Good deal on a 3D Printer

[WillAdams]

As I noted, the first one was willful ignorance / stupidity, got the # of steps calculation for the Z-axis wrong when I first connected my Azteeg X5 mini to my SO2 --- left it running while I went to take a shower and the head got smashed against the print, overheated and began to melt.

The second was similar, but more deliberate / controlled --- was trying to troubleshoot what I believe was either a partial clog or damaged thermistor.

3D printing requires patience and thoughtfulness and proper prior planning. I sometimes get impulsive or stubborn, worst is when it’s both at the same time.

[twforeman]

Darn you twforeman! I could not stand it anymore and had to order one! Now my cats will go hungry and I will not sleep anymore! You had to share your build, good customer service experience and software/firmware updates.

But seriously, thanks for documenting your experience. It was this kind of information that encouraged me to purchase the Shapeoko 2 and now a 3D printer to compliment it.

BTW have your found a good source of inexpensive filament?

Oh no! Not the cats! I have not even looked for filament yet as I have barely touched the two spools that came with the printer. Inventibles sells filament in all sorts of colors for what appears to be around the going rate. I would not by filament from "Joe's Pretty Good Filament and Bait Shack" since filament quality has a huge effect on print quality.

3D printing requires patience and thoughtfulness and proper prior planning. I sometimes get impulsive or stubborn, worst is when it’s both at the same time.

I hear you. Quite often I get to the point where I have to put down what I am doing and just walk away. The key is learning how to determine that you have reached that point.

[REdington]

BTW have your found a good source of inexpensive filament?

I use Ultimachine for my high resolution prints (below 150 microns layers) or prints that need to really look good. It is one of the more expensive one out there but well worth the money.
For all the other printing I use either Maker Geek (made in house in Springfield Mo) or Inland from the local Micro Center (convenient and cheap. $15 for a 1kg roll)
Maker Geek is the better of the two as far as diameter tolerance. I have had a couple of nozzle clogs with the Inland also.

[reganissu]

I am wondering what experienced 3D printing makers think of filament made from home-recycled plastics with machines like filabot...

[Gadgetman!]

I'm also getting a printer...

I just have to decide whether to pay $120 for surface shipping (30 - 50 days) or $180 for expedited shipping(5 - 7 days) on my Overlord Pro 3D printer...
I'm getting the 'Black Devil' colour scheme, though, not the blue seen on the project page.
(Any other colour scheme would just be plain wrong for an Overlord... )

Decisions, decisions...

[WillAdams]

I've been considering that over the long term as well.

Apparently there was an Indiegogo campaign for an all-in-one unit: http://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=15/03/26/1929255 which was successful and they're now taking orders to fill after meeting their existing requirements. There's a link to a chart which lists a number of such devices. As I noted in the comments, the big issue is running quality control on it.

[REdington]

I am wondering what experienced 3D printing makers think of filament made from home-recycled plastics with machines like filabot...

I got one of the filastruder's off of kickstarter a while back and it works OK, but with all the other stuff going on on in my shop, it is very hard to keep contamination out of the filament so it sits under the bench and hasn't been used in over a year.
If I would use a large nozzle diameter, it would work better, but I like the resolution with the .025mm and .030mm nozzles.

[halfnormal]

So what do you print when you have a 3D printer? A CNC of course!

http://www.cyclonecnc.4fan.cz/portalcyclone/

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:238329

[jacob32123]

BTW have your found a good source of inexpensive filament?

Microcenter has it for $15 a spool for ABS/PLA/HIPS. I've had very good luck with all of their filaments.

[twforeman]

This looks like a useful mod.