MakerBots, RepRaps and UP!s: It's 3D printers!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > MakerBots, RepRaps and UP!s: It's 3D printers!

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

aldantefax posted:

I'm looking at doing the scaling up and deploying more of the Flashforge Creator Pro units that I have (one in operation, four in storage) and I'm considering the general economy and cost of PLA filament. Namely, I started with Prusament but supply is really tight and the price has gone up from whatever Prusa sells it for. Any suggestions for a mid to mid-high (if Prusament is "top tier") PLA filament brands to look into? I heard okay things about Hatchbox, dunno about Amazon's PLA house brand, but looking for recs. I still haven't gotten through my first roll of Prusament but I'm getting there since I've been printing a buncha stuff.

I've been printing a few spools worth of Sunlu in various flavors of PLA, PLA+, and Silk PLA from amazon and it's gone pretty well.
I have killed:
one black
one silk rainbow
one non-silk rainbow

I have loaded:
one nocilucent
one white, with another white still in the bag.

I have a grey from a different vendor and i'm not sure how it's going to go.

toplitzin fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Apr 11, 2021

# ¿ Apr 11, 2021 17:06

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 17:09

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

It was surprisingly easy to set up last weekend. (~Half a day to get both octoprint and klipper running)
Drag and drop printing is nice.
Not having to keep futzing with the sd card for every print.
Putting repeat stuff/test prints into a subfolder makes post change dial in so much easier (bed level, benchy, etc)
Partially automated bed levelling was sweet.
Webcam support is fun.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2021 18:07

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

The pi+octoprint+klipper install and setup (plus PID tuning) was about half to 3/4 of Saturday morning.

That's including loving around with "what plugins seem cool?"

toplitzin fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Apr 12, 2021

# ¿ Apr 12, 2021 23:21

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Nerobro posted:

#5, print and install the Satsana cooling duct. And you don't need to print it using supports. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4369859 This is several orders of magnitude better than the stock cooling solution, and will stop prints that have uneven

What's the difference between this one and the Petsfang/Bullseye(besides their ludacris number of options/configurations)?
The Satsana does look easier overall.
Is this an illusion or is that the biggest reason to use one or the other?

I haven't printed either one yet, but am in a good place with a fresh spool/now's the time to do it.

toplitzin fucked around with this message at 14:01 on Apr 19, 2021

# ¿ Apr 19, 2021 13:59

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Nerobro posted:

FUNNY you mention that.....

TL;DR: The Satsana is designed to print easily. It's designed to be printed. It's designed to work without buying anything new.

We'll start off with the part that bugs me the most. The bullseye is a horrific pile of poo to print. Every discussion of the bullseye includes some "I can't get the top to close" in the discussion. This is a symptom of a larger issue in the 3dP community, in that a large number of the things we're supposed to be able to print, are NOT DESIGNED TO BE PRINTED. What's more the Bullseye is also delicate. I mean, your duct isn't supposed to touch the print, but ducts work better the closer you get to the print height.... and sometimes prints reach up to touch the print head.

There are other ducts that are reasonable. I am a fan of the HeroME designs. But even those aren't designed "well". They're not exactly designed with printing in mind, and more often than not, many of their fasteners require being able to phase the screw through layers of deposited plastic to be able to attach the duct to the mount.

The long list of options and configurations you'll find, is more a reflection of people trying to fix things that aren't "real" and trying to use parts they have, versus parts that are good, a good idea, or useful.

For example, my buddy has some 50x20 blowers on his Ender. They're strong enough to blow apart a PLA bridge. Why would you do this? why do you need this? And he never prints at more than 40mm/s. And I'm running around printing at 100-150mm/s on the 40x10 blower.

I haven't tried all the ducts. But I think the HeroMe is the best overall. The satsana is the easiest answer, and is definitely "good" and "good enough". It solves the problems with the stock cooling, prints super easy, and requires no new hardware.

Thanks!

Currently i'm on a E-3 Pro and it's printing almost perfect on an assortment of magnetic mats i picked up.
First layer can be a little funky, but otherwise it's been good.

I haven't' gone crazy with print speeds or any of the pressure tuning via klipper.
I hover around "is it worth loving with as in print and install now" or "print it and next time i have to tear down the hotend for a clog or something, and install the thing while i'm at it?"

Edit: yeah that satsana is easy mode. time to queue it up.

toplitzin fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Apr 19, 2021

# ¿ Apr 19, 2021 15:16

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

A lot of my worry/apprehension seems to come from the constant refrain of "If it ain't broke don't gently caress with it" but balanced against "but i can make it better in just a few steps.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2021 16:02

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Deviant posted:

ok but quit loving with it

# ¿ Apr 19, 2021 16:19

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Serenade posted:

Is the inability to leave well enough alone not the most Goon-like quality?

Right?

I'm happy with it right now.
It prints good stuff, the first layer is sometimes funky, but otherwise it makes great PLA prints without much fuss.

I've managed to talk myself down from chasing anything else (auto levelers/touch, silent boards, new/fancier extruders etc, or chasing high speed printing), but am printing the duct for the next time i have to clean a clog/end up taking the hot end apart again.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2021 17:57

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Deviant posted:

i had a shower inspiration that 3d printers are just like airsoft guns in that the easiest way to turn a working one into a non working one is to open it and gently caress with it

Also murphy's law of talking about how happy you are with how its working, and now I'm getting quite crappy raft/brims:

# ¿ Apr 19, 2021 19:26

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Hadlock posted:

Given that your brim is worse on the corners, looks like an X/Y axis problem, like loose screws in your frame, or you've got this thing sitting on a wobbly card table, maybe bad PLA too?

It's really interesting to see people posting these terrible prints, but my ender 3 has been printing near-injection molding quality stuff out of the box since I got it; like, this has been a solved technology for about four years now and people are still posting stuff that looks like it was printed on 2012 era reprap stuff

Edit: you're printing on an ender 3 pro? Wtf did you do to your printer

This has been mostly hit, with some initial missteps due to a loose X gantry.
It's on a largish bookshelf on the side of the room/not in a place that gets bumped/nudged often.
I went through 3 other spools of Sunlu PLA and things have been almost perfect till this spool, and I understand white can also be more finicky, but this is just odd, and mostly constrained to the first layer.

Like everything else has been :discourse:

# ¿ Apr 19, 2021 19:51

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Dr Sun Try posted:

I have no idea, what that is, but i want it

could you post a link for the model?

Totoro!

I print the smallest one at like 25% when i want to kill that last couple feet of filament.

Edit: yup, everything but the first layer is great

toplitzin fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Apr 19, 2021

# ¿ Apr 19, 2021 20:09

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Nerobro posted:

That's either being to high off the bed, or underextrusion.

It turns out, even DEEPLY UNDEREXTRUDED parts look good. And can look AMAZING.

What slicer are you using?

Prusa

# ¿ Apr 20, 2021 15:31

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Nerobro posted:

I'm going with you've got a clog, or something.

Clog is love. Clog is life.
I'll tear it down and since i'll be in there, go ahead and install the ducting, and do all the verification stuff again and report back with a freshly printed boat.

Slicer question: is tree supports a cura only thing?

# ¿ Apr 20, 2021 16:59

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Dr. Fishopolis posted:

If you're still using the stock Ender extruder, that's probably the cause of your underextrusion. Check to see if it's cracked.

no cracks and running as direct drive.
Had a re-print of a part last night with over extrusion issues. so cleaning and starting fresh.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2021 17:33

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Aurium posted:

Current settings are the easiest thing for me to believe with what you've said. Those are intended to be drop in boards though so I'm surprised that they wouldn't come well configured. That said the old board could have just been set higher than the new board, and thus more able to go fast. If you move the carriage do you feel any binding?

It's possible (unlikely, as I don't believe it comes with any default profiles) that your slicer is overriding the motor current settings in the start gcode. Look for a m906 or 907 code. The old board would have ignored it, as it wouldn't have been able to set it.

I've also seen similar layer shifts with overheating drivers. It's possible the current is too high, too little airflow, or a stepper with a short, or some other problem on the board causing higher than expected ambient temperature. If possible try pointing a fan at the board.

We just had someone with under extrusion caused by turning on mm3 mode on the printer. Any chance you might have turned it on in the slicer without turning it on in the printer?

nah,

slicer configs are the same before and after this issue came up.

Work is almost over, i'll start updating once I have more than the fan removed and we can take this journey together.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2021 20:14

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Short update:

Hot end was clogged even after a few pulls.
Nozzle and heat break had a nice clog.

The Satsana duct doesn't fit with the direct drive i'm using, so i'll need to clean it up a bit in meshmixer or go find a remix that fits under a DD unit.
Which someone already did: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4706269, but alas, I'm already torn down, so no printing that until i want to do it all over again, again.

Haven't sat down to check the extrusion and re-calibrate the e-steps, that should be a bit later today.

There is a small crack at the threaded insert but that's it.

Regarding the extrude and replacing it/if it's cracked: I can't replace the extruder without a new stepper.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2021 14:48

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

mewse posted:

Why not?

A metal extruder is like 10-20 bux from amazon and you don't even have to replace the drive gear on the motor shaft if you don't want to.

I ran into this while looking at the all metal hotend+extruder from microswiss.
We notice a recent extruder stepper motor update on Creality machines. Before ordering this kit, please check your extruder stepper motor. If your extruder motor gear is pressed in, you will need to purchase a new stepper motor to be able to complete the installation.

They changed the stepper motor/gear attachment, so the shaft is no longer a D shaft with set screw, but a press on drive gear and a shorter shaft overall.
See also: this poor fellow on Stack Exchange.
https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/15131/problems-with-stock-gear-with-no-screw-on-ender-3-pro

# ¿ Apr 21, 2021 19:29

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Mewse - something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/Creality-Extruder-Upgraded-Aluminum-Filament/dp/B07W813M62

# ¿ Apr 22, 2021 16:30

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

What are some other good calibration/test prints?

I've got the boat and Robbie's house at the moment.

Boat printed pretty well minus some stranding.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2021 12:20

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Boat came out fine, but definitely under extruding.

The surface finish won't matter on these, but bleh.

I checked the steps while I had the nozzle off installing the modified satsana cooler.
G1 E20 got me 20mm.
G1 E100 got me 100mm

# ¿ Apr 25, 2021 19:05

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Is there another repository of stuff to print other than thingiverse?

The UI/functional "charm" of thingiverse is starting to get annoying/harder to find what i want/find new poo poo to print just because.

# ¿ Apr 28, 2021 15:03

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Why are only my rafts such garbage?

Brims? Fine.
Skirts? Fine.
The occasional raft under a support? Fine.
Sending a print no raft? Fine.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2021 15:14

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Prusa

here's the raft/supports page:

(i haven't touched it, but i know 0.16 or 0.12 would divide into the steps better.)

# ¿ Apr 30, 2021 15:44

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

I've been pretty happy with all the Sunlu PLA I've gone through. I think 3 or 4 spools by now.

# ¿ May 3, 2021 18:31

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

I upgraded prusa to 2.3.1 and still no joy on the rafts.
Did a print with and without raft, and a skirt. Skirt came out fine, raft was poo poo, both prints were fine.
There might be a bug with rafts and z offset but *shrug*
https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/issues/3425

Raft:

raft + print + skirt

Solo print + Skirt:

Thoughts?

# ¿ May 3, 2021 19:16

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Now I need lights.

# ¿ May 4, 2021 01:01

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

https://i.imgur.com/BSbdEUT.gifv

# ¿ May 8, 2021 01:46

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

I put mine in a cheap enclosure and I can't hear it anymore.

# ¿ May 11, 2021 01:51

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

So is mine.

# ¿ May 11, 2021 02:49

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

I'm pretty sure i still have extrusion issues as first fill layers are still comin out stripy/non smooth/gaps.

Ender 3 pro, running as direct drive with Octoprint + Klipper, and Prusa for slicing.

Manual extrusion testing got me 100mm when i called for 100mm.
No skipping from the extruder gear when it's running/printing.

Bed is level and gap is good at each leveling screw, and is consistent across the print area.
No BL touch, so just manual work.

Only PLA for the time being, running at 210/205 and 60/40 for the bed.
All same brand, all in a drybox at ~30%.

Is there a good workflow/troubleshooting list i can run through before swapping more parts (i have a replacement metal extruder in the parts pile)

# ¿ May 12, 2021 19:47

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 17:09

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

What are the big differences between slicers, apart from "we wrote this one for our product, but it will write gcode for your printer too" and "Cura does trees."

It seems that once you pick one people seem to stick with it, or is this a per printer choice?

I'm using Prusa for my Ender, because that's what my buddy who helped me set it up uses with his ender, but my other friend uses Cura for his Ender clone.

toplitzin fucked around with this message at 17:27 on May 18, 2021

# ¿ May 18, 2021 17:22

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > MakerBots, RepRaps and UP!s: It's 3D printers!