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comment by veen
veen  ·  189 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: April 2, 2025

To add to the above (most of which I wasn't aware of, so thanks): start out with TinkerCAD + PrusaSlicers. TinkerCAD is super easy to get started, but does allow for fairly precise building blocks. PrusaSlicer has a bit of a learning curve, but once you know there's almost nothing you need to change other than level of detail (nozzle setting) you should get pretty far on your own.

I learned a bunch of printing wisdom from /r/fixmyprint, one wisdom of which is that given a seemingly simple problem there are always four different solutions proposed cuz overstimating internet users. But the good one is usually in there.

With infrequent use of the printer, there's a good chance the nozzle will clog and your printer will not print a single good layer. There's a few YouTube videos on how to solve that, it looks hard but it's not that hard once you're comfortable opening up your printer head.





Ay-Nawn  ·  189 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Messing around with TinkerCAD today and likely through the weekend as I get started. Thanks for the rec. Dipping my toes into electronics/soldering for the flight controls itself is the least interesting part of the long-term goal, mostly due to ignorance. This'll help alleviate some of it. r/fixmyprint seems a goldmine.

Funny (and encouraging) seeing a few of y'all able to chime in on 3D-printing. Wasn't expecting it, but all-the-more excited for the gadget to arrive.

sogre  ·  61 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'd suggest picking up a variety of solder types and a full set of tips for your model if you go down this path--just use the right tool for the job. Sure, you could replace a USB-C port with 0.7 mm solder and a chisel tip, but why on earth would you, when there's 0.25 and a needle tip right there in the box?

Some dipshit with soldering tips.

kleinbl00  ·  188 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Any dipshit can learn to solder in 45 minutes.

Any dipshit who knows how to solder can learn to do surface mount in 2 hours.

Sincerely, some dipshit who has gone through four entire rolls of solder

A gift from me to you

OftenBen  ·  188 days ago  ·  link  ·  

This is true.

Source: I am a dipshit who managed to fix his wiring harness in his car and saved like $300 on a new one with 10 min of work and some heat shrink.