What 3D printer...

[ukracer]

How on earth did you manage that?

Easy....try straightening it all up....it just gets worse.

I learnt a lot though...like selecting the circle means it knows you want to move (then you click the box to copy it) if you just select the object it thinks you want to move a face. (I think that's what I have done) and then it's easy to forget and God knows what's happening in the background. Lol
If you move using the circle you can copy a defined length along a plane......and it should look right from All views.

 

[Screwdriver]

Me set your PC up for you?? Can't remember that. Lol

Err, I mean HughF. Easy mistake to make...

 

[Screwdriver]

Well it turned up today. Nicely packaged.

I thought it might need some fettling and I bought the one with the glass bed for this reason:

Paying particular attention to square, plumb, true etc. using set squares and 123 blocks to make sure it all went together properly.

It is fiddly and tricky, getting the main arm in place with all the gubbins preinstalled was the tricky part. I left the screws a bit loose so that I could nip them up when I was happy but once the print arm is on, you can't get to the screws! So I just had to take it apart, tighten them up and do it again.

Almost there. The mouse mat is there in case I drop a heavy sharp object like a stepper motor on the bed, giving it a nice ding. That horse had already bolted...

Test print!

Looks great but the test print confirmed the nozzle was too close and had welded the thin print to the (non-glass) bed. I thought I'd test it with the regular fibreglass (?) coated bed in case of any unforeseen problems. Of which there were many.

Getting it off was a total nightmare. Like trying to scrape off paint.

So I installed the glass bed on top of the fibre one (dunno if that's right??) adjusted the nozzle clearance and am running a test piece which I know is going to run out of filament but you know, a test is a test. Might upload a couple of short vids in a minute. The print is going to take hours!

There is so much to learn it is almost overwhelming but there's plenty of info out there and with any luck, plenty of info here too!

 

[Screwdriver]

The kit comes with a few metres of PLA and since it was obviously going to run out, I did another test. Hit pause which helpfully retracts the print head, stuck on a 1Kg roll of PETG and hit resume. Bumped the nozzle up to 240C and hit resume. I'll be damned, it worked. I must have bumped one axis or other so there's now a half a mm offset but I think it should be OK. The PETG actually looks like it's giving me a better finish too.

 

[Screwdriver]

It sort of worked except PETG does not bond with PLA, not after a cooldown resume anyway.

Currently stuck together with superglue. You only get to make your first print once...

Let's hope the next one is a bit less fraught.

 

[ukracer]

Has the glass got dimples one side?

Flat on the other...?

 

[Screwdriver]

Has the glass got dimples one side?

Flat on the other...?

Yep. Tried several times this morning with PETG but it wouldn't lay down a good first layer. kept peeling and turning into a tangled mess. I was using 240C as per instructions for the nozzle, 60C for the bed. Went back to the standard super grippy fibreboard and worked first time.

That printed at 220C for the nozzle and I am very happy with the result.

Clips together really well and is the sort of thing I am aiming for with various goPro mounting brackets. Quality is amazing.

 

[ukracer]

Yep. Tried several times this morning with PETG but it wouldn't lay down a good first layer. kept peeling and turning into a tangled mess. I was using 240C as per instructions for the nozzle, 60C for the bed. Went back to the standard super grippy fibreboard and worked first time.

That printed at 220C for the nozzle and I am very happy with the result.

Clips together really well and is the sort of thing I am aiming for with various goPro mounting brackets. Quality is amazing.

That's the point. Stick with that if it works for you on PETG. I have never printed PETG but I guess the rougher surface of the fibre is helping.
As for PLA I turned the dimpled glass over and use 3Dlac.

I use a fine mist.
BUT I set 2 prints of earlier after printing 4 in a row without adjustment.
I had to adjust the baby stepping to achieve adherence to the glass.
It's literally that crucial.
With ABS Pro and a slurry it sticks easily.

 

[veesix]

PETG should definitely work with glass if the inital layer height is right. But probably better staying with the original surface as PETG can bond so well with the glass that it'll remove chunks of glass when lifting the print off. I've just got a PEI powder coated spring steel sheet for mine that should be better than the original bed but without the mass of moving glass.

 

[Screwdriver]

My gut feel is that bed levelling and nozzle height are the critical adjustments, then nozzle temperature. On top of that, I suspect these will vary for different brands of filament, let alone different plastic types. But the PETG stuck well and more importantly, came off really easily with a sharp click.

 

[PhillipM]

The thing with PETG and glass is to print the first layer very slow and hot - and as others have said, sometimes it can bond *too* well - so I always give the glass a very light coat of PVA or lacquer to make sure the adhesion peels that off instead of a chunk of glass.

 

[AndersK]

I've just got a PEI powder coated spring steel sheet

You will never go back to glass after that

Haven't tried pure nylon on mine yet but all others have been great adhesion but yet easy to remove and zero warping.

 

[brewdexta]

Just assembled the ender 3 pro with the kids. We had an issue with bed levelling, not enough adjustment to lower the other 3 corners, worked out that the z axis limit switch was too low.

Now just about to print whatever was on the micro sd card when we got it, hope it's not a sex toy

 

[Ruffian]

Just assembled the ender 3 pro with the kids. We had an issue with bed levelling, not enough adjustment to lower the other 3 corners, worked out that the z axis limit switch was too low.

Now just about to print whatever was on the micro sd card when we got it, hope it's not a sex toy

Should be the generic cat, dog and pig.
The dog is the favourite.

 

[brewdexta]

I cancelled the print as the takeaway curry was ready and nowt was coming out of the nozzle. I'm guessing we screwed the nozzle on the glass plate when we had the z axis issue. Swapped the nozzle and off it went. I think it's a pussy

 

[Onoff]

hope it's not a sex toy

There is a specific site for 3D printing them...apparently.

 

[brewdexta]

I best get some pink filament......

 

[brewdexta]

I'm impressed with the resolution of the print, first time 3d printer so didn't know what expect.

The kids are going to print something each then we will add the bed levelling kit, then the octopi remote control and time lapse camera doo dah.

 

[Screwdriver]

Whereas I am being very boring and printing only practical things first. Like this filament guide.

I am hankering after a T-Rex skull but a 20 hour print is asking too much from a new toy.

 

[Ruffian]

Whereas I am being very boring and printing only practical things first. Like this filament guide.

I am hankering after a T-Rex skull but a 20 hour print is asking too much from a new toy.

Have you seen the full skeletons available also?? Like a 3d printed kit so to speak.

I did a window art wolf head early on for the Mrs and that was about 15hrs as made it thicker for strength.
But the creality doesn't do a bad job of printing straight out of the box.

I have the glass bed but as of now still havent used it as nothing has been hyper critical measurements etc.