Qidi Tech 1 - Replicator 1 clone

[RetroCreo]

Hello All,
I have enjoyed reading this thread and the information here has helped me make the decision to to get a Qidi Tech 1. Originally I was going to get it on Amazon (prime customer) but I see many of your have gotten the machine direct from eBay and saved 150. Are their any benefits from purchasing from Amazon over eBay? I am thinking with the 150 saved I can get Simply3D software. This is a great thread btw!!!
I am a bit concerned about getting the newer model versus the older as I have seen some one you with a recent eBay purchase getting the older model (pre Dec 2015)

I only bought through Amazon because it is a trusted supplier for me. Also I have an Amazon card so I got 5% off which was about $50 when I paid the full $800.

[rcleav]

I don't know of a difference other then price. Not sure why the uncut themselves like that.
I got mine from the ebay auction. They fully support there product no matter which site got it from.

[Syd_Khaos]

First Blender is a modeler that can handle meshes and S3D is a slicer. STL are meshes. Modelers create objects that are then converted to meshes.
There is a lot of support for using blender as a modeler check Youtube. I use Autodesk Fusion 360 to create models and S3D to position and slice the meshes for printing.
To edit a mesh STL you would need a mesh editor Autodesk makes a free one of them to. In S3D after importing the object click on it and a side window will open which allows you to reposition and scale your object. Finally there will always be a debate about what model slicer is best I personally have used most of them and prefer S3D.

I understand the difference between the software.
What I don't understand is why and .slt file that is 60mm tall in S3D is 132meters tall when imported to blender. Or why a 90mm tall model in blender exported to .stl is 10mm tall in S3D.
I may look into this free software from Autodesk, maybe that ould be better for working with .stl files. Not sure if Meshmixer or 123D Design would be better for this application. The site says both are free though.

Has anyone opened a .blend file in S3D? I tried but it didn't seem to work, stoped there though...didn't try very hard.

[bluemeane]

I got mine on ebay because it was cheaper!!!

And yes they support it like crazy! I have been in contact with them about any little issue I come across an they are quick to respond. And yes I did get the older one,,, But I think I made out like a bandit. They sent me a entire second extruder assembly and mother board. So now I have SO MANY extra parts!! back up steppers, extruder parts, drivers, etc. and it is all free! I have already used one of the drivers as one of the original ones failed on me lol.

[TankCmdr]

My Qidi arrived without the added cooling fan and apparently without the latest controller + Sailfish 7.8.

My LCD says "The Creator Firmware 1", and replicatorG says it has firmware 7.2. Nothing suggests it has the newer ATmega 2560 or Sailfish 7.8. Maybe I have the wrong profile selected in replicatorG? I know I have the correct serial port selected.

If they send me new parts, how hard will it be to install them? I'm a little concerned about trying to feed new fan wires through the wire bundle.

I also noticed that there were no screws in the upper fan mounting holes. Is this normal?

[rcleav]

Not sure about firmware Mine was old enough to have the older firmware.
If you didn't get a cooling fran they will send you a complete extruder assy which has the cooling fan and the entire wire bundle.
So you just plug the connectors into the board.
I'm not sure if they are using the ATmega 2560 with the newer firmware.
Yes the fans are held on by by the lower 2 holes.
Other the hassle of emailing, waiting for and putting the parts on. Which should take less then 2 weeks you will have a bunch of expensive spare parts.
Take a pictures of the display , front of machine and extruder assy front and top views. They will want you to prove you have an older setup.
use the VIPservice@qd33dprinter.cn email address and remeber there 13- 16 hours ahead of us.
Good Luck

[DJalin1]

Read that someone was looking at Top Case Cover. Anyone see this one? Looks Sturdy

http://www.3dprima.com/en/accessorie...lic-cover.html
23433800-origpic-c26a59.jpg

[bluemeane]

My Qidi arrived without the added cooling fan and apparently without the latest controller + Sailfish 7.8.

My LCD says "The Creator Firmware 1", and replicatorG says it has firmware 7.2. Nothing suggests it has the newer ATmega 2560 or Sailfish 7.8. Maybe I have the wrong profile selected in replicatorG? I know I have the correct serial port selected.

If they send me new parts, how hard will it be to install them? I'm a little concerned about trying to feed new fan wires through the wire bundle.

I also noticed that there were no screws in the upper fan mounting holes. Is this normal?

if you look back at my posts a few pages back, you got exactly what I got. It is the new frame etc with old extruder and motherboard. Just email them and talk to them with the QQ app and they will take care of you. You'll get an entire extruder assembly with cables and all you just have to remove the old one and the bottom plate and just plug stuff in. You will also get a new motherboard that also just screws and plugs into place. I too was worried about how hard it would be but it was a price of cake! And in the end you will have SO many extra parts expensive ones at that! Heck you could even sell them on eBay for a profit! Lol.


I chose to keep them and box them up and store them for when I need a replacement in the future.

and you you can still print with the printer while waiting for the parts to arrive (they sent mine in three days via DHL so the came quickly) I must have printed a ton of parts while waiting for the new parts (I did a door open holder thingy, and a bed level camera mount for remote viewing of the prints, and some cable managers for the tubes and wires as well as some filament spacers.

I I hope you love the printer as much as we do!!!

[Syd_Khaos]

So, did some more fiddling around and figured out whats going on...figured I'd share for anyone reading thread in the future.

It would appear that when Blender imports/exports things in .stl format it converts Meters into Milimeters.
A 1meter cube in Blender that is exported to .stl and the loaded into S3D will be 1mm cube.

Now that I know whats going on its actually not a bad thing at all. Blender is not so good for working so close to tiny objects. You can only zoom in so much before the engine will force a cross-section view on the mesh. This makes working on anything smaller than 1cm or so kinda a pain to work...gotta fidget with the camera so much.

But now that I know how its converting the messurement I can just modelstuff super big in Blender.

[rcleav]

So, did some more fiddling around and figured out whats going on...figured I'd share for anyone reading thread in the future.

It would appear that when Blender imports/exports things in .stl format it converts Meters into Milimeters.
A 1meter cube in Blender that is exported to .stl and the loaded into S3D will be 1mm cube.

Now that I know whats going on its actually not a bad thing at all. Blender is not so good for working so close to tiny objects. You can only zoom in so much before the engine will force a cross-section view on the mesh. This makes working on anything smaller than 1cm or so kinda a pain to work...gotta fidget with the camera so much.

But now that I know how its converting the messurement I can just modelstuff super big in Blender.

Good to know