Wanhao Duplicator I3 3D Printer

[Cyber Akuma]

What do you have on your bed?

[wagnmkr]

Hello All

I see it has been a while since anyone posted here. I have just purchased one of these printers and so far this thread has been extremely helpful. All the reports of good prints and reasonable reliability is rewarding as trying to chose a first printer is a minefield.

I get my machine on Friday so we will see what it is like.

[ralphzoontjens]

I heard only good things about the Wanhao printers.
Then with my recent tolerable experiences with Gearbest, I came across this one which is cheap as nuts:
http://www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-...pp_337314.html

Anyone have experience with this A8 printer with 8"+ heated bed?

Also I would like to switch from Cura to Mattercontrol, but Ultimakers aren't listed as supported printers. Can I use the software anyway? All I need is a gcode file right?

[wagnmkr]

That is a cheap price. If the hardware is any good, if nothing else, you would have a box of parts for another project.

I haven't heard of this one but that doesn't mean much. Methinks we are going to see a bunch of machines like this in the near future.

Just for general information, the Wanhao Duplicator I3 Plus is working very well, giving good quality out of the box, and seems to be a very reliable runner so far. Mind you, I only have about twenty printing hours on it.

Tom

[Ama-fessional Molder]

Going to embark on the z-axis brace assembly after dinner I think. Might post pictures.

[wagnmkr]

Make sure that the holes in the bottom corner brackets look like they will fit your machine. I spent 9 hrs printing them only to find that they are not for the I3 plus. I can modify them but it will be a pain.

Also, I just noticed that the feet of the bottom brackets are two different thicknesses. That won't make a level bed. Methinks I will make my own bottom brackets from aluminum.

Tom

[Ama-fessional Molder]

I don't have a plus, so its fine. I did however order 20mm screws instead of 10mm. So I am now waiting yet again until tomorrow.
EDIT: My bottom brackets are all uniform. You might have had a print issue.

[wagnmkr]

There are a few things about the plus that are different so it looks like I will make some of my own mods. Generally though, I am pleased.

I rechecked the feet I printed, and there was some warping which could have caused a problem. I will check that out.

I have dozens of sizes of wee bolts, nuts, and screws ... but I hardly ever have the right size!

[metoo]

I just started the assembly of the PLUS this morning. Its not as simple as "put a screw there." I had to remove the bottom brace since the horizontal assmebly would not fit between the flanges of the vertical assembly. The bottom assembly also rocked, so it needed adjustment. Once I corrected the rock and installed the vertical assembly, i noticed the vertical assembly is warped. Now I gotta fix that too.

The rails are leaning to the rails as well. I saw the guy on Makersmuse on youtube turn the screws individually to raise the extruder/nozzle which obviously put the rails out of whack, but I never saw him level the rails. Is that something done automatically when you home the machine?

[wagnmkr]

I am sorry to hear you have these problems. Was there any damage to the shipping box?

I never had to touch the rails at all.
I did not have to remove the bottom brace and I did only have to put in the supplied screws. Everything was tight and straight, with no rocking. I did have a problem with one cable that got damaged in shipping, but my supplier sent me a replacement by overnight mail that same day. That cable has since been replaced and the machine has many hours on it. All I did was manually level the bed, which took about 15 minutes the first time. And now, it is just like the Energiser Bunny!

I do hope you get it all sorted as it is a pretty good machine in my estimation. Who did you buy it from?