New 3D printer to the fold! ARRIVED!

[AlwynTurner]

Hi, I used about 700 gm of filament to build the centurion, more for the chieftain. Most of this goes on the turret and the lower hull components such as suspension and wheels. For me this is a small expense as a reel costs around £15 depending on supplier. If printing tyres you will also need tpu which is slightly more expensive but you can buy 500gm reels of this.

Best wishes with the new printer and if you have queries or problems then just shout. One thing that is important is to ensure all the bolts on the frame and bolts holding things like hot end and stepper are tight as otherwise you will have unwanted quality issues.

Alwyn

[Will01Capri]

Tonight productive. Ok just test prints, but learnt alot in short time.
Printed a cool logo which indesigned for our fb page and YouTube channel.
Unfortunately the sd card reader with printer is broken so having to improvise.
But I hope to be sharing some pictures of parts I am.printing soon.
Great little printer, well chuffed

[Max-U52]

Will, if you want some cool stuff to print, some of which is free, check out Kevin's stuff at RC Tanks Australia. He has a good free jerry can, a fuel drum and a tank trap, just to name a few, and for just a few bucks he has other good stuff, like a guard shack and gate for just 5 bucks (less than 4 quid).

http://rctanksaustralia.com/store/index ... Path=13_16

[Will01Capri]

Many thanks for sharing that. I have downloaded and am trying to print a tank trap or Czech hedgehog as I write this. However it looks like a 8hr print even though Cure said 5hr 30mins.
Although I have turned the Ender3 down to 75% speed.
Maybe it is my noviceness but at 100% it looks too fast and the edge layers don't look as good when running at 75%.
All a learning curve.

I will say the set origin to 0,0 was interesting with box ticked on the ender ad it was trying to print in bottom left corner and off the bed. But in ticking the box pulled the origin to centre of.the plate.

Tomorrow I am.trial printing my 1930s petrol pump again.
I am really enjoying the new challenge. The features on the Cura are very in depth and already i can see how to.improve prints.

Next test piece after will be some warhammer parts for a colleague at work. Maybe try thin layers to up.the detail.

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel.un easy running a printer in the house overnight?

[Max-U52]

Will, I run the printer not only at night, but also while I'm at work and haven't had a single issue. It would run 24 hours a day if I could catch it at the end of each print, but sometimes it finishes while I'm gone and has to wait for my return to re-start. When I printed the M47 turret for a buddy it ran for 47 hours straight. No problems. So don't be uneasy, enjoy it, my friend, you've taken a step into the future.

[Will01Capri]

Well unfortunately the print stopped after 3hrs! No idea why, just stopped.
I wonder if the sd card is corrupt or the print file not complete or something missing?
Will try a new file tomorrow

Edit:
I will look at gcode for start and end of print, maybe there is some code missing or something?? Maybe it got confused.
Will check out other gcode for same machine from other users.

[Will01Capri]

So putting the hedgehog to one side as it is a long print. So making an oil.drum and printing from Cura after playing with code and Cura settings. Fingers crossed.
If this print works I go back to the hedgehog

[Will01Capri]

More failure, but also some successes

Every Cura print stops mid print! Need to do more.configuration.

However if Slic3r created gcode it's ok.
Have been learning more advanced stuff with it instead.

Must get onto Cura over weekend though and sort through as the print looks slightly better and more controllable options to change patterns etc.

[Will01Capri]

So making some tank traps at moment from RC oz link.
I may have got carried away with infill density and wall thickness.
14hr print!
Learning for next time thinner walls and less infill honeycomb.
Had issues with horizontal edge cracks. But using the ender 3 machine controls i have upped the nozzle temp to 220. That mostly helped.
Also noticed cool draft past printer. We fashioned some.card as a wind barrier and noticed the cracks gone away. So maybe I will make a draft excludes for the printer.
Good.learning for sure!

[wibblywobbly]

The volume of filament used is dependent on the print settings. Eg 100% infill will use more than 20%, same with wall thickness, support material density etc.

You would be able to print the Chieftain turret with 1kg, but you are better off getting two reels. If the first reel runs out you can select the change filament option. The printer then stops, ejects the filament, and waits for you to insert the new filament, push it all the way down, hit resume and it will carry on where it left off. If you don't do this, a model will get 70% through a print, and run out. If you don't have a spare reel then the print has to be aborted, and you have to start all over again.

Don't forget some pva, either stick or liquid, to coat the glass, and do a few test prints to check the bed levelling. Don't try and print with the nozzle touching the glass, it will stop the filament flowing and block the nozzle...and that is the curse of 3D printers as it is a pain to resolve, especially for a newbie.

Thingiverse can be hit and miss, not all models are printable. Look at the description and read the comments. If there is no pic of a printed model the chances are that it won't print.