How to Use a 3D Pen

A 3D pen works by heating a plastic filament to its melting point and forcing it through the tip of an extruder, how a glue gun works.

Once the melted plastic leaves the tip it is very malleable and can be painted onto any surface or molded into any shape.

After leaving the tip the plastic begins to quickly cool down and after a few seconds, the plastic hardens and is molded into whatever shape you have created. In the video below I go over the basics of setting up your pen.

How to prepare your 3D Pen for painting

here are a few things to remember when preparing your 3D pen for printing. Firstly, take your 3D pen out of the box and plug it in :).

Secondly, set the temperature of the 3D Pen to the temperature appropriate for the type of plastic you are using.

The picture below gives you the names of the various parts of a 3D pen which I will be referring to throughout this article.

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Insert the plastic into the pen and wait for the temperature to get hot enough, this should take around 30-60 seconds.

Once you're plastic is ready for printing, you can press the wire feeding button as shown in the picture above. The molten plastic will then come out of the pen and will harden in roughly 5 seconds.

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