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[aaronjb]

So .. I know eBoy owns one, anyone else?

I got a 3D printer for Xmas from Santa* and just started playing with it.. I have a lot of learning to do (the first test print looks a little 'stringy')!

*eBay. Ordered on Friday 20th, turned up on Monday 23rd, just to annoy the aforementioned eBoy! Although that was because the one I originally ordered from Amazon never arrived .. never trust Marketplace sellers, although I could have sworn it was a "Fulfilled by Amazon" order when I ordered it, it never made it to the courier from the seller. Refund was issued 3 days after it was due to arrive, though, and the one on eBay was £100 cheaper in the end

It's this one, for anyone interested: https://all3dp.com/1/anycubic-chiron-3d-printer-review/

[STEMO]

Can you really get a decent one for under £500? I'm not convinced. 😏

[TheBoy]

Can you really get a decent one for under £500? I'm not convinced. 😏

No.

[STEMO]

Can you really get a decent one for under £500? I'm not convinced. 😏

No.

I see.....but you could just be saying that cause you wanna be the only 3D printer in town 😄

[TheBoy]

It will take a while to get to "know" your printer and material, and how to configure the slicer for them.

Start out with bog standard PLA, as that's the easiest to print.  And start out with simple prints that will always adhere well, and can highlight potential issues with the printer.  So, for example, a simple 5cm cube, then move onto Benchy etc.

If yours has auto bed levelling, that is not an excuse NOT to level the bed properly.  All auto bed levelling does is a (poor) software attempt to fix a hardware issue.

[aaronjb]

Mine has .. not really auto bed levelling, though it does let you fine-tune the levels across a number of points, it doesn't really do it automagically - so manual levelling on the four corners is apparently the best option (which I've done a couple of times and I think is reasonable now)

It came with a spool of white PLA, so I'm killing that off with test prints before I move on to the reel of black PLA I bought myself

So far.. quite a bit of 'stringing' and some oddities on overhangs but not terrible, so time to dial in settings 

[TheBoy]

Can you really get a decent one for under £500? I'm not convinced. 😏

No.

I see.....but you could just be saying that cause you wanna be the only 3D printer in town 😄

Anything in the home/hobby price range is flawed in some way.

And I suspect that lots of people here have one


I have a £110 (2 years ago) Anet A8 (High precision model), which has well known flaws, including allegedly bursting into flames (which it wouldn't if put together properly).  But it has other issues as well - non insurmountable, and many can be fixed by printing some uprated parts, including braces, belt tensioners and filament guides.  But by far, by a country mile, its most serious issue is the very, very, VERY poor way of insulating fingers from the incoming mains - its lethally utterly shite.  Again, printing a proper cover resolves the issue.

I find it to be a brilliant bit of kit.  But like every similar printer, its not a item that you can just plug in, use, unplug and chuck in the cupboard for next time device.  Every time its moved it needs the bed relevelling (auto leveller is a £10 add-on, but will never overcome the issues with an unlevel bed), every few months it needs all the screws retightening, the Z axis reset and so on.


As said, there isn't anything that is set and forget in the hobby price range that is versatile enough to be useful.

[aaronjb]

It's a bit like saying you can't buy a lathe for £500 - you can, but it'll need work (I can turn out reasonable parts on my £500 ML7).. or a manual mill for £1500 - you can, but it'll need work (one day...). If you want buy-and-forget then add several zeroes (say £150k for a Haas 5-axis ought to be fairly plug and play!) Same with 3D printers, I suspect - the 'commercial' prototyping ones are probably 5 figures (and I doubt any of them work by melting recycled milk bottles and squeezing them out of a small hole!)

You gets what you pays for, as they say

But it's a fun gadget.. he says, waiting for the bed to hit 100C for the second test print.

[TheBoy]

So far.. quite a bit of 'stringing' and some oddities on overhangs but not terrible, so time to dial in settings 

Play with hotend temps and retraction settings for stringing, and overhangs might need some help from the slicer (supports, or if the slicer supports it, "bridging" which can allow overhangs between 2 pillars etc).

PLA, you should be able to get near perfect* results, within the confines of physics. Other materials are more challenging.


*FDM printer prints will always feel rough vertically due to the way the model is built.

[TheBoy]

But it's a fun gadget.. he says, waiting for the bed to hit 100C for the second test print.

Roger me backwards - that's way too high for PLA, and will cause "elephants foot".  A starter for 10 is 50-60C for PLA.  100-110C is about right for ABS.

[TheBoy]

Can you really get a decent one for under £500? I'm not convinced. 😏

No.

I see.....but you could just be saying that cause you wanna be the only 3D printer in town 😄

I guess the other point that should be mentioned about mine is that it comes in kit form.

Personally, I find that a good thing, as it was enjoyable to build, despite the woeful Chinglish instructions that you have to print yourself.  However, it took me about 3 evenings, though I guess it could be done much quicker.  At least I known and understand every component, and how it works, making repairs/mtce trivial.

Like any kit, if rushed, or built badly, the end result will be impacted.

[Weds]

I've recently bought a Creality CR-10, as mentioned before they require a lot of setting up and then resetting when started back up. I have mine connected through a Raspberry Pi using Octoprint so its linked into my PC. Still trying to get to grips with 3D Cad drawings and Slicer settings.

There's a lot of stuff about most printers and software on youtube. Most of it seems to be making parts for the printers to correct in built faults before making anything useful..

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

These 3D printers are amazing.

I believe a good one can create an exact life size model of  the empire state building.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Get printing boys! 

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/27/us/lamborghini-3d-trnd/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_source=twbusiness&utm_content=2019-12-28T13%3A31%3A07

[aaronjb]

I think it might be a while before I can print anything ... useful



That's meant to be three perfect little cone shapes - not the blobby mess that it currently is!