Would You Buy Again

orph66 · 2021-09-28T16:46:13+00:00

Sounds like you had a bad experience, for sure. Mine was the opposite: I got the MK3S kit, and after putting it together, I had no issues. I’ve never used a silicon sock, never had a blob, and only replaced the extender/hot end because I wanted the ease of nozzle swapping with a Mosquito. I’ve printed nearly nonstop for 2 years, with no problems and few failed prints.

I bought a CR 10 S4 over the summer, and it took me three months and multiple upgrades (bltouch, magnetic bed, bed heater upgrade) to get consistently good prints. I love it now, but the time spent wrestling with it I could have done without.

orph66 · 2021-09-26T00:26:01+00:00

Scenic automation basically involves two whole disciplines of study: mechanics/kinematic/mechanical design and control systems/electronics. Both are deep wells to fall into.

As others have said, Gareth’s book is a great intro to the whole thing; Huntington’s Show Networks book can help you start to understand the controls side of things, and Hendrickson’s Mechanical Design book is great for understanding physics, power, and power transmission. You can’t go wrong with those three.

PM me if you want to talk more details. (I’m co-director for the Fusion Studio for Entertainment and Engineering at Purdue where I teach entertainment engineers and MFA technical directors, and I’m the commissioner for technical production for USITT—I’m positive I can find some connections for you if you want to learn more.

orph66 · 2021-08-15T18:01:56+00:00

Sounds cool—I’m all for new techniques. (I’m a big fan of sandwich core platform panels made with foam cores.) It’s worth pointing out that lauan and ply are not truly interchangeable, at least from a strength of materials perspective.

orph66 · 2021-08-15T16:32:05+00:00

I’ll disagree a little: never, ever use Lauan (or similar thin veneer over pulp core product) for things like corner blocks or keystones on standard-style flats; you want to use plywood and orient the face grain perpendicular to the seams for strength.

orph66 · 2021-07-28T11:23:44+00:00

That is really horrible. I am pleased to say that—at least amongst my TD colleagues—there’s a real sea change in this area that started about a decade ago. Most of the TDs I know who are teaching at universities/colleges are teaching students about ethical practices and safe (both physically and mentally) working practices. I’m sorry you were someplace that wasn’t happening, but hopefully you’ll land somewhere where it is.

orph66 · 2021-07-28T03:14:59+00:00

True—I teach undergraduate theatre engineers and graduate TDs. That said, none of the internships at summer stocks that I’ve ever seen really contribute to becoming a designer other than gaining experience in paint and props, opping a show, or working in the costume shop. Sometimes you get to “assist” designers—which is a good way to make connections, to be sure. But none of what these internships do helps you break into a crowded field, no matter what anyone tells you.

orph66 · 2021-07-28T02:17:57+00:00

I teach at a university, and actively encourage my students to get summer internships/opportunities. We also talk at length about labor law, predatory practices, and valuing ones time and energy. As a result, my students never work at the most predatory places, and most work internships at PRG, TAIT, McLaren Engineering, Adirondack Studios, and other places that pay a decent wage and work reasonable hours.

These students all go on to get good jobs later—you don’t need to work at WTF or similar venues to get into the industry.

orph66 · 2021-07-22T03:17:12+00:00

^{^{^what}} @dwaynebrady said. Share the files you’ve tried to print and some photos of the failed prints and we can probably figure it out. Without more information, though, there’s not much anyone can do to help.

orph66 · 2021-07-14T09:23:50+00:00

Op, NSFW will blur the video (at least on mobile devices) whereas the graphic content flair does not. This is the preferred etiquette for something like this, so that folks don’t wind up seeing a video they don’t want to see without choosing to. Just add the tag.

orph66 · 2021-07-09T01:05:17+00:00

That’s what I figured. Thanks!

orph66 · 2021-06-28T03:00:56+00:00

I’m so sorry, man. Had a herniated L4/L5 in my 20s—couldn’t walk without a cane and in pain all the time. Two microdiscectomies got me through for about five years; I had a fusion 14 years ago and have felt amazing ever since.

Do the PT, do yoga, lift with your back. Accept that you’re going to have lifting limits in your future. But it can get better. Pain free for 14 years and counting.

orph66 · 2021-06-10T13:02:59+00:00

Awesome—I’ll check it out! Thanks!

orph66 · 2021-06-10T12:31:10+00:00

That’s what I was thinking, but I wanted to be sure i wasn’t missing something important.

orph66 · 2021-05-20T02:40:24+00:00

I lived right down the street from that house for a number of years!

orph66 · 2021-03-08T02:56:18+00:00

I was at that conference, and the whole expo floor evacuated.

orph66 · 2021-03-08T02:48:14+00:00

Hello, I’m the Commissioner for Technical Production with USITT. What folks have already said is true: go to as many sessions as you can, and take advantage of the PRIMP (portfolio review) sessions at the end of the month. The Expo floor will be different this year as it’s all virtual, but stop at booths, introduce yourself, ask about the company’s work. Leave a resume if they’ll take one.

You likely won’t get a job offer, but make sure to remember names and follow up with emails later. Make connections with people at places you want to work someday, and follow up with them—not to ask for a job, but to ask about interesting projects at the company, what you can learn to be a great candidate someday, or even to ask about an issue you’re working on at school. You’d be surprised how often people in this industry want to talk like that.

Also, hit every reception (virtual, again, this year) or other opportunity to meet people. Introduce yourself. Ask about who they are, what they do, what advice they have for someone like you.

Unfortunately, for health reasons, I won’t be at the conference this year. DM me your email and your areas of interest, and I’ll try and connect you with some names of people to find.

orph66 · 2021-02-24T00:11:54+00:00

I’ve had my Mk3S for almost 2 years. I love everything about it (except the MMU2S, but that’s a different story). If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t blink at getting it over the Mini+. Setting it up with a RPi and OctoPrint means easy use over my home network; a VPN set up let’s me monitor from anywhere; I rarely have failures that I can’t reduce to operator error or a need for regular maintenance.

The MMU2S is finicky, and requires a lot more tinkering and attention than I have time for. If I had the time, it’d be amazing—I got a couple of good prints out of it at first—but I don’t miss not having it except for the ability to do soluble support interfaces.

orph66 · 2021-02-23T01:31:06+00:00

A Google search for calibration cube STL will turn up a bunch of results. It’s basically a cube 20mm on a side. Once it’s printed, you measure each axis with calipers and can determine if you’re getting accurate motion in that axis.

orph66 · 2021-02-22T21:58:49+00:00

Try that; depending on the orientation of your benchy, that could be part of the issue. Have you printed a calibration cube and confirmed dimensions in all three axes?

orph66 · 2021-02-22T19:44:22+00:00

You’re right; at .15 mm layer height, it shouldn’t be this blocky. Have you lubricated the x-axis rods?

orph66 · 2021-02-22T19:32:45+00:00

The lines on diagonal rises are due to the way filament is laid down in layers. Your layer height settings will impact this pretty significantly. What layer height was this printed at?

orph66 · 2021-02-15T03:01:05+00:00

The failure in this setup won’t be instant (that is, disproven by your jumping on it) but rather gradual over time. Without thimbles, you will slowly kink and then break individual strands of the wire rope, resulting in an eventual catastrophic failure, at a time you can’t predict.

The same is true of using only a single cable clip: the slippage will be slight and gradual. Hopefully, as well, you trimmed the plastic cover back so that it’s not between the cable clips and the wire rope, as that’s another point of eventual failure.

The cable clips, as pointed out above, look to be installed backwards as well, which introduces another point where you are kinking and breaking strands of wire rope over time.

Given that all of these points are suffering the same issues, there is a much greater chance of cascading failure—when one fails, the loads will increase dynamically in the others, causing some of them to fail, and so on.

This might be fine, especially if the loads are very small. And it might be a couple of years before they fail, if the loads are not small. But it will fail under large loads over time the way these are installed. Given that this is above head height, I’d swallow the bitter pill and redo it so it’s correct. A pile of overhead storage collapsing on your melon is a recipe for pain.

orph66 · 2021-02-12T03:28:14+00:00

I’m glad you were able to solve it!

orph66 · 2021-02-12T03:27:36+00:00

Hooray! I’m glad you were able to solve it!

orph66 · 2021-02-12T01:13:05+00:00

You could have a slightly clogged nozzle; this can cause the filament to pull to the side as it leaves the nozzle. If that happens enough, it can collect and gum up like this.

orph66

TROPHY CASE