DIY 3D Printers

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218 posts

Master Geek

#2324274 25-Sep-2019 06:16

2 quick notes on customs, tax, and shipping...

NZPost will give you a local address in Europe or USA which then gets forwarded to you in NZ. They recently advised that all products, regardless of value, will attract GST when using this mechanism.

I'll be stoked if my new light bulbs arrive without getting slapped with customs & GST, but I'll also be perfectly happy if they do. Im importing a product into NZ, so I expect to pay the associated duties & taxes.

Anyone who has used the public health system thanks you for your contribution to our society :)

I feel like I should say something about 3D printers... I used the one at the library, and a professional outfit. If any of you enthusiasts with a fancy new machine wants extra practice, there's a market for a reasonably priced printing service!

Item

1717 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2324385 25-Sep-2019 09:54

chimera:

Got any photo's of your setup with all the mods?

But of course!

All the green bits are printed parts...

Item

1717 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2324448 25-Sep-2019 10:59

And in consideration of all my tweaking and modding over the last few weeks, my top "first" recommendations are as follows:

1) The Silent 1.1.5 Motherboard. So much smoother. So much quieter. No idea why it doesn't ship with it TBH

2) Octoprint on a Raspberry Pi! I have never used the SD card reader - just went straight to Octoprint from day one and can't imagine fiddling around without it. Essential!

2) The TH3D Unified Firmware - even without item one this is worth doing https://www.th3dstudio.com/knowledgebase/th3d-unified-firmware-package/ Adds the "Corner Levelling" feature and other fixes and tweaks and this deployment of it is very well put together and easy to do.

3) Glass bed. I actually got very good results with the stock, but levelling and staying level is much better with the glass, and adhesion at lower temperatures is easier. The added weight can cause issues with the bed sinking when the steppers are off (not whilst printing!), but the small screw guide mount (the green thing at the top centre of the Z screw) combined with the updated firmware and board seems to have fixed this!

If you intend to leave the thing printing whilst you are out of the house, then for sure get a camera setup as well - just in case you print goes awry and you need to remotely manage (Octoprint again!)

Next step is to finish building some nicer cable guides to tidy it up and then I will try some large, challenging prints and some ABS filament (though of course, that may necessitate an upgraded Hot End)

chimera

506 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2329082 3-Oct-2019 15:41

I'm just gonna throw a plug out to Mecha4makers in Wgtn for 3D printer parts. @Item passed me onto these guys, very well priced, SUPER fast delivery... they get stuff out the door really quick, so minimal waiting! I've ordered several things from other suppliers (some literally a 20 min drive away) earlier in the week and they STILL haven't arrived.

https://mecha4makers.co.nz

Thumbs up!

mdf

3513 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2329116 3-Oct-2019 16:38

chimera:

I'm just gonna throw a plug out to Mecha4makers in Wgtn for 3D printer parts. @Item passed me onto these guys, very well priced, SUPER fast delivery... they get stuff out the door really quick, so minimal waiting! I've ordered several things from other suppliers (some literally a 20 min drive away) earlier in the week and they STILL haven't arrived.

https://mecha4makers.co.nz

Thumbs up!

Agree with this, Lindsay @ Mecha4makers is great to deal with and super helpful.

Tinkerisk

4227 posts

Uber Geek

#2329140 3-Oct-2019 17:45

Item:
So I just ordered myself an Ender 5 from Aliexpress (now shipped, cross fingers) along with the following mods:

1) TL Smoothers

I don't recommend to buy those since they are useless for most modern stepper motor drivers (especially the TMC type ones).

- NET: FTTH, OPNsense, 10G backbone, GWN APs, ipPBX
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- 3D: two 3D printers, 3D scanner, CNC router, laser cutter

Item

1717 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2329197 3-Oct-2019 18:46

Tinkerisk:
Item:

So I just ordered myself an Ender 5 from Aliexpress (now shipped, cross fingers) along with the following mods:

1) TL Smoothers

I don't recommend to buy those since they are useless for most modern stepper motor drivers (especially the TMC type ones).

i ended up buying the upgraded motherboard with the TMC drivers instead - works great! The smoothers are still on their way from China and will go in a drawer when they arrive I guess!

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geoffwnz

1587 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2336515 14-Oct-2019 08:52

I took the plunge into the world of 3D printing, thanks in part to this thread, I ordered an Ender 3 with the glass bed. 10 days order to delivery and it arrived unexpectedly on Saturday. There goes the weekend chores. :-p

The various upgrade parts are still in transit (Silent board, Capricorn Bowden tube etc) but got it set up and running in a couple of hours without rushing things.

Exceeded expectations in that I was able to print the micro test thing pretty much straight out of the box. Next few small prints had some issues with not sticking to the build plate, but once I got some isopropyl alcohol to wipe it down and tweaked many initial layer settings, they almost stick too well now.

Doing the research first was definitely useful for managing expectations on the ratio of successful to failed prints. Unlike inkjet and laser printers that you can just buy, plug in and they work out of the box, the fact that you have to spend the first weekend printing parts for the printer itself while tweaking settings and setting things up definitely appeals to the tinkerer in me. :-)

I got OctoPrint up and running, then once I finally managed to successfully print the camera mount, added that too. Then discovered that you need to print a focus tool for that too. *sigh*

So, overall, very happy with it and looking forward to much tinkering and printing in my future.

Pros:
PRINT ALL THE THINGS!!!!!
Fun hobby. Both to build and tweak the printer and producing "useful" stuff.
Satisfying to see a model on the screen turn up on the build plate.

Cons:
Speed. But the novelty factor will wear off soon enough, so I'll be more inclined to fire and forget rather than wanting to see every layer print.
Build failure rate. Though this is reducing as I tweak and improve.

Upgrades from the list above:
1. Silent board - On the way.
2. OctoPrint - Installed.
3. THD Firmware. Will probably install this in the not too distant future as I have got the BLTouch auto leveling kit on the way also.
4. Glass bed. Ordered the kit with it included and switched it in right from the start.

Other upgrades on the way:
All Metal Hot End.
Hardened nozzle.
Capricorn Bowden tube.
All Metal Extruder.
Uprated bed springs.

MotorDrive Rallying

Tinkerisk

4227 posts

Uber Geek

#2336517 14-Oct-2019 08:59

Welcome to the CAM side - tweaking of 3D printers to the max is addictive :-)

geoffwnz

1587 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2336518 14-Oct-2019 09:07

Tinkerisk:

Welcome to the CAM side - tweaking of 3D printers to the max is addictive :-)

Takes me back to the days of building PC's from the ground up, then overclocking the life out of them (sometimes literally).

Sooooo many settings. Between the printer itself, OctoPrint/OctoLapse etc and Cura. Quite happy you can set up profiles for the various things in Cura. Print with Brim, select that profile. Print with Skirt, select that profile.

I'm sure I'll look back at this first prints in the coming months/years and wonder how I managed to print them so "badly". But hey, it's a hobby for tinkerers and tweakers (which I think is the key point to limit frustration). :-)

MotorDrive Rallying

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#2343114 24-Oct-2019 16:00

I made two mods that really made a difference for me.

First was the uprated bed springs, I haven't re-leveled the bed in a month now.

Second was this mod that solved the problem I was having of print head blockages caused by the bowden tube moving and creating a void where melted plastic could build up. This of course caused all sorts of issues, under-extrusion etc. Since doing the mod my printer works fine every time.

This is the link to the file on Thingiverse.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

geoffwnz

1587 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2343379 25-Oct-2019 09:10

peejayw:

I made two mods that really made a difference for me.

First was the uprated bed springs, I haven't re-leveled the bed in a month now.

Second was this mod that solved the problem I was having of print head blockages caused by the bowden tube moving and creating a void where melted plastic could build up. This of course caused all sorts of issues, under-extrusion etc. Since doing the mod my printer works fine every time.

This is the link to the file on Thingiverse.

The uprated bed springs have been sitting next to the printer for a week now, just waiting for me to have time to swap them out and re-level the bed. That said, I've only re-leveled it once in a week so it's been not to bad even with stock springs.

Does the Hot End mod apply to upgraded hot ends as well? I'm assuming it does given they all use the same fittings etc.

Hopefully on Monday I'll have some time to upgrade the hardware that's arrived then go through all the calibration processes again. :-)

MotorDrive Rallying

geoffwnz

1587 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2347948 4-Nov-2019 09:35

geoffwnz:

peejayw:

I made two mods that really made a difference for me.

First was the uprated bed springs, I haven't re-leveled the bed in a month now.

Second was this mod that solved the problem I was having of print head blockages caused by the bowden tube moving and creating a void where melted plastic could build up. This of course caused all sorts of issues, under-extrusion etc. Since doing the mod my printer works fine every time.

This is the link to the file on Thingiverse.

The uprated bed springs have been sitting next to the printer for a week now, just waiting for me to have time to swap them out and re-level the bed. That said, I've only re-leveled it once in a week so it's been not to bad even with stock springs.

Does the Hot End mod apply to upgraded hot ends as well? I'm assuming it does given they all use the same fittings etc.

Hopefully on Monday I'll have some time to upgrade the hardware that's arrived then go through all the calibration processes again. :-)

Finally got round to having some time to install the hardware upgrades. Who knew the bed springs came in different sizes? I do now. Correct ones ordered.

Swapped out the mainboard, turned on the machine and didn't notice any difference. Then I loaded up a test print and discovered the difference. It's kinda spooky how quiet the stepper motors are now and it is just the cooling fans making noise now.

Printed some further upgraded filament guides that use small pieces of bowden tube as the filament was rubbing a groove into the normal guide and slightly sticking to it.

Extruder upgraded to the all metal version and that's currently fixed the skipping that was starting to occur on the stock one.

Haven't bothered upgrading the hot end as yet given the stock one is working fine for PLA. If/when I get round to attempting some of the more abrasive or higher temp required filaments then I'll swap it out.

Otherwise, it's still printing well. Experimenting with the Super Quality setting and tree supports in Cura for D&D monster minis which seemed to work quite well so far.

MotorDrive Rallying

Guilliman

80 posts

Master Geek

#2385110 4-Jan-2020 18:36

I had a long-winded post typed up but went out before finalising it and forgot about the timeout.

Anyway, I've been chugging away with a Creality Ender 3 Pro from Amazon, primarily I've been printing some pepakura models imported to Blender, processed then exported to use in Cura. Some prints have worked, some haven't as I'm having some issues with overhangs [particularly as I'm wanting to limit the use of supports].

Anything, one thing I wanted to ask is what people are doing with their failed prints/discarded supports and related PLA scrap. I've looked around and there are various extruder options [cheapest I've seen to date is a filastruder] but even with one of these there's still the matter of shredding the PLA.

geoffwnz

1587 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2385297 5-Jan-2020 10:13

Guilliman:

Anything, one thing I wanted to ask is what people are doing with their failed prints/discarded supports and related PLA scrap. I've looked around and there are various extruder options [cheapest I've seen to date is a filastruder] but even with one of these there's still the matter of shredding the PLA.

Currently I'm just collecting all the scrap in a big container. The intention is to get a Filastruder this year and start looking at recycling the scrap into usable filament. From what I've researched so far, the easiest way to shred the scrap is going to be a blender (Will it blend?) to reduce the scrap to pieces small enough to put through the feeder. No-one seems to make either a complete or kitset shredder that it's up in the industrial/commercial price range.

Also from what I've seen so far, 100% recycled PLA apparently doesn't work too well, but a blend of raw pellets mixed with the recycled stuff seems to work. Gonna have to find a source for those.

MotorDrive Rallying

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