M76
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
- Messages
- 14,009
I've been planning to get a 3D printer for a while, but so far I could find a printer that was affordable or didn't seem junk.
But finally it happened. Got this for $389. It arrived today.
TeeJayHoward has asked to share my impressions after it is dialed in. But as far as I'm concerned it already is.
I'm a complete noob to 3D printing haven't even seen one in person yet.
It comes half assembled, like IKEA furniture. The packaging is interesting, you think there are parts missing then you realize there are two more layers of foam you need to remove to get to some parts.
So you can't really assemble it from the box, you need to take out everything and lay it out somewhere to begin as the screws and tools are all at the bottom.
Yes they include all the tools needed for assembly, but I didn't use those, I used my power screwdriver.
The "pros" say it can be assembled in 20 minutes, well it took me about 90 with the power tools. I can't imagine anyone fully assembling it in 20, unless they did it a hundred times before.
You have to be careful with cable routing not to get in the way, but also still leaving enough slack for the end positions.
At first the amount of cables seem intimidating but they are all marked with letters and the manual shows clearly which letter is to be connected where.
After assembly it powered on without a hassle. I was expecting a minute long boot and self test procedure, instead the unit is ready in like 1 second.
First task bed leveling. There is an option in the menu to move the bed and the nozzle to the home position, after that there is another option to disable the stepper motors.
So you can freely move the hot end anywhere above the bed. This is how you do the leveling. I used 80g printer paper for it. There are four knobs on the four corners of the bed to adjust height.
it took me about 4 or 5 full iterations going round and round until the tension seemed right on all four corners. But it took no more than 5 minutes.
The menus of the printer are a bit confusing it takes some time until you get used to what option is in which menu.
On my first attempt at printing the filament wouldn't adhere to the bed, so I immediately stopped the print before it even completed half of the first layer.
I adjusted the leveling a bit closer to the nozzle, and increased the default bed temperature from 60 to 65 C° .
Then tried again. And it worked perfectly. The finished print doesn't just looks better than I expected, but even better than I hoped.
This is my first print, as it came out. There is absolutely no touch up done on this.
This is not the highest quality setting but the normal preset.
Of course the speed is what it is. They tell you that 3D printing is slow, but you really don't realize how slow until you try it. This tiny 4x3x2cm doghouse was done in 70 minutes.
Of course the real test will be printing something bigger, but that'll have to wait for now. I just wanted to try it to see if it even works.
There are all kinds of horror stories and most "experts" claim that 3D printers cannot be treated as a tool but as a hobby as there is a lot of trial and error, because they never work out of the box. Well it did for me.
But finally it happened. Got this for $389. It arrived today.
TeeJayHoward has asked to share my impressions after it is dialed in. But as far as I'm concerned it already is.
I'm a complete noob to 3D printing haven't even seen one in person yet.
It comes half assembled, like IKEA furniture. The packaging is interesting, you think there are parts missing then you realize there are two more layers of foam you need to remove to get to some parts.
So you can't really assemble it from the box, you need to take out everything and lay it out somewhere to begin as the screws and tools are all at the bottom.
Yes they include all the tools needed for assembly, but I didn't use those, I used my power screwdriver.
The "pros" say it can be assembled in 20 minutes, well it took me about 90 with the power tools. I can't imagine anyone fully assembling it in 20, unless they did it a hundred times before.
You have to be careful with cable routing not to get in the way, but also still leaving enough slack for the end positions.
At first the amount of cables seem intimidating but they are all marked with letters and the manual shows clearly which letter is to be connected where.
After assembly it powered on without a hassle. I was expecting a minute long boot and self test procedure, instead the unit is ready in like 1 second.
First task bed leveling. There is an option in the menu to move the bed and the nozzle to the home position, after that there is another option to disable the stepper motors.
So you can freely move the hot end anywhere above the bed. This is how you do the leveling. I used 80g printer paper for it. There are four knobs on the four corners of the bed to adjust height.
it took me about 4 or 5 full iterations going round and round until the tension seemed right on all four corners. But it took no more than 5 minutes.
The menus of the printer are a bit confusing it takes some time until you get used to what option is in which menu.
On my first attempt at printing the filament wouldn't adhere to the bed, so I immediately stopped the print before it even completed half of the first layer.
I adjusted the leveling a bit closer to the nozzle, and increased the default bed temperature from 60 to 65 C° .
Then tried again. And it worked perfectly. The finished print doesn't just looks better than I expected, but even better than I hoped.
This is my first print, as it came out. There is absolutely no touch up done on this.
This is not the highest quality setting but the normal preset.
Of course the speed is what it is. They tell you that 3D printing is slow, but you really don't realize how slow until you try it. This tiny 4x3x2cm doghouse was done in 70 minutes.
Of course the real test will be printing something bigger, but that'll have to wait for now. I just wanted to try it to see if it even works.
There are all kinds of horror stories and most "experts" claim that 3D printers cannot be treated as a tool but as a hobby as there is a lot of trial and error, because they never work out of the box. Well it did for me.