Makerfarm Prusa 10" i3v Available!

[usarmyaircav]

The hex hot end is a fine choice. As I understand it, it's just a knock-off version of the E3D. About the issue with the plastic mounting plate and the E3D - what I do know is that with the hex hot end on the aluminum plate and a quiet 5 CFM fan with shroud, I was doing fine with PLA. When I started working with ABS, however, one day I noticed the printed extruder base had softened up and the extruder assembly was leaning over quite a bit. That told me there's more concern for getting heat pulled off the hot end heatsink than I thought.

Hi printbus. So do you think I will need a larger fan, as I am starting with ABS?

[printbus]

Hi printbus. So do you think I will need a larger fan, as I am starting with ABS?

I assume we're talking about the E3D? I really don't know, since I don't have one. The E3D does come with what appears to be a pretty good shroud - better than the open-style one on the hex hot end. That should help keep the airflow focused on the heatsink fins, which is good. I have no idea how the E3D fan compares to what MakerFarm provides with the hex hot end (which is probably just what is provided by reprapdiscount), but I'm sure both of those put through more airflow than the really quiet fan I tried to get by with on my hex hot end. I guess my best recommendation would be to go back to the thingi guy and ask if he's used it with an E3D running at ABS temperatures, and go from there.

[Drone]

Got my UPS tracking number today! Printer will be here on Wed. I'm getting excited to start the build now. For once, I wouldn't mind a couple of slow days at work so I can sneak out early starting Wed.

[gmay3]

Todd, you will need to use a fan to print ABS and have the fan running at all times. I would also run it during every PLA print too just to be safe. I accidentally had it unplugged and it the heat traveled up melted/ruined my extruder pieces and jammed my printer.

Makerfarm will give you the kit pictured here with your printer order, which includes this fan and fan shroud among other things:

http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/hexagon-hot-end.html

[usarmyaircav]

I had to email Colin and put my order on hold. I originally ordered without a hot end and was going to order an E3d. Since I was having issues figuring how I was going to mount the E3d, since it doesn't come with a mount plate and I just couldn't confirm how I was going to mount it, and since gmay3 and some others have said that they had good luck with the hexagon, I figured I will just go with that for now, and when I get more experience or build another printer will give the E3d a shot. Because of all this, I went to pay the difference, and had issues with paypal, and am now travelling for work, so now my kit won't be there waiting for me when I get back. sooo bummed!

[clough42]

I had to email Colin and put my order on hold. I originally ordered without a hot end and was going to order an E3d. Since I was having issues figuring how I was going to mount the E3d, since it doesn't come with a mount plate and I just couldn't confirm how I was going to mount it, and since gmay3 and some others have said that they had good luck with the hexagon, I figured I will just go with that for now, and when I get more experience or build another printer will give the E3d a shot. Because of all this, I went to pay the difference, and had issues with paypal, and am now travelling for work, so now my kit won't be there waiting for me when I get back. sooo bummed!

The hex is a good choice. I'm very happy with mine. I would recommend heating it to temperature the first time and retightening the nozzle and barrel. All-metal hot ends can loosen as the aluminum block expands.

[gmay3]

Well, I think you made a good choice, even though it's disappointing that it won't be there as quickly. I think it will save you some headaches so you can just focus on the build process!

[printbus]

Drone - you're using slic3r v0.9.9, right? Maybe someone has a miracle solution for it, but being light on topfill seems to be a common complaint with it. There's a thread here somewhere with experiments related to eliminating that on the top of a knob.

On the blue tape - just rubbing the tape remnants with a wet finger has worked for me. I have found that if I clean the tape with alcohol before printing, there's almost a permanent bond between PLA and the tape. Regardless of bed temperature.

A couple of us would be curious to know the part number or type number shown on the stepper motor labels. That'd tell us whether Colin has moved to a different motor, possibly explaining why motors aren't getting hot for some people.

EDIT: Here's the other thread. Use of a print cooler was proven by clough42 to be something that would make a difference. http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...nner-questions

[Drone]

Drone - you're using slic3r v0.9.9, right? Maybe someone has a miracle solution for it, but being light on topfill seems to be a common complaint with it. There's a thread here somewhere with experiments related to eliminating that on the top of a knob.

On the blue tape - just rubbing the tape remnants with a wet finger has worked for me. I have found that if I clean the tape with alcohol before printing, there's almost a permanent bond between PLA and the tape. Regardless of bed temperature.

A couple of us would be curious to know the part number or type number shown on the stepper motor labels. That'd tell us whether Colin has moved to a different motor, possibly explaining why motors aren't getting hot for some people.

Yeah, I'm using Slic3r 0.9.9 as recommended by Colin. Is 1.1.7 better for this? Or should I consider Cura? I guess I'll try 1.1.7 and 1.2.0 experimental (probably not ready for primetime, but I'll give it a shot anyway on a small part)


Denatured alcohol and a bit of rubbing got rid of the excess tape and residue with no harm to the print, so I guess that will work.

Here is the tag on the extruder motor:

IMG_0317a.jpg

I just printed a Z axis endstop mount without heat and with blue tape and it worked well. So it looks like I won't be using the heated bed for PLA unless others think there is a good reason to use heat. Haven't tried ABS yet. I do have a roll, but thought I would get PLA working right first, and since I'm printing inside my house I have no idea what the fumes from ABS would be like. The smell from PLA is not an issue, but from what others have posted ABS might be.

[Drone]

My 10" i3v came in yesterday and started the build yesterday evening. Have an iPad next to my build area to play the build videos and follow along. So far build is going very nicely, all parts are there and no issues to deal with yet. Going together quite well. Colin did a great job on the videos, but I really would have liked to see a DVD with the build videos with a menu system to navigate easily to the right building section. Wouldn't be expensive to do and would add some value to an already great kit.

Just got home from work and after a bite to eat I'm going to start on the frame assembly. I'm enjoying the build and am taking my time since half the fun for me is building and configuring, so I'm in no rush. I figure I should be ready to fire up and start calibration Saturday afternoon, but I'll see how it goes.

Thanks for all the advice from previous posters in this forum. Even though I had read most of it before, now that I have the kit and I'm assembling it these posts make a lot more sense.