Which FDM printer?

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by metalmuncher » Wed Mar 02, 2022 7:59 am

philipy wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 7:00 am Is that something you've found to be an issue? Obviously there is a big price difference from about £13 for the zero to £50 for the 3, and as is common, the guy is an Amazon Affiliate so, being my usual cynical self, he would presumably get more commission from the more expensive unit ( as if he would take that view....!).
I had OctoPrint on a 1st generation Pi, which has the same processor as the Zero. It worked, but if the Pi got a bit stressed e.g. you were uploading the next job while printing, it could affect the print quality, as the printer could stutter or slow down while it waited for the Pi to send commands.

I now run on a Pi 3, and its totally adequate for the job. The Zero 2 has similar performance to the 3, so either would be OK.

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by HugoFitz » Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:37 am

Good luck with finding a Pi right now most of them are out of stock!! :shock:

Let me know if you get really stuck, I might have a Pi3B+ that I can liberate and let you have for half price if that helps.

I've very successfully used one for running Octoprint. I'd definitely always advocate having a little headroom as you don't want it affecting print quality.

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by philipy » Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:49 am

Thanks both.
I've just had a quick look at the Pi Hut as a f'rinstance, and as you say they are out of stock of most Pi's but they do have the Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ for £23.40, would that be OK? If not, I might take you up on your kind offer Hugo.

I am getting a wee bit ahead of myself here since I don't have an actual delivery date for the printer yet ( hopefully Friday), but I'm trying to get my head around things in advance so I don't get caught out by anything - like Pi's being unavailable. :lol:
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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by SimonWood » Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:54 am

HugoFitz wrote: Tue Mar 01, 2022 9:48 pm I’ve heard the CR-20 pro has notorious flux capacitor issues…
You could try reversing the polarity of the neutron flow...

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by philipy » Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:59 am

SimonWood wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:54 am
You could try reversing the polarity of the neutron flow...
Nah, I'm not going polar, I don't do cold. :D
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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by Lonsdaler » Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:00 am

philipy wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:49 am Thanks both.
I've just had a quick look at the Pi Hut as a f'rinstance, and as you say they are out of stock of most Pi's but they do have the Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ for £23.40, would that be OK? If not, I might take you up on your kind offer Hugo.

I am getting a wee bit ahead of myself here since I don't have an actual delivery date for the printer yet ( hopefully Friday), but I'm trying to get my head around things in advance so I don't get caught out by anything - like Pi's being unavailable. :lol:
I was just about to recommend the Pi Hut.
A Pi3 model A doesn't have ethernet capability, so if you're happy with WiFi it will be more than adequate, compared to older models. Make sure you get a good power supply - they stock the pi brand powerbrick - many issues with pi's are due to inadequate power.
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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by philipy » Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:10 am

Lonsdaler wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:00 am
A Pi3 model A doesn't have ethernet capability, so if you're happy with WiFi it will be more than adequate, compared to older models. Make sure you get a good power supply - they stock the pi brand powerbrick - many issues with pi's are due to inadequate power.
Thanks Phil. I don't use ethernet anyway, so that shouldn't be an issue. As for power I was planning to piggyback off the printer rather than have yet another thing to have to find a mains socket for.
Philip

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by Lonsdaler » Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:14 am

philipy wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:10 am
Lonsdaler wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:00 am
A Pi3 model A doesn't have ethernet capability, so if you're happy with WiFi it will be more than adequate, compared to older models. Make sure you get a good power supply - they stock the pi brand powerbrick - many issues with pi's are due to inadequate power.
Thanks Phil. I don't use ethernet anyway, so that shouldn't be an issue. As for power I was planning to piggyback off the printer rather than have yet another thing to have to find a mains socket for.
So long as you are confident there will be a sufficient 5v supply - most goods come with a power supply rated to the equipment they are supplied with, zwith little extra capacity. I wouldn't risk it personally.
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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by philipy » Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:40 am

Lonsdaler wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:14 am
So long as you are confident there will be a sufficient 5v supply - most goods come with a power supply rated to the equipment they are supplied with, zwith little extra capacity. I wouldn't risk it personally.
I would have double checked anyway, but the YT video I mentioned above did exactly that with instructions and even has the splitter cable available, although he was using an Ender 3 printer not mine.

I've just looked at the PiHut blurb on their A+ and it seems to suggest that it is actually newer than the B+ but on various Reddit forums posts there are comments about the USB capacity of the A+, it only has one port, and the B+ having more which is necessary for a camera.
If all that is true, then I think I'll need to take up Hugo's offer. Perhaps you'd would drop me a PM with your price, please?
Philip

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by HugoFitz » Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:41 am

Lonsdaler wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:14 am
philipy wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:10 am
Lonsdaler wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:00 am
A Pi3 model A doesn't have ethernet capability, so if you're happy with WiFi it will be more than adequate, compared to older models. Make sure you get a good power supply - they stock the pi brand powerbrick - many issues with pi's are due to inadequate power.
Thanks Phil. I don't use ethernet anyway, so that shouldn't be an issue. As for power I was planning to piggyback off the printer rather than have yet another thing to have to find a mains socket for.
So long as you are confident there will be a sufficient 5v supply - most goods come with a power supply rated to the equipment they are supplied with, zwith little extra capacity. I wouldn't risk it personally.
I'd second making sure you have enough power!
I get not wanting more plugs, I'm the same.
The good news is that Octoprint will let you know if it's suffering under voltage. Give it a go powering it off the printer but be prepared to use a separate PSU if you get under voltage warning...

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by HugoFitz » Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:49 pm

PM Sent sir! :salute:

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by philipy » Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:33 pm

HugoFitz wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:41 am
I'd second making sure you have enough power!
I get not wanting more plugs, I'm the same.
The good news is that Octoprint will let you know if it's suffering under voltage. Give it a go powering it off the printer but be prepared to use a separate PSU if you get under voltage warning...
At the mo I've been unable to find the wattage of the printer power supply. All I know is that the printer works on 24v and as far as I can see it takes about 7A. The Raspberry Pi seems to need 5v, 3A, so I'll need an appropriate voltage regulator, which isn't a problem, but until I can look at the ratings on the printer power supply unit I won't know how much spare it has. There are loads of units from the same manufacturer in both 12v and 24v flavours, with a pretty amazing range of amperages, so I might be lucky...watch this space. Printer is coming tomorrow, DPD permitting.
Philip

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by philipy » Thu Mar 03, 2022 9:32 am

Back on the subject of power supplies, I just found this statement on the PiHut site:

Note that even though a 2.5A power supply is recommended for a Pi 3B+, that's only required if you attach a bunch of accessories (such as a 7" display!) 1.5A will cover a wide range of usages, as the current draw is around 0.7A max without extras.

So that may be how the YT video piggybacked it from the printer. Printer due at lunchtime today, so then I may be able to speak more definitively
Philip

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by HugoFitz » Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:43 pm

For anyone that is also thinking of setting up Octoprint/Octopi for the first time, I can't recommend this YouTube tutorial by Thomas Sanladerer highly enough.

https://youtu.be/HBd0olxI-No

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by -steves- » Fri Mar 04, 2022 8:30 am

Under powered Pi's is a big thing. I tried it on USB Phone chargers and even an extension lead with USB plugs built in. Most of these top out at 2A, it simply isn't enough, On mine it booted up ok, but it was disconnecting all the time, it was proper painful until I realized what was going on. I now run a separate Pi power block 5V 3A for a Pi 2W. The Pi 2W is more than enough to run Octoprint, camera, time lapse, print, upload etc etc. The only thing with uploading during a print is you can put too much through the wi-fi and cause retires which can can a stutter in the print, but that's usually down to the wi-fi rather than the Pi.

I am not sure about taking power from the printers supply, never tried it, in fact, never even thought about it till I read it on here, might be possible? :dontknow:

If you get totally stuck and want a Pi 2W, I "might" have a new one laying around, it's just a case of finding it.
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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by philipy » Fri Mar 04, 2022 10:28 am

-steves- wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 8:30 am

If you get totally stuck and want a Pi 2W, I "might" have a new one laying around, it's just a case of finding it.
Thanks Steve, but I have acquired a 3B+ from Hugo and I've sorted out my 13a sockets situation so I'm getting a 5.1v 3a Raspberry approved unit from Pi Hut. It is as intended for the 4's so will give me a degree of future proofing, if and when, and it's actually cheaper than the unit intended for the 3's!

The printer arrived yesterday and I've made a start on assembling it, but we have visitors so can only grab a few mins at a time!
Philip

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by HugoFitz » Fri Mar 04, 2022 10:36 am

Just a word of caution re PSU's
The Pi 3B+ is USB Micro, the Pi 4 is USB C
If you get the 5.1V 3A from PiHut make sure you get a C to Micro adapter at the same time :D

https://thepihut.com/products/usb-c-to- ... sb-adapter

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by philipy » Fri Mar 04, 2022 11:08 am

HugoFitz wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 10:36 am Just a word of caution re PSU's
The Pi 3B+ is USB Micro, the Pi 4 is USB C
If you get the 5.1V 3A from PiHut make sure you get a C to Micro adapter at the same time :D

https://thepihut.com/products/usb-c-to- ... sb-adapter
Thanks Hugo. I've already got one, thanks, because my laptop only has USB C's and I've had to get all sorts of adapters to plug things in. It's a real pain sometimes!
Philip

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by philipy » Sat Mar 05, 2022 9:15 am

Yesterday I finally managed to get to work on the new printer ( Creality CR-20 Pro) and to begin with it, drove me mad and I came very close to packig it up and sending it back. Assembly was fine, quick and easy, but tryng to zero the z-axis was a complete 'mare. I spent about 2.5 hours following a YT video by "3D Printing Canada" which was really easy to follow, but I did it time and again following each step and checking before moving on to the next, but the zero setting just would not save.
Eventually I went back to a video by Creality themselves, which has the English subtitles mixed up with the Chinese ones and is not exactly easy to follow, which is why I had looked for another one originally.
However by concentrating and following it one step at a time, I managed to set the zero first time. The Canadian video seems to actually have a couple of steps either missing or badly worded.

Anyway, without changing anything from the defaults on either the printer or Cura, I tried printing a small item from my collection of stl's and 10 minutes later I had a perfect print!
I then tried something a bit larger and two hours later I had a 2nd good print.
Soooo... gritting my teeth and crossing my fingers... middle of the evening, I set it to print the wagon body that I was trying to do when the old printer gave up the ghost.

9&1/2 hours later ( Well, 1st thing this morning), THIS is what was sitting on the printer bed: :D
wagon body.jpg
wagon body.jpg (105.06 KiB) Viewed 4553 times
I am amazed at the quality of this print straight off the bed and just using the default settings and as you can see it needs minimal cleaning up and the surfaces are brilliantly smooth. One small point which has really impressed me is the tiny hole in each of the strapping ends. I drew it but but never expected it to print ( it wouldn't have done before) being only 0.75mm diameter, but all 4 have a clean hole through.
The only slight negative is a small 'elephants foot' effect, which is something I've never had to contend with before, but I'll sort out in future.

I want to have a bit more familiarisation time and then I'll have a go at the Raspberry Pi/Octoprint.
Philip

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Re: Which FDM printer?

Post by ge_rik » Sat Mar 05, 2022 9:44 am

Wow! That is impressive. I thought for a moment that it was a print from a resin printer.

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