3D Printer Club

[FoulOnWhite]

Mine is still chugging along. I did buy a very nice bondtech LGX extruder for it, but tried it and am not yet experienced enough to get it to work properly. With iit on, it does not bond the layers properly, the filament is not consistent, blobbly, awful. Soon as i take it off and use the imo crappy original, it prints fine. I'll just have to keep trying it. Was trying to make mine direct, but the printed brackets i found are not brill, it does fit where the original one sits but just cannot seem to get the settings right for it.
https://www.bondtech.se/product/lgx-large-gears-extruder/

 

[silentbogo]

Mine is still chugging along. I did buy a very nice bondtech LGX extruder for it, but tried it and am not yet experienced enough to get it to work properly.

I think the biggest problem with v2 is bowden. With all the headaches I had with this printer, almost 90% of them are due to extruder, or because of retraction (e.g. also extruder).
On small parts it works just fine, but as soon as you need to print something big or complex - you get issues. Without retraction you get a hairy mess, and with it - you get seams, or worst of all - nozzle clogs or ripped filament. Past 2 weeks have been a nightmare, and that's in addition to x- and y- axis that aren't straight(at first I thought it was hotbed, but that wasn't the case).

My very first printer was an ender-3 clone, but it had direct extrusion and ran klipper. It wasn't as problematic as a store-bought printer. Still runs at my friend's print farm 24/7. Just did maintenance on it a few weeks back, when one of his workers managed to burn RaspberryPi and blow all fuses on a control board.

 

[FoulOnWhite]

My prints can be very nice, no stringing at all, and very nice consistant layers with it stock. I just thought i would try converting to direct, but cannot get the settings right for the LGX, then tried swapping it for the original extruder, and same problems.
Here is a pic showing how good my prints can be-

It can be very good, imo, i have seen worse than this, it is not bad for a bowden. Maybe i should just leave it alone?

Here's a little print of a dying light figure, need to scale it up, but it did not do too bad with a 0.4 nozzle really. might see if i can get a 0.2 nozzle working

 

[FoulOnWhite]

Just experimenting with a cover for the bottom I/O on my board.

 

[silentbogo]

It can be very good, imo, i have seen worse than this, it is not bad for a bowden. Maybe i should just leave it alone?

But that pretty much sums up its problems - it can either be very good, or very bad.... or both at the same time.
Pretty sure there is a reason they went with direct drive on their entire Ender3 V3 lineup.

Yesterday I finally fixed most of my extruder issues, unclogged the hotend and a nozzle, and started printing again. Still can't print anything larger in footprint than a hockey puck, but at least I can squeeze 2-3 smaller objects on the bed if I avoid the problematic area. As soon as I'm done printing my current batch of parts, it's probably going off to the auction, so I can at least partially recoup my next printer. Eyeing a V3 KE, which isn't that much more expensive.

Though, I still have plans to build my own custom CoreXY machine. Something a bit simpler than Voron 2.4. Probably a Trident with a slightly smaller build volume, so I can fit it inside my server rack and enclose with plexi. PRebuilt machines and kits are getting cheaper too. Went to my friend's print farm a couple of days ago and he was showing off his new printers. He bought a pair of TwoTrees SP5's and an Ender-6. The first ones weren't even that expensive. Just a tad above $450. The speed and accuracy on both is crazy comparing to my piece of junk.

 

[FoulOnWhite]

But that pretty much sums up its problems - it can either be very good, or very bad.... or both at the same time.
Pretty sure there is a reason they went with direct drive on their entire Ender3 V3 lineup.

Yesterday I finally fixed most of my extruder issues, unclogged the hotend and a nozzle, and started printing again. Still can't print anything larger in footprint than a hockey puck, but at least I can squeeze 2-3 smaller objects on the bed if I avoid the problematic area. As soon as I'm done printing my current batch of parts, it's probably going off to the auction, so I can at least partially recoup my next printer. Eyeing a V3 KE, which isn't that much more expensive.

Though, I still have plans to build my own custom CoreXY machine. Something a bit simpler than Voron 2.4. Probably a Trident with a slightly smaller build volume, so I can fit it inside my server rack and enclose with plexi. PRebuilt machines and kits are getting cheaper too. Went to my friend's print farm a couple of days ago and he was showing off his new printers. He bought a pair of TwoTrees SP5's and an Ender-6. The first ones weren't even that expensive. Just a tad above $450. The speed and accuracy on both is crazy comparing to my piece of junk.

Mine was not too expensive, £300, and i know there are better ones, but it does print pretty well. I get no stringing, and not really any problems with it. It was my first printer so did not really have a clue about other brands or types when i got it. I really got this for its 300x300x300 print size, as i looked at others and imo the print size was too small.The thing i am printing now is over 250mm long. For my next one i will look into it more.
Here is v2 done, really pleased with the quality of the print
V2 fits so well under the bottom NVME heatsink too, just got to work out how to fix it in place. Thinking maybe magnets somehow, any ideas?

 

[Fokker]

Mine was not too expensive, £300, and i know there are better ones, but it does print pretty well. I get no stringing, and not really any problems with it. It was my first printer so did not really have a clue about other brands or types when i got it. I really got this for its 300x300x300 print size, as i looked at others and imo the print size was too small.The thing i am printing now is over 250mm long. For my next one i will look into it more.
Here is v2 done, really pleased with the quality of the print
V2 fits so well under the bottom NVME heatsink too, just got to work out how to fix it in place. Thinking maybe magnets somehow, any ideas?
View attachment 334831View attachment 334832View attachment 334834

Put a base with some relief for double sided VHB tape and use that to mount it. It's how I've mounted various things in my case.

I started with an Ender 3 V2. I now also have a Sovol SV-06 that I need to finish flashing to Klipper and setting up to work with a Creality Sonic Pad. I should be able to go from ~1h45m to ~30m for a Benchy without losing any precision/definition.

I've made pieces here and there, but I want to start printing CF Nylon for automotive applications. So when I was looking at the cost to upgrade the Ender, I found I could flash the Sovol with Klipper, and it made more sense to drop $200 for the SV-06 since it came with an all metal hot end, direct drive, and leveling sensor (upgrades I was going to do).

If I could stop dragging myself into other projects, I'd finish the flash/setup (maybe this weekend).

 

[FoulOnWhite]

Another pic showing just how good a fit it is.

 

[Frick]

First test for the storage solution for a board game (Civilization). Just testing the machine out and getting an idea of what the design should be. The final solution will make more sense. High speed. It came out a whole lot better than I thought it would.

Creality Ender V3 SE BTW.

 

[FoulOnWhite]

First test for the storage solution for a board game (Civilization). Just testing the machine out and getting an idea of what the design should be. The final solution will make more sense. High speed. It came out a whole lot better than I thought it would.

Creality Ender V3 SE BTW.

View attachment 335054

It's always worth experimenting with different filament too, mine likes some and not others.

 

[Frick]

It's always worth experimenting with different filament too, mine likes some and not others.

I won't be doing that, I have the stuff that came with the printer and the bog standard stuff I bought at the same time (Flashforge PLA Pro, bundle deal when I bought the printer). If it does not play nice with the printer I will return to my previous sentiment that 3D printing is not yet ready for avarage consumer use.

 

[Frick]

So anyway today I realized you can preview 3D files in the Windows 10 file manager. Hyper useful!

 

[SN2716057]

Hey all, I'm currently browsing for a 3D printer. The Creality Ender 3 S1 is on the short list..for now.
Just a couple of Q's:

• Which filament is best for a (button) box?
• And which is better for a support bracket?
• How loud is it during printing?
• And how much heat (if any) does it generate?

Thanks in advance!

 

[silentbogo]

Hey all, I'm currently browsing for a 3D printer. The Creality Ender 3 S1 is on the short list..for now.
Just a couple of Q's:

• Which filament is best for a (button) box?
• And which is better for a support bracket?
• How loud is it during printing?
• And how much heat (if any) does it generate?

Thanks in advance!

If anything, I'd go straight for K1 or any other Klipper-based CoreXY alternative. My friend bought a used K1, and besides having a very-very fragile ceramic hotend and cut-down version of Klipper, I didn't find any major cons. It's super-fast, and super-stable even at high speeds. Even prints my buddie's hi-temp PETG at 255C without any issues (my V2 even after upgrades and custom firmware still choked on it and killed 2 nozzles and 1 whole hotend). Price premium is still worth all the benefits.
And if you can re-e-e-ealy stretch your budget, then go for Bambulab P1P and put it in a hotbox.

Bedslingers are more reliable and are easy/cheap to maintain, but you can't physically get more speed out of them. S1 is faster than older Ender3 variations, but you still get lots of downsides like low[er] print speed, resonance, etc. If anything, I'd rather go for Ender 3 v3 KE or even SE. Both costs about the same as S1, but are much better and newer. V3 KE runs klipper OOB, which gives it a much better speed potential and expandability. V3 SE runs marlin and it's basically an updated S1 that's a bit cheaper.

 

[SN2716057]

If anything, I'd go straight for K1 or any other Klipper-based CoreXY alternative. My friend bought a used K1, and besides having a very-very fragile ceramic hotend and cut-down version of Klipper, I didn't find any major cons. It's super-fast, and super-stable even at high speeds. Even prints my buddie's hi-temp PETG at 255C without any issues (my V2 even after upgrades and custom firmware still choked on it and killed 2 nozzles and 1 whole hotend). Price premium is still worth all the benefits.
And if you can re-e-e-ealy stretch your budget, then go for Bambulab P1P and put it in a hotbox.

Bedslingers are more reliable and are easy/cheap to maintain, but you can't physically get more speed out of them. S1 is faster than older Ender3 variations, but you still get lots of downsides like low[er] print speed, resonance, etc. If anything, I'd rather go for Ender 3 v3 KE or even SE. Both costs about the same as S1, but are much better and newer. V3 KE runs klipper OOB, which gives it a much better speed potential and expandability. V3 SE runs marlin and it's basically an updated S1 that's a bit cheaper.

The K1C falls just inside my budget and looks a bit more kitted-out than the BamBu P1P.

Now, is there a filament to avoid or just test and see?

 

[silentbogo]

Now, is there a filament to avoid or just test and see?

I have no idea. It varies region by region, and also by plastic type. Brand-name spools are too expensive and hard to come by here, but thankfully we have a bunch of local manufacturers (and at least 2 of them already owe me free filament for life).
But variation can be crazy. For example, let's look at the abovementioned 2 guys that make PETG within a bike ride radius from me. One is my friend, and another one is his former partner and a total asshole.
My friend uses granules from his old local supplier and it has a workable temperature range between 190 and 210. Some people even print at 180, but it's probably thermistor variation. Soft, smooth, but attracts moisture like crazy(just 1 day outside the dryer and you get bubbles and spiderwebs out of the hotend). If you leave it out for long, it's unusable unless you have means to dry it properly beforehand.
And the "asshole" found another supplier. It's also PETG (imported from Germany I think), but just slight variation in manufacturing makes it print at a whooping 240-260+ range, almost like ABS if not hotter. It's a lot less moisture-absorbant, but friggin' hard to print with, especially on cheap Ender 3 like mine.

If you print mostly toys and cosmetic stuff - just go with PLA. It's a lot easier to work with, and it's hard to mess it up during manufacturing (assuming good filament width control).

Otherwise - it's all trial and error. I tend to calibrate my printer every time I switch filament batch, 'cause you always get temp variations, different flow characteristics, etc.

The K1C falls just inside my budget and looks a bit more kitted-out than the BamBu P1P.

Looks good. I wouldn't necessarily spend extra on "kitted-out" options (some things are easy to make or add later), but since it's going to be your first printer - it makes a bit more sense.
It'll be fun to play with all of the included trinkets anyways.

 

[SN2716057]

The Creality K1C has arrived!
I've noticed this thing rocks my table like crazy but it doesn't seem to affect the prints. Currently using the spool that came with the printer and it looks rather good, although I will need to paint the outcome(s).

The boat was first.

Next on the list is Bender [link]. The head is done, the torso will be a remix (torso mod), same goes for stiffer limbs.

7 files for the head

 

[FoulOnWhite]

The Creality K1C has arrived!
I've noticed this thing rocks my table like crazy but it doesn't seem to affect the prints. Currently using the spool that came with the printer and it looks rather good, although I will need to paint the outcome(s).
View attachment 359390
The boat was first.
View attachment 359391
Next on the list is Bender [link]. The head is done, the torso will be a remix (torso mod), same goes for stiffer limbs.
View attachment 359397
7 files for the head

I use custom feet on mine with fitted squash balls to stop the vibration.

 

[silentbogo]

I've noticed this thing rocks my table like crazy but it doesn't seem to affect the prints.

There may be resonance issues on bedslingers, but Core-XY is not affected by that(or at least not too much to worry about it). It'll be fine.
But if you are worried about it, or if you just want to make it quieter, then you can either put it on a rigid shelf/desk, or put a small granite slab underneath (or concrete).
My first printer (bedslinger, DIY Prusa MK3 clone) used to stand on top of my 24U server rack. It was rocking like crazy during Y-axis movements, but I never had any issues with my prints(at least none related to vibrations).

 

[SN2716057]

I use custom feet on mine with fitted squash balls to stop the vibration.

There may be resonance issues on bedslingers, but Core-XY is not affected by that(or at least not too much to worry about it). It'll be fine.
But if you are worried about it, or if you just want to make it quieter, then you can either put it on a rigid shelf/desk, or put a small granite slab underneath (or concrete).
My first printer (bedslinger, DIY Prusa MK3 clone) used to stand on top of my 24U server rack. It was rocking like crazy during Y-axis movements, but I never had any issues with my prints(at least none related to vibrations).

Thanks to both of you. If it becomes an issue I'll have some ideas.

 

[Caring1]

I noticed a YouTuber called "Dawid does Tech stuff" recently got a Creality 3D printer too and found the spools had to be kept away from moisture for a better finish on the product.
He also complained of the visible desk shaking.

 

[gurusmi]

I noticed a YouTuber called "Dawid does Tech stuff" recently got a Creality 3D printer too and found the spools had to be kept away from moisture for a better finish on the product.
He also complained of the visible desk shaking.

All of that is quite well known and nothing new. The shaking is about the movement of the printheaad. slower acceleration/speeds reduce the shaking effect. If one opens a new spool he will findthe spool sealed with a pack of silica inside. Guess why. If a spol has soacked water put it into the oven at around 50°C and keep it in for a couple of hours. Or get a special spool holder which also heats up the inner.

 

[Fokker]

My solution to moisture is to live in a desert. Though I have a filament dryer for more hydroscopic filaments like nylon.

In regards to the shaking/noise, the best solution I've seen is to get a high density foam and a paver brick. I have a 2" upholstery foam topped with a 3/4" brick under my upgraded SV06 and with the enclosure sealed, it's quiet enough that I can listen to audio on my laptop at 30% volume right next to it while printing.

The vibration isn't going to go away while printing at high/max speed, regardless of whatever you put under it since the printer is directly attached to the housing, but decoupling it from the surface it's on should greatly reduce the experienced noise.

 

[SN2716057]

I did a test run at 600% speed and it printed just fine. Of course there were some webbing but that was to be expected.
As for the shaking..well, the camera didn't pick it up

 

[gurusmi]

In regards to the shaking/noise, the best solution I've seen is to get a high density foam and a paver brick. I have a 2" upholstery foam topped with a 3/4" brick under my upgraded SV06 and with the enclosure sealed, it's quiet enough that I can listen to audio on my laptop at 30% volume right next to it while printing.

I did set my FDM Delta onto three tennis balls with printed foots. Of course. An delta hasn't the problem of a moving print plate.