3D Printing for the Beginner 

And Intermediate.

I’ve written several posts going through purchasing, assembling, and finally, upgrades for your Tevo Tarantula  To make things easier, I am going to create a repository here with links to the various posts to help you get started.  When I was starting, these were big questions in my mind.  As I have been on the Facebook Group for a while, these are questions I see day in and day out.  Most of this is for beginners, but even those that have been at this for a while may pick up a tidbit or two.

  1. Ordering a Tevo Tarantula

    I’m going to order a new printer!!! Now What?! (Which Version to buy)  — This is your first stop after you decide to buy a printer.  It gives you advice culled from the Tevo Owner’s Group on Facebook.  If you are purchasing a Tarantula, you need to go here.  I also include some other alternatives to those “upgrades” you can purchase with your printer.  

  2. Assembling the Tevo Tarantula

    HOW TO: It arrived, how do I put this together? (Assembling the Printer)  — This guide brings together the ArcadEd and Rui Raptor videos for assembling the 3d Printer.  There are also links to some great advice from Russell Boutell and a link with some of the gotchas that hit me, and hopefully you can avoid.

  3. Tevo Tarantula Upgrades – Tuning your printer

    I got a new Printer, Now What? (Tevo Tarantula Upgrade Guide) — This is a great resource for upgrades.  From items you can buy to items you can print to make your printer stronger, sturdier, and print better.

  4. Filament – Review and thoughts on “cheap” PLA

    Filaments are the main consumable in 3D printing and I can easily go through a 1kg spool of filament a week, if I am printing heavily.  So, this is a cost most of us work at keeping down. PLA is probably the most used filament out there, and also the one that tends to be the lowest price.  I wrote an article about whether cost represents quality.  You need to choose the right filament for the purpose of what you are printing, but PLA is chosen quite a bit.  Because of that, there are a lot of choices.  Those choices run from very inexpensive ($10 – $12 range) to very expensive at $40 or more.  I even did a review of one of the more inexpensive brands that was sent to me from Xperland.  Just because the filament is well under $20, does not make it bad.  Check some reviews and find out what is out there, and watch the reviews.  

  5. The Printing Pipeline.  Design, Slice and Print

    Going from idea… to Printer.  A newbie’s guide. This guide is meant to show you the process from design (or download) to actually printing.  This is a good primer to how this all works, and hopefully, shows you how to get your first prints going.  It also links to the Slicing and Dicing post I made that takes a closer look at popular slicing software and where to get it.

  6. Tools of the Trade. Getting the print off the bed, cleaned up, and other tools

    There are numerous tools I use when printing.  From a multi-tool that allows me to cut, pry, twist, grab, and even file parts.  It may not be the best at any of those, but it can do all relatively well.  Putty Knives are used to remove prints from the plates.  Then there are sundry other pliers, cutters, files, and other tools that help you with 3D Printing and machine upkeep.  Here is my list.  

  7. Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting a 3D printer.  Lets face it, you are going to run into problems, especially if you are using a DIY kit.  It may take a while for things to get dialed in, but you will get there.  Along the way, you will need help, and this is the resource for that.  Several links to troubleshooting sites, Facebook and Reddit Groups, and of course, Rui Raptor’s great FAQ guide.