What 3D printer should I buy.

[TheNaitsyrk]

I bought Ender 3 Pro not too long ago (had it for 3 days)

 

It's not been great. One thing printed perfectly as it has easy shape but anything more complex or smaller just gets completely wrecked.

 

Is there any other printer that's worth looking at in a price point of £400-500?

[TheKDub]

I have an Ender 3, it's been great so far, though I haven't printed a ton with it.

 

Have you tried changing your print settings at all? What slicer are you using?

 

I've printed stuff as small as a roughly 35mm tall D&D miniature with a 0.1mm layer height on the stock nozzle. I've heard of some people being able to print as low as 0.04mm layer height with the stock 0.4mm nozzle.

 

There are also plenty of mods you can do to the printer like different fans, fan shrouds, hot ends, direct drive filament feeding, aluminum feeder parts, better bowden tubes, better roller wheels, dual z-axis motors, etc...

[BrinkGG]

1 hour ago, TheNaitsyrk said:

I bought Ender 3 Pro not too long ago (had it for 3 days)

 

It's not been great. One thing printed perfectly as it has easy shape but anything more complex or smaller just gets completely wrecked.

 

Is there any other printer that's worth looking at in a price point of £400-500?

I'm gonna say this is user error more then printer error. (Nah I'm wrong here)

I've got an Ender 3 Pro as well and printed a full scale Thermite Rifle (with supports) part by part and it worked near perfectly. 

 

Have you looked into ideal settings and "Magic Numbers" for the ender 3 pro? You can drastically improve print quality with these 4 things:

Creawesome Mod settings

"Magic number" Print settings (every movement number is a multiple of 0.04mm)

Retraction settings (Stringy prints can be solved with this easily) 

Tree supports for anything more then a 60ish degree overhang 

 

If any of this doesn't make sense or you can't find it, try google, but I can also direct you to resources for all of these. 

 

(For anyone interested in the quality, here's some progress photos on the rifle: https://imgur.com/a/va0Vpd3 Printed at a 0.16mm layer height)

[TheNaitsyrk]

4 hours ago, TheKDub said:

I have an Ender 3, it's been great so far, though I haven't printed a ton with it.

 

Have you tried changing your print settings at all? What slicer are you using?

 

I've printed stuff as small as a roughly 35mm tall D&D miniature with a 0.1mm layer height on the stock nozzle. I've heard of some people being able to print as low as 0.04mm layer height with the stock 0.4mm nozzle.

 

There are also plenty of mods you can do to the printer like different fans, fan shrouds, hot ends, direct drive filament feeding, aluminum feeder parts, better bowden tubes, better roller wheels, dual z-axis motors, etc...

I have tried many many many settings in Cura.

 

Tried Cura 4.2.1, 4.1.0, 4.0.0. Tried the modded Cura also.

 

Cura 4.2.1 wouldn't let me create supports.

 

Tried printing at lowest PLA melting temperature.

 

I leveled the bed perfectly, it always sticks to the magnetic plate.

 

Slowest presets etc. Nothing worked. Prints larger stuff fine.

 

4 hours ago, BrinkGG said:

I'm gonna say this is user error more then printer error. 

I've got an Ender 3 Pro as well and printed a full scale Thermite Rifle (with supports) part by part and it worked near perfectly. 

 

Have you looked into ideal settings and "Magic Numbers" for the ender 3 pro? You can drastically improve print quality with these 4 things:

Creawesome Mod settings

"Magic number" Print settings (every movement number is a multiple of 0.04mm)

Retraction settings (Stringy prints can be solved with this easily) 

Tree supports for anything more then a 60ish degree overhang 

 

If any of this doesn't make sense or you can't find it, try google, but I can also direct you to resources for all of these. 

 

(For anyone interested in the quality, here's some progress photos on the rifle: https://imgur.com/a/va0Vpd3 Printed at a 0.16mm layer height)

I tried Creawsome mod, didn't help.

Stringing was never an issue.

Tree supports don't work at all in Cura for me.

 

Also shitting myself about Thermal Runaway Protection not being there, and having to add fuses etc.

[BrinkGG]

1 minute ago, TheNaitsyrk said:

I tried Creawsome mod, didn't help.

Stringing was never an issue.

Tree supports don't work at all in Cura for me.

Tree supports take wayyyy longer to generate then standard supports (Parts of that rifle took 4-5 minutes to generate support), So try whatever the newest version is after uninstalling earlier versions. 

 

Just to make sure, by completely wrecked, what do you mean? Like the layers shift part way through? If so, check belt tensions. 

[TheNaitsyrk]

Just now, BrinkGG said:

Tree supports take wayyyy longer to generate then standard supports (Parts of that rifle took 4-5 minutes to generate support), So try whatever the newest version is after uninstalling earlier versions. 

 

Just to make sure, by completely wrecked, what do you mean? Like the layers shift part way through? If so, check belt tensions. 

Anything that's larger prints fine.

 

Cura 4.2.1 doesn't generate ANY supports for me. Tried on 2 PCs. Literally nothing. 4.0.0 and 4.1.0 generates them fine.

[BrinkGG]

4 hours ago, TheNaitsyrk said:

Anything that's larger prints fine.

Cura 4.2.1 doesn't generate ANY supports for me. Tried on 2 PCs. Literally nothing. 4.0.0 and 4.1.0 generates them fine.

That absolutely looks like belt tension issues or loose eccentric wheels. The rounding at the ends is usually the nozzle whipping around because of that. You want the belts to be pretty much as tight as you can. The eccentric wheels should be tight, but should still be able to fall under their own weight. 

 

Have you done an initial setup tutorial like this one? 

 

[TheNaitsyrk]

3 hours ago, BrinkGG said:

That absolutely looks like belt tension issues or loose eccentric wheels. The rounding at the ends is usually the nozzle whipping around because of that. You want the belts to be pretty much as tight as you can. The eccentric wheels should be tight, but should still be able to fall under their own weight. 

 

Have you done an initial setup tutorial like this one? 

I followed a tutorial yea. The wheels are kind of shredding at the moment, but it's like a dust. The bed doesn't wiggle at all.

 

The belt was done the same like in one of the videos that I followed.

 

Adjusted the printing head motor thing (the unit) so it's also tight.

[BrinkGG]

20 minutes ago, TheNaitsyrk said:

I followed a tutorial yea. The wheels are kind of shredding at the moment, but it's like a dust. The bed doesn't wiggle at all.

 

The belt was done the same like in one of the videos that I followed.

 

Adjusted the printing head motor thing (the unit) so it's also tight.

Okay. At that point I'm not really sure what to tell you without being able to physically be there and troubleshoot it. I would take this to the /r/ender3 or /r/3dprinting subreddits and see what they say. Search/Scroll through the ender3 subreddit to find issues similar to yours. I'm sure it's been asked about before. You can also ask about the support issues in the /r/cura sub.

 

Sorry I can't help you more, my knowledge is somewhat limited atm, but I take back my comment about it being user error, this looks like more then that. 

[TheNaitsyrk]

11 minutes ago, BrinkGG said:

Okay. At that point I'm not really sure what to tell you without being able to physically be there and troubleshoot it. I would take this to the /r/ender3 or /r/3dprinting subreddits and see what they say. Search/Scroll through the ender3 subreddit to find issues similar to yours. I'm sure it's been asked about before. You can also ask about the support issues in the /r/cura sub.

 

Sorry I can't help you more, my knowledge is somewhat limited atm, but I take back my comment about it being user error, this looks like more then that. 

I really appreciate your support. I know it's user error but I tried a lot of settings with no help and it's getting frustrating now.

[airdeano]

it looks like you have the nozzle too high and/or the temperature of the material is too cold.

 

PLA for my E3 (no to diff) than the one i already posted for you, did you use it?):

Ender3_PLA_20.curaprofile

 

what STL are you printing? ill print it on my ender3 to compare..

 

[bignaz]

What do you want to print?

 

I started off with FDM and i hate them now.  Im all for SLA. And its only as messy as you make it. But you do have consumables now. But you get prints that FDM's cant even come close. And never need to think about layer adhesion because its resin.

 

Started off on a Form 1 then sold it got a Form 2. Then got a Autodesk Ember and picked up  2 Anet N4's.

 

This is what a $400 DLP printer can do. And each layer is 6 sec regardless of infill.

[TheNaitsyrk]

19 hours ago, bignaz said:

What do you want to print?

 

I started off with FDM and i hate them now.  Im all for SLA. And its only as messy as you make it. But you do have consumables now. But you get prints that FDM's cant even come close. And never need to think about layer adhesion because its resin.

 

Started off on a Form 1 then sold it got a Form 2. Then got a Autodesk Ember and picked up  2 Anet N4's.

 

This is what a $400 DLP printer can do. And each layer is 6 sec regardless of infill.

What printer is this exactly?

 

On 8/14/2019 at 6:52 PM, airdeano said:

it looks like you have the nozzle too high and/or the temperature of the material is too cold.

 

PLA for my E3 (no to diff) than the one i already posted for you, did you use it?):

Ender3_PLA_20.curaprofile

 

what STL are you printing? ill print it on my ender3 to compare..

 

Printer is already returned.

 

I was printing just the chain link, default size.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2920060/files

 

cableChain_linkv3.stl is the one I tried.

 

After I printed them bigger, two parts snapped together pretty well and move around, but I did have to clean them up with a knife.

[airdeano]

shouldn't have any cleanup.. as soon as i opened this thread, is d/l the stl, sliced it and printed it:

[TheNaitsyrk]

11 hours ago, airdeano said:

shouldn't have any cleanup.. as soon as i opened this thread, is d/l the stl, sliced it and printed it:

Thanks for posting. Could you post a better pic of the chain link?

Also, what settings you used etc?

[airdeano]

i used this straight out:

On 8/14/2019 at 6:52 PM, airdeano said:

Ender3_PLA_20.curaprofile

 

[TheNaitsyrk]

9 minutes ago, airdeano said:

i used this straight out:

 

Many thanks.

 

Could you post a closer image of the inside of the chain link and outside of it if you don't mind?

If the quality is decent, I'll literally buy it back.

[airdeano]

ok..

 

kinda thin 3/4 walls thick in the wall area, but for a flex chain prolly ok.. 

[TheNaitsyrk]

3 hours ago, airdeano said:

ok..

kinda thin 3/4 walls thick in the wall area, but for a flex chain prolly ok.. 

Looks way better than what I had for sure.

 

I'll probably buy it back to be fair.

 

Would it print better if you selected higher quality print? (It's good as is, just want to know that's all)

[airdeano]

just from your pix, you have the bed too far from the nozzle. first layer line will not be round, it'll actually be semi round on top and flat on bottom.

the next layers will be a fuller roundiness.

preheat the bed to 50°-60° and nozzle to 210° (preheat PLA in menu)

auto home axis'

disable steppers

manually move printhead to lower left bed attachment bolt (not disturbing the z (up/down) motion), using a piece of printer paper, slide the paper back-n-forth under the nozzle. rotate bed knob clockwise (as viewed from above) until you feel the paper dragging on the bed/nozzle. next move the printhead to lower right bolt anchor and repeat. move print head to rear right and left performing this task. then do the whole bed again, the none last time till you easily slide the paper between the bed and nozzle with some resistance.

 

now you are ready to final adjust your first layer. best gcode for this is the thingy: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2987803 or create your own in cura.

while printing at the corners, adjust the bed knobs up or down depending on if:

the pattern is loose, move bed up/clockwise

the pattern is smashed and thin, move bed down/counter-clockwise.

 

best starting at 20-40mm/sec to watch what the individual lines are doing.

if you don't have to chisel your prints from the bed, you shouldn't have to re-examine your bed level.

 

stringing is:

weak/old filament

exceptionally hot nozzle temp

not enough retraction (slicer fix) 3-4mm @40mm/sec max (PLA) 1.5-2 @35mm/sec (PETG)

wall order/wall construction (slicer fix)

possibly move to cura 4.0 with less bugs and more adequate in prints (i have 4.0.0)

buying a more expensive printer won't yield any better experience. only until you get into prusa mk3 monies or lultzbot you'll still have similar beginning experiences, just less setup stumbles.

[TheNaitsyrk]

7 hours ago, airdeano said:

just from your pix, you have the bed too far from the nozzle. first layer line will not be round, it'll actually be semi round on top and flat on bottom.

the next layers will be a fuller roundiness.

preheat the bed to 50°-60° and nozzle to 210° (preheat PLA in menu)

auto home axis'

disable steppers

manually move printhead to lower left bed attachment bolt (not disturbing the z (up/down) motion), using a piece of printer paper, slide the paper back-n-forth under the nozzle. rotate bed knob clockwise (as viewed from above) until you feel the paper dragging on the bed/nozzle. next move the printhead to lower right bolt anchor and repeat. move print head to rear right and left performing this task. then do the whole bed again, the none last time till you easily slide the paper between the bed and nozzle with some resistance.

 

now you are ready to final adjust your first layer. best gcode for this is the thingy: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2987803 or create your own in cura.

while printing at the corners, adjust the bed knobs up or down depending on if:

the pattern is loose, move bed up/clockwise

the pattern is smashed and thin, move bed down/counter-clockwise.

 

best starting at 20-40mm/sec to watch what the individual lines are doing.

if you don't have to chisel your prints from the bed, you shouldn't have to re-examine your bed level.

 

stringing is:

weak/old filament

exceptionally hot nozzle temp

not enough retraction (slicer fix) 3-4mm @40mm/sec max (PLA) 1.5-2 @35mm/sec (PETG)

wall order/wall construction (slicer fix)

possibly move to cura 4.0 with less bugs and more adequate in prints (i have 4.0.0)

buying a more expensive printer won't yield any better experience. only until you get into prusa mk3 monies or lultzbot you'll still have similar beginning experiences, just less setup stumbles.

I also noticed Cura 4.2.1 being dogshit.

4.1.0 and 4.0.0 were best for me no doubts about it.

 

I'll buy it back and report back tomorrow when it arrives. Definitely giving it another shot.

[TheNaitsyrk]

9 hours ago, airdeano said:

-snip-

In the end I bought the following:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PYTV871/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 / https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FL661YM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 / https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DDGGN92/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 / https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DL24HDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 / https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L8R4SMG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 / https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07J64F5LY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[airdeano]

glad to see you'll try again. 

 

dont know how the glass will react with the stock magnetic sheet installed. prolly have to remove that mag sheet for best use.

the extruder upgrade is a good buy.

 

lemme know if you need s'more advise.

[TheNaitsyrk]

56 minutes ago, airdeano said:

glad to see you'll try again. 

 

dont know how the glass will react with the stock magnetic sheet installed. prolly have to remove that mag sheet for best use.

the extruder upgrade is a good buy.

 

lemme know if you need s'more advise.

Will do for sure. Thanks man.

[SolarNova]

On 8/14/2019 at 7:58 PM, TheNaitsyrk said:

I bought Ender 3 Pro not too long ago (had it for 3 days)

 

It's not been great. One thing printed perfectly as it has easy shape but anything more complex or smaller just gets completely wrecked.

 

Is there any other printer that's worth looking at in a price point of £400-500?

Try a resin 3d printer (aka LCD/DLP/SLA)

 

Small print area but really good quality.