# TAZ 5 first printer, first print **URL:** \ **Category:** User's Gallery\ **Created:** [October 26, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/taz-5-first-printer-first-print/2379 "2015-10-26T17:21:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtrewren](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.lulzbot.com/dtrewren/32/9310_2.png) [@dtrewren](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/dtrewren)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/taz-5-first-printer-first-print/2379/1 "2015-10-26T17:21:12Z")
Good evening everyone, My name is Dave and I am based in Bristol, South West UK. I took delivery of a TAZ 5 about a week ago and have been having big fun getting used to it. It is my first every printer and therefore experience with 3D printing. I thought the equipment was amazingly well packaged and shipped and have done an out of the box video and first test print. My first non test print was a Chinese Cellular Vase by the amazing designer Dizingof. I printed the vase 12cm high which took about 12 hours using the Cura fine config using HIPS. I then built a forced air vapour polisher to improve the finish before finally spraying with a pewter effect paint. It’s my first output but I was quite pleased and very impressed with the printer & software ! Unboxing video : [https://youtu.be/HtfW9acfFxA](https://youtu.be/HtfW9acfFxA) Time lapse video of the print : [https://youtu.be/WQ8Qt3pQQEQ](https://youtu.be/WQ8Qt3pQQEQ) Hope you like, comments most welcome for a Newbie 🙂 Dave ![Chinese Cellular Vase.JPG](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/5/53290770e4347d2aa11dbfceee3aa8fa5c3f4669.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![saramos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@saramos](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/saramos)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/taz-5-first-printer-first-print/2379/2 "2015-10-26T19:01:49Z")
That’s a fabulous first print! I didn’t know that HIPS could be vapor smoothed. Scott ---
**Author:** ![dtrewren](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.lulzbot.com/dtrewren/32/9310_2.png) [@dtrewren](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/dtrewren)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/taz-5-first-printer-first-print/2379/3 "2015-10-26T19:46:20Z")
Thank you Scott, I didn’t really have a point of reference - just went for it 🙂 I had come across some guys vapour smoothing ABS but I had also heard that HIPS was more forgiving not requiring an enclosed printer - not sure how true that is but that is what I had to print with. Anyway I tried acetone with a little bit of green ABS (supplied with the TAZ 5) in a test tube and sure enough it dissolved it at room temperature in about an hour. However the acetone didn’t make a dent in the HIPS not even warmed up. I had some MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) (which I use for making and photographing organic crystals). MEK dissolved the HIPS again in about an hour. I found the MEK vapour (being quite dense) tends to pool at the bottom of the container. The fan at the top draws air and vapour UP and circulates it making for much more even smoothing. The print stays in at room temperature for about 45 minutes and then I left to dry for 24 hours before spraying. The MEK is soaked into a wad of kitchen towel above the fan at the top - only about 20ml was used. The print is sat on a sheet of glass smeared with Vaseline for very easy removal. Attached some images of my DIY vapour polisher. Cheers, Dave ![vapour 3.JPG](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/c/ce339e79a0a6dea63fd636676858e24f009de963.jpeg) ![vapour 2.JPG](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/7/750f96e816bbdb34f7722eea91f1a14c0cca8d66.jpeg) ![vapour 1.JPG](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/5/582cec8f48feceea7d10c59c79f64cc2daf3a248.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![saramos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@saramos](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/saramos)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/taz-5-first-printer-first-print/2379/4 "2015-10-26T23:07:00Z")
Cool! You should post your technique in the filament forum. Scott ---
**Author:** ![kcchen\_00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kcchen\_00](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/kcchen_00)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/taz-5-first-printer-first-print/2379/5 "2015-10-27T03:04:21Z")
Nice job! ---
**Author:** ![dtrewren](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.lulzbot.com/dtrewren/32/9310_2.png) [@dtrewren](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/dtrewren)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/taz-5-first-printer-first-print/2379/6 "2016-02-13T13:32:45Z")
Afternoon 3D printers, Here is a design I have recently printed. This object is called a Gyroid and was quite tricky to print due to the thin and fragile nature of the print plus the large amount of overhang. I tried various methods to support the overhanging parts of the structure. In the end I added custom support using Meshmixer. I have attached a bunch of screen shots showing the support added. The design was printed in ABS and spray finished with a bronze spray paint. Hope you like, Dave ![Gyroid 4 sm.jpg](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/0/0a31412c7453280ced6a8c1a30677a304f65beef.jpeg) ![Gyroid 1.jpg](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/f/ff742066f81ff71b5485c53b3c34f0c0a92d1652.jpeg) ![Gyroid 2.jpg](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/b/bb3f1eff76c58a6159b98d2791c70df8fef1177a.jpeg) ![Gyroid 3.jpg](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/3/3b3b808f5882ab99fe69276eba28e235c3b44426.jpeg) ![Gyroid 4.jpg](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/5/5c0c1be7095746ff6c4f1665285fb274c8f9fe49.jpeg) ![Gyroid underside.jpg](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/lulzbot/original/2X/5/5819fd7e2882b5168886984899539fb684f287c2.jpeg)