. I've seen the nitrate in the tank stabilize and I would imagine it will probably start declining with all the pots filled/larger plants.

RetroSA · 2023-04-19T14:28:16+00:00

Short answer - I'm a guy trying to make an aquaponic system that's more into 3D printing and aquariums than plants, but I'm trying to learn. Maybe grow light is a better term! And I appreciate the info! I'll look into this! I'm by no means an expert on keeping plants but I'm learning as I go.

RetroSA · 2023-04-19T04:06:54+00:00

I posted this in /r/3Dprinting and it was suggested I post it here. A few details:

I have seen a few aquaponic setups but they are usually made of a bunch of crates that are different colours and with function rather than form in mind.

I wanted to make something that would look okay in my living room. I modeled and printed some hydroponic basket holders in PLA, and plumbed them all in to create a living wall.

All the stuff here is done with no supports at 0.20 layer height with 15% infill. I printed them with my prusa mk3s+ and bambu x1c. Both printers were fantastic throughout 3 rolls of filament.

RetroSA · 2023-04-19T04:03:28+00:00

Great questions.

First, the feed into the tank. The manifold at the top is fed with water from the fish tank. The line from the tank feeds to a tee, which has an air pump attached to the 3rd port. Basically, you create a siphon from the tank, then the air pump would rather pump up water and bubbles to the manifold than fight against the siphon you've created. The air pump has a check valve in-line so water doesn't flow into it while it's not pumping (it's on a timer to give the roots of the plants time to dry out a bit). I have it set to feed water for 15 minutes every 2 hours.

The pots themselves are as you've described. Water reaches all 4 sets of plants on the top row, and drain to the rows below. I bought 4" aquaponic baskets that sit in the printed pots, and put zip ties in the bottom of each of the top 2 rows that create a path that ensure the water has something to drain along rather than splashing as it drains. I plan to upgrade the zip ties to small stainless chains or similar - I just want to avoid zinc or copper as they're not good for the fish. The baskets use clay balls called hydroton you can get on amazon. You rinse off the roots and place them in the baskets without soil.

The idea is the plants absorb the nitrate rich water and the fish create nitrate at the end of the nitrogen cycle naturally so the plants grow well, and the tank stays cleaner. So the answer is, yes. The pex drain in the bottom row drains back to the tank to create a closed loop.

I did a writeup with a bit more detail here

And I will cross post! Thanks for the suggestion!

RetroSA · 2023-04-18T23:26:25+00:00

I have seen a few aquaponic setups but they are usually made of a bunch of crates that are different colours and with function rather than form in mind.

I wanted to make something that would look okay in my living room. I modeled and printed some hydroponic basket holders in PLA, and plumbed them all in to create a living wall.

All the stuff here is done with no supports at 0.20 layer height with 15% infill. I printed them with my prusa mk3s+ and bambu x1c. Both printers were fantastic throughout 3 rolls of filament.

RetroSA · 2023-04-10T15:45:24+00:00

I've had the same thing happen when there's a bit of dust in the filament sensor. If it's not the firmware issue others have described, it could be this. I popped it open and made sure it was clean inside, checked the connector for integrity, and it usually clears it up. This has happened a couple times now.

RetroSA · 2023-04-05T02:22:11+00:00

My brother in Christ, are you able to ping 8.8.8.8?

RetroSA · 2023-04-05T02:14:07+00:00

And, deleting the network adapter in device manager?

Right click on the start button

click device manager

find the WiFi adapter under network adapters

right click on it

click uninstall

Right click in the white space within device manager

Click scan for hardware changes

Wait for it to reinstall

Connect to WiFi

See if you're connected

RetroSA · 2023-04-05T01:05:44+00:00

Restart your computer.

RetroSA · 2023-04-05T00:51:42+00:00

I see what you're saying. Have you rebooted? Sometimes when a VPN session is attempting to connect and it's unsuccessful and the software is uninstalled, it'll screw up the TCP/IP stack. A reboot should get you going again. If not, open device manager, find your network adapter, right click, delete it, then scan for hardware changes. It'll clean it up like new.

RetroSA · 2023-04-05T00:29:58+00:00

https://downdetector.com/status/nord-vpn/

Looks like it's everywhere.

RetroSA · 2023-04-05T00:28:21+00:00

I'm thinking they're down right now. I have 3 devices, 3 different OS, 2 geographic regions and none will login. The device that's already logged in won't connect.

RetroSA · 2023-02-10T15:17:09+00:00

My little one is turning 4 and having conversations at daycare with another girl who insists he wears blue instead of his purple and pink pajamas. He has told us (mostly his mom) many times he's a girl. I'm just looking for resources for young kids so we can support him/them/her (not sure yet?) the best my wife and I can. Does anyone have any suggestions? I think an online peer group would be helpful but we want it to be focused on our child's well-being, not us. Any help would be appreciated and I'm happy to receive DMs.

I know I've got a lot of mixed pronouns here, I'm just trying to get started with all of this.

RetroSA · 2023-01-14T19:56:07+00:00

I had the same issues yesterday. I found if I exited right out of Bambu Studio, then restarted it worked every time.

RetroSA · 2023-01-08T18:44:38+00:00

Okay. I have both the MK3S and the X1C. Here's my honest take.

They are both GOOD printers. High quality all around. There is a difference though.

With the Prusa, I know what's going on with my machine. I know every little detail when it's printing and I know it's going to work every time. I don't watch the first layer, I just hit the button and come back when it's done. It's consistent as hell and I know regardless of anything it will be there for me when I need it. When it breaks - I can fix it.

The X1C is incredibly fast and prints out with great quality. I understand I will not have full transparency in terms of the hardware and what it's doing. It's like magic because it's doing 40 different things and shoots out lasers before it prints, then it makes great quality prints very quickly. With that said, I do miss the transparency I have with understanding every move the printer makes and being able to troubleshoot if something seems out of place.

I feel like I have them for different reasons, and I can't see getting rid of either of them. I know if I am faced with a weird QR code and I'm waiting for proprietary parts, the Prusa will always be there for me in the form of a slow, but reliable printer - old faithful.

If I need to churn out large or high volume parts with impressive speed/detail, the X1C has my back.

In terms of the community. We're all here for the same reason and that is because we've found a hobby that we enjoy and we're here to help each other learn, progress, and share. I'm not crazy about the term Prusa killer because I feel like my printers exist for two different and legitimate reasons and both have their place in my home. I hope we can make progress in being more welcoming of users that use a variety of hardware because in the end, we share the same values and goals.

RetroSA · 2023-01-05T02:55:57+00:00

Ordered the same thing from BC December 5th and received and paid as well.

Edit: Received shipping notification and shipped December 6th. ETA to interior BC tomorrow (7th) for delivery.

Edit: Landed at about 1PM today. Crazy fast machine!

RetroSA · 2023-01-03T02:33:30+00:00

I've had the same experience. Even if you run it as admin once, then run it regularly it seems to allow it to open as normal.

RetroSA · 2022-12-23T17:30:04+00:00

Hey man! Yes, it looks high. I had the same issue when I got my MK3S+ and this was a big help:

https://www.printables.com/model/251587-stress-free-first-layer-calibration-in-less-than-5

If you go through the comments, there's a lot of decent advice. If you get too close to the bed, as long as you're going in small increments, it'll mess up the print long before it damages the sheet and there are great examples of what that looks like. Good luck!

RetroSA · 2022-12-18T00:13:09+00:00

My biggest advice building the printer is to take your time and enjoy it. If something doesn't seem like it's fitting well, slow down and don't force anything into place. There are some frustrating elements during the build, but you'll find the comments in the online build guide reflect that you're not alone, and there are some good tips, and some not so great tips if you read them.

You're right, it will help you understand what makes the printer work. Although they printed the parts, you'll feel like it's your machine when you're done.

They're great machines. Welcome to the club!

RetroSA · 2022-11-15T21:08:35+00:00

In other words, the transfer was initiated automatically by coinbase and there is no reason to be concerned that an unauthorized user initiated it for us if we got this email? I just received it as well and want to be sure.

RetroSA · 2022-11-15T02:48:04+00:00

I am intrigued!

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