3-D Printer

saneagle

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Either way, great you're getting in to the 3D design aspect, however don't underestimate the printer maintenance either, they have learning curves too.
I've never had to do any maintenance to mine yet. Just replace the empty rolls of filament. It does auto-feeding, so that's not exactly difficult. I guess something will wear out eventually. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. It can't be as difficult as an ebike.
 
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Woosh

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May 19, 2012
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I have changed my heated plate and nozzles. Not difficult at all. One of my two filament feeders has died. It's one of the reasons I am looking for a new printer.
 
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daniel84uk

Finding my (electric) wheels
Sep 28, 2023
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With bambu labs entering the market recently, 3d printing is more accessible than ever. Their printers are nearly as easy to use as inkjet printers! and are much faster at printing than anything we have seen before. You might want to consider one. Otherwise, be prepared for lots of maintenance and tweaking.
 
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portals

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Jul 15, 2022
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Pressing a button on a £1000+ printer is not hobby 3DP,. When it goes wrong do you have to call the photocopy/technician guy to fix it for you?

What does pressing a button teach you?

Not how to 3D print. Or slice. Or how 3D printers work. Or how to calibrate them, replace parts then dial them in. Or anything really.
 

portals

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The guy in post 53 doesn't want to spend £400-600. Given they are mechanical and involve hot filament something going wrong is only a matter of time.
 

Nealh

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I haven't yet got 3D printer but for my first cheaper foray in to it I was looking at this one.
Creality 3D Ender-3 3D Printer 780437202511 | eBay

One can always buy a better one later but if it doesn't suit ones needs or finds it not their liking then at least a large amount of funds isn't wasted on trying to re sell it at a loss.
 
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portals

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Buy a cheaper printer and you will need to learn it mechanically inside and out and learn how to replace mechanical and electronic components when they clog/fail etc. This will put off the majority of users who don't have the time, inkling or skills.

The Ender linked above is a prime example of this, it's a great little printer (loads of online support) when it's dialled in or an absolute nightmare to get anything to print (badly setup) so printer is returned/sold/stored in loft by it's owner.
 
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thelarkbox

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Aug 23, 2023
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fwiw ive dabbled in tinkercad twice now with specific and basic requirements, Both times i landed in youtube getting schooled by children.. humbling but rewarding..
 

portals

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I have changed my heated plate and nozzles. Not difficult at all. One of my two filament feeders has died. It's one of the reasons I am looking for a new printer.
You should be able to buy a spare and swap out the defective extruder? What printer do you have?
 
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Woosh

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I have an old Replicator 4. It's just not worth buying a replacement extruder. I still use the remaining good extruder. My main problem is I cannot print any thing taller than 3cm, I think the print detaches itself through vibration.
 

Bikes4two

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  • Some people buy iPhones or Samsung's latest (I buy Oppo or Doogee):
  • Some people buy new cars (I go for ones well and truly run in)
  • and then there's ebikes costing thousands (my bike and conversion was just under £500) and I've never been let down or disappointed with my purchases
  • so that's why I've gone for an entry level 3dp that on launch one year ago was around $80/35% more than today's price ( because the next model with more bells and whistles is now out).
  • Will my purchase break on me or be less than perfect? I expect so at some time/point but I shall thoroughly enjoy fixing/finding out more about these things.
Tinkercad - what a great tool that is and now I'm looking into Slicer s/w, Klipper, gcode, Octapi and so on and postie hasn't even delivered the printer box yet (PS for newbie 3dp'ers: you don't need to get involved with all the above to get printing, it's just that I'm an inveterate tinkerer!).
 
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saneagle

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Oct 10, 2010
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  • Some people buy iPhones or Samsung's latest (I buy Oppo or Doogee):
  • Some people buy new cars (I go for ones well and truly run in)
  • and then there's ebikes costing thousands (my bike and conversion was just under £500) and I've never been let down or disappointed with my purchases
  • so that's why I've gone for an entry level 3dp that on launch one year ago was around $80/35% more than today's price ( because the next model with more bells and whistles is now out).
  • Will my purchase break on me or be less than perfect? I expect so at some time/point but I shall thoroughly enjoy fixing/finding out more about these things.
Tinkercad - what a great tool that is and now I'm looking into Slicer s/w, Klipper, gcode, Octapi and so on and postie hasn't even delivered the printer box yet (PS for newbie 3dp'ers: you don't need to get involved with all the above to get printing, it's just that I'm an inveterate tinkerer!).
It's going to make you very happy.
 
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portals

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postie hasn't even delivered the printer box yet
What did you buy, an Ender, new or second hand? If it's the latter hopefully you'll get a good one that the previous donk owner gave up on so should be in decent nick.

Start at the start though, buy a fresh roll of branded PLA/PLA+ such as Sunlu/Eryone/Jayo/eSun and get it dialled-in before moving on to more advanced topics such as Octopi etc. Don't skimp on cheap unbranded PLA and keep it dry in a sealed bag with a moisture pad, damp filament is a nightmare to print.
 
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portals

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An old smartphone and a cheapo mini tripod running IP Camera allows you to monitor prints remotely, pretty useful, it even turns your camera flash LED on/off remotely so you can see in the dark as well as audio if you want to shout at it...!
 
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Bikes4two

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What did you buy
A new Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro direct from Elegoo at £173 inc delivery plus 1kg of PLA from their UK webstore so I've no idea as to the brand (and yes, buying the right filament and keeping/getting it dry is a mini voyage of discovery in itself).
An old smartphone and a cheapo mini tripod running IP Camera allows you to monitor prints remotely, pretty useful, it even turns your camera flash LED on/off remotely so you can see in the dark as well as audio if you want to shout at it...!
Heck, thanks for that tip - I was not aware of that possibility - a quick Google on the topic reveals a number of options - is there any particular app you'd recommend?
 

saneagle

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A new Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro direct from Elegoo at £173 inc delivery plus 1kg of PLA from their UK webstore so I've no idea as to the brand (and yes, buying the right filament and keeping/getting it dry is a mini voyage of discovery in itself).
Heck, thanks for that tip - I was not aware of that possibility - a quick Google on the topic reveals a number of options - is there any particular app you'd recommend?
What's the first thing you're going to print? The scraper is pretty handy. Sometimes, you get a memory card or something like that with various test printable things on that might include a scraper, otherwise there's one here:
 
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thelarkbox

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Aug 23, 2023
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????? WOT NO BENCHY???

#1 print has to be a benchy its 'tradition' just like any time you try new code its 'hello world' time.. new printer -> Benchy time..
 

portals

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I print a benchy with every new colour role of filament I buy for two reasons, 1st so I have a colourway swatch for future reference and 2nd to make sure no issues with the PLA as benchies are designed to be basic stress tests and print the more trickier aspects such as overhangs, compound curves, holes etc.

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