What 3D printer...

[Screwdriver]

We digress, I was chatting to a mate recently, proselytising the incredible benefits of owning a 3d printer and had an epiphany. He couldn't believe how cheap the machine was but we suddenly realise, it is a similar business model to regular desktop printers. Sell the printer cheap, make your mark up on the accessories and media.

Now that might work for a Cannon inkjet, they can (and do!) install a chip that writes off the cartridge to stop you refilling it, insist you have to buy their proprietary brand of cartridge but that model can't work for 3d printing surely?

Well, look at the sheer number even here (even me) who can't wait to nip and tweak at the machine. It gets you hooked. More importantly, now that I am on my second reel of filament I am thinking of grabbing a "few" more and suddenly it dawns on you. Someone somewhere (we know who, we know where) is selling us plastic at £20/kg.

We are quite used to the idea of plastic as "packaging" i.e. so cheap as to be virtually free though I have actually been hoarding mine (that's another story). The reality of the plastics "market" is that even a relatively expensive, high end plastic like HDPE is traded at around £500/tonne. 50p/kg. PLA (polylactic acid) is circa 20-40p per tonne.

These simple extrusions are being sold at ~ 4,000% markup! They don't even have to make anything out of the stuff, just extrude it into a filament and we do the rest, like an elemental version of Airfix models.

Quite devastatingly brilliant! The only tiny flaw in the business model being it should be super easy to undercut with those margins so long as you can get hold of sufficient quantities of raw plastic.

I have seen a couple of "deals" on here suggesting £20/kg is a good discount price (!) but where is the really cheap stuff? I'd like to have a rainbow selection of colours in various grades but that would literally cost a small fortune...

 

[Screwdriver]

I think I'm getting the hang of printing now. Having a few issues is a good way of getting up to speed quickly

Just printed a raspberry pi 4 case for octoprint with a touch screen. I didn't need to add a brim to the base on this print, must have crept into my defaults on Cura by mistake.

Change build plate adhesion to "skirt".

 

[Screwdriver]

My next project, I think I'll print up a Covid mask...

 

[daedalusminos]

These simple extrusions are being sold at ~ 4,000% markup! They don't even have to make anything out of the stuff, just extrude it into a filament and we do the rest, like an elemental version of Airfix models

There's a bit more to it than that, this video showing a tour of the Prusa factory shows the filament section starting at 3:52...

 

[Maker]

We are quite used to the idea of plastic as "packaging" i.e. so cheap as to be virtually free though I have actually been hoarding mine (that's another story). The reality of the plastics "market" is that even a relatively expensive, high end plastic like HDPE is traded at around £500/tonne. 50p/kg. PLA (polylactic acid) is circa 20-40p per tonne.

These simple extrusions are being sold at ~ 4,000% markup! They don't even have to make anything out of the stuff, just extrude it into a filament and we do the rest, like an elemental version of Airfix models.

All you'd need is a band heater, a PID controller and a big auger bit to feed shredded plastic through a heated nozzle, didn't someone post all that in "Today I acquired" recently?

 

[Screwdriver]

There's a bit more to it than that, this video showing a tour of the Prusa factory shows the filament section starting at 3:52...

Interesting but not really surprising. They are still buying plastic for pennies and selling it for ££'s.

But having said that, I would lean more towards this European manufacturer for their impressive quality control. The PRUSA i3 was the first machine I looked at, when I had no idea what I was looking for.

Would be interesting to find out how much they make on the printers vs. how much they make selling filament...

 

[ukracer]

i need a offline ebook so i can understand the layout of the program. I think that part won´t change a lot.

It's the worst part of fusion to be honest. Makes it very hard to follow the many tutorials.

 

[PhillipM]

All you'd need is a band heater, a PID controller and a big auger bit to feed shredded plastic through a heated nozzle, didn't someone post all that in "Today I acquired" recently?

And a cooling bath, spooling reels, feedback from a PID loop with sensors to track filament diameter...etc - there's some hobby based solutions around but you're talking 500-1000 to make one and the results aren't very consistant - mind, some of the crap that's sold cheap out there isn't either.

Made some new foamed poly engine mounts for mine today, would have been a pain in the ass without moulding them (well, even then, impossible to do exactly as they have internal geometry and voids):

 

[BelgiqueB]

Get a 3D printer they said, it'll be fun they said.....

24 hour print failed for unknown reason halfway through, not only did the filament start blobbing up at the nozzle, some of the fuzz created got caught in the bed movement pulley and jammed that up completely .

Cleaned it out, everything seemed working and it's up and running again, hopefully without issue this time.

 

[Screwdriver]

24 hours is pushing your luck but that went wrong before the first layer went down!

You may need a raft for that design which is pretty much optimised for warping. You will need to ensure you have the very best bed adhesion possible, experiment with bed temp and you can tell if it's right by how difficult it is to prise it off.

I use PETG and my bed temp is 70C which is a bit high but it works for me. Nozzle temp is related to bed temp regarding adhesion and yours does look a bit hot though I personally haven't used much PLA so that's a wild guess. Still think you may want higher bed temp to keep the base stable during the print.

Some if not most of my prints are so difficult to remove as to be virtually impossible. I prefer it that way and carefully use a razorblade. One of these days I'll make a trowel shaped removal tool.

Plus I can see the first layer is not squished onto the surface which suggests the bed height is miss set. Needs to be dragging a single sheet of paper, all four corners identical "feel" then check the middle.

 

[8ob]

Some advice please, just took delivery of a creality and I only have the consumables it comes with. What material and quantities do I need to order if I am printing molds for large bellhousings? do I need different nozzles? and are there any worthwhile upgrades before I start? Is it best left boxed up until I need it or should I be getting it set up and test it ? Tweb is full of contradictory info

Bob

 

[Bladevane]

Sadly confidence does not come in the same box as the printer. I built up slowly from prints that took a few minutes and then thought I was pushing it with a design that took 3 hours. I am still learning so have a long way to go before I have developed the confidence in my and the printer abilities to do an overnight print.

 

[Screwdriver]

Some advice please, just took delivery of a creality and I only have the consumables it comes with. What material and quantities do I need to order if I am printing molds for large bellhousings? do I need different nozzles? and are there any worthwhile upgrades before I start? Is it best left boxed up until I need it or should I be getting it set up and test it ? Tweb is full of contradictory info

Bob

View attachment 246390

I don't know that specific model but it should work right out of the box with one or two minor corrections. I think the bowden tube connectors and the tube itself are notoriously poor so I got mine in before I bought the machine:

SIQUK 3 Pieces Teflon Tube PTFE Blue Tubing(1.5 Meters) with 3 Pieces PC4-M6 Fittings and 3 Pieces PC4-M10 Male Straight Pneumatic PEFE Tube Push Fitt

I put a lot of effort into the build with very careful setup to ensure square plumb and true (really just the obvious stuff). Then set the wheel guides to a sensible pressure, plenty of info on YouTube (I will do one myself, honest) but the wheels should just be able to slip a tiny bit if you rotate by hand while restraining the movement iyswim.

The PRUSA factory above has inspired me to put a plastic skirt around the top of the machine just to keep dust off it and it might also prevent draughts. Looks like that thick "kitchen blinds" stuff just hanging over the machine which I think is clear PVC.

A lot of the "upgrades are chasing perfection with "cosmetic" print quality, ringing where the bed can overshoot, artefacts from the print process (zebra stripes) blah blah. I literally don't care much for that. If they are dimensionally accurate and strong, those are the only two boxes I need to tick.

My guess is you'll be doing lightweight prints in regular PLA but also perhaps having to create parts which clip together in sections. Overhangs will be your biggest issue to overcome and careful design can reduce the need for supports to an absolute minimum. The best surface is nearly always the first layer imprinting the bed surface onto the solid.

Build it now and dial it in. I haven't touched my setup for several days after spending the first few sessions setting bed height which I think is absolutely critical to a good print.

 

[8ob]

Thanks for that @Screwdriver. If I get on with this trickery and dont end up shrinking it with a sledgehammer it will probably end up a permanent feature in the mancave, is it worth building a floor to ceiling cupboard for it and fire proofing the inside,thinking shelf for the printer and other shelves for consumables etc, perhaps an extractor or vents I am a little uneasy about leaving something like this running unmonitored for over 150 hours at a time, hot plastic, heater elements and electrickery together got me thinking its a bit of a liability.

Bob

 

[thinfourth]

24 hours is pushing your luck but that went wrong before the first layer went down!
.

I've a Prusa i3 Mk3S and i think sod all of a 36 hour print

Just push go and off it trots

Yes i have bought into the prusa eco-system using their filament when i can as well as their slicer but it is pretty boringly reliable

 

[Bladevane]

I've a Prusa i3 Mk3S and i think sod all of a 36 hour print

That is because you have paid for quality. I watched the Prusa factory visit video and was VERY impressed with all aspects of Prusa's QC. Traceability, customer feedback, continuous improvement etc. I seriously considered that printer and would, if need arose, buy one. No question.

 

[Screwdriver]

Thanks for that @Screwdriver. If I get on with this trickery and dont end up shrinking it with a sledgehammer it will probably end up a permanent feature in the mancave, is it worth building a floor to ceiling cupboard for it and fire proofing the inside,thinking shelf for the printer and other shelves for consumables etc, perhaps an extractor or vents I am a little uneasy about leaving something like this running unmonitored for over 150 hours at a time, hot plastic, heater elements and electrickery together got me thinking its a bit of a liability.

Bob

I don't know if I would be that worried about it just randomly catching on fire (not in your shed anyway) some sensible precautions like close monitoring until it proves reliable is my attitude. I wouldn't build an enclosure but something like those heavy PVC (?) curtains as seen in the PRUSA factory tour is definitely on my list.

It's only 240C or thereabouts, very few items will combust at those temps so it's no different to any other electronic item in that respect. Smoke alarm wouldn't be a bad idea, in fact speak to any fire officer and they will give you a right ticking off for not having them everywhere anyway.

 

[Screwdriver]

I've a Prusa i3 Mk3S and i think sod all of a 36 hour print

Just push go and off it trots

Yes i have bought into the prusa eco-system using their filament when i can as well as their slicer but it is pretty boringly reliable

Looks like you certainly get what you pay for with those PRUSA devices. My gut feeling is that with the Ender 3 from Creality, you get more than you really paid for with some minor caveats.

 

[Bladevane]

It's only 240C or thereabouts

Yes but.....if the extruder thermistor goes AWOL or comes out of the socket or otherwise fails to control you could have localised temperatures which would fry PTFE and potentially cause significant other damage.

 

[brewdexta]

I believe that thermal runaway protection fixes the faulty thermistor issue. Although Ender printers are based on Marlin which has this feature, it wasn't until recently that the ender 3 had it. I've already checked mine to make sure the firmware version has this feature. I did a 20 hour print a while ago.