Alrighty, did some steps to improve the 3D printing conditions in my 'shop! First step, clean up everything! LOL, check! Second step, rearrange the printers into the corner which is the farthest from the cold draft. Check! Third step, separate the new printer section from the rest of the 'shop, also check! Granted, a simple shower curtain isn't much of an 'enclosure', BUT I'm hoping it would keep the environment inside the printing area a bit more stable, and at least it should keep dust and draft at bay better than before. I also added few leftover sheets of styrofoam on the concrete ..read more

You're absolutely right, my apology. Who are you apologising for? Visual Inspection: Look for any visible signs of wear, tear, or misalignment on the bearings. Manual Movement: Try moving the gantry up and down by hand. Does it feel loose or jerky? Who are you asking? Statistics: Posted by CrazyIvan — Thu Apr 18, 2024 8:27 am ..read more

Did you use your finger on the top of the z screw and push it side to side? Push it firmly enough and mine moved about 2mm. This test has to be done with the gantry all the way to the bottom close to touching the bed. If the gantry is at the top then you wont get the movement since the gantry keeps the Z screw in alignment. That's unrealistic. There is nothing (during normal operation) shoving the top of the Z lead screw, so you are demonstrating your point with something which won't happen in practice. Nonetheless, if the gantry is moving 2mm surely there is something wrong with the Z ax ..read more

The fluctuating temperature in your workshop (12°C to 24°C) is definitely a culprit. PLA likes a stable printing environment, ideally around 20-25°C. Rapid temperature swings can cause warping, delamination, and filament jams. Keeping your filament spools on the desk might be exposing them to moisture, especially with the fluctuating temperatures. Even PLA can absorb moisture, leading to inconsistent printing and clogs. Statistics: Posted by jannickz — Thu Apr 18, 2024 8:02 am ..read more

Found this on a Reddit page: I've had this same issue. I did some trouble shooting from changing thermistor to making sure all cables are not damaged and plugged in. To even changing the entire hotend with another printers head. I spent hours trying to figure this problem out. I got in contact with support, and they sent me a semi detailed list of things to check next. I can send you the email with the instructions. After doing everything I used a multi meter to determine that a mosfet chip on my mainboard went bad. Which is an issue on older X2's with the ruby main board 1.0. So in short the ..read more

Alrighty then... Did I, or did I not just fry the main board in my Artillery Sidewinder X2? I've been struggling with nozzle swap in this particular machine for couple of weeks already, this Artillery seems to be especially finicky with nozzle swaps and I constantly did it wrong. Today I finally got new PTFE tube (along with actual tube clippers to get perfectly cut end on the tube) and after having cleaned the heat block mounting hole with thread tap, I was sure I'll get the nozzle flush with heat break and PTFE tube. But, as I was heating up the hotend for final tightening, I swear I saw ..read more

For keeping filament dry in a cabinet, one possibility is to use a low wattage tungsten bulb (15-25W) on permanently in the bottom of the cabinet. This raises the temperature enough to dry things out when the atmosphere is humid, without going to the expense and complexity of a dehumidifier or other machines that consume heaps of power. I know of a guy who did exactly this in Fiji to keep his camera equipment dry enough in the tropical humidity so he didn't get fungi growing on lenses and other problems that humidity brings (how I learnt of the technique). That's a brilliant idea, it'll als ..read more

I'm not an engineer, but from engineering point it makes me puzzled why the printers use different metals for the components which handle most of the heat? I mean, the nozzle is often brass, but heat block is aluminium and then the heat break who knows what. I suppose smarter people than me have thought about this. I'm only guessing, but brass is good because it is easier to machine into the shape of a nozzle (therefore cheap), and soft so it won't gouge the build platform so much if an inexperienced operator allows it to ground. Hardened steel nozzles are available for when the filament typ ..read more

Another point: lifetime of the motors (and possibly other components as well) is extended if operated significantly below their maximum performance. Just because a printer can run at 300mm/s (or whatever), doesn't make it necessarily a good idea. I'll quote just this post, as the previous one was... Well, a bit 'wordy'. But that's all right, I like wordy! Agreed, I'm not exactly sure why the printing speed gets so much attention in advertising nowadays. Well yeah, I can understand why it's been advertised, of course insane print speeds look snazzy, but personally I'd prefer a decent balanc ..read more

During the COVID crisis businesses of different sizes were eligible for different aids here, but later turned out many of them were issued under false premises and the businesses had to pay lots of those aids back. I never applied for one, and all that hassle afterwards made me a bit sceptical about government fundings. Had I received a grant and someone at the RedTape factory later on decided that it wasn't applied with correct form, a three or four-digit figure back to government would had been a hefty bill for small business like mine. That sounds familiar, I think pretty much the same ha ..read more