3d Printing Thread V2

[wagner]

I know there are people on here who dabble in this. I just bought an Ender 3 Pro last night and I'm going to jump right into this deal.

 

The way I look at it is I need to start building some new skills since my current field will die before I do. I can learn the software and process so I can learn how to CNC program too.

 

I've got a few ideas for things I want to make around the house and ultimately I want to start selling items. I also want to get a resin printer someday to make scale model car parts.

 

So who else prints and what do you use?

[Mallard]

All my friends are using Fusion 360. It's free if you are using it as a hobby or make less than $100k (or something like that) from using the s/w. I just built a PC and downloaded it so I can work on other skills as well.

 

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[wagner]

All my friends are using Fusion 360. It's free if you are using it as a hobby or make less than $100k (or something like that) from using the s/w. I just built a PC and downloaded it so I can work on other skills as well.

 

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

360 is free if you clear less than 1,000 per year and it's on my radar for sure. I might start with Tinkercad for basics and use Cura to do the slicing.

[Geeto67]

I print, and I have a Creality CR10S and an Anet A8.

 

I bought the Anet A8 because gearbest ran an xmas sale on it and I picked it up for $129 as a build it yourself kit. I wanted to get into this for a while but at the time there weren't a lot of printers at the lower end of the spectrum and at that price point I figured I didn't have anything to lose. I also wanted to learn how the thing worked and putting together a kit is usually a good way to start. In the end, while it is an excellent little printer with a robust community, I ended up printing two things with it: upgrades to the printer and keychains

 

I got the CR10s for my birthday last year and it has been an awesome printer. I bought it because the Anet was too finicky and I wanted a bigger print bed to more RC stuff. Also printing in ABS was a bit much for the Anet to handle.

 

I use Cura for a slicer, and buy my filament from Micro center because I want to actually see the color before I buy it rather than mail order. I use Tinker cad to design stuff.

 

The best advice I can give you is to watch a bunch of youtube videos on calibrating your Esteps, and print a bunch of Benchys, XYZ cubes, and other calibration prints off thingiverse to get it setup right. Once you get it dialed in, you pretty much don't have to touch it. My CR10S was great right out of the box so I didn't, and when I wanted to print a retractable sword it wouldn't extend because the steps were a hair off halfway up the print. Also print a bunch of fun stuff of thingiverse like articulating octopuses, retractible swords, stuff with gears or joints so you can get a feel for the range of 3d printing.

 

Also, once in a while take your prints to microcenter and talk to the guys there, most are really knowledgeable and can help you troubleshoot.

 

So far I have printed a few motorcycle parts, mostly air cleaner related things, brackets for cameras, turn signal mounts, etc, stuff I designed myself. It's been fun. As far as making money with it, that's probably a year out for you at least, and you have to find your niche, there are thousands of people with these printers in this city alone, renting time, designing stuff, making their own parts and toys and other things

[Tractor]

I'm very interested in this especially CNC machining. Maybe even making a small business out of it. I got plenty of time and technical knowledge and been thinking of doing a complete DIY build after looking at several DIY kits.

[wagner]

I'm very interested in this especially CNC machining. Maybe even making a small business out of it. I got plenty of time and technical knowledge and been thinking of doing a complete DIY build after looking at several DIY kits.

 

There's so much out there that can be done with this. My little mind has been racing with ideas all day and as soon as I'm off work I will start building the printer.

[Geeto67]

There's so much out there that can be done with this. My little mind has been racing with ideas all day and as soon as I'm off work I will start building the printer.

 

wait till you discover the tons of 1/24 and 1/25 model detailing stuff you can print as well - wheels, whole interiors, fender flares, emblems, setups to add LED lights, engines, bodies, tires, lifts, etc....it's going to kick your model building up a notch too.

[wagner]

wait till you discover the tons of 1/24 and 1/25 model detailing stuff you can print as well - wheels, whole interiors, fender flares, emblems, setups to add LED lights, engines, bodies, tires, lifts, etc....it's going to kick your model building up a notch too.

 

I'm well aware of all that, that's what started this whole deal for me. I wanted to get a resin printer for the scale modeling stuff but couldn't justify the cost right now just to make model car parts.

 

The filament printer just makes more sense for me to learn on since other things can be made. Granted, I can make some parts for scale model cars with this, but they won't be as good as 3d resin stuff.

[unfunnyryan]

I've printed 3 different motorcycle accessories off thingiverse so far

 

and...guns.

 

i'm shit at 3d modeling but i will gladly reap the benefits of others time

[Richard Cranium]

I'm still using a HEAVILY modified Anet A8. There isn't much left of the original printer though, so I probably shouldn't be calling it an A8 any more.

 

I used to buy filament from Microcenter, but they changed their supplier at least once while I was buying there and it was giving me fits. My go to filament now is Hatchbox for PLA and Monoprice for PLA+ when I want a stronger part. I need to stop by this weekend anyhow and grab something out of the trailer, I'll bring you some to play with.

 

I use CURA for slicing as well and download most of what I print from Thingiverse.

[vonrottes]

I got a MP maker select plus..... that is in pieces because the Extruder stepper driver crapped out on the board and I've been just putting off compiling for the new firmware for the Arduino/ramps setup I'm retrofitting to it.

 

 

If anyone less lazy and understands arduino better than me wants to tackle the firmware for me

 

I'm trying to make ADVI3++ work on it to keep the touchscreen working... I've got the firmware installed on the board to test it, and cura recognizes it. just need to remap the pins... I think.

[wagner]

Got the printer assembled, that was a task and a half. I still need to level the print bed before I begin test prints.

[Richard Cranium]

Got the printer assembled, that was a task and a half. I still need to level the print bed before I begin test prints.

 

Leveling the bed is an art form. It takes practice to get good at it, and it's worth learning to do well. Once it is level it won't stay that way, so check it often. Any time you're doing a large print, or if it's been a while since you used the printer it's a good time to check the level.

[STEVE-O]

Anyone want to take on printing up this little piece for a water hose ??

 

https://ibb.co/1fTyWSv

https://ibb.co/1r252qR

https://ibb.co/10gX570

[downingracing]

Love the topic!! Daughter and I have been messing with an Creality Ender 3 v2 printer for a few months. We were having good luck with printing, but are having a bad spell with not being able to get the PLA to stick to the heated bed. We have replaced print head, feeder tube, extruder, and are using good/new PLA. We are thinking the print heads we purchased are crap and could be causing this issue. We are swapping the head with a different new one this weekend to see if that helps.

 

Any ideas on what else to try would be greatly appreciated! I have leveled the bed (and am pretty good at it now), the bed is clean (tried 2 beds), and the temperature seems to be right for both the bed and the head.

[unfunnyryan]

Anyone want to take on printing up this little piece for a water hose ??

 

https://ibb.co/1fTyWSv

https://ibb.co/1r252qR

https://ibb.co/10gX570

 

Search the part on thingiverse to see if anyone has modeled it already

 

https://www.thingiverse.com/

 

Also, the mcmaster carr online catalog has a lot of parts with 3d models available that can be converted to printable pretty trivially

 

Love the topic!! Daughter and I have been messing with an Creality Ender 3 v2 printer for a few months. We were having good luck with printing, but are having a bad spell with not being able to get the PLA to stick to the heated bed. We have replaced print head, feeder tube, extruder, and are using good/new PLA. We are thinking the print heads we purchased are crap and could be causing this issue. We are swapping the head with a different new one this weekend to see if that helps.

 

Any ideas on what else to try would be greatly appreciated! I have leveled the bed (and am pretty good at it now), the bed is clean (tried 2 beds), and the temperature seems to be right for both the bed and the head.

 

what PLA filament are you using? tried a different brand? microcenters inland brand PLA+ has been really good to me

[Richard Cranium]

Love the topic!! Daughter and I have been messing with an Creality Ender 3 v2 printer for a few months. We were having good luck with printing, but are having a bad spell with not being able to get the PLA to stick to the heated bed. We have replaced print head, feeder tube, extruder, and are using good/new PLA. We are thinking the print heads we purchased are crap and could be causing this issue. We are swapping the head with a different new one this weekend to see if that helps.

 

Any ideas on what else to try would be greatly appreciated! I have leveled the bed (and am pretty good at it now), the bed is clean (tried 2 beds), and the temperature seems to be right for both the bed and the head.

 

Every time I have adhesion issues it has been a bed leveling problem. I use a borosilicate glass pane on the bed and that has made a huge difference. Also I had huge problems with the inland filament at some point when I think they changed suppliers. I stick to Hatchbox PLA and Monoprice PLA+ when I need some extra strength. I level my bed using a sheet of copy paper as a gauge. I adjust till I can slip the paper between the print head and each corner of the bed, but there is some drag to the paper. If the first layer doesn't go down cleanly then I stop and try again. Wagner picked up the Ender 3 and I'm pretty impressed with it. I've been tinkering with a POS Anet A8 for a few years now. There really isn't much left of the original printer.

[unfunnyryan]

I adjust till I can slip the paper between the print head and each corner of the bed, but there is some drag to the paper.

 

This is also key, the paper should not at all feel like tearing but a bit of chatter as it moves around, do this while moving the bed around and confirm in all 4 corners. If you adjust any of the corners, you have to check all 4 again. Keep going in a circle.

[downingracing]

Thanks for the tips!! We (I) thought we were leveling the bed properly and had been having success printing 25-30 things. Will clean the bed again and do the leveling dance to see if that makes a difference. I am using copy paper and getting to that dragging feeling on each corner. We have changed a bunch of things now, so hoping we didn't mess anything else up.

[mmrmnhrm]

Any "How to choose a printer" advice for office (data center) use, maybe some reviews/comparisons and personal experience with "This is great" or "Avoid this crap" as well? Our intended purpose is to replace broken mounting brackets, but we'll likely end up doing other stuff as our experience increases. We've had new versions of the bracket modeled up and prototypes printed that we're happy with, so now it's "move into production" time, but we need to actually get a printer first.

 

There are three pieces involved, a base and two L-shaped "fingers" that are interlocking mirrors of each other. The base is roughly 40mm wide x 70mm tall x 10mm thick, and each finger is roughly 15mm x 15mm on both the "back" and "riser" portions, 3mm thick. We're planning on using PLA+ for the filament. I haven't been given a budget yet, but $500-800 is realistic (more than that and the accounting group will likely balk and say "just get the OEM"). Most important (besides price) will be long-term reliability without having to deal with warranty issues, and functionality without having to mod parts or the firmware. An enclosed box would be nice to help protect it, but since the printer will be in an area with just myself and the facility operations engineer, not critically important.

 

The times I've asked this so far, people just go "Prusa i3" but don't really get into why... and that's a problem. My manager and I need to be able to specifically lay down why that particular model, and not, say, an Ender V3 or Creator Pro

[wagner]

I looked at community support and reviews when I selected my FDM printer. The Ender 3 had the best overall reviews and seemed to have the best support. There are several Facebook groups filled with people who can help you with issues.

[Richard Cranium]

I would definitely lean toward the Prusa i3 based on it's reputation as a great starting printer. Stay the fuck away from the Anet A8. That's what I have, and it's a decent printer now that I've built and rebuilt it twice now and effectively replaced every part of it. Wagner was up and printing pretty decent stuff with his Ender 3 quicker than I thought he would be.

 

Everything on the market right now is basically a copy of the Prusa i3. I believe the i3 incorporates all the popular features, that everyone adds to their i3 copy. In my opinion it's the nicest printer in your price range. Since everything else is a cheaper copy, they have swapped in lower grade components to make a lower price. If you really want to save some money, I would go with the Ender 3. That seems to be a design that goes together and works pretty well right out of the box. Like I said before, stay away from the A8. I don't regret buying mine, but it's been much more of a learning process than I can describe. I've learned a hell of a lot though, so I can't complain too much since that was my goal.

 

Most of these printers are open framed desktop versions. You can run them this way, but you may want to invest in some sort of enclosure not for protection, but because the higher the temperature differential between the room and the printing process can cause some printing issues. I find that my printer runs better in the summer when the house is about 10 degrees warmer. Parts stick to the bed better in the summer.

 

All that being said, how many of these brackets are you going to need? How often do they break? Would just using a printing service be faster and maybe cheaper?

 

If you're looking for extra justification for the purchase, there are lots of other thing that can be printed obviously. Cable management clips and brackets comes to mind.

[mmrmnhrm]

how many of these brackets are you going to need?

The initial run will probably be 100-150 kits

How often do they break?

Often enough that it's become a pain. Probably an ongoing run rate of 5/month. Eventually the idea is that all the OEM brackets will churn out, at which point we'd be printing nothing but the small fingers on an as-needed basis.

Would just using a printing service be faster and maybe cheaper?

We thought of that as well, but the problem there is having to go through the purchasing system every time we need a restock. With our own printer, it's only the original purchase order, an occasional expense report when I need to run by Microcenter for another spool of filament, and tossing a zip-lock bag into someone's car as they drive between markets.

[Richard Cranium]

The initial run will probably be 100-150 kits

 

Often enough that it's become a pain. Probably an ongoing run rate of 5/month. Eventually the idea is that all the OEM brackets will churn out, at which point we'd be printing nothing but the small fingers on an as-needed basis.

 

We thought of that as well, but the problem there is having to go through the purchasing system every time we need a restock. With our own printer, it's only the original purchase order, an occasional expense report when I need to run by Microcenter for another spool of filament, and tossing a zip-lock bag into someone's car as they drive between markets.

 

Okay, with 100 - 150 kits I agree, get your own printer. I'm sure you'll find other uses for it as well. I have found it to be a really fun hobby, and there is lots to learn.

[mmrmnhrm]

Settled on Prusa Mini+... Seems to be the least likely to cause us headaches over time (sounds like a lot of others have either QC consistency issues, or "print this strain relief first!!" type crap), and half the cost of the MK3S. We'll see how this goes in a couple weeks