3D Printing - Whats it all about?

Hi Ademission,

Thanks again for the very informative reply , much appreciated.

Getting into something new can always be a bit daunting, unlike when we were working and had other folk around to bounce ideas off etc.

Re the Octoprint we do have a Pi 3B, though not done much with it, using the Arduino and Esp32 for the greenhouse and aquarium controllers.

Will certainly spend some time looking at and trying out the software you list.

Just one question, would be interested to know which silent stepper driver pcb you used and if it did make a noticable reduction in motor noise ?

Edit - though looking at the V2 for £58 more, seems it has most of those hardware updates you have done ?

Cheers

Ricky


Creality Ender 3 V2 Official Store, Best DIY 3D Printers for beginners and creators in 2021 – Creality3D Store® Official Store for Creality 3D Printers and Accessories

 

Hi ricky101,

I'm not familiar with the V2. I'll have a look at reviews on YouTube.

The silent board I bought was the Creality 24V Ultra Silent Motherboard V4.2.7 with the TMC2228 stepper drivers. It was easy to fit and at the same time I replaced the bare wire ends with bootlace ferrules for better integrity. Later, when I added the BLTouch, I had to thread the wiring down the snakeskin covering back to the board from the hot-end.

You asked if the steppers were quieter with the new PCB. Yes much quieter, but the main noise on an Ender 3 is the fans. The hot-end cooling fan is constantly on and is a little noisy. The PSU fan comes on when needed and that is also noisy.

One other thing to think about is that the Ender 3 PSU is 24V. The Raspberry Pi is 5V. If you fit the Pi, you will need a 24V --> 5V converter. I bought a PCB from Amazon and printed a box for both the Pi and the converter which is mounted on the base of the printer.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCELI-Con...oost+voltage+converter&qid=1622031711&sr=8-16

Any other questions then let me know.

Regards

Ademission

 

Just looked at the specification in your last email. It looks very good and well worth the extra £58.
I will still look at the reviews on YouTube to see the actual printer.

Regards

Ademission

 

Just had a quick look at both those videos in that link, from a total newbies view it seems the key improvements for the V2 are the glass bed, TCM2208 silent servo driver and probably key, the 32bit motherboard over the originals 8 bit one.

However what its like in practice for the experienced user could be a different matter...?

Think we need to spend plenty of time looking at and getting a feel and understanding for all the software involved, just hope we still have some grey cells around !!

 

ricky101,

Good luck in your research. If you don't understand anything or need an opinion on a choice then do not hesitate to ask.

Ademission

 

Hi @Ademission ,

Not had that much time to look into the 3D software side of things as have been sidetracked by some hardware issues and wondered if you have any thoughts on these comments and videos below.

As well as the new Ender3 V2 seems there is also the CR-6 model, basically the 3 but with all the extras fitted as standard, plus being 32 bit like the V2.
So the line up/ choice seems to be -
the CR-6 with all the bits at £300, the V2 with some good improvements at £220 or the plain old 8 bit Ender3 Pro at £160, upgradable as needed ?

While looking around came up with a potential problem with the 32 bit servo drivers as in this video, though no idea if it really makes that much difference to the individual user ?
Seems they also ship with one of two types of motherboard/drivers v4.2.2 or v4.2.7 ?
( afraid we lost the will to live after listening to him for 10 mins and then skipped to the summary, but he seems to make some valid points)


Then came across this video which mentions the Ender3 X, basically a standard 3 with the silent driver and print bed.
As you can see the guy rather knocks the 32 bit versions and suggests the base Ender 3 with 8 bit is better by far ?
Would be tempted by that X package but being from China it would incur uk import cost etc so probably cheaper to buy those parts separately here in the uk.

 

Hello ricky101,

Sorry for the delay in replying but I've been painting a very long fence with preservative. It took my wife and I five sessions to get it finished and then we had to mow lawns and other chores as well. Anyway its done now so I can relax a bit until the next jobs arrive.

I watched the videos you sent links for. There are some interesting points raised in them. I must say that I am not an expert on the various board versions for the Ender series but my thoughts are as follows: -
* The 32bit boards have more program space than the 8bit boards. I know that I am very short of space on my 8bit board. I do have a bootloader now on the board but I may further upgrade to 32bit at a later date.
* I am running a Marlin version from TH3D which was fairly easy to put onto the silent board with bootloader and it implements the BLTouch sensor.
* The "X" version of the Ender 3 looks very good. The buildtac glass bed is much better than the flexible magnetic one that came as standard. Even so, on mine I had to flatten it by using a straight edge ruler and post-it stickers under the platter until I saw no gap. As I'm sure you will realise, flatness and bed levelling are very important if you want to print reliably.
* The Creality Ender 6 is slightly different in the way it works. It is a CoreXY printer. The bed descends as it prints the layers and the hot-end stays at the same level. This has speed advantages and allows a print to be made in half the time (a big advantage). I have a friend in Scotland and he has just bought one and he's printing with all sorts of material types. £300 seems a very good price for this printer. Please let me know where you have seen it. I may be interested myself.

Small upgrades if less than £15 can be bought from China without incurring the dreaded import duty and postal charges. Its probably better to buy each item individually keeping the totals below £15.

Let me know what you decide.

Best Regards

Ademission

 

Hi Ademission,

No problem, have similarly been busy with decorating and getting the bedding plants out etc now the weather is better.

Seems that Ender 3 X with those extras is now no longer around, plus it was from China only, not something I would want to do with something that price, rather pay a little more and get it next day from a UK supplier which gives some better consumer protection.

The V2 is £60 dearer, but looking as some of the Amazon reviews, even the good reviews say that you really need to fit new print bed springs, bowden tube and extruder bracket etc as they are all poor quality and that because of those and other kinds of problems, they suggest its not the best machine for a beginner to 3d.
That does not sound that good for a machine thats supposed to be an upgrade to the existing 3 Pro, though equally not sure if the cheaper 3 Pro gives similar problems ?

As for the CR-6 I saw mention of at £300, it is the CR-6SE model , seemingly different fron the Ender 6, sorry if I mislead you there.

Creality3D CR-6 SE 3D Printer

 

Just found this thread and I'm able now to chime in.
About two months ago, an ad pinged up during a random search of god knows what(I often go off on tangents with me interweb searches!).
An Anet A8 plus for £107.22 from Banggood. Couldn't resist but had to build it myself(good fun). Still trying out all the settings in Cura, but so far I've printed a range of upgrades, knobs, measuring tools, inserts, guards bird houses, succulent self watering planters, tillandsia sea urchins and brackets, spray can triggers and bolt size gauge.
Once I've got the basics, I'll setup Octoprint on pi for for monitoring and time lapse....like the look of that. I've had a quick play with tinkercad, nothing too frightening but as their is only 24 hours to a day, I have to manage my available time and mounting hobbies and projects!
I have a plethora of ideas to print, mainly garden or diy related....my phone charging dock is way cool

 

Hi @flounder

So you took the plunge and got one

How did you find the build and set up procedure, seems some find it very problematic others ok, but as an engineer assume you found it easy ?

Sounds like you have got on top of all the software and printing control quiet easily.

Just looking on the Bangood site can only see that printer at £161 today...?
Would be interested to know how long it took to arrive and how much uk tax and courier fees you had to pay on top of your £107 ?

Seems there are several brands selling very similar starter machines like the Ender3 V2 I was looking at which has now droped in price to £199, sold direct by a uk supplier.

Should I bite the bullet and order one !! ?? - Mr.Undecided strikes again

 

It was £107.22 delivered in 3 days, plus I got an introductory free gift of my choice(I chose a 24mm ratchet spanner!).
Paper instructions were written for the borrowers, but the youtube tutorial was easy to follow. It can be quite a steep learning curve, but there is so much online help that it's nearly impossible to cock up totally!

 

If you're thinking of getting one, I'd say go for it. I'd been looking at the Ender 3 for a while, reading reviews and planning where to put it. Then the A8+ turned up so I got that. I think the hardest thing I found was bed levelling. Thinking back now, it's not really that difficult but it's the same with everything you do for the first few times. Terminology with certain things is a minefield. I could never remember if I was better off with a brim, raft or skirt!
It's mesmerising watching the layers going on, but be warned....they're not the fastest things on the planet. I'm still getting my settings adjusted to print a flawless benchy(little boat to assist with calibration). Speed without compromising on quality.
Also, I'd say a lot of the entry level printers are easily upgraded. So you could get a cheaper model and add things to it to make it more functional.
Best thing of all, they're fun!

 

Hi @flounder,

Thanks for the reply , very helpful.

Think I might take the plunge with the Creality Ender3 v2, noticed the other day some uk suppliers had dropped the price from £217 to £199, but today by chance noticed that Creality UK are having a Flash sale at £170 delivered.

Can I just ask what brand and type of PLA(?) you use or would get next if thought your current one could be bettered ?

 

Because I'm just starting out and I'm very tight fisted, I go for just a cheap 1kg spool. There's some on ebay for between £10-15. This does me. I think the seller is Jiawill or something similar.
A place called Onbuy is selling PLA for £12.68.
I also bought some cheap silica gel packets, as I've noticed PLA can absorb moisture.
If PLA+ or PETG was on offer, I'd buy that as I'm governed by price and not quality whilst I'm still learning it all. I've had a couple of prints become removed from the bed so I don't want to produce expensive spaghetti!

 

Hi @flounder

" and I'm very tight fisted, I go for just a cheap 1kg spool." sounds like a true Yorkshireman there !

Yes, can remember some comment about it absorbing moisture, have some large sachets of silica gel we used to use for keeping a camera etc dry, can use some of them.

Just been looking around and so many different brands of filaments, this amazon link for its best sellers was interesting.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Printer-Fi...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Z3GSRBS9QYPX365CM9YX

However as Creality do there own brand for £17 delivered might as well get theirs to start with, one would expect/hope its should work well with their printers ?!
Plus as you say, probably waste a lot just learning how to use things.

cheers


PS just seen this little comment, expect there are lots of simialr around -