Project Irony "Glutton For Punishment".

I've been looking at 3D printers recently and one thing to keep in mind with the A1 and A1 mini is that the print bed moves, so I believe you need more space than just the footprint of the printer.
 
That is definitely true as I have to space mine away from the wall for that reason. Logically it should be half the travel at both ends for 90mm on the Mini or 128mm on the A1...but I can measure the Mini if necessary. It doesn't need that extra space when it isn't in use (and it's easily moved) but don't forget to give it space when you print. Otherwise you'll end up with the gantry coming down, hitting something and lifting the entire printer up at an angle.....I'd imagine :rolleyes: *nonchalant whistle*
 
I’ve seen one that’s all enclosed. Will post pics later when I’m at the PC.

Only space I have is in the bedroom so it needs to be meticulously tidy.
 
You're not going to get the sort of scattered detritus you get with a CNC. You'll get a blob from the initial purge and the A1's just sort of fling that but there are plenty of prints that contain or funnel it instead. You'll get a priming line along the front of the plate that you'll need to remove afterwards and those tend to get flung on the floor...but an enclosure wouldn't help as it's you that'll be doing the flinging. That said, an enclosure isn't a bad thing. It's kind of necessary for ABS/ASA but I doubt you'll find a reason to print them to be honest. It may reduce the noise a bit - faster printers can be noisier but the newer ones (H2 series) are supposed to be quieter. I'd personally go with one that's going to just work - the Ender 5 I had was ok but needed far more baby-sitting and it turned out I just wanted to hit print and get on with something rather than tweaking it, upgrading it, fixing it etc. I like the Bambu but have an ask round the 3D print thread as other people have experience of other makes and can tell if they're good/bad/infuriating.
 
I think I am going to go resin.



At least to start with. It is very affordable and will let me know whether I should dive deeper. Besides I will literally use it for tiny pieces so there is no point getting something huge.
 
Check out the toxicity of resins, the need to wash the print off in IPA and cure with UV. You can buy a wash and cure station that does a lot of this for you but you're adding cost and space. Resin will give you finer details and there are resins that have some decent strength to them too. Not trying to put you off, just make sure you go into it knowing what you're getting.
 
hmm good point. I want minimal aggro... I think I will get this then.



Question... I am looking at PLA and want gold. Is 1.75mm the standard? I don't want to order a big roll of something that won't work.
 
1.75mm is standard for basically any 3D printer you're going to be looking at - there is a 3mm but it's only industrial stuff I think. Ask on the 3D print thread about that printer before you jump in. It's £40 more (on Amazon at least) than the A1 Mini and I think you're getting substantially less printer - both in features and build volume. I can't see anything that states what nozzle it takes. You'll need to be able to replace those as the brass ones are a consumable. Hardened nozzles let you do abrasive filaments like PLA-CF or PETG-GF. I can't see a max nozzle temp either - it says 65°C but that's clearly wrong as it wouldn't melt anything - so I don't know what filaments it would be capable of tbh. It looks like a Bowden tube design rather than direct drive so you're likely to get retraction problems which will cause stringing on PETG and mean you can't easily do soft filaments like TPU. Not sure I'd pay the extra for it myself.
 
I don't want an open one dude. So the extra cost is purely for the box it is in I would assume. I also don't want higher build volume. 99% of the time I will use the CNC because to make pieces that look visually perfect on the 3d printer is impossible. As such it will only get used for things out of sight. Mechanical things basically dude. Functional, not visual.

I don't mind paying to upgrade the nozzle etc. It does say it is the plus version though. I have linked you, as we are not allowed to talk about competitors here. But yeah find me one that is enclosed dude. I am dead set on that. Mostly as it won't get used for months at a time and will be full of dust.
 
What you linked and pictured is the 2S which has lower spec than the 2Plus. The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is enclosed at £259 but it's significantly bigger with a 256x256x256 build volume.
Dust isn't a massive problem tbh - all you need to do is wipe the bed down with some IPA or at worst take it off (they're usually magnetic) and give it a rinse. I'd go quality over an enclosure but post in the 3D printer thread and see if I'm wrong or just biased.
 
Too much dude. Far too much. If it ever gets used again after this light boxes I would be amazed tbh. I think that is what you are failing to spec into the printer. I have now watched 5 videos on the one I put a pic up of and it is a good entry printer. Which is all I wanted. If I do decide to go ham? oh yeah for sure.

It is the same as the CNC dude. I got the cheapest one that would actually work.. Realised how much I loved using it, then spent a lot more. The same will apply here.
 
PCB delivered. The IO shield has also arrived and the AIO holder bracket is coming today.

Case is still in Illinois but I remembered this happened before. I’m going back over early (Tuesday) due to the layout of the month and med deliveries / my birthday etc.

I’ve also decided that I am going to paint the back of the chassis in gold. Not bothered about the insides. It’s part of the ROG theme I’m going for :)
 
OK so I designed an IO board for the RGB hub and fan hub. Unfortunately it has to go in the bottom of the case, due to the front being all intakes when I am done.



Good thing is with the RGB at least I can make the cables any length I want, which is nice. The boards will bolt onto that.
 
Just a quick one. Case still in Illinois. I would panic but this happens every time I import things lol.

What I did do was think about my old mouse. I rebuilt it about two years ago, then it started acting up. I had a feeling it was the software, but never tried too hard because I could not be without a mouse. Any way, I just plugged it into this PC and it works fine. It is also mint, so I shall use it.




After a good clean and service of course. I then got the itch to go full ham. Like, keyboard, desk mat (got one already) and etc. Found this for £25.




Wanted white, so I popped onto OCUK and bought some goodies.






The neons are for the main ALIENWARE logo.
 
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While I admire the intent and determination. I think a better idea is to gut the case the and convert it to take a standard board. Like people have done with the Apple G5 cases.

I like the idea of a case that looks different. I'm not a fan of Glass and LED cases.
 
OspreyO said:
While I admire the intent and determination. I think a better idea is to gut the case the and convert it to take a standard board. Like people have done with the Apple G5 cases.

I like the idea of a case that looks different. I'm not a fan of Glass and LED cases.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I am doing. I will be using this.

 
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