I got me 3D printer, awesome!

Man of Honour
Joined
30 Oct 2003
Posts
13,229
Location
Essex
Just been watching this assembly video and reading the comments puts you off a bit with all the problems you need to fix and parts coming missing or broken and lack of instructions. I guess you get what you pay for.

Whats really funny in the vid is from 19:20 doesnt look built right then suddenly at 22:25 guy looks at it mystified then at 22:30 it suddenly jumps as they edit it to a correctly built one.


I can see what you mean about Thermal Runaway protection.
https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/8466/what-is-thermal-runaway-protection

With my one there was no missing parts, in fact there were more parts than were actually needed. I built 99% of mine without instructions just prodding stuff together until I found some instructions on of all things a CD (I haven't had a CD drive in 10 or more years) and the instructions are very meh at best.

Overall though as a package and an entry into 3d printing I am glad I went with what I did because I have learnt massive amounts in a very short period. That board in that thumbnail though is junk, total junk.
 
Soldato
Joined
31 Dec 2007
Posts
13,616
Location
The TARDIS, Wakefield, UK
Been researching instead of WFH (bit bored today) and found another one Tonxy X1 which is £100 and gets a few good reviews. Might take a punt as I think I might learn more with one of these cheapo kits, was wondering whether to go for something like an Ender 3D a bit more established but I like the idea of a sub £100 printer and then taking it from there.

Thanks for the info though.
 
Associate
Joined
12 Jun 2005
Posts
1,762
Location
Suffolk
Been researching instead of WFH (bit bored today) and found another one Tonxy X1 which is £100 and gets a few good reviews. Might take a punt as I think I might learn more with one of these cheapo kits, was wondering whether to go for something like an Ender 3D a bit more established but I like the idea of a sub £100 printer and then taking it from there.

Thanks for the info though.

I would recommend the Ender 3, it's one of if not the best selling budget printer of last year, your right it would be fun to get a sub £100 printer but if you then need to replace the control board, hotend and extruder it would have been cheaper to get the Ender 3 to start with.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
30 Oct 2003
Posts
13,229
Location
Essex
Been researching instead of WFH (bit bored today) and found another one Tonxy X1 which is £100 and gets a few good reviews. Might take a punt as I think I might learn more with one of these cheapo kits, was wondering whether to go for something like an Ender 3D a bit more established but I like the idea of a sub £100 printer and then taking it from there.

Thanks for the info though.

I absolutely did, even to the point of rewriting all the firmware on a different board to work with this machine with different drivers etc. If it is learning you are after and fiddling, one of those cheap build it yourself kits are a good starting place.

In other news BigTreeTech sent me these goodies, its been a few weeks and they came from china but this is the board for my new design, SKR 1.4 Turbo along with 2208 drivers all for less than £20 :D



And I got a rubber duck!

Fwiw the replacement board was £18 (anycubic trigorilla) and the extruder and hot end replacement was £10 so parts are super cheap.
 
Soldato
Soldato
Joined
26 Oct 2013
Posts
9,715
Location
Leicester
Hello guys

Does anyone have some good recommendation(s) for some 'bed springs' for the ender 3 pro?
I understand the standard ones are a bit naff.

Thanks.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Nov 2009
Posts
11,595
Location
Northampton
Hello guys

Does anyone have some good recommendation(s) for some 'bed springs' for the ender 3 pro?
I understand the standard ones are a bit naff.

Thanks.

I'd argue there's nothing wrong with them. My Ender3 had been sat for 6 months with various screw drivers, Arduinos and a million other things sat on the bed. The last time I'd levelled the bed was probably 20 prints ago when changing filaments

I cleared it off a couple of weeks ago, and it reeled off a print and good as it ever has done off the bat without touching levelling
 
Soldato
Joined
5 Oct 2009
Posts
13,823
Location
Spalding, Lincs
I would recommend the Ender 3, it's one of if not the best selling budget printer of last year, your right it would be fun to get a sub £100 printer but if you then need to replace the control board, hotend and extruder it would have been cheaper to get the Ender 3 to start with.

Just my 2 cents.

I 100% agree with that.
 
Don
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
22,697
Location
Wargrave, UK
I put various nozzles under a microscope. Interesting results.

7ibAf2j.jpg

I thought I'd put some 3D printer nozzles under the microscope to see how they compared and to ascertain whether it's worth paying extra for genuine nozzles. From left to right (all nozzles are 0.4mm): Random clone from Aliexpress, random clone from Amazon, hardened steel from Aliexpress, MK8 from Amazon, genuine E3D.

qhY0D5r.jpg

Random clone from Aliexpress. Not looking good. Poorly defined nozzle spreader, burrs around the opening.

APZ0aYn.jpg

Random clone from Amazon. Look at that tool mark on the spreader. Not even close to round and tons of burrs and other marks on the opening. Looks smaller than 0.4mm.

YbjCTLH.jpg

Hardened steel from Aliexpress. Looking a lot better than the other two but still has issues with tool marks on the opening of the hole.

4p7CiFg.jpg

MK8 from Aliexpress. Looking a little better. Hole not even close to round though and looking smaller than 0.4mm. Tool marks on the spreader.

nnixLxE.jpg

Genuine E3D. Almost perfectly round. Circular tool marks that are uniform. No burrs.

oSvWvRt.jpg

Random clone from Aliexpress inside. Doesn't look too bad at all. Odd step at the bottom of the chamber though.

0nLHAoh.jpg

Random clone from Amazon inside. Looks pretty good this one. Some tool marks but noting too bad.

GUam0lt.jpg

Hardened steel from Aliexpress inside. It was hard to get a shot of this due to reflections but there are massive (relatively) tool marks in the chamber and it's not a cone shape.

4sxWLsi.jpg

MK8 inside. Looks OK but again, tool marks and debris.

eIb8kCm.jpg

Genuine E3D inside. Almost perfectly machined. Very slight step in the cone.

So, from this I can say that it's really not worth saving a few £ on cheapo nozzles. Use the good stuff.
 

Deleted member 66701

D

Deleted member 66701

After using the being trained on and set up as the controller for the Formlabs Form 2 resin printer at uni (before we got sent home), I've got the resin bug. This will be my next printer:-


I've used the smaller Mars and if the big brother is as easy to use, as reliable and produces the same quality then this will be a no brainer purchase - especially with Elegoo's new water soluble resin.
 
Associate
Joined
12 Jun 2005
Posts
1,762
Location
Suffolk
I put various nozzles under a microscope. Interesting results.

I thought I'd put some 3D printer nozzles under the microscope to see how they compared and to ascertain whether it's worth paying extra for genuine nozzles. From left to right (all nozzles are 0.4mm): Random clone from Aliexpress, random clone from Amazon, hardened steel from Aliexpress, MK8 from Amazon, genuine E3D.

Random clone from Aliexpress. Not looking good. Poorly defined nozzle spreader, burrs around the opening.

Random clone from Amazon. Look at that tool mark on the spreader. Not even close to round and tons of burrs and other marks on the opening. Looks smaller than 0.4mm.

Hardened steel from Aliexpress. Looking a lot better than the other two but still has issues with tool marks on the opening of the hole.

MK8 from Aliexpress. Looking a little better. Hole not even close to round though and looking smaller than 0.4mm. Tool marks on the spreader.

Genuine E3D. Almost perfectly round. Circular tool marks that are uniform. No burrs.

Random clone from Aliexpress inside. Doesn't look too bad at all. Odd step at the bottom of the chamber though.

Random clone from Amazon inside. Looks pretty good this one. Some tool marks but noting too bad.

Hardened steel from Aliexpress inside. It was hard to get a shot of this due to reflections but there are massive (relatively) tool marks in the chamber and it's not a cone shape.MK8 inside. Looks OK but again, tool marks and debris.

Genuine E3D inside. Almost perfectly machined. Very slight step in the cone.

So, from this I can say that it's really not worth saving a few £ on cheapo nozzles. Use the good stuff.

Nice post that, very interesting.
 
Soldato
Soldato
Joined
26 Oct 2013
Posts
9,715
Location
Leicester
Hi guys

I have a problem (already)
I have printed the Creality 'dog' that comes with the printer on the SD card - this worked fine.

I am now trying some of my own prints, slicing in Cura. It seems that on the first layer the nozzle is a good few mm away from the print bed, which means the first layer is just going into thin air. I'm not sure where I am going wrong in Cura. I re-tried the Dog model to test the first couple of layers and it is still printing just fine.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks
 
Associate
Joined
12 Jun 2005
Posts
1,762
Location
Suffolk
Hi guys

I have a problem (already)
I have printed the Creality 'dog' that comes with the printer on the SD card - this worked fine.

I am now trying some of my own prints, slicing in Cura. It seems that on the first layer the nozzle is a good few mm away from the print bed, which means the first layer is just going into thin air. I'm not sure where I am going wrong in Cura. I re-tried the Dog model to test the first couple of layers and it is still printing just fine.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

Is it homing correctly when it starts the print? Are there any offsets set in Cura?
 
Soldato
Joined
10 Jan 2007
Posts
4,862
Location
Warwickshire
Hi guys

I have a problem (already)
I have printed the Creality 'dog' that comes with the printer on the SD card - this worked fine.

I am now trying some of my own prints, slicing in Cura. It seems that on the first layer the nozzle is a good few mm away from the print bed, which means the first layer is just going into thin air. I'm not sure where I am going wrong in Cura. I re-tried the Dog model to test the first couple of layers and it is still printing just fine.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

How many other things have you tried to print? If everything is to low, then adjust the bed, you never know what settings they have used with their own files, just forget the dog, and reset it up
 
Soldato
Soldato
Joined
26 Oct 2013
Posts
9,715
Location
Leicester
Cheers guys.

I tried to print 2 other things.
I have re-done the bed levelling and had to jack it way up, all seems OK now however I have not tried the Creality models again - don't need them

Thanks
 

Deleted member 66701

D

Deleted member 66701

Cheers guys.

I tried to print 2 other things.
I have re-done the bed levelling and had to jack it way up, all seems OK now however I have not tried the Creality models again - don't need them

Thanks

What's your start GCODE in Cura - it should have a G28 near the beginning. This is mine:-

Code:
//Offset -1.9 for PLA  - Increase for extra clearance i.e. -1.5 > 1.4
M851 Z-1.9;
G92 E0; reset extruder
M117 Auto levelling;
G28; home all axes
G29 L10 R255 F10 B275 S6000; auto bed level
G1 Z2.0 F3000 ; move z up little to prevent scratching of surface
G1 X2 Y20 Z2 F5000.0 ; move to start-line position
G1 Z0.4 F5000.0 ; move down
M117 Heating hotend;
M109 R210; Heat hot end for purge
M117 Purge extruder;
G1 X1 Y250.0 Z0.3 F600.0 E35 ; draw 1st line
G1 X8 Y250.0 Z0.2 F5000.0 ; move to side a little
G1 X8 Y150.0 Z0.1 F600.0 ; clear nozzle
G1 X8 Y20.0 Z0.1 F1800.0  ; Wipe nozzle
G92 E0 ; reset extruder
G1 Z2 F3000 ; move z up little to prevent scratching of surface
M117 We have lift off !!!
 
Soldato
Soldato
Joined
26 Oct 2013
Posts
9,715
Location
Leicester
Here we are:

;FLAVOR:Marlin
;TIME:5462
;Filament used: 3.1322m
;Layer height: 0.2
;MINX:72.353
;MINY:91.151
;MINZ:0.2
;MAXX:162.642
;MAXY:144.48
;MAXZ:20
;Generated with Cura_SteamEngine 4.6.1
M140 S60
M105
M190 S60
M104 S200
M105
M109 S200
M82 ;absolute extrusion mode
; Ender 3 Custom Start G-code
G92 E0 ; Reset Extruder
G28 ; Home all axes
G1 Z2.0 F3000 ; Move Z Axis up little to prevent scratching of Heat Bed
G1 X0.1 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move to start position
G1 X0.1 Y200.0 Z0.3 F1500.0 E15 ; Draw the first line
G1 X0.4 Y200.0 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move to side a little
G1 X0.4 Y20 Z0.3 F1500.0 E30 ; Draw the second line
G92 E0 ; Reset Extruder
G1 Z2.0 F3000 ; Move Z Axis up little to prevent scratching of Heat Bed
G1 X5 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move over to prevent blob squish
G92 E0
G92 E0
G1 F1500 E-6.5
;LAYER_COUNT:100
;LAYER:0
M107
 
Associate
Joined
25 Feb 2007
Posts
878
Location
leicestershire
After using the being trained on and set up as the controller for the Formlabs Form 2 resin printer at uni (before we got sent home), I've got the resin bug. This will be my next printer:-


I've used the smaller Mars and if the big brother is as easy to use, as reliable and produces the same quality then this will be a no brainer purchase - especially with Elegoo's new water soluble resin.
What are your thoughts on the pre order pricing? I'm a bit disappointed with the £150 shipping fee. At the early bird price of £300 it's not too bad but as the price goes up towards full release is it still £150 on top?
This is definitely the resin printer I have been waiting for but I feel it isn't as much of a bargain as I had hoped for.
 
Back
Top Bottom