3D Printers

hmlittle59

Hello All,

Just took another step. Ordered my first 3D Printer, yes I did use one OFF an ON at the now (Out of Business) local Tech Shop for just over a year. I currently want to update an old Case for my new PCB and then I was presented with a new project and I've built the 1st Enclosure out of card board and now I know what I want for the 1st prototype.
Did my research from Youtube and found what I wanted to buy and had the Credit Card out to get the Dremel 3D 40. Then I found the Dremel 3D 45 and was even more sold. The price was way over for the actual working product that you would get though. The extra bells and whistles I was just going to bite the bullet on. I then took 2 weeks off from researching (family things, relearning Autodesk inventor and getting my new RS232 Scanner working properly). Thanks Chris.
Further research has lead me to the QIDI Tech 3D 3DP-QDA16-01 Dual Extruder printer by QIDI TECHNOLOGY, purchased from WalMart with their 4 yr $105 extended warranty for a total of$910. Six (6) to 12 days to deliver though, free shipping. It may be a bit over kill but this will push me even more and way cheaper then the Dremel.

If anyone has comments on this printer or family of printers please let me know. I will be needing ALL the feed back and help that I can get. Lots of Youtube.com videos and the 2 week break has lead me to this printer.


Thanks for any feed back.

iseries

I have had a 3D printer for some time now and if I were going to get a new one I would go with a Prusa.

I think most of the printer are the same. They all deposit plastic based on a stepper motor.

My first unit came as a kit and I was happy with that as it was also open sources so I can see how it is all done.

For me the main thing now is print area. Some parts require a good print area and mine just falls short in that area.

The nice thing about a Prusa is the metal bed. I fight to get my parts off the bed of the printer and this makes it a no brainer.

Check it out here: https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/180-original-prusa-i3-mk3-kit.html#

Mike

PS: my first printer costed $220 shipped.

Bean

My newest thing to use on the bed is a piece of 0.031" single sided PCB (copper side down) coated with elmers glue stick.
It sticks very well and when the print is done, I can take it off (it is held on with those springy paper clips) and flex it to get the part loose.

I only print PLA because I don't have a heated bed.

Bean

iseries

Mine is a piece of glass with painters tape on it. I guess I could change out the glass for a copper clade board.

Mike

AwesomeCronk

Could one simply use a sheet of copper coated in Elmer's or something? I do not have a 3d Printer, but am looking at getting one and find this thread my be useful on printing bed issues.

Hugh

I use a build-sheet called Lokbuild (there are many others out there and I don't have any interest in the company). It's self-adhesive and the filament sticks to it really well (sometimes a tad too much). Because it has a slight texture, it also helps when levelling the bed - I use folded paper and as there starts to be some drag I can just feel the texture starting to affect things, at which point I stop. I used it on an iMakr STARTT without a heated bed and it stopped the warping and lifting.

Apart from printing stiffening brackets, filament holders, etc., to improve the performance, the best thing I did with my 3D printer (an Anet A8) is by a "Lack" table from IKEA (£10 delivered!) and fix the printer to it, making sure it was 100% square and even. The extra rigidity stopped some of the wobbles and I can move the printer without worrying too much about it going out of square.

Some of the cheaper motherboards have rather weedy (and non-replaceable) regulatorswith a tendency to 'let out the magic smoke'. There are lots of cheap MOSFET boards out there to take the strain and these are much cheaper than new motherboards.

I live in a house that seems to have a constant 'snow' of dust ( I don't know why!). After a while, the tiny amounts of dust on the filament built up and clogged the nozzle, so I added a filter. Putting the spool under the Lack table also helped.

A good guide to troubleshooting can be found here.

Jeff Haas

I want to get one of these but can’t quite justify it yet, the good ones are pretty expensive for the use I’d put them to. The cheap ones seem to have a lot of issue with the corners that were cut in materials and electronics.