Noob to 3D printing

[SSgt Duramax]

Hi all. 3D printing is something I have been wanting to get into for a while. I can think of all the nifty things I can do with it for all my hobbies. Anyways, I am trying to stop this thing I tend to do where I go overboard when I buy into a hobby. Plus, I am not sure if I am going to like it or stick with it, so I am not looking to spend close to a grand for a 3D printer. I still really don't know what I am doing, what features I want/need, or even really how big I might want it to be. I am decent at 3D modeling. I have an A.S. in engineering, so I learned CAD pretty well, and I also have designed a few planes for flight simulator in my day. I am 90% sure I will survive on the design part.

So, I have been reading what you all have written on here and sleuthing around the internet, and I have kind of came down to these printers:

1. The highly recommended ender 3 v2. Benefits are a huge userbase and readily available parts.

2. Sovol 1 - I could use this to print tires for my RC car, I never can find ones I like.

3. There is also the anycubic mega, which already has an autoleveling bed.

Which one do you all recommend? They cost about the same, but have different strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Merv]

I’ve been printing with an Ender3 for about a year now. I’ve had excellent results with little difficulty.
Manual bed leveling is easily done. At first I needed to level the bed every week or so. Then I added another nut to each of the leveling screws, a double nut, now my bed stays level. I’ve gone 6 months without leveling. I’ve never used auto level, with the double nuts I don’t see the need.

I only have experience with PLA, I doubt it would make a good tire. I’m sure you could print a tire if you had a more flexible filament.

 

[The Hangar]

+1 on the ender 3. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with mine.

 

[FlamingRCAirplanes]

Ender 3 pro over here! It works a dream! Just make sure to use good filament! The cheep stuff never works. I use ESun.

 

[Ratcheeroo]

Hi all. 3D printing is something I have been wanting to get into for a while. I can think of all the nifty things I can do with it for all my hobbies. Anyways, I am trying to stop this thing I tend to do where I go overboard when I buy into a hobby. Plus, I am not sure if I am going to like it or stick with it, so I am not looking to spend close to a grand for a 3D printer. I still really don't know what I am doing, what features I want/need, or even really how big I might want it to be. I am decent at 3D modeling. I have an A.S. in engineering, so I learned CAD pretty well, and I also have designed a few planes for flight simulator in my day. I am 90% sure I will survive on the design part.

So, I have been reading what you all have written on here and sleuthing around the internet, and I have kind of came down to these printers:

1. The highly recommended ender 3 v2. Benefits are a huge userbase and readily available parts.

2. Sovol 1 - I could use this to print tires for my RC car, I never can find ones I like.

3. There is also the anycubic mega, which already has an autoleveling bed.

Which one do you all recommend? They cost about the same, but have different strengths and weaknesses.

I have the AnyCubic Mega S myself but haven't set it up yet, I picked that one because of the ease to set it up, everything else was comparable to the other 2 you listed, but I'm not so sure the Mega has a self-leveling bed, the only Anycubic printer that has that is the Vyper I think

 

[jpot1]

+1 for the ender3 pro. With a small upgrade to the extruder (all metal) I print flexibles. The tires in the pic below were printed from varioshore tpu.

 

[SSgt Duramax]

Sweet! The ender it is then! Now I need to get the wife to buy off on it!

 

[Merv]

....I need to get the wife to buy off on it!

Take a look at https://www.thingiverse.com
There are lots of things the wife might like.

 

[tamuct01]

That's how I gained the wife approval. Once she realized that I could print doll furniture and kids' toys in addition to my crazy airplane parts, she was sold and gave me the checkbook. :-D

 

[bwarz]

That's how I gained the wife approval. Once she realized that I could print doll furniture and kids' toys in addition to my crazy airplane parts, she was sold and gave me the checkbook. :-D

For me it was Christmas ornaments

 

[SSgt Duramax]

A little update. I just got my ender 3 v2 put together and set up. Did my first print last night. I already ordered a spring set for it. I have to modify everything as my wife says.

First print was the obligirory benchy.

 

[Ratcheeroo]

A little update. I just got my ender 3 v2 put together and set up. Did my first print last night. I already ordered a spring set for it. I have to modify everything as my wife says.

First print was the obligirory benchy.

View attachment 215607

Test print looks decent. First thing I printed after my test print was all the pieces for the stand/enclosure for my printer. All the white pieces are printed . Very happy with how it turned out considering its just three cheap lack tables from ikea ($10 each) stacked on top of each other with some 3d pieces and plexiglass to make it all work.

 

[ColoFlyer]

I have both the Ender 3 V2 and the Sovol SV01. I really like both for different reasons. The Sovol is direct drive and prints TPU Flexable Filament, but can carry a bit more of a learning curve. I call it my brute force printer. The Ender 3V2 works pretty well out of the box and is the best option for the new user. The thing is most folks will tell you that once you own a 3D Printer, you will probably buy another in the near future because one is just not enough. Also, If you have any problems with prints sticking to the bed, try spraying the glass with extra hold hairspray.

The first thing you should do is replace the PTFE Boden Tubing with Capricorn Tubing.

And upgrade the extruder.

When you get comfortable with your Ender 3v2 printer, I highly suggest adding the BL Touch to it. Makes Leveling the bed quick and easy every print. Also I suggest upgrading the firmware to the JyersUI that adds some great features to the printer.

This is a good tutorial and starting place on how the perform the upgrade process. You can get the BLTouch on Amazon.
https://www.smith3d.com/ender-3-v2-bltouch-firmware-installation-guide-by-smith3d-com/

And a video from Chep.

And Bryan Vines talks about the JyersUI.

 

[SSgt Duramax]

Test print looks decent. First thing I printed after my test print was all the pieces for the stand/enclosure for my printer. All the white pieces are printed . Very happy with how it turned out considering its just three cheap lack tables from ikea ($10 each) stacked on top of each other with some 3d pieces and plexiglass to make it all work.
View attachment 215608 View attachment 215609

I really like that set up. I will need to duplicate that.

I have both the Ender 3 V2 and the Sovol SV01. I really like both for different reasons. The Sovol is direct drive and prints TPU Flexable Filament, but can carry a bit more of a learning curve. I call it my brute force printer. The Ender 3V2 works pretty well out of the box and is the best option for the new user. The thing is most folks will tell you that once you own a 3D Printer, you will probably buy another in the near future because one is just not enough. Also, If you have any problems with prints sticking to the bed, try spraying the glass with extra hold hairspray.

The first thing you should do is replace the PTFE Boden Tubing with Capricorn Tubing.

And upgrade the extruder.

When you get comfortable with your Ender 3v2 printer, I highly suggest adding the BL Touch to it. Makes Leveling the bed quick and easy every print. Also I suggest upgrading the firmware to the JyersUI that adds some great features to the printer.

This is a good tutorial and starting place on how the perform the upgrade process. You can get the BLTouch on Amazon.
https://www.smith3d.com/ender-3-v2-bltouch-firmware-installation-guide-by-smith3d-com/

And a video from Chep.

And Bryan Vines talks about the JyersUI.

Thanks, those were going to be my next upgrades!

 

[bwarz]

I've seen a few comments on build plate adhesion and figured I'd toss in my two cents! I have an ANET A8 that me and my kids built one weekend. Kinda like terminator where I used the printer to print upgrade parts for the printer It does have a heated bed, but I was having adhesion problems as well - tried repeated cleaning and hairspray etc. I ended up purchasing a sheet of Gizmo Dorks PEI and have had next to no adhesion mishaps. A frequent wipe-down with 92% Isoprophyl alcohol and a once every few months hit it lightly with 1600 grit sandpaper. An accurate initial leveling and setting the Z stop close enough (still manual adjustment for me - bought the sensor but never implemented) are of high importance as well. I only have to tinker with the Z stop when I change filament, and I have not had to adjust the bed level in ages. I also run a rather slow first layer to ensure good adhesion (~10mm/s). I actually can't remember the last time I lost adhesion...

 

[SSgt Duramax]

Im not having adhesion problems on the bed. Actually it is difficult getting the prints off.

However, using the g code supplied by eclipson, I am starting a PLA Model A . The first fuse section was fine. The second one got boogered up in the middle. Any ideas?

 

[Ratcheeroo]

Im not having adhesion problems on the bed. Actually it is difficult getting the prints off.

However, using the g code supplied by eclipson, I am starting a PLA Model A . The first fuse section was fine. The second one got boogered up in the middle. Any ideas?

View attachment 215654 View attachment 215655

Printing the same plane myself, printed the fuse no problem at all. Almost looks like your filament caught on something, weird to see stringing only on that one area

 

[SSgt Duramax]

I went on to print fuse 3, i though that may be ok, but it is paper thin in that spot and i poked it a little and it separated a touch. I thought about glueing it, but it wont take long to print another.

Maybe I shouldnt use their G code and slice it myself. I thought their G code was for enders.

If this turns out well I am going to buy the model C and do it in LW PLA.

 

[Ratcheeroo]

Very strange, I am using their gcode too and having excellent results. I found a couple different sets of landing gear for this as well and ended up printing one of them as well. So far I have printed the entire fuse, canopy, spinner and landing gear and like you will probably buy one of their models as they are truly works of art. Next print though after this one is a 64 inch Super Chipmunk , really pumped to get that one on the go.

 

[Matagami Designs]

Have you calibrated e steps on your printer? If it's thin with the manufacturer g code and under extruding I would start there.