3D Printer yet?

[Brumby]

Just over a 1/4 sheet so clearance on 1200x600. 80-100W is the current plan. Based on this Kiwi design with some tweaks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ72zDm2feverqV7qAbNH7Q/videos The Fusion 360 Plans and materials lists are well worth the few $

Yes, I've followed this build and when I start to gain traction, I will most likely pull his files as a starting point.

It has been tried commercially in one form or another. Unless you want prints running for a week then nozzles in the multiple mm diameter with fat layer lines to match  I think going back to other options first would make more sense unless you like the layered thing.

The time element is not lost on me, but sometimes big and chunky layers aren't necessarily an evil.  I had considered doing large, low profile prints ... nothing specific mind you.  I just like the ability to maximise utility of such a motion system.

[beanflying]

It is really where I see hybrid design being more appropriate. Large flat slabs are not the friend of 3D printing so use the Laser for what it is good at and 3DP where appropriate or you need detail bits that don't take days.

Couple of my recent hybrids. Woodworking ones but a Push Block for the router table to save the pinkies and the Router Circle cutter. Both could be made with just 3DP but using the Laser cut slabs would have saved 18-24 hours of print time and results in a stronger stiffer job.

The circle jig only uses 3DP for the locking mech and is a better option than Laser although it could have been cut and glued from multiple parts. But for the sake of a 30 minute print 3D printing is the clear choice.

Still need to print the handle for the push block and glue up the base sections.

[beanflying]

BREAKING NEWS 

So the Fusion 360 crew haven't been just working on Eagle 'Beta' inclusion there is now a Slicer built into the manufacturing section 

I haven't had a go of it yet but it look promising for a first up release even if the video style below is a but clunky in the way it explains some things.

[beanflying]

So my Fusion 360 did the update thing and there is another big load of upgrades other than just the Slicer one https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/march-2020-product-update-whats-new/

Quick look and loaded up the presets for an Ender 3 for a look. Selected PLA and tweaked a few settings. The GUI isn't as intuitive as Prusa Slicer that I have been using but for a day 1 release it is better than a lot of software I have seen.

I will figure out something a bit complex that needs supports and is a decent slicer test and run it against PrusaSli3er for a comparison in the next few days.

[beanflying]

Revisited a fairly early PLA structural print I did just over two years ago in the last day or so. The Shack doggy door was a tip salvage with a few rubbish bits of wood screwed on the side to make it work. The intrepid yappy muttley has over time pushed most of the old flyscreen out of it so time for a new one that looked a bit nicer.

Not that important but 3 laminates of 1/4" Marine ply to create a Double Lap joint on the corners, small routed rebate to sandwich the flyscreen between two layers. Gratuitous shiny shot courtesy of Shellac and Wax again 

The L shaped truss takes most of the load as it also keeps the door open against the prevailing wind/coastal gales. Printed vertically as pictured across the truss fairly heavy at 6 layers (from memory) no cracking or signs of failure and ready to do it again for some more years. The little latch gets used at least once a day if not several times a day and shows no signs of wear and tear along the sliding section.

It doesn't get any real direct UV exposure but under load it is subject to Ambient temps regularly 30-40+C.

[xrunner]

The new Bigtreetech SKR Mini 32 bit board is working great! It's really amazing what it did for the stepper noise. I can put my ear right next to the motor and hear nothing while it's operating. MUCH nicer to be in the same room with now. Also got the touch screen working and it looks cool as well.

It doesn't get any real direct UV exposure but under load it is subject to Ambient temps regularly 30-40+C.

Speaking of direct UV exposure, soon I'll be taking down the four antenna insulators I designed last year as an experiment to test PLA in all-weather conditions under pulling stress. They have been in use outside on two dipole antennas in all weather situations (of course). Especially the hot Texas summer with full UV exposure. As far as I can tell from the ground they look to be in good condition. I will be taking them inside and taking close-up pictures, maybe cutting into one as well. I'm also making new replacements using a stronger internal fill pattern and a better quality PLA. I'll replace the used ones with these and run the test for more years. Well, I guess it's not a test anymore since they worked so well these will be nearly permanent. 

[mnementh]

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07X5TZ7J8/

This should keep me off the streets & out of trouble for a day or three. With the authorities closing events and shops left & right due to the global COVID charlie-foxtrot, the wife is ALREADY ready to break my foot off in my own ass... All 3 of her children have been driving her batty for a week now. 

Selling points:

Cheap as chips, PLUS $40 off; PRIME delivery

32-bit Board, Trinamic 2208s, 4.3" Touchscreen

Glass upgraded, heated bed w/oversized knibberty-knobs

Proper IEC Power

EOF Sensor, Print Resume Marlin FW

Well-rated on Amazon; EVERYBODY seems to hate EVERYTHING not ENDER on Amazon 

Kit form, and probably a POS... so should keep me busy for a while fixing all the little "stoopit shit" things.

I toyed with getting this franchise-builder Ender 3: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07P68LDLG/  but wasn't convinced it was all CREALITY quality. I'll probably regret it...

mnem
Good thing I have a Dremel...  

[xrunner]

Well-rated on Amazon; EVERYBODY seems to hate EVERYTHING not ENDER on Amazon 

Yea, but that thing isn't an Ender ... 

It'll probably be OK if the aluminum was cut accurately. Keep a fire extinguisher handy and keep us informed. 

[CatalinaWOW]

My Ender required a bit of tweaking to make it right.  I would expect that of anything at the low price point.  As long as you are willing to figure out what might be wrong the corrective actions are usually not too difficult.

[beanflying]

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07X5TZ7J8/

This should keep me off the streets & out of trouble for a day or three. With the authorities closing events and shops left & right due to the global COVID charlie-foxtrot, the wife is ALREADY ready to break my foot off in my own ass... All 3 of her children have been driving her batty for a week now. 

Selling points:

Cheap as chips, PLUS $40 off; PRIME delivery

32-bit Board, Trinamic 2208s, 4.3" Touchscreen

Glass upgraded, heated bed w/oversized knibberty-knobs

Proper IEC Power

EOF Sensor, Print Resume Marlin FW

Well-rated on Amazon; EVERYBODY seems to hate EVERYTHING not ENDER on Amazon 

Kit form, and probably a POS... so should keep me busy for a while fixing all the little "stoopit shit" things.

I toyed with getting this franchise-builder Ender 3: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07P68LDLG/  but wasn't convinced it was all CREALITY quality. I'll probably regret it...

mnem
Good thing I have a Dremel...  

Got some nice features for the price.  With the two fairly independent side beams I would double check and shim if needed whatever desk or bench you finish up using it on to make sure all four feet are co-planer otherwise we await the results. Welcome back to the world of 3DP 


Another random sort of structural print now a bit over 18 months old. I made a pair of them from PETG each one was about $20 AUD in filament so not financially worth it but unlike the garbage commercial options this one won't rust or crack if you look at it wrong. It also taught me a heap about using Fusion 360. No sag issues or problems with the locking mechanism. The shelves retain the rail and lock it all together.

[mnementh]

Well-rated on Amazon; EVERYBODY seems to hate EVERYTHING not ENDER on Amazon 

Yea, but that thing isn't an Ender ... 

It'll probably be OK if the aluminum was cut accurately. Keep a fire extinguisher handy and keep us informed. 

Yeah, my point was it seemed to be an oddity; a well-rated 3DP that was NOT a Ender3.

I do intend to make double-damned sure Thermal Runaway protection is fully enabled, fo sho.

Got some nice features for the price.  With the two fairly independent side beams I would double check and shim if needed whatever desk or bench you finish up using it on to make sure all four feet are co-planer otherwise we await the results. Welcome back to the world of 3DP.

Thanks. I know; the fully boxed lower frame was one thing I really love about the CR10 & my Tevo Tornado. I know the Ender 3 has a similar lower frame geometry, but I think the extrusion is larger. Plus, it doesn’t stand on stilts. I think worst case, I can add a bit of 8020 across the front, or even replace the front stilts with it to stiffen everything up if need be.

I know I’m just begging it to bludgeon me with this build; there’s a world of potential misery here. But it SHOULD keep me busy and not driving the wife nuts for a few days. 

mnem
*toddling off to ded*

[mnementh]

^~DING-DONG!!!~* At The Door...



...and the Amazon truck is already pulling away after dropping off a enigmatic brown box and baggie with pictures of Bezos' dong all over them. I see he's dropped the Amazon text from the logo now; just letting his dick do the talking... and he evidently feels this one is meatier than most.   

Guess I should be glad I got my order in when I did, with the freeze on "non-essential" goods just announced. Maybe I should order another couple spools of filament before they sell out...    And a scraper... and some aluminum angle... and some...

mnem
If y'all don't hear from me for a few days... just assume I fell down the 3DP rabbit-hole.

[mnementh]

Tinkering a little... overall, really impressed at what I got for ~US$205. Base came fully assembled; all I have to build is the horseshoe and the X-axis, and install the bed. Decent quality PSU, decent board, Trinamic drivers as promised, decent quality proper OpenBuilds-type V-slot extrusion, nice quality polyurethane rollers. The core components are all excellent quality, I'm impressed; most of the stamped parts are aluminum too, very little cheap steel. Where they cheaped out mostly is the hotend and extruder; parts people upgrade quickly anyways.

               

Cheapest Tronxy-quality Mk8 hotend, cheapest Ender3 clone plastic extruder that really isn't properly usable as-is. It uses a long M3 screw threaded loosely into the stepper motor as a pivot; no bushing, right on the threads.   SO wobble... much flop. 

I modded the thing with an extra-long M3 bolt with shoulder and clearance for a nut to give it something to tighten up against the base; it's much better now and I will try it to see if it works.

I've got a CNC dual-gear-drive extruder (supposedly the schizz for NinjaFlex, etc) on the way, along with a V6 hotend/SS tube and some silicone hotend socks. When I get a little further on the project, I'll post some more pics. 

mnem
*toddling off to ded*

[xrunner]

I've got a CNC dual-gear-drive extruder (supposedly the schizz for NinjaFlex, etc) on the way, along with a V6 hotend/SS tube and some silicone hotend socks. When I get a little further on the project, I'll post some more pics. 

There's some mixed reviews on that dual-drive extruder you have coming. It might work for you but I didn't buy one based on some of the reviews and problems. You may be able to make it work though.

Here's something good. I designed and printed my own style of dipole antenna end insulator last year. I made it out of white PLA specifically to see what would happen to it in a year long test. I took them down yesterday and replaced them with two newly printed ones.

But, I'm very impressed with how they stood up. They were out in full sun for a year and all summer in the 90 - 100 (F) temps and of course all weather that came. Under pulling stress, except for some dirt and rust from the wire clamps, there isn't any sign of stretching or cracking. I remember a guy telling me they wouldn't last because they would get hot and stretch in the sun, or be ruined by UV. Really impressive result.

The two I just replaced them with are going to stay up there for a long time. 

[beanflying]

So I debated weather to put this up or not as it may provide the wrong idea using it as 'the' protective device against CoV it is not! Take it for what it is a wearable faceshield that will assist in keeping airborne/aerosoled droplets away from your breathing and skin.

What I might build one for is workshop safety but using thin polycarbonate sheet for the shield as my old one is getting hard to see through and hot metal grindings in the Beard smell 

More than that if you have a need and can't get one due to a shortage roll your own. 2-3L Coke Bottle for the shield will work too as it is PETG.

[mnementh]

That's great... how the fuck do I get everybody out there to wear one so they can't sneeze their contagion ichor all up on me...?

mnem
*crawls off to ded*

[Monkeh]

Well, if they're sneezing at least it's not covid..

[mnementh]

               

Done with assembly and squaring things up; I can pull the Z-Axis up & down by hand smoothly, X-Axis runout from side-side against frame is ~0.10mm. 

Currently reviewing setup video to look for any gotchas; wanted to get this up real quick so I can do Father/Son time.

First Impressions: Really nice 4.3" color touchscreen; bright & fingerprint-resistant. Frame fab top-notch; clean cuts, clean drilling & countersinks, edges of holes chamfered and all flash/chips cleaned up before packing.    Teeny tiny 24V fans are EFFING LOUD.    Hopefully there's something I can configure so they don't run all-out with the thing just sitting there.

Mods done at time of assembly:

Mod extruder so clamp lever has a proper pivot instead of pivoting on threads of loose M3 screw

Zero-lash leadscrew nut & longer screws with nyloc nuts

5/16" SS ball bearing inside Z-axis coupler as thrust bearing

Robust strain reliefs at hotend, back of heated bed, back of X-Axis/Extruder

Cost so far:

US$205 Printer Kit

US$10  Zero-Lash Leadscrew Nut x 3

US$4   5/16 in SS Ball Bearing x 25 (Amazon add-on product)

US$7   Various nuts, screws, washers from local hardware

US$226 TOTAL

Upgrades not yet installed:

US$18   Dual-gear Extruder
US$11   V6 Heatblock, SS Tube & Silicone Heat Sock
US$11   24V/40W Ceramic Heater & 100K Thermistor x 5

US$40   Future Upgrades

Cheers,

mnem
*3DP-ily*

[xrunner]

Thanks for the pics. Did it come with the flexible coupler on the Z axis stepper? Nice touch if it did. I'm sure it'll work fine. Look forward to the 1st print ... 

[mnementh]

Yeah; it's the cheapest possible helical-cut version with set screws. Ender uses one with a single perpendicular cut; not a lot of flex there but obviously enough, just look at the results.



https://www.amazon.ca/BQLZR-Stepper-Flexible-Coupling-Connector/dp/B00EQ1Y1NG/

One of my usual first mods is to replace these cheapies with better slotted/self-centering clamp-type flex couplers, but I tried this one on the leadscrew and it appeared to center halfway decently, so I decided to at least give it a chance. I still put the 5/16 in ball inside as a thrust bearing; makes all the difference in the world for z-axis accuracy & consistency.

We'll see how she prints; I may still replace it, as it is a "not the best part" kindof thing that niggles at me.

mnem
*currently reviewing the setup video some more*

[Mr. Scram]

To be fair, it's probably not the best printer either. I'm curious how that pans out though!

[mnementh]

                     
   
1st off the plate (Isn't it just adorbs?)           2nd Off the plate; ran just long enough to see that it prints.


The file on the card only tells you it's a square; no dimensions or descriptive title. The square measures 40.7 x 40.8; so linearity is not too bad. Gonna guess it's a 40x40 stepped square, based on how it started. Most reviewers state that the files on the card "print okaaaay..." but that when they used a Ender 3 profile in their favorite slicer results were pretty excellent. Makes sense; it's a Ender 3 clone with a nice touchscreen. 

Q&A on Amazon reveals the following:

When new firmware is released where can we find them? I haven't been able to find a website for this printer
Answer:
This printer is a rebadged Alfawise U30 Pro/Longer LK4 Pro, and it is running modded Marlin 1.1.9. In Cura the Alphawise U30 dropdown works perfect. Looking up information under Longer LK4 Pro seems more available.

Tomorrow I'll start looking for info on these printers, then install Cura and get logged into Fusion360 again. Need to do a cal cube and some e-step cal unless the Ender 3 or Alfawise/Longer profiles resolve really well.

Here's the assembly vid:



mnem
 

[mnementh]

      

This pleases me...

Family (and TEA family on the Discord ) finally let me get away long enough to finish installing Fusion360 & Cura; this is the first actual print off the machine.

I'm using the Alfawise U30 profile built into Cura 4.5; I've done precisely ZERO tweaking of the model except to select fine .1mm LH. Really hard to get better than that stock out of the box; some "Elephant foot" distortion of the bottom few layers is responsible for the difference in the Z-axis. I'm printing another one sliced with bed at 50°C instead of the profile default 60°C; also releveled "a hair looser". What I can see has no such distortion; if it completes successfully, I'll start a benchy with the same settings before I toddle off to ded.

BTW... the TouchScreen UI is just... sweet. Everything you need to USE the thing, laid out in an intuitive fashion. Of course no command-line UI; if you want to tweak the Marlin FW you'll have to do it the hard way via serial. 

mnem
 

[beanflying]

Nice to see you using 'proper measurements' now you are in the Great White North and thanks for putting the numbers the right way up for those of down here 

[mnementh]

In all honesty... working as a mechanic, then as a engineer, then as a mechanic again... I've been thinking in metric for decades, all except for temp and travel distance. The change internally is incremental at best.

mnem
I can still "see" the difference between SAE & metric pitch threads, tho...