what modeling software do you use?What questions have ya got?
I'm in the same boat!so interested in this stuff but have never done anything with 2d/3d modeling or been involved with machining or anything like that.
awesome write up....Don't get a Prusa. They're soild machines but absurdly overpriced and don't really have any benefit over a machine you can get for a fraction of the cost. There's literally zero reason to shell out the cash for one.
For just getting into the game, Creality's Ender series is your best bet. They have a HUGE following, the Ender 3 is pretty much the most popular printer of all time, and can be had for a bit over $220-250 without sales.
Personally I prefer the Ender 5, it's a better design in my opinion but MSRP is a bit higher around $350. I've had both a 3 and a 5, and the 5 is the one I still have though it's been heavily uh, fighter'd now... I got both for under $200 each.
They print well out of the box, there are literally hundreds of upgrades available for them on thingiverse for you to print out, and there are huge communities around them on FB and Reddit to help when you have issues. Both also have "pro" versions that have a couple upgrades, I think the 5 Pro is much more of a jump capability-wise than the 3 Pro. Just comes down to budget really.
Don't buy direct from Creality, they take a while to ship, instead buy from Amazon and while you're at it search the AMZ Warehouse section for deals. That's how I got my 5 at the price I did and it was brand new unopened.
And yes, it's worth it to get your own. You'll be amazed at how useful it is, for fixing random things and for printing dumb shit.
For the record, my fighter'd 5 has a custom board running my own custom firmware in an electronics enclosure I made, with a top-of-the-line metal hotend and upgraded fans and everything else, which makes it capable of running almost 2x faster than standard and nearly dead silent (these things are loud), AND I have all the materials ready to upgrade it to increase the build plate size by ~30% while streamlining the positioning of everything.... and I'm still into this thing for less than half of what that Prusa costs.
What questions have ya got?
Personally I generally reach for AutoCAD, just because I'm more comfortable in it, unless I'm doing something complex enough to warrant Solidworks or Inventor. But, I have those available to me. You'll need money, luck, or not-so-strict morals if you want those.what modeling software do you use?
does the printer use specific running software or does the printer come with that stuff?
how much space do these things take up?
so interested in this stuff but have never done anything with 2d/3d modeling or been involved with machining or anything like that.
Ender 3 and Ender 5 are both 235x235mm (advertised as 220), with the 3 having 250mm in Z and the 5 having 300mm. Frankly Z height isn't really a big deal, you'll very rarely stretch your legs in that axis especially with the E3 because of how the Y axis is designed.With the Ender, how large can you print? What is the max heat tolerance for a finished part? Could you print an airbox?
Again it depends on the specific material you use, but generally yeah. There's a rather large segment of folks that print like... figurines and shit. Comic heroes, warhammer stuff, etc. They sand and paint them and they come out perfect.You read my mind with the mold for carbon statement! Is the stuff easy to sand to a glossy finish?
You're getting close to making me spend money I never planned to spend! I assume there is a "mirror" function in the CAD softwares. I like the idea of clicking a button and getting a mirror image. Hated that process for the tank and tail foam sculpting.
Again it depends on the specific material you use, but generally yeah. There's a rather large segment of folks that print like... figurines and shit. Comic heroes, warhammer stuff, etc. They sand and paint them and they come out perfect.
Actual glossy, that I'm not so sure of, but smooth enough to make a mold from would be pretty easy to accomplish. I think if I were doing it, I'd spray the part with a layer of that sorta thick filler primer and just sand that.
Yep, and actually the slicer software itself can do it too. But doing it in CAD is literally less than a second's work.
Cmon Mikey do it! Here I'll make it easy for ya...
E3: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-lis...0?ie=UTF8&condition=all&qid=1580186360&sr=8-2
More E3: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-lis...0?ie=UTF8&condition=all&qid=1580186360&sr=8-3
E5: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-lis...0?ie=UTF8&condition=all&qid=1580186360&sr=8-1
Could even print a water slide, 235mm at a time.
Be forewarned though, these things aren't entirely plug and play. There's calibration and adjustments and tuning to be done to get it right. They print fine out of the box, usually, but to get it to the point where it's super consistent and accurate takes some tinkering. It's not complicated stuff though and I'm happy to help along the way, so don't shy away from the idea, but just be aware that there's a learning curve to climb over if you want to be able to run <0.1mm dimensional accuracy consistently.
For the record, whenever I one day get around to doing the little tail thing on the Hyper, I plan on printing a thin shell and just doing a carbon layup onto it. The process will be draw shape in CAD > run through slicer > print > glue sides together > carbon. Doesn't get much more straightforward than that, and it'll fit right and be perfectly symmetrical the first time. Thinking of the hours spent shaping foam like that, the printer pays for itself right there on that one project.
I was just going to ask if someone would show the mods on a proper set up, like Mason was describing. I'm sure there's tons of stuff out there But I like to see what people whose opinion matter to me. Ive seen the stuff Macantar and Seb make, I'd trust their recommendations over the web masses.Mac, you were extremely helpful with info and getting my E3 set up... have you considered putting your setup & run thoughts in a post here? Maybe we can get Mike to sticky it?
I dunno where you're getting this from... PLA, PETG, and ABS all bond pretty well with epoxy resin, I'm sure other plastics do too but that's like 90% of printing right there in those 3. I saw a post on a "functional print" board recently where a guy was making a special die for his press to stamp a custom profile in 1/8" steel, printed either PLA or PETG with very low infill and just straight up filled it with epoxy AND IT WORKED FOR LIKE 50 PARTS! I was very impressed.You'll need to print with a solvent resistant filament to accomplish what you seek there. For the same reason ppl use "acetone misting" to smooth their prints, so will run into issues applying solvent based products like epoxy paint and resin, and bondo, to most of the filaments.
Well without going into any real detail... you need to assemble the printer as square and true as possible. Then get the bed level. Then all 4 axis need to be calibrated (how much distance does one step of that particular motor give), adjusted, calibrated, repeat until it's right.I was just going to ask if someone would show the mods on a proper set up, like Mason was describing. I'm sure there's tons of stuff out there But I like to see what people whose opinion matter to me. Ive seen the stuff Macantar and Seb make, I'd trust their recommendations over the web masses.
It's easier than it sounds, I promise. The way it usually works for people is assemble printer > calibrate printer > open Cura, select your printer, select the pre-set profile you want > print shit.^ That right there helped me not spend my money.