Qidi Tech 1 - Replicator 1 clone

[Syd_Khaos]

I was just about to purchase some from them too. I really want to get away from PLA/ABS and go for some PETG which they do make and isn't so exotic but the temps the temps. :/

That 260 on the label of MG petg is rubbish!

I print MG petg at 248 and it comes out like BUTTER! I am not overly fond of it though. Its stringy during the print, and a complete pain in the ass to work with after the print.

[DaveB]

That 260 on the label of MG petg is rubbish!

I print MG petg at 248 and it comes out like BUTTER! I am not overly fond of it though. Its stringy during the print, and a complete pain in the ass to work with after the print.

I've not used PETG yet. How does PETG compare to ABS or PLA?

[DarkAlchemist]

That 260 on the label of MG petg is rubbish!

I print MG petg at 248 and it comes out like BUTTER! I am not overly fond of it though. Its stringy during the print, and a complete pain in the ass to work with after the print.

Well, I am just tired of ABS (I have a lot of spools around here) and PLA, to me, is a PITA. I make mostly parts and redid my I3 Rework in PLA (I left anything near heat as ABS) and I was forever sad I did. Too bad anything outside of ABS, PLA, PETG requires all metal hotends etc... to print.

I've not used PETG yet. How does PETG compare to ABS or PLA?

Almost all of the pros of ABS with the ease of PLA for printing or so it has been written.

Same bloke -

[Syd_Khaos]

I've not used PETG yet. How does PETG compare to ABS or PLA?

Supposedly it has the rigidity and structural properties of ABS, and the higher viscosity and definition of PLA.

Here is what I see printing with it.
Only basic shaped printed thick have same rigidity as ABS. Thin bits, like 10 layers thick or less, will be bendable. This makes it a little better for snap-fit applications than ABS, but can lead to issues ABS wouldn't have.
It has no where near the viscosity or definition of PLA, really its not that much better than ABS. Of course I do print it at lower heat that is recomended. You have metal hotends and can do 260 on it then maybe it gets closer to PLA. That it prints great at heats not much higher than ABS it leads one to think that it is really no better for applications where heat is a factor than ABS would be.

edit:
Let it be know that I think people are NUTS.....ABS is a FAR more managable printing material than PLA.
I hate PLA....it's a pain in the rear to print with. I only use it when the print just will not come out without the much higher viscosity of PLA....and for me that is very rare. I mostly work in ABS and plan to continue to do so.

[DarkAlchemist]

This is why I wanted a warp free ABS as I like ABS just not the smell of a burning BIC pen that you get from it. PLA was all the rage and I was always ABS so I finally tried two different brands and ugh.

[cncartist]

All of my designs are in mm and I've only printed in ABS so far but have a couple rolls of PLA on standby if I ever want to try it out. I don't experience a "burning" smell with ABS printing and the low odor does not bother me in the slightest. I've heard that printing PLA smells sweet or something along those lines but I haven't tried it.

[DarkAlchemist]

All of my designs are in mm and I've only printed in ABS so far but have a couple rolls of PLA on standby if I ever want to try it out. I don't experience a "burning" smell with ABS printing and the low odor does not bother me in the slightest. I've heard that printing PLA smells sweet or something along those lines but I haven't tried it.

Depends on the brand as mine smelt like popcorn but after 2 years it no longer smells while printing with it.

[cncartist]

Since the Qidi has been out there a while, what is the longest print anyone has pulled off with this machine?

I'm interested to know as I have some items which say they will take a very long time to print and I'm wondering if I should pause mid-print to do some rail maintenance.


@Dark - Some of the filament I have is pretty random brands I still have to try out. If they smell I'll report back but currently I've only been printing with Hatchbox, 3D Solutech, MakerGeeks and the Qidi filament. All were ABS and none of them produced any overpowering scent.

[DarkAlchemist]

Since the Qidi has been out there a while, what is the longest print anyone has pulled off with this machine?

I'm interested to know as I have some items which say they will take a very long time to print and I'm wondering if I should pause mid-print to do some rail maintenance.


@Dark - Some of the filament I have is pretty random brands I still have to try out. If they smell I'll report back but currently I've only been printing with Hatchbox, 3D Solutech, MakerGeeks and the Qidi filament. All were ABS and none of them produced any overpowering scent.

I really liked the Hatchbox ABS (white) as it didn't smell as bad (you have to get close to smell it) and they now make PETG but the only gripe about Hatchbox is that their ABS was softer. On the reprap irc everyone knew it was good but soft and no one could explain why it was softer since it was pure ABS as it melted in acetone. I have some KBell Labs (was my first ever roll of anything) and that stuff was pure junk. Went from great to pure junk by the time I bought it. Will not melt and will not stick and is just a pita. Pretty much it is a worthless roll I still have as I want to experiment and see if 260c will do the trick. Only stuff I ever had that had steam coming from the nozzle as it printed and stuck to hell of the old "Burning the classic Bic ballpoint pens" smell.

[Syd_Khaos]

Since the Qidi has been out there a while, what is the longest print anyone has pulled off with this machine?

I'm interested to know as I have some items which say they will take a very long time to print and I'm wondering if I should pause mid-print to do some rail maintenance.


@Dark - Some of the filament I have is pretty random brands I still have to try out. If they smell I'll report back but currently I've only been printing with Hatchbox, 3D Solutech, MakerGeeks and the Qidi filament. All were ABS and none of them produced any overpowering scent.

My longest print so far was right at 32hrs.
I have done many prints that were over 20 hours.

That being said though, anything that shows 12+hrs I will try to split into parts that can be assembeled after the printing is done. Of course this is not viable for everything, but I do it as much as possible.
The shorter your print time is the less you lose (both in time and material) when something goes wrong. I would much rather print something as 3 prints that each take 4 hours rather than a single 12hr print.