Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Rebirth, and working toward a New Ending

In its prime, my SD300 worked loyally through night and day to produce my toys and puzzles.  So I'm not entirely content to let its story end so ungraciously.

Today is my birthday, so my wish is to get the machine running long enough to produce a "farewell" batch of puzzles.  Or at least keep trying while my supplies last.

I found a secondhand Invision LD, a 3D printer of the same type but with a different brand name.  It has all the same internal machinery as the SD300 so I hope I can exchange enough parts between the two machines to get one of them running.



The SD300's motor-control circuits don't work, probably deterioration from glue/solvent leaks, but the machinery is intact so I can use it for parts.

The Invision LD is electrically sound, but it arrived with a lot of mechanical faults.  Can I get it running with parts donated from the SD300?

So far I've managed to resolve enough issues to get the machine started, but it sure isn't working properly yet.  Glue keeps getting into the anti-glue pens, grossly contaminating all surfaces and making everything bond together.  So far I've managed to build a few solid vinyl bricks!



Conversely, the ironing pressure isn't always sufficient to bond things together even when they should stick together.  For instance, the first layer doesn't always stick to the table--sometimes it just slides away!


Perhaps I will exhaust my supplies trying to repair the machine.  That's acceptable to me because there's no need to keep trying after the supplies are gone -- that's all there is.

But maybe I'll get it running long enough to create some special tribute, a memento, a toy.  That's worth a shot.

Either way, it'll be cathartic.  Happy birthday, Scott.