What is the best customizable 3D printer system these days?

[ttabbal]

You could adapt a CNC router or mill, but it's overkill in the motion system. It might also be heavy enough to make high speed printing impossible.

Most gcode is the same. You would need to adapt the firmware to allow for extruder control. Probably. It might have it.

It's probably more likely to work than going from printing to CNC. Not ideal perhaps, but likely usable.

 

[strantor]

A question for all you 3D'ers. Has anyone entertained the possibility of using a CNC mill for 3D printing? I already have very workable 3 (and 4) axis control. It would seem that what would be needed would be the print head, the heated platen, and a translator into G code the the mill understands.

I have already adapted the mill for laser etching, using the control for the flood coolant to turn the laser off and on.. The same could be used to turn the print head off and on.

Yes I have considered it. It is possible and people have done it, but it is not worth the time or effort. The CNC is going to run a fraction the speed of a 3D printer and use several times more electricity. Imagine your mill running 2 days straight at the fastest accelerations it can manage, racking up miles and miles of travel on your ways & ballscrews (in one little spot, usually) to make a $2 part that a $200 3D printer could have made in a half a day, and with much less fuss and muss.

The only reason I can see for attempting this is if you needed an extremely large part (by 3D printer standards) that had to be made as one continuous piece, and the 3D printer needed to make it cost more than a CNC mill. Like a skateboard for The Hulk or something.

 

[strantor]

First scrapped parts and first big complaint with the Qidi printer:
The filament runout sensor doesn't do anything. Or maybe I don't understand what it's supposed to do.

I started a large print knowing that I was going to run out of filament half way through. I had another spool of ABS at the ready, already preheating in a separate dryer. I was waiting for the printer to pause and beep or something, so I could go feed in the next filament. It never did that. I was at the computer thinking "it should be about to run out" so I walked over and checked on it, found it doing 3D printer pantomime in mid air.

 

[Lo-Fi]

I did already order the SKR board but I am still listening. On your recommendation I did a cursory investigation of the Duet boards and I see what you are talking about regarding GCodes for configuration. I am trying to wrap my head around how I could leverage this aspect to make a more capable/customizable machine.

Here's an example I came up with: for a 5 axis machine, let's say I want to print a worm gear. The machine starts out as a 3 axis machine, prints a tower in the center of the print bed. Once the tower is complete, a gcode is executed which tells the machine it's now 5-axis, and the tower rotates horizontal, and starts getting layers deposited on its side, around its circumstance and along its length.

Am I on the right track? Is that a good example of why you recommend it? Do you have any better examples that might help me grasp the advantages it offers?

Thanks for speaking up!

Almost anything is possible, even new and novel kinematics.

I think the key advantage is that you can change without recompiling externally as you do in Marlin, Klipper etc. It's just a text edit and reboot, whereas changing options with other systems can be quite the faff. The other thing I love is the inbuilt web interface. Other systems tend to implement this with a connected Pi or similar running yet another 3rd party piece of software.

Many of the SKR boards can actually run ported RepRap firmware, should you be so inclined... I have a Chinese Anet machine running an SKR board and the RRF port. It's transformed the machine into something useful for short parts (still lacks rigidity for anything tall) along with some mechanical mods.

What you're describing is possible, though most of that kind of cleverness comes down to the slicer. Easy, maybe not so much..

Yes, that's certainly possible, @RJSakowski

 

[strantor]

Well I think I figured out the runout sensor issue. It's turned off by default.

Why on earth would that ever be turned off, much less by default?

Oh well, whatever. I turned it on.

Will have to test it when my current print finishes, otherwise I'll never rest easy.

 

[GrayTech]

The very nature of 3 axis 3D printing makes a 4th axis pretty unnecessary. There is a continuous printer with a conveyor belt instead of a bed for very long stuff but still 3 axis.

I chose skr board with marlin software. Marlin very customizable and can change most parameters via touch screen control panel once compiled, flashed and set up. Can work for cartesian, delta, and several other types of printers, a large selection of stepper drivers usable. Big communities with lots of support for marlin and for skr. Can do multiple print heads, multi fillament, etc.
Very happy with my choice. I have a BIG delta machine which can print a lot faster than cartesian types because the print head assembly is not restricted to linear motion. I love it.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

 

[strantor]

The very nature of 3 axis 3D printing makes a 4th axis pretty unnecessary.

I'll concede that for the vast majority of things that get made on 3D printers (knick knacks, toys, ornaments, etc) a 4th axis would not be of much benefit. But for those of us trying to print functional parts that will see real use, it could be a big deal.

It's always been a nagging gripe in the back of my mind (the kind I keep to myself because I know nobody cares) that we call these things "3D" printers when in reality they are 2.5D printers. They make 3D parts but the operation isn't 3D, it is just a list of 2D operations separated by Z steps. Bed height correction doesn't count. You've probably never seen a 3D printer go from X10Y10Z10 to X50Y50Z50. The word "slicer" says it all. These parts will always have a grain like wood and will always be weak in one axis. And will always require supports for overhangs.

Adding axes could change that. Imagine a sphere printed on a normal 3D (2.5D) printer; it's a stack of disks starting with small disks, going to larger disks, and back to small disks, probably with a bunch of wasted material for support to keep the thing from falling over. Now imagine that sphere printed on a true 3D printer. It would have to start at the end of a rod probably, and look like a lollipop. It would start out as a little bud at the end of the rod, then grow from the inside out. Instead of slices it has layers, like an onion. Each of these onion layers are printed in a different orientation so there is no axis that is weaker than any other axis. A very orderly and uniform ball of yarn. Now take that sphere concept and apply it to anything else.

There is a good deal of situations where this either won't work, or generating the tool paths required to avoid collisions will demand such a powerful slicer (unraveler?) that it will be more trouble than it's worth. For simple parts though, well... I want it bad enough to try making it.

There is a continuous printer with a conveyor belt instead of a bed for very long stuff but still 3 axis.

I am intrigued by these as well. I am just waiting for an excuse to get one.

I chose skr board with marlin software. Marlin very customizable and can change most parameters via touch screen control panel once compiled, flashed and set up. Can work for cartesian, delta, and several other types of printers, a large selection of stepper drivers usable. Big communities with lots of support for marlin and for skr. Can do multiple print heads, multi fillament, etc.

Thanks for the recommendation! Marlin is what my old Prusa uses. Is Arduio IDE still the tool used to flash the flash the firmware?

Very happy with my choice. I have a BIG delta machine which can print a lot faster than cartesian types because the print head assembly is not restricted to linear motion. I love it.

Can you post a picture? I am not sure what you mean by "not restricted to linear motion."

 

[Rufustoad]

I have been printing a few years now and for what its worth I just purchased my 2nd Prusa. I bought the XL that I feel is unstoppable. The build plate is huge, the slicer options are numerous, multi color 5 head tool so you have very little time in color wipes and they have now released Input Shaping that will only get better. I just purchased a new grip for a rifle I own and at 1.5mm the detail is spectacular. I personally think the slicer is the best on the market. It is a little salty on the cost but IMO its so far above the rest.

 

[Lo-Fi]

Yes, they are indeed 2.5D machines! Look up "non-planar printing" if you want to see genuine 3D printing... There are even some machines about that can angle the print head. Very few that rotate the work as there really very little advantage, though polar printers do exist, as does the "rota-printer" that shares more in common with a CNC lathe than it does a router.

 

[strantor]

Yes, they are indeed 2.5D machines! Look up "non-planar printing" if you want to see genuine 3D printing...

will do!

There are even some machines about that can angle the print head. Very few that rotate the work as there really very little advantage,

I've seen those (briefly) and one major advantage i can think of for rotating the work is that supports would become unnecessary. You could print overhangs all the way to 90 degrees and beyond, unsupported. Maybe the rotating head addresses this too? I need to dig deeper.

though polar printers do exist, as does the "rota-printer" that shares more in common with a CNC lathe than it does a router.

Never heard of that. I will check it out, thanks!