3D Printer yet?

[HobGoblyn]

Thanks all. I'm stopping looking now, I agree with Mr Scram, there's always something just a few £ more that turns out costing a lot more and it's never ending.

Ender 3 Pro it is.

Any filament suppliers in the UK that someone can recommend would be appreciated.   

Thanks for everyone's advice, much appreciated.

[mnementh]

Today I saw on reddit a filament jam detection sensor.  https://reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/gifx5s/a_clog_detector_all_files_available/  Ingenius, why don't the printers have this yet?

That is ingenious... can a clog cause any kind of catastrophic failure that could occur in the 7-minute window?

Catastrophic, maybe not. Needs fixing, definitely.

To babysit the printer continuously with a camera is silly. Have some ai do that.

The Spaghetti Detective works nice.

The ideal home single-extruder printer I guess would have:
- Silence.
- Camera with spaghetti detective.
- Filament feedrate sensor.
- Automatic leveling.
- Cabinet with filter for abs.
- Automatic nozzle cleaning

Dude... you're gonna give the poor guy a fucking coronary just reading the BOM on all that.  Entry-level... baby steps.

Agreed, that would be an awesome rig... but that setup is a LOT of fettling, on top of the recreational fettling we're already doing. I was offering a cheap, easy, 30-second solution, so a body could get on with their life and get started with a 3DP. Not like the nanny-cam wouldn't have value elsewhere (heck, he might already have one); everybody should have one. I use mine all the time for stuff that is NOT watching the kids. 

mnem

[mnementh]

I presume the Pro version is worth the extra £55? Amazon UK has pro for £299 and non pro for £245

Fer sherr worth it. If you have a raging nerd-boner to get something ordered NOW, then the E3 Pro is your best bang/buck. If you can bear to wait, E3V2 or the CR6-SE if a little more volume is needed (220x220x250 vs 235x235x250).

mnem
 

[mnementh]

Will order the following  in about 3 hours unless someone tells me I shouldn't

£14 Vibration Damper 

£40  SKR Mini E3

Cheapest Pro I've found on Amazon is £270 Here

Total cost £324.  Plus the cost of a fan which I will get once it's arrived and I've looked into it more.

Advice on good filament so I can order some at the same time much appreciated.

Thanks  (will also look at other UK stockists to see if they have printer cheaper)

      These "vibration dampers" are NOT intended for that purpose; they are CNC manufacturing hardware that the 3DP community has completely misunderstood the purpose of. It was invented to provide self-alignment functionality on stepper motors with 1-piece integral leadscrew. If used with a flex coupler, it allows the entire assembly to deflect under load, causing lost precision & repeatability and the ringing Jeroen3 referred to. Plus, they really make very little difference in noise factor on a properly set up linear actuator.

There's a reason CReality uses a solid coupler with just a slot to allow a few microns of flex; that is all that is needed, and it keeps the layer accuracy/repeatability very high. Adding those rubber mounts will only serve to defeat that design, while also adding offset that you'll have to adjust for.

The Trinamic drivers (and correctly setting the drive current) are really all that is needed to quiet the steppers to a very family-friendly level; where you're going to have noise issues is with the fans. They are NOT family-friendly, especially the 30mm hotend fan.

If you're going to spend the money on a new controller, get the touchscreen too; it'll never be cheaper than in the bundle. For everyday use, it is just SO much more civilized.

That one should have a 64x128 emulation mode, so you CAN still have the old familiar UI if you need to add display items in the firmware.

Cheers,

mnem
 

[mnementh]

Thanks all. I'm stopping looking now, I agree with Mr Scram, there's always something just a few £ more that turns out costing a lot more and it's never ending.

Ender 3 Pro it is.

Any filament suppliers in the UK that someone can recommend would be appreciated.   

Thanks for everyone's advice, much appreciated.

When I first started out, everybody recommended HatchBox or eSUN or NinjaFlex TPU. (It got to be a joke; seemed every third person recommended NF, even tho I was ONLY interested in printing PLA at the time  ). eSun had some QC issues, and lost that widespread recommendation for a while.

Since I got back into 3DP, I've mostly been using Amazon brand PLA. Fair price, next day delivery (same day in some areas), and consistently decent quality. Pretty sure it's relabeled eSun or another major label.

My last order was 3D Solutech Real Black because black was out of stock in the Amazon brand. So far, zero issues. Good adhesion, good dimensional accuracy, pretty forgiving of improperly configured hotend (from my hybrid hotend experiments) and decent price, all with Amazon Prime delivery.

Here's ALL3DP's latest roundup: https://all3dp.com/1/best-pla-filament/

mnem
moo?

[xrunner]

There's lots of good filament out there but I can personally vouch for Atomic PLA -

https://atomicfilament.com/

Ordered 4 rolls to try it at first (red, blue, white, black) and then a month later four more rolls of their other colors. 


Definitely the best filament I've tried to date. 

[HobGoblyn]

Many thanks.

Vibration dampers now out.

Now buying this

The one Ender 3 pro in stock earlier for £270 has now sold. Next cheapest is £280.

So £280 + £72 = £352 and will be here Monday.  I'm happy with that.

Going to place the order in about an hour, so if anyone can think of anything I've missed, jump in quick

A few youtube vids upgraded the Extruder.   It only costs £12 for this, so unless someone responds before my order, I'll probably order that too.

[mnementh]

Noooooo!!!

Get the real LATEST genuine CREALITY one; it's silver and has the CREALITY logo on it. Gimme a sec to find a link.

   Here's the one I bought: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B081R1G4S7/

Here's WHY: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/3d-printer-yet/msg3032618/?topicseen#msg3032618

And here it is (Only $11) on the CREALITY Global Store: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33053947774.html

   Or, you can look into one of the CNC clone BMG ones: I've drooled over them, but I cannot speak to their quality: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33013818755.html

mnem
 

[HobGoblyn]

I cant seem to find the official one anywhere in the UK. But I wont buy the red one.

Thanks

[mnementh]

You're welcome.

Here it is (Only $11) on the CREALITY Global Store: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33053947774.html

There's no need to be in a hurry to upgrade; everyone I know who has done so usually uses the stock one for a while, then upgrades when the drive cog gets worn.

mnem
 

[HobGoblyn]

Found it on AliExpress here

Never used AliExpress, was going to a few weeks ago but their payment page wasn't secure. Will see what it's like now

Edit: Great minds think alike

[Monkeh]

eSun filament off Amazon is decent enough (although the red PLA+ I've got here is snapping from its own tension when left loaded, which I've not observed with other filaments). Prima is also okay. Ooznest sell excellent filaments IME, they're made by MCPP, formerly known as Dutch Filaments. You can order filament from Prusa (*flamesuit*), which is excellent, but the delivery makes the price slightly less attractive. Atomic do not ship outside US/Canada (but it's nice stuff - the owner's a little prickly though).

I would advise leaving the extruder alone until ready to upgrade to something geared down and preferably dual drive - an E3D Titan (or clone thereof) or a Bondtech BMG (or clone thereof). Messing with it prior to making a real upgrade seems senseless. Obviously mnem is going to reject both for using plastic parts - but the only reason they make the alu ones is for use in high temperature enclosures..

[mnementh]

Not so... it is NOT a mission-critical load-bearing chassis component, and I understand the BMD uses glas-reinforced plastic just like the one on the E3V2. But the price, when there's simply gorgeous CNC clones out there that get good reviews for ~$20 bux...

And remember, the reason I didn't want to go with one of those is still valid: Keeping the OEM geometry (The CNC one is a drop-in replacement) so I don't have to dive into software hell (for ME) by re-calibrating my extrusion... YET. I'm working on it... I'll get there. And when I'm ready, I'll install my dual-drive extruder.  Please, have mercy...

And if you notice, I just advised the same... no need to be in a rush to upgrade. 

mnem
 

[Mr. Scram]

Many thanks.

Vibration dampers now out.

Now buying this

The one Ender 3 pro in stock earlier for £270 has now sold. Next cheapest is £280.

So £280 + £72 = £352 and will be here Monday.  I'm happy with that.

Going to place the order in about an hour, so if anyone can think of anything I've missed, jump in quick

A few youtube vids upgraded the Extruder.   It only costs £12 for this, so unless someone responds before my order, I'll probably order that too.

Just start printing without worrying about upgrades too much. Figuring out what you need and why is a valuable lesson on its own. The stock Ender 3 Pro holds its own so just get printing. No need to rush. Get some filament and get cracking.

[mnementh]

Found it on AliExpress here

Never used AliExpress, was going to a few weeks ago but their payment page wasn't secure. Will see what it's like now

Edit: Great minds think alike

AliEx does business strangely; it's true. But I've bought oodles from them and their system does allow you to get your money back if what arrives is utter bunge. If you're really concerned, use PayPal or a PayPal credit card; that way you have them as a second layer of protection. For non-eBay purchases, Paypal Protection is 6 months.

The reason I recommend this one is: It categorically resolves the "moving Bowden tube" issue and related extrusion problems that CAN affect the stock E3. These are almost NEVER a game-stopper, however. 2nd reason: The E3 firmware and most slicer profiles for the E3 are pretty well calibrated to that OEM extruder. The CReality CNC extruder is a drop-in replacement that does not alter the geometry, therefore does not REQUIRE you to re-calibrate your extrusion. One less headache when you're just getting your footing. 

Bottom line; get you some filament, follow the CReality destructions and print a few things. THAT is how you get to where you know what YOU need.

mnem
 

[HobGoblyn]

Many thanks to everyone for all your help.

Ender 3 Pro will be here by Monday

I struggled to find any of the recommended filament in stock in the UK, so being impatient and wanting some for when my printer arrives, I've taken a gamble and ordered two rolls of  amz3d, one in black, the other Grey.  If anyone knows this was a bad choice, I can cancel and order something else and still get it here by Monday.

Many thanks all

[beanflying]

Apart from a couple of rolls of Branded PLA+ I have been buying generic evilbay PLA with very decent results across several different looking spools so I assume several Chinese manufacturers. Post opening storage is important regardless of brand so some extra or dried desiccant bags and heatseal if possible.

The thing you might want to add if you don't have a set is some digital verniers (buy them anyway!) and just do a check of the actual diameter from roll to roll. It has been about the only tweak required on the slicer between rolls and generally sitting from 1.68 to 1.73mm if you don't change it under extrusion can be seen. Most are over the 1.7 so the variation is very minor.

[tom66]

I'm finding my Anet A8 Plus a reasonable printer.  I received it as Christmas gift from my family, which was unexpected, so this review is made without considering price too much.

Biggest complaints are the bed size is too big for what I need, which has made finding PEI sheets for it a pain.  The glass print surface is a real pain to print PLA on.  I don't like PLA that much for printing though.

Print quality is pretty good once all belts well tightened and bearings lubricated. Original Y-axis bearing failed after 3 months printer usage causing failed 8 hour print    But after lubricating the bearings all seems well. 

Bed heater could be more powerful for its size: takes quite some time to get to 85C (at least 15 minutes) and is operating near 90% duty at this point, so max temp is probably 95C.  This means some will struggle with high temperature filaments that need 100C+ bed temperatures.  I am considering adjusting the PSU to 28V output, to improve bed heating time.  The current PSU has 50% overhead in its power rating, though it is a Chinese special so its 360W rating (and non-PFC nature) are somewhat dubious.

Controller already fried when I accidentally shorted 24V to the thermistor for the extruder. AVR did not survive (perhaps unsurprisingly, although only the ADC part was defective) but that was not too hard to replace. The microSD slot has broken (not retaining card any more) after 100+ ejection/insertion cycles, so that needs to be repaired.

My overall experience is that I much prefer PETG filament, I find PLA to be too difficult bed adhesion wise without assistance (e.g. gluing or super hot bed temperatures).  PETG almost adheres too well, but I've had very few prints fail with it once everything is well adjusted.  The worst thing about PETG is the stringiness, which I've managed to minimise but not completely eliminate.  Some brief post-processing with a hot air gun and a set of files deals with these well enough.

[beanflying]

Count yourself lucky YOU fried the controller rather than this  https://www.google.com/search?q=Anet+A8+fire&rlz=1C1CHBF_enAU858AU858&sxsrf=ALeKk03IkHsMu-XoXb32fD1OTPiswZdHmQ:1589542393132&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj7uMrt4rXpAhUzyzgGHXxGDoQQ_AUoAXoECA0QAw&biw=1542&bih=1000

Much as I appreciate it was a gift  there is a limit to where you can drive a price down to before it becomes a problem. If you refitted a stock controller and firmware look around youtube for a thermal runaway fix at least

[tom66]

I've checked and my Anet A8 Plus has the thermal runaway enabled in the firmware.  I tried a number of scenarios including slowly loosening the thermistor and heater from the block to see what the firmware would do.  In all cases, it eventually timed out with a thermal runaway or heating failed fault, within 5 minutes or less.  The watchdog is also enabled; I have managed to "crash" the printer by e.g. removing the SD card or sending it invalid commands, and it safely resets back to the home screen (not great if your print fails, but it won't burn your home down.)

I'm not so worried about the heated bed failing because if that went to 100% duty, the bed would only reach around 100C - likely to damage something but unlikely to start a fire. 

[Jeroen3]

Quality Checked.

[mnementh]

D'OH! 

mnem
XT60 time.

[Nuno_pt]

  

[mnementh]

https://www.slm-solutions.com/en/products/machines/slm500/

I have actually fabbed a similar geometry intake from aluminum sheet & tube. This is DEF prettier, and less manual labor... I think. But not so sure about cost or time; took me 2 1/2 days to make at a cost of ~$600, including about $220 worth of ready-made injector & port flanges rather than turning/milling them by hand.

mnem
 

[Mr. Scram]

https://www.slm-solutions.com/en/products/machines/slm500/

I have actually fabbed a similar geometry intake from aluminum sheet & tube. This is DEF prettier, and less manual labor... I think. But not so sure about cost or time; took me 2 1/2 days to make at a cost of ~$600, including about $220 worth of ready-made injector & port flanges rather than turning/milling them by hand.

mnem
 

The part in the video looks more like a demo project than something that would typically be printed. Parts are generally printed for specific reasons. When you need highly intricate geometry traditional processes can't do well or you need low volume part, especially when dimensional accuracy is important. Examples would be rocket engine nozzles and classic car part reproductions.

Both metal and plastic printing tend to fill niches traditional processes don't quite cover. It's crazy we can print full strength titanium parts with highly optimized geometries but you don't want to know what it costs. Plastic printers are attractive because they can do low volume prints for comparatively little money. Compared to injection moulding each part is ridiculously expensive though, although compared to metal printing the cost is obviously very reasonable.