Budget starter 3D printer recommendations

[Onoff]

I am an autocad nut.

Me too, version 2010. If using it and can draw in 2D and make a polyline then the only commands you really need to "model" are EXTRUDE, FACETRES & 3DPRINT!

I'm pretty good on it tbh. I'll draw in 2D or 3D. I draw and save as a .stl that I then send over to my lad to print. The problem comes when the model needs tweaking, he can't do it as i) he runs Fusion and ii) he hates AutoCAD.

Next step for me is he's going to sort me a better pc do I can install and learn Fusion.

 

[Prajna]

I have a smooth plate coming tomorrow for it I think ill prefer that finish.

I noticed that when starting to print a large part of the diy enclosure it was making scraping sounds. I didn't like that so stopped it.

View attachment 499816

I believe the Orca slicer has other infill patterns that do not cause the print head to overlap its lines. So ill re-slice it tomorrow night and go again with the new smooth PEI plate.

Edit: Gyroid infill pattern is what ill use going forward. It is strong and avoids the print head overlapping itself like tje default orca crosshatch pattern does.

Gyroid is great and grid infill the worst. There is also a setting to avoid crossing perimeters that can help with that. Also worth looking at z-hop which lifts the print head while traveling and not printing. I set my z-hop to 0.2mm.

 

[JOEPRO]

Gyroid is great and grid infill the worst. There is also a setting to avoid crossing perimeters that can help with that. Also worth looking at z-hop which lifts the print head while traveling and not printing. I set my z-hop to 0.2mm.

Thanks for that, very helpful ill check the z hop settings later on

 

[JOEPRO]

I tried some calibrations tonight. I noticed with the petg it was poor at forming flat surfaces suspended if that makes sense.

Upping temp from 250 to 255 made a noticeable difference in quality. I also ran a refraction test and only the 2x bottom layers had stringing. So I went for 4th row or 0.4mm to be safe.

Gyro infill.

I tried a flow rate YOLO test but couldn't tell any useful difference so just left that one as it was.

Flat bed installed. Re calibrated the printer itself and sent a large top section of the enclosure to print tonight.

What I have also learned is to assess the part to be printed and slice it a few times to see how much support etc is generated. For the top sections of the enclosure I am printing them right way up so the top surface and recess for the lid should be perfect quality. The slicer sets things on the plate but its not always the best way to print things it seems so worth playing with before sending the print.

Learning as I go but a really great process and highly recommended for anyone who likes making stuff basically! This printer is incredible for the £

 

[JOEPRO]

Wow down to 183 now. Just sayin

 

[JOEPRO]

I had good results with off brand (Tinmory) PETG on the diy enclosure front parts.

For the larger top parts- using black Flashforge PETG im getting issues still. Splits and some stringing in the print -



This is after the calibrations yesterday too.

I want to get the enclosure in place so I'm printing the top parts in PLA to keep going and ill try to address the above PETG issues later or run a back to back test with the Tinmory PETG to see if im just better using it altogether and forget the Flashforge PETG.

Any tips on the above issues appreciated

 

[ajlelectronics]

Splits and some stringing in the print -

Your enclosure should help with that. It may be warpage from draughts. Either that or it needs a higher temperature or more flow to fuse properly if the base didn't detach at all.

 

[Onoff]

Any tips on the above issues appreciated

Burn those stringy but off by waving a hot air gun over the piece..... seriously.

Just not too much!

 

[Turbo]

Must be fun trying to print certain plastics in hot weather.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Must be fun trying to print certain plastics in hot weather.

No, the glass temperatures are far higher than any UK record temperatures.

 

[JOEPRO]

There is quite a significant uplift in print quality using PLA and fine setting:



PLA is more forgiving it seems, shame not as durable as PETG but for tinkering at items I may keep some PLA around too. I'll keep printing the large printer enclosure top parts in this PLA which is far better for now until I figure out the PETG issues and eliminate the draught / environment issue.

It's cool also that parts like this could also be sanded and painted. I have such a job in mind to make a large decorative electrical cover for my Launch car lift that's missing. Print in PLA once Ive designed it then sand and spray it.

 

[m_c]

I had good results with off brand (Tinmory) PETG on the diy enclosure front parts.

For the larger top parts- using black Flashforge PETG im getting issues still. Splits and some stringing in the print -

View attachment 499922

This is after the calibrations yesterday too.

I want to get the enclosure in place so I'm printing the top parts in PLA to keep going and ill try to address the above PETG issues later or run a back to back test with the Tinmory PETG to see if im just better using it altogether and forget the Flashforge PETG.

Any tips on the above issues appreciated

Those splits in PETG are either a lack of print temperature, or too fast a print speed.
PETG needs a good bit heat to bond well, and can't be printed too fast.

When I used my Enders, I used to run 250degC and 100mm/s, which gave decent strength.
The Bambu prints at 270degC, but primarily uses volumetric speed limiting (12mm2/s), so I'm not sure how that compares to the Cura settings I used for the Ender.

 

[Onoff]

You could give PLA+ a try.

 

[JOEPRO]

You could give PLA+ a try.

Thanks hadn't heard of that, looks good! I want to 3D print spanner organisers now so maybe a spool of metallic black PLA+ would be the ticket for that

 

[JOEPRO]

DIY enclosure kit now complete. I also added a LED light kit which just plugs into the motherboard and will have the flashforge internal camera soon too. I went with a side mounted spool instead of the back of the machine



Very pleased with how it turned out and I learned a few things along the way RE the slicing and printing for best results. So now ill try to dial in the PETG more.

 

[JOEPRO]

I just started a print of the Flashforge toolbox for holding its tools and glue that came with it.

I'm surprised at how hot the printer gets inside the enclosure. Definitely a huge difference in print environment so this will be interesting to see if it helps the PETG print quality and by how much! The toolbox is in PETG albeit the Tinmory brand which appears more forgiving than Flashforge's own brand.

 

[JOEPRO]

You could give PLA+ a try.

I tried a spool of this: https://amzn.eu/d/5acoLwq



Prints very well and appears strong Nice satin black finsh havent had a single problem with it, really pleased. I am using it to print spanner and tool cab organisers and went through a full 1kg spool there in the last 48 hrs. So I have another spool of it coming tomorrow and will continue to use it for that project.

 

[Misterg]

^^ That's what I use for anything that will print in PLA. Works well for me too.