3d Printer Discussion

[JohnnyLightning]

As you will find out, the printer is a bit like the Keurig coffee maker. The machine isn't expensive, but the 47 different kinds of coffee add up. So 4 types of filament in different colors adds up. I would plan on using petg for most things, and ABS is a bitch. But it doesn't sag. If you try to print ABS you will become angry and frustrated. ABS is what the people who warned you about smelly, toxic fumes were talking about. But .,....if you want it to hold up to summer... That is what it takes.

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[Colo_Ranger]

I have an older Ender 3 Pro, well it was. All that is left of the E3P is the frame, stepper motors and hot bed base. Running BTT SKR Mini E3 V3.0 MCU with Klipper firmware controlled by RPi 400, Sprite Extruder Pro and BLTouch for bed leveling and mapping. I have a few beds I swap between, glass and a set of textured steel plates.

So far, I haven't found a need to upgrade my printer, but I do like that KE is upgradable. Sounds like you've got quite the setup. The KE comes with Klipper now, so... I hear that was a massive upgrade.

As you will find out, the printer is a bit like the Keurig coffee maker. The machine isn't expensive, but the 47 different kinds of coffee add up. So 4 types of filament in different colors adds up. I would plan on using petg for most things, and ABS is a bitch. But it doesn't sag. If you try to print ABS you will become angry and frustrated. ABS is what the people who warned you about smelly, toxic fumes were talking about. But .,....if you want it to hold up to summer... That is what it takes.

I will do ABS at some point, but right now, all my stuff is interior stuff. I'm printing a 10" mini rack right now. I'm having a blast finding prints that will work with my setup. I will post pictures when I get it finished.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

I made my first error. The bottom print had supports and I can't, for the life of me, get them out. The top is the reprint without supports and turned out awesome.


I've been printing tons of parts, specifically to build a 10" server rack.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

I have fallen into the world of Gridfinity. Currently using it to organize my kitchen and my toolbox. Below is the first drawer. I need to figure out what to do with the empty space.

I also redid my mini Home Lab rack.

Since buying my printer at the beginning of May, I have over 10 days of run time. My wife said this was the best investment I've ever made because it keeps my busy.



I do think I am ready to start ABS printing, but I need to get an enclosure first. I am going to build a small table in my garage to hold the printer/enclosure.

 

[JohnnyLightning]

Just an idea. The enclosures you can buy look really cool, but an amazon box works just as well.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

Just an idea. The enclosures you can buy look really cool, but an amazon box works just as well.

That's what I plan to get. I need to make sure its large enough to handle the spool being on the side. I moved it from the top so it wouldn't affect my z-axis prints.

I've also been toying with getting a second printer, with a larger bed. The 220³ print bed is limiting my plans. I'm not sure how my wife would feel about a second printer, but... we shall see. I do worry about printing in the garage in the winter. I need to see if the enclosure can keep the temps up.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

working on socket organization. This will not be how the final product is laid out. I need a bunch more gridfinity bases and socket organizers.

 

[ControlNode]

That's what I plan to get. I need to make sure its large enough to handle the spool being on the side. I moved it from the top so it wouldn't affect my z-axis prints.

I've also been toying with getting a second printer, with a larger bed. The 220³ print bed is limiting my plans. I'm not sure how my wife would feel about a second printer, but... we shall see. I do worry about printing in the garage in the winter. I need to see if the enclosure can keep the temps up.

You can get a heater with thermostat control in the enclosure to help maintain temp. When I build my enclosure, I plan to make it big enough for one of those oil/radiator heaters, should be decent at maintaining temps without quick temp swings that could mess-up the print. But, as of right now, both fit in the closet just fine. But it needs to move to the garage soon.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

getting closer to having my first drawer organized.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

if that gets the job done, I’m definitely a fan of that price point! That’s something that could be purchased quite quickly!

Thank you for that input!

I suppose I should look it up but I’m guessing it prints ABS plastic among other materials… Is that accurate?

I’ll look it up as well! Having that ability to make custom pieces would be unreal!

Thanks again!
Kyle

Both my machines can print ABS, though it's recommended to use an enclosed machine (Elegoo Centauri Carbon) for best outcome. My research is leading me to think ASA is better than the ABS, but... I need to get my machine first, then I can start playing.

 

[LowKeyTremor]

getting closer to having my first drawer organized.

You used a 3-D printer to make that?!

I’m at the point where I need something very similar, and it just shows how many uses there are!

Also for the other comment of yours, and all of them, thanks for all of the info because it’s stuff that would end up being an issue for me or I’d have to research, so it is beyond helpful!

Man I’m really looking forward to getting into this. This is right up my alley!

My very first job title was streamlining and automating processes (institutional investment management, which was driven by a computer model… Not an algorithm trading style, but actually looking for value stocks).

It’s because I am all about efficiency, and that’s specifically because when I was 20, I had a fucking spinal cord injury because I was insane, and just worked out all the time but had a small frame… Well I liked being the underdog so all through sports I took a mismatch and it was great. I would shut them down.

well things went wrong when I finally had a wrestling match on a front lawn, and my dumbass fearless self goes for the guy who’s 30 to 40 pounds heavier than me and I flat out didn’t know that he was proficient in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I basically had the PE wrestling unit as my main actual training. Other than that it always just been so low-key it didn’t matter.

But I think he stepped it up because he was frustrated that I was hanging in there and ultimately some sort of lock, and then doing something I would never ever fucking do to another person - take them down straight onto their back - especially with an arm around their neck, and that’s what the move was and it broke C2/C3 and caused it to bump my spinal cord and bruise the shit out of it.

So immediately I can’t breathe and feel like I got the wind knocked out of me but then everything goes black and I wake up in the hospital a couple hours later with tubes down my throat and I flat out can’t breathe or move from my neck down. And luckily there was a girl right nearby who knew CPR, because most don’t make it in that injury. It’s called a hangman’s fracture because it’s exactly the type of injury that people who are hung by a rope sustain!

Anyways luckily, waiting for the MRI was forever but the results were that it was a bruise and not a cut which would’ve meant ventilator for life and no movement for life. Instead it meant three months on that ventilator torture device without any true guarantee that I would get off of it, and 10 weeks before I could walk.

Oh yeah, it was five days before I could even move anything like my pinky. Terrible experience and the worst part is that I was so fucking guilty that I would put my parents through that! I can’t imagine a more cruel thing, unintended of course, but to see your son, one who was always looking out for you as a parent, doing all of the yardwork and projects because I just love to keep busy and I love to figure things out…

But the funniest thing is that after the injury, I got most everything back except for my right arm is a little weak compared to the left in my right hand is not quite as good as my left which is 100%. But I did more projects in those years, probably making up for last time and also proving to myself that I got it… We’re talking driving the tractors around and landscaping 2 acres, redoing the entire interior of a Ford F150 truck without any help… All kinds of stuff it’s crazy.

Anyways, to keep up with people, especially since I jumped back into college and had to convert to left-handed, I make sure and do everything as efficiently as possible so keep up or end up even being faster. For example, I never took the special 1.5 times allotted amount for your test. I just took it with the rest of the class and set the curve but kept my mouth shut!

So maybe that explains why I can be so irritated with petty shit. I’ve got a whole different perspective on life and I just don’t have time for it.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

You used a 3-D printer to make that?!

I’m at the point where I need something very similar, and it just shows how many uses there are!

Also for the other comment of yours, and all of them, thanks for all of the info because it’s stuff that would end up being an issue for me or I’d have to research, so it is beyond helpful!

Man I’m really looking forward to getting into this. This is right up my alley!

I printed all of this on my Ender 3 KE. I will say, read up on the Elegoo Centauri Carbon. Had I know I would get this into it, I would have started with the ECC and skipped the Ender KE. The KE is an amazing printer, but the bed is a little small for a lot of prints. The 256x256 bed size is the most common and, therefore, most designs are made for that size. 220x220 is just a tad small for a lot of things.


Also, be prepared to change your mind a lot. The above toolbox drawer is about to get a massive change. I found SocketFinity and it looks like it will fit my needs better. The ratchets, breaker bars, and extension will stay the same, but the sockets are about to get a completely different storage method. The new method will allow me to store them in a more condensed method though, so I think it will be worth it. Luckily, I'm only ''wasting'' $40 of filament. I put wasting in quotes because I learned a lot along the way and this has been fun. So, waste as in 'can't use' but not a waste of time and fun.

 

[LowKeyTremor]

I printed all of this on my Ender 3 KE. I will say, read up on the Elegoo Centauri Carbon. Had I know I would get this into it, I would have started with the ECC and skipped the Ender KE. The KE is an amazing printer, but the bed is a little small for a lot of prints. The 256x256 bed size is the most common and, therefore, most designs are made for that size. 220x220 is just a tad small for a lot of things.


Also, be prepared to change your mind a lot. The above toolbox drawer is about to get a massive change. I found SocketFinity and it looks like it will fit my needs better. The ratchets, breaker bars, and extension will stay the same, but the sockets are about to get a completely different storage method. The new method will allow me to store them in a more condensed method though, so I think it will be worth it. Luckily, I'm only ''wasting'' $40 of filament. I put wasting in quotes because I learned a lot along the way and this has been fun. So, waste as in 'can't use' but not a waste of time and fun.

oh if you’re saying that I’ll change my mind a lot, given that’s my natural tendency as it is… I will absolutely do so! And I’m OK with wasting filament, because nothing beats results that you are just absolutely pleased beyond imagination!
as an example, when I bought my house in 2019 and had it built according to my specs, they did not offer to do the backyard, so that would be up to me, and given the kind of… Well I’ll be honest the shitty and cheap designs that they like to use to save money, I actually was happy to do it

I started off with plans that had a lot of twists and rounded areas, then I really thought about it and my house has more of a modern Mediterranean style so I changed it 100% to modern with pretty much all geometrical shapes, along with a lot of pavers and such. It really looks just right and it really fits with the lot as well as pretty much everything else. Also seems to maximize a lot of the space

This is not an exaggeration: I drew 60+ different versions before I came out with the one I Went with! All drawn after measuring very carefully and doing it to scale. I saw

It was plotted on Microsoft Excel (I’m a fan of workaround lol no expensive software purchasing for me), resizing the cells, and having it print them out lightly colored so that they were a certain size square and each square represented 3 inches. So the whole place is designed with a 3 inch margin of error, and turned out phenomenal

• pre-wired and already ran the 220 for a hot tub under the sidewalk…
• Pre-wired low-voltage landscape lighting all throughout
• extra garden valves so I never have to run a 100 foot hose or 200 feet…
• Designed to minimize maintenance and create a 10 foot wall of Around the entire place
• Etc..

So I wouldn’t change a thing, although it would’ve been nice to keep it to a ridiculous number of 20 designs, which is still way over the top! When the neighbors come by or anybody, they figure a landscape architect did it… Nope just someone who’s insane; yours truly!

So it’s safe to say that I will definitely change my mind a lot ?

 

[Colo_Ranger]

I’ve made a lot of changes in my 3d print life…

Picked up the Bambu Labs P1S:

started printing in ASA (better and comparable to ABS).
My HAM radio face plate printed in PLA+ wilted in the heat of the cab.

I reprinted in ASA.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

I’m going to completely redo my tool storage in PETG. I’m going to color coordinate metric with orange PETG and standard in black PETG. PETG will handle the temperature of the garage better.

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