Just finished my first print. I decided to print a spinner. I had assumed I would have to assemble. But no! It came out pre-assembled! And it spins perfectly! I am floored!

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Watching the first print is pretty amazing, isn't it?

Looks great always fun on the first print. I have used most every filament out there and their Raise 3D Premium filaments are the best for quality. Use the discount code "Filament" for 10% off parts and filament. After buying 7 of these they tend to be very friendly lol.

marioparty34 congrats that’s some serious machinery. Love to hear how it goes. I have been pretty happy with my Prusa’s but thinking of stepping up to a nicer printer

Is so much bigger than my Lulzbot mini 2. I love the dual extruder. I feel like I am living in the future. lol

Just had to update the software. Voila! It works! Thanks for the code!

Thanks! I was piddling around about upgrading, but now that I have I am so glad I did. No buyer's remorse at all. Go for it!

Thank you, was just referred to this thread after my 3rd spotlight linkage broke!

Looks like I have a new hobby

Just got my DIYcore 500x500 kit in the other day, can't wait to print some monster stuff, but the only thing I can think of right now is pin2dmd frames.

I just purchased an Ender 3 V2 to print some of the TNA pieces and now I’m needing to print the GnR spotlight linkages. Thank you Agima2000 for posting the STL files. I’m looking at them and wondering how to orient these in order to get a successful print. This one I think will print OK if I rotate it to print vertically:

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But this one seems to be a bit more of a challenge to orientate as those nubs are going to prevent a simple 180 flip:

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Any advice for a newb is appreciated!

The first one is probably fine printing like that. Or maybe rotate vertical (sort of a toss up)

The 2nd one, I'd rotate that 90 degrees so that the long edge is setting flush on the print bed.

And use some supports.

What are you using for a slicer?

Supports! Thank you - that’s what I need to study up on.

I’m using Cura as my slicer.

I tried printing the first one as pictured but ended up with quite a bit of filament in the void area under the prongs.

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Click on the supports box by the adhesion box in your recommended settings before you slice.

This is what mine is usually set to if you need some starting values. Make sure your Support Placement value is set to "Everywhere" and not "Touching build plate" or it won't generate supports inside the model.
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Ditto on what Latenight and Schud said above.

Cura has some neat support options. Usually when I print (and I would think most people would agree), I think about "How do I print this with minimal supports?"

Here's a quick read on supports. Lots of pictures so it makes sense: https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012612779-Support-settings

Supports can be tricky - You want the support to do it's job (hold something up), but at the same easy as possible to remove. Plus you don't them to leave a bunch of imperfections on the print. Honestly, I spend more time setting support options than anything else.

For the top print, rotate that vertical and use the supports like Latenite mentioned - you should be good to go them. Like this:
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The other one I would do this:

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Lot's of ways to print, so more than one way to get a good print.

I’m making some pinball parts for a home brew project. Ever since I got my Ender 3, I get random layers that don’t stick well. Not a lot. Here is an example. During this 9 hour print, I had two layers where the extruded started making that clicking noise and I got under extrusion. It then fixed itself for all the other layers. Has anyone ever seen this? If it was doing it all the time, I would suspect a clog or too low a temperature, but the fact that it just does it in a single random layer or two during a long print has me baffled.

Also, any ideas about how to firm up that crack? It is still pretty solid, but I would like to make sure the crack doesn’t lead to real separation. I’m using PLA. Fill with super glue? Heat?

Thanks!

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Thanks all - great tips! Support was the key to a successful print - now I just need to carve out the support pieces. It ended up printing better laying down - I had a couple of failures trying the vertical orientation.

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https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/

Good deal!

Once you get the hang of things a bit more, there's a couple of settings to make the supports come out easier. One thing I do is use almost no infill on the supports - ideally just a shell. The other is to barely have the supports touch the print. Usually these work great, sometimes - a complete fail.

'Tree' supports and 'Only touching build plate' are some more interesting options. 'Tree' supports are like branches on a tree instead of columns, 'touching build plate' keeps the base of the supports off the print.

Here's an example w/tree and build plate supports (don't mean to imply this would work - just showing an example). I use a raft too for the base:
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I really would have thought printing it vertically would have ben better. Did you try using a raft?

That orientation would be a poor choice for this part. You will get a much stronger part the other way.

Thanks. I'm familiar with that website and the common causes of layer separation. I just find it strange that I keep getting just 1 or 2 bad layers out of 150, with the rest being perfect. I was wondering if anyone had seen that before.

You see that when you have a temporary filament feed issue. Sometimes it's the mechanical feed (physical binding... like when it's not coming smoothly off the spool), and other times it can be due to poor filament quality (which can lead to clogging).

Didn't think about that - good point. Kind of got focused on supports.

Thanks. That’s helpful. Any thoughts about how best to shore up the split, if at all?

Are you going to paint the print? If so, just some dry wall patch?

It would be interesting just to print a small rectangle (i.e. prints fairly quick) or cube the same height and see if it happens again.

One thing to look at is the extruder motor when it it clicks, is it still feeding in filament correctly?

You could take a look at the Z-axis screw and make sure something isn't up w/that (i.e. loose screw).

Just for the heck of it, the bottom extruder roller - that has an offset hole, meaning the roller tension on the rail can be adjusted by turning it. If it's not set correctly, then the height is set by the top rollers just running in the grove. On mine, I eventually get a bunch a junk on the rollers too. Nothing to do w/the clicking noise - but something that should be checked occasionally and cleaned. Mine loosened up after awhile.

Thanks. Good advice. I’ve printed small cubes and rectangles, and it doesn’t seem to be a matter of height. I also almost wonder if there’s just some crud on the PLA or some moisture, and it causes this to happen and then resolves itself.

Any chance you removed the filament spool and put it back on at some point later. Maybe the end of the filament got under another layer and binds occasionally?

With ABS I just apply some acetone with a paintbrush and hope for the best. With PLA… not sure. Maybe some thin epoxy?

Yes, I did. I’ll check to see if it is not wound well.

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If it's even needed, use epoxy. Super glue is not meant for filling gaps generally and needs pieces to be pressed together for it to cure.

I upgraded my computer months ago and forgot to save my slicer settings. It's been so long since I set it up I have no idea what I did. I have an Ender 3 with a bunch of mods including a new mobo and BL Touch. The printer has been sitting idle for months because I don't want to go through all the hassle of tuning the slicer again. Is there a way to extract my settings if I had the sliced file?

You may want to consider using super glue/ca glue and baking soda for added strength. It’s a little messy and may require sanding, but its strong as heck. There are countless youtube videos that explain the process and results.

As far as I know, no.

The "sliced" file is just gcode commands. It knows nothing (pretty much) about your options that were set inside the slicing software.

I print with Cura and Tree Support
Can be easily removed from me.
I place components on the print bed as in the picture.
They come out with no post processing.

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With a little sandpaper, they are perfect.

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You can select an Ender 3 in the Cura settings. That should get you to the point where you can printer, just tweak from there.
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The BLtouch should be set in the printer setting. When it measures the bed, the offsets should be stored in the printer itself, not in the code. Maybe one option in Cura would be to run a bed level cal each time you print, that shouldn't be needed tho.

Do you remember what mobo you bought?

Thanks. I’ll look into it.

Under Preferences | Profiles you can import an old gcode file and it will extract the slicer settings to a new custom profile.

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This is a good idea. I've used this trick before to fill some chipped/broken plastics. Never tried it on a print before though. Should work well if you plan to sand and paint the part.

Cura slicer has custom support plugin under marketplace for free. Personally I've found with prints like these it's easier than native & tree support.

http://lokspace.eu/cura-custom-supports-plugin/

Stern JP Pro: A little bit of an upgrade to slip over the plastic raptor on the left.

3D printed frame to hold a raptor (Michaels) and plants (Walmart) to to hide the original plastic.

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My wife just equated me buying my 3D printer to buying a Timex computer back in the day. Cool, but really primitive. She asked how I could put up with it and said that perhaps I should have waited 20 years until the technology advanced to make it more user friendly and hassle free.

I think my wife is brilliant.

Just do what I did, print a ear ring stand for her. She'll come around...

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I had both the Timex Sinclair 1000 and the Timex Sinclair 2068 when I was a kid, and they were far more advanced than 3d printing is...

I've had the Ender Pro 3v2 for about a month and have yet to get a good print... I'm SOOO close to having a properly leveled bed, but then I must over-compensate and things get worse. It's frustrating so I've put it away the past two weeks. Maybe this weekend, since it'll be 90+ outside with an air quality warning, I'll try again...

I hear you.

Have you tried printing on a raft? It can help compensate for a slightly off level or warped bed.

Not yet. A friend told me to use glue stick too because I was so close. But I am stubborn and want my first print to work without help! For now... until I get more frustrated!

Never use glue, it's a band-aid. Always get your bed level. If your bed isn't sticky, get a PEI sheet. If your bed is warped, add glass then add PEI.

The ONLY time I use a raft is if there is very little surface contact with the bed (a sphere for example).

How quickly will PLA absorb moisture? I’m still having random extrusion issues and suspect moisture. I keep my PLA in a sealed container with a humidity absorber. But, when I am using it, it can be out of the container for several days as I do a print a day. I found when I take it out, the first print or two is ok, then I start having issues. This has started happening since the weather has changed. The air is much more humid now than over the winter. Can it absorb moisture in just a matter of days? Is the solution to always store the PLA sealed, even between prints a day or two apart?

Also, I used to be able to do cold pulls no problem, but now the PLA just breaks off when I try to do it.

I'm about as lazy as you can get w/PLA storage, I may use spools that are months old and have just been setting out. Humidity goes up and down depending if the AC is on or if the windows are open.

Can't say I have any issues. "Cold pull" as in not heating up the hotend to swap filament?

Cold pull = heating up the hot end, pushing some through to extrude a little, letting nozzle cool to 90, then yank it out. It is a way of removing gunk from the nozzle that may be causing clogs. It worked for me before, but I can’t do it anymore.

All the issues I am having seem to point to moisture issues, but I can’t be sure. I’m thinking about buying the Sunlu filament dryer and seeing if that helps. I hate to keep throwing money at things without knowing for sure what the problem is.