My 3D Printers
So this blog post is just setting the scene as to what is helping me with all my self education at home. It is for no reason to gloat but more like my other post, for me to document my progress as time moves forward. I like the idea of reflecting on my past positions and situations and seeing how much I have developed which is the main reason why I am beginning to blog.
So, my current workforce consists of two 3D printers. Both utilise the FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) method of printing which basically means that there is a plastic extrusion process where the plastic is melted and pushed through an orifice, in guided paths, layer by layer. The vast majority of the community uses the word FFF and FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) wrongly as FDM was actually a patented method of rapid prototyping by Stratasys back in the day therefore it should only be referred to on their machines. But no one really cares so either or is fine.. Cough cough. Say FFF and not FDM eheh.
Anywayyyy… back onto my printers.
Anet A8
I have one small Anet A8 which has been quite a reliable machine. It does have a relatively small build volume but from the day I set it up, it had been very reliable. Even though the quality may not have been amazing, the reliability is what made me love the machine. In its current state, as of this post, it is currently disconnected and in pieces as I had planned to build it a proper enclosure with a patch panel type system but that has yet to come into fruition. I really want to get this machine back up and running but I just need to set it all up and in between my studies, working and my social life, it’s just a wee bit difficult.
Upgrades
For the most part, the printer is completely stock standard although I have upgraded a couple things.
Mainboard
First was an upgrade in the mainboard, I upgraded from the Anet board to a RAMPS 1.4. It wasn’t much of a change as I was running Marlin on both but more so something I was forced to do as my original board died.
Bed Leveling
The second thing I upgraded was to auto bed levelling through a BLTouch clone. The one clone that I like is the Triangelabs one. It is super accurate and one of the more high quality clones out there so if you need one for less than half the price of the original BLTouch, I would definitely recommend it.
Bed material
The last thing I upgraded to was a magnetic bed with a PEI sheet. This just made my life easier when taking off prints. It is just so easy to pop a print off without accidentally cutting myself trying to scrape a print off with a paint scraper. I opted for one from FYSETC. They are also another great brand that provide a lot of 3D printing resources.
But that’s all. The rest of my efforts have gone into fixing firmware and running settings for my printers.
Future
Even though it is taken apart and not working, I still dream of what I want to do to the machine and what it needs and I have somewhat assorted some into a list.
To-do: Build a vented enclosure I want to be able to print ABS without any delaminating. Install filament-run-out sensor For multicolour prints and so I can use every roll to the last mm. Run Klipper for firmware I’ve seen many great results purely from running on Klipper as all the processing is completed by a much more capable processor rather than the current 8 bit MEGA2560 board I have. Upgrade to an aluminium frame (also known as the AM8) I want a more sturdy frame because the current frame is made of acrylic and I don’t see it lasting in the long run Upgrade to E3D V6 Hotend clone I have already purchased a clone but want to be able to print the new hotend mount in ABS so that it can withstand higher temperatures without deforming within the middle of a print
So that’s it for my Anet A8. I usually call it Annette because I have it connected to a smart switch for Google assisted power control and that’s the way Google likes to pronounce it ahah.
Tevo Tornado
The goals I have with the Anet A8 also stream to my other printer being the Tevo Tornado. I have always loved this printer despite all the problems it’s given me. It firstly shipped with a faulty power supply, then I accidently cracked the ceramic/glass bed and in and amongst all the fried drivers and boards, it was just a big headache. But at this given moment, it works like a charm. I still need to get some things tuned on it like retractions and Linear advance but they will come with time. All it takes is a tonne of trial and error…. Lots of learning ahah. Despite all this, the quality that this machine outputs is pretty amazing and with it’s huge build volume of 300x300x400mm , I can print almost anything on it. There is an unlimited amount of opportunity for me to print and learn here.
Upgrades
So my upgrades with this system were more so forced due to the headaches I had when getting it started with components being broken or not working or me breaking them.
Power Supply
So the first upgrade was a new power supply. The original one that came with the printer died within the first hour of getting the printer working and so I had contacted the seller and they delivered me a new one through the manufacturer which took ages. I hooked it all up and it worked, but the printing community always loved the Meanwell power supplies so I ended up buying two of them (the exact model is a Meanwell LRS 150-24 ) as they are relatively cheap. So now I have two spare power supplies, if this one ever goes kaput. There’s really not much to say about the power supply. It works. I haven’t done any rigorous testing on it because I am not yet that electrical savvy but hopefully in the future I will be able to do so. As of now, it serves its purpose.
Mainboard
Now the mainboards… Just to preface, this printer was my first time messing around with electronics and I am a bit clumsy sometimes… so I ended up frying two MKS GEN L boards. I am still unsure as to how, but it happened. Despite this, it has taught me to be very careful when poking wires around on an open board because allowing current to flow on the wrong trace could cause a lot of damage. Since killing these boards, I have upgraded to a board similar to the MKS GEN L but with a 32 bit processor. It is known as the SKR 1.3 from BIGTREETECH. For the most part, it has been a great board and I love the fact that it has fused the input power so if anything wrong happens, a small blade fuse will just pop and all I need to do is replace it. I really like this board and it has some awesome features for sensorless homing with specific stepper drivers. All in all, this will probably be the only mainboard I will keep because it is relatively cheap and there is no bottleneck on the processor that I have come across so far.
Stepper Drivers
Similar to the mainboards, I have fried plenty of stepper motor drivers and for the same reason. Just carelessness with the boards. But you live and you learn aha. So originally, this printer came with A4988s which were really noisy but reliable. To mitigate the sound, I purchased various other stepper drivers, some of which I also fried, but at the moment, I have the TMC2130 from BIGTREETECH. The sensorless homing feature is great and the much quieter function is what I love. Sometimes, I can’t even hear my printer move and when I first swapped over from the A4988s, I really thought my printer wasn’t working properly because I was so used to the loud sound it made. The TMC2130s are really great drivers and I don’t see myself changing any time soon.
Bed Levelling
Same as my Anet A8, a BLTouch clone. This section will just be a repeat of above so no need to write anything here. I might just add that this probe makes your life so much more easier especially when starting out because it compensates any imperfections on your manual bed levelling.
Bed
One of the biggest pains with this printer was the bed. It originally came with a glass/ceramic bed which I broke along one of the bolt holes shortly after my first few prints. I was trying to put on some printed geared handles for the bed levelling knobs and used the bed as a place to clamp with my hand and it was enough force to crack it. I was very upset when this happened and I could not find a replacement bed anywhere online. I really did not know what I was going to do but after some lengthy research, I found that others would usually just grab some sort of aluminium, get it cut to size, drill holes for the mounts, and Bob’s your uncle. Whilst it was pretty expensive sourcing locally, it does work pretty well and due to it being aluminium, it is supposed to spread heat fairly evenly (I would love to get a heat camera and test this). So far, it has been great, and paired with an IKEA Lots mirror, I get an awesome finish under all my prints. The only thing that is a drawback from this combo that I have, is that it has made the Y-axis much heavier and therefore, my stepper needs more current to push and pull the axis around.
Future
Much like my other printer, I also have a to-do list for my Tornado. This consists of: Build a vented enclosure Install filament-run-out sensor Run Klipper for firmware Upgrade to E3D V6 Hotend I would love to get the original E3D Hotend for this printer as there is a lot of support on it and everyone seems to have great quality with this hotend even on this printer.
Overall Future
So in the future, I would like almost a print farm where I can print 24/7 for potentially a business but more so for myself. I want to really push limits with my printers and potentially move into other forms of fabrication such as CNC, laser cutting and other forms of printing such as MSLA. But that’s all for the future and not very close at the moment so I’ll let that come with time.
Let’s also see how much of my to do list I can tick off this year :D I’m hoping by the middle of the year, I’ll be able to complete most of the list but we will see how time pans out.
But thanks for reading if you stayed the whole way through! I hope it helped you to see where you are with your printers or if you want one maybe? Ahah I don’t know. Just have fun with whatever you do :) . If you have any questions just contact me via email as this is something I usually check regularly.
But thank you for your time and have a nice day!