3d Printers South Africa

[eye_suc]

I'm finding that I have to use a brim with the mirror otherwise it doesn't adhere properly - had a couple of aborted prints as a result.

That said, I havent been particularly diligent about cleaning the mirror with Windolene/Screen Cleaner between every print

Have you tried heavily diluted Sunlight dish washing liquid and water?

If you still have issues, just a tiny sprits of hairspray and you will be good

 

[AfricanTech]

Have you tried heavily diluted Sunlight dish washing liquid and water?

If you still have issues, just a tiny sprits of hairspray and you will be good

I'm presuming that the heavily diluted Sunlight liquid leaves the surface marginally 'sticky' which is why it works? Also, the ambient air temp is pretty cold in Cape Town during winter and I dont have any kind of enclosure so that's not helping at all.

Edit: Seems it's the ambient air temperature - switched aircon to heat (22 degrees) and ran it for a few minutes and it seems fine now. Looks like I'm going to have to organise some kind of enclosure if I want to print in winter.

 

[saor]

I'm finding that I have to use a brim with the mirror otherwise it doesn't adhere properly - had a couple of aborted prints as a result.

That said, I havent been particularly diligent about cleaning the mirror with Windolene/Screen Cleaner between every print

Tried laying down some Pritt or similar glue stick before starting the print?

 

[Gnome]

I'm presuming that the heavily diluted Sunlight liquid leaves the surface marginally 'sticky' which is why it works? Also, the ambient air temp is pretty cold in Cape Town during winter and I dont have any kind of enclosure so that's not helping at all

If you are printing PLA you don't want to be printing in an enclosure. Put it in a room and close the door. Otherwise if you do put it in an enclosure you'll need to make sure the toolhead stays below ~50 degrees or you'll start getting hotend clogs. PLA becomes soft at really low temperatures and then gets sticky and then you have a clog

 

[avk]

I'm finding that I have to use a brim with the mirror otherwise it doesn't adhere properly - had a couple of aborted prints as a result.

That said, I havent been particularly diligent about cleaning the mirror with Windolene/Screen Cleaner between every print

I clean the mirror between every print using a hand sanitizer (70% Isopropyl Alcohol) with kitchen towel, rubbing the kitchen towel until the mirror starts squeaking at me.

For PLA and PLA+ I use the following settings:
- First layer @ 0.12mm
- Fan off for layer one and only full fan speed from layer 4. (Cura automatically increments fan speed from 0 layer 1, to 100% layer 4)
- Speed for layer one and two slower than any of the following layers e.g. 40 if the rest prints at 80, I also lower the travelling speed. (My reasoning being that if the first layer doesn't go perfectly, nothing will. So slow and steady for layer 1.)
- Bed at 60C (from the start to the end)
- For eSun I found 210C works best, however for ccTree I found 200C worked better
- For larger prints with a lot of surface area (or 'short' prints) I don't use any brims. However if it's a tall print with a small footprint I always add a brim to keep it stable. (The head will sometimes bump up against the piece, especially if a little blob of PLA is sticking out of the printed piece for some or other reason).

Anyway, that's what works for me.

 

[avk]

If you are printing PLA you don't want to be printing in an enclosure. Put it in a room and close the door. Otherwise if you do put it in an enclosure you'll need to make sure the toolhead stays below ~50 degrees or you'll start getting hotend clogs. PLA becomes soft at really low temperatures and then gets sticky and then you have a clog

I didn't know this about PLA until you mentioned it on this thread. Although it makes absolute sense.

I tend to leave the doors open a bit on my cupboard when printing PLA and have a vent above and behind the printer. So hot air can escape at the top. So temperatures inside stay relatively constant, but not high at all. Think this helps so I haven't had a clogged nozzle yet in the year I've done it this way.

*Touch wood*

 

[eye_suc]

I'm presuming that the heavily diluted Sunlight liquid leaves the surface marginally 'sticky' which is why it works? Also, the ambient air temp is pretty cold in Cape Town during winter and I dont have any kind of enclosure so that's not helping at all

I'm actually not sure. I just figured it's because it removes any weird oils from fingers and filament alike. Enclosure would probably only be an issue if you are printing ABS and higher temp materials. PLA en PETG should be fine

I'm in CPT too! Printing as we speak and no issues

 

[chickenbeef]

Was looking for a way to glue some PLA parts together, strong, and came across this:

3D Printering: Printing Sticks For A PLA Hot Glue Gun

When is a hot glue stick not a hot glue stick? When it’s PLA, of course! A glue gun that dispenses molten PLA instead of hot glue turned out to be a handy tool for joining 3D-printed objects …

hackaday.com

Need to try it out.

 

[AfricanTech]

I'm sure it's been asked and answered but I can't find the answer in the thread.

Physical store that sells filament in Cape Town area?

 

[avk]

I'm sure it's been asked and answered but I can't find the answer in the thread.

Physical store that sells filament in Cape Town area?

I think DaVinciLabs is in CPT?

 

[saor]

I think DaVinciLabs is in CPT?

Tokai afaik. Also Netram at canal walk. Check websites for what they have. Also chillipepper3d in Brackenfell usually has.

 

[eye_suc]

I'm sure it's been asked and answered but I can't find the answer in the thread.

Physical store that sells filament in Cape Town area?

Buildvolume, Stelltron and NextD in Somerset West

Uglymonkey and Ink Station in Parklands

Ink Station in Claremont

Xtrude in Goodwood

M2 3D Printing in Durbanville


I'm sure I'm missing a few

 

[furpile]

Is anybody using the SA Filament PLA? I got a roll of that in transparent red but I am really struggling to get it to stick to the bed. Levelled, adjust the z offset etc. Should I print without bed heating? It just makes blobs and then pulls the material behind it and quickly makes a big mess around the nozzle. I managed to print the stringing test piece and the print quality is very nice, I am just struggling with the first layer adhesion.

 

[AfricanTech]

Is anybody using the SA Filament PLA? I got a roll of that in transparent red but I am really struggling to get it to stick to the bed. Levelled, adjust the z offset etc. Should I print without bed heating? It just makes blobs and then pulls the material behind it and quickly makes a big mess around the nozzle. I managed to print the stringing test piece and the print quality is very nice, I am just struggling with the first layer adhesion.

This is why I'm so reluctant now to switch from Sunlu - the Sunlu works well in my printer.

 

[furpile]

This is why I'm so reluctant now to switch from Sunlu - the Sunlu works well in my printer.

The eSun PETG worked very well, and even the crappy PLA sample that came with the printer. But this PLA just doesn't want to stick.

 

[furpile]

It kind of sticks with a smaller z offset. But the filament has a lot of what looks like bubbles inside. Will be able to print bulky things with this but no fine detail I think.

 

[Kola-CT]

Still busy researching before I buy a printer.

If you had to choose between Ender 3 S1 Pro or CR 10 Smart Pro which would it be and why (for the exercise let's assume price is not the deciding factor)?

 

[AfricanTech]

Printing some more spool containers this weekend (yeah I have so many LOL). I'm a sucker for convenience. 24 hour print, my longest so far with this printer

Which brand of filament do you use?

I know that the Sunlu reel fits but have discovered that Zen (cardboard reels) don't fit.

Looking at SA Filament from Da Vinci ('cos I can go pick up) but not sure if the reel will fit in the Cake Box container.

Edit: Also, how do you get the Bowden connector to stick to/screw onto the outside of the dust filter?

 

[chickenbeef]

What is the diameter and height of the cake box?

 

[furpile]

Which brand of filament do you use?

I know that the Sunlu reel fits but have discovered that Zen (cardboard reels) don't fit.

Looking at SA Filament from Da Vinci ('cos I can go pick up) but not sure if the reel will fit in the Cake Box container

Please let me know if you buy some of the SA Filament from them. I am still struggling with it. When it finally sticks to the bed, I can see the extrusion amount vary the whole time. There are a lot of sections where no plastic come out and then a blob comes out. And this is with a new nozzle. Thickness measured ok so not sure what else to check.