Lithopane filament calibration tool
Description
Lithopanes Are Great Fun On A 3D Printer. However Different Filaments And Filament Colours Allow Different Levels Of Light Through And Can Compromise The Available Steps To Produce The Image Unless The Optimum Maximum Thickness, And Step Size Is Chosen. This Is A Test Piece To Allow The Thickness Of Filament Used To Produce Lithophanes, Such As The Ones Created By By Customizer Http://Www.Thingiverse.Com/Apps/Customizer/Run?Thing_Id=74322, To Be Calibrated. The Calibration Wheel Has 30 0.1Mm Steps From 0.1 To 3Mm Thickness, This Should Be Adequate For Most Filaments. Print With The Filament You Want To Calibrate Using 100% Infill At 0.1Mm Z Axis Resolution. If 3Mm Is Not Enough Simply Scale In Your Slicer Software. When Printed Hold Up To A Typical Light Source For Your Lithopane And Count The Steps From The Lowest Up To Where You Cannot Easily Tell Two Steps Apart. The Last Step Number Multiplied By 0.1 Is Now The Thickness Of Filament You Need For Your Black Level (Adjust For Any Scaling You May Have Done). You Will Probably Be Limited In The Resolution Of Your Z Step Size, The General Rule Is The More The Better. If Your Black Level Is At 1Mm And Your Printer Can Only Resolve 0.1Mm Steps Then You Will Have A Maximum Of 10 Grey Levels For Your Image, Not Many. A Lighter Coloured Filament Can Get To Around 3 -4Mm For The Black Level So 30 + Grey Levels Are Possible At A Z Step Of 0.1Mm, If You Can Print At 0.05Mm Z Steps Then You Will Have 64 +Grey Levels (In Theory Although I'M Not Sure 0.05 Is Achievable); Which Should Produce Good Lithopanes. Makes Me Think A Dedicated Lithopane Pla Could Be Developed. I Used Http://Www.Thingiverse.Com/Thing:74322 For The Mona Lisa Printed At 2Mm Max Thickness For The First Print And Then The Calibrated Thickness Of 3Mm For The Second; Personally I Find The First Print 'Softer' And Perhaps Closer To The Original. Layer Height Was A Nominal 0.05Mm Drawn In Sketchup And Made Small (35X35Mm) So It Can Be Used As A Key-Chain But Does Not Affect The Result For Bigger Prints. The Mona Lisas Are Also 35X35.
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