Anyone else get carried away with 3d printed tool storage?

[Ken226]

Does this model work well, is it reliable?

bought mine 2018 if I remember correctly.

So far the only issues I've had were due to me not understanding what I was doing, early on, in the first year of ownership.

Once I started setting up correctly for different filament types, using the correct settings, leveling and adjusting the build plate correctly, everything started going smoothly.

The machine itself works pretty well.

The replacement build plate sticker/liner things are overpriced and kinda suck. Glass build plates are the way to go. The flexible magnetic spring steel ones are nice too. I have several of each.

For PETG I've found that setting the build plate gap is a big deal. Too close and it sticks so hard you'll ruin the plate trying to get it off. Too far and it won't stick at all. I use the spring steel magnetic setup for PETG. When the print is done, you can pop the magnetic plate off and flex it like an ice tray. The part pops right off.

 

[RandyWilson]

$800 vs about $300, the eternal trade off.

More like $1100 vs $300. And 4-8 weeks shipping (not included) vs next day from Amazon. The $800 Prusa is a kit that you will spend a day or two putting together. The $300 Ender comes knocked down in sub-assemblies; 15 minutes assembly time. Upgrading the Ender to auto bed leveling, a good filament sensor*, and even a direct drive extruder can be done for under $200 and less time than assembling the Prusa. Or you can buy an Ender with those options already installed.

* last time I checked, the Prusa filament sensor only detected presence, not motion. The BTT sensor everyone uses on the Enders detects both.

 

[WobblyHand]

More like $1100 vs $300. And 4-8 weeks shipping (not included) vs next day from Amazon. The $800 Prusa is a kit that you will spend a day or two putting together. The $300 Ender comes knocked down in sub-assemblies; 15 minutes assembly time. Upgrading the Ender to auto bed leveling, a good filament sensor*, and even a direct drive extruder can be done for under $200 and less time than assembling the Prusa. Or you can buy an Ender with those options already installed.

* last time I checked, the Prusa filament sensor only detected presence, not motion. The BTT sensor everyone uses on the Enders detects both.

How do you figure $1100? That is for a fully assembled machine that is fully tested. As for shipping, ehh, I don't mind the wait. There's no ants in my pants. The $799 is for a kit that is self assembled, which I understand. I don't mind putting stuff together to save some money.

You are correct, the docs state the filament sensor is presence only for the Prusa. Is motion needed, or is there another way to determine if there's an issue? I don't know things like this, having not delved into the dark arts of 3d printing.

Knowing the full costs is important, and it is good to understand the costs and time to get to a decent well performing machine.

If I knew how to order all the parts to have a good machine, that wouldn't take that long to put together (a day is ok) that worked well, I'd entertain any printer. At the moment, I don't even know what to look for. Perhaps that is who Prusa is targeting. Do you have a list of what is needed? Does it have an estimate of time and cost? Even a WAG on time & cost would be ok.

I'd like to have remote printing. The Prusa states an RPI is needed. Is this similar for other printers?

 

[RandyWilson]

Several posts alluded to the Prusa coming ready to go for $800. That is false. The "ready to go" version is $1100; $800 only gets you a box of parts that needs assembly, adjustment, and tuning. And you WILL have to learn how to adjust and tune. Buying the completed machine only delays the inevitable.

Shipping is both time and money. International shipping out of eastern Europe.

RPI with Octoprint / Octopi is the standard remote control platform for all printers. Both Prusa and Ender are from the RepRap family. same controller tech, if not the exact same board. Same Marlin firmware. Same base Mk 8 hot end.

 

[WobblyHand]

Several posts alluded to the Prusa coming ready to go for $800. That is false. The "ready to go" version is $1100; $800 only gets you a box of parts that needs assembly, adjustment, and tuning. And you WILL have to learn how to adjust and tune. Buying the completed machine only delays the inevitable.

Shipping is both time and money. International shipping out of eastern Europe.

RPI with Octoprint / Octopi is the standard remote control platform for all printers. Both Prusa and Ender are from the RepRap family. same controller tech, if not the exact same board. Same Marlin firmware. Same base Mk 8 hot end.

If you are implying that I said $800 ready to go, I don't think I said that. All I meant was after assembly it was pretty much done, save for testing that it was assembled correctly and alignment. It's not a trivial task, but after those steps are done is it not good to go? Or am I misunderstanding the scope of the effort?

I have no problem with octo anything. Have a few spare RPI's available for such a task. Setting up an RPI should be straight forward. Is an RPI3 good enough?

 

[slow-poke]

bought mine 2018 if I remember correctly.

So far the only issues I've had were due to me not understanding what I was doing, early on, in the first year of ownership.

Once I started setting up correctly for different filament types, using the correct settings, leveling and adjusting the build plate correctly, everything started going smoothly.

The machine itself works pretty well.

The replacement build plate sticker/liner things are overpriced and kinda suck. Glass build plates are the way to go. The flexible magnetic spring steel ones are nice too. I have several of each.

For PETG I've found that setting the build plate gap is a big deal. Too close and it sticks so hard you'll ruin the plate trying to get it off. Too far and it won't stick at all. I use the spring steel magnetic setup for PETG. When the print is done, you can pop the magnetic plate off and flex it like an ice tray. The part pops right off.

Thanks, that is very helpful, I will plan for the spring steel, sounds like the way to go. I feel like I’m hijacking the thread so I’m going to stop posting and continue reading and watching 3D buyer guide type videos.

Thanks for posting.

 

[7milesup]

I purchased a Prusa I3 Mk 2.5S kit in the fall of 2017. The last time I looked, it had 175+ days of printing on it and counting. It is currently making Akro-Mills drawer bin compartments as I type this. When I purchased mine, I also had the choice of a ready-to-run unit or assembling it yourself. I chose to assemble my own for two reasons. 1.) Money. Did not want to pay someone else to do something I could do. My whole life seems to revolve around that philosophy. 2.) I knew that I would enjoy the build and have a better understanding of how the machine works.
The instructions that come with the Prusa are second to none. You can check out their support on their website. Here is an example of their instructions.
There are a TON of Ender printers out there and a lot of support within forums, and many upgrades are available. The one other reason that I chose a Prusa is Josef Prusa is somewhat the godfather of 3D printing, and wanted to support him and his company vs. sending my money to Chinese companies that take others' ideas and reverse engineer them.

 

[WobblyHand]

Yeah, I will stop highjacking as well. Someday I can post here on topic.

 

[7milesup]

Yeah, I will stop highjacking as well. Someday I can post here on topic.

No you won't. LOL

 

[ttabbal]

Even the "better" home gamer printers need adjustment and tuning for the best results. The really high end industrial stuff might not, but I doubt anyone here would drop the cash for one of those.

Most of the time, you put a few sub assemblies together and connect a few connections. Nothing difficult. You then usually have to level the bed at least roughly, and tune the Z offset so that the printer knows how close the nozzle is to the bed. First layer is critical. Setting things like e-steps is a good idea as well.

I recently needed a larger printer and went with the Ender 3 S1 Plus. It's worked very well for me. I'm mostly using Polyterra PLA. I can recommend the setup for beginners higher than the non-S1 Enders. The bed probe is nice and helps significantly with leveling. The Plus is a larger build area, the pro I would skip as the upgrades are few and easy to add later if you want them.

For remote stuff, the raspberry pi setups with octoprint or similar are really nice. I do pretty much everything with them, I don't even have the screen on the Ender installed.