Qidi Tech 1 - Replicator 1 clone

[svt04cobra]

Ok man now i'm really Jelly!!!! I've been looking at Solidworks since last year. I can't get past the price. The software seems second to none. I went down to talk to a couple of sales reps but I just can't deal with the price. Not to mention the yearly commitment. If I had the money I would not hesitate to buy solidworks 2016.

Some other engineer purchased the Makerbot a year or so ago, he was never successful in getting it to work. I got my Qidi at home a couple months ago and it mostly just works. I've had a few problems but they have been easy to overcome. I then tried to get the Makerbot at work up and running. I definitely made more progress than the last guy but I was spending too much time on it and it still wasn't working right. From my experience at home I told the managers that we should just buy a Qidi and bag the Makerbot... and we did. I just got the Qidi at work up and running this morning and so far the first print is looking good.



I've done the basic upgrades; cable chain, filament alignment bracket, Maghold build platform with glass plate. I've also upgraded my Z-Axis rods to 12mm, still working to get the design right. I've attached a Raspberry Pi 2 and run Astroprint so I can start and stop prints remotely so I don't have to keep moving around the SD card.



I use Solidworks 2016. Since I use Solidworks at work I have access to a Home Use License which is great. I've messed around with Sketchup and don't like it much. I installed Blender last night and my first impression is that the interface is way too complicated, I can usually muddle around and figure out some of the basics when I try new software but with Blender I was completely lost. If I didn't have access to Solidworks I would probably use Fusion 360. I've heard good things about it but never tried it.

[cncartist]

I'm not as a man has to know his limits and I know mine.

A DP (Drill Press) trying to drill 3mm holes with a lousy runout isn't going to work very well but for countersinking who knows.

As far as the Qidi I would demand a flat bed but for my printer, as I have said, nothing I get delivered here is flat. It either is the manufacturer or the shipping company not caring. My i3 Aluminum frame was bent, as was the Y frog plate, so the top was off 3mm. It is how it is here and I suspect it probably makes it to here nice then here they destroy it if you saw the drivers for FedEx, USPS, and UPS we have.

You should definitely have no problem if you understand runout and how to compensate for it with the countersinks. That is quite a shame that you have had bad shipping issues in your area, have you ever tried to get large items delivered commercially instead of residential to try and avoid some shipping damage? Shipping it to your workplace, etc.

I deleted F360 and I posted on their forums why and people agreed with me. Autodesk is a nasty company to start with and they have this philosophy that you will do it their way in their UI or you can get lost while most other systems allow you to configure the input to your style. At least I wasn't alone in why I deleted it but Autodesk never once replied but many others did. That arrogance I can do without as this is the 21st century and the operator shouldn't have to mold to the program but instead the program should be easily configurable and F360 is not.

Solidworks is a nice program and very flexible except for one thing and that is X/Y/Z is hard coded and they refuse to change it. So, you make a model that looks right on the screen then the last thing you should do is add a new coordinate system with the way 3d printers work in orientation and be sure to use that coordinate system when you save off your stl (or whatever format). Doing that makes the screen happy and your model is right for printing. I do this all of the time when I save stuff for Thingiverse.

In Solidworks you can rotate your model to your chosen orientation after designing it, it will keep all existing relations and should be applied before the final STL export. This is something that can be done quickly after all the parts/assemblies are built and checked. Solidworks is professional design suite which I would not expect other users on this forum to have experience in unless they have utilized it for school or professional work environments. I haven't used any other CAD software in the past 10 years since I have a decent amount of experience in Solidworks, but I am willing to try another program out to see how they compare and give an overview.

[KludgeGuru]

Solidworks is a nice program and very flexible except for one thing and that is X/Y/Z is hard coded and they refuse to change it. So, you make a model that looks right on the screen then the last thing you should do is add a new coordinate system with the way 3d printers work in orientation and be sure to use that coordinate system when you save off your stl (or whatever format). Doing that makes the screen happy and your model is right for printing. I do this all of the time when I save stuff for Thingiverse.

I do that too, add a STL coordinate system before exporting.

By education I'm actually an Electrical Engineer. I started using Solidworks years ago to design 3D models of my electrical components so I could create 3D models of my circuits boards. The electrical components need to be oriented properly so they set on the surface of the PCB so I often need to change the orientation of downloaded models... its just part of the process.

[DarkAlchemist]

I do that too, add a STL coordinate system before exporting.

By education I'm actually an Electrical Engineer. I started using Solidworks years ago to design 3D models of my electrical components so I could create 3D models of my circuits boards. The electrical components need to be oriented properly so they set on the surface of the PCB so I often need to change the orientation of downloaded models... its just part of the process.

Yep, but I had tried Autodesk's Autocad and I hated it. F360 is like what would happen if Maya had a baby with Autocad and I couldn't stand it. I loved Maya before they came in and ruined it (back when it was from Alias Wavefront I absolutely loved Maya). The fact that you can't even change how your mouse works is beyond stupid and the worst part was the fact I have to use key presses AND the mouse which is so archaic I couldn't take it any longer and I posted and deleted it. I hope you fare better than I did in it but if you are used to SW get ready.

I have to agree SW is beyond stupidly expensive but what kills it for most people is this locked in recurring charge nonsense. My hope is that Fusion 360 spanks DDE's Solidworks so hard that they come down to Earth and figure out that pricing structure of theirs is so 1980's and they change it.

[sygyzy]

Wow..

Read through those tips then search this forum for those problems. It's almost verbatim. Looks like S3D use this forum for its info yet stay silent on it. :/

Wait what? I haven't read through all the posts in this forum obviously but that's a huge claim. Simplify3D is the premier slicer software and I am sure they could come up with troubleshooting tips themselves. If they lifted some images (rather than purposely fail a print for illustrative purposes), or copied some text, they should definitely give credit. But at the same time, this is all open information. It's not like they are republishing the next Game of Thrones novel or something. I personally like that they have a one stop shop troubleshooting guide rather than having to dig through dozens of sites and forums by Googling.

[sygyzy]

Is there any part of the extruder or hot-end that can be swapped or upgraded on the QIDI printers? I think you can get a new Microswiss hot end but anything else? I assume not, which is kind of weird to me. The Wanhao Duplicator, for example, is a machine that costs half as much and anytime a new fancy hotend/extruder comes out, it seems like it's compatible with that printer (and others).

[DarkAlchemist]

Is there any part of the extruder or hot-end that can be swapped or upgraded on the QIDI printers? I think you can get a new Microswiss hot end but anything else? I assume not, which is kind of weird to me. The Wanhao Duplicator, for example, is a machine that costs half as much and anytime a new fancy hotend/extruder comes out, it seems like it's compatible with that printer (and others).

Compatibility because it is based on a Prusa I3 which is a Reprap. That is one thing I loved about Repraps was the universe was your oyster and you could get anything for them but when you get into the more expensive printers it seems the more expensive it is the more you are locked into what you purchased without a lot of engineering and tools.

By the way isn't the Qidi printer using MK8? I much prefer MK8 over the MK10 from everything I have read. MK8 I can change to whatever nozzle size I please as it uses 6mm sized hole but a MK10, from what I have read, doesn't so you need a special nozzle for it.

[jfkansas]

Is there any part of the extruder or hot-end that can be swapped or upgraded on the QIDI printers? I think you can get a new Microswiss hot end but anything else? I assume not, which is kind of weird to me. The Wanhao Duplicator, for example, is a machine that costs half as much and anytime a new fancy hotend/extruder comes out, it seems like it's compatible with that printer (and others).

At the moment you can't use a microswiss MK10 conversion. The thermal tubes on the Qidi are bigger around.

I do make a nice extruder mount upgrade that many have, and this is compatible with the Microswiss Conversions. I also have some custom hot blocks that I modify to work on the QIDI. The Qidi uses 5mm threads on the thermocouples. I have to drill and retap bigger threads in my hot blocks. store.wmdproducts.com if you are interested. I am adding some more Qidi parts sometime. I have some build plate plastic like comes with it and some spare thermocouple also.

[DarkAlchemist]

Any nozzle can work on the qidi except those made for a mk10, right?

[rcleav]

Qidi uses a MK10 style extruder and uses MK10 nozzles. The latest Wanhaqo also use a MK10 style extruder.