Shifted, Good news, Finally fun

As I have mentioned multiple times I have really been liking my new CR10S Pro printer.  I liked it so much that I have been printing a very cool and large three day model of a lighthouse on an island.  The prints completed and seemed great, at first.  I then happened to turn the building to the side and saw an odd looking deformity called a layer shift in 3D printing lingo.  Basically something causes the print to misalign and then anything after that prints on that skewed plane.

The building had the most obvious defects but the huge island print that took two days had some shifting as well.  I was bummed out.  I turned to the CR10 user group on Facebook, posting pictures of my deformed print.  I got a number of suggestions which I tried when I got home.

I think the issue was something I may have actually created.  When I got the printer I tightened the nuts that apply pressure to the rails that the hot bed wheels roll on.  I did it to ensure there was no wobble in the bed.  Well if you tighten them too far it can actually cause resistance with bed movement which is not good.  When I tested it last night the bed did feel tougher to move than it should so I backed the nuts off maybe a quarter turn.  After doing so the movement felt better.

I was pretty confident that was my issue so I queued up another print and let it run overnight. This morning I awoke to a totally clean and straight print which brought a smile to my face.  Like I said the huge island print isn’t bad enough that a reprint is needed.  Even the wavy building isn’t so bad that it couldn’t be used/displayed.  The wobble gives it a unique charm.  I was glad to be able to sort out the issue quickly, after fighting with my Chiron over the last few weeks I don’t need any new 3D printer problems to troubleshoot right now.

This morning as the sun rose Cindy looked out back and saw both doors to the coop open.  She asked me if I went out and opened them.  I said no as she was running out the door to check on the birds.  Luckily nothing bad happened. I somehow must have done a poor job securing the doors the night before, allowing them to pop open.  I will be more meticulous in my checks from now on.

I heard some surprising but exciting news last night.  Yesterday was my step mom’s birthday.  Cindy had called her and during the call she found out that they sold their house in western PA, something that I thought might take much longer to accomplish.  If all goes as planned the closing is in April meaning there obviously is a shit ton of work to be done before that happens.

I am not sure of all of the specifics as far as how their new living arrangements will shake out, they have not bought anything else.  I think in the big picture this is a really good thing.  I know my dad likes having a lot of land, all of the animals, and the peace and solitude it can provide.  However the reality is he is not a young man and that property is basically a full time job just to maintain.  I am hoping whatever their new arrangement is that it offers more balance where time can be enjoyed instead of consumed by endless tasks.

This weekend we are supposed to have good weather which means I will finally be able to get out on the road and do some serious testing with the Ultron Ultra.  A lot of people that watch my channel are interested in seeing if the Ultron, despite being almost half the cost of an equivalent Dualtron, still offers solid hardware.  Time will tell.

As I mentioned before, we aren’t doing a Super Bowl party this year for no particular reason.  I did however make a Super Bowl food request of Cindy, Pigs in a Blanket.  For those unfamiliar with the item, you take cut up pieces of hot dog and wrap them inside crescent roll dough.  It’s an odd food request but something I always have had an affinity for.  Of course we will be using veggie dogs. 😉