Wanhao Duplicator i3 Plus (or... Learning to 3d print by a total newb) (Page 1 of 3)

Hi Tom!

I think your post is fine here.

Kind of funny, but when my significant other purchased our first one, I asked "why?" - then I got the bug, and got it bad! I was determined to make it do what I wanted it to do, and the reading, researching and modifications began... all starting with a bad USB trace on the controller board.

Fast forward about a year and a half - we now have 4, and recently sold one that didn't get used much. Of the 5 we have/had - 3 were kits, 2 are pre-builts, but they have been heavily modified. My favorite is still the first one, however, but that machine and I have been through a LOT together, LOL.

It seems it is a never ending learning process, but that is just fine by me, I crave knowledge like a junkie craves a fix. 3D printing satisfies both my technical/mechanical side and my artistic side - the best of both worlds all wrapped up into one machine.

oh, and I love your signature - I think you and I had the same tailor! LOL

Many in this hobby have more than one printer. Lots of reasons for multiple printers.
Wanting a better one/ upgrade.
Having a second printer to make parts to rear the other one.
Dedicated printer for different materials  saves hassles of changing materials .
Wanting to try experience various designs especial y delta vs cartesian .
Some people print to make a few bucks to feed the habit.
They are like potato chips hard have just one.
Talking to folks not uncommon to have 3 printers.

Tom when you get your printer learn to tune it and tune the software. Try to learn from it let it teach you what it needs to make good quality prints . A prusa may have some y wobble but you will not know until you try . I have not noticed any but a lot of my prints are not at all tall.  Every printer is different you need to learn it .
People of want to get a better printer instead of taking time to learn how to create better prints on the one in front of them.
Hope this helps
Tin

But there must be some sailboat part you just need to print . Not a distraction and UPGRADE......

Commercial machines are a whole different animal. They are good but the tweaking upgrading option is not really there . I have use of a nice ABS machine with a heated chamber.  it does a fantastic job on ABSplus . but the material is a lot more expensive and there is no material choice and limited color choice.

Part of the fun of this hobby is to push the limits and go beyond  but there are eventually  going to be a point where the effort and cost in time and money to make it better faster stronger   will be greater than the returns  and then likely time for a "better machine"

The hard part is knowing at what point does one push and tweak and experiment and at what point s the point of diminished returns.

Tin

sorry, i have been at work most of the day, and trying to work out a fix for one of my 4 printers, LOL (go figure)

as to why 4?

Well, 2 are pretty much the same, giving me double the output capacity (i make and sell "brain teaser" puzzles and do some custom printing on the side) - these 2 are Solidoodle 4 models (or were, anyway. they have been heavily modified). These are fully enclosed printers and capable of printing at high temperatures.

1 is a delta type - fascinating machines! I keep it around more for fun than anything. this one was a kit.

And the newest one is an "extra large" size - but it is a fairly new kit on the market, and as such has a few bugs to work out. (this is the one I am working on the 'fix' for)

The one I sold was a Prusa i3 model - similar to what you are getting, but in full kit form with the frame made of 2020 aluminum extrusion. It was the first kit we purchased, and I learned a lot from building it, but found that I didn't use it much and decided it should go to someone who will put it to use. The person I sold it to is quite happy with it and using it regularly.

for printing software, I much prefer using Repetier Host and Slic3r, but one does need to perform good calibrations to get the best results.

Hi Tom.

For simple, easier to learn, easy to use, 123D is probably the better choice over Blender.

I do use both, depending on what I am doing, but I had played with Blender prior to getting into 3D printing so had at least a working knowledge of it. Blender has a much steeper learning curve but is also a very powerful tool once you understand how it works.

for some great videos to learn the basics of 123D Design, I highly recommend these: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOZ-4b … sZQ/videos 123D does have some limitations, but for most needs it works quite well.

There are also some very good videos on YouTube to learn the basics of Blender as well, but yeah, I would learn these one at a time. Once you are comfortable with one, then work on adding the other.

Oh, and to save your work on your computer (instead of 123D's cloud server) when you go to save, use the "Save a Copy" selection, then "To my Computer", not the standard "Save".

just about time to get ready for work... Have a great day!

While I wait for the knock on the door to say my printer is here, this is a list of some of the books I have looked at so far ...

Idiot's guide to 3d printing by Cameron Coward. I good read, with a lot of common sense solutions to problems. Easy to read and understand.

Design For 3D Printing, by Samuel Bernier, Tatiana Reinhard and Bertier Luyt.  I could'nt get into this one at all, but there does seem to be a bunch of info there.

3D Printers, a beginners guide, by Oliver Bothman. A reasonable read with some good links to source files and resources.

I'm sure I will understand more of it all once I get to play.

Tom

Hi Heartless,

Until a week or so ago, I didn't even know how to spell 3d printer. The reading was to get an idea of hardware, software, recommended machines etc. I totally agree that if we had the exact same machines, they would not likely be "exactly" the same. I am ready for the tweaking and playing. I have 2 milling machines and a 9 x 20 lathe that came from the far east and they all required some tlc.

Speaking of tlc.  My machine has arrived. I sort of have it together. First problem is that the "A" electrical cable eas zip tied too tite in transport, and it has chafed quite badly. I have emailed my supplier and sent him a pic of the damage.

I will enclose the pic here as well. There seems to be a lot of slack in that cable and I have fine electronic solder and shrink tube in the required size. I am wondering if it would be prudent for me just to cut out the bad bit and slice/solder it together again for a permanent fix?

Edit In: On instructions from my supplier to just separate the cable at the chafe point and tape the wires, turn on and test.  Good news ... it works! No printing yet, but it hums and whirs and all of the axis move freely. He is getting a new cable to me next week.
Tom

Fantastic start  you probably need to tune a bit   but you are getting prints.

now you have the printer you may want to browse this link.

https://www.simplify3d.com/support/prin … eshooting/

tin

Yes, you would have a LOT more control using the computer and Repetier Host.

and Congrats on your first successful 3D print!

It does look like it is over-extruding a little judging by the roughness, but not bad for a first go.

in all honesty - "the best auto leveling system is the one that is not needed" (quoted from someone else here )

Once you get things dialed in well you really shouldn't need to mess with bed level much.

if you haven't done so yet, I recommend doing a bit of calibration - on both the printer and filament. It is best to do this with the printer hooked up to a computer, making any changes needed easier to do.

Here are a couple of blog posts I wrote that go into detail on how to calibrate for accurate prints.
Part 1: http://northwoods3d.weebly.com/blog/fil … ion-part-1
Part 2: http://northwoods3d.weebly.com/blog/-fl … coming-out

The information contained in those posts was mostly gleaned from the great folks here on Soliforum in bits and pieces scattered around, a little from other sources, and some of it being trial and error... I wanted to get everything together in one place and in a fairly comprehensive format to try to help others.

Hope you are having a great weekend! and we look forward to seeing more prints from you.

I just dont know, wardjr - they just pop up from time to time.

and thus far, I have seen no need for auto-leveling once I get things set right. (out of 5 printers so far - one of which has a fixed bed plate)

At the moment, all problems are solved. The replacement ribbon cable arrived yesterday by mail, so the one that was damaged in shipping is gone.

At first, the machine would not talk to a computer but I have managed to sort that that as well. Unfortunately it was the PC that got hooked up, but it will only be used if required as I will print from a card most of the time.

I am very pleased at this point with the print quality, but there is always room for improvement, so I will tweak a bit as I go. I feel like I have had this machine forever instead of just about 5 days.

I am nearly done with the brace kit, so once that is installed, there won' likely be any more mods to the machine as it will do what I got it for ... make another machine.

I just need to choose the one I want to do.

All in all, if someone is looking for an easy to use, pretty good quality out of the box, and in a mid range price, I can recommend the Wanhao Duplicater I3 Plus.  This machine is very quiet in use and quite solid.

I would like to Thank everyone here who helped me with answers to my questions. There will be more of them I am sure, but for now I am on my way.

Cheers

Tom