Monoprice Select Mini Mod Questions

(Moderators - please move if this is the wrong place, I didn't see a board for Monoprice).

Hi board! I am new to 3D printing. I think I am going to receive a Monoprice Select Mini tomorrow, so am doing my research.
There are a number of mods that it seems people recommend to this printer, and I am trying to sort through the ones that are needed and why. If you have experience in these, i would appreciate feedback.

Here are the ones I understand:
* Heated Bed Cable re-route - This seems to be the most critical / essential mod that has to be done as OOB the cable will fray and break.
* Front Button - mostly cosmetic, but very easy to do and makes the button easier to press. I get that.
* Filament Spool - mainly to rotate the spool so it's not parallel to the printer - assists with making sure the filament doesn't get twisted up during feed. Again, I understand this one.

Now we get to the ones I am less sure about:
* replace the extruder assembly at the top - from what I can tell, this is because the little lever there may break? Is this essential early on? Or can I do it later?
* add a fan to the extruder hot end - explain to me why I need a fan there? It works without it, so what does the extra cooling do? Wouldn't I want this to be hot so the filament is properly melted? There are no electronic components to really go bad here.
* add a fan to the mother board chassis - again, why is this necessary? Are people being overly cautious or is this a real problem? What does it do for me?
* Add stabilizers to the Z axis (?) rods. Forgive me if I have the incorrect axis - talking about the ones that it goes up/down on. Again, why is this needed? What's it give me? Not that stability is bad, but why is it necessary to reinforce those and how important is it?

I think that covers most of what I don't understand. The other mods are mostly cosmetic (adding a webcam, light, tool holder, etc). Any other mods that I am missing which I need to think about early on or can they wait? Seems like so much work for a ready to go printer. :-)

Thank you for any assistance!

Hello i have both a V1 and a v2. They are the most reliable printers i have ever had or seen. Mods here should be light and cosmetic. I mean you cant be more right than right, right? But you sure can knock the reliability and quality out of an otherwise good product. But of my minis have many hours on them without any failuure or chaffing of wires. Do what you want there but there is a group of people, lord knows i am one, who look for possible ways to make their bought item their own. But i just think the bigger machines are for that and these are great tiny workhorses that we can rely on. You should wait until you see a bed failure before you start growing the size and footprint of your machine with externally mounted cables. Unless you like the look, that is. The mods i have on my v1 are a printed knob, a filament guide, and a piece to slip over the oem spool holder to make it round instead of square so the spool spins a little more freely. And i couldnt be happier with the results i have gotten for so long, now.

https://i1050.photobucket.com/albums...oWiz/18_19.jpg

The knob on the v2 is taller and it needs no modification.

yep.
with all printers - try it before ripping it apart nd buggering it up.

An awful lot of the problem people come up with on the forum are because they've take the machine apart - often before they've ever even tried to print anything.

And if autowhiz hasn't torn it down and rebuilt it - it doesn't need doing :-)

Hey, thank you both!

The vloggers make it sound like you absolutely have to do it right out of the box, but I kinda wondered what the harm would be in waiting until the cable actually frayed first. This is my first 3D printer, so I am a little excited to get in there and start playing with it.

Again, I really appreciate the advice and I am sure I will be around and hope to become a useful member of the community! :)

I am having trouble getting my "Monoprice Select Mini 3D Printer V2" to print correctly. I can load a .obj file on a mini sd card and it will print the first layer but stop after that. Any suggestions would be super helpful.

What operating system and 3D printing software are you using to run your select mini V2?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Linias

(Moderators - please move if this is the wrong place, I didn't see a board for Monoprice).

Hi board! I am new to 3D printing. I think I am going to receive a Monoprice Select Mini tomorrow, so am doing my research.
There are a number of mods that it seems people recommend to this printer, and I am trying to sort through the ones that are needed and why. If you have experience in these, i would appreciate feedback.

Here are the ones I understand:
* Heated Bed Cable re-route - This seems to be the most critical / essential mod that has to be done as OOB the cable will fray and break.
* Front Button - mostly cosmetic, but very easy to do and makes the button easier to press. I get that.
* Filament Spool - mainly to rotate the spool so it's not parallel to the printer - assists with making sure the filament doesn't get twisted up during feed. Again, I understand this one.

Now we get to the ones I am less sure about:
* replace the extruder assembly at the top - from what I can tell, this is because the little lever there may break? Is this essential early on? Or can I do it later?
* add a fan to the extruder hot end - explain to me why I need a fan there? It works without it, so what does the extra cooling do? Wouldn't I want this to be hot so the filament is properly melted? There are no electronic components to really go bad here.
* add a fan to the mother board chassis - again, why is this necessary? Are people being overly cautious or is this a real problem? What does it do for me?
* Add stabilizers to the Z axis (?) rods. Forgive me if I have the incorrect axis - talking about the ones that it goes up/down on. Again, why is this needed? What's it give me? Not that stability is bad, but why is it necessary to reinforce those and how important is it?

I think that covers most of what I don't understand. The other mods are mostly cosmetic (adding a webcam, light, tool holder, etc). Any other mods that I am missing which I need to think about early on or can they wait? Seems like so much work for a ready to go printer. :-)
Lucky Patcher 9Apps VidMate
Thank you for any assistance!

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What working framework and 3D printing programming would you say you are utilizing to run your select smaller than usual V2?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Linias

(Moderators - please move if this is the wrong place, I didn't see a board for Monoprice).

Hi board! I am new to 3D printing. I think I am going to receive a Monoprice Select Mini tomorrow, so am doing my research.
There are a number of mods that it seems people recommend to this printer, and I am trying to sort through the ones that are needed and why. If you have experience in these, i would appreciate feedback.

Here are the ones I understand:
* Heated Bed Cable re-route - This seems to be the most critical / essential mod that has to be done as OOB the cable will fray and break.
* Front Button - mostly cosmetic, but very easy to do and makes the button easier to press. I get that.
* Filament Spool - mainly to rotate the spool so it's not parallel to the printer - assists with making sure the filament doesn't get twisted up during feed. Again, I understand this one.

Now we get to the ones I am less sure about:
* replace the extruder assembly at the top - from what I can tell, this is because the little lever there may break? Is this essential early on? Or can I do it later?
* add a fan to the extruder hot end - explain to me why I need a fan there? It works without it, so what does the extra cooling do? Wouldn't I want this to be hot so the filament is properly melted? There are no electronic components to really go bad here.
* add a fan to the mother board chassis - again, why is this necessary? Are people being overly cautious or is this a real problem? What does it do for me?
* Add stabilizers to the Z axis (?) rods. Forgive me if I have the incorrect axis - talking about the ones that it goes up/down on. Again, why is this needed? What's it give me? Not that stability is bad, but why is it necessary to reinforce those and how important is it? prepaidgiftbalance dgcustomerfirstthesurveypedia

I think that covers most of what I don't understand. The other mods are mostly cosmetic (adding a webcam, light, tool holder, etc). Any other mods that I am missing which I need to think about early on or can they wait? Seems like so much work for a ready to go printer. :-)

Thank you for any assistance!

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What working framework and 3D printing programming