^^ exactly what i picked up it didnt lift before i put it into the enclosure, but i just tried a print and the lift was much less with the lower print temps Also a couple of points about the STUVA enclosure i have screwed the filament reel to the roof of the enclosure, could the slightly warmer ambient temps up there affect the filament ? im also adding Lighting, and sound absorbing foam material to the sides to help reduce the noise levels abit, the Control box is sitting outside and once my lift issues are sorted i have a 120mm backplate to print off and add. however the main thing, is once i print off a brace mod ( to help keep it square, im adding vibration absorbing feet to its base as the bottom of the enclosure does transmit the vibrations more than id like the noise level isnt bad, but im having to sleep in the same room as this printer
Where would you guys recommend for replacement parts? I have a feeling that the tolerances are quite sloppy on the stock parts I received. I need to replace the following moving parts: 410mm M8 rod (x4) 320mm M8 rod (x2) 295mm M8 threaded rod/lead screw (x2) LM8UU linear bearings (x10) Rather than take my chances on somewhere like random eBay, Amazon, etc, sellers, does anyone have any supplier recommendations? Once I get the tolerances sorted on the moving parts I can then start thinking about extruder upgrades and auto-levelling.
^^ not sure mate, your local Hardware Dealer should be pretty decent and in the know about where to pick up parts, Screwfix Direct could also see you right maybe also it is amazing the difference a little sound absorbing foam can do, almost all the printer vibration noise has disappeared in an instant ( along with a replacement 40mm fan, and a 120mm fan for the control box, the only fan i need replacing now is the 30mm cooling fan attached to the front. I have downloaded a 'Cobra' ( woo ) cooler that attaches to the back, but im unsure if the cooler will survive being so close to the hot extruder if printed in PLA
That's the problem, the only places nearby are the "big names" like B&Q, Homebase, etc; they're probably not overly concerned about high quality machining in the parts they buy... Will have a scan about. Misumi seem to be held in high regard, and they have an EU warehouse. Pricey tho...
I've decided to grab my first printer. Opted for the Wanhao i3, seemed like a decent choice for the cost/quality, scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Is there anything that I should know, or avoid doing when it turns up? I've noticed that there are loads of printable 'mods' are there any must haves that I should be looking at?
Congrats! I've not used the Wanhao i3 but I've heard good things about it. Don't rush into trying to print complex/detailed parts straight away. Get it set up and get familiar with things like bed levelling, filament changing and the slicing software. Once you've got it printing some simple things, the best (but quite time consuming) thing to do is to tune it - the most important part being the filament extruder. There are plenty of guides online but you need to check that your printer is actually extruding 10mm when it says it is. Annoyingly, this will change if your filament diameter changes. For good quality, detailed prints buy good quality filament - the tolerances will be far better than cheap stuff and so give a more consistent extrusion rate. Having said that, take some time to get a feel for the printer as is and start to tinker with settings both in the firmware and in the slicing software once you're confident with its operation. It is very easy to jump in and tweak loads of settings and then end up with crap prints. Enjoy! Obviously come back here with any problems/questions you might have.
No there are no 'Must haves' i have been running mine mostly stock and it prints pretty well out of the box ( once you calibrate the bed level ) what should you do : Hand in your 'Man' card to your significant other and READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY ( of if there isnt anyone around read them first and pretend you didnt to save Man Points ) the mods i currently have installed Half of a Zbrace ( waiting on some screws to attach the upper sections ) http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:921948 This will keep the vertical gantry from wobbling around i have also added rubber feet to help prevent vibrations from transmitting to its enclosure 120mm Backplate for Control Box http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1590987 The stock fans are LOUD ( especially the PSU fan ) this is a new backplate that does extend the Control Box, but allows for a much better ( quieter ) fan to be installed 40mm extruder fan https://www.scan.co.uk/products/40mm-noctua-nf-a4x10-flx-low-noise-fan This was a simple fan swap ( again due to noise ) i have a pair of these, one is on the extruder heat sink and the other is going to be attached to... Cobra cooler http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1090433 I havent got round to printing this out yet ( busy prototyping some tank turrets and printing out some models ) but this will help the layers cool better and move the fan to the rear, improving the visibility of the print from the front i have installed the printer into an Ikea Enclosure as recommended above with some cheap sound absorbing foam on all the interior panels Many people reccomend https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019H87...TF8&colid=3SNDWR35I9WYK&coliid=I3VU0M69MSII1C to replace the 'Hot End' but while its sitting on my wishlist waiting for funds to become available, i have no direct experience with it, so cannot comment on how good it is A glass bed, i havent yet had to many problems with my headed bed ( and those that i had were down to wrong settings ) but many users report better first layer with a glass bed, again i cant comment on how good it is due to not having any experience Finally Get yourself subscribed to https://www.facebook.com/groups/WanhaoDi3/ there are MANY knowledable folks there who can help you with any problems you might have
Well, it turned up yesterday and after getting it set up I ran my first ever print which was the sample file supplied with the printer........ This didn't really go to plan as it broke away from the raft, with the raft still being firmly attached to the bed of the printer. For the second attempt I changed out the sample filament (Green) with the roll that came with the printer (Glow in the dark) and ran the same sample file, no problems this time, I did notice that the hand came off the raft very easily so I've put the first failure down to poor adhesion on the first layers. I'm really happy with the print quality straight out of the box though. The hand is around 40-50mm tall, and I was expecting to have to do all kinds of tinkering to get it to this stage. There are some minor issues on the overhang but it sounds like that could be solved by sorting out the fans. Even so they're hardly noticeable and I think the translucency of the filament makes it look worse than it actually is. Next up are a couple of minor mods, and then on to some home made test pieces.
almost all 3d printers struggle with overhang tbh, decent cooling helps a fair bit though but i was also VERY impressed with how the Duplicator I3 performs out of the box
Well, it looks like I have to hang out with you losers now... I'm still waiting on mine being shipped. It was a semi-impulsive buy and I semi-don't know what I'm doing. I've chosen a kit with pretty decent components, but it's more the maintenance stuff I'm ignorant of - How easy is it to switch different filaments? What's the best tool for dislodging plastic from a nozzle? What additional tools/supplies do I absolutely need, be it for maintenance or finishing? What's the best software? Why are you even still reading this? Who shot JFK?
This is all from my own experience, so YMMV and further reading is recommended. Switching between different PLA filaments is easy for me: heat everything to extruding temperature, clip the current filament off, yank the remaining stub out of the extruder, feed the new filament in, move the extruder motor until the new filament starts to squirt out. Of course that doesn't cover calibrating your printer for the new filament, that's a whole different ball game (although not always necessary) Thankfully I've never had to do this yet. But from what I've read it can sometimes be easier just to replace the nozzle rather than risk damaging it by trying to unclog it. As long as it's only filament going into your nozzle then you shouldn't end up in that situation: just heat the extruder up and "clogged" filament will simply melt. Maybe something flat to get prints off the bed; preferably something plastic that isn't going to damage your bed. I have a nightmare with prints sticking to the bed too well.... Other than that... probably stuff you've got already: tools to assemble the printer, wire cutters, stanley knife and/or craft knife. How long is a piece of string? See if your printer comes with any software or has any optimised settings for any particular software; if it does then stick with that for now. I started off using Cura to do everything, but as I got more into it I've switched to Slic3r for generating gcode and I print directly on the printer from SD card. Because... I should be working and I'm procrastinating . That one is easy: JFK was the man on the grassy knoll.
Well, she's built...although I think I'm going to have to leave testing it to see if it actually works until tomorrow. Tonight I just want to look at my hard work and pretend that it definitely does.
what printer kit did you go for in the end ? also welcome to the group and welcome to 2 weeks of printing the same thing over...and over...and over again to calibrate and fine tune everything
A Kossel Mini from Think3DPrint3D. Fairly painless process, just time consuming and that was mostly because I was very precious handling everything at the start. Only problems I had were that I installed one of the motors in the incorrect orientation (for wire clearance) which was easily fixed, and the fact I had to use my own kettle lead because they sent me a johnny foreigner one. Hope to find some time this later evening and actually get a print on the go.
Do these open frame printers need to be in a ventilated area? I understand that it can depend on the type of filament used, but I'm talking about PLA.
For PLA no not really, Some filament can smell abit but you really only need ventilation if your printing ABS as the fumes are toxic ( and reek of melted plastic ) but since PLA is similar to sugar ( and indeed alot of PLA is made from Sugarcane ) then it can have a sweet smell to it
