To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

The Everything 3D Printer Thread

To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Dh3256

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 19, 2018
Messages
1,139
I’ve been looking to pick up a printer. Any suggestions of things to look for and stay away from?
I got my first printer about 6 months ago, so I am in a similar situation. I asked a lot of people for advice - local engineers, hobbyists, etc. - and everyone recommended the Bambu for beginners. They are low priced and work right out of the box. My A1 mini was $200 shipped and was printing 10 minutes after I got it, because I took 5 minutes to read the manual;). It sounds like most brands take at least a few hours to set up. FWIW, our print farm at work is also exclusively Bambu products.

There has been a lot of discussion and questionable claims about a recent firmware update. After a lot of research and digging, the concerns seem unfounded. They aren't stealing your files or anything like that, and you don't have to do the update or connect the printer to the network if you are concerned, the printer works fine without an internet connection.
 

slodat

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
3,679
Location
Central-ish, WA
I feel like I'm in bizarro world. Prusa has class-leading support as well as upgradability and amazing parts availability. Mine has around 90 print days on it and has been flawless. I have contacted Prusa support about questions and it has always been perfect. I honestly couldn't imagine better support. Which manufacturers have better support?
My XL is essentially an overgrown brick. When it works, it prints beautifully, and very slow. I added an enclosure and now it just fails mid print. This was a >$4k printer. Prusa's support is truly awful. They absolutely do not deserve the reputation their fanbois give them. At least not in my experience.
 

Jeff

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 10, 2009
Messages
2,706
Location
Sonova Beach
I got my first printer about 6 months ago, so I am in a similar situation. I asked a lot of people for advice - local engineers, hobbyists, etc. - and everyone recommended the Bambu for beginners. They are low priced and work right out of the box. My A1 mini was $200 shipped and was printing 10 minutes after I got it, because I took 5 minutes to read the manual;). It sounds like most brands take at least a few hours to set up. FWIW, our print farm at work is also exclusively Bambu products.

There has been a lot of discussion and questionable claims about a recent firmware update. After a lot of research and digging, the concerns seem unfounded. They aren't stealing your files or anything like that, and you don't have to do the update or connect the printer to the network if you are concerned, the printer works fine without an internet connection.
I was told before I went with Bambu that it was like comparing Apple products. Spendy, yes, but works damn well.

My Elegoo NP3's were only $149/ea. and I see why. Within 3 months I bought enough spare parts to build another machine.
 

ArcReactorKC

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2019
Messages
2,237
Location
Out in the county NE of KCMO
My XL is essentially an overgrown brick. When it works, it prints beautifully, and very slow. I added an enclosure and now it just fails mid print. This was a >$4k printer. Prusa's support is truly awful. They absolutely do not deserve the reputation their fanbois give them. At least not in my experience.
My XL's should be here basically anytime this week. I really didn't want to see this!
I need these printers to crank out parts consistently. They are 3 color TPU parts and the XL is basically the only "ready to print" machine available to do this. Because I'm using flexibles it pretty much requires a toolchanger.

I'm in the midst of building my own but it'll be at least 6 months to a year before it'll be reliable enough for production use.
 

Cruzan80

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 22, 2015
Messages
4,168
Location
Denver, CO
To be clear, I don't have an XL, just repeating what I have heard from others. If people on here have a different experience, please feel free to chime in. Not trying to be an echo chamber.
 

JHForman

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
111
Location
Floyds Knobs
Ok ill play along. I had to learn freecad to do this so there was some learning involved. Once I had a decent understanding of freecad, I bought a printer(Qidi Plus4). these are printed out of asa, they are mounts for putting quad Bi-LED lights in my cat eye. I lot of tweaking was needed from my first design. I also designed back caps that dont require any cutting of the core support. These are printed from ASA

IMG_4153.jpg

I need to figure out how to make the suface look better under supports and im all ears if anyone has input on this.
IMG_4309.jpg

IMG_4311.jpg

and the money shot everyone always wants.
IMG_4133.jpg
 

sh944

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Jan 1, 2014
Messages
291
Location
Linwood, KS
Very nice work! Try changing the line height when you slice it, it looks like you used .2 mm height. Make it .12 mm and see if that fixes that corner transition.

I am assuming you are using QIDI Print for the slicer, make sure you have the latest version or consider Orcaslicer. I’ve used both with my QIDI X-Plus, QIDI is fine but Orca gives a bit more control.

Others may have better advice as there is real world talent in this forum.
 

JHForman

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
111
Location
Floyds Knobs
Very nice work! Try changing the line height when you slice it, it looks like you used .2 mm height. Make it .12 mm and see if that fixes that corner transition.

I am assuming you are using QIDI Print for the slicer, make sure you have the latest version or consider Orcaslicer. I’ve used both with my QIDI X-Plus, QIDI is fine but Orca gives a bit more control.

Others may have better advice as there is real world talent in this forum.
I am using the stock slicer that came with it, the more I read/learn and talk to people it seems there are better options. I’ll definitely try the layer height, I’m at the standard .2 still because I don’t know what all does what lol. Thank you for the help! I’ll report back when I run another set!
 

Jeff

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 10, 2009
Messages
2,706
Location
Sonova Beach
Gentlemen,

This is affecting all sites that offer 3D print files (Printables, MakerWorld, Thangs, Cults etc).

Models are being pulled for copyright violations. A good source said that Lego was checking all files on MW recently. My d/l page on MW shows 37 pulled models. Other companies are following suit. Models that you may have 'liked' before are gone. No more downloads on those.

In the future, if you can, download files when you see them. They might not be there when you come back.
 

JHForman

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
111
Location
Floyds Knobs
Gentlemen,

This is affecting all sites that offer 3D print files (Printables, MakerWorld, Thangs, Cults etc).

Models are being pulled for copyright violations. A good source said that Lego was checking all files on MW recently. My d/l page on MW shows 37 pulled models. Other companies are following suit. Models that you may have 'liked' before are gone. No more downloads on those.

In the future, if you can, download files when you see them. They might not be there when you come back.
lol we gonna have a piratebay for stl soon
 

jayz66ragtop

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 11, 2009
Messages
1,521
Location
SoCal
Gentlemen,

This is affecting all sites that offer 3D print files (Printables, MakerWorld, Thangs, Cults etc).

Models are being pulled for copyright violations. A good source said that Lego was checking all files on MW recently. My d/l page on MW shows 37 pulled models. Other companies are following suit. Models that you may have 'liked' before are gone. No more downloads on those.

In the future, if you can, download files when you see them. They might not be there when you come back.
I've been waiting for this to be an issue. Since I first started researching downloadable 3D print files I created a folder on my file server and download everything to there. Makes it much easier to find and print something, I have so much stuff "staged" just in case I decided maybe it is a good idea to print it. I have over 100GB of "just in case" files.
 

86turbodsl

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 1, 2005
Messages
6,554
Location
Michigan
Like was mentioned, private / pirate file servers will get to be a thing. Copyright violations is a stretch. I'm sure somebody took the time to model the part to solve some problem they had. Like patents, you are allowed to make something for your own use.
 

draco_1967

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
Messages
205
Location
Utah
The cheap plastic tensioners on my cheap Hobart welding helmet snapped a while ago. I finally took a few minutes to measure up and model a replacement setup so my helmet is fully functional again! This was my first time imbedding hardware, and I'm pleased to say that my first design worked without any tweaking!

486AYqEUrfZSccPZAG9y2DwjpIkuTeyINlSHamDubBluj=w600.jpg
c_DPJogpaEPs1YS4EhUCUhX4wyx3gcfAqT7nydqRhLcVL=w600.jpg
GYZOoignCjy2r0gXS7mtYOPdRdsxEvCYXPm3dhCWs-2Ec=w600.jpg
 

JackOfDiamonds

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
706
Location
Idaho (USA)
The cheap plastic tensioners on my cheap Hobart welding helmet snapped a while ago. I finally took a few minutes to measure up and model a replacement setup so my helmet is fully functional again! This was my first time imbedding hardware, and I'm pleased to say that my first design worked without any tweaking!

Embedding hardware is fine, but definitely look into heat-set inserts. It's very easy to just model a round hole and stick in a heat-set insert. It's an essential upgrade to your 3D printing setup IMO. You can also fit heat-set inserts places a nut won't fit.

1747933919332.png

I often model fastener holes on-size of the fastener for prototyping. The fasteners will still screw into the plastic enough to test the designs. Then then when I have a final version, enlarge the holes slightly and put the heat-set inserts in the final design.
 

sh944

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Jan 1, 2014
Messages
291
Location
Linwood, KS
For anyone wanting a Strap-on logo, dm me and I'll shoot it to you. If I can find a decent public host to use, I'll post it there. Otherwsie, there are plenty of versions out there if you search for them. I found one and made a few tweaks to it, but I can't claim credit for coming up with the idea and I'm not sure who did, or I would give them the nod.
 
Last edited:
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Bodj Built

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2016
Messages
1,165
Location
Moorpark, CA
Buddy of mine gave me this 3D makerpro scanner.
I think it’s the Deluxe version because it comes with a bunch of accessories…
I’d like to try to use it to scan some pistol grips I’d like to modify and 3d print..
Anyone used one, got any advice?
IMG_4146.jpeg

IMG_4147.jpeg

I don't have experience with that scanner in particular, but I hope you find it easier to model/modify organic shapes than I did. Geometric stuff isn't too bad, though.
 

ArcReactorKC

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2019
Messages
2,237
Location
Out in the county NE of KCMO
We don't have enough shelving in the bathroom... Well that's because it's a comically small space compared to the rest of the house, but we do have non-insulated stud space between the bathroom and the linen closet.
A 350x350 bed is just big enough to print this in two pieces. Used the m18 oscillating tool and cut a rectangle out exposing the space and slid this in. 4 screws into the adjacent studs and voila. Actual single piece is 345x647x156mm.

1748354101880.png
 

gtae07

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2015
Messages
2,962
Location
Fayetteville, GA
No pics but I finally put the printer to an actual use... I did a lithium battery swap on the golf cart and printed up mounts for the 12V disconnect switch and the new voltage display. The left side of both prints (looking at the printer) lifted up slightly and I don't (yet) know why, but the parts are usable and both fit on the first try.
 

loganb

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
5,500
Location
Omaha, NE
No pics but I finally put the printer to an actual use... I did a lithium battery swap on the golf cart and printed up mounts for the 12V disconnect switch and the new voltage display. The left side of both prints (looking at the printer) lifted up slightly and I don't (yet) know why, but the parts are usable and both fit on the first try.

Picture of the part and what material did you print them in?
 

Bessy

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
Messages
992
Location
Ontario, Canada
I've got approximately 20-24 Akron 62009 4' LED shop lights that I've moved twice. The first two shops they were in they hung on chains from the ceiling, which works ok, but the cords always seemed to affect each light's ability to hang straight. I got into 3d printing not that long after buying these lights and always said I would eventually print some clips to allow me to screw the fixtures right to the rafters. Well yesterday I finally did it.

V1 just flat to enable near flush mounting to the ceiling.
1000022902.jpg

V2 I added a 15 degree wedge to the profile for mounting under the loft area that runs the depth of our garage along the east wall. This way they aim slightly towards the wall and light up the saw and hardware drawers better.
1000022903.jpg
The V2s are on the printer right now (approx 55 mins per at 100% infill). I need ten of that style then probably another 30 or so of the flat style so that I can get some temporary lighting in the laundry room and some more task specific lighting in the garage.

I'm already thinking up V3 which could incorporate a slot-in feature for lights that you only need occasionally. Use case for those would be for buffing the hull of the boat, when you want wall mounted lights to ensure an even finish.
 

Bessy

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
Messages
992
Location
Ontario, Canada
Another small print off the printer today, this time to connect the portable table saw to the Fein dust extractor. I made it too long, but since it was another 100% infill print, I just trimmed off the excess on the bandsaw.

I really need to go back through my photos and notes and figure out which other prints I have been thinking about but not completing. Rather than sitting idle, I'd prefer the printers running consistently if I don't have to screw with them too much in between.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom