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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

3D printers

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Oct 5, 2013
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I have a 3D printer, built it from a kit, works for my needs. Warping is a pain in the ass though, half the prints warp and are unusable. PLA is a pain in the ass to use.

Get a good nozzle. Don't get a jhead, they suck. Grab a magma or similar all-metal hot end and never look back.

Expect to spend lots of time fiddling with it, they require lots of love and care to print properly. You can get 2k and get a pretty reliable printer, but don't expect reliability from anything you build.

Is your bed heated? If so im surprised it warps.
 





ARG

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Yup, heated bed, tried all sorts of things to prevent warps. I'm looking into alternative bed coatings to help the projects stick to it.
What seems to help now is bringing up the heat on the bed to a toasty 130-140C.
 
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3D printers are like women they need love and attention,and fussing over ,but with that the results and the rewards are fantastic. I have to grease ,clean the nozzle, keep it all tight,keep it clean and at times warm the bed up to above 130c.But the end product is well worth the time you put into it. As our ladies are, not enough love and care and the magic doesn't happen :angel:
 
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csshih

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Sep 27, 2010
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Just don't go for a cheap printer. it seems that I'm not having a lot of the problems ARG is having.. :eek:

I start the print when the bed has warmed to 80C or so..

2013-10-22_13-37-30.jpg


7 hour print time!
0.15mm print height.

I've been doing quality tests.. from 0.15mm to 0.4mm. 0.4 looks pretty funny. :wave:
 

benmwv

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What is the nane of that one? Looks very professional.

I want to build one sometime. Right now I dont have the money, time, or room for it though. My plan is to build it ground up. Im not so worried about having the best printer, I just like building all my things myself.
 

csshih

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that's an up plus 2. The auto height calibration is wonky, though. I prefer to do it myself.
 
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Compared to the one i use at work yours is very impressive time to upgrade i think, thanks for the post.
 
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If you have 600$ to spend, go with a Solidoodle (6 inches cubed print area, or 8 inches cubed-depending on model). If you have 3k to spend, get a Cubify CubeX. Have one to work with, and its amazing- can print at layer heights of .1mm to .5 mm. The print dimensions are somewhere around 11in x 11in x 9in, or something close. as a reference, it can print a full size basketball. Truly nice printer!

I don't see why people bother with tiny little printers and spend 1200$+
 
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OK, so I really want to get started with this project. I just got SainSmart 3D Printer Controller Kit for 3D printers from Amazon yesterday. It's a start I guess, now I just need everything else. Like Lazerbeak said in an earlier post, this is pretty intimidating. This won't be easy, I can already tell. I decided to build a prusa I3. If anyone has experience with this, and is willing to help me. That would be fantastic.

I know generally what else I need, but not 100%
 
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That kit seems to have nearly all you need- obviously you will need the threaded rods, screws, etc etc. Also, that kit doesn't appear to have an extruder. i would like to build my own at some point, simply because it's easier to repair something you made. I had had to repair out 3D systems cubex a few times, and it is a royal PITA.


And on the previous topic of 3D printed hosts, eventually i will have time to print one- I have a few ideas for some, which I will draw up and post here at some point.
 
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As for printed hosts, I have been thinking about this for a while. Would you just leave an opening at the top of it so you can put aluminum, or copper as a heatsink?
 




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