Well I pulled too hard to get a print off and it peeled some of the coating, so I also got a PEI one and seems much better/easier to use but also have only printed a handful of things.
Random 3D printing chatter
- Thread starter Cenedd
- Start date
Associate
Just got started on this hobby.
My, this is a deep rabbithole.
My, this is a deep rabbithole.
I've recently cleared out most of my printers.
I only have left a Bluemaker 350 (350x350x400) and a TwoTree's Sapphire Plus.
My SapphirePlus is my workhorse... However, recently at the same height on big prints, it layer shifts. Which is causing major problems as I have orders backing up for these Red Dwarf heads I sell.
I wanted to buy a Bambu X1C.. However, its print volume is just too small.
I've seen the Creality K2 Plus announcement, and have decided I will be buying one, as the bed is 350x350 and has the height I need to print these life size heads. It may also allow me to do things like colour in the eyes and hair with the multi colour functionality.
If it's any good, I'll sell all my other printers and just have the one.
Exciting times.
I only have left a Bluemaker 350 (350x350x400) and a TwoTree's Sapphire Plus.
My SapphirePlus is my workhorse... However, recently at the same height on big prints, it layer shifts. Which is causing major problems as I have orders backing up for these Red Dwarf heads I sell.
I wanted to buy a Bambu X1C.. However, its print volume is just too small.
I've seen the Creality K2 Plus announcement, and have decided I will be buying one, as the bed is 350x350 and has the height I need to print these life size heads. It may also allow me to do things like colour in the eyes and hair with the multi colour functionality.
If it's any good, I'll sell all my other printers and just have the one.
Exciting times.
I think that PETG can stick too hard to PEI unless you use glue - ironically - as a release agent.
I've had good results with the Lightyear 3D G10 (aka Garolite) bed on an X1C. Also seems to be available for Creality. Haven't used glue since for PLA, PLA-CF, PETG, PETG-CF, PET. Haven't tried ASA yet but I think I may have just found an excuse to crack open a spool.
Yup. You want to try machine tools as a hobby...makes this rabbithole look positively shallow!
Won't you then be back to a situation where if it fails or has problems, you're in trouble?
Well yes, I'll buy two...hahaI think that PETG can stick too hard to PEI unless you use glue - ironically - as a release agent.
I've had good results with the Lightyear 3D G10 (aka Garolite) bed on an X1C. Also seems to be available for Creality. Haven't used glue since for PLA, PLA-CF, PETG, PETG-CF, PET. Haven't tried ASA yet but I think I may have just found an excuse to crack open a spool.
Yup. You want to try machine tools as a hobby...makes this rabbithole look positively shallow!
Won't you then be back to a situation where if it fails or has problems, you're in trouble?
Soldato
Just done another print of a part which was almost impossible to get off the PC sheet (took me about 5 mins with a spatula), literally just flexed the PEI sheet and it came off
Soldato
The levels of frustration of 'why the **** is it doing that??!?!" is off the chart sometimes lol. I'm telling you now 1) Learn to walk away and come back later 2) Buy a better base machine to start with to avoid a lot of frustration and headache. I would say 4 or 5 hundred is the minimum pricing you want to be looking at (bear in mind I'm used to USD now, I don't know the GBP pricing anymore for machines).
I am releasing a $275 dollar printed product this weekend, so you could say I print a lot. (Design wise and production wise).
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Agreed on the better base machine. Unless, of course, building it, tweaking it etc is what interests you more. Assuming you want to actually print stuff, a decent machine makes it a lot less painful.
A Bambu X1C is my 2nd machine...so I've done both. Still have some upgrade parts for my old one that I was going to install but never got round to.
I'd argue that 4-500 is excessive for most people though. I went X1C for the same reason you hold out for the 4080Ti when the 4080 would be more than enough....you guys understand, I'm sure
I wanted to be able to print ABS so needed the chamber etc. I've got a spool of the stuff and still haven't printed any. Ditto with ASA. I don't need the fumes and PETG is easier, cheaper and does most of it at least as well. I think impact resistance is the only benefit. That said, I have printed a lot of carbon fibre filament so a hardened nozzle and extruder gears is probably worth having. Also printed some PET-CF (note lack of G) as that will handle nearly 200°C once printed. Pricey but if you need the temp resistance...
For that reason a full metal hotend is of benefit too.
If you don't want to do those, definitely have a look at the Bambu A1 mini. Either with or without the changer. It's a smaller print volume but that may not be important to you.
Soldato
Agreed on the 'if you want to tweak etc'.. then yeah.. get something that can be upgraded to high heaven lol.
My kit so far is:
1) Creality Ender 3 V2 > This is highly modified for extra height / linear rails (including bed) / Belt driven Z axis to remove wobbling from Z screws / Microswiss Direct Drive extruder with 0.6 hardened nozzle for printing exclusively PETG Carbon Fiber parts.
2) FLSUN QQ-S Pro > HIGHLY modified bat **** crazy build that I only now use exclusively for printing TPU parts now, as I cannot trust its dimensional accuracy no matter how I calibrate it. (no fault of the mods, it was always that way
)
3) FLSUN V400 > Stock machine with hardened nozzle (just cos), with the additional side panels to keep in heat. (Oh I forgot.. I swapped the metal plate to a metal plate + magnetic pad, and a glass bed glued to the metal plate, so I can have a removable glass bed, and a better quality bottom with more reliable grip to the surface.
The V400 is my main PETG production printer that I use for paintball magazines that are very tall and narrow, and big box magazines at present. I'm extremely happy with the quality. Maybe not a beginner printer due to needing to keep an eye on the belts and keep them 'tuned' but it is excellent.
The QQ-S Pro I could never recommend as the linear rods are simply not stiff enough to guarantee accuracy under fast movement. Better to get the Q5 that is smaller but cheaper and more rigid.
The Ender I only keep now for PETG CF... and I regret some of the upgrades I did. I will eventually convert it to a Core XY machine, but it was my first printer, and the one I loved and hated at the same time. I got some exceptional quality at one point, before I moved to linear rails lol. I HIGHLY recommend getting yellow bed springs and the creality levelling prove for any ender machine. Takes so much of the frustration away.
Oh lastly... BUY A FOOD DEHYDRATOR. Having moist filament ruins your prints.
Oh and second lastly lol... if you have any issues with filament... I highly recommend Vision Miner Nano Adhesive... incredible adhesive and lasts quite a while. I tried so many adhesives, but this was the absolute best. I use it with almost every print.
My kit so far is:
1) Creality Ender 3 V2 > This is highly modified for extra height / linear rails (including bed) / Belt driven Z axis to remove wobbling from Z screws / Microswiss Direct Drive extruder with 0.6 hardened nozzle for printing exclusively PETG Carbon Fiber parts.
2) FLSUN QQ-S Pro > HIGHLY modified bat **** crazy build that I only now use exclusively for printing TPU parts now, as I cannot trust its dimensional accuracy no matter how I calibrate it. (no fault of the mods, it was always that way
)3) FLSUN V400 > Stock machine with hardened nozzle (just cos), with the additional side panels to keep in heat. (Oh I forgot.. I swapped the metal plate to a metal plate + magnetic pad, and a glass bed glued to the metal plate, so I can have a removable glass bed, and a better quality bottom with more reliable grip to the surface.
The V400 is my main PETG production printer that I use for paintball magazines that are very tall and narrow, and big box magazines at present. I'm extremely happy with the quality. Maybe not a beginner printer due to needing to keep an eye on the belts and keep them 'tuned' but it is excellent.
The QQ-S Pro I could never recommend as the linear rods are simply not stiff enough to guarantee accuracy under fast movement. Better to get the Q5 that is smaller but cheaper and more rigid.
The Ender I only keep now for PETG CF... and I regret some of the upgrades I did. I will eventually convert it to a Core XY machine, but it was my first printer, and the one I loved and hated at the same time. I got some exceptional quality at one point, before I moved to linear rails lol. I HIGHLY recommend getting yellow bed springs and the creality levelling prove for any ender machine. Takes so much of the frustration away.
Oh lastly... BUY A FOOD DEHYDRATOR. Having moist filament ruins your prints.
Oh and second lastly lol... if you have any issues with filament... I highly recommend Vision Miner Nano Adhesive... incredible adhesive and lasts quite a while. I tried so many adhesives, but this was the absolute best. I use it with almost every print.
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I'm running a Sunlu Filadry S4 that I picked up on their Kickstarter campaign. 4 roll capacity and fans. So far so good...although I've not yet put anything more hygroscopic than PETG-CF through it. I hated the glue aspect of the initial Bambu setup. Just couldn't get a consistent layer of glue down that wouldn't affect the bottom of the part. Maybe I'd been spoiled by running a glass plate (with a reeeeeally slow first layer) but it annoyed me. Switched to a G10 (aka Garolite) bed and haven't used any glue since. Highly recommend it as a surface. The only gotcha's I've had (and this was on the glass too) is that if you get it good and PETG'd and then switch to PLA, it's not going to stick despite wiping it with IPA. Wipe it with Fairy/Dawn (and rinse or wipe with just water) and the only issue you'll have is getting it back off when it's done! Right, back to the task at hand of seeing whether the print will finish before the roll does! 
Are you able to recommend a dehydrator?
Also running SPLA is a one way route to rubbish surfaces from experience regardless of what you do (I guess the S stands for Sunlu or an expletive).
I've finally gotten round to PETG bit having a twin head printer I am laying down a PLA raft for now and it's working well enough for an initial play.
Soldato
@5abr3 Any of those circular food dehydrators. Cut the mesh middle parts out enough for a spool and you are good to go. Use higher temps (like 70C+) for things like PETG, and lower temps for TPU (like 50c).
I also have one of those big 4 roll Sunlu Filadry S4 driers (just like @Cenedd from the kickstarter). That works very well, but I use that for when I'm printing, and not for fully drying rolls. I do have a small Sunlu single dryer, but I never really use that, as at some point I need to do a fan mod on it so you know.. it actually works lol.
I also have one of those big 4 roll Sunlu Filadry S4 driers (just like @Cenedd from the kickstarter). That works very well, but I use that for when I'm printing, and not for fully drying rolls. I do have a small Sunlu single dryer, but I never really use that, as at some point I need to do a fan mod on it so you know.. it actually works lol.
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Odd that. Their PETG I've found to be one of the best. I've got a roll of their high speed PLA and I think another type of PLA (there were offers
) but I've not got round to trying them yet. The AnyCubic PLA came out alright.Odd that. Their PETG I've found to be one of the best. I've got a roll of their high speed PLA and I think another type of PLA (there were offers
I've run through nearly a whole 1kg roll of their SPLA and it prints fine until the top layers then it starts to bubble like it's full of moisture regardless of what I did right from the first print.
It has been fine for dimensional test pieces or where the top has been fairly small in size (can't see the blemishes on the frame I made to hold my phone still on the charge pad in the car).
The Eryone PLA reels I have used since have been stupidly easy to work with in comparison, maybe I got one from a bad batch?
Soldato
https://ataraxiaart.com/ <--- This is who I use exclusively for PETG. Very low number of 'bad' roll's. I have tried a whole host of companies including Atomic for PETG, and this has been by far the best. Overall it is strong, lays clean (as long as dry), durable and is consistent. I use these for paintball parts, so they take a beating hence my standards.
For PETG CF, I won't use anyone's filament but Atomic. I did check, and unfortunately, they don't ship anywhere but the USA which sucks.
For PETG CF, I won't use anyone's filament but Atomic. I did check, and unfortunately, they don't ship anywhere but the USA which sucks.
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Couldn't be something like top-layer ironing that it doesn't like (or is too hot for) could it?
I think different printers seem to get on better with different filaments. I've had some by respected brands that I thought sucked and clearly I have good results with ones that others think suck.
@Scougar The cardboard spools would put me off as I use an AMS changer and they don't play nicely. Bit of a pain to re-spool and the outriggers seem a bit hit and miss. I'd be curious as to what PETG-CF filaments you've already tried and what you thought. I've gone Eryone black PETG-CF at £17/kg. It has a tendancy to ooze and foul the start but a brim seems to fix that. Not sure it's a 100% consistent extrude either but it seems to be reasonably strong. Didn't want to pay twice as much for the Bambu version and other options were out of stock for the colour. Cardboard spool but I've already got some outriggers that seem to work ok for it.
Yeah I did think about messing with the GCode to lower the print temperature but when I tested at 195C (the spool said 210C min) it was exactly the same and still printed well enough.
I agree the variability in the number of models of printers will probably be a factor too. Their white standard PLA was no trouble to be fair.
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Bubbles are nothing but moisture - it'll be happening on other layers, but you 'get away' with it in everything but the top layer.
Try putting in the oven at a LOW temp, eg 40c for a few hours to test if that improves.
Really should never get this from any proper supplier - I go through about 200 reels a year and can't think of any time I've had this no matter how cheap/expensive the filament - I generally pay about £9 a kg for PLA, so really not going for anything expensive
Try putting in the oven at a LOW temp, eg 40c for a few hours to test if that improves.
Really should never get this from any proper supplier - I go through about 200 reels a year and can't think of any time I've had this no matter how cheap/expensive the filament - I generally pay about £9 a kg for PLA, so really not going for anything expensive
I've worked my way through so much of the reel as support/filler filament and test pieces it isn't worth trying to save it now but I'll keep that in mind if I get similar behaviour again.
@5abr3 If it's any consolation, I've just loaded that brand new spool of PETG-CF of the same brand as the last that was printing acceptably. Printing the same? No, not even close. Dribbles and strings ruining the first layer. Calibrate it "successfully" and now it won't even stick to the bed. Going to wash the bed in the morning and let the filament bake overnight and see if it's just wet despite being really well vacuum sealed. Sometimes this hobby's great....and other times it really sucks! *Sigh*