The Official 3d Printing thread

[1911ly]

I didn't get them cut yet, just scanned/traced the parts. 12" x 24" sheet 3/16" Aluminum to replace the 4mm acrylic parts that came with it

That will be one solid machine when you are done! I can't wait to see it go together. You guys will have a good time building it and using it.

 

[BroodXI]

you guys are making me want to build one from scratch now. i just stumbled upon the plans for the d-bot, and it looks like a more robust printer than the mendel i printed parts for. just gotta talk the wife into letting me start buying rails and hardware. have fun building that printer, can't wait to see it work.

 

[1911ly]

you guys are making me want to build one from scratch now. i just stumbled upon the plans for the d-bot, and it looks like a more robust printer than the mendel i printed parts for. just gotta talk the wife into letting me start buying rails and hardware. have fun building that printer, can't wait to see it work.

Build it!!! Easy for me to say, I am single lol. I will admit that it's pretty cool to see stuff come of a machine that you built yourself. After building a kit, and helping a buddy with his kit I got hooked. I love to tinker and build things so this was right up my alley. I saw some things I would have done a bit different if I made one from scratch. It wasn't that hard to do to. If you order your hardware slow boat from China you can build one pretty dammed cheap. I have a source if it hasn't dried up for the extruded aluminum. I can pass that on to you.

Waiting for all the stuff to come in is the hardest part. I am a gotta do it while I am thinking about it kind guy. Then I like to try different ideals, that's the Bowden extruder setup at the moment. Then it will be to enclose it and then use it and build another one to tinker with.

Speaking of Bowden's, I set up a second controller setup to play with them this evening. I figured I was pretty well set after I reamed the heat brake, but not so easy. I put the reamed out and tested hot end on the Bowden cooler setup and pushed the tube in and tried to feed the media and it was a no go. OK, this is BS. And something has to be going on that I am not seeing.

I had earlier notice that it was a PIA and nearly impossible to pull/release the tube out of the connector once it was clicked in. It was about impossible to do it without cutting the tube and just pushing it completely threw. So out come the mics and I measured the tube. Interesting, the Bowden tube that came with the Bowden hot end measures 4.17mm on the outside. I measured short Bowden tube that came with the Makerfarm E3D hot end setup and it measures 4.03 well that sucks. Not all tubing is the same. I tried to force the Bowden tube in to the heat brake and it pinches the tubing so hard that you can not force the media threw the heat break once it is in the brake. It acts like a ferrel and sort of crimps it.

So I am/was fighting 2 issues. Crappy heat break and the wrong size tubing with the hot end kit. I bought 3 of these POS's and all 3 are the same. Tomorrow the new tubing comes in and I will measure it. If it isn't right I will get some from WW Grainger. Mean while, it is time to send the Ebay seller a message that his Bowden hot end setup sucks! Grrrr

At least I learned something today. and hopefully is saves someone some time if they want to try it too.

Larry

 

[RobbyMaQ]

pcs are too small to route for our equipment (and a vendor we use often). Plan B

 

[1911ly]

pcs are too small to route for our equipment (and a vendor we use often). Plan B

That sucks. I have seen the aluminum frame kits on Ebay for 75-80 bucks. I am not sure if they are for your machine though. But running it with the acrylic frame pieces would not be the end of the world. Lots of those printers run just fine.

 

[Ericpwp]

Mine's acrylic.

 

[1911ly]

Mine's acrylic.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I've searched. the generic prusa i3 brackets don't match the brackets I have. Nothing for the flsun kit.
I may just go ahead and do it with the acrylic as I know many have. But If I'm going to build it, I'd rather do it with the metal brackets now, rather than tear it all down later and add them and re-square everything at a later date.
Unsure at the moment... I have time, still waiting on my tnuts (manuf. supplied are notoriously crappified) shipping snail mail from china. normally I'd buy USA, but 1/3rd cost means a lot with this cheap printer, and I have time.

 

[1911ly]

I've searched. the generic prusa i3 brackets don't match the brackets I have. Nothing for the flsun kit.
I may just go ahead and do it with the acrylic as I know many have. But If I'm going to build it, I'd rather do it with the metal brackets now, rather than tear it all down later and add them and re-square everything at a later date.
Unsure at the moment... I have time, still waiting on my tnuts (manuf. supplied are notoriously crappified) shipping snail mail from china. normally I'd buy USA, but 1/3rd cost means a lot with this cheap printer, and I have time.

I ordered some T-nuts from here and from China. The China ones were cheap but I had to run a tap threw about half of them because they were not tapped the last turn or so. Run a screw threw them all first before you slide things together and have to take the frame apart just to slide a nut out to replace or re-tap the damned thing. I complained and the seller did some extras for my effort. But they were crap too. But he tried! lol. I am sure not all China T-nuts are equal. My USA ones probably came from China originally.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I ordered some T-nuts from here and from China. The China ones were cheap but I had to run a tap threw about half of them because they were not tapped the last turn or so. Run a screw threw them all first before you slide things together and have to take the frame apart just to slide a nut out to replace or re-tap the damned thing. I complained and the seller did some extras for my effort. But they were crap too. But he tried! lol. I am sure not all China T-nuts are equal. My USA ones probably came from China originally.

Will do. I went with a seller recommended in a FLSUN FB group as decent quality. Thankfully I have taps. Unsure if any are metric

 

[1911ly]

Will do. I went with a seller recommended in a FLSUN FB group as decent quality. Thankfully I have taps. Unsure if any are metric

Most likely they will be fine. It won;t hurt to run a screw threw them anyway. Any hardware store worth anything will have a tap. I have a couple Hansen tap and die sets that I have had for a long time. These things seem to be 3,4 and 5mm threads. The lengths of some are non standard for the average hardware store. I ended up placing a big order with Fasenal. I have plenty of most of the hardware. I have only had to order one other package of hardware since the first order. I when threw a bunch of 5mm screws for corner brackets.

I am looking forward to the next printer build. Probably start it in the next week or 2.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

In light of the aluminum problems, we're going to get our cnc setup and start test cuts. Eventually I will cut all those brackets from aluminum at a later date.

The boy is antsy, so I decided we would start building tonight, with the anticipation of tearing it down, and rebuilding with the proper tnuts and aluminum brackets at a later date. On the plus side, we'll have fun... and it will give me a baseline as to what improvements are accomplished.

I see why everyone ditches the square nuts shipped with the printer. They suck. The acrylic brackets flex a lot. Even clamping everything down, we found ourselves loosening and retightening bolts to get things flush. My jig & clamps managed to get the frame squared up on the first try though.

Today, flsun began a new offering with updated aluminum bits and revised z steppers. For whatever reason, they don't sell 'upgrade' kits or pieces/parts.

 

[1911ly]

In light of the aluminum problems, we're going to get our cnc setup and start test cuts. Eventually I will cut all those brackets from aluminum at a later date.

The boy is antsy, so I decided we would start building tonight, with the anticipation of tearing it down, and rebuilding with the proper tnuts and aluminum brackets at a later date. On the plus side, we'll have fun... and it will give me a baseline as to what improvements are accomplished.

I see why everyone ditches the square nuts shipped with the printer. They suck. The acrylic brackets flex a lot. Even clamping everything down, we found ourselves loosening and retightening bolts to get things flush. My jig & clamps managed to get the frame squared up on the first try though.

Today, flsun began a new offering with updated aluminum bits and revised z steppers. For whatever reason, they don't sell 'upgrade' kits or pieces/parts.

That kinda sucks. If they have a forum I would bring that point up on there. As for steppers, if they are Nema 17's they pretty much are just Nema 17's. Unless they have ones that are known to fail I doubt chat there is any if much improvements. In all honesty he steppers aren't even working hard in these machines.

Glad to hear you are getting started on the build. You will know it well enough when you are done that it won't be that big a deal.

A few tips, the belts, set them tight enough to play a note on. Paper for setting the bed level is not as good as a metal feeler gauge. Adjust the bed level when it (bed and nozzle) is hot and check it often, especially for the first week. You might have to adjust it every few prints for the first week as things settle in. If I print for 4-5 hours I re-level it between prints. If you have auto bed level life is easier. My boys doesn't but it is pretty broken in and I check it every 3-4 days of use. Seldom is it far off enough to worry about now. Not a big issue at this point. My firmware has a what they call auto bed level. It is a manual that allows you to set the head height in software, I am use to it. I haven't gotten around to the BL touch yet. If I can find it I will install it.

Tighten the hot end while it is hot! It will come loose if you don't. Use Fructis #5 hair spray on your glass. I clean the bed about every 4-5th print. It is easier to clean the bed when the plate is hot, and use cold water. the hair spray just rolls right off. The glass is not hot enough to shatter with cold water. I use eye glass cleaner (not windex) on my bed after I wash it and seldom have a print come loose. Make sure the glass is really clean. If I only print one or 2 things the day before I seem to be able to get away with just misting the bed with eye glass cleaner and print away. If I don't "wet it" the print seems to be more prone to not sticking. I have not cleaned the glass for 4-5 days. if I am doing a big print I clean it anyway so that I don't chance waste the media. The longest print so far has been about 13 hours. I am not afraid to walk away from it while printing now that both machines have proven themselves.

Make sure nothing gets between the glass and the head bed. a teeny tiny piece if crude screws with the bed level. I like to mark the corner of the glad so it goes back in the same oreintation/right side up. We are talking about thickness of a hair playing with the adjustments. My son kept having prints stick to the head. I found a tiny piece of plastic dribble on the heat bed when I took the glass off to check things over.

Be careful with the end of limit adjustments. Especially the Z axis. You can break the glass or ruin the heat bed with a good ding. If the limit switches are a bi*ch to reach the adjustment look on thingiverse for a easier adjustment brackets. I change the ones on my boys the second day I had it. I redesigned 2 of the ones on my homebrew machine that I found on thingiverse to suit my machine to put them in easy spots to adjust.

If your slicer program doesn't add these lines you can add these to the etruder G-code for the end of the print. They are all pretty self explanatory.

M84 ; Disable motors
M104 S0 ; Make sure the extruder is turned off.
M140 S0 ; Make sure the bed is turned off.
M107 ; Fan off
G28 ; Home all axes (optional)
G28 X0 ; Home x axis (what I prefer)

I don't home the axis at the end of a print so I can wipe the print head nozzle easier for the next print. These leaves the print head up to the height of the last print and turns the heaters and the motors off. Use a cloth. I like old socks, I wipe the nozzle before the next print and I do a preheat too before a every new print. I can't think of anything else at the moment. If you have any questions, you have my ph # I don't know everything about printer but I will share what I have learned. And I am learning more everyday.It's been a lot of fun!
Tomorrow my new heat breaks and nozzles come in and I will get back to playing with the Bowden extruders.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

From what I am reading:
The z axis has wobble, due to the steppers (which can be reprinted) and the brackets (acrylic). Y axis has wobble, which can be fixed with the aluminum brackets.

There's an issue with the thermistor, and having to pin it down, and possible rtv sealant it in place to keep it from coming out and setting the house on fire lol.

The z stop sucks, period. I will have to upgrade it. And bed leveling sucks as badly. I won't even pretend that I am close to auto leveling until I upgrade all the other aluminum and tnuts bits to be honest. Many claim to have to relevel every other print or so without modifying the system... least of which will involve an aluminum bed support vs the acrylic one which is bound to warp.

We're about 5% through the build so far... much further to go yet

 

[1911ly]

From what I am reading:
The z axis has wobble, due to the steppers (which can be reprinted) and the brackets (acrylic). Y axis has wobble, which can be fixed with the aluminum brackets.

There's an issue with the thermistor, and having to pin it down, and possible rtv sealant it in place to keep it from coming out and setting the house on fire lol.

The z stop sucks, period. I will have to upgrade it. And bed leveling sucks as badly. I won't even pretend that I am close to auto leveling until I upgrade all the other aluminum and tnuts bits to be honest. Many claim to have to relevel every other print or so without modifying the system... least of which will involve an aluminum bed support vs the acrylic one which is bound to warp.

We're about 5% through the build so far... much further to go yet

Print head, Makerfarms setup is really nice. The thermistor is a cylinder like the heating element. It is held captive with a set screw. As for the stock setup, just don't pre-bend them then stick them in the hole. Bending them seems logical and might look neater but bending them after putting it on the hole will put pressure on the sensor and hold it against the block better. Then wrap the head around it's axis with Kapon tape many many times. That will also help hold the heat in the block. One of the silicon socks might help but I think that they are a PIA and have never kept them on very long. I always seem to end up with crude between the nozzle and the sock. Tape is easier.

My new parts came in today. I am probably going to tinker with the Bowden setup in a bit.

 

[1911ly]

I spent some time playing with the Bowden setup. I made some progress. I have one nozzle setup working now. Now I need to work on the second one.

I have had issues with getting the wrong heat breaks and crappy PTFE tubing. I had to chop up a 3 meter piece to find a usable foot and a half or so length. I have 25ft of tubing coming in from WW Grainger tomorrow. Almost 60 freaken bucks, but a life time supply if it turns out to be good stuff. Anyways... here is another boring video:

[video=youtube;_aiepNIHnMA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aiepNIHnMA&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[Gabriel]

I've been avoiding this thread to keep the craving for a printer down. I have a lot of catching up to do now.

 

[1911ly]

I've been avoiding this thread to keep the craving for a printer down. I have a lot of catching up to do now.

Do it, do it! They are almost as much fun as guns!! Lol.

The price of them has really came down. If you are a tinkerer they are a blast to make parts for projects. I have zero regrets except looking back and knowing what I know now, I would have just built the first one as a homebrew. But that is not a project for everyone.

 

[1911ly]

Extruder #2 is moving media just fine. I had the same issues with the crappy tubing. I had to cut and cut and push media threw the tube a hundred times until the crud came out, BTW, Remoil seems to be great for lubing the tube to get things rolling. I see no harm in it. People use vegetable oil to season there hot ends. Remoil would appear to be ok too. I doubt I will ever have to do it again to the tube but I would not be afraid to. It sure helped get the left over flash out of the tube!

I just need to mount the hot ends to the new carriage I made and put the other MK8 drive back together. Then mount it and reflash the firmware to the dual extruder version and calibrate it. Hopefully it will print ok. I am farther along then I have ever been inthe past! I can move media threw both hot ends with the MK8 drive. I have never been able to do that until today. I will probably get it all assembled tonight.

I doubt I will get a two color print printed today, probably be a day or two of learning and calibration. I am still having fun! Although these Bowden drive setups have been a PIA.

 

[1911ly]

And I have got to print one of these!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJV1R802ZBk