Pevly

Category: 3D Printing

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  • Anet A8 3D Printer Giveaway Winner

    Anet A8 3D Printer Giveaway Winner

    Last month we offered an Anet A8 3D printer giveaway made possible. Since we all wonder if someone actually ever wins such giveaways, the answer is yes! Roland V. is the proud new owner of a free Anet A8 3D printer, congratulations Roland! After being randomly selected from a list of several hundred names, quickly shipped the printer so he could get building right away.

    Roland with his free printer

    Roland informed me that his printer arrived on time and in perfect condition. The Anet A8 is a DIY printer made for rookies and professionals alike, you can see our popular review of the printer here.

    After a fairly simple build process, Roland had his new A8 up and running.

    Out of the box and after assembly, the Anet A8 is ready to start printing, so that’s exactly what he did. Roland and Pevly both recommend upgrading the stock bearings to these polymer bearings which allow for smoother motion of the motors. We have a full article on recommend A8 upgrades that you can print yourself or purchase, read more.

    Congratulations again Roland, and huge thanks to for making this possible! If you are currently in the market for a 3D printer then make sure to visit as they have the best prices on the internet. Note, the Anet A8 is currently If you would like us to do more giveaways in the future please let us know in the comments as your feedback is important to us.

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  • 3D Printing Canada Filament Review – Wood, TPU, PETG

    3D Printing Canada Filament Review – Wood, TPU, PETG

    I’ve been very interested in 3D printing for a few years now. I enjoy reviewing printers because it gives me a chance to see new printing technology, but also lets me see how companies differ on the same technology. For instance the different types of hotends. I have used many different types and brands of filament but never gave it much thought; to me it was just a consumable. Sure there are different colors, but there are generally three main types used: ABS, PLA and PETG. Each filament comes with its own set of strengths and weaknesses. For instance, ABS is strong and withstands higher temperatures but it’s very hard to print because it shrinks as it cools and pops off the build plate. You need an enclosed printer to print ABS. PLA is easier to print with less shrinkage but isn’t as strong as ABS.

    So when asked if I wanted to review filaments from 3D Printing Canada I at first said, no thanks. Then, after giving it some thought, I figured why not try filaments outside my wheel house. So I chose one that I haven’t used, one that I have only used once before, and one that I have used a few times with mixed results. These are, wood, TPU and PETG, in that order. 3D Printing Canada has not paid me in any way to write this review, they provided the filament for free, and that’s all.

    Wood

    Wood filament is very cool but costs a bit more, and has a limited use case. So far I have only seen people print vases and Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. It is PLA with infused wood fibers, however it is hard on the brass nozzles commonly used on 3D printers (The nozzles are very cheap). I received the filament last week and asked on a 3D printing Facebook group what I should print. Of course, they said Groot and vases. As I wanted to be a bit different, I decided to go with a wooden shelf with a secret drawer.

    The first print I started didn’t go too well. Not the fault of the filament but the printer itself. I started and it was going great, but when I went up stairs the Y axis started missing steps which caused major layer shifts.

     

    So I increased the current to my Y stepper motor because it was lower then the others, and started the shelf again. This time it printed great. Not perfect, because of a bit of shrinking on one part, but luckily that was the hidden part so not a huge deal.

    The next item I printed was a square mug, and a circle mug.

    Just kidding, that is one mug! Holding this mug in the right or left hand gives you a different perspective. The person who came up with this design must be highly intelligent. The person who made it for people to download and print is Devin at the Make anything Youtube channel. I don’t know if he came up with the idea, but he is smart and has great 3D printing content, you should look him up.

    This being my first time to use wood filament I can’t say it’s better than any other brand. What I can say though is that it is a very good filament and I’m happy to use it. I may try a Groot some day soon.

    Thingiverse – Secret Shelf

    MyMiniFactory – Mug

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    TPU

    TPU, like wood, has a specific purpose and costs a bit more. I have purchased a roll of SainSmart TPU and used it for my printer reviews in the past. The 3D Printing Canada TPU filament has a softer feel to it. TPU is a rubbery type of filament, good to print things like RC tires and phone cases. It may also have uses for gaskets, rubber dampening parts for vibration control, and other specific use cases. I have no use for it at the moment, so I decided to print soft toys for the kids to play with.

    The first was a MatterHackers mascot Phil A Ment. He is a cute little astronaut. The print that came out was softer than the tiers I printed with the SainSmart TPU. The 3D Printing Canada TPU also printed better. To make your prints stronger, use more outline layers and higher percentage of infill.

    After seeing the astronaut the kids wanted a minion. So off to Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory to find one suitable to print with TPU. I found these two; one with one eye, and one with two eyes. That was to keep track of which was whose (2 year olds are very protective of their toys.) The one with the single eye needed support for the eye since it sticks out. Supports for any other filament are not an issue. TPU supports are hard to remove because they stick so well to the part. It being a tiny bit, I was able to cut these off with a pair of side covers.

     

    MatterHackers – Phil

    MyMiniFactory – Minion One Eye

    Thingiverse – Minion Two Eyes

    PETG

    PETG was created to be the best of both PLA and ABS. It’s supposed to print with the ease of PLA, and be strong like ABS. In the past I have had mixed results with PETG and wasted a lot on failed prints. So I chose PETG in the hope of getting a good source. Not only was it good, it is located here in Canada and I don’t have to pay duties! My first PETG print was the ABS temp tower with PETG temps. This is two pillars with a bridge across every 60 layers or so. You set the start temperature at the highest, and decrease it by 5 degrees every section of the tower, then you look for the temperature that prints the best, and use it for the prints. Being made for ABS, the temps on the part are not what I used. I went from 250 to 225 and found 235 to be the right temp.

    PETG is used to print parts intended for heavy duty or outside use. For instance, my friend is printing railing mounts for a deck he purchased a while back, since the company is no longer in business to sell parts. I offered to print a couple of mounts, so now he has a good source. The other filament sold in Canada that we tried didn’t have very good PETG. I printed parts for him with this PETG and was pleased with how they turned out. PETG is stringy, so you have to play with retraction setting for every roll, or do a bit of post print clean up.

    Comparing it to the last brand, you can see a difference. (3D Printing Canada on top) Also not noticeable in the image is that 3D Printing Canada prints are a bit shinier.

    Conclusion

    While I was hesitant to review printer filaments, I am very glad that I did. The biggest issue with reviewing filaments is that it can be hard to ascertain what is the fault of the filament and what is the fault of the printer, or even slicer settings. 3D Printing Canada has gained a new customer in me! Additionally, their prices for premium filaments is very fair. I hope you give them a try. I look forward to testing their PLA and PLA+  filaments.

    Happy Printing!

  • TEVO Tornado – Aluminum 3D Printer Review

    TEVO Tornado – Aluminum 3D Printer Review

    I reviewed the Tevo Black Widow and it is my favorite printer to date, you can read that review here. So, naturally reviewing the newer Tevo Tornado got me excited. Spoiler, it did not disappoint! The Tevo Tornado is Tevo’s response to the ever popular Creality CR10. Creality beat Anet to the punch and did a much better job. I didn’t review the CR10, a friend did, but you can read that here. I had fun reviewing this printer because the lack of issues. So lets get to the Tevo Tornado 3D printer review, we start with the printer specifications.


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    Note: has a promotion for TEVO Tornado and you can get it below retail price. Use coupon code: Tornados ($320 for EU version) or TornadoUS ($330 for US version)

    Technical Specifications

    Specs are important but do not tell the whole story. A printer can have the best specs and cost a pretty penny, but still have many print issues. This printer is practically the CR10’s twin with few notable differences. The heatbed uses AC voltage meaning current flows through a voltage regulator and not the main board which causes the bed to heat extremely quickly. By comparison, the Anet E12 bed of the same size heats up in 34 minutes, whereas the Tornado reaches the same temperature in under 3 minutes. Also, the insulation under the heat bed saves energy.

    There aren’t many tools, but then again there isn’t much to assemble. Tools include a few allen wrenches and a sharpened scrapper. I didn’t like the scrapper because the bed is covered in buildtack type surface and I was concerned it would cut into this. The bed came with a pre-tested print on it with the Tevo logo. I’m not sure if they built this printer, tested it, and then un-assembled it for shipping, or tested the bed on a standard test rig. There is also a spare sheet of buildtack for the bed included in the box.

    SD Card

    The files on the included SD card are pretty standard. A couple of printer parts are in stl and Gcode format. Also included, is a copy of the Free Repetier Host which I personally don’t like since most of the time software like this is out of date. Cura 14 is often included with printers, however it is very out of date. The guide gives the buyer URLs to free software, it even includes the Tornado config for the Slic3r software. Last, but not least, is the user manual in pdf format.

    Assembly

    The Tornado is easy to assemble, like the Anet E10 and E12, with the exception of a few more screws – 12 in total. The printer comes in three large pieces: the base, the upper X and Z axis, and the control box.

    The first four screws are supposed to be inserted into the base from the bottom up, to mount the upper gantry to the printer. There are two screws on each side. The other eight screws are used to mount the gantry to the base from the sides. The plates provided give the printer stability and are held on with the T-nuts (aka Hammer nuts), which can be put into the slots of the frame and then tighten to grip the frame. The screw on the left has the Z endstop on it. The endstop is a switch that tells the printer when to stop and then marks that point as 0 on that axis. When you tell the printer to go home from the menu or through code at the beginning of each print, it moves each axis to those switches and counts that as point 0,0,0. When you place the object to print at z0, x100, y100 on the platform in the slicer program, the printer homes to z0,x0,y0 then the print head moves over 100mm then forward 100mm to start the print. These numbers are defaulted in millimeters. You can change them to inches; most don’t because if you ask for help online everyone else talks in millimeters.

    Next, you need to connect the wire harnesses to the back of the control box. They have different pin sets and only go in one way so you can’t get it wrong. Then, insert and tighten.

    Next, you need to plug the remaining wires into the motors and endstops. Each wire has a sticker to tell you where each wire goes. These only go in one way, but can be forced in wrong. If it’s not going in don’t force it! The X endstop is in a tough location and I had to use needle nose pliers to plug it in. Again, be gentle and don’t force it.

    The last thing you need to do is adjust the eccentric nuts on the roller bearings. These are on one side of the three extrusion guides. Two on the Z to raise and lower the X axis and one under the bed to make the bed glide. Mine were okay and didn’t need to be adjusted.

    Print Quality

    What can I say about the quality? Being a Tevo my expectations were high, and I have to say I wasn’t let down. Below are the different types of filament I tested and the results. Each type has their own strengths and weaknesses. So, depending on what you are printing and where it will be used, you will choose a specific type.

    PLA+

    PLA+ has the ease of use as PLA, but extrudes at higher temps with added strength. I only recently started using PLA+ and with the cost comparable to regular PLA, there is no reason not to use it. The first print I did was the spool holder on the SD card in Gcode format. That holder had too much infill and the Y axis shifted about 70% through the print. I wasn’t around to catch the shift so it was a waste of filament, but the part it printed was gorgeous.

    My next print was to test the stability of the taller prints. I printed the classic rocket for the only boy in my wife’s daycare. It was printed in Vase mode, which means it prints the base and then prints the walls as one continuous spiral. I printed it with 0 infill and at a 0.12mm layer height. It turned out great, but you can see the dreaded salmon skin effect. You can purchase the TL smoother boards which go for about $3 and up, but there is a chance this will not correct the issue.

    Next I printed the string test. This test is used to figure out which temperature and retraction settings give you the least amount of strings from oozing. Figure out what layer each block starts at and then you can change the temperature at that layer. This was printed at 0 infill and a 0.12mm layer height. One more test that is important and fared much better than the E12 was the tolerance test. This prints a block with holes and each hole has a peg inside. The size between the peg and the hole starts at 0.9mm then goes all the way to 0 or equal. This was printed with 20% infill and a 0.12mm layer height. The Tevo preformed ok, not as well as I had hoped, but not terrible. The pin only stuck to 0.3 and down. It’s important to know what tolerances your printer supports because when you start making your own items to print, you need to know how big of a gap is need in order to prevent sticking. For instance, I just printed hinges for a lid. They are printed all in one piece so the gaps had to be enough that the hinge works as expected.

    At this point, I decided it was time to stop using the spool holder from another printer and print one for the Tornado. The spool holder I chose was a bit large, but it works and was printed at 70% infill and 0.12mm layer height.

    PLA

    PLA is the easiest filament to print. Although the prints are not as strong as other types, it is suitable for most household printer needs. When I say easiest, I mean it doesn’t shrink as much as other filaments as it cools. When a part shrinks before the print is done it can lift off the bed. The nozzle can then catch that lifted part and cause the x or y to shift, or knock the part off the bed completely. That isn’t what happened in my case above, since there was no lifting. My guess would be that the bed wire snagged the frame. PLA also doesn’t need a heated bed, but a heated bed can help.

    PLA was fine for the bed screw knobs. The Tornado and most printers that have manual bed leveling use wing nuts or other nuts that can be turned by hand. The problem is that they can be hard to get to and sometimes hard to turn. So one of the first modifications made for these printers is bigger, easier to use knobs that house the original nuts. I chose these large flat knobs at a 45% infill and a 0.2mm layer height. They do the job until I add auto bed leveling.

    I like to print the Benchi for every new printer. It can test many things like printing at angles, circles and overhangs. The Benchi is short for ‘benchmark’ and shaped like a boat, it’s a popular print among the printing community. The Tevo printed the Benchi great, but it couldn’t escape the salmon skin on the sides.

    The last PLA print was the famous wrench that is fully 3D printed and fully working. NOT! While others manage to get this to work, I have not. In fact, it stuck to the bed so bad that the first layer didn’t come off with the print. The wrench even broke up as I pulled to remove it which is the same thing that happened on the Tevo Black Widow. I guess the nozzle is set too close to the bed and will now use glass to put over the bed so this doesn’t continue to happen. Like the Black Widow, I had to heat the bed and scrape it off with razor blades. I’m not a fan of these build surfaces but the graphics are awesome! The Tevo also includes a second red sheet to replace the warn out one. I printed this at a 30% infill and a 0.05mm layer height. I did small layers hoping it would work better.

    PETG

    PETG is becoming more and more popular. At least before PLA+. It has the ease (with the exception of excessive stringing) of PLA with a strength closer to ABS. I usually print the TARDIS from Doctor Who, but I have too many now. So I chose the Benchi to see how it compared to the PLA. It printed okay but not as good as the PLA Benchi. Like I said, stringing is hard to control with PETG and even harder with a bowden style extruder. Bowden means the motor and gears that feed the filament are separated by a long PTFE (Bowden) tube. Some prefer this since it is less weight for the X axis to move side to side. With a 15% infill and 0.2mm layer height it stuck to the bed almost as bad as the wrench. It’s hard to tell with these pictures, but it printed better than it looks.

    Note: has a promotion for TEVO Tornado and you can get it below retail price. Use coupon code: Tornados ($320 for EU version) or TornadoUS ($330 for US version)

    Flexible Filament (TPU)

    One of my favorite filaments is TPU. It’s flexible and made popular by the brand Ninja flex. The brand that I use is Sainsmart, which I purchased it to print RC tires. Recently I started printing Pokemon for my 11 year old daughter. This bulbasaur was printed with 10% infill and 0.2mm layer height. Important things to note with this filament is that you need to print extremely slow and your start height can’t be very close because its flexibility can cause it to bunch up. This one printed beautifully! This has been my best TPU print out of the entire roll, I was surprised to see the salmon skin on the TPU though.

    The reason this printer prints TPU (and other) filaments so well is because of the Titan Extruder. It is a good extruder that leaves no gap for the filament to get wrapped around the extruder gear. You can see this where I circled in orange.

    ABS

    Last, but not least, is ABS. I don’t like printing with ABS for reasons I have stated above. but also the smell is almost intolerable. People online say to vent the fumes outside and enclose the printer because ABS is toxic.

    I tried printing an adjustable Z endstop plate and a clip to hold the glass to the bed. They both failed pretty bad, warped due to the filament shrinking, and got knocked off the bed. Even a small piece shows how much it shrinks.

    Because the ABS is purple, I printed another Benchi for the kids. I think my wife is tired of picking them up! I like them and I will build a display when I have the time. The ABS Benchi lifted slightly in the front but it didn’t hurt the print. The print did suffered from some stringing though.

    Software

    The Repetier-Host software on the SD card is not my favorite program to use with printers. The software just “hosts” a slicer engine. A slicer is the program that slices the 3D object into layers, then turns it into instructions the printer can understand. If you need a free program then I would recommend Slic3r or Cura, but if you can afford it I would recommend Simplify3D.

    Upgrades and Modifications

    Here is a list of modifications I have done and/or plan to do:

    (eBay link) TL Smoothers for the Salmon Skin

    Knobs for the Bed Screws

    Spool holder

    Glass Bed and Holders 

    Auto Bed Level Sensor (eBay link) (Sensors are from $2 to $10 and are well worth the investment)

    Customer Service

    I didn’t have any dealings with Tevo customer service. If you have issues, please don’t hesitate to join one of the many Facebook groups. I am a moderator in the Anet 3D printer group and we help owners of any printer type. Just be sure to answer the questions asked with the request or you will be denied entry.

    The Tevo Tornado Facebook Group

    The Tevo Black Widow Facebook Group

    The Anet Facebook Group

    Pros, Cons, and Evaluation of the TEVO Tornado

    PROS

    • The Titan extruder works great and has little to no space after the gear. This makes printing with flexible filaments much better.
    • Extruded aluminum frame uses wheels instead of bearing on smooth rods. Rods can bend easily and bearings wear out.
    • Comes almost built. The build time is minutes instead of hours.
    • Large build volume. The volume on this printer makes it easier to print larger objects so you have less gluing of pieces, in turn making parts stronger.
    • The bed is run through AC current and heats ten times faster than DC beds of the same size.
    • The bed is insulated which contributes to the quick heating.
    • Branding. Tevo has done a great job making their printers look nice as well as print nice. The color, logos, and boot screens have been well executed.

    CONS

    • No spool holder. Hard to print without a spool holder, you have to make a makeshift one until you can print one.
    • The Buildtak type surface works too well. If you get your print too close to the bed it doesn’t let go.
    • Salmon Skin ripples on the surface.
    • Onboard stepper drivers.
    • Very slow boot time.

    Evaluation

    PRINT QUALITY:

    This is one of, if not the best, prints I have ever reviewed. Print quality can go bad with a simple change in the wrong setting, so it is best to make a backup of your slicer settings before making any modifications.

    BUILD QUALITY:

    Like the Tevo Black Widow, the Tevo Tornado was well built and well thought out.

    USER INTERFACE AND NAVIGATION:

    I usually give the navigation a low score, but it appears Marlin is improving the navigation.

    VALUE FOR THE MONEY:

    At the low cost of $338 this printer is one of the best for under $400. In fact, it is the best printer under $400 I have reviewed so far.

    FINAL JUDGMENT:

    The Tevo Tornado is what looks to be an exact clone of the Creality CR10 with some better features. The Tornado uses the V-Slot extrusion instead of the cheaper T-slot which is used on Anet printers. I love the 300X300X400 build volume. It has been fun reviewing this printer and it prints very well. You can’t go wrong with this printer, I would recommend the Tevo 100%! If you are still unsure, or if you purchase it and need advice, please feel free to ask in our comments.

    Where To Buy

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  • Anet E12 – High Volume 3D Printer Review

    Anet E12 – High Volume 3D Printer Review

    The Anet E12 is Anet’s actual response to the ever popular Creality CR10; many think the E10 is, however the E10 is much smaller. The E12 has the same build volume, style, and color as the E10, which I have previously reviewed. While I do not trust Anet’s pre-assembled parts, the E10 prints very well, but I do suggest going over every screw to make sure they are secure. I purchased my first Anet A8 printer almost 2 years ago and the printers keep getting cheaper and cheaper. Being a moderator of a Facebook group of over 8,000 members, I watched Anet update their printers over the years.

    When the E12 arrived, I figured they fixed some of the issues that were in the E10 such as the loose extruder carriage and the weak bed carriage. During shipping, my E10 bed fame bent to the point to where it rubbed on the Z motor’s connectors and the bed rod holders. Fortunately, the E12 did not have this problem. Representatives from Anet are in the aforementioned Facebook groups, but it appears they pay little attention to suggestions and complains from current owners.

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    Unboxing

    Unboxing this printer was very simple. There are only 3 parts, a small box of tools, and accessories.

    Every Anet printer seems to come with more tools, the small box contains allen keys, screw driver, side cutters, scraper, SD card with reader, plastic ruler (for calibration), USB cord, power cord screws, and PTFE tube (for guiding filament to the hotend). They also include 2 very small pieces of filament for a test print. They are roughly 10 meters (32 feet) in length, so it’s best to order filament when you order your printer (Order Here). One important item to point out is that the corners of the box are reinforced to prevent shipping damage, possibly as a reaction to the bent beds on the E10.

    Assembly

    The E12 comes mostly pre-assembled while the remaining parts are very easy to assemble. There are 2 screws to mount the upper piece to the base, and 4 screws that loosen and tighten to turn the T-nuts sideways. You will also need to connect the wires to the motors and control box. From past experiences I recommend double checking that every screw is tight. I would even open the control box and ensure that all the wires are securely connected to the power supply and main board.

    Print Quality

    Unfortunately, the print quality of the E12 was not up to my standards since I know what the past Anet printers are capable of. However, I think I received a defective printer, as others have not had this problem with their E12’s. Normally I group my prints by filament type, but this time I’m going to do it a bit different due to troubleshooting the printer.

    First, I started with the easiest type of filament to print which is PLA. PLA prints well because it uses lower temperatures and does not shrink as it cools. Some filaments shrink when they cool which, in turn, makes them come off the bed.

    My first print was a cylinder shape selected from the included SD card. It started out under extruded and, at one point, I bumped up the flow which helped a bit. This tells me it was sliced with settings for a different filament, or the extruder E-steps need to be calibrated.

    I wanted to print something large since this is my first large volume printer. Many people print vases, yet I chose to print the popular Christmas tree from Thingiverse.com. I printed the tree in vase mode which prints one outer layer in one continuous line. The print looked okay, and I did not notice the diagonal lines at first. (My daughter hasn’t noticed either and loves it anyway).

    Second, I tried printing the adjustable wrench to see if I could get it to work, unfortunately it did not work once it was done printing. The wrench is supposed to be usable, but I would not trust it to remove a stubborn nut.

    Purchase the Anet E12 on eBay or Amazon

    I swapped out the filament for PLA Pus and printed a tolerance test. This did not give the results I was hoping for. The tolerance test holes and pegs have varying gaps from 0.1 up to 0.9. A good printer will allow all the pegs to come out from 0.9 down to 0.2. The E12 printer stopped at 0.5 and 0.7 will not come out. I’m not sure if the diagonal lines have anything to do with it. After this, I printed brackets for my delta printer which is when I discovered the diagonal lines.

    While looking over the printer, in an attempt to figure out the cause of the diagonal lines, I noticed the Z rods were not parallel with the frame. After further inspection I noticed the Z motor mounts on the E12 have two screws, while the E10 only has one screw. I figured I would try removing one. I removed one of the screws and printed a platform jack which is printed in one piece, and I noticed the lines changed a bit. After this I tested the lead screws to make sure they were not warped; I also flipped the lead screws to see if it was catching on the brass nut.

    I then printed the ever popular ‘benchie,’ which is a small boat for benchmark testing. At the standard size I could not tell if the lines were present, so I reprinted the boat at 200% which showed that the lines were still an issue.

    Next, I printed a small battery box for my electronics projects but that, too, had the same lines.

    Trying to fix the issue, I replaced the extruder motor and the entire hotend assembly including the heat-sync fan and wires. These repairs did not seem to have any effect. In time, I will find the cause even if I have to replace each piece one at a time. I am guessing the problem is linked to the Z axis and I will update this review when I find the cause.

    I also printed Darth Vader. For some reason I was thinking of the stormtrooper so I used white PLA Plus…guess I can paint it black!

    After all the troubleshooting I decided to move on and test other types of filaments.

    I printed the TARDIS from the Doctor Who TV show I fell in love with a couple of years ago. My PETG filament is blue and the right color. PETG is easy to print like PLA, but prints at a higher temperature so it can stand up to heat like ABS.

    TPU, which is a rubbery type flexible material, is hard to print and is even harder with the bowden style extruder on the E12. The materiel does not get the proper pressure inside the long PTFE tube which causes a jam after just one layer.

    Last, I tried printing with ABS which I was not comfortable with. The reason being, ABS requires high temperature on the bed and Anet did not include an external MOSFET. The MOSFET handles the current going to the bed, and with such a large bed it should not be done because a fire could start. However, smaller 200×200 beds can get away with not having a MOSFET. Another issue is that when the heat is bumped up to the hotend for ABS, the filament begins to jam from heatcreep. Heatcreep is when the filament gets soft all the way past the throat (heat-break).

    Software

    Cheap printers always come with free open-source software. I, for one, do not like Cura 2 and 3, but the Cura 14 and 15 seem okay. There are other options that you can download such as Slic3r and Craftware. If you can afford the $150 USD, Simplify 3D seems to be the software of choice among the 3D printing community.

    Upgrades and Modifications

    The first upgrade I would recommend for the Anet E12 is the MOSFET, it is a must for a 300×300 build plate.

    Buy the MOSFET on eBay for around $10

    Most CR10 mods on Thingiverse will likely fit the E12 since there are not many for the E12 because it is so new.

    Pros, Cons, and Evaluation

    PROS

    • Cost. This printer is $319 USD at the time of this review.
    • Large build volume. The 300x300x400 size is larger then the average printer.
    • Prints pretty well, despite my diagonal lines.
    • Dual Z motors.

    CONS

    • Flimsy X carriage.
    • Thin bed support frame. The 3mm plate bends very easily.
    • T slot frame instead of the popular V slot. Y holds the guide wheels better and don’t ware as fast.
    • No external MOSFET included. Trying to keep costs low is not always a good thing.
    • Quality control. Anet does not take the most care when pre-assembling printers and parts.

    Evaluation

    I believe Anet has pioneered the wave of cheap kit 3D printers, even their own printers keep dropping in price. They use their own board design which is reused in all of the printers, and they change the firmware to suit the style of frame. For comparison, the Creality CR10 costs $491, while the E12 costs $319. Printed parts and minor issues aside, this is not a bad printer.

    PRINT QUALITY:

    Diagonal lines aside, the E12 prints very well. The printer was also way off on the extrusions so I re-calibrated the E-steps which was easy to do as there was plenty of information on YouTube. The E10 is a great printer and the E12 follows suit, printing just as well.

    BUILD QUALITY: 

    The tall aluminum style frame works okay and is better than the acrylic frames used on the Anet A8 and A6 printers. Anet chose to use T-slot rails instead of preferred V-slot rails. They also chose 20x20mm for the upper frame while other manufacturers use 20x40mm, which offers more stability since the extruder moves left and right. Anet did, however, use two motors and threaded rods for the Z axis, while competitors use only one motor to raise and lower the entire X carriage.

    USER INTERFACE AND NAVIGATION: 

    The 12864 LCD screen is the most popular choice for printers under $1,000. The user interface is the typical rotary knob that you push in to select different options.  The one downside to the knob is that when adjusting settings, the value changes by 2 or 3, so fine adjustments need to be done over USB to fix the knob sensitivity. The included firmware is Anet’s modified version of Repetier, but you can flash most of the open-source firmware to use Marlin.

    VALUE FOR THE MONEY: 

    Is the E12 worth the price? Yes, it is the most affordable printer in its size class.

    FINAL JUDGMENT: 

    Would I recommend this printer? If you are on a tight budget and do not care that Anet support is non-existent, then yes. There are a few Facebook groups with thousands of users that are ready, and willing, to help you troubleshoot any problems. These groups were created by, and supported by, other Anet owners because of Anets lack of response.

    Here is one with the most open and honest members and administrators. You are welcome to join no matter what printer you decide to get, or if you just want to learn more before you buy.

    Where To Buy 

    [go_pricing id=”anet_a8_5a_5a68e1d5d5a8e”]

    [taq_review]

  • Jgaurora A3S 3D Printer Review

    Jgaurora A3S 3D Printer Review

    UPDATE: After a couple of weeks I received 2 power supply’s. It’s great that I got a response from the company as well as themselves. While slow the costumer support works out great.

    3D printing was invented in the 1980s and has come a long way in a short time. That is since the Stratasys patents expired in 2009. In 2005 Dr Adrian Bowyer started the Rep Rap project which basically means printers which can create the parts to make other printers.

    Joseph Prusa came up with the simplistic i3 design in 2012 which started the Chinese clone frenzy which, in turn, brought cheap sub-$500 printers to the mainstream. Since then, there has been little advancements in the cheaper printers. Creality came out with the CR-10 , a large volume printer under $500, using an extruded aluminum frame. Now the main Chinese printer companies have been copying one another, and pushing prices lower and lower. Reviewing basically the same printers with different volumes is OK, but I have been craving some advancements.

    In comes the Jgaurora A3S. This is a standard i3 design with some new features which come mainly on the higher end printers. A3S comes with a full metal powder-coated frame that looks great. I prefer this look over the cheap acrylicli frames and the basic-looking extruded aluminum. With the exception of the awesome looking Tevo Black Widow , which I reviewed back in September.

    The A3S also comes with a filament run out sensor that pauses the printer and lets you insert a new roll to continue the print. That should be on EVERY printer regardless. I don’t know how many times I had filament snap and come to find a partial print on the bed. We did review a printer called AnyCubic i3 Mega which has that feature and is in similar price-range as the Jgaurora A3S.

    Another awesome feature which I’m not sure how much it would cost to include, is the touchscreen display. The display is colored and uses a 4X2 square block menu which works great. But after all that, they added my favorite feature which blows me away. As I’m living in the countryside, where power outages are frequent, with the A3S I no longer need to worry. When the power fails, or if someone trips the plug, the printer will ask if I’d like to continue the next time it powers up.

    On top of all that, the printer comes with what they call the Black Diamond Bed. It is a glass bed with a special coating similar to the BuildTak surface. So far it has been very durable. Hopefully, it stays that way, because it doesn’t look removable.

    So-called Black Diamond heat bed of Jgaurora A3S is one of its interesting features.

    All these features on a sub-$500 printer gives me hope that the community isn’t sitting still. Joseph Prusa even added those features to his newest printer, along with many other things for around US$800.

    Technical Specification

    [go_pricing id=”jgaurora_a3s”]

    Unboxing

    Unboxing this printer is pretty straightforward. It comes in two main parts, plus accessories that include power supply, spool holder, filament, and all the tools to put the printer together.

    USB Stick

    Most 3D printers use micro SD or standard SD cards. These are okay, but are typically harder to access as these are in the motherboard, or behind the LCD screen. The A3S uses standard USB stick which is cheap and easier to deal with; as not all computers have SD slots – and very few have micro SD slots. The USB comes with the Jgaurora-branded Cura. Also on the stick is the User Guide and a 4-second assembly video.

    Assembly

    Assembling this printer is so easy that anyone can do it. It consists of placing the two pieces together and fixing 4 screws into the bottom. After that, simply screw in the filament holder to the side, and plug in four wires on the side. The entire thing was ready for operation in less than 5 minutes. There is an assembly video on the USB Stick, but it is only 4 seconds long. Why they made it so short is beyond me.

    Print Quality

    The print quality with this printer is OK. Not the best I’ve seen, but the other features make up for it. With some slicer setting tweaks, it can improve. I have a few different types of filaments I’d like to test, starting with PLA as it comes with a 250g roll. Many don’t come with more than 10 meters of material.

    PLA

    The included PLA is definitely not high-end quality material, but it’s nice to have it. It reduces the cost to get printing right away. The first print I tried was a fan shroud that is an STL model on the USB stick. This failed miserably, but that was my fault because I forgot to add the supports into the slicing software.

    I don’t know why I print those little cubes. People say they measure accuracy to 20mm cubed but I don’t think it should be done at such a small size. There are better means of calibrating the axis. I print it to see how smooth it prints walls. With this one I didn’t put infill and not enough top layers, so it has holes in the top. Holes could also result from insufficient part cooling and too much heat.

    It’s always good to know the tolerances of your printer. It means how far apart your pieces and walls need to be in order to print without fusing together. This print has gaps from .05 to .5. Typically printers have a .2 tolerance with a .4 nozzle. This printer struggled at .2 which isn’t the greatest but not too bad either.

    This little guy is cute, so I wanted to print it to see how it fared without supporting it. Big overhangs do show artifacts. This is the baby Grim Reaper found on Thingiverse or MyMiniFactory.

    ABS

    ABS shrinks while cooling, so the bed needs to be minimum 100 C° but 110 is recommended. The power supply included is very underpowered. My one-and-only attempt fried the power supply. After popping it open, I discovered a very bad burn on the PCB.

    PSU which arrives with the printer is under-powered and may cause burnouts when printing with power-intensive materials like the ABS.

    After my incident with the power supply, I reported the issue to the manufacturer. For the reasons which I will explain a bit later, my replacement part delivery was quite delayed. Luckily, at work, they had a 24V power supply, so I borrowed it to finish the review. At the time of writing, my replacement part is traveling from China to my location.

    So with PSU replaced, I continued my print quality tests on the Jgaurora A3S.

    PETG

    PETG is the go-to for parts that need to withstand higher temperatures like ABS, but without the warping that comes with printing ABS. Very common for parts people print for their 3D printers. Since it withstands the heat required to print ABS, it also does not require the bed to be over 80°C. It’s my only blue filament, so I printed the TARDIS from Doctor Who. It didn’t turn out that great. I also printed a corner bracket I’ve designed in Fusion 360 for my life-size TARDIS chicken coop.

    Flexible Filament (TPU)

    Flexible filaments are one of the coolest filaments out there. I purchased a roll not knowing what I wanted to do with it. I did print a set of tires for the Open RC Formula 1 project. But now that I have 4 of them, I’m going to print squishy Pokemon. I first printed a small one from the Jgaurora download page. It had an issue with the mouth of the model. After fixing it with Microsoft 3D Builder, I scaled it up and reprinted. Hard to see in pictures, but it looks awesome in person. The pictures don’t do it justice because it’s so glittery.

    PLA+

    For this review, I opened 2 rolls of PLA+ that I haven’t used until now. What a surprise! PLA+ (also known as PLA Plus) is PLA that uses higher temperatures like ABS without all the headaches of ABS. This is going to be my new go-to filament because it prints much better than ABS, and even PETG. For my first print, I printed this cool optical illusion on Thingiverse. This was created by a guy with the YouTube channel called Make Anything. I encourage you to look him up.

    Software

    Cheap printers always come with free open-source software. Jguarora had re-branded their own version of Cura 2.5 which is open source and comes on the USB stick. I, for one, do not like Cura 2 and 3 at all, but Cura 14 and 15 seem OK. But there are others you can download – such as Slic3r and Craftware.

    If you want the best it will cost you $150 USD. That is called Simplify3D. It is great because you can customize your support structure, and it prints well: www.Simplify3d.com

    Upgrades and Modifications

    The A3S is new on the market and there are no updates and Mods for it, yet. There is also A5 model which is the same as the A3S, but with a bigger build volume, so modifications for them should be interchangeable.

    Customer service

    This is a new section of the review; a process I have yet to write about. I thought it important because of how things went with the power supply. Not because it stopped, but because of the process of getting tech support from Jgaurora. Their website has an email address, and they have a Facebook group. I emailed them and joined the group. I got a bit worried when I read a post saying they would give a full refund for positive reviews.

    That’s just wrong. Knowing their target audience is people spending under $500 for their printer, they would likely be happy to oblige. Full disclosure, my printer was sent to me from for a review. They don’t expect me to be biased. So after contacting the company and days wasted by them telling me to go through for a warranty replacement part, they finally gave me a tracking number for the power supply.

    I would like to talk about the Facebook group, though. After a few days there I was, having a discussion with another member about the problems he was having. I simply didn’t think the issues were as bad as he was saying. So they removed the entire conversation and said they don’t allow comments that are negative toward their products. Imagine people going there for help, and not being able to say what is on their minds – from fear of getting removed from the group!

    We formed a Non-biased group for Jgaurora owners to get help. You can find it here if you buy one of their printers.

    Pros, cons, and evaluation

    PROS

    • The A3S is the quietest printer I have had yet. With the printer sitting on the desk beside me I found myself looking to see if it stopped because it was so quiet at times.
    • Black Diamond Bed. This is new to me so I don’t know the longevity of it but it is a positive so far. Prints stick very well while printing and are not to hard to remove when cooled.
    • Full-metal construction makes this printer solid. On top of that, it is powder-coated and won’t scratch easily.
    • The A3S does have a heated built plate. Heated build plate is not necessary, but is recommended.
    • Full-color touch screen. The touch screen is a nice feature and makes the printer look more high-end. After using this touch screen for a while, dealing with buttons and knobs is annoying .
    • The A3S is the easiest kit printer I have built to date. No assembly knowledge is needed for this printer.
    • This printer looks great with the white powder coating and blue side panels.
    • Filament run out sensor! This is an awesome feature. I love how it pauses and uses a filament load and unload feature to change the filament. No more worrying whether there is enough filament to finish the job.
    • Power Off recovery. I love this because I have had to use it already. Living out of the city, you are prone to accept frequent power cuts.
    • USB stick instead of the SD card. Using USB is great. USB is faster than the SD cards when writing the Gcode to the drive. These are easy to get and harder to lose than the tiny cards.

    CONS

    • Hard to work on. The nice metal frame and enclosed bottom half make this printer difficult to work on. For instance, when I tighten the belts I will have to carefully disassemble quite a bit to gain access.
    • Side panels look good but they are not screwed or glued to the printer. I will print something to make them more secure, or glue them in myself.
    • The biggest con for this printer is the under-powered Power Supply. If they didn’t advertise that it can run at 110° then it wouldn’t be such a problem. That is, it would still be a problem, just not a big one. ABS is not an option for this printer, so if that is what you need, then pass on it.
    • Not an open source. The company doesn’t have a link to download the firmware, so there is no way to update it with an auto level sensor. I emailed and asked for it, but no reply at all.
    • Hard to level the bed. The previous point brings me to this one. The bed level nuts are hard to turn because they are stiff and very close to the bed. Typically you could print bigger knobs for them but there is no room for bigger nuts.
    • Loose belts. The belts are loose, and I’m sure if I can tighten them the prints may look even better.

    Evaluation

    I really like this printer. The under-powered Power Supply and poor customer support is a big minus. The new power supply is on the way. They finally got it sorted, but I shouldn’t have had that much trouble dealing with them. Beyond that, it’s a good printer and I’m pleased with the prints. My scoring probably would have been higher if it weren’t for said issues. Although, those issues are dwarfed by the power failure, filament run out, and all the other positives of this machine.

    PRINT QUALITY: 

    The quality is good and will likely be better with the tightened belts. So far no one has mentioned loose belts in the Facebook groups, so it could be a one-off with my machine.

    BUILD QUALITY: 

    The quality of this printer is good. Could be better – with a proper power supply and the side panels being properly installed.

    USER INTERFACE AND NAVIGATION: 

    I can’t say enough about the touch screen. Easy to navigate and understand.

    VALUE FOR THE MONEY:

    The printer is more than enough for the money. Having higher-end features and a solidly built frame makes this printer a great buy.

    FINAL JUDGMENT:

    While I love this printer, it is hard to look past the customer service issues. That said, it is ahead of the curve and I hope those features become more mainstream with the printers under $500. Even with the customer support, you can’t go wrong with this printer because there are plenty of friendly people willing to help on the internet.

    Where to buy

  • Geeetech Mini G2S Pro Delta Dual Color 3D Printer Review

    Geeetech Mini G2S Pro Delta Dual Color 3D Printer Review

    Ever since I started 3D printing on my own, I wanted to try dual color printing. Despite many in the hobby saying to avoid dual color printing, because of the complexity, I wanted to give it a try.

    That’s why, when asked to review the Geetech GS2 Pro I got very excited. Even though it only took a week to arrive I was still watching the delivery status on DHL, following it closely. When it arrived I started the build as soon as I possibly could.

    Technical Specification

    [go_pricing id=”geeetechgo2pro”]

    Unboxing

    The packaging for this printer is pretty standard with foam packing to prevent damage during shipping. Nothing special nor different about the way it’s wrapped up, but not bad either. The box was 19 X 16 X 8 in or 48 X 41 X 20 cm and weighted 11kg.

    SD Card

    I’m not sure why but this printer does not come with an SD card. It takes the original larger SD card which is super cheap so they really should include a small card. If they don’t have one on hand they will have to go buy one. Although the printer does need to be the tether for the initial setup to upload the firmware with the changes to the Z height

    Assembly

    Building the Geeetech Mini G2S Pro Delta  printer was pretty standard procedure for me. The build manual is detailed and so easy to follow there was no need to use videos.

    After building 7 other printers I knew what I was doing but on those printers I had to watch assembly videos. Using videos are OK to see how parts combine but they are a pain because you have to keep pausing and rewinding.

    I spent about 4 hours building it with a dinner break in between.

    The 8mm Acrylic felt solid enough. Using the rods that the three axis ride on as the main supports is a questionable design choice. I wasn’t ok with how the belts needed to have a hole poked into them and screwed to the holder. I felt like it may split and slip off. So having more printers I went to Thingiverse to find a better solution.

    I found this belt clamps as an alternative. I highly recommend these if you can print them. I had a few problems with the rod holders as some of the threads seemed off and I had to hold them with pliers to get the screws in.

    Build Quality

    This printer is very heavy for its size. It feels solid enough. The Z rails are holding the top quite well.

    The Extruder steppers are larger Nema 17s for better torque. Printer has  heated bed. That gives you more print options than just the PLA. G2S Pro has an acrylic frame. Most people within the 3D printing community say that the acrylic is not well suited for printer frames, mainly because it can get deformed over the time.

    The 8mm thickness feels solid enough. The metal rods and effector being metal is a negative though. The steppers don’t seem to have enough torque to keep them up. They slide a bit from time to time and I saw layer shifting in one of the prints.

    This printer doesn’t come with an SD card. The SD card slot is located in the back of the LCD. It sinks in so far it is very hard to remove. I had to use needle nose pliers to remove it. After a few times I got tired of it and back to Thingiverse, I go. I found this card handle to help. I had to glue it to the card which is OK because I only use this card for printers. It works so well I will be using it for the Black widow printer as well.

    Print Quality

    I always test 3D printers with as much materials (filaments) I can. Below are the results I was able to get with the Geeetech Mini G2S Pro Delta.

    PLA

    I always thought that the pros in the hobby were talking nonsense about dual extruders and their difficulty. I searched the internet for some cool dual color STL files. The first one I tried was this dual color, Marvin. Marvin was designed to test a printer’s capabilities like the Benchy. The Marvin started well then suddenly the filament jammed in the 1st extruder.

    I then gave it another try with different colors. I then tried a cat, lips and a storm-trooper with the same results.

    Unfortunately every time this happened I have to take it apart to get the filament out and had to realign it each time.

    Finally, I got this Batman bust to print. I printed it with an oz shield which prints a cover over the item to catch the filament that oozes from the extruder not printing at the time. For the most part, it works.

    But as you can see the print didn’t turn out all that great. I kind of lost hope at that moment.

    ABS

    After the disappointment of the PLA prints, I decided to give ABS a shot. Having a heated bed is a must for ABS. An enclosure is important also but you can get away with small prints if there are no drafts in the room.

    My first ABS attempt was a low poly Charmander Pokemon. Of course, it clogged half way up.

    Then I tried the Lips again in ABS. This time it finished but as you can see it had layer shifting. This could be from one of two things:

    1. being the effector weight
    2. 2 the nozzle catching the print while it tries to move and it makes the motor skip steps.

    PETG

    Next, I tried PETG which is easy to print like PLA but requires slightly higher temperature, like ABS does. Unfortunately, I only had one roll of PETG so I couldn’t do a dual color print. I printed the famous Benchy. This printed ok despite the under extrusion. The stringing is common with PETG and can be removed by playing with temperature and extraction settings.

    I figured out what was happening, but not how to fix it. And it was always happening with the first extruder. As you can see its bunching up above the throat (Heat break) of the extruder.

    Back to PLA

    After many failed prints and clogs I decided to swap the hotends and print single prints. After the first attempt failed from the second nozzle I took the advice of the other G2S owners on facebook and removed the second hotend.

    I will order a new one and figure out how to cool it better to prevent the jams. Then I will go back and give dual color another try. I may try one of these Y splitters as they seem to be getting popular and less chance the second nozzle will snag the print.

    So with a single nozzle, I got two good prints. The Pacman ghost and the dragon from the Game of Thrones TV show. The dragon was stringy from the retraction settings. Being Bowden retraction is important to get right.

    Software

    Cheap printers always come with free open source software. Cura comes on the SD card but there are others you can download such as Slic3r and Craftware. But if you want the best it will cost you $150 USD. That is called Simplify3D. It great because you can customize your support structure and it prints well. For beginners and people on a budget, Cura is more than enough to get you started.

    Upgrades and Modifications

    1. Power supply cover. I don’t know for sure if it will fit on this bed.
    2. You should really replace the effector as soon as you can. Because it will be lighter and pick one that can adjust easily.
    3. As mentioned above the belt holders would be better than screwing through the belt.

    Pros and cons

    Please check the list of all pros and cons I experienced with this printer.

    Pros

    • Built solid
    • Good motherboard
    • Bright display
    • Strong extruder Stepper Motors

    Cons

    • Dual extruders are hard to align and require a perfect flat print.
    • Heavy rods and effector makes the axis slip easily.
    • Frequent filament jams.

    Evaluation

    Please understand that these ratings are just a personal opinion of the author. They are not comparable with other Facebook or printers on our site since we have several reviewers. However, these ratings should be a guideline to understanding overall printer performance the author experienced.

    That being said, here are my overall ratings for this printer.

    PRINT QUALITY

    It will take a complete replacement of the hotels for me to get prints I am happy with. The part cooling fan would be good also.

    BUILD QUALITY

    This printer is built well and solid. Just some questionable part choices.

    USER INTERFACE AND NAVIGATION

    I give the interface and navigation quite low rating, because you can’t-do fine control for movement because each click of the dial moves 3-4 positions. So if you want to move the axis .1mm you can’t unless you control it over USB. This seems very common with the knob style displays.

    VALUE FOR THE MONEY

    The current cost of this printer is $367. That would be a pretty good deal if the dual printing worked like I expected it to work.

    FINAL JUDGMENT: 5:/10

    I was very excited for a dual color printer. I will keep trying to get them to work because I see a use for it with dissolvable filaments as support for the figure I would like to print.

    Just in case you’re curios on the differences between different types of Geeetech printers, check out our Geeetech comparison chart.