Cheap 3D Printer Recommendation

[magicniner]

It's the one from Factory 3D in Newcastle-upon-Tyne ( http://factory3d.co.uk/ ). I'm sure there will be bits that I re-make, replace or re-engineer as I go along but I really like the idea of an aluminium main frame and a UK manufactured kit.

- Nick

[m_c]

That looks like quite a good kit. It'll be good to see how you get on with it, and what you mod along the way.

[Desertboy]

I finally got my Graber I3 frame from Ukraine took about a month to arrive. I'm going to beef it up with metal corner brackets and modify it to take 8mm lead screws for the z axis instead of 5mm threaded bar.



Anyone with access to a cnc could easily make their own Prusa style frame from ply, mdf or aluminium.

I am upgrading a reprap mendal, will have to cut 4 of the smooth rods to fit. Not looking forward to cutting the stainless steel z axis rods.

I need to get an lcd for my ramps at some point but the cnc build is killing me financially so it can wait it's no hassle to print from my laptop.

One thing if using windows you have to make sure automatic updates are off, power saving and anything that might put the pc to sleep or reboot it must be disabled. In Linux this is not so much an issue but you can configure a windows pc fine. I use a windows pc for timelapse that's been on for months with no issues.

I'm going to plug the printer into a 1kw UPS (Just because I have one spare) so will have a little extra protection but not essential.

[magicniner]

I'm going to beef it up with metal corner brackets .

Would you be better with more traditional methods for a wood frame?
Wood corner braces bonded in place with Cascamite, or even Gorilla Glue might provide more rigid triangulation over a larger area than metal brackets.
Pinned and glued is almost always superior to metal brackets and bolts and screws with structural wood projects.

- Nick

[Desertboy]

You're right of course, I'll put the frame together first how it's meant to be assembled and then play it by ear if I feel it's not strong enough.

[magicniner]

That looks like quite a good kit. It'll be good to see how you get on with it, and what you mod along the way.

Shipping from Factory 3D was quick, I ordered on Friday and it was delivered at lunch time today.
Packing is very good with plenty of padding where required and individually packed sets of parts for each assembly stage covered in the instructions.
The instructions are clear and easy to follow and everything goes together with little drama.
I've finished the build but won't have chance for power up and testing until later in the week,



- Nick

[Desertboy]

Looks a nice Prusa, wondered what was going on with the extruder until I realised it was a mirror lol.

You have the mk2 heated bed it takes ages to heat up for ABS but for PLA it's pretty quick. I recommend getting some cork board to insulate under the heated bed, this will really help with heating up times. Another solution is to change to the mk3 aluminium heated bed and power it with 24v but this is more hassle as if you send 24v to the ramps board without modifying the ramps first it will fry the arduino but there are a few ways around this.

If you use the mk3 and 24v heat up times to 110c are ~ 2minutes, if you use the mk3 at 12v you will see no difference in heat up times at all. The Mk3 also has the advantage that being aluminium you can use a cheap inductive sensor. But I bet you already have autoleveling.

[m_c]

Looks good.
Think that will be on my list for sometime after the summer.

[cropwell]

I have had a Wanhao Duplicator 4S for three years now and it still performs well. It is difficult to get 3D prints to dimensional accuracy due to spread. Sometimes the only way is guesstimation. For general purpose though, it is OK.

The main problem, I have found, is bed adhesion. It is a bit of a titser when a corner lifts. I have tried different bed temperatures and bed substrates (Kapton tape, masking tape, ABS washes etc) The current one giving me some success is frosted glass with an ABS wash (thin solution of ABS in Methyl Ethyl Ketone or Acetone (Dimethyl ketone). I now run the bed at 110 degC for ABS and I don't print with anything else.

I bought the steel framed model for rigidity and I feel it was a wise decision. The second extruder has hardly been used, I have never seen much necessity for two colour prints.

I am about to rebuild the RH extruder as there is wear on the feed gear and the plastic frame has a pear shaped hole where the filament feeds, which makes it awkward to change filament.

I always print from SD cards as I can turn everything else off in my den and go to bed, leaving the machine chugging away (all night sometimes).

One last point :- Sam Courtenay, the Agent for Wanhao in UK is one of the most helpful people I know in 3D printing, sending me related parts, in case they were needed, when I only ordered and paid for the primary bit I needed.

Cheers,

Rob

[alboy]

I have had a Wanhao Duplicator 4S for three years now and it still performs well. It is difficult to get 3D prints to dimensional accuracy due to spread. Sometimes the only way is guesstimation. For general purpose though, it is OK.

The main problem, I have found, is bed adhesion. It is a bit of a titser when a corner lifts. I have tried different bed temperatures and bed substrates (Kapton tape, masking tape, ABS washes etc) The current one giving me some success is frosted glass with an ABS wash (thin solution of ABS in Methyl Ethyl Ketone or Acetone (Dimethyl ketone). I now run the bed at 110 degC for ABS and I don't print with anything else.

I bought the steel framed model for rigidity and I feel it was a wise decision. The second extruder has hardly been used, I have never seen much necessity for two colour prints.

I am about to rebuild the RH extruder as there is wear on the feed gear and the plastic frame has a pear shaped hole where the filament feeds, which makes it awkward to change filament.

I always print from SD cards as I can turn everything else off in my den and go to bed, leaving the machine chugging away (all night sometimes).

One last point :- Sam Courtenay, the Agent for Wanhao in UK is one of the most helpful people I know in 3D printing, sending me related parts, in case they were needed, when I only ordered and paid for the primary bit I needed.

Cheers,

Rob

i have a wanhao duplicator as well been in constant use for months now, no problems other than sometimes the pc loses connection but printing from the memory card is a doddle anyway, It is the steel framed one and it came pre assembled just had to bolt the gantry on. Was printing within 30 mins of opening the box and is a very accurate machine, never had any problems with bed adhesion on the stock bed. Wanhoa have good support and there are plenty of user groups around as well. Takes a little while to learn the nuances of the software but had some great results.
I think the machine was £280 and delivered within a few days. Bought it of amazon.