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3d printer for rc parts

My cr-10 is absolutely great. However I follow two FB groups. One is a CR-10 group and one is a cr10/ender 3 group.


People in the cr-10/ender group are posting endless issues with tuning and various other complaints. Same group there is very little cr10 issues.


I have no experience with the ender, but just based on the feedback I would definitely spend the extra and get another cr-10.


I would definitely do plenty of homework before making a decision on an Ender.

I just recently got my Ender 3. First 3D printer. I've had no problems so far, and good prints. Proper setup is key.
As with complaints......its cheaper and probably selling better then the CR-10. So more people with no experience are buying them. That's a recipe for a lot of complaints or confusion.

Just my .02 cents.

Also "Creality Ender-3 3d printer user group" on facebook has a wealth of knowledge on the ender 3.
 
I ran across something interesting, been using Slic3r PE, assume it's the same with Slic3r. I had the G-Code flavor in the printer tab set to RepRap/Sprinter, discover that my PowerSpec Duplicator Id3 Plus was running Marlin so I changed it. Took me a while to notice but my prints changed and not for the better. Starting looking and tweaking to see what was happening by this time I had forgotten that I had changed the G-Code flavor. I had printed some tail-light bezels for my TonkaSummit. The ones I printed today the 1st layer was rough as has been other things I've printer latley. So I decided to compare the setting in the gcode to see what I had changed. This is when I discovered that the gcode was sending M commands to the printer. The gcode file where the print had the smooth as glass 1st layer wasn't sending any M codes to the printer. When using Marlin there is an item called Machine Limits where you can make changes, this does not show when set to RepRap/Sprinter.

So I compared the setting in Machine limits to the setting for the same setting in the eeprom. There was a BIG difference. The max acceleration, jerk and others were all much higher than what was in the eeprom. I'm making an educated guess here that is the issue. Haven't tried a print to see for sure.

So I'm thinking that I should leave the G-Code flavor set to Marlin as that is the firmware that I have and set the parameters in the Machine Limits to match the eeprom settings. That way if I need to make a minor adjustment for a filamant or part I could just do it in the slicer and not have to change it in the eeprom though it isn't that hard with Octoprint and the eeprom plugin. Is my thinking correct?
 
I feel that pain 100%!

I think you will like PETG though.


Made the switch last night. Used my .8 nozzle with the .8 layer profile I use for larger structural parts, at 80 degree bed and 230 degree nozzle.


Set off to level the bed, and wasnt getting the nice smush in my brim. After playing with the leveling, I got it ok but it seemed that the flow wasn't enough. Increases the flow to 110 in cura and tried again.



First print was a success, but I don't think it bridges as easily as PLA. Did a reprint using some support and the print came out perfect.


Tried the amazon basic PETG in black, which gave me a really nice matte finish. I really think I am going to like this material.


I just recently got my Ender 3. First 3D printer. I've had no problems so far, and good prints. Proper setup is key.
As with complaints......its cheaper and probably selling better then the CR-10. So more people with no experience are buying them. That's a recipe for a lot of complaints or confusion.

Good to hear, and your explanation does make sense.
 
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So I'm thinking that I should leave the G-Code flavor set to Marlin as that is the firmware that I have and set the parameters in the Machine Limits to match the eeprom settings. That way if I need to make a minor adjustment for a filamant or part I could just do it in the slicer and not have to change it in the eeprom though it isn't that hard with Octoprint and the eeprom plugin. Is my thinking correct?


Yep, spot on. You really shouldn't need to adjust those settings anyway unless you are getting very involved in fine tuning. As you found, it is easier for new machine settings to worsen the prints rather than improve.
 
I'm in the process of assembling a new 3D printer and I've found what I think is an issue with one of the stepper motors. When I rotate one of the Z axis stepper motors it has a stiff spot where it gets significantly more resistance for about 90 degrees of the rotation, the other motors are nice and smooth all the way around.

Is it worth finishing assembling the rest of the kit to see if it actually is an issue or should I just call it and ask for a new motor? I don't have any experience with stepper motors so is this acceptable?

The printer is a Prusa MK3 so I'm not too concerned about getting support.
 
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I'm in the process of assembling a new 3D printer and I've found what I think is an issue with one of the stepper motors. When I rotate one of the Z axis stepper motors it has a stiff spot where it gets significantly more resistance for about 90 degrees of the rotation, the other motors are nice and smooth all the way around.

Is it worth finishing assembling the rest of the kit to see if it actually is an issue or should I just call it and ask for a new motor? I don't have any experience with stepper motors so is this acceptable?

The printer is a Prusa MK3 so I'm not too concerned about getting support.
Ask for a new motor, IMO. With the precision required of these, you don't want any binding...

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Not RC, but here is Bugatti testing their 3D printed brake caliper.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hPkY8nBWxoU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
I have the DickyRC Woodsman trailer and my son quickly found the weak link with this trailer. when backing up The front tong area is very weak and cracks. I decide to make a 3d printed brace to go over the entire area. I found some gas cans on thingivers, so I added them for extra support. I plan on bolting it and gluing it.

Trailer1.jpg


trailer2.jpg


trailer4.jpg


trailer3.jpg
 
I started with a Monoprice Select Mini V2. It worked fine at first but it needed some upgrades, notably the rigid heated bed wires that eventually failed from fatigue because the wires were too stiff. I rewired it all with RC-grade braided battery wire (with a lot of slack) and it has been awesome ever since. It's a small bed at 120mm x 120mm but it just works. The only other thing I have done to it is print an extended control dial because it really needed it.

My next printer purchase was a Creality Ender 3. I love this thing and with only a few upgrades (filament guide and fan shroud) it has been flawless for like a thousand hours. Recently however I tried to print with PETG at a bed temp of 70C and it seems I have blown the bed temp control MOSFET. I'll see if I can just solder in a new MOSFET otherwise I will need to buy a new control board. At 250mm x 250mm I have seldom wanted to print anything with a bigger footprint so its a great size unit for RC enthusiasts.
 
So I wanna get into this and have been doing my research and I've decided on the Creality ender 3, but where I'm a little fuzzy is about what laptop I should get and what software I need? I don't plan on designing anything at least at first but probably not, all I wanna do is just print things I like from online. I've been away from Windows since at least 2012 and I don't really wanna spend more than $200 for a computer, the only use it will be getting is for the printer. Any suggestions for a laptop and software? Thanks in advance"thumbsup"
 
So I wanna get into this and have been doing my research and I've decided on the Creality ender 3, but where I'm a little fuzzy is about what laptop I should get and what software I need? I don't plan on designing anything at least at first but probably not, all I wanna do is just print things I like from online. I've been away from Windows since at least 2012 and I don't really wanna spend more than $200 for a computer, the only use it will be getting is for the printer. Any suggestions for a laptop and software? Thanks in advance"thumbsup"

Do you have any computer at the moment?

At a minimum, you would need a slicer software that converts the design files into g code which sets the printer's movements. Cura, Simplify3D, and Slic3r are the most popular options and all 3 are available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. I would guess Cura and Slic3r are more popular since they are free. The Ender 3 should come with a preconfigured version of Cura in the box, although it is likely several versions behind the current release.

From personal experience, Cura runs fine (although a bit slowly) on my cheap 6 year old HP Windows laptop. I have used Slic3r a few times and that seems to run fine too.
 
Do you have any computer at the moment?



At a minimum, you would need a slicer software that converts the design files into g code which sets the printer's movements. Cura, Simplify3D, and Slic3r are the most popular options and all 3 are available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. I would guess Cura and Slic3r are more popular since they are free. The Ender 3 should come with a preconfigured version of Cura in the box, although it is likely several versions behind the current release.



From personal experience, Cura runs fine (although a bit slowly) on my cheap 6 year old HP Windows laptop. I have used Slic3r a few times and that seems to run fine too.
I just have a old Dell running Vista, tried installing Cura last night but wouldn't run.
 
Ive been looking at a couple refurbs running Windows 10 4gb ram but only like 32g storage, I do have a terabyte external that I can use with it, would that work? I don't care about surfing with it, I use Chromebook or iPad for that.
 
Ive been looking at a couple refurbs running Windows 10 4gb ram but only like 32g storage, I do have a terabyte external that I can use with it, would that work? I don't care about surfing with it, I use Chromebook or iPad for that.

The 4GB of RAM is going to be the killer. That's the absolute minimum spec and I would think it's going to be very slow with larger models. You can see more specs here: https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/51943-installation-ultimaker-cura
 
32GB of storage and 4GB of RAM are like the bare minimums for 10. DDR3 is stupid cheap these days, I'd never sell a computer configured that low, and I'd be wary of anyone trying to...

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Yeah I checked that yesterday, I also found a Dell desktop for business that I think I seen had 8gb ram but running Windows 7, only $150
You can upgrade Win 7 to Win 10 for free. Free upgrade program still works, they never actually shut it down.

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