elpenguino: Did it come with filament?

I don't have any so if I know I need some, I'll get some.

Kapiti Hobbies stocks eSun.  Scott's a good bloke and worth doing business with.  Plus as he operates out of his pharmacy he is able to run during lock downs :-)

elpenguino: I would have previously thought 3d printing and pharmacy a strange pair but the last few posts made so little sense to me , I now see 3D printing and pharmacy are a good match.

Scott's a wargamer.  He had some space in the pharmacy so he started stocking wargaming products.  It did so well that it now takes up one side of the store.  3D printing is now a big part of wargaming.  During the Auckland lockdown a whole bunch of us ran out of supplies and couldn't get anymore.  So Scott ordered a pallet of resin and PLA.  He has a loyalty scheme too.   

here's what is probably a stupid question: Is all filament you buy the same diameter?

Just had a squiz online and at first sight they're sold by weight/colour with no mention of diameter,

elpenguino:

 

here's what is probably a stupid question: Is all filament you buy the same diameter?

 

Just had a squiz online and at first sight they're sold by weight/colour with no mention of diameter,

 

The diameter you need is 1.75mm, there are some at 2.85mm but the latter is less common.

All sorts of suppliers, but i would recommend eSun as a basic reliable filament.

What color filament would you pick, assuming just the one roll (for now)

Hard to guess what would be the best color for all the various small gidgets and do-dahs

1101:

 

What color filament would you pick, assuming just the one roll (for now)

Hard to guess what would be the best color for all the various small gidgets and do-dahs

 

I generally print in white as this matches the type of items I need to fix around the house , but for items for the ender 3 such as tool drawer and light bar will probably use black filament.

1101:

 

What color filament would you pick, assuming just the one roll (for now)

Hard to guess what would be the best color for all the various small gidgets and do-dahs

 

Good question.

Is it a PITA to change colours , you know, flush the system out, do you get colour contamination etc?

elpenguino:

Good question.

Is it a PITA to change colours , you know, flush the system out, do you get colour contamination etc?

elpenguino:

 

Is it a PITA to change colours , you know, flush the system out, do you get colour contamination etc?

 

2 minute job. Heat the hot end (longest part). Pull out old filament. Feed in new filament. Purge a bit (either manually or using the controller to extrude some). Done.

An extruder knob helps with the purging bit. See: https://www.thingiverse.com/tag:extruder_knob

Colour is personal choice, and what you're doing with it. Stuff around the house: white and black (and maybe grey/silver) since they are the least intrusive/most generic. I've printed a lot in royal blue and black, and have a bit of a theme going in places (colours of one of my sports clubs incidentially). Low Poly Pikachu: clearly yellow is the only option. Yoda/the child: Green. And so forth.

FWIW, I mostly buy filament from Kiwi3d. Their PLA+ stuff is very nice; prints super well on my e3pro at 205 degrees.

If you do buy extra filament, don't open it until you need to use it. And from there, a filament dry box is a good idea. Lot's of options online, but essentially a plastic box with some kind of silica in it to absorb the water. Otherwise a vacuum seal bag with silica packets.

Printer now built, went together well and did check all square of the side and top bars.

Just waiting on my glass bed to start printing. Was thinking of getting a feeler gauge set and using that to align the bed, hold the 0.2mm gauge under the nozzle and wind up the bed until it stops moving freely, then wind the bed down by half a turn of the levelling wheel. Repeat on all four corners and centre. Has anyone else used a feeler gauge and how did it go ?

I really like the partial kit approach as it teaches all the printer parts and how to initially troubleshoot. 

Anyone know who locally does the best deal on filaments and ships quickly? My 2 rolls are shot and I dont want to have to wait on china shipping to get printing again.

1st test print today, the benchie.
One good thing, it heats up so much quicker than my previous 12v printer.

This is as is , without any real tweaking. All it did was follow the build vids & made sure everything was squared up & not drooping.
My lead screw was at a bit of an angle, I got it as good as I could , bit I'm sure that will go out of wack again.

I havnt done the extraction/retraction or other calibrartion .
Benchie was using 5 year old PLA :-)
A bit of stringing, some zebra stripes on the cabin, but portholes & windows are round . I think there are some artifacts from the noticeable flat spots on the carriage wheels .

Im really happy with the first print. It shows I dont need to spend hours tweeking.
I just want to print usefull stuff that doesnt need to look perfect, holders, clamps , tools, brackets etc.
Printer works, now I can buy some PETG .