Nah, I’d have had to work from home and then set it up straight away. In fact… that’s exactly what I did when my printer was delivered…
Living alone, I have stuff delivered to the office where there are people to sign for it even when I'm not there. They don't let me wfh since I was furloughed for the full 6 months of the plague times.
That… is horseplop... Lack of remote/hybrid working is a deal-breaker for me now. The push to “minimum 50% of time in the office” is about as far as I’m willing to go, since that averages out to 2-3 days a week. But… I am paid to sit in front of a computer screen all day (badly) hacking away at code, and remote/hybrid work is not unusual for professional nerds. I know I got it good in that regard.
I'm actually fine with it. Going in to work means I see other humans and commuting costs nothing as I can charge my EV for free on site!
Has anyone tried Elegoo PLA+? I’ve got a reel of the stuff in “Space Grey” and it just will not stick to the PEI bed. I haven’t calibrated this filament, I’m just using the OrcaSlicer/QidiStudio default profile for PLA+. But every other filament has worked out of the box with default profiles (or dedicated profiles where available). No adhesion issues with any other material I’ve used, TPU, PETG, PLA, or PLA Silk. In fact I have the opposite problem with PETG: it sticks too well. To the point where I’ve actually damaged the PEI surface trying to remove “purge lines”. I’ve got some Polymaker “PolyTerra” PLA and “Eryone” matte PLA on the way from the rainforest today, so I’ll see how they go in terms of bed adhesion. I’m working my way through different brands at the moment. So far I’ve tried Qidi PLA “Rapido”; Sunlu PETG, TPU, and PLA Silk; Elegoo PETG and PLA+. Honestly I’ve been most impressed by Qidi’s PLA “Rapido” so far, the finish quality was exceptional. But it’s comparatively expensive at about £21-£28 per kilo, whereas I paid £23 for 2kg of Elegoo PLA.
Yeah ok, so that's not the filament... This printed fine earlier But subsequent prints are doing this That's not a filament problem, because it happens with filaments that have worked before. And it's not a bed levelling or z-offset issue, because mesh bed levelling runs at the start of every print. So... time to check the extruder for clogs...
Indeed, freshly washed build plate (bit of dish soap and a thorough rinse), and freshly rubbed down with IPA.
Luckily, my prior ownership of a cheap 3D printer kit has prepared me well for these kinds of issues… because they used to happen every single time! With that old printer my first thought would be that the extruder isn’t close enough and I need to tram the bed. I’m not inclined to think that in this case; it sets the z-offset automatically, and an uneven bed is compensated by mesh probing. Both of those run before each print. Next would be bed adhesion, but again I’m inclined to discount that this time because I’ve never had that issue with this printer before. But what I’ve not had to deal with is a clogged nozzle, so I’ll check that first. I will also give the PEI plate another thorough clean before I attempt to print anything again. I’m not ruling out manual bed tramming either, but ideally I need a successful print before I do that because there’s some tools I need. Yep. New rolls get put through a drying cycle and then kept in (and printed from) a dry-box.
I've knacked the head on my Ender V3 KE. A stubborn nozzle, too heavy handed... Some wires are snapped. What are my options to replace? Buy a standard one from Creality? Or something else?
I suppose it depends on whether your current hotend is sufficient for your needs. If so then a replacement is £20 (non-Amazon link, if you prefer). An upgraded hotend could potentially improve flow, consistency, or possibly even handle more abrasive materials (with a suitable nozzle). There are some which claim to not require any firmware/config changes, but others may need modifications. There's also an upgrade to the hotend which has something called a 'Unicorn nozzle' - whatever that means - which seems to be an official Creality part. If you just want your printer back up & running ASAP then I'd say just replace your existing hotend.
Ok, so... Easiest thing first: wash the PEI plate. Pretty sure it was cleaned 2 days ago, and I know it was rubbed down with IPA before the failed prints. But it won't hurt doing it again, just to be sure I haven't contaminated the bed with schmoo from my greasy mitts. Next up, let's stop faffing with various PLAs, let's load some PETG. I know that stuff sticks to the build plate without issue - in fact it sticks so well that I've dinged the build plate trying to get the damn stuff off. Run another full bed probe from the printer, let's just be sure it's got a good mesh. Next, let's try printing some of the adjustment tools needed for manual bed tramming. The mesh isn't terrible, but it'd be nice to get it dialled in a little better - if I can get a successful print... (I don't think the tools are 100% essential, but they make life easier.) Fire up QidiStudio (fork of Orcaslicer) and notice that, "hmm, the layer height is set to 0.28, let's just do 0.2 this time; there isn't much difference in time unless I start faffing with extrusion widths, flow rates, blah, blah, blah..." Fire the gcode over to the printer, wait patiently for it to do all the pre-print gubbins, and watch the damn thing like a hawk when it starts going. (I already (carefully) yanked off the 'purge lines', 'cos if I try and do that when everything's fully cooled.... well... it sticks like poopoo to a blankie...) Now... I don't know about anyone else, but that doesn't exactly look like a printer that's having bed adhesion issues... If this is all because I just need to dial in the filament calibration in order to print at 0.28 layer height then I am going to scream. I'm gonna let this run finish ('cos it's printing tools that'll help with bed tramming) and then try another run in PETG... at a layer height of 0.24. And then again with PETG but at 0.28 layer height. And then (if/when I have time) I'll try a PLA at layer heights of 0.2 first, then 0.24, and finally 0.28.
Ok, I've been faffing around with printers for the better part of ten years. Built, modded, upgraded, set up, set up, set up, set up, set up, set up, set up, set up and set up. I'm done. I just need a tool, not a project, these days. Looking for a printer I can just switch on and go. Ideally, a fully enclosed core xy model. No bed slingers. I imagine the likes of qidi and bambu will get mentions and I don't think I'm all that fussed as long as it does what it says on the tin and doesnt cost a fortune. Guidance and helpful suggestions from owners of comparable models are greatly appreciated
Not everything will be just “switch on and go”, you’ll still have to do the occasional maintenance or tweaks/calibration. But, pedantry aside, I hear what you’re saying, because that’s exactly what I wanted. Broadly speaking, it’s going to depend on your budget and how soon you want it. Bambu P1S - £510 without AMS and shipping now. Can do “heated chamber” stuff like ASA & ABS, but needs a hotend & extruder upgrade to do abrasive carbon or glass fibre. It’s Bambu Labs, you know you’re going to get a solid machine. Personally I’d steer clear, the P1S is getting a bit long in the tooth; the interface lags behind their cheaper printers, it’s not compatible with the AMS2 Pro, and is widely rumoured to be getting replaced soon. Qidi Tech Q1 Pro - £379, no official word on a multi-filament unit, and shipping now. Can do “heated chamber” stuff like ASA & ABS, can also do abrasive carbon or glass fibre without the need for upgrades. Can’t complain about mine TBH, it’s been pretty solid. Damned impressive quality in PLA. In fact the main complaint I have is that PETG sticks to the PEI sheet too well, I’ve damaged mine while getting the stuff off. It is fully enclosed, but if you print TPU, PETG, or PLA, you have to remove the lid and open the door to stop the chamber heating up too much (which would cause the filament to soften which would eventually clog the extruder). That doesn’t bother me personally, but you did say “fully enclosed”… 3D printed parts are available to prop the lid & door open, if you prefer. Elegoo Centauri Carbon - £300, no official word on a multi-filament unit, and shipping in August. Can do “heated chamber” stuff like ASA & ABS, can also do abrasive carbon or glass fibre without the need for upgrades. Well reviewed, but they’re being shipped in batches so only the earliest of early birds currently have one in their possession. @IanW is one such early bird, I’m sure can chime in on quality & reliability, but reviews indicate that it’s pretty good right off the bat. Prusa CORE one - £1138.80 assembled, £874.80 kit, multi-filament unit in development, and shipping now (3-4 week lead time). Can do “heated chamber” stuff like ASA & ABS, but I can’t find any info on abrasive filaments. It’s a Prusa, they’re the grand-daddy of printers. You’ll have a solid & reliable machine, an upgrade path via conversion kits when new models are released, and customer service that’s second to none. But good god you will pay dearly for that privilege… There’s probably a few others that I missed, but these were the ones on my radar a couple of months ago. EDIT: I suppose I should also mention Bambu’s X1C, which is in roughly the same price class as the CORE One and can do abrasive stuff out of the box. I think for me the decision tree would go like this: If money is no object, get the CORE One or X1C, your choice - I’d be inclined to go for the Prusa machine personally. If price is a factor and you want it now, that leaves either the P1S or the Q1 Pro. Again, your choice, but I’d still be inclined to steer clear of the P1S - it’s insulting that their cheapest bed slingers have far better touchscreen interfaces than machines more than twice the price, and I emphatically do not like what they’re doing with the “phone home to get permission for every print” firmware. If price is a factor and you’re not too bothered about waiting for it, the Elegoo Centauri Carbon is a price that’s really hard to argue with.
I've been summoned! Setup is simples - 1: Remove packaging (inc 3 screws on bed). 2: Attach screen. 3: Plug in. 4: Press "setup". 5: Wait. Quality is excellent out of the box. Elegoo have contributed printer profiles to Orcaslicer for us non-Windows users Speed is really fast. Chamber is not actively heated, the enclosure simply retains heat from the bed. Multi material add-on officially announced for Q3 this year. One niggle - The runout sensor has no PTFE adaptor on the input side, but there's a mod print to fix that.
Thanks, B. Bambu definitely put me off with their recent anti-consumer garbage and I was willing to consider them as somebody will do a work-around, but I also wanted the Panda Touch if I was going P1S and they've broken that as well. The Qidi Tech Q1 Pro definitely piqued my interest when you went for one. I think it's on the short list. Centauri Carbon, that's the badger - I couldn't remember the name - also definitely on the shortlist - pity there's a bit of a wait. The Qidi and Elegoo are in the ballpark, budget-wise - I think my next printer will be one of those two. Thanks, Ian - kinda what I'm looking for - the only challenge is my patience (or lack of). Cheers guys.
