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The Everything 3D Printer Thread

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k-os

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Thanks. I'm definitely not looking for the equivalent strength of aluminum, but good to know about how much it would cost. I guess I'm just wondering how much it would cost to make parts as strong as possible, but not quite aluminum strength. What filament is just under aluminum in terms of strength, and what type of printer would that cost to get up and running?

I think ABS would be the closest for an entry-level type printer. You can print this on entry-level consumer printers with the addition of an enclosure to hold heat.

Check out some videos on Youtube about PLA casting. It may be just what you need.
 

Bessy

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Thanks. I'm definitely not looking for the equivalent strength of aluminum, but good to know about how much it would cost. I guess I'm just wondering how much it would cost to make parts as strong as possible, but not quite aluminum strength. What filament is just under aluminum in terms of strength, and what type of printer would that cost to get up and running?
I feel like I have read a few articles suggesting that you can mod Ender style printers to print copper filaments and I suspect other soft metals, but I remain dubious of the cost effectiveness of such an endeavor.

Bottom line is you can spend five figures on a top line industrial printer that may do what you want more or less out of the box, or you may opt to crack a beer or two and tinker on something more custom, spending five figures over a matter of months or years, lol
 

ER70S-2

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Trying to be cost effective while printing NylonX are things that generally don't belong together. applications that truly require those materials generally are commercial in nature and as a result often have more financial backing....so my question is why do you believe you need to print that vs one a heat treatable PLA or PETG that prints far easier and cheaper.

After a good amount of research, I ordered a Prusa MK3S+ kit. It can print with any filament I would ever want to use with nothing more than a hardened nozzle and maybe a heated enclosure which is no big deal. I'm pretty excited to build and start paying with it.
 

Bessy

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After a good amount of research, I ordered a Prusa MK3S+ kit. It can print with any filament I would ever want to use with nothing more than a hardened nozzle and maybe a heated enclosure which is no big deal. I'm pretty excited to build and start paying with it.
Very nice, you'll be happy with it, I think!

I had been seriously considering getting a prusa mini, but I think the Ender machines are a better fit for my needs and budget. I was tossing around the idea of an Ender 3v2 again, but then the 5 pro came on sale and I looked seriously at it. Then sure enough, I waited too long and both went up in price.

I am hoping that maybe Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals give a little bit of price relief before I make the jump, as this time I am planning on purchasing before the tax return cheque comes in.

Again, congratulations on your purchase! What are you going to print first?
 

loganb

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After a good amount of research, I ordered a Prusa MK3S+ kit. It can print with any filament I would ever want to use with nothing more than a hardened nozzle and maybe a heated enclosure which is no big deal. I'm pretty excited to build and start paying with it


Congrats! Did you go for the kit or a pre-assembled unit?

If budget allows I think Prusa is a great entry to the world as they're basically fully upgraded and so dang consistent it seems to eliminate the early struggles many have. Nothing against the Ender machines, they are great and the Creality CR6 max is probably my next addition, just a lot of the upgrades many do on Enders or Creality are already in a Prusa so total cost of ownership is very comparable. Now If they would just release the long rumored Prusa XL I'd be a happy and slightly poorer camper!
 

ER70S-2

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Again, congratulations on your purchase! What are you going to print first?

Thanks! The first print will probably be a spacer/gasket that I can't easily buy. It needs to be a specific thickness, and I can't seem to find any material that will work and be relatively easy to cut out. Hopefully there's an appropriate filament.
 

ER70S-2

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Congrats! Did you go for the kit or a pre-assembled unit?

If budget allows I think Prusa is a great entry to the world as they're basically fully upgraded and so dang consistent it seems to eliminate the early struggles many have. Nothing against the Ender machines, they are great and the Creality CR6 max is probably my next addition, just a lot of the upgrades many do on Enders or Creality are already in a Prusa so total cost of ownership is very comparable. Now If they would just release the long rumored Prusa XL I'd be a happy and slightly poorer camper!

Thank you. I went for the kit. Basically everyone recommends the kit so you have a good understanding of how the printer works. I pretty much agree. Every time I buy something new, I usually take it apart anyway to get to know it! I already have a few mods planned for it (nylock bed leveling and granite base).

I'm debating putting it on a wall-mounted shelf to isolate it from floor-borne vibrations. This is popular with high end turntables, so I think it should work for a 3D printer, too. The floors in my house bounce a lot. Does anyone do this? I haven't seen anyone do this with a printer specifically to cut down on vibrations.
 

loganb

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I agree with the kit...the instructions are top notch, the kit is well done and I have a much better understanding of how it works as a result. Plus it saves ya a couple bucks.

As to wall vs floor mounted most are on cabinets or tables setting on the floor. Mine is currently on a wall mounted shelf anchored to the foundation but that's purely coincidence and not due to any perceived benefit. I have some feet from Isolate It on mine and then it sits on your basic 16" x 16" concrete paver for added mass...I haven't noticed any change in quality on the paver but noise is reduced significantly.
 

no704

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I have a couple Qidi Max-X units. Comes with a high temp head and enclosure. Haven’t ran anything but pls yet but seems good for $1100.
 

ER70S-2

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I agree with the kit...the instructions are top notch, the kit is well done and I have a much better understanding of how it works as a result. Plus it saves ya a couple bucks.

As to wall vs floor mounted most are on cabinets or tables setting on the floor. Mine is currently on a wall mounted shelf anchored to the foundation but that's purely coincidence and not due to any perceived benefit. I have some feet from Isolate It on mine and then it sits on your basic 16" x 16" concrete paver for added mass...I haven't noticed any change in quality on the paver but noise is reduced significantly.

So are you decoupling/isolating the printer from the paver then? I had planned on coupling the printer to a paver and then isolating the paver from the table or shelf.
 

ER70S-2

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Looking good, Kazix. We need some more pics of completed projects in this thread. I can not wait to make some stuff like that.
 

penright

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Wanted to measure the thickness of some rotors before turning. All I had was a caliper and could not reach into groves. 3D printer these boots for the end. I believed it is accurate enough for what I am wanting to do. More accurate than stretching a tape and eyeballing it. :)

EDIT: Here is a like to it in Thingiverse https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5138878. I did it in Fusion 360 and included it if you need to tweak the sizes.
8EKAFesOmxKD8gGuiDeuL1puw=w1920-h708-no?authuser=0.jpg
 
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vavet

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Ashland, VA
Wanted to measure the thickness of some rotors before turning. All I had was a caliper and could not reach into groves. 3D printer these boots for the end. I believed it is accurate enough for what I am wanting to do. More accurate than stretching a tape and eyeballing it. :)
8EKAFesOmxKD8gGuiDeuL1puw=w1920-h708-no?authuser=0.jpg
That's pretty slick! I always try to tell people that the more you use a 3DP, the more uses you'll find for one. This is a great example of that.
 

nicholam77

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Great thread!

I've just started to dip my toes in this world with an Ender 3 v2. Unfortunately I don't have the CAD skills, but have been watching a lot of YouTube 😁

First "successful" shop project is a custom flip stop for my MFT (track saw station) cross-cut fence:

fusion_flip_stop.png

IMG_4655.jpg

IMG_4658.jpg


Pretty excited about the possibilities with this!

🍻
 

Bessy

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Official member of the multiple printers club! Took me just under three hours to unbox, assemble and print a calibration cube. The x and y are oversized .02 to .06mm for a 20mm cube, but the z is about .2 long. This is completely bone stock at this point.

A few prints to get done before Christmas, and then I'll start making some printer mods for it and the 5+. Is anyone else printing anything cool for the holidays?
 

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Bessy

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I want one, but I think two printers in less than one year is probably more than enough since they only cost me money so far (still less than that Prusa). I got the new bed springs installed and the bed levelled this evening.

I bought new Capricorn tubing and an extruder, but ultimately haven't installed them yet. I had a leftover cutoff of Capricorn tubing from when I swapped the tubing on the Ender 5, and though it was a tad shorter than the piece I took off the printer, the print head trammed fully without it causing any issues, so we'll see how it goes for now.

Working on Christmas gifts now on the 3v2 and will clean up the 5+ tomorrow to start more Christmas gifts on that one (can you sense a theme this Christmas?)
 

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ER70S-2

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My MK3S+ shipped in five business days after ordering, which is the upper end of their estimate at the time of ordering. Now, their website says that there's a leadtime of 7-10 days. Looks like they're starting to get backed up due to the impending holiday. If you're looking to get one for Christmas, I'd order it now.
 

loganb

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I already pre-ordered the double head version. My dad ordered the 5 head.

Glad I'm not the only one around here with 1 on order! Also ordered with 2 tool heads, an updated document I got emailed on this afternoon says "Shipping within a week of 2/7/2022"!!!!!
 

banjopete

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Oct 5, 2014
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Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
I've been dealing with some classic underextrusion issues with my ender 3 recently.

1637430201933.png

Frustrating but some typical 3d printing stuff to deal with. I've made a number of the normal upgrades to the bowden tube, metal extruder, and I've also jumped up to the larger .6mm nozzle. I'm making a tramming tool for my cnc router as I'm sure someone will ask.

I think I've got through some of the challenges but I've just loaded up the latest beta of the prusaslicer, and have found what appear to be better printer and filament settings for my ender 3.

The print above was the before print, you can see the classic underextrusion signs along the walls, not tragic by any means but definitely underextruded. This print took 7hrs, with the tweaks and adjustments I did this morning I got the slicer time down to just under 3hrs to take better advantage of that fat nozzle. The print seems to be going much better. I know I'm not the first to deal with the extrusion problems as I'm pretty sure this is the one known achilles heel of this great inexpensive printer. I'll report back once the next print is done.
 

banjopete

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If I send someone a link to a part I would like to have, can you print it for me and send it to me in Nova Scotia? For a nominal fee of course.
The cost of shipping may be prohibitive through the forum unless someone local jumps in. You can probably find someone locally that can do it, I know here in Edmonton for example we have 3d printers in many of our public libraries, and you might have a maker space that has one too. There are also online printing services you can look at.

For the more personal touch through the forum here I could help you out but like I said depending how how big you're talking about for parts, the shipping could eat into what you're expecting to pay. @Bessy is closer to you, and has two printers now too! ;) Good luck.
 

kazlx

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I have been looking for this very thing. Could you please share the .stl kazlx?

Uploaded them to Thingiverse if anyone wants them. All three SAE, Metric and Torx and mirrored them so theres a left and a right mount direction.

 

polcat88

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Uploaded them to Thingiverse if anyone wants them. All three SAE, Metric and Torx and mirrored them so theres a left and a right mount direction.

Fantastic! Thanks so much.
 

draco_1967

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Jan 3, 2021
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Utah
I've been dealing with some classic underextrusion issues with my ender 3 recently.

1637430201933.png

Frustrating but some typical 3d printing stuff to deal with. I've made a number of the normal upgrades to the bowden tube, metal extruder, and I've also jumped up to the larger .6mm nozzle. I'm making a tramming tool for my cnc router as I'm sure someone will ask.

I think I've got through some of the challenges but I've just loaded up the latest beta of the prusaslicer, and have found what appear to be better printer and filament settings for my ender 3.

The print above was the before print, you can see the classic underextrusion signs along the walls, not tragic by any means but definitely underextruded. This print took 7hrs, with the tweaks and adjustments I did this morning I got the slicer time down to just under 3hrs to take better advantage of that fat nozzle. The print seems to be going much better. I know I'm not the first to deal with the extrusion problems as I'm pretty sure this is the one known achilles heel of this great inexpensive printer. I'll report back once the next print is done.
I started to get some underextrusion happening on my E3v2 also. I had ordered the upgrade pack with bed springs, Capricorn tubing, and the metal extruder parts. I finally installed the metal extruder parts, and noticed my extruder wheel had quite a bit of wear on it after 3-4 spools of filament (mostly PLA, a little PETG). The wheel would often slip on the filament when I turned the knob by hand. The new extruder wheel seems to have solved the problem for now. I will make sure to have a few extras on hand to swap out every so often.
 

purplezr2

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If I send someone a link to a part I would like to have, can you print it for me and send it to me in Nova Scotia? For a nominal fee of course.
Not sure if anyone said yes, but I possibly can depending on what it is, and what material you want. I'm in the states, so shipping will be a bit more..
 

stioc

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Working on the car this weekend I needed a way to turn several T-30 head bolts in a confined space. The ratcheting thumb wheels weren't ratcheting and to turn them by resetting my grip was tedious. I remembered how some cheap socket sets come with thin plastic thumbwheels for exactly this purpose where you grip the ratchet in your hand and rotate the wheel with your thumb and finger. I never really cared for them but it's just what I needed here. So 3D printer to the rescue. Surprisingly (or not) couldn't find any on Thingiverse. Printed a few of each size for extras...and uploaded to Thingiverse too https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5144105


thumb wheel.JPG

thumb wheel2.JPG
 
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Bessy

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Not sure if anyone said yes, but I possibly can depending on what it is, and what material you want. I'm in the states, so shipping will be a bit more..
I sent a PM to Gas, but haven't received a response. I'm in Ontario as Banjo Pete mentioned, but by all means I'm not going to stand in the way of anyone else who has capacity and experience. I'm still very much a novice.
 

Bessy

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Working on the car this weekend I needed a way to turn several T-30 head bolts in a confined space. The ratcheting thumb wheels weren't ratcheting and to turn them by resetting my grip was tedious. I remembered how some cheap socket sets come with thin plastic thumbwheels for exactly this purpose where you grip the ratchet in your hand and rotate the wheel with your thumb and finger. I never really cared for them but it's just what I needed here. So 3D printer to the rescue. Surprisingly (or not) couldn't find any on Thingiverse. Printed a few of each size for extras...and uploaded to Thingiverse too.


thumb wheel.JPG

thumb wheel2.JPG
Don't know that I need them right now, but I'd love to collect them in thingiverse for the next time I need one! Mind sharing the link, please?
 

Bad Habit

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I knew I shouldn't have started following this thread...haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet, but I'm sure I'll only hold out for so long. In the meantime, trying to learn Fusion360. Figure I won't buy until I can improve to the point of being just crappy at it.
 

cycle61

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Got partway through building my Prusa i3 tonight. A coworker suggests that buying the pre-assembled version is the way to go but I'm fairly certain he's wrong. This is my first 3d printer and I'm grateful for the deep dive into how the darn thing actually goes together.

PXL_20211123_055149708.jpg
 
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kazlx

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The self assembly version is definitely the way to go so you can understand how it goes together, especially if you aren't very familiar with CNC parts. The Prusa is an excellent machine and I don't think I've ever assembled anything with better instructions. Oh and Haribo bears...
 

PelicanPines

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I knew I shouldn't have started following this thread...haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet, but I'm sure I'll only hold out for so long. In the meantime, trying to learn Fusion360. Figure I won't buy until I can improve to the point of being just crappy at it.
I thought that too... but.
I found a huge library of items to print online. There are several sites but they pretty much are searchable from google. For example 3D Printed Battery Holders... gives you a good selection.

I printed for weeks before I came across ideas on how to create unique for me things. Most of the things I have created "Started with" an existing design that I downloaded from the web.

Learning to "adjust" the size of things with "%" settings in your slicer opened up a world of designs for me.
 
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