Attention 3d printer owners......................

[davinche]

Just kidding, there's one more thing I would like to add. I believe there was at one point a bug with "restore_leveling_after_g28" option in the marlin firmware. Not sure which version of the firmware fixes it, but I'm on the latest 1.1.9 version of Marlin. I haven't played with 2.0 yet since everything is printing perfectly for me on 1.1.9.

[RockyTop]

20 minutes ago, davinche said:

There is one last advice I have for the BLTouch. It needs to be at a specific offset relative to the tip of the nozzle. 

I will try that on a few of the trouble makers. 

[redsnapper]

@RockyTop - you are a mad genius! Your filament must arrive on pallets!  I sure don't wanna see your power bill... I notice some designs for entire EUC shells on thingverse... 

Which cad tool are you using for building your designs?

[RockyTop]

39 minutes ago, amelanso said:

@RockyTop - you are a mad genius! Your filament must arrive on pallets!  I sure don't wanna see your power bill... I notice some designs for entire EUC shells on thingverse... 

Which cad tool are you using for building your designs?

It arrives in large quantities for sure. Looking back, I used to order three 1kg rolls when I got down to three 1kg rolls left in the closet.  Now?? 3kg last hours not days.  I buy about 7-12 of the 5kg rolls every other week. One 5kg roll last one printer 14-16 days. 

I can get 5 printers on a 20 amp breaker. I could get more but if you start them up at the same time they pull quite a bit until they get up to temp. The power bill is not as bad as you might expect. Power is cheap in the south. We have hydro and nuclear close by, as in less than 5 miles to either. I don't think most people understand how much heat 8 printers in one room puts out. I had to add a window unit. I have started a second room down stairs with four more printers and two others still boxed up. It can be difficult to get these printers at times. 

If you like controlling every detail like me, I would suggest Fusion 360. It is free to hobbyist. ( expensive for me) 

If you are more of an artist, or you don't have the time. Fusion 360 is not the way to go.

Edited June 8, 2020 by RockyTop

[RockyTop]

More tips / info on the Creality printers. 

1) Clean the fans every few days of use. The front fan get build up in places that you can see or get to without removing the fan. I break the spokes of the grill off so that disassembly is not necessary. symptom are heat creep ending in a clog

2)Bowden tubes need to be replace every full month of continuous use. The nearly direct drive still uses about two inches of bowden tube.  Warn/ loose tubes clog. 

3) the brass drive gear can be moved forward or back to find a non worn part of the gear. Each position lasts about a month of continuous use If the gear is not sharp enough to trim your fingernails it can start slipping. symptom , under extrusion, gaps in print, clog. 

4) I can't prove that all metal extuders are better but they have to be. ....... because ....... they just are! 

5) All metal hotends.  I have one ender 5 plus with a Micro Swiss that works very nicely.  I had three with all metal Micro Swiss hotends. I swapped two of them back. What they do not tell you is that even though the all metal hotend saves your bowned tube and allows you to print at higher temps they have more friction and make things more temperamental and the temps fluctuate more. That said, some of my best prints have come from an all metal Micro Swiss. 

[mike_bike_kite]

I'd  always fancied a 3D printer ever since I first heard of them. The idea of being able to print out a component or design and create prototype hardware was really appealing. It just smelt like the future in the same way that our EUC's do. It might even be useful - I've got a leaking tap in my kitchen because I can't obtain the cartridge for the mixer tap so in theory a 3D printer could just make one. The reality (for me) though is that there aren't any designs available for anything I need and I'd be left with some futuristic machine printing out endless toy models of Yoda. 

[RockyTop]

3 hours ago, mike_bike_kite said:

I'd be left with some futuristic machine printing out endless toy models of Yoda. 

That is what I was thinking. It really is a hobby. 99.9% of people never print much that is useful. For most it is just a fun/frustrating toy that prints Yoda.

I refused to get one unless I had an actual use for it. The final straw for me was watching one YouTube video after an other having nothing to do with 3D printing ending in , " I just printed this to fix the problem. "  It left me thinking, this guy putting speakers in his Ford Fiesta has a 3D printer? This 80 year old guy is telling me that this random product is great but he 3D printed better handles for it. Five videos in a row had the phrase, " I just printed this" ,  I felt like I was left behind. 

[redsnapper]

To the person with a hammer, everything is a nail. With access to a 3dprinter, you start to imagine elegant solutions to problems that were once resolved with spit and duct tape! And you start to see enhancements to non-problems.   Need custom feet for getting the proper isolation/angle on loudspeakers? How bout funky looking shades for your RV lights? Embossed info tag for your pet? JUST PRINT IT!

The biggest obstacle is putting in the time to learn a cad tool so that you can design your own objects quickly.  But like learning to ride an EUC, it`s all part of the fun! I must confess I was much quicker at learning EUC than cad though :-(

[RockyTop]

3 hours ago, amelanso said:

To the person with a hammer, everything is a nail. With access to a 3dprinter, you start to imagine elegant solutions to problems that were once resolved with spit and duct tape! And you start to see enhancements to non-problems.   Need custom feet for getting the proper isolation/angle on loudspeakers? How bout funky looking shades for your RV lights? Embossed info tag for your pet? JUST PRINT IT!

The biggest obstacle is putting in the time to learn a cad tool so that you can design your own objects quickly.  But like learning to ride an EUC, it`s all part of the fun! I must confess I was much quicker at learning EUC than cad though :-(

You are absolutely correct. It took me almost a year to start thinkIng, I can just design and print that. After dropping my phone And watching it pass through several deck belts while mowing my lawn. I thought, I can print a phone holder for under the seat. I can print a new shifter knob and a cover for the belt inspection widow. 
 

P.S. the phone survived unharmed. 

Edited June 8, 2020 by RockyTop

[AtlasP]

@RockyTop--I absolutely love the design of your stands with the built-in charger holder! So simple I can't believe I have never seen anyone do something like it before. Have you considered designing a version that accommodates the eWheels rapid charger? (It's a fair bit larger.)

[RockyTop]

2 hours ago, AtlasP said:

@RockyTop--I absolutely love the design of your stands with the built-in charger holder! So simple I can't believe I have never seen anyone do something like it before. Have you considered designing a version that accommodates the eWheels rapid charger? (It's a fair bit larger.)

Thanks!  I need to look into accommodating the eWheels charger again. I stayed away from it a few month ago because I had a lot in front of me at the time. I was also concerned about the heat requirements. It is not obvious in the pictures. The charger holder holds the charger tightly yet has very little actual contact with the charger. The bottom and sides are open with a clear flow path to allow air to flow around the charger from the bottom up. Heat rises. I think that I have a solution for the Nikola and eWheels chargers that can be retrofitted/added to all of the stands sent out. Luckily I thought to incorporate a common to all stands bolt pattern on the side of each stand.

[AtlasP]

21 hours ago, RockyTop said:

Thanks!  I need to look into accommodating the eWheels charger again. I stayed away from it a few month ago because I had a lot in front of me at the time. I was also concerned about the heat requirements. It is not obvious in the pictures. The charger holder holds the charger tightly yet has very little actual contact with the charger. The bottom and sides are open with a clear flow path to allow air to flow around the charger from the bottom up. Heat rises. I think that I have a solution for the Nikola and eWheels chargers that can be retrofitted/added to all of the stands sent out. Luckily I thought to incorporate a common to all stands bolt pattern on the side of each stand.

 

 

 

Awesome. One other low-hanging fruit, it appears the new V11 will be shipping by default with two 2.5 A chargers. If you add mount holes on both sides if/when you get around to making a V11 stand and its charger holder, then it would be able to accommodate both of them with almost no extra work. (Likewise this approach would work for the Gotway models that support dual chargers--just need the one holder design, then the base stand could accommodate one or two chargers.) Would then just need to add the option for one or two charger holders on the ebay dropdown.

Edited June 10, 2020 by AtlasP

[BarrettJ]

On 6/6/2020 at 3:59 PM, RockyTop said:

                    2) Turn off the Auto bed level and learn to level the bed manually. You can level the bed more reliably. 

 

This misunderstands the purpose of mesh bed leveling.  You still want your bed manually leveled - but mesh/auto leveling will make a 3d map of what your build plate looks like (with its minor imperfections and warping due to heat) and then account for those imperfections.  Even if your bed is 100% level - mesh leveling accounts for warps in the surface in a way that turning knobs cannot.  Additionally I don't think you can actually level the bed more reliably by hand/eye than having a probe give you measurements and deltas across the entire build plate and using that as your guide for manually leveling.

[RockyTop]

38 minutes ago, BarrettJ said:

This misunderstands the purpose of mesh bed leveling.  You still want your bed manually leveled - but mesh/auto leveling will make a 3d map of what your build plate looks like (with its minor imperfections and warping due to heat) and then account for those imperfections.  Even if your bed is 100% level - mesh leveling accounts for warps in the surface in a way that turning knobs cannot.  Additionally I don't think you can actually level the bed more reliably by hand/eye than having a probe give you measurements and deltas across the entire build plate and using that as your guide for manually leveling.

I agree in theory. However the tool used to measure the bed would have to be more accurate than the bed is warped. I have not found that to be the case. When you tell the measuring device to measure the same thing several times and it comes up with completely different answers each time either the bed is drastically changing its warped shape making an attempt to measure it useless or the measuring device is useless creating a false topography.

Disclaimer: I have only ever printed on glass. 

Edited June 10, 2020 by RockyTop

[RockyTop]

4 hours ago, AtlasP said:

Awesome. One other low-hanging fruit, it appears the new V11 will be shipping by default with two 2.5 A chargers. If you add mount holes on both sides if/when you get around to making a V11 stand and its charger holder, then it would be able to accommodate both of them with almost no extra work. (Likewise this approach would work for the Gotway models that support dual chargers--just need the one holder design, then the base stand could accommodate one or two chargers.) Would then just need to add the option for one or two charger holders on the ebay dropdown.

Great advice. I actually made a version of the 18XL that had a charger on each side. I held it back because I did not think that it would be popular.I was wrong. It has been requested several times. I made the stand and sent it out to them. It will become a standard option for the 18XL soon. Building and presenting so many uniquely different items with additional options adds up quick. I am still looking for people to measure the Monster, MCM5 and Tesla while updating information on stands that I already have. I still need to take pictures and update my listings on eBay. 

[redsnapper]

13 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

I am still looking for people to measure the Monster, MCM5 and Tesla

How bout you partner with a local EUC seller - they supply you with each model so you can ''measure them'' (wink, wink) and you provide them with stands for each model they can sell in their shop!

[RockyTop]

4 minutes ago, amelanso said:

How bout you partner with a local EUC seller - they supply you with each model so you can ''measure them'' (wink, wink) and you provide them with stands for each model they can sell in their shop!

I Think that the closest EUC store is in NY?  We have a shop that rents InMotion V5 and V8. I was able to measure those and gave the store owner free stands. I guess that I need to travel to Atlanta and bother some of those fine folks before a group ride. Make a day of it if they will have me. 

 

[mike_bike_kite]

I came across this live video feed today about a Dutch designer who produces everything from chairs to bridges with 3D printers. I found it fascinating. Any guesses at how much it would cost to print the black and white jigsaw chair (I want one)?

[BarrettJ]

15 hours ago, RockyTop said:

I agree in theory. However the tool used to measure the bed would have to be more accurate than the bed is warped. I have not found that to be the case. When you tell the measuring device to measure the same thing several times and it comes up with completely different answers each time either the bed is drastically changing its warped shape making an attempt to measure it useless or the measuring device is useless creating a false topography.

Disclaimer: I have only ever printed on glass. 

Perhaps you incorrectly mounted your measuring probe or it is malfunctioning.  

You're correct, you shouldn't get completely different answers each time which is why it firmwares will do multiple probes and will repeat if they don't get values in the expected range - an expected range to a degree of accuracy that would be impossible to accurately ascertain by eye or feel, no less.

You're literally trying to say you can eyeball or feel to a higher degree of accuracy than a machine designed for measuring.

Edited June 11, 2020 by BarrettJ
made pronoun more clear

[RockyTop]

5 hours ago, BarrettJ said:

You're literally trying to say you can eyeball or feel to a higher degree of accuracy than a machine designed for measuring.

Absolutely! Without a doubt! 
This is not just my opinion. Many of the 3D printer people on YouTube agree. 

Edited June 11, 2020 by RockyTop

[redsnapper]

1 hour ago, RockyTop said:

Absolutely! Without a doubt! 
This is not just my opinion. Many of the 3D printer people on YouTube agree. 

I am thinking a guy like  @RockyTop who runs 15+ printers simultaneously and who is 3d printing on a commercial scale probably has an authoritative opinion on this...

[redsnapper]

Looking for input from you experts - I am printing a thin walled 1/2 cylinder with diamond pattern holes of @ 5mmx3mm - the object is vertical on the bed as printing horizontally lead to bad voodoo ( as the extruder layers start to move toward the middle of the parabola and no longer playing nice with gravity ). My diamond holes are not clean - the whole thing looks like crap. I am doing 0.1mm layers with a raft to stabilise the base. Am I pushing the Ender3 beyond its capacity? 

[RockyTop]

1 hour ago, amelanso said:

Looking for input from you experts - I am printing a thin walled 1/2 cylinder with diamond pattern holes of @ 5mmx3mm - the object is vertical on the bed as printing horizontally lead to bad voodoo ( as the extruder layers start to move toward the middle of the parabola and no longer playing nice with gravity ). My diamond holes are not clean - the whole thing looks like crap. I am doing 0.1mm layers with a raft to stabilise the base. Am I pushing the Ender3 beyond its capacity? 

Diamonds are not easy. Triangles with the point down are much easier. Printers can bridge better than most people realize. It is a long shot but you cold try to print colder and slower. Second, Cura has a feature that distorts the G code to compensate for Horizontal sag. To answer your question, I don’t think that it is beyond the printers abilities. In the end it is all about the settings. I personally have worked towards bigger and faster without sacrificing quality. 
If you really want to learn some handy tricks, Chep is one of the guy to watch. 

 

[.....]

Ive spent an hour just trying to put a cylindrical hole into a sphere in fusion software. I am already getting hooked and wishing I could play with a printer. Fwiw, fusion isnt an offline program, they require you to sync it up at least every 2 weeks. If my internet ever starts streaming worth a crap, I can see there are DAYS worth of tutorials I can take advantage of. This is looking to be like playdoh for big kids! Luckily I already have a few measurement tools and a 3rd grade edumacation...  shouldnt take me 20-30yrs or so to print something that holds together.

[RockyTop]

10 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Ive spent an hour just trying to put a cylindrical hole into a sphere in fusion software. I am already getting hooked and wishing I could play with a printer. I can see there are DAYS worth of tutorials I can take advantage of. This is looking to be like playdoh for big kids! 

Great!!   if you can get past the learning curve on Fusion 360 you are home free. Now you just have to except that the printer is going to mess up then when the printer gets it right you mess up. Then when you both get it right you run out of filament or the power goes out.    It is Great !!