New CTC printer came broken

[Geoff]

Yes, as I said, the metal-frame type is very-good
but to some people the difference is Not worth the Extra Cost of metal.
Since plywood type is also Very good !
(there's no way a metal frame will give better Quality prints, just because it's metal ! )
How can you get Better than 'Perfect' ?

As I said, the motor failure problem, with enclosure, was reported in 2 website videos.
(with those video reports there Must be Many More, that were not videoed,
since many will not be willing to Admit that they made a mistake by adding the 'Cool looking' enclosure)
They also said adding a fan or two to enclosure really helps, if you think you Must keep it,
to keep out Pets and small children.

Hi Eagleseven, I appreciate your enthusiasm for the CTC printer (as you know I recently bought one, albeit a broken mess that needed a tonne of repairing...) but you have to be fair and please listen to what the guys are saying, no one is being rude - but Mjolinor is pretty spot on in his post, especially

because people come here for information and when that information is incorrect it can create a lot of problems for people.

This is when I will usually chime in, sometimes a bad habit, sometimes a blessing for people who were about to be steered down the wrong path.

In this case, I have to agree with Mjolinor and Curious Aardvark on both counts.

Stepper motors get hot. That's what they do. I have 5 printers running 24/7.. sometimes 6 or 7. Some of those are FULLY ENCLOSED without any heating, such at the fisher and kossel - and yes, they get so hot you can't put your fingers on them for more than a second or two.

Do you know how many steppers i've burnt out from overheating in 4+ years ? none yet.. and I' have over 30 stepper motors in the one room going at any given time - do you know how many of them have cooling? only 4 - the ones on the CTC and flashforge that are directly in front with a heatsink - that's it. All the other axis motors are not cooled in any way - yes they get bloody hot! but that's what motors do. Should you put cooling on them? sure - it won't hurt, but like I said they are designed to run at very high temperatures consistently - that's why they are used for 3D printers and not the other type of stepper motors you use (and as a copier technician, trust me I see friggin hundreds of different stepper motors in a day.. everyday. I have machines that run at 400c and use Nema17's. No joke.

As for the metal case - really, Curious is right and you can't argue. Yes, you are right also - they are stupidly expensive for what is just a metal case, but the lack of vibrations, the lack of screws and nuts always constantly coming loose - this makes for a much better print quality.

And - I have to say, the CTC at 0.2mm and 0.3mm is one of the worst printers in the Z axis I've ever seen. Massive banding lines like a davinci $300 printer. God knows what I'm going to do to fix that. If you print at 0.1.. sure.. its barely OK.. but any higher and it's as useless to me as a printrbot with Y-axis sag.

The CTC wobbles like crazy, uses small 8mm rods in 10mm holes.. so the bed wobbles during print left to right...

All these issues if done in a metal frame with proper secure ties, it would be a good printer - but you can't argue that a metal case is "bad" in anyway for stepper motors and you can't say that it does not affect print quality!!!

The more rigid the case and the less active feedback the print head gets, the better the print is - this is why I prefer the print quality on my Delta machines as there is virtually ZERO kickback from any movements.

Also, just on the note about children being injured - any responsible parent would not let a young child alone near a 3D printer. Regardless of enclosure or not. Having small hands get trapped in Axis rods as they are moving... I can imagine some broken bones, heck I've even almost caught my hand under the heatbed lowering while I was clearing out rubbish strings... the stepper didn't stop.. and I had a bruise to prove it.