Originally shared by Brook Drumm
Printrbot Big-E test prints the Hughes H1… A work in progress.
Whaaat? That is so cool!!!
That’s 50% !!! Wow
Yep. It’s been great to learn the black art of printing really large. There are definite benefits and some surprising requirements. No deal breakers though, just a shift in design mainly
I am printing the wings now and doing both wings, which I had to split for this smaller Big-E. 10 hours in and half done. I forgot I left it on 50% speed for first layers and forgot T turning back up. Oh well. It will be waiting for me tomorrow. Then the cowl and elevators. It will look like a plane soon.
I actually plastic-welded them with a soldering iron 
some of the welds are stronger than the original layers, but I got lazy and some sections are just for looks and very thin. The first layers are thinker and have extra filament, do I coax the extra plastic into the gap then add to it using a roll of filament. At first I was applying too much heat but over time, learned the speed that produces the best result. It’s an art form that takes lots of practice. With a wider tip, I think I could make it perfect. The learning curve is exactly like regular welding. You suck at it at first, but with practice, the material speaks to you and you make peace with the tedious nature of the process.
Brook
I have had a design for a printer similar to this i drew up about a year ago. Should have started on it.