looking for a good 3d printer

[magicniner]

I've been printing some Nylon parts with my Factory 3D Prusa i3 clone kit ;-)
This is my PLA part cooling duct with a 40mm fan.


- Nick

[Ross77]

Cool. Have you printed anything? Are you happy with it? What's your impressions so far?

Yes lots of failures but I guess its a learning curve. I had bed leveling issues and poor prints with layer shift, since found out that the 2 or the 3 screws holding the main x-y carriage where missing and the 3rd was loose.

tightening them has solved the layer shift but Im still getting 1mm variation on the bed calibration. guys on the forum think it is the micro switch but it seems to work fine when I tested it with a meter.

I think it will be a good machine but needs a few tweeks and lots of wear, the previous owners must have used it a lot.

biggest issues that i missed when researching are the bowden extruder and being stuck with the wanhao maker slicer program. (firm ware upgrades to 3d partry but not brave enough to try)

[A_Camera]

Yes lots of failures but I guess its a learning curve. I had bed leveling issues and poor prints with layer shift, since found out that the 2 or the 3 screws holding the main x-y carriage where missing and the 3rd was loose.

Too bad... never the less, at that price I'd expect that something needs to be fixed. Glad you managed to fix those small and simple things. Levelling issues are not difficult to fix but depending on the results you expect and the instruments you have to help you, can take time. Anyway, regardless if it is a CNC or a 3D printer, I think that spending time on levelling is beneficial in the long terms.

tightening them has solved the layer shift but Im still getting 1mm variation on the bed calibration. guys on the forum think it is the micro switch but it seems to work fine when I tested it with a meter.

Not good. On the other hand, 1mm variation should be easy to reduce considerably. If you have an instrument to measure than you could see if the problem is mechanical or electrical. The mechanical variation takes some time to remove or reduce, but normally should not be too difficult.

I think it will be a good machine but needs a few tweeks and lots of wear, the previous owners must have used it a lot.

biggest issues that i missed when researching are the bowden extruder and being stuck with the wanhao maker slicer program. (firm ware upgrades to 3d partry but not brave enough to try)

What do you mean is the issue with the bowden extruder? The printer I am planning to build is planned to have bowden type of extruder, so I'd be interested if there is an issue I did not think about.

[magicniner]

How long did it take to print it? Which temperatures did you have on the table and the extruder?

I think the print was about an hour and 40 minutes, 0.4 nozzle, 0.2 layer, 60C bed 170C hot end.
It's in Taulman Bridge which is lovely to work with compared to standard Nylon 6 filaments.

[Desertboy]

I think the print was about an hour and 40 minutes, 0.4 nozzle, 0.2 layer, 60C bed 170C hot end.
It's in Taulman Bridge which is lovely to work with compared to standard Nylon 6 filaments.

I found PLA a lot easier to print with than ABS I only recently changed my hot end to an E3d clone so can now print Nylon, etc. The only issue with PLA is it's absorbs water so make sure you store in with silica gel and if it has absorbed moisture an hour in the oven at 80c will sort it out.

I bought 10kg's of ABS when I first bought my printer so I make it work lol but my life would have ben much easier if I had bought 10kg of PLA instead ;)

I find ABS is strong than PLA but there's not a lot in it.

[magicniner]

The only issue with PLA is it's absorbs water so make sure you store in with silica gel and if it has absorbed moisture an hour in the oven at 80c will sort it out.

Nylon can absorb up to 20% of it's weight in water and can need 1 to 4 hours at 80C to dry a full reel to the core, PLA at 80C for 1 to 4 hours will yield a nice bit of modern art but no useful filament ;-)

I find ABS is strong than PLA but there's not a lot in it.

Print a mount for your phone in PLA and leave it on the dash in a hot car on a sunny day, then tell me that :D


I'm interested in making functional plastic components and while PLA is OK for a few bits it's properties limit it's usefulness in any applications which require greater permanence.

- Nick

[Desertboy]

Nylon can absorb up to 20% of it's weight in water and can need 1 to 4 hours at 80C to dry a full reel to the core, PLA at 80C for 1 to 4 hours will yield a nice bit of modern art but no useful filament ;-)



Print a mount for your phone in PLA and leave it on the dash in a hot car on a sunny day, then tell me that :D


I'm interested in making functional plastic components and while PLA is OK for a few bits it's properties limit it's usefulness in any applications which require greater permanence.

- Nick

I forgot the heat thing, I print everything in ABS apart from the first prints I did so never noticed it lol.

If you want to make injection mold strength parts maybe consider Nylon or Polyurethane casting especially if you want produce a lot of one part, you can use a router or 3d printer to make you master molds.

I definitely want to have a go at casting with polyurethane and also aluminium casting but need to make a furnace first. Vacuum former is the next project but cnc style lol.

[A_Camera]

I've been printing some Nylon parts with my Factory 3D Prusa i3 clone kit ;-)
This is my PLA part cooling duct with a 40mm fan.


- Nick

How long did it take to print it? Which temperatures did you have on the table and the extruder?