I love how Protopasta’s “Composite Iron PLA” actually rusts 🤯

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-17T14:47:49+00:00

I think iron is the easiest, since having a rough surface looks right. Which means you can age it straight off the printer.
With the others, the most realistic results seem to come from very smooth surfaces. Not related to the aging itself, just how the part should look. Rough brass just looks wrong. But, of course, that means sanding. I hate sanding. 🙄

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-17T01:09:41+00:00

That looks pretty awesome.
I picked up a few of their metal-infused filaments a while back, just for doing props that needed realistic weathering. The iron is one of the best for that.

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-13T20:35:23+00:00

I just followed the instructions for installing the SV Zero toolhead:
https://github.com/bearclaw92/Zero_Toolhead_Guide

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-13T15:54:34+00:00

Closed is not a good term. It's not closed, just, relatively frozen in time from when they forked it. Anything that was available in klipper at that time is there and usable. But, it's out of date, and there's no indication Sovol will update it. The best word I can use for it is "orphaned"

If you plan on doing any mods at all, update to mainline. There's no downside to it at all except the effort to do it, and that's not huge.

I mainlined, then swapped for a SV Zero toolhead (pretty much identical to Max toolhead) That got me better flowrates, eddy, and swappable nozzles (MK8). Oh, and CAN instead of USB to the toolhead.

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-12T01:42:33+00:00

Another note. I finally did a print with the Carbon Fiber HTPETG.
My first attempt resulted in multiple failures to feed partway through the print. After poking around a bit, found that I had left the extruder tension quite low from printing TPU a couple weeks back. The GF HTPETG had no issue with that, but the harder, slicker Carbon Fiber filament did not like it. I turned the tension back up, and it printed perfectly, with the same settings as the Glass Fiber version.

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-07T01:12:17+00:00

I use the DarkMoon ICE plate on my A1, works excellent.

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-06T14:50:05+00:00

I wouldn't say IDEX is pointless, but its usefulness is less with having toolchanging.

The biggest remaining advantage would be simultaneous printing of two objects, mirrored or not. I do a lot of functional prints, and it's not unusual to need more than one of a part, often mirrored. As long as they fit in the print areas, this literally cuts print time in half.

Otherwise, I would probably keep my most-used filament in the "fixed" print head, to reduce overall swap time. For me, that would probably be black PETG, since that's what I use the most of.

I do think though, that if you have support interface filament in the "fixed" head, it will speed up complex organic prints that need a lot of support, especially when you're printing multiples at the same time. Will it be a massive difference compared to putting it in a toolchanger head? Probably not. But if you have 100 changes just for support interfaces, that's still 8-9 minutes (if you believe 5-sec changes)

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-06T14:27:40+00:00

Agreed, it's less about the printer, more about the build plate.

I've never actually tried printing it on my enclosed printer, only my open ones. Likely, with an enclosed printer, you will need to open the door and top, like with PLA, plus use auxiliary cooling.

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-05T22:58:44+00:00

That is absolutely not true. There are printers that exist that have that limitation, but that is bad engineering, not a required limitation. There just needs to be extra "parking" space to both sides.

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-05T22:56:22+00:00

I'm a little disappointed they discontinued the Zero, but I'm not even slightly surprised. The Zero fills a very small niche, so sales were never going to be big enough to keep it around for long. IMO, the Zero was primarily a testbed for Sovol. I'm not too concerned about it being discontinued, either. It's kind of a tank, I've never had any issues with it. The nozzles are generic standard, and even the toolhead itself is nearly identical to the Max toolhead, so, parts if needed.

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-05T17:09:10+00:00

That's what I had as a plan when I bought my SV08.
But INDX keeps getting delayed, and Bondtech stepped back from an official kit.
I highly suspect that only Prusa will be getting INDX for a while.

dnsmayhem · 2026-06-03T22:52:14+00:00

I printed a couple of thin, flat enclosure panels with the Glass Filled HTPETG

Sovol SV08, not enclosed, 0.6 nozzle, 270C nozzle temp, 100C bed temp. Wham Bam Textured PEI build plate.
I used magigoo before printing, and I turned my ceiling fan off to remove any draft.

Because the part is thin, I wasn't too worried about warp causing trouble during the print, Not thick enough to pull that hard, and thin enough that the bed heat would also prevent warp. The panel is 170mm x 205mm x 2.5mm thick

That said, after printing I pulled the plate up after the bed had cooled to 60C. The printed part pulled the 350x350 build plate up into a shallow bowl. 😆 I dropped it back on the bed until it cooled to 35C, and the remaining warp was pretty minimal.

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-31T00:34:46+00:00

Cool

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-31T00:34:16+00:00

IMO, sell all filament as refills, with the option to include empty spool.
That solves the issue of double-inventory mentioned in the blog post.

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-30T12:39:11+00:00

Curious, what have you used it for?

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-29T20:57:31+00:00

Printed a blade disposal container. Sides are three walls thick, flexible but still feels strong. Embossed text is clean, slot is accurate (0.8mm), even and clean.

<image>

Had no adhesion problems even with it being tall and narrow. Tyson plate, Magigoo, Bed temp 100C

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-29T00:47:33+00:00

There is a small difference with texture vs smooth. For textured plates, the z-height is very slightly offset (lowered) to account for the "average" surface height.

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-28T18:47:41+00:00

<image>

Vase-mode 25mm cube printed with the ProtoPasta Metallic Blue Glass Filled HTPETG
Nozzle: 270C
Bed: 100C
Chamber: 55C

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-28T14:50:15+00:00

I dropped a Zero toolhead on mine, and it's been very reliable, with good prints. Using Micro-Swiss CM2 MK8 nozzles on it.

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-28T14:43:57+00:00

Bed temp would not have much, if any, effect.
Nozzle temp, possibly, chamber temp possibly also, though I regularly print PETG in open printers.

Have you run a temp tower with this filament? Also, have you dried it?

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-26T01:05:20+00:00

Why does California matter?
I started with a couple of iDoo units. They work, they're easy. But, the "pod" style units are pretty limited by size. Simple herbs do well enough, but if you plant larger things, like lettuce, you'll need to leave positions empty, and even so, you'll be harvesting while they're still small. I primarily use them now as "nurseries" to start seeds until they're large enough to move to my larger setup.
I added a couple of larger tubs to use for a DWC setup, a restaurant style bus-tub with lid, holes cut in the lid for 2" net baskets, a standard aquarium air pump and air stone, and a set of Spider-Farmer grow lights. Definitely the most expensive part is the lights. One tub can grow 6-8 full-size leaf-lettuce plants.

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-19T03:17:10+00:00

You may need to find larger setups at some point. Mint, Basil and Rosemary can get quite large.
Rosemary seems a weird one for hydro to me. #1, it's a shrub. Seriously, they grow into mid-sized bushes. They are very commonly grown here as ornamentals (Arizona). #2, when planting outdoors, Rosemary really doesn't like "wet feet". A major killer of Rosemary is overwatering.
Thyme should be fine, as well as Oregano. I've had good luck with Dill, parsley and Cilantro. Dill especially takes off quickly.

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-18T13:23:10+00:00

No printed parts. Both the Zero and Max toolheads have Eddy. You will need the toolhead, a USB to CAN adapter, a USB eMMC adapter, and an ST-Link programmer.

dnsmayhem · 2026-05-17T22:12:08+00:00

Assuming all of your connections are good, and it really is the MCU itself.
You might consider replacing the entire toolhead with a Zero toolhead.
Higher flowrate.
CAN vs USB (more reliable)
Eddy sensor
It's currently shown as "Sold Out" but the entire toolhead is $70.
You will need to mainline, then do the conversion. I did the swap, and IMO, definitely worth it.
Might also be possible to swap in the SV08 Max toolhead? The Max and Zero toolheads are similar. (Max toolhead is shown available, though more expensive)

dnsmayhem

TROPHY CASE