mod-t i got a mod-t 3d printer a while back. it's best feature is that it's cheap. and it does a passable job at relatively easy stuff. i've printed buttons and soaker hose to pvc adapters. so i've gotten useful work out of it. but fundamentally its value is entertainment. i have vague plans to 3d print a chess set. printing through the web site works pretty well. it was down one day and i tried slicing using alternate methods. and burned a hole in the platform. yeah. don't do. that. currently i'm trying to print a large piece. and am running into a new set of problems. so i figured i'd coagulate advice for all (meaning my future self) to find. - score the platform with the wire brush so the pieces stick. pieces are printed at 45 degrees. support is printed nsew. so i score at 22.5 degrees. give or take. - some spools of filament are wrapped more tightly than others. if it gets stuck it could break. the printer will notice there's no filament and stop. but if it doesn't break then the printer will happily go through the motions of printing without actually printing anything. which kinda sucks. ideally move the tight filament to an empty spool. loosely this time. i don't have an empty spool yet. so i just unspool as much filament as i think i'm going to need. then respool it. - as the filament is drawn into the printer it can tug the spool right off the holder. position the spool holder so the filament is pulling the spool onto the holder. i haven't tried putting the spool anywhere other than right next to input hole. though i'm hankering to try putting the spool on top of the case with over the top unspooling. - remove the platform from the carriage. flex it to free the piece from the platform. - unload the filament when not in use. it gets brittle and tends to break in the feeder tube. blech. - to cancel a print: tap the button. wait for the extruder to move to the top. hold the button until it stops flashing and stays on.  ¶ 8:00 AM