The 3d printing thread

[julesvapes]

It may start looking less attractive after weeks of trouble shooting and frustration



The early Deltas were better then some of the early sloppy cartesian 3D printer at curves and reduced shadowing but now we are at a point that cartesian printer sparse Deltas in all but speed (that's why you see significantly more cartesian style printers being made and sold, despite Deltas being cheaper to make).

Don't get me wrong there are some excellent and when you really know what you are doing you can build a very good printer for a low cost......just hard to recorded them as a first printer, rather then a second printer custom built for speed.

Also I have issues with automatic bed levelling.......I kind of think its better for people to learn to do it themselves rather then spend the same amount of time trying to get auto bed levelling to actually work.



Less weight on the X axis is a good thing for speed, but ghosting/ripple is a non issues if you get the slop out of the build by having the right tension on your belts and good bearings.

Where as Bowden extruder's have the disadvantage of introducing more play in the filament resulting in fluctuating values needed for optimal retraction and extrusion setting (something that can not be done on the fly, so you will never be able to have the optimal settings)

Then you have the fact that it reduces the types of filament you can actually print with over a direct system.

So the only real advantage of a Bowden is speed.

I would rather have a slower, ugly printer that lets me print higher quality with less messing around.

Yes resolution map means the printer is less accurate the more you move away from the centre, but there is no way to compensate for this with software as each step a stepper-motor makes is a fixed mechanical value that can be changed with software.



No problem, that's what the tread is for

Dammit! I may be stubborn but you have almost talked me out of a delta!

what would you recommend for a cartesian ? I would really prefer a kit, so if something does go wrong or i decide on upgrades later on I should at least have an idea of how to fix/upgrade it

 

[peps1]

Dammit! I may be stubborn but you have almost talked me out of a delta!

what would you recommend for a cartesian ? I would really prefer a kit, so if something does go wrong or i decide on upgrades later on I should at least have an idea of how to fix/upgrade it

The Original Prusa i3 kit Is very populer, but quite expensive (but they use all quality components).

There are a lot of people making a i3 printer and kits (think its now the most common 3D printer design out there, so a lot of support and user made upgrades) , so you can shop around, the key thing is not to buy a wood or acrylic variant.

For me the best printer for the money is still the WANHAO DUPLICATOR i3 its not a kit, but the all steel constitution is a huge bonus (I have one and love it) Just wish I had more time to actually use it!

 

[billy_idle]

Darn, I so want one of those! lol

 

[ax]

Ok, I think @peps1 has covered most of it here. If you've read through this, you'll know I run 3 printers, 1 heavily modified CTC, which I wouldn't recommend buying unless you're prepared to fork out the same again in price to get it printing correctly and 2 heavily upgraded Migbot Prusa i3s, these have Acrylic frames, which are OK, but the Y carriage in Acrylic is prone to a lot of vibration and wobble. I would definitely recommend looking at a Prusa i3 as a first printer, it's not a box, btw, it's a frame, ans stay away from the Delta until you understand how a 3D Printer works. Personally, if I'd seen this and had the knowledge I do now, I would have bought that over the CTC as my first printer. It's out of stock but I've come across them on eBay as weel. I'm actually considering getting one for home, for prototyping as it's a dead solid design that runs on V-Slot extrusion rather than rails, less flex etc. Yes the plate is small, but if you're just doing a few mods, then it'd be fine. Either that or if you're willing to spend a little more, get a Printrbot, you really can't fault them. They're basically build and go or unpack and go if you get a pre-built.

Auto Levelling - yeah, with @peps1 on this. Unless you want to be screwing around with firmware, you're better off getting without and you can add it on later if you want to. It took me about 3 weeks at least to get it right and if you don't have an even build plate it'll still screw up. There are work-arounds like I've done, printing on Glass with contact points for the inductive sensor, but it's not ideal. So, manual levelling first, then move on.

You're basically trying to run before you can walk. get a basic printer, screw the aesthetics for the moment and sit and learn. May sound harsh, but you'll thank both of us later on for it.

 

[hellgh0st]

Hey all ive found this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1075254 on Thingiverse, i have had my sx350j chip for a long time now and am desperate to get it in a dual 18650 mod, i have no 3d printer so how do i go about getting it printed out? There is a single 18650 version with 3d lettering on the batt cover wich would look great if anyone could mod the file, i am more than willing to contribute to potv or pay for time, materials ect cheers guys

 

[ax]

Hey all ive found this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1075254 on Thingiverse, i have had my sx350j chip for a long time now and am desperate to get it in a dual 18650 mod, i have no 3d printer so how do i go about getting it printed out? There is a single 18650 version with 3d lettering on the batt cover wich would look great if anyone could mod the file, i am more than willing to contribute to potv or pay for time, materials ect cheers guys

I'm set up for commercial printing, hence @sledzuk. Without any mods to the files, I charge £2 an hour printer time and filament costs. Any design or modification work is charged at £15/hour, however, if it's a 10-15 minute fix then it's free. The body alone is about a 10 hour print, to give you some sort of idea on the price, it needs to be printed slowly, due to details like screw holes and at a low layer height for the same reason, hence the time. Quite happy to throw a Prusa at the job, Material-wise, I'd be looking at ColorFaBB XT, as it's easier to print than ABS, and probably a lot better in the long run.

 

[julesvapes]

There are none so deaf as those that won't listen!

Ax and Pepsi

Thank you so much for your advice and I agree with everything you have said, but I am old and stubborn.


Yesterday I ordered a think3dprint3d mk2 kosssel and a roll of HDglass from form futura..

so I will update you on the build and progress. and I fully expect the told you so!

at least now I will be here as a voice of experience if anyone else has a delta crush!

 

[ax]

*facepalm* well, have fun with it.

 

[peps1]

There are none so deaf as those that won't listen!

Ax and Pepsi

Thank you so much for your advice and I agree with everything you have said, but I am old and stubborn.

Yesterday I ordered a think3dprint3d mk2 kosssel and a roll of HDglass from form futura..

so I will update you on the build and progress. and I fully expect the told you so!

at least now I will be here as a voice of experience if anyone else has a delta crush!

Well, the HDglass is good stuff!

Keep us posted on the Delta build, I think is nice that now we have a delta owner in the forum we can make fun off

 

[julesvapes]

Haha, I have thick skin! I look forward to being your entertainment for the next few months