The Official 3d Printing thread

[1911ly]

You're building an SLA Larry? I've not seen plans/kits, but then again haven't looked.
I know flsun has an inexpensive one out there... I just don't have the proper space right now. I'd love to get an SLA and a Laser Engraver, but alas the family is not going to put up with the fumes... And no real space to set up proper enclosures/exhaust in the office with it's current configuration.

Someday when the boy is out of the house, we'll expand the maker space.

I have need looking at a few homebrew printers on the web. I am going to give it a shot. I have all the parts except the Nano board. This is totally un chartered territory for me. I have a separate room I can print in. So that is a plus.

The method I am using is the same way they do cheaper SLA's. The design uses a modified LCD display and a UV light source for the projector. I have already done the display mod.

I will post my failures and successes when I get started. My board is stuck in customs. Has been for about a week and a half. They should release it any day, I hope.

 

[1911ly]

It looks like some of my parts for the SLA have been released by customs. I should be able to do some tinkering later in the week. My resin came in. I have several types of UV light to try.

The first display I bought might not have a high enough resolution to work well. I ordered one that will if this one doesn't. Have any of you dealt with Banggood? If so, are they a slow shipper? They say 2 weeks. I am skeptical.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I have not... but many buddies in 3d printing do. They usually take a few weeks from what I hear.
They're not as slow as buying from china off ebay (4-5 weeks)

Check for deals on NOV 11. It's kinda of like the chinese black friday sales. Gearbest and some are pre-posting their upcoming deals.

 

[1911ly]

I have not... but many buddies in 3d printing do. They usually take a few weeks from what I hear.
They're not as slow as buying from china off ebay (4-5 weeks)

Check for deals on NOV 11. It's kinda of like the chinese black friday sales. Gearbest and some are pre-posting their upcoming deals.

I will have to remember the 11th! My stuff from China has been taking 4-6 weeks. Banggood says 2 weeks. it would be great if it does show in 2 weeks.

 

[Sailor]

Relay problem, I am using 12 AWG and its melty.

Anyone have a suggestion for a higher quality relay that's not going to burn my house down?

 

[1911ly]

Is that a DPDT relay or a SPDT? I think it is a SPDT? That's a connector issue, not relay. Those connectors fail with a lot of current. Double up the wiring so you spread the load across the connectors. Even better yet, solder the wires direct. Ditch the connectors altogether.

I

 

[1911ly]

I finally got the NanoDSL board in. I have enough stuff to test with now.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I finally got the NanoDSL board in. I have enough stuff to test with now.

Keep me posted... curious how it goes, build volume and what sort of price it costs in the end...
While the tinkering is fun... some of these resin printers are coming down in price

 

[1911ly]

Keep me posted... curious how it goes, build volume and what sort of price it costs in the end...
While the tinkering is fun... some of these resin printers are coming down in price

I have to be honest and say his is not practical for the most part. I just want to see if I can do it. I am crazy like that. If it works with out much issue I will save about 50%. The high resolution LCD that I am using for the shutter is over a hundred bucks. The NanoDLP I think was just over 20 dollars. I have the hardware. I am going to use 20x40 extrusion for the column (mostly because I have it) I have the steppers and other electronic bits.

The case will be 3d printed. I found a design I think I can tweak to work with the rail. I will keep track of the cost and post up a BOM. i
i
I have 3 different light sources to try. I am sure I will waste some media making test parts. But that is ok. I am learning something new.

What I am building will have the same shutter and electronics as this one. And the same build volume.
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21824

 

[Gabriel]

I have a pretty basic question. My in-laws bought me an Ender 2 for Christmas. Other than the basic package and what comes wit it, what else do I need to get to set it up and start playing with it? I know my kids (yeah, I'm blaming them) will really want to see it print something without having to wait while I order things it needs.

 

[HonkieKowboy]

I have not... but many buddies in 3d printing do. They usually take a few weeks from what I hear.
They're not as slow as buying from china off ebay (4-5 weeks)

Check for deals on NOV 11. It's kinda of like the chinese black friday sales. Gearbest and some are pre-posting their upcoming deals.

Some additional context on Nov 11, it's known as "singles day" in China and it celebrates the singles in China. It's an issue due to a massive shortage of women there (thanks to the 1 child policy which meant that some parents would drown baby girls... because they were girls instead of boys. And here I was thinking we're supposed to be the sexist ones here.)

 

[1911ly]

I have a pretty basic question. My in-laws bought me an Ender 2 for Christmas. Other than the basic package and what comes wit it, what else do I need to get to set it up and start playing with it? I know my kids (yeah, I'm blaming them) will really want to see it print something without having to wait while I order things it needs.

Here's a unboxing & setup video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKYeSOCM_OA

Robby has several. he should be along in a bit with info.

 

[Gabriel]

Here's a unboxing & setup video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKYeSOCM_OA

Cool thanks. I will watch it later tonight.

 

[4651feeder]

I have a pretty basic question. My in-laws bought me an Ender 2 for Christmas. Other than the basic package and what comes wit it, what else do I need to get to set it up and start playing with it? I know my kids (yeah, I'm blaming them) will really want to see it print something without having to wait while I order things it needs.

Filament, filament, & more filament. Those are the only three items I can think of that you'll really need.

 

[Gabriel]

I kind of figured that, so that's what I'll ask my wife for.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I have a pretty basic question. My in-laws bought me an Ender 2 for Christmas. Other than the basic package and what comes wit it, what else do I need to get to set it up and start playing with it? I know my kids (yeah, I'm blaming them) will really want to see it print something without having to wait while I order things it needs.

You really don't NEED anything to print with the ender 2. They are good straight out of the box, and I recommend them to beginners. And sd card extender is helpful to keep from wearing down the sd slot on the machine, or losing a mini sd card inside the machine. I do add a separate fang parts cooler to all of mine (You can always print one with the stock hot end/cooler). Later you may want to upgrade to one of the red or gold extruders off amazon, but it's not needed. I've printed most everything with the stock extruder for a year... I just bought two more at $129ea

Any build video by NERYS on youtube will do for a walkthrough... later vids will offer more insight. the only real tricky thing with assembling them is the zstop, and connecting the wiring to it before you mount it. Cuz it is difficult to get it plugged in after it's mounted. Also make sure your X gantry is square and plumb to the Z rail (you can eyeball this easily, it doesn't have to be perfectly square). All his other tips will help re: not tightening the z nut too tight... don't add the top z capture piece, just let it 'float' up top...

Biggest problem people have is leveling the bed. But it's easy to do.
1) Bring the nozzle up to 210c and the bed to 60c (You don't need filament in it)
2) lower the bed by tightening all 3 beds screws as far as you can tighten them.
3) home the machine, then disable stepper motors (so you can freely move the hot end)
4) using a sheet of paper between the nozzle and the bed, Position the nozzle directly over top one of the 3 bed screws, and then loosen that bed screw until the nozzle engages the paper slightly.
5) Move the nozzle by hand to another bed screw, and do the same. Repeat for the 3rd bed screw.
6) Go back and do this for each bed screw at least once, if not twice until the 'pressure' or 'slight drag' on the paper feels the same for all 3 points.
7) once done, shut off heat to the nozzle and bed, or send a print...
H) Yes, it is very difficult to get to the left front bed level screw. One caveat about this printer... just have to deal with it

Occasionally you can wind up with a heater cartridge or thermistor crap out. I had one crap out just 2 hours into printing. I have several spares on hand for such an occassion. after a year, everything is running fine (both the stock that worked from the get go, and the replacement).

Advanced stuff: Creality firmware doesn't allow you to retain/save any settings. So any calibrations you make/do will need to be stored in a startup script until you put a bootloader and updated firmware on them. You won't need to worry too much about this starting out though. Forgive me if you're not new to 3d printing and I am giving you info you already know.

Creality default firmware doesn't have thermal runaway protection... So I'd be cautious of letting a print go while no one is around the hear a smoke detector. That sorta goes for any printing really though.
Don't worry too much about firmware now... just have fun printing and getting to understand the machine... as you get familiar with it, i can help with firmware updates and upgrades.

If you are new to 3d printing, a good tip that Larry taught me when I started out is to not bring the hot end up to temperature until you are ready to print. And NEVER shut the printer off while the hotend is still hot. Always set the temperature to zero, and let the cooling fan bring the temperature of the hot end down to room temperature before shutting the printer off.
Shutting the printer off while the nozzle is hot will result in 'heat creep' and all of the filament in the 'cold zone' of the hot end will melt and cause a serious jam.

 

[Ericpwp]

Tonight I got my anet8 running for the first time in over a year. It was covered in dust in the garage. There was some ABS stuck in the extruder that took a while to get out. Broke a fan in the process, but had an extra laying around. It is printing a mag loader now.

 

[Jaredjosh]

It looks like some of my parts for the SLA have been released by customs. I should be able to do some tinkering later in the week. My resin came in. I have several types of UV light to try.

The first display I bought might not have a high enough resolution to work well. I ordered one that will if this one doesn't. Have any of you dealt with Banggood? If so, are they a slow shipper? They say 2 weeks. I am skeptical.

I have dealt with them a lot in the past. I have nothing bad to say about them. Usually takes about 3 weeks to Indianapolis.

 

[Jaredjosh]

Eric:
I have had nothing but good luck with my Anet A8. This thread is full of pictures of my prints with it. I have under $200.00 bucks into it including all the mods. I'm very satisfied with it.

 

[1911ly]

I have dealt with them a lot in the past. I have nothing bad to say about them. Usually takes about 3 weeks to Indianapolis.

Hey JJ, My luck was about the same on shipping. On the last order they back ordered some of the stuff. I really didn't need the stuff so I canceled it. It took about 2 days for them to credit me back on my PP. Not bad for being overseas! I will for sure order from them again.

I haven;t had time to tinker with the SLA build yet. I still need some FEP film for the vat. It probably will be a Christmas break project for me and the boy.

I started having an odd issue with my homebrew printer. It would some times fail to read the card. Once in a while it would fail to read in the PC. I cleaned the contacts and it would be ok for a while. Then the printer would fail while printing. I tossed the memory card. I have no ideal how old it was. It was from one of my older cameras and was probably used in on of my RPi's.

The printer will be 2 years old in January. I have had a lot of fun with it. And not a lot of trouble. Pretty much just normal wear and tear.

Latest project: I am designing some brackets for my mini lathe. I am using some inexpensive digital calipers. Just having some fun.



Robby, Where did you score those Enders so cheap. I have a friend that wants a small printer. That is a hell of a deal. PM me if you think there are anymore of those still available.


Sailor, Did you get your Pegasus back up and running?