The Everything 3D Printer Thread
- Thread starter BoilermakerFan
- Start date
I bought an Anet A8 3d printer. I read a little here and got inspired to put it together 
So I spent the past few days putting it together. Not completely done but it was a pretty tedious process. I am probably 90%. Need to clean up the wires and then fire that baby up! Im getting excited.
So I spent the past few days putting it together. Not completely done but it was a pretty tedious process. I am probably 90%. Need to clean up the wires and then fire that baby up! Im getting excited.Stea1thNinja
Member
I have been super happy with my CR-10 and would definitely recommend it for a first machine. If you are looking to build the Voron and Hypercube are good options to consider.
OP
BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
OP
BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
Sweet! Your first post on GJ and it's in the 3D printer thread.
Welcome Stea1thNija!
I'm seriously considering picking up a CR-10 just to see if i can get it to print PET-G well enough to print the parts for my RC II. I can always donate it to my son's school if it doesn't.
Stea1thNinja
Member
PETG took a bit to get figured out but the CR-10 does it well. I had problems with the corners of PETG prints lifting when I first started. The cheap 12” x 12” mirrors from Lowe’s covered with hairspray work amazing. When hot the PETG sticks so well you will break the glass pulling parts off but adter it cools they fall right off.
NakeDiesel
Well-known member
I'm finally getting serious about a 3d printer now that one of the kids moved out of the house and I now have a big office instead of the little area I had. I didn't want something like this out in my dirty shop where I weld, paint, wood work, etc...
Trying to decide on a Prusa i3 MK3 kit and getting on the list to get the MMU 2.0 upgrade for multi materials. Or going the Crealty CR 10s S5 route with the 400 cubed or 500 cubed bed.
I like what I've read about both, this will be my first printer and only printer probably for quite a while so I want to get as much printer as I can. Leaning heavily towards the Prusa right now.
Has anyone experience with both? What are the bad's of either? Is there another printer I should look at besides these two?
Thanks in advance.
Trying to decide on a Prusa i3 MK3 kit and getting on the list to get the MMU 2.0 upgrade for multi materials. Or going the Crealty CR 10s S5 route with the 400 cubed or 500 cubed bed.
I like what I've read about both, this will be my first printer and only printer probably for quite a while so I want to get as much printer as I can. Leaning heavily towards the Prusa right now.
Has anyone experience with both? What are the bad's of either? Is there another printer I should look at besides these two?
Thanks in advance.
I have both a Prusa and a CR10. Along with an Anet A8 and an Ender 3.
While Prusa makes a fine printer they are somewhat pricey per 3^mm. A creality printer will serve you well and get you fantastic bang for the buck.
Personally I have two printers with ABL and am starting to dislike it. My regular printers with flat glass beds rarely need adjustment.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
While Prusa makes a fine printer they are somewhat pricey per 3^mm. A creality printer will serve you well and get you fantastic bang for the buck.
Personally I have two printers with ABL and am starting to dislike it. My regular printers with flat glass beds rarely need adjustment.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
NakeDiesel
Well-known member
I bought a Prusia i3 MK3 back in October and ordered the MMU 2.0 upgrade for it as well. Built the printer last month and ran into issues after calibrating it with getting test prints to stick on the bed. After playing with it finally this week I was able to re calibrate it and bumped up the bed temp to 70 degrees and haven't had issues with layers not adhering to it. Cleaning the bed in between prints with iopropal alcohol. Was on vacation this week for Turkey day and gotten to play with it quite a bit. Did some large prints as well. The first skull I did evidently had an issue in the gcode or slicer portion as a ways up, it got off for a bit and then corrected itself later on. I finished the print out (36 hours) and cleaned it up and it looks decent without that section that was off in it. Printed my wife a skull planter and now printing a batch of 6 half tracks for the fun of it. Really just figuring out the printer and settings and how the tool works for converting stl files to printable gcode. My 2 year old granddaughter loved the whistle I printed for her, not sure anyone else did...
Was also looking at getting a 3d printer for home now that I have the space. Its just hard to take the leap back from the Fortus 400C I used to play with at my old work. It looks like the Prusia i3 MK3 might be fun to tinker with.
I love the idea of mounting them in Ikea cabinets.
I love the idea of mounting them in Ikea cabinets.
This is my Wanhao i3 setup
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zhaddock
Well-known member
I have an A8 and an Ender 3. I know there's a lot of A8 fans out there but the Ender 3 is so much better in quality of construction than the A8. In fact I plan on parting out my A8 to build a mini cnc router. The $200 Ender 3 printed better strait out of the box than the >$3500 3D printer we have at work.
Jehannum
Well-known member
I also have an Ender 3, but it's a bit of a Ship of Theseus at this point - I think the only things original on it are the bed mounts and Melzi board inside.
FWIW, I've been super happy with the projects I've done on it - glass bed, rail conversion, motor dampers, E3D extruder, Marlin firmware upgrade, and all the usual small things like printed ducting, storage, and whatnot.
Jehannum
Well-known member
Last weekend I added the BLTouch bed level sensor to my Ender 3, because that was one of the biggest issues that kept my kids from using it effectively.
Now I'm at almost the limit of what the little Sanguino can do, but I might still do some stability upgrades like a dual Z axis (belt driven, not dual motor, the board doesn't have the capacity to run dual Z motors).
Now I'm at almost the limit of what the little Sanguino can do, but I might still do some stability upgrades like a dual Z axis (belt driven, not dual motor, the board doesn't have the capacity to run dual Z motors).
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Injected65
Active member
I have been looking at the Ender 3 lately. I can't convince the boss to buy a printer at work, so he agreed that I can buy one and use it here. I have a feeling that once he sees the usefulness of it on prototyping that I will be able to convince him to buy something with a bigger build volume (like a CR-10s would be about right) and I will take the Ender 3 home.
Jehannum
Well-known member
It's a fine printer and I like mine, but it ends up being the sort of thing you buy that gets you just far enough that you realize what you're missing.
That said, here's a fun project I did with it for Fathers' day last summer, running a full -6 fuel system for my 1967 Pontiac GTO.
My son welded and powdercoated the brackets that we installed under the car to retain the lines.
full album
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NakeDiesel
Well-known member
Been having a lot of fun printing things on my MK3 and learning to use Fusion 360 from autocad to create a few things.
First project on Fusion 360 was to create the American Legion logo. Printed a big one and then a bunch of coin sized ones playing with the slicer tool and doing filament changes at levels to add effects.
I've printed a few skulls for people and that helped pay for a couple of spools of filament and printed a pink flamingo for a cousin. First one I've printed that I cut it and printed it in pieces and then glued it together. She loved it. Did a 3d Deer skull with separately printed antlers in copper, was a hit during dirty Santa at the family get together.
Had a chili cook-off at the legion this past weekend and I created and printed the trophies for it as well.
Messed up the levels for color change on this one, was supposed to be black background, orange border and upper and lower letters in orange and center letters in white.
part of the 3d model I created for the trophies for the chili cook-off
First project on Fusion 360 was to create the American Legion logo. Printed a big one and then a bunch of coin sized ones playing with the slicer tool and doing filament changes at levels to add effects.
I've printed a few skulls for people and that helped pay for a couple of spools of filament and printed a pink flamingo for a cousin. First one I've printed that I cut it and printed it in pieces and then glued it together. She loved it. Did a 3d Deer skull with separately printed antlers in copper, was a hit during dirty Santa at the family get together.
Had a chili cook-off at the legion this past weekend and I created and printed the trophies for it as well.
Messed up the levels for color change on this one, was supposed to be black background, orange border and upper and lower letters in orange and center letters in white.
part of the 3d model I created for the trophies for the chili cook-off
PCMusicGuy
Well-known member
Nate, what slicer are you using? What are settings you used to print that skull, and which filament?
NakeDiesel
Well-known member
I'm using Slic3r Prusa Edition 1.41.1+win64. I'm using 1.75mm pla, both the stuff I bought from Prusa when I ordered the printer as well as eSun that I've bought off of Amazon for some different colors I needed. Printed Brim, outside supports and used a fill density of 15% on the skulls. I ran into issues when I didn't use a fill density on the inside of the skulls with the bottom of the eye sockets not printing right.
garandman
Well-known member
Started in the 3D Printer business in 1989. Ran one of the largest Stratasys dealers from 2005-2016 when we sold the company. We’d delivered roughly $10 million worth of machines and made thousands of parts. Most were ABS but we also printed aerospace parts in ULTEM, polycarbonate, and they now have a carbon-fiber reinforced nylon machine.
Have three MakerBots we almost never use - one is still in the box. In the garage we have a Stratasys uPrint + which will print ABS up to 8”x8”x6” high. Because it has a heated build chamber you can actually make parts that size.
Also have SOLIDWORKS and a 3D scanner.
Have three MakerBots we almost never use - one is still in the box. In the garage we have a Stratasys uPrint + which will print ABS up to 8”x8”x6” high. Because it has a heated build chamber you can actually make parts that size.
Also have SOLIDWORKS and a 3D scanner.
freudianfloyd
Well-known member
I mentioned in another post that I finally got a 3d printer. My wife got me the Ender 3. After some trial and error I got it running great. I have been printing socket organizers for the past few days, and recently printed this Shockwave stabilizing brace for an AR pistol build I'm working on. It turned out almost perfect.
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Also printed some wrench rails.
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Also printed some wrench rails.
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freudianfloyd
Well-known member
Printed this key-mod angled foregrip a few weeks ago at work.
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BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
So... any plans to start using the MakerBots? If not,send me a PM.
I bought a Prusia i3 MK3 back in October and ordered the MMU 2.0 upgrade for it as well. Built the printer last month and ran into issues after calibrating it with getting test prints to stick on the bed. After playing with it finally this week I was able to re calibrate it and bumped up the bed temp to 70 degrees and haven't had issues with layers not adhering to it. Cleaning the bed in between prints with iopropal alcohol. Was on vacation this week for Turkey day and gotten to play with it quite a bit. Did some large prints as well. The first skull I did evidently had an issue in the gcode or slicer portion as a ways up, it got off for a bit and then corrected itself later on. I finished the print out (36 hours) and cleaned it up and it looks decent without that section that was off in it. Printed my wife a skull planter and now printing a batch of 6 half tracks for the fun of it. Really just figuring out the printer and settings and how the tool works for converting stl files to printable gcode. My 2 year old granddaughter loved the whistle I printed for her, not sure anyone else did...
You have the smooth PEI bed, correct? Are you using glue stick now? I have a Prusa Mk2 and have rarely had a FLA issue with PLA with glue stick. My PETG didn't bond at all so my last attempt to get it to print on my MK2 will be AquaNet hairspray.
I'm going to buy the full MK3 upgrade kit so I can use all the parts off my Mk2 to upgrade a GeeeTech i3 clone that is a POS with a lot of issues, the main one being that the extruder is supposedly for 1.75mm filament, but it has 3mm drive gears, but they are not in the correct place for actual 3mm filament and the opening in the top with the PTFE tube is only 2mm. Anyway, once I have my Mk3 upgrade, the GT i3 gets upgraded to mostly genuine Prusa parts and the GT will be donated to my son's STEM middle school.
The middle school just got a high end MakerBot. They had an old small 100mm*3 3D printer that quit working and the parts for it are NLA, even from the manufacturer... I'm going to see if they still have it so I can build a new machine from the parts for them and give it back.
The big RailCoreII 300ZLT (300x300x600) BOM, side panel dwg, and Fusion360 model has finally been released! So after the Mk3 Upgrade I can finally start printing parts for the RCII 300ZLT!
After that is done I'm undecided what my plan is for the Prusa Mk3. A friend borrowed his school's MK2 to print organizers for his Twilight Imperium 4thEd. game and got hooked on 3D printing. He's interested in buying my MK3 after I have the 300ZLT up and running. I'll probably sell it to him if he matches what I'd get from the tax write off of donating it to the middle school. The other thing I might consider is going to a smaller nozzle in the MK3 and printing miniatures, but TBH, I can do the same thing with a MonoPrice printer for less than $200, so it makes more sense to sell it.
My son is doing his science fair project around 3D printing. Specifically, he is testing the infill pattern strengths to crushing or compression loads. We're printing five 40mm cube samples with 5 different infills at 2 layers for base, walls, and tops with only 5% fill. After we see the results, I'm going to go one step farther and test the top two at 10% and 15% and see if the results scale. I will also test the cubes for side loads by flipping them 90deg to their sides and test both side axis. I want this information for my future motorcycle fenders, seat pans, and electronics trays. I'll probably go up to 3 or 5 layers for the walls, but then the PLA will be vacuum bagged in FG or CF. I just want the strongest, lightest core I can get.
freudianfloyd do me a favor and send me a DM with the link to the Shockwave file. I'd love to print one in OD green for a pistol I have. Thanks.
NakeDiesel
Well-known member
@BoilerMakerFan, yeah it is the smooth plate. I tried glue stick at 60 degree bed temp and that didn't work any better than just the default 60 degrees. I've gotten where I clean it good with rubbing alcohol and set the bed temp to 70 degrees and don't have adhesion issues with the printer.
OP
BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
Interesting! I start my bed at 60deg then drop it to 55deg for PLA. I had lift with the bed too hot on bigger prints. I tried a couple different bed temps with PETG, but didn't have any luck. I really need to get the PETG sorted out.
Also, which whistle did you print? The V29? I love that whistle. It's so LOUD! And it sounds so cool when you first blow it.
freudianfloyd
Well-known member
Printed some socket organizers for some of my oddball socket sets and misc bits.
From this....
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To this....
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From this....
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To this....
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NakeDiesel
Well-known member
I just printed the whistle that came on the sd card for the mk3
freudianfloyd
Well-known member
Printed a rail for my crowsfeet last night. I k ow it's the wrong color, but I dont care.
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BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
Today my son and I built the compression strength tester for the infill patterns. We use the 4" PVC coupling to keep most of the destruction contained.
The cylinder is a 4" bore so it can produce 1,570 pounds of force at 125psi. So far, the maximum psi we've recorded is 56psi. That's still 703lbs of force on a 40mm cube at 5% infill with one layer (0.2mm) walls! We have two more patterns to test initially, then we have to go back and test all 5 samples of each pattern. We tested all 5 samples of the rectilinear infill. It's been the absolute weakest by a factor of 2! The highest pressure it withstood was 23.5psi or 295 pounds.
I'll share the final results when we're done. Then I plan to take the top 2 or 3 and print more samples with 10% and 15% infill and test how it scales, then we'll test side loading.
The cylinder is a 4" bore so it can produce 1,570 pounds of force at 125psi. So far, the maximum psi we've recorded is 56psi. That's still 703lbs of force on a 40mm cube at 5% infill with one layer (0.2mm) walls! We have two more patterns to test initially, then we have to go back and test all 5 samples of each pattern. We tested all 5 samples of the rectilinear infill. It's been the absolute weakest by a factor of 2! The highest pressure it withstood was 23.5psi or 295 pounds.
I'll share the final results when we're done. Then I plan to take the top 2 or 3 and print more samples with 10% and 15% infill and test how it scales, then we'll test side loading.
Attachments
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BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
Guys that have Ender 3s, have you done any mods to them yet? If you have, what have you done?
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BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
Drumroll please...
All samples of the 40mm test cubes were printed at the same exact settings on the same spot on the bed. The top and bottom were 2 layers and the sides were just one layer. The layer height was 0.2mm. The infill percentage was 5% for all samples. The only change between samples was the infill pattern. The samples were tested for compression or crush strength using a 4" bore air cylinder and we recorded PSI on a gauge at the cylinder. If you want to know the pounds of force, multiply the PSI times 12.56 in*2.
My son's hypothesis was that the 3D Honeycomb would be the strongest.
The results of our infill testing were as follows:
Rectilinear: Failed at 20-23psi. Average is 22.1psi
Hilbert Curve: Failed at 48-58psi. Average is 53psi
Gyroid: Failed at 43-46psi. Average is 44.6psi
Cubic: Failed at 37-50psi. Average is 44psi
3D honeycomb: Failed at 50-56psi. Average is 52.8psi
My observations and comments:
The rectilinear is kind of the default infill in 3D printing. It's pathetic performance had me question the PLA we used. So I printed new cubes today with the same PLA we used for the Hilbert Curve. The results were identical. Wow.
The Hilbert Curve was a HUGE shock! It looked the weakest. More testing will be done!
The 3D Honeycomb was so close, and even though the average was 0.2psi lower, it was definitely the more consistent. At 5% infill, the printer moves a little too much between the layer pattern so there are a lot of individual strings. I think that if every layer of the 3D HC was bonded to the ones above and below, it would have performed significantly better... However, for the experiment, we used 5%.
Gyroid was the most consistent, bar none. It's a very stable infill.
Cubic performed worse than I thought it would. I think the 37psi lowest result was more of an individual test variance than the material or pattern. I think my son had the steel plates off center just enough since it didn't crush one side and the top plate blew out.
My testing rig performed better than I thought it would. I was afraid the wood would start to split and fall apart. It didn't. At 125psi, the cylinder can generate 1,570 pounds of force. It may not survive too many tests at that pressure...
I am going to bump the infill percentages to 10% and print 9 samples of Hilbert, 3D HC, and Gyroid. I'm going to test 3 samples in the Y plane, 3 in the X plane and 3 in the Z plane so see how orientation of the pattern affects compression strength. I also want to see if these 3 patterns scale linearly to increased fill density or if any become exponentially stronger. I'm hoping one does go up exponentially... After these test prints I will test the best performer in PLA+ to see how it improves the results.
It will be a few weeks before I can print those samples because I have a few things to print before I get back to that. For my prints before the additional testing I'm going to run the Gyroid or 3D HC. The 3D HC would be a little stronger, but the Gyroid leaves a cool pattern on the sides and prints faster.
Oh, I also printed a few more Cubic samples today just to test the different PLA to see if it changed as well. It also tested identical which I was glad to see. All 3 brands of PLA performed the same, which in theory they should have.
All samples of the 40mm test cubes were printed at the same exact settings on the same spot on the bed. The top and bottom were 2 layers and the sides were just one layer. The layer height was 0.2mm. The infill percentage was 5% for all samples. The only change between samples was the infill pattern. The samples were tested for compression or crush strength using a 4" bore air cylinder and we recorded PSI on a gauge at the cylinder. If you want to know the pounds of force, multiply the PSI times 12.56 in*2.
My son's hypothesis was that the 3D Honeycomb would be the strongest.
The results of our infill testing were as follows:
Rectilinear: Failed at 20-23psi. Average is 22.1psi
Hilbert Curve: Failed at 48-58psi. Average is 53psi
Gyroid: Failed at 43-46psi. Average is 44.6psi
Cubic: Failed at 37-50psi. Average is 44psi
3D honeycomb: Failed at 50-56psi. Average is 52.8psi
My observations and comments:
The rectilinear is kind of the default infill in 3D printing. It's pathetic performance had me question the PLA we used. So I printed new cubes today with the same PLA we used for the Hilbert Curve. The results were identical. Wow.
The Hilbert Curve was a HUGE shock! It looked the weakest. More testing will be done!
The 3D Honeycomb was so close, and even though the average was 0.2psi lower, it was definitely the more consistent. At 5% infill, the printer moves a little too much between the layer pattern so there are a lot of individual strings. I think that if every layer of the 3D HC was bonded to the ones above and below, it would have performed significantly better... However, for the experiment, we used 5%.
Gyroid was the most consistent, bar none. It's a very stable infill.
Cubic performed worse than I thought it would. I think the 37psi lowest result was more of an individual test variance than the material or pattern. I think my son had the steel plates off center just enough since it didn't crush one side and the top plate blew out.
My testing rig performed better than I thought it would. I was afraid the wood would start to split and fall apart. It didn't. At 125psi, the cylinder can generate 1,570 pounds of force. It may not survive too many tests at that pressure...
I am going to bump the infill percentages to 10% and print 9 samples of Hilbert, 3D HC, and Gyroid. I'm going to test 3 samples in the Y plane, 3 in the X plane and 3 in the Z plane so see how orientation of the pattern affects compression strength. I also want to see if these 3 patterns scale linearly to increased fill density or if any become exponentially stronger. I'm hoping one does go up exponentially... After these test prints I will test the best performer in PLA+ to see how it improves the results.
It will be a few weeks before I can print those samples because I have a few things to print before I get back to that. For my prints before the additional testing I'm going to run the Gyroid or 3D HC. The 3D HC would be a little stronger, but the Gyroid leaves a cool pattern on the sides and prints faster.
Oh, I also printed a few more Cubic samples today just to test the different PLA to see if it changed as well. It also tested identical which I was glad to see. All 3 brands of PLA performed the same, which in theory they should have.
Strouty
Well-known member
I am seriously thinking about ordering the prusa
OP
BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
The Prusa Mk3 is a great printer, but I'm seriously reconsidering my path...
I'm now looking at buying the new Creality3D Ender 5, then upgrading the control board to a Duet 2 WiFi and add a glass bed so I have both options.
I can take the Ender 5 control board and put it on the GT i3 and change the extruder on it to get it working so it can be donated... then I'll sell my Prusa Mk2. Selling my Mk2 would essentially cover the cost of the Ender 5.
Ender 5 Review
I'm now looking at buying the new Creality3D Ender 5, then upgrading the control board to a Duet 2 WiFi and add a glass bed so I have both options.
I can take the Ender 5 control board and put it on the GT i3 and change the extruder on it to get it working so it can be donated... then I'll sell my Prusa Mk2. Selling my Mk2 would essentially cover the cost of the Ender 5.
Ender 5 Review
E.rodz
Well-known member
we just bought my son a creality Enderly 3 printer and we just got it put together and hoping to get some printing in soon! been reading the whole thread trying to learn from everyone else's trials and tribulations we will see how this goes soon!
I used the monoproce my mini select for about 2 years with a glass bed, very good little entry level machine, the only downside is the size of the bed.
I ended up upgrading to an Ender 3 a few months ago and really like the extra space it offers. I sometimes have issues with bed adhesion so I’m looking at getting a glass bed and a PEI sheet. The only other mods I’ve made were a filament guide and the intake fan cover.
Originally I had wanted to build a printer from scratch because I have access to high quality linear guides and ball screws, but the cost for steppers and controllers pushed me towards the Ender. At some point I might mod the Ender and switch from the ball bearing wheels to miniature linear guides.
I ended up upgrading to an Ender 3 a few months ago and really like the extra space it offers. I sometimes have issues with bed adhesion so I’m looking at getting a glass bed and a PEI sheet. The only other mods I’ve made were a filament guide and the intake fan cover.
Originally I had wanted to build a printer from scratch because I have access to high quality linear guides and ball screws, but the cost for steppers and controllers pushed me towards the Ender. At some point I might mod the Ender and switch from the ball bearing wheels to miniature linear guides.
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BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
I've been really impressed with everything I've seen on the Ender 3. I'm going with the Ender 5 simply because I was planning on the E3 Pro, but the Ender 5 will have a more rigid frame and a 300mm build height.
I'll be grabbing the glass and PE beds with mine. If my buddy commits to buying my Prusa Mk2, I'll pull the trigger on the Ender 5 and the Duet 2 WiFi. I found a guy on YT that has his config files for the Duet on an Ender 3. The settings will be close enough to get me going. You have to be a Patreon supporter to get access, but that's a small price to pay to save a fair amount of time.
I'll be grabbing the glass and PE beds with mine. If my buddy commits to buying my Prusa Mk2, I'll pull the trigger on the Ender 5 and the Duet 2 WiFi. I found a guy on YT that has his config files for the Duet on an Ender 3. The settings will be close enough to get me going. You have to be a Patreon supporter to get access, but that's a small price to pay to save a fair amount of time.
The box frame on the Ender 5 looks really good, but it's too bad they put the steppers outside the frame. If they were placed inboard it would be super easy to slap some plexiglass on it and make it enclosed.
I bought a bunch of 80/20 and printed corners to make an enclosure for my MP mini select then didn't get around to buying the plexiglass. Now I have to see if I can re-purpose the stock into something else.
I bought a bunch of 80/20 and printed corners to make an enclosure for my MP mini select then didn't get around to buying the plexiglass. Now I have to see if I can re-purpose the stock into something else.
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BoilermakerFan
Well-known member
Look closer... there is enough room to put the Lexan or HDPE in the slots... that would enclose the sides and back. Then make a full coverage door for the front. Only the top is a bit of a PITA, and mostly because it's a Bowden tube setup.
You could just use 1/4" plywood for the sides, back, and top of the box for the MP Select. Then you would only need a single piece of PC for the front.
You could just use 1/4" plywood for the sides, back, and top of the box for the MP Select. Then you would only need a single piece of PC for the front.
That's a good idea for the box, I have a lot of extra 1/4" plywood kicking around right now too, but I ended up selling the MP last weekend to put towards a project bike that I'm having delivered tomorrow, a '72 Honda CB500 four. 
This thread inspired me to give 3d printers a shot.. I purchased an ender 3 pro last week... Probably should have spent the extra $100 on the ender 5, but I wasn't sure so I figured I'd start cheap and work my way up if/when I actually NEED something better.
I'd spend the extra few $$ and get one off amazon that you know is actually in the USA. I didn't do my research and bought one from the https://www.creality3d.shop. It said it was 'IN STOCK' in the USA, but its not.... Naturally I stumbled on the creality ender 3 reddit thread after I already purchased it stating not to buy from them... I'm going to give them the 5-15 days to actually send it, after that I will file a paypal complaint... if it gets to that point I might go for the Ender 5