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Thread: Is it worth it?

  1. #1

    Is it worth it?

    Hi everyone, newbie to 3d printing, got my printer 2 weeks ago and already hooked! Have done so much from printing mounts etc.. for upgraded bits on printer to repairing dishwasher and printing some spacers for blinds in bedroom.

    I purchased a Leshp Z1 as my first 3D printer I bought it more as an introduction into 3D printing and to see what sort of quality you get from the cheapest printer I could find (?83 from ebay).

    I am very impressed with the printer as is, never expected to get the quality of prints I have got from this printer done a few upgrades (bearings, belts, power supply & mosfets). I've even had good ABS prints from it with no warping or cracking.

    Biggest draw back of the printer comes down to control board, firmware is extremely basic and board itself is limited so decided to throw in a new board, was originally thinking of a MKS 1.4 or MKS Sbase however have decided to go all in and get a Duet WiFi.

    My main question is will it be worth putting this board in a cheap machine? The frame itself seems fine and seen little wobble from it with prints coming out straight. I am not sure what steppers it has (will look it up when I get chance to check machine) but cant imagine them being anything special. I was impressed it came with a V6 clone hot end and bowden extruder.

    I understand that with cheaper hardware I will not get the full potential of the board but would there be any benefit to using this instead of the cheaper MKS 1.4 / Sbase?

  2. #2
    Super Moderator curious aardvark's Avatar
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    duet comes with it's own stepper drivers - stepper motors are (more or less) fairly standard.

    Love the fact that you bought a cheap printer replaced: (bearings, belts, power supply & mosfets) and then claim it pints really well 'as is' for a cheap machine. Irony is that.
    The duet alone is almost twice what you paid for the original machine. Which - for the record - is an Anet a8 - w5 model.

    having just bought a similiar machine (ctc 13 pro b), I know the appeal of the initial cheapness. I'm approaching from a different angle and intedn to see how well i can get it working with just printed mods.
    But if you add up what you initially paid - throw in ?150 for the duet and add up all the extras you've bought - then look at the machines in THAT price range. It's kinda counter-productive.
    You've got to be looking at ?250 plus. Which would have gt you a printer with a rigid aluminium frame and all round better components that probably wouldn't have needed replacing.

    As far as benefit for the duet versus the mks - and ignoring the ?110 price difference - yes the duet will give you better performance. Even with bog standard stepper motors, the drivers on the duet will make a significant difference. PLus it's got wifi and the guys who make the duet are really great people and do exceptional support for their products.

    I'll be meeting them at tct in a few days - fascinated to see what they've built a duet into this year. last year they had a 6 extruder machine and a couple of really cool deltas.

    If only they weren't so bloody expensive :-)

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