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I’ll 2nd the vote to include the Ender 3 V2 as the machine to buy if your budget is sub-$300. I currently run a small print farm of 5x Ender 3 machines, 2 of them age the Ender 3 Pro, 3 of them are Ender 3 V2. They’re solid machines out of the box, but a couple QoL upgrades should be purchased along with the machine. Namely some silicon bed springs, a metal extruder arm and a spring steel removable bed with a Th3d EZ-Flex attached. Having said that, I’m going to be moving my office/print room into a larger bedroom. I’m planning on printing/selling enough things in the meantime to replace all of my Enders with Prusas.
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Jul 19, 2021 22:58
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Time is slowly coming for me to start upgrading my print fleet from my Ender 3s. Obvious choice is a bunch of Prusas, but am I totally mental for even considering the Vivedino Troodon? Not a whole lot of info on them. I just don’t have the available free time to build a Voron.
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Jul 26, 2021 08:13
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ZincBoy posted:I have the Vivedino Troodon and it has been running fine for the last year or so. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it does not have a direct drive extruder and the Bowden tube is ridiculously long. Pla works fine but is suspect that PETG would be a challenge to avoid blobs and stringing everywhere. That encouraging to hear. From what I’ve been reading, the current Troodons are now shipping with a cloned BMG direct drive extruder.
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Jul 26, 2021 19:26
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biracial bear for uncut posted:Asking Printed Solid or any other vendor to "make right" bad prints from any filament just isn't where the hobby is yet. FWIW, I’ve found that the Polaroid filament to look/print/feel identical to the Inland filament. Main difference is the cost, saving you a solid $22/kg buying the inland stuff.
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Jul 30, 2021 02:26
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I too run a small farm 24/7 that’s made up of 5x Ender 3’s (2x E3 Pro, 3x E3 V2) each generating ~$50/24hr. Stiffer springs, metal extruder and Capricorn tubing are the must haves. I’d also recommend the ‘Hot End Fix’ to help prevent leaks around the hot end caused by the Bowden working itself loose in the heater block. A Springsteel removable bed with a TH3D EZMat is something I’d highly recommend for ease of removing prints, especially ones with larger footprints. The stock glass bed is awesome, as prints stick like hot poo poo to a diaper, but removing them can be just a difficult. In my use case, I don’t have the time/space to put 5 glass beds in the freezer with 200mm wide print still stuck to them. As mad as it sounds, I’m considering buying a couple Ender 5 Plus’ for larger prints rather than going the Prusa route for my next few printers.
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Aug 12, 2021 03:17
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I’m a glassblower by trade, so I’ve designed a bunch of things that pair up nicely with the glass pieces that I make and sell. The printed things are an easy up-sell to headshops that are already buying my glass art. So I mainly wholesale, but I have a Big Cartel that I link to on my Instagram page as well as an Etsy page for those juicy retail sales.
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Aug 12, 2021 03:39
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Ghostnuke posted:can any of you that are using ender 3v2s (and prusaslicer) post configs? I seem to have to play with settings every single thing I print, gets kind of old printing 4 of something to get 1 good one. What specific issues are you having? Also, if you haven’t yet, I’d recommend printing a Satsana fan duct as it has way better cooking than the stock setup.
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Aug 12, 2021 21:29
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Never mind my previous thoughts about getting different kinds of printers... The artist that I’m currently working on a medium production run (~150x 48hr prints) with just handed me enough cash to buy 2 more Ender 3 V2s with upgrades, so I can fulfill his order in time for the Christmas rush.
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Aug 13, 2021 05:42
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Yes and no. I know these machines and the upgrade/calibration setup to get them running so they can pump these out at the high quality level they are now. I’m a full-time glass artist by trade. That, along with this print project doesn’t leave me with much time short-term to go through the troubleshooting/tinkering/slicer tuning phase that any new machine would require. The Ender 3 pretty much just needs the E steps calibrated and a handful of cheap upgraded parts put on it during assembly. Once that’s done, I’ll just load the gcode files and start printing. Once the other 2 arrive, I’ll be able to increase product output by 40% without having new machine/slicer quirks to potentially eat into my already limited time.
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Aug 13, 2021 06:35
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The TH3d springsteel with their EZmat is the way to go. PLA sticks like hot poo poo to the EZMat too, but with the help of the steel flex plate, will pop right off when flexed. I don’t run a BLT or EZAbl. With the silicon bed springs, I level my bed once a month or so. I do make sure to play with the Z-babystepping for the first layer of every print though. The Z micro switch on the Ender 3 is a little funky in that sometimes the printhead will print higher than the auto-home position.
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Aug 16, 2021 02:02
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For CAD/3D designing I use Shapr3d for the iPad, as that’s all I have available. My MacBook is old as sin and only just handles Cura for slicing. It’s a really capable program, although a few things are missing that a more capable software has I’m sure. Main setback I’ve found is the hardware limitation of my 2016 iPad Pro. One some of my much more complex models I’m having the app hang for 5 seconds plus for every single action.
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Aug 17, 2021 00:58
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Yeah that’s exactly what I do. I don’t have the time to futz around with pulling molten plastic out of an old nozzle during a nozzle change. I just toss them and throw on a new one and get back to printing.
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Aug 17, 2021 17:42
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Toebone posted:Been looking at FDM printers, and microcenter has the Ender 3 Pro on sale for $100 after coupon. Unfortunately my local store is sold out and I'd have to drive an hour + tolls to the Brooklyn store. I’d recommend the v2 over the pro, mainly because it comes with a 32bit silent mainboard. However that’s only a $36 upgrade for the pro. Whatever you go for, buy a metal extruder ($10) and yellow bed springs ($7) to save yourself having to deal with the stock setup.
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Aug 26, 2021 18:47
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I use one of the 3D print calculators I found on line to input the base costs and factor in a ~350% markup. Do bear in mind I’m marketing/selling my prints towards people who’s money grows on trees (weed).
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Aug 30, 2021 03:44
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Javid posted:Who would buy models of ships/tanks/whatever that aren't from a popular thing? I am ignorant as to the marketability of this niche Nerds. E: As in, anyone who is into miniatures, not just table top/popular stuff. I mean look at how crazy some of those miniature train guys are when it comes to having every model iteration of whatever train. Main part really is marketing. Start an Instagram & TikTok account and start posting photos and videos of your projects. From there, you’ll be able to direct your interested customers to an Etsy page. And then there is the Etsy footfall too. Hamburlgar fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Aug 31, 2021 |
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Aug 31, 2021 01:42
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Is there a way to raise the bed of an Ender 3 aside from the knobs? I am not sure what to google for that. Basically my situation is that with my old print surface it would work with the front left knob all the way loose, now with the slightly thinner TH3D steel sheet it's not possible to raise it high enough to get more than the slightest bit of friction between the nozzle and a folded piece of printer paper. I see with the rollers that connect the Y-axis extrusion to the bed that the front left one has more thread poking out past the nut on the bolt that connects it to the bed frame, do I need to undo the nut and put a little bearing in there as a shim? Is there some other way to adjust it? The other three corners are fine, although the rear left does seem to be a little lower than the ones on the right, but they're all functional except for the front left. Lower your Z end-stop. It’s held on with 2 t-nuts. Just loosen and move it down a few mm or so. Be sure to tighten your bed wheels down for your first auto-home to help prevent your nozzle crashing into your bed. From there you’ll be able to level your bed properly.
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Aug 31, 2021 04:17
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My $0.02 on the Prusa / Ender comparison is whether you have more available time or money at your disposal. When is started messing around with 3D printing, $300 was all I was willing to throw at a new hobby and I had a decent bit of free time to sink into it too. If you want and need a printer to start producing market ready products next day, a Prusa is what you should be looking at. All the tinkering/troubleshooting/quality parts have been done and provided for you. However, with a good bit of time and another ~$100 worth of parts, you will have an Ender printer knocking out quality prints very consistently.
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Sep 4, 2021 19:21
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The Pallate and it’s newer versions also looks like an absolute loving nightmare to get working right. Unfortunately automatic multi color/material printing using only 1 print head has too many possible failure points to be 100% failproof. I’ve been having decent luck printing patterns in different colors on the first layer as a separate STL file, then printing the counterpart file over the top of it. But even that dumb way of doing it has given me a good handful of failures and frustrations.
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Sep 10, 2021 19:05
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For those looking to dip your toes or buy a 2nd machine, you can currently find the Ender 3 V2 for $237 on Amazon on one of their limited deals. I picked one one of those and 2 more that I found for $249 and a fist full of upgrades to add to my fleet. Going to redo the spare bedroom into a larger print room to accommodate all 8 of my machines. What have I done?! 
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Sep 12, 2021 21:21
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InternetJunky posted:I just added a Elegoo Saturn to my lineup. Is there anyone out there that has a Saturn and a Mars2 Pro? Do you use the same settings on both? My Mono X died a horrible death yesterday so I'm kind of desperate to get printing again as fast as possible without having to do a day of exposure tests. It really isn’t as hard/time consuming getting an Ender 3 to print properly and consistently as people are making out to be. Main part is following a decent video assembly guide to make sure your X gantry isn’t sagging and your uprights are square. From there, I’d recommend printing a Satsana fan duct, buying silicon bed springs, a metal extruder arm, Capricorn tubing and a TH3d EZflex Pei springsteel setup. Install the JyersUI firmware, print a handful of calibration cubes and go to town. All of this will set you back ~$320 plus a couple of hours including the initial assembly time. Assuming you’re buying an Ender 3 V2 that’s ~$250 on Amazon at the moment. A prusa will print better out of the box compared to an Ender 3 stock out of the box, but you will be spending ~8hrs assembling your Prusa unless you’re paying an extra $250 to skip that step.
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Sep 13, 2021 22:21
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A 3D printer that ‘just works’ isn’t something that’s realistic. As mentioned above, 3D printers have way too many moving parts and variables to not always have the possibilities for failures. Printer/part build quality, power losses, bad/web filament, 1st layer adhesion, clogged nozzles, room temp, print temp, print speed, belt tension, too much/little cooling, etc etc etc. Even the Prusa machines aren’t immune to some of the above mentioned possible causes of failure. What you have to remember, is no matter the price or quality of machine, the technology is still based on the process of squeezing liquid plastic out of a tiny nozzle. SLA printing has its own unique set of issues to contend with. Expecting any 3D printer to ‘just work’ and never have a snag or an issue is just setting you up for frustrations. Especially if you’re looking at toasters or inkjet printers as a ‘just works’ measuring stick.
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Sep 14, 2021 01:25
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Chainclaw posted:All 3 3D printers I’ve owned have been less of a hassle than any 2D printer I’ve owned. Expensive ink, weird printing artifacts, complicated debugging of weird problems. I can count on 2 hands the amount of printers/scanners my father smashed to pieces during my childhood due to set up/driver issues. I have made sure to suggest he doesn’t buy a 3D printer.
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Sep 14, 2021 01:27
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GonadTheBallbarian posted:I refuse to believe that. Hence the silly smiley, he’s being sarcastic.
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Sep 14, 2021 03:28
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Yep, Inland PLA+ for anything ‘higher end’ that I sell and the GST3D Pla+ for everything else.
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Sep 14, 2021 17:54
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GotDonuts posted:What kinda upgrades beyond the ones I listed for the ender 3 V2 would be worth the cost then? Would be going for an extruder be a worthwhile investment, just trying to push quality as much as possible. I just set up my 6th, 7th and 8th Ender 3 V2s with these upgrades: •Capricorn tubing ~$12 •Metal extruder arm ~$10 •Silicon bed springs ~$7 •TH3d EZFlex spring steel w/ smooth Pei sheet (also need the magnetic sheet) ~$50 With those installed, you should then print and install (pick the ones that will work with an Ender 3 v2 and one you like the look of): •Satasana Fan Duct for Ender 3 v2 •Z axis spacers •Z lead screw knob •Extruder knob. •Hot End Fix (Must do this!) The Hotend fix and the Springsteel is a must have Imo as the Creality glass bed is a horrendous POS and the hotend fix removes the #1 failure point of the PTFE lines hotends by fixing a piece of tubing in place with a printed washer, so it has no way of working its way loose during printing. I also have all of my machines setup to be direct drive, but that isn’t a must-have, just something I prefer on my machines.
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Sep 17, 2021 20:23
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I would say so. If for whatever reason you get a partial clog in your nozzle or something else that would cause an increase in pressure inside the hotend, this fix prevents any amount of movement between the end of your ptfe tube and your nozzle. It’s fixed a lot of my early issues with stringing and jams. It’s a very minor mod that goes a long way to fixing this inherent issue this type of hotend has. Edit: Oh yeah! Be sure to run an extruder estep calibration followed by an XYZ calibration cube. Hamburlgar fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Sep 17, 2021 |
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Sep 17, 2021 21:42
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Pretty much. The thing I circled in red is a printable washer that you’ll find at the Thingiverse thing for the hotend fix, as well as a printable cut guide for the PTFE tube. The washer secures your PTFE in the hotend, so when (not if) the PTFE tube higher up from the coupler comes loose, there won’t be a gap between your nozzle and PTFE tube, thanks to that little washer. It’s a 2 min print that’ll save loving hours of frustration. 
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Sep 17, 2021 22:39
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For your 1st printer, I’d suggest buying a new one. You can’t be sure how (badly) someone else has assembled the printer they’re selling. It’ll also make any diagnosis of issues much harder if there are a bunch of random mods on the machine that you didn’t install yourself.
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Sep 19, 2021 16:17
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becoming posted:Ask to watch it print a calibration cube, if it looks pretty good then I'd say it's a safe buy. I agree with sharkytm that I'd be comfortable buying that, but I also agree with Hamburlgar that there's real value in buying new so you can assemble correctly the first time and you've got an easier path to warranty. What I'm saying is, there's no right or wrong answer here. If you decide to get it, you've got a community here and an enormous community of Ender 3 users in general. You'll get through the growing pains. See what I did there? Growing pains? I'll see myself out. Yeah, fwiw, my 2nd Ender 3 pro was from Craigslist. I disassembled and reassembled it to make sure the X gantry was built and aligned correctly (it wasn’t) and then running my usual extruder and XYZ calibrations before putting it to work. On a different note, one of my machines is giving me a E1 Thermal Runaway error. It’s my oldest machine (~1 year of constant printing). I haven’t had the time yet to dig into it, but I’m assuming it’s either the thermister or heater cartridge wire that’s finally poo poo the bed.
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Sep 19, 2021 19:01
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Ditch the glass bed an buy a TH3d spring steel sheet with smooth PEI (and buy the magnetic sheet too). The glass bed loving sucks!
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Sep 25, 2021 00:45
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What specific issues are you having with the v2 print wise? Bed adhesion is solved with a Pei coated springsteel bed. A printed Satsana duct will help with part cooling. Enabling Z-hop and retraction in the slicer will help with the nozzle colliding with any curled corners etc. The ‘hot end fix’ will eliminate almost all issues related to the bowden/hotend setup. I now have 8 Ender 3s running 24/7 and my only failures have been me not setting the micro z-height correctly at the start of a print, a power failure or filament breaking from being brittle. Oh, maybe a couple clogged nozzles, but nothing I’d say that’s specifically machine related.
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Sep 27, 2021 19:20
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A couple of my metal extruder arms have a groove, but they’re 100% from wear caused by printing either silk or glow PLA.
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Sep 30, 2021 01:34
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GotDonuts posted:Got my new Th3d metal board/magnetic sheet installed on my printer. Leveled it with a piece of paper, did the autoleveling mesh deal with the bl level and have been running calibration prints on it. For some odd reason it is struggling on the right side. Is there something I've done wrong, should I post a pic of the hosed print? Any suggestions would be helpful on how to get my printer printing proper. On one of my new TH3d Pei sheets, PLA wouldn’t stick to a specific spot, no matter how well I cleaned the surface/what temp I was printing at. I googled pei and bed adhesion and the consensus was to scuff the surface with 600grit or higher sand paper, clean with iso and try again. It worked so well I’ve since done the same to all of my other pei beds.
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Sep 30, 2021 23:10
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I had this exact issue with one of my new e3v2s. Nothing would stick to the bed, even after a thorough degreasing. Toss the glass bed and install a flex plate with smooth pei. The included glass bed is garbage. A couple pages back I put together a small list of must have upgrades (<$100) for the Ender 3 V2. Yes, it sucks to have to purchase additional upgrades for a stock machine to get it working right, but do you want to be printing or trouble shooting issues?
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Oct 1, 2021 18:47
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Wibla posted:My only grief has been self inflicted (MMU2) or an easy fix (move heat break) so far with the cursed P-name printers Oh for sure. If you’re spending $800-$1200, buy a Prusa, with a doubt. But in the sub-$800 category, you’ll be hard pressed to find a printer with a 235x235 print bed.
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Oct 1, 2021 19:27
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Yeah... nowhere have I, or anyone else, said the Creality machines are flawless. They’re anything but flawless. But their flaws are easily offset with a few easy to install upgrades, totaling maybe $350 including the machine itself ($250). Or, you buy a Prusa ($750 + shipping + 10hrs assembly time) that has a comparable bed size. You get what you pay for. I mean poo poo, if you’re upset that you might have to swap over a limit switch or Bowden coupler, 3D printing isn’t for you. Hamburlgar fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Oct 2, 2021 |
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Oct 2, 2021 17:11
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Nice meltdown.
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Oct 2, 2021 17:25
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Javid posted:if she's crammed in that close with it, why can't she just manually turn off the switch when it's stopped printing? Exactly what I was going to suggest. Seems easy enough of a solution.
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Oct 4, 2021 14:13
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He’s literally talking about his wife being irritated by the sound the main board/PSU fan is making after a print is finished. If something like that irritated me, I’d turn the machine off vOv
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Oct 4, 2021 21:04
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| # ¿ May 8, 2024 22:32 |
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That happened on one of my machines when the extruder motor was extension wire gave out. It would print fine with the ‘extrude’ command as well as do the first layer or so. I diagnosed the issue by swapping wires over to different stepper motors, so I knew the motors weren’t shot.
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Oct 5, 2021 17:43
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