3D Printing

The never ending saga of my 3D printer. I have a Creality 3D v2 printer. I have modified it several times including changing the extruder, upgrading the z axis with an additional lead screw and stepper motor. I've also replaced the printing bed with a removable magnetic type. Additionally, I have added a probe which sets the level of the bed before each print. This creates a mesh which accounts for variations in the bed.  You'd think this would have been enough to get me out of trouble and have smooth and easy printing time after time. However, recently I could hear a strange noise as I was printing. To my horror the wires to the secondary z axis stepper motor were rubbing against the bed levelling screws. This resulted in the bed screws unwinding. The result left the bed  swinging side to side as it was printing. Started printing again and several times the filament got jammed. I then had a print that  was running very smoothly. However, it stopped or seemed to stop about halfway through the print and the printer just kept running. The problem seemed to be the extruder I upgraded. It was actually grinding through the filament or it was catching. I left it overnight and then came back to it the next day. Sleep helps with problems. I then noticed that nearly all the screws on the extruder were loose. e. In fact, the two halves of the guide driver bushes were not lined up. This meant that the filament was being effectively ground as it was going through and then it would catch and just keep spinning until the filament was nearly broken. Preventing the filament from going into [...]

In a departure from wood working I have bought a 3D printer. I decided to buy an Ender 3D V2 based on a combination of price and performance . The printer has good reviews and there are lots of upgrades readily available. The machine was partially assembled which also appealed to me. I spent quite some time levelling the bed which is quite important on a 3D printer to ensure good quality prints. After some frustrating attempts to get the printer going and lots of YouTube videos I was able to perform a successful test print. I found the "teaching tech" YouTube channel and associated website particularly helpful. Certainly worth a look if you are new to 3D printing. After printing a test cat and some accessories for the printer itself I wanted to actually make something. There are of course lots models available online but not everything you want or need is online. In order to accomplish making something software is required. I ended up finding Onshape which is a web based 3d modelling program. Being web based is does not rely on the processing power of you pc or laptop. The program is available to use free of charge fully featured the only caveat is that any files created are publicly available within the Onshape online world. The learning curve was steep for me but more on that later but not insurmountable. Tool Holder Test Cat Improved Filament Feeder Stronger Bed Springs Test Print