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Posted: 11/8/2020 3:14:39 PM EDT
[#1]
Is the build volume is enough and it is in your budget, I like the Prusa Mini.
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Posted: 11/8/2020 7:17:06 PM EDT
[#2]
The Prusa mini does looks nice, do have some concerns about the print size as I'm sure my wife will want me to print some religious figurines. Will defiantly do some more research on this unit.
The Prusa MK3s is out of my price range. |
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Posted: 11/8/2020 11:53:33 PM EDT
[#3]
If your base is not warped, it only takes under 5 minutes to "level" your Bed with and Ender 3 any version. What you are really doing is "tramming" it. Leveling is a mis-adopted term.
I use the piece of paper method, I have the original springs, still. YMMV I have no problems. The Enders cans take a fair amount of tinkering as you get used to them Once ye really get to know it, it prints the same product as a Prusa. OTOH, minimal factory support, minimal to no factory documentation. Mine has needed little fiddling with to date. Others have not been so lucky. Ender 3 Pro were $189 at my local Micro Center on Friday. You can get a lot of learning experience and extra options if you decide to add them and still be below what a Prusa costs. It's an evolving technology, I (for what it's worth) don't think spending a lot of extra money on something that will likely be obsolete in a year or less is that good an idea. Spend $200 now figure out what you really need and move up. You will likely find that having a second printer is a good thing. They aren't all that fast. If it's for a hobby the Ender is the way to go. I'm not sure that a Prusa is that much better for a business. It seems to me that the pros either go to a much higher grade machine and or banks of printers. |
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Posted: 11/9/2020 1:06:46 AM EDT
[#4]
the Ender 3 V2 is great bang for the buck, I don't have one but researched them
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Posted: 11/11/2020 12:38:52 PM EDT
[#5]
Creality is having their black Friday sale, ordered a Ender 3 v2.
Time to order some filament. |
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Posted: 11/27/2020 9:46:05 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Creality is having their black Friday sale, ordered a Ender 3 v2. Time to order some filament. @sned45 Which store did you purchase from? Seems there are a couple that look like Creality, one says official, but they're out of the V2, is the other source legit? |
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Posted: 11/27/2020 10:15:25 PM EDT
[#7]
I purchased from https://www.creality3dofficial.com/ fast shipping and only took couple days from SoCal to NorCal.
Looks like https://creality3d.shop/ is legit. check out Creality's list of resellers https://www.creality.com/blog-detail/creality-merchants-promotional-activity |
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Posted: 12/3/2020 9:40:31 AM EDT
[#8]
difference between the 3-V2 and 5 at the same price? or which one to choose for a first printer? personal use for gun parts, car parts, etc.
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Posted: 12/4/2020 10:58:52 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I purchased from https://www.creality3dofficial.com/ fast shipping and only took couple days from SoCal to NorCal. Looks like https://creality3d.shop/ is legit. check out Creality's list of resellers https://www.creality.com/blog-detail/creality-merchants-promotional-activity Thanks! I was looking strongly at the Ender 3 V2, but am considering the Ender 5 Pro now. |
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Posted: 12/4/2020 11:35:47 PM EDT
[#10]
I like my Ender 3. It makes nice prints and was fun to upgrade. It didn’t really need upgrades but I have a hard time not fucking with stuff.
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Posted: 12/5/2020 9:06:58 AM EDT
[#11]
How upgradable are these things? Could you change out the bed on the Ender 5 to print ABS?
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Posted: 12/5/2020 1:18:00 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: How upgradable are these things? Could you change out the bed on the Ender 5 to print ABS? The stock bed will get up to the temperature you need for abs. What you’d need to add is an all metal hot end like the micro swiss and an enclosure to keep drafts out of the printer, a cardboard box can work in a pinch. ETA, an ender 3 will need the same two things. |
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Posted: 12/5/2020 6:39:02 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: How upgradable are these things? Could you change out the bed on the Ender 5 to print ABS? Pretty much infinitely upgradeable, but you really need to keep in mind the cost of upgrading vs buying a 2nd printer (which is extremely handy). E3 is a great starter printer to get a feel for things, and as much as I dont care for them, it is what I would highly recommend starting with. After 6mos-1yr, you should know enough about this stuff to decide whether to upgrade or buy a 2nd, and be capable of running one of the more advanced ones. Contrary to the "buy once, cry once" method many of us usually practice, this is most often a horrible idea with this stuff. Baby steps, start off easy. Have seen tons of people buy way more printer than they could handle, end up living the nightmare, then completely give up and walk away. |
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Posted: 12/5/2020 7:13:47 PM EDT
[#14]
Before you buy look at amazon warehouse deals. Lots of people buy and return printers, I got a couple hundred dollars off my cr10 that way.
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Posted: 12/11/2020 3:47:24 PM EDT
[#15]
So since im sure this topic comes up a lot and this thread isnt that old, figured id just use this for pretty much the same question.
No experience yet, will dive in once i get one. Going to use for business and personal. Business would be making small decorative figures/items for display. It seems ender is the option for diving in and budget. Creality is having a sale, so now might be a good time to fo. Shows the ender 3 for $160, ender 3 pro $200, ender 5 $300, plus some others i know nothing about. They seem like decent prices compared to amazon? If anything else on the page is good too, i might be game for that as well. Which would be the best bang for the buck as it is? Greatest range of filaments for the cheapest price? Whatever metrics make the most sense as i dont know what constitutes 'best' yet.  i just want to make sure if im paying 40 or 100 more for one version over another, that its justified. I could do 300, although cheap is good, but headaches arent. So ill pay the 300 if needed. Ive seen some links/mods/troubleshooting links in a few threads i will be looking at as well. Thanks for any help. |
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Posted: 12/11/2020 4:43:31 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted: So since im sure this topic comes up a lot and this thread isnt that old, figured id just use this for pretty much the same question. No experience yet, will dive in once i get one. Going to use for business and personal. Business would be making small decorative figures/items for display. It seems ender is the option for diving in and budget. Creality is having a sale, so now might be a good time to fo. Shows the ender 3 for $160, ender 3 pro $200, ender 5 $300, plus some others i know nothing about. They seem like decent prices compared to amazon? If anything else on the page is good too, i might be game for that as well. Which would be the best bang for the buck as it is? Greatest range of filaments for the cheapest price? Whatever metrics make the most sense as i dont know what constitutes 'best' yet. i just want to make sure if im paying 40 or 100 more for one version over another, that its justified. I could do 300, although cheap is good, but headaches arent. So ill pay the 300 if needed. Ive seen some links/mods/troubleshooting links in a few threads i will be looking at as well. Thanks for any help. I just ordered my second Sovol SV01. Compared to the ender 3, it was a no brainer. Bigger, dual z drive, better power supply, direct drive extruder, it uses a creality board. Gtg as is, but can use some free upgrades like the firmware and wire management. $260 from amazon with a 1kg spool of pla to get you started. I've been using the first one pretty much daily for over a year now. |
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Posted: 12/11/2020 4:50:27 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted: So since im sure this topic comes up a lot and this thread isnt that old, figured id just use this for pretty much the same question. No experience yet, will dive in once i get one. Going to use for business and personal. Business would be making small decorative figures/items for display. It seems ender is the option for diving in and budget. Creality is having a sale, so now might be a good time to fo. Shows the ender 3 for $160, ender 3 pro $200, ender 5 $300, plus some others i know nothing about. They seem like decent prices compared to amazon? If anything else on the page is good too, i might be game for that as well. Which would be the best bang for the buck as it is? Greatest range of filaments for the cheapest price? Whatever metrics make the most sense as i dont know what constitutes 'best' yet. i just want to make sure if im paying 40 or 100 more for one version over another, that its justified. I could do 300, although cheap is good, but headaches arent. So ill pay the 300 if needed. Ive seen some links/mods/troubleshooting links in a few threads i will be looking at as well. Thanks for any help. If the Mini is big enough, get a Mini. If you need bigger, get the MK3s. I have both, both solid no-hassle (or at least as low as possible for a 3D printer) machines that will just print your shit. |
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Posted: 12/11/2020 5:52:35 PM EDT
[#18]
Quoted: I just ordered my second Sovol SV01. Compared to the ender 3, it was a no brainer. Bigger, dual z drive, better power supply, direct drive extruder, it uses a creality board. Gtg as is, but can use some free upgrades like the firmware and wire management. $260 from amazon with a 1kg spool of pla to get you started. I've been using the first one pretty much daily for over a year now. Quoted: If you want to use it for biz, and just need your shit printed, buy a Prusa. Generally time=money in business, and you don't have time to spend days/weeks trying to figure out why shit won't just work. If the Mini is big enough, get a Mini. If you need bigger, get the MK3s. I have both, both solid no-hassle (or at least as low as possible for a 3D printer) machines that will just print your shit. Well you guys went and fucked my day all up! Ive got a problem with analysis paralysis when it comes to choosing stuff. Took forever to figure out what reloading press i wanted...So looking around the forum here, the ender's were on the tip of everyones tongue (even people who didnt like them), so i was like "cool, i'll just grab one of those and be good!" But no, you guys had to come along with more options! Haha. So for the business aspect, my wife and i run a small decal shop on etsy, nothing crazy, but it pays the biils. Getting a bit bored and want to also branch out a bit and offer more stuff. So it will be one piece at a time and slow going for the business aspect while i learn, so not sure if that changes thing for your recommendation rat_patrol? We dont have a lot of extra money, so not sure if id be able to swing the $1000 or not and as i dont know if the prusa mini fits my needs as i dont know what i'll be printing yet. Is the mini the 7x7x7 print size? Is it worth a prusa mini to pay the same money as an ender 5? Is the prusa that good? Have not heard mention of the sovol before. I'll do some research. I read 2 of the amazon reviews and each had some cons about the printer (that can be said about any item i know). Since it uses a creality board, does that mean any software troubleshooting will use the same steps as the ender? |
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Posted: 12/11/2020 6:14:44 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Well you guys went and fucked my day all up! Ive got a problem with analysis paralysis when it comes to choosing stuff. Took forever to figure out what reloading press i wanted...So looking around the forum here, the ender's were on the tip of everyones tongue (even people who didnt like them), so i was like "cool, i'll just grab one of those and be good!" But no, you guys had to come along with more options! Haha. So for the business aspect, my wife and i run a small decal shop on etsy, nothing crazy, but it pays the biils. Getting a bit bored and want to also branch out a bit and offer more stuff. So it will be one piece at a time and slow going for the business aspect while i learn, so not sure if that changes thing for your recommendation rat_patrol? We dont have a lot of extra money, so not sure if id be able to swing the $1000 or not and as i dont know if the prusa mini fits my needs as i dont know what i'll be printing yet. Is the mini the 7x7x7 print size? Is it worth a prusa mini to pay the same money as an ender 5? Is the prusa that good? Have not heard mention of the sovol before. I'll do some research. I read 2 of the amazon reviews and each had some cons about the printer (that can be said about any item i know). Since it uses a creality board, does that mean any software troubleshooting will use the same steps as the ender? My first printer, which I bought for biz probably 5 years ago, was a Robo R1+. I spent more damn time on the phone with tech support (they had good tech support based in the US, which is why I went with them) and trying to get that stupid printer running properly than printing. It seemed like I was ALWAYS either diagnosing it or waiting on parts, or it was just not working properly. Now, 5 years ago is comparing a Model T to a 2020 F150 Raptor in 3D printing, but at its core, the R1 was put together with bargain basement components from China (the printers were made in China). That printer was a colossal waste of time and money. I'm sure I have 3x the $$ into that thing vs just buying an MK3 (which I eventually did), with 3/4 of that just trying to get decent prints out of it through upgrading from the bottom shelf cheap shit components they used. On the plus side, I can now dis-assemble and re-assemble a 3D printer in record time, practically blind folded. I actually pulled out all my upgraded parts from that machine and tossed the rest, working on building a dedicated high temp/exotic filament machine in a custom enclosure. But I digress... I'm not saying you would get that experience with an Ender, or any other Chinese printer, but lots of people do. For most it is OK, because they bought the machine to tinker. Some are about ready to pull their hair out just trying to get prints, some ultimately box it up and return it. Like reloading, it isn't for everybody, but my new favorite quote from a poster on ARFCOM is (paraphrased): "3D printing has a steep learning curve. Cheap printers make it steeper." I pre-ordered a Mini on announcement day 1. I got some of the initial bugs that have LOOOOONG since been worked out. Prusa's support was great, and the trip back to Prague for some warranty work was paid for by Prusa and was fast. Reports of the Mini's coming out now are positive, since the initial issues were worked out. This is why newbies to 3D printers should NEVER be beta testers for new machines; get something that is tried and true (which now includes the Mini). The Mini itself shares the Prusa line's quality of just working, and working well. They come tuned, calibrated, and the Prusa Slicer works well and has pre-tuned profiles that just work without tinkering. Auto bed leveling, auto bed squaring (on the MK3s), and swappable bed sheets are absolute must have options in 2021 in my book. Not to mention filament runout sensor... Yes, the Prusa Mini prints on a 7" by 7" by 7" (or 180mm cubed IIRC) build area. If that is big enough, it is a solid and reliable workhorse. If that isn't big enough, the MK3s, which I also have, is a rock solid printer that again, just works as you would expect w/o constant tinkering. I'm actually amazed at the advanced features they are pushing through an ATMEGA256 micro. (Never mind, nerd stuff) Of course, many have had great experienced with the Ender machines as well. If yo do choose to buy a Chinese machine, buy it from Amazon with at least the "fulfilled by Amazon" as a seller. If you get a dud, you can utilize the Amazon CS instead of trying to work with the Creality CS, which I hear is less than stellar. I will freely admit I'm not a fan of the cheap Chinese machines no matter the flavor, and a bit of a Prusa fan boi from my experiences, but I also know that not everybody has the budget for an MK3 when they need that big of a build volume. The biggest complaint with Prusa machines is some folks have a hard time getting the print to stick to the bed, but there are easy fixes for that (mostly just properly cleaning the sheets). Clear as mud? |
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Posted: 12/11/2020 6:21:12 PM EDT
[#20]
Check out this video. It is a factory tour of the Prusa factory. This was from July of 2019, but this is what you are paying for.
Skip to 11 minutes if you want to start with the factory testing of the parts.  Prusa Factory Tour! Print Farm / Prusament / SL1 / MK3S / Prusa Lab! |
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Posted: 12/11/2020 7:21:31 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Well you guys went and fucked my day all up! Ive got a problem with analysis paralysis when it comes to choosing stuff. Took forever to figure out what reloading press i wanted...So looking around the forum here, the ender's were on the tip of everyones tongue (even people who didnt like them), so i was like "cool, i'll just grab one of those and be good!" But no, you guys had to come along with more options! Haha. So for the business aspect, my wife and i run a small decal shop on etsy, nothing crazy, but it pays the biils. Getting a bit bored and want to also branch out a bit and offer more stuff. So it will be one piece at a time and slow going for the business aspect while i learn, so not sure if that changes thing for your recommendation rat_patrol? We dont have a lot of extra money, so not sure if id be able to swing the $1000 or not and as i dont know if the prusa mini fits my needs as i dont know what i'll be printing yet. Is the mini the 7x7x7 print size? Is it worth a prusa mini to pay the same money as an ender 5? Is the prusa that good? Have not heard mention of the sovol before. I'll do some research. I read 2 of the amazon reviews and each had some cons about the printer (that can be said about any item i know). Since it uses a creality board, does that mean any software troubleshooting will use the same steps as the ender? I would think so. It's running Marlin firmware. I've upgraded to the CopterTek (?) version. I can only think of 1 issue that could be blamed on the printer and not my inexperience, ignorance, or user error. There is a tube sleeve that goes between the drive rolls and the hot end. It was left out during part of the production run. I happened to be one of the lucky ones missing the sleeve. I think I made a chunk of steel brake line work. I have since designed a printed part to replace that if it ever causes trouble. The rest of the trouble I have had has been in keeping the bed clean and figuring out slicer settings. I used rubbing alcohol for a long time with mostly good results. Lately, I have been using acetone in a spray can for cleaning foam guns. It has worked 100% so far. Calibrating the printer made a pretty big improvement and isn't difficult. Bed leveling isn't bad either. Once I figured out how to do it reliably, I can pretty much leave it alone until I change nozzles. Pro tip, level with the bed heated. I print PLA and TPU with a bed temp of 50C. So that's what I level it at. |
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Posted: 12/12/2020 7:54:09 PM EDT
[#22]
Did i mention how much i hate you guys?! Im now watching all kinds of videos on different printers and cant make up my mind. Assholes!
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Posted: 12/13/2020 12:55:47 AM EDT
[#23]
So while the prusa is nice, it is pretty pricey, especially for a small print area (mini).
The direct drive of the sovol is nice and sounds like it would make life easier. The reviews on it are wildly varying though. Not sure if some people get really good ones and some get mediocre ones or people arent using them properly or...? What are thoughts on the artillery sidewinder x1? This video has a comparison of these 2, it also has the genius which im not interested in. I saw another video where you can add a silent board to the sovol to make it quieter. That video also had a little doohickey (cant remember the name b-light or something?) That did auto bed leveling, which was pretty awesome! Anybody know if that auto bed leveler can be put on the artillery as well?  Direct Drive 3D Printers in 2020 // Artillery Sidewinder X1, Artillery Genius, Sovol SV01 MEGAREVIEW ETA BL touch is the auto bed leveling doohickey. |
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Posted: 12/13/2020 1:08:37 AM EDT
[#24]
I don't understand the noise complaints. It's a machine. It's going to make noise. The fans are the loudest part. Just upgrading the firmware did quiet mine a little. It's in the living room where I spend most of my days and nights with the kid and the noise has never bothered me.
The sovol extruder isn't just direct drive. It has 3 to 1 gear reduction. I believe it is a E3D Titan style with a V6 hot end. My new one showed up today and I have been going over it. I like to loctite all the fasteners and make all my adjustments right away. My old printer has been kicking out the wire management brackets and slot fillers to speed up the prep work. |
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Posted: 12/13/2020 1:36:44 AM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I don't understand the noise complaints. It's a machine. It's going to make noise. The fans are the loudest part. Just upgrading the firmware did quiet mine a little. It's in the living room where I spend most of my days and nights with the kid and the noise has never bothered me. The sovol extruder isn't just direct drive. It has 3 to 1 gear reduction. I believe it is a E3D Titan style with a V6 hot end. My new one showed up today and I have been going over it. I like to loctite all the fasteners and make all my adjustments right away. My old printer has been kicking out the wire management brackets and slot fillers to speed up the prep work. It is a machine, but if you can get the same results quieter, thatd be nicer. Just like a silenced firearm is. Its a gun, its gonna make noise, but less noise is (almost) always better. I watched that video a little bit ago and have been watching a lot, the sidewinder might be titan as well? Cant remember, also have no fucking clue what that means! I am definitely intrigued by the sovol and its at the top of the list, but the z height on that sidewinder seems nice if i make something tall. I know once my wife sees some of the shit that can be made, shes gonna go nuts with having me make her 3d prints! |
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Posted: 12/13/2020 1:39:34 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: So while the prusa is nice, it is pretty pricey, especially for a small print area (mini). The direct drive of the sovol is nice and sounds like it would make life easier. The reviews on it are wildly varying though. Not sure if some people get really good ones and some get mediocre ones or people arent using them properly or...? What are thoughts on the artillery sidewinder x1? This video has a comparison of these 2, it also has the genius which im not interested in. I saw another video where you can add a silent board to the sovol to make it quieter. That video also had a little doohickey (cant remember the name b-light or something?) That did auto bed leveling, which was pretty awesome! Anybody know if that auto bed leveler can be put on the artillery as well?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuUixpP9bHUETA BL touch is the auto bed leveling doohickey. The sidewinder x1 is one of the best values out there at current. Adding automatic bed leveling is very easy. You can plug it right into the port on the printhead shuttle that uses the LED light. You lose the LED but who cares. You then need to flash the firmware, and that's it, you're done. I'm very happy with my sidewinder. I added a pei spring steel bed from th3d and I haven't even bothered to install the bltouch I have for it because the bed is very level. That said the stock base is glass so it's not like it's going to be wavy anyway. Automatic bed leveling is pretty cool, but honestly manual leveling is easy and on a decent printer you only have to do it rarely. If your bed and carriage aren't warped and you aren't printing at a very wide range of bed temps frequently, automatic bed leveling wouldn't be my first priority, because it does require some setup of it's own (like adjusting the z offset). Like I said I've had a bltouch laying around since I got mine I just haven't bothered to install because it hasn't been necessary. The one thing i dislike is the extruder, it's a titan clone but not a super well made one. The heatsink is mediocre and I did experience heat creep on some very long and very hot prints. I added an aluminum aero-style heatsink to mine and an all-metal heatbreak (stock is ptfe lined). I've printed with mine using 0.4 mm through 1.2 mm nozzles. Printing through those huge nozzles is hilarious, and makes some super sturdy prints very fast. |
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Posted: 12/13/2020 1:52:42 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It is a machine, but if you can get the same results quieter, thatd be nicer. Just like a silenced firearm is. Its a gun, its gonna make noise, but less noise is (almost) always better. I watched that video a little bit ago and have been watching a lot, the sidewinder might be titan as well? Cant remember, also have no fucking clue what that means! I am definitely intrigued by the sovol and its at the top of the list, but the z height on that sidewinder seems nice if i make something tall. I know once my wife sees some of the shit that can be made, shes gonna go nuts with having me make her 3d prints! Just like guns you are allowed to have more than one if one does not fit the bill. 
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Posted: 12/13/2020 2:02:36 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Just like guns you are allowed to have more than one if one does not fit the bill. But just like guns, i cant afford multiples!
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Posted: 12/13/2020 2:13:21 AM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The sidewinder x1 is one of the best values out there at current. Adding automatic bed leveling is very easy. You can plug it right into the port on the printhead shuttle that uses the LED light. You lose the LED but who cares. You then need to flash the firmware, and that's it, you're done. I'm very happy with my sidewinder. I added a pei spring steel bed from th3d and I haven't even bothered to install the bltouch I have for it because the bed is very level. That said the stock base is glass so it's not like it's going to be wavy anyway. Automatic bed leveling is pretty cool, but honestly manual leveling is easy and on a decent printer you only have to do it rarely. If your bed and carriage aren't warped and you aren't printing at a very wide range of bed temps frequently, automatic bed leveling wouldn't be my first priority, because it does require some setup of it's own (like adjusting the z offset). Like I said I've had a bltouch laying around since I got mine I just haven't bothered to install because it hasn't been necessary. The one thing i dislike is the extruder, it's a titan clone but not a super well made one. The heatsink is mediocre and I did experience heat creep on some very long and very hot prints. I added an aluminum aero-style heatsink to mine and an all-metal heatbreak (stock is ptfe lined). I've printed with mine using 0.4 mm through 1.2 mm nozzles. Printing through those huge nozzles is hilarious, and makes some super sturdy prints very fast. Thank you for that. So just to make sure, you swapped the heatsink and heatbreak (i think i know what those parts are) but not the extruder and all is good? What was the cost? Is it necessary right off the bat? Or only when doing those longer hotter prints? So there is another way to auto level the bed without the bltouch? Would you say the new bed is necessary or the stock one is fine for awhile? I dont mind upgrading in the future, but would like to be able to make acceptable prints straight out of the box and keep making acceptable prints for awhile stock. From that video i posted, the x1 was able to do more filament types than the sovol (unsure if just him or a common problem), so with that and the larger print area, im leaning more towards the x1 as ive seen a couple positive reviews as well. Just trying to see if there are any large deficits to the x1... |
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Posted: 12/13/2020 2:13:23 AM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It is a machine, but if you can get the same results quieter, thatd be nicer. Just like a silenced firearm is. Its a gun, its gonna make noise, but less noise is (almost) always better. I watched that video a little bit ago and have been watching a lot, the sidewinder might be titan as well? Cant remember, also have no fucking clue what that means! I am definitely intrigued by the sovol and its at the top of the list, but the z height on that sidewinder seems nice if i make something tall. I know once my wife sees some of the shit that can be made, shes gonna go nuts with having me make her 3d prints! There is a world of difference when comparing the noise of a gun to a 3D printer. I kind of like hearing my printer singing in the backround. Z height is nice just for clearance, but I have yet to use more than half the Sovol Z capacity. Keep in mind that tall prints are usually long prints. Just depends on what you want to do with it. I make a lot of small items, but I wanted enough X and Y to cover an AR receiver or ammo can organizing tray. Had it over a year and still haven't printed anything that big. |
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Posted: 12/13/2020 2:20:39 AM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted: There is a world of difference when comparing the noise of a gun to a 3D printer. I kind of like hearing my printer singing in the backround. Z height is nice just for clearance, but I have yet to use more than half the Sovol Z capacity. Keep in mind that tall prints are usually long prints. Just depends on what you want to do with it. I make a lot of small items, but I wanted enough X and Y to cover an AR receiver or ammo can organizing tray. Had it over a year and still haven't printed anything that big. It is a world of difference, just the easiest to make being on a gun board. I doubt i'll need the z height often, but i can see the wife wanting some of these vases that i see in the videos, plus im sure some large busts of some nerdy characters and a large hogwarts model and on and on...she's gonna use a lot of the z axis, i can already tell! She is replaying fallout new vegas right now and has 50k caps in the game, so she said since she has them in the game, she needs them in real life! Haha
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Posted: 12/13/2020 2:52:51 AM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Thank you for that. So just to make sure, you swapped the heatsink and heatbreak (i think i know what those parts are) but not the extruder and all is good? What was the cost? Is it necessary right off the bat? Or only when doing those longer hotter prints? So there is another way to auto level the bed without the bltouch? Would you say the new bed is necessary or the stock one is fine for awhile? I dont mind upgrading in the future, but would like to be able to make acceptable prints straight out of the box and keep making acceptable prints for awhile stock. From that video i posted, the x1 was able to do more filament types than the sovol (unsure if just him or a common problem), so with that and the larger print area, im leaning more towards the x1 as ive seen a couple positive reviews as well. Just trying to see if there are any large deficits to the x1... In the case of the sidewinder's extruder, one would consider the heatsink and the heat break to be integral to the extruder. It's quite a compact setup. The stock heatsink is just some cheap aluminum finned radiator a 40mm fan attaches to. I just replaced that with an aluminum heatsink that is much beefier, and directly attaches to the heatbreak. It makes conduction of the heat and later dissipation much easier. The heat break replacement is about $10 to go to all metal, the metal heatsink I installed was $20. Neither is necessary out the gate and I wouldn't install either right away if I didn't know what I was doing. There are alternatives to the bltouch, although the bltouch is by far the easiest method to add automatic leveling to the sidewinder and also the cheapest. Next easiest would be adding a th3d EZABL, which uses an inductive sensor instead of the bltouch probe to measure the z height. An automatic bed leveler isn't as impressive as it seems, all it really does is replace your z limit switch and just acts like one (that's an oversimplification) and then compensates for dips in the bed. Just manually level the bed when starting out. The sidewinder will pretty much walk you through it, it had a menu that moves the print head to different locations to facilitate easier leveling. Is ABL nice, yes. Is it necessary? No. If your bed is level, its level. The stock bed is perfectly fine. Its glass with a coating similar to what is normally called ultra base. The complaints you often see for the sidewinder are the idler arm (what snugs the filament against the gear that pushes it) breaks easily. This has been corrected on newer iterations, or you can buy a metal one for $10 on amazon. Another complaint is uneven bed heating. The sidewinder has a large bed and it does have a very effective heater, but some people report some parts of the bed are cooler than they should be at times. That's a question of insulation I suppose. It isn't a problem for most people and unless you are printing something requiring a very high and consistent bed temp, like ABS, you'll probably never notice. And most people don't print much ABS nowadays due to the smell. Some also Express concern about the ribbon cables used to connect the print head to the main board, but so far as I know this has not been an issue and the sidewinder has been around a while now. Even if it were a problem those ribbon cables are cheap. |
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Posted: 12/13/2020 3:09:43 AM EDT
[#33]
I had heard issues about the ribbon cables in some videos. This video i just watched is the biggest negative of the printer ive seen, but he does show what appears to be "proof" of each (glue on wires, thermals of unevenly heated bed, etc), it is definitely worrisome.
 Artillery Sidewinder X1: Built for show! |
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Posted: 12/13/2020 3:11:09 AM EDT
[#34]
Get the mini. It isn't perfect, but a lot of things are done really well.
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Posted: 12/14/2020 4:15:45 AM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Get the mini. It isn't perfect, but a lot of things are done really well. While i wish it was that easy, its not for me. The price to size ratio is a bit hard to swallow. Granted its not tiny, but is limiting. I currently have a vinyl cutter, we went with a smaller desktop version to learn, but now dont have the space to get a larger floor model, weve had to miss out on work because we have a limited cutting surface because we went smaller. Thinking of buying the mini conjures that same feeling. I watched the prusa factory tour and while they have a lot of qc and they def seem to know what theyre doing, ive also seen some recent videos showing the mini still having some issues (but ive also seen similar videos with the other 2 im looking at). Also with being bowden, it lacks (possibly) some ability with more flexible materials, which would nice to have the ability straight out of the box with the direct drive printers. I still havent made a choice, i hate how no matter what item im looking at, there is NEVER one that has everything i want/need, there are always compromises. So lame. So watching an ass load more videos to try and narrow it down... |
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Posted: 12/14/2020 10:09:04 PM EDT
[#36]
@Boostinjdm
Have you tried printing any flexible materials with the sovol? Tpu or ninjaflex (or others i havent heard of)? |
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Posted: 12/14/2020 10:15:16 PM EDT
[#37]
@Redarts
Have you run any flexible materials in your x1? Also does your machine have the issues that is shown in that thomas guys video i posted a couple posts up? |
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Posted: 12/14/2020 10:38:58 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: @Boostinjdm Have you tried printing any flexible materials with the sovol? Tpu or ninjaflex (or others i havent heard of)? Yes, I've printed quite a bit of TPU. Mostly small finicky parts since I got into quadcopters earlier this year. I just bought a second Sovol SV01 so I can have one set up with TPU and one for PLA. I don't like switching back and forth. I designed and printed the canopy on this. It's a 65mm Whoop. That's 65mm diagonally motor to motor.  And the nose and battery pouch and a few other parts on this.    |
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Posted: 12/14/2020 11:06:44 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: @Redarts Have you run any flexible materials in your x1? Also does your machine have the issues that is shown in that thomas guys video i posted a couple posts up? I've used some TPU without issues. TPU isn't as hard to print as some say, just go slower on speed. You can even print TPU on a bowden setup without a problem, but you'll have to take it very slow indeed. The titan style direct drive extruders are well suited to printing TPU and the heat requirements and bed heat requirements of TPU are quite lenient, nothing difficult to accomodate. There are many more difficult filaments to get good print quality out of than TPU. There are also various hardnesses of TPU, and the softer the filament the more difficult it is to print as a general rule. However if you intend to print a lot of TPU, or even a modest amount, a direct drive printer should be your focus. As far as the other issues, nothing that has ever been an issue for me. You will open the cover up and possibly remove some of the glue on the connectors if you intend to flash the firmware (as you have to unplug the touchscreen to do so) but that isn't really much of an ordeal (about 5 minutes of work) and overzealous application of glue is a chinese affectation across many industries. |
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Posted: 12/14/2020 11:31:40 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Check out this video. It is a factory tour of the Prusa factory. This was from July of 2019, but this is what you are paying for. Skip to 11 minutes if you want to start with the factory testing of the parts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjoQw5fGk6Qall my research when I was contemplating a printer, pointed to the Prusa as being worthy... with all the ups and downs of my life lately, I haven't made the commitment, this thread is poison!
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Posted: 12/15/2020 3:03:52 AM EDT
[#41]
Fuck me...i thought i had it down to 2, then i find this video and its parroting everything rat_patrol has said and is making me second guess myself, again...fuck.
 Does Size Matter In 3D Printers? - Original Prusa Mini Review |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 3:04:15 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Fuck me...i thought i had it down to 2, then i find this video and its parroting everything rat_patrol has said and is making me second guess myself, again...fuck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiwI0ovH_IAJust buy one already and get printing. You'll end up with a 2nd printer anyways.
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Posted: 12/15/2020 3:07:50 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Just buy one already and get printing. You'll end up with a 2nd printer anyways. Mini now, XL with tool changer later 
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Posted: 12/15/2020 4:37:27 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Just buy one already and get printing. You'll end up with a 2nd printer anyways.  i wish i could...im cursed to second guess and research everything.Im leaning real hard towards sovol. Not too big like the x1, not as small as the mini. Lowest price, direct drive, has upgrades available with enough videos to handle, uses the same board as the ender so easy to find software fixes, etc. The prusa has a lot going for it too with QC, longevity, support etc, but something keeps holding me back on it, which for me means im gonna keep doubting myself, even after i get it and it works fine... I had even found ANOTHER one i wanted that was US made, but it was damn expensive and aint happening anytime soon... |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 5:15:49 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted: i wish i could...im cursed to second guess and research everything.Im leaning real hard towards sovol. Not too big like the x1, not as small as the mini. Lowest price, direct drive, has upgrades available with enough videos to handle, uses the same board as the ender so easy to find software fixes, etc. The prusa has a lot going for it too with QC, longevity, support etc, but something keeps holding me back on it, which for me means im gonna keep doubting myself, even after i get it and it works fine... I had even found ANOTHER one i wanted that was US made, but it was damn expensive and aint happening anytime soon... IMHO: Either get a Prusa or get an Creality. I would not even consider other brands. Prusa is GTG but expensive, Creality is probably fine, but lacks features of the Prusa, but is much cheaper and has a large community to help you. |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 6:52:12 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I designed and printed the canopy on this. It's a 65mm Whoop. That's 65mm diagonally motor to motor. https://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/8/3/0/0/3/1/a14323707-249-BetaMob6.jpg desire to know more intensifies |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 7:02:59 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted: desire to know more intensifies It's a Happy Model Mobula6 in a BetaFpv Beta 65 frame (more durable than the stock frame). |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 10:00:34 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It's a Happy Model Mobula6 in a BetaFpv Beta 65 frame (more durable than the stock frame). I did a cursory search for that because I know nothing about it, and quickly realized that further digging was going to cost me a lot of money. |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 10:05:43 PM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted: OK, what EXACTLY do you want to do with this printer, and EXACTLY how much time are you willing to put into it with leveling/adjusting/calibrating, etc., EXACTLY how technically inclined are you (including computer skills; light coding/drivers/etc.), tell us as much info as possible. IMHO: Either get a Prusa or get an Creality. I would not even consider other brands. Prusa is GTG but expensive, Creality is probably fine, but lacks features of the Prusa, but is much cheaper and has a large community to help you. I think what I am looking for is a unicorn... I want this printer to work out of the box, with good to excellent support/community. I want it to have good starting components with well established upgrade paths. I want the best bang for the buck (it doesn't need to be dirt cheap obviously, but more stuff for less money is good). I want it to print a lot (all if possible) filament types. I want it to be a good unit to learn on, but be the same unit I can grow into, in case I can't buy a second unit and have to keep using this one. I don't want it to hold me back. It is going to be both personal and business use. Not sure how much stuff will be sold yet depending on how deep I get into it, but would like to have that option. If not, the wife has a never ending list of shit she wants and being able to make small useful items around the house quickly would be awesome! I would rather not have to do calibrations every time I use it. I want it to be like how I work on cars. I like working on cars when I WANT to, I hate working on them when I HAVE to. I'm no genius or engineer, but I can find a way to make things work. I built my computer, I've worked on many cars including swapping an engine so I have some level of mechanical aptitude. I have (in the past) done stuff with HTML and CSS, I've worked slightly with coding and slight messing with an arduino with my son. I do a lot of dabbling. I won't be a pioneer in developing an update or upgrade for any 3d printer, but if someone puts me on the path, I'll figure out what I need to to get it done. That why the community aspect would be nice. I would have no problem switching out a hot end, extruder, etc. I wouldn't have a problem buying a Prusa kit to save money, other than I would like to have it setup asap so I can started on learning the software. Oh yeah, I can use inkscape, vinyl cutting software, video editing software and sketchup, so I have some software knowledge. The mini has a lot of qualities, but seems to be lacking in the grow with me quality. 7 inches is nothing to scoff at, but it would suck to need more and not be able to make it. While many people have said that it will print flexible materials, the short amount of research I have done has led me to believe that a direct drive is going to be better than the bowden. So that is why I was looking at the direct drive printers. I haven't looked at it much, but if I were to get a Creality, I'd get the Ender 3v2 as it seems to have a lot more with not a big price tag (its on sale for the same price as the Sovol SV01 right now) but as far as I know it still has a bowden system. That is why I was looking at the Sovol, getting the direct drive with the same board that is in the Ender with decentish support for the same price seemed to be a decent move. I could get that Sovol with some upgrades and still be cheaper than the Mini. Obviously though, Prusa has been around awhile, good support and has the software with it to give good results out of the box. Blah, this is literally the inside of my head constantly when thinking about this. Just back and forth and feeling like I'm gonna make the wrong decision. Eventually I will say 'fuck it' and buy one, but I tend to burn time doing so... |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 10:13:33 PM EDT
[#50]
Have had great success with our first printer, Ender 3 Pro. Easy enough for early teens to level and make basic adjustments themselves. They operate without me now. I would not hesitate to get another if I needed. Lots of online help.
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