Thanks Tetzly for the insight on them. My attention to detail almost borders on excessive (obsessive?) so no problem there. In the time it takes someone else an hour, it'll take me 3 because I'll be studying the design and shimming/adjusting/etc every step of the way to make it as perfect as I can. haha
What software do you use to design parts for your printer? Sorry to sidetrack your lab build thread... you'll need to post a pic of your Ender3 in it to keep it relevant.
Heh, I'm just glad Dave hasn't kicked me off and told me to go to a DIY woodworker forum!
I am working on a few electronics projects but unfortunately the details must remain undisclosed for the foreseeable future.
But on the topic of the printer, this is my first 3D printer, and I had no experience with the hardware or software until this thing arrived at my door. It came really well packed, and was pretty easy to put together. The instructions are very vague, but there are great assembly tutorials online like this one:
Packing:
One thing I gotta point out about the shimming I had to do... when I installed the two upright main rails, they were about 1/8" wider at the top than the base. The assembly video stated very clear to not proceed past this point without theses rails being parallel to one another, and suggested varying the tension of the 2 screws that hold them down to adjust their position...which did not work for me. This is where I ended up using a small paper shim to correct it. Now when I got almost done with the build, one of the last steps is putting the cross piece on the top that secures the two rails that I just spoke of....and sure enough they were shy 1/8" too TIGHT at the top to install the rail....Like if I hadn't put in the paper shims earlier the top would just pop right on! I was pretty bummed and considered going back and taking the shims out...but I decided to force the top on and just go with it. Everything came out square and parallel with itself, which is really the goal I guess.
Also, the upright threaded rod that controls the Z axis is important to get straight and centered with the machine. You will know it's right when you don't have to move it much when sliding the extruder stepper motor assembly on the top, it should line up pretty good, and there is a 3d printed fix out there if you want to get that perfect...I got it close enough, but it took some adjusting.
Other than that it is very easy to put together and operate. Tinkercad(
https://www.tinkercad.com/dashboard ) is free CAD software online from Autodesk that generates 3d .stl files, and Cura (
https://ultimaker.com/en/products/ultimaker-cura-software ) is free slicer software that reads the .stl files, and is needed to adjust the print job settings and generate the .gcode that the printer reads. Lastly, you can generate .stl 3D files from 2D images using free online file conversion software like
https://https://image.online-convert.com/convert-to-svg/... (Tinkercad allows you to import object files in .stl format, so this is very cool and useful to get custom shapes and designs into the CAD modeler.)
One software tweak I would make in Cura while slicing, for all print jobs...adjust the "first layer print speed" to about 20mm/s (about 1/3 the normal speed if default is 60mm sec). And adjust the "first layer travel speed" to about 1/3 the original setting as well. And finally, tell it to print 2 "slow layers" in the next field. This helps with bed adhesion on the stock Ender bed immensely.
And the bed temp lies a little bit when you first start the machine. At start up, set the bed to 75 degrees, then after it gets there and maintains it for 5-10 minutes, turn it back down to 60, and start your print. I have found when I don't do this the first print almost always fails to stick unless the print is a small one right in the center of the bed. I assume it takes longer to heat the entire bed up than they advertise...which is a feature, so yeah they lie. After the printer is warmed up, you can print back to back jobs over and over with no issues at all. Another thing is the beds are so-so...mine is not perfectly flat. This can be fixed and compensated with the software(fairly complicated I think), but I found the it's not a big deal for me since the footprint of the items I usually print is fairly small and I can tune the bed to work perfect in the small area I print on, but I imagine it could be a problem printing large items, and a glass bed is the common upgrade in that department. I like mine to be honest, sticks great, easy to remove...I'll be using the stock one for sure.