Changes

=== Feeder ===

=== Feeder ===

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The feeder is the part of the 3D printer that "feeds" the filament to the nozzle. Sometimes "feeder" and "extruder" are used synonomously, so it's important when you're teaching someone to differentiate whether or not you're talking about the ''nozzle'' extruder or the ''feeder'' extruder.  

 

Feeders are typically composed of stepper motors, gears, and sometimes bolts and pulleys to guide the filament to the hotend.

=== Fan ===

=== Fan ===

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There are usually two fans on the nozzle of a 3D printer, and they serve the purpose of cooling the plastic as soon as it comes out of the nozzle. If the plastic is super hot, we don't want it to move as soon as it is in place on the part we're making, otherwise our part will turn out warped or failed. The fans are put in place to strategically cool the plastic as soon as it comes out of the nozzle.

 

You are able to turn the fan speeds up and down in the slicer software (if that is a provided feature), but you can manually configure it on the printer as well.  

=== Stepper Motor ===

=== Stepper Motor ===

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There are two main places where you'll find stepper motors on a 3D printer. There's a motor for each axes, one for the x, y, and z. These motors receive instructions from the gcode to move the certain axes at certain points to create your print.

 

There is also a stepper motor in the extruder setup, pushing and pulling the filament whenever more or less is needed for the current print.

=== Filament ===

=== Filament ===

There are many different kinds of filament you can use on the 3D printer, ranging from PLA, ABS, TPU, and Nylon. The most common of these are PLA and ABS.  

There are many different kinds of filament you can use on the 3D printer, ranging from PLA, ABS, TPU, and Nylon. The most common of these are PLA and ABS.  

PLA stands for Polylactic Acid, it is the most common desktop 3D printing filament because it is odorless and very hard to warp on its own, therefore no need for a heated bed.

PLA stands for Polylactic Acid, it is the most common desktop 3D printing filament because it is odorless and very hard to warp on its own, therefore not always a need for a heated bed.

 

ABS stands for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. It's one of the most commercial versions of plastic available (found in legos, packaging, and more)--it's durable, scratch resistant, and tough. Heated beds are a must with ABS filament because it is so temperature sensitive, so it warps very easily.

==== Sizing of Filament ====

==== Sizing of Filament ====

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There are two mainstream sizes of filament, 3.00mm and 1.75mm. The 3.00mm filament is typically used on higher end machines--printing stronger and more detailed models. Hobbyist printers lean more towards the 1.75mm filament, for marketing purposes as well as hardware purposes. The Prusa i3's use 1.75mm filament.  

=== CAD Modeling and Thingiverse ===

=== CAD Modeling and Thingiverse ===

* things that can go wrong

* things that can go wrong

* how to finish a print

* how to finish a print