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Post by Marathonman on May 4, 2023 9:55:28 GMT -6
I realized last night that I do not have a power supply large enough to handle the upgrades on my Ender 3 pro. The bed alone is 250 watts plus the heater with just those two it is right at 300 watts. This is not even including the board, stepper motors, LCD display ect..ect. The original power supply on the Ender 3 pro is surprisingly low at 270 watts (How Sad Creality) so it is way to small. Even the Ender 3 Neo has a 350 watt power supply allowing for some upgrades at least.
I just ordered a 450 watt 24 volt power supply for my printer beast which will be here tomorrow with my 250 watt Gulf Coast Robotics cast Aluminum heater bed coming in today. My SKR board package upgrade is on it's way and might get here next week. It will be fun upgrading the printer as will upgrading the firmware. I have never done a firmware upgrade on a printer before so this should be interesting. The stock firmware for the SKR Mini v3 is fairly new like maybe one version behind in the Marlin. At least it is in the 2.0 range so I might not do a firmware rebuild as of just yet. I will do the upgrades, get the printer printing great then slowly work on the newest Marlin firmware upgrade.
The power supply is big enough to install some LED lights above the printers coming on when I power the printer allowing me to actually see what I am doing (Blind as a bat) lol!
All in all this is a fun project with the end result having a printer that can print any kind of plastic known which will be very nice. The best part of it all is having a board that has a boot loader installed allowing for a refresh of the firmware without jumping through massive hoops (Creality).
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 4, 2023 13:29:02 GMT -6
Just wanted to show people just how cheap Creality is and why their beds are warped from the factory. I just received my GCR cast Aluminum bed and wanted to show you the difference. This bed is amazing and twice the thickness as the stock crap. I will surely be happy with this purchase and then some. No more warped bed, like .... forever lol!
This bed is so amazing I might get another for my Ender 3 Neo. Of course the heavy duty bed springs I have coming will surely help
Now I can't wait for the other parts to arrive. The really sad thing about it is the Creality hot bed Mat is 220 watts which is amazing then they turn around and saddled with the crappy thin warped Aluminum bed unfortunately then cap the C rating at 100 to 110 C. This is the definition of stupid if you ask me shooting themselves in the foot or IE... screwing over their customers. The Ender 3 Pro is capped at 110C while the Ender 3 Neo is capped less at 100C.
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 4, 2023 15:19:10 GMT -6
I just couldn't wait, I am like a kid in a candy store or Christmas day. I ripped open the box then installed it, holy crap this bed looks good. I heated it up to the max the printer firmware would let me for now which is 110 C. Perfect and did not change a thing yet as is PID setting or nothing. Just right to 110C no problem yet the power supply was screaming lol!
I couldn't be happier with the 24v 250 watt Gulf Coast Robotics Cast Aluminum bed and will definitely buy again for my Neo
EDIT; All Electronics has a 650 watt 24 volt power supply for the same price I paid for the 450 watt. I should of bought that even though I know it is overkill but a way better price for the money. I still might buy one for the beast and use the 450 for the Neo when I upgrade later.
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 5, 2023 10:39:17 GMT -6
You gotta love Mouser's service, sure they are a little higher priced as some electronic suppliers but their shipping is amazing. I ordered the 450 watt 24 volt power supply yesterday and just received it pulling it out of the box snapping a pic to show. Power is no longer an issue for the beast printer lol!
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 10, 2023 8:53:02 GMT -6
I could not find a cover for this 450 watt power supply anywhere on the net so I downloaded one from Thingverse then had to upscale three times to fit. I then had to cut here and there for it to fit properly with the end results being okay. I had to sand the part in a few spots so I am thinking of painting it. It works well and now the beast power supply has a cover at least. Still waiting on parts that are slow boat from China lol!
I will be modifying it further as well as my Neo printer power supply. I will be modifying the case for a Noctua silent 120 fan that pushes more CFM yet way less noise.
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 14, 2023 12:47:06 GMT -6
Printed out some speaker brackets I need. What amazes me is these little things were printed all at one time together with the pin also. It was a little hard to crack them loose but when I did the operate so well. The good thing is these can be up scaled the size of the bed of need be so these little things are or will be very handy. I will use them as a mount for my Neo pixel lights I am installing on my printer. SKR mini has a 5 volt Neo pixel connector on the board it self so how cool is that. I printed these with Ultimaker Cura 5.3.1 ABS at .2mm standard Q 40% infill @258c with a bed temp of 100C. I tried to break these with all my might and no way did they even think about busting. I even stomped it on the floor, nope not even a scratch. these things are tough.
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 15, 2023 15:35:58 GMT -6
I printed out a part last night being a camera mount on my new Spider at 260C and new bed at 110C. Good god that thing looked beautiful and printed so nice. I had cranked the print speed up to 100mm and that hot end just shined. The print was perfect until I tried to get it off the bed It took me 5 minutes to get that thing off it stuck so well with ZERO warpage. I lined the new bed with Kapton tape then cover with an ABS slurry with the bed at 90C. I then bed level it with BLTouch then print. SO nice to have things turn out good for a change
See I bought the cheapest direct drive unit from Creality then swapped out the hot end for the 500C Spider and a 50 watt heater. I had to modify the fan case by cutting the top on both sides then just peeling it up to make room for the larger hot end and wiring. Sounds really cheap but hell it worked and works very well with no heat creep at all. I printed for hours last night at 260C with the hot end printing like it meant it.
I am looking for a high temp Borosilicate glass bed but crap they are scarce.
I am going to move my new bed to the Neo and purchase a new GCR cast bed but a bare bed because I am getting a Keenovo 450C 350 watt heat bed pad. I found an adhesive called Pliobond HT-30 that is good to 500F 260C so my beast printer will never ever have to worry about a hot enough bed again. I will cap the bed in the firmware at 200C and never have another problem again plus I will be able to print almost anything I want.
Next up lighting system lol!
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 16, 2023 16:19:19 GMT -6
Well my honest opinion is that two years ago BTT SKR E3 V3 was much better but after doing more research I find a lot of issues being left open. I contacted BTT about their lack of commitment and let them know what I thought of their lack luster performance concerning firmware updates. It has been two years since this board came out and almost the same for the 35TFT yet has so many firmware issues. The TFT is run in cr10 compatibility mode because they are to damn lazy to do a firmware upgrade for all the features. Two years ago Creality and others were at 8 bit boards so Yes, it "WAS" better. Now in 2023 having a printer board at 64 mhz is just plane bull shit milking people for their money. Same with Creality, milking it's customers for all they are worth BOTH China companies, Imagine that!. Hell their TFT35 3.0.1 runs a 120mhz chip which is twice as fast as their SKR series boards Doh figure!
I actually regret purchasing the board now but I have to roll with it. I just wish someone with the MX 1076 would step up to the plate and blow everyone out of the water. The 1076 is duel core so the possibilities of a printer and print server in one is very enticing lol! For now I am taking the Gulfcoast Robotic heater bed and switching it to the Neo then purchasing a bare Gulfcoast Robotics cast bed then installing a Keenovo 350 watt 24v heater bed with a 250C thermal safety switch.
Funny Keenovo had the Ender 3 upgrade heater already on their site but some clown had designed the wires coming off the wrong side of the bed. It was off the right side instead of the left side as the stock heaters are. They said no problem changing so it looks like a 24 volt is in the makings. I might even do a 120V and an SSR to the board, will think about that one.
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 18, 2023 17:43:58 GMT -6
Newest addition to the beast printer a filament run out sensor from BTT. The print was fantastic at only .2 standard. I printed it at 258C initial layers then at 255 with a bed temp of 100C. I flipped over the glass plate printing on the flat side with standard Kapton tape and a ABS wash. Part stuck so good I had to peel the tape and the wash off first then work it with a removal tool. I think a little work is good for a fantastic printed part. Professional Nail polish remover 100% Acetone is my friend at only 2 bucks a big bottle lol!
Dealing with firmware is a total bitch but I will get it soon. New BTT SKR E3V3 board is installed along with all the other goodies now just building firmware Marlin 2.1.2.1 just released which fixed a ton of bug fixes. Now if I can just get the TFT 35 working completely I will be in hog heaven lol! Main problem on that is firmware of the TFT and Marlin. Both are guilty of dropping the ball but mostly BTT 's lackluster firmware.
Sensor will be mounted off the top gantry next to the spool holder. This thing fit like a glove with no mods this time. Props to the designer lol!
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 18, 2023 22:31:28 GMT -6
It is very hard to find real Borosilicate glass for your printer. People an Alibaba and Amazon are getting ripped off by suppliers on these platforms supplying regular glass as borosilicate glass. Their plate are shattering after 5 or so uses.
Borosilicate Glass This type of glass was invented in 1887 by SCHOTT founder Otto SCHOTT. By adding a high proportion of boron oxide to silicon oxide, as an additional network former in a glass melt, borosilicate glass acquires several outstanding properties that make it ideal for demanding technical applications.
Due to its composition, borosilicate glass has a number of remarkable technical properties. Thanks to its outstanding chemical durability, this special glass was used early on in chemical laboratories as the preferred material. Compared to soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass exhibits significantly increased scratch and abrasion resistance. The high thermal resistance allows this material to withstand extreme and fluctuating temperatures. At the same time, its high transmission and optical clarity provide excellent visual quality. 445° F
Another name for it is Pyrex which is basically Boroxilicate glass which these guys from above did NOT get, buyer beware and steer clear of those sorry ass companies.
I found a supplier for your 3D printer but not custom sizes. Borosilicate link. I have one coming for my beast printer. 445° F is 220C which is right at 200C where I want my bed to get to. If I had an enclosure for my print bed I could bake cookies with the new heater I have coming. Now that's what I call a cookie cutter of a deal lol!
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 20, 2023 13:59:14 GMT -6
Having serious issues with the SKR mini E3V3 board. I have a filament sensor and BL Touch and can't use them because I can't update the firmware at all. I have tried three different SD cards and multiple firmware packages with no luck. Then on top of all that the TFT is no longer operating as it should even with a new firmware update. Need to send it back but dealing with another MIA company in China is not fun. They don't answer emails at all.
What I had to do to get it working properly is remove Bl touch, Sensor then reinstall Z stop switch. I manually leveled the bed then kapton tape with an ABS wash then printed. Print turned out nice and printer is absolutely dead silent except for hot end and power supply fans. Those will soon get upgraded to silent ones..
All in all I am quite pissed at BTT especially about the firmware but then again I have a printer I can't even hear now even more quiet then the Neo. Also what is not funny is Creality sent a 275 thermister with their 500C spider hot end. I am furious to say the least and have emailed them yet again on their sorry business model of screwing customers.
Edit; At least I finally got the TFT in Marlin mode to work. I was so mad because it kept going into the choice screen between Marlin/Touch screen. No matter what I did it wouldn't stay put so finally feed up and furious I tried to break it by cramming my finger into the screen on the marlin logo and Viola it popped up and been working sense. Lovely equipment BTT. It still will NOT take new firmware but at least I can print now but manually leveling the bed which is a bitch lol!
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 23, 2023 13:42:01 GMT -6
Many BTT SKR Mini issues.
First off the TFT is non functioning even after a firmware update, stays on the Marlin/Touchscreen menu again. I was finally able to get the SKR mini to except firmware which was against all advice except one. Everyone has been saying use firmware.bin yet it continuously did not update. after almost a week I was getting very frustrated to say the least. I came across a post that said use just firmware and I thought bull shit but hey I was desperate. I renamed the file firmware and I will be a scalded dog the darn thing updated and the firmware was renames to FIRMWARE and Cor. To think some random person had this right when the sorry BTT would offer absolutely NO HELP.
The BL Touch still does not work though so actually the updated firmware was useless. The firmware did not include the filament sensor so that is useless also. So I am stuck learning Platform io in hopes to update my printer to be able to use the sensor and the BL Touch. As for now it was manual bed leveling and even then the print sucked with issues. Back to the drawing board.
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on May 28, 2023 16:40:38 GMT -6
I still have issues with the new equipment and even had a blue screen of death from mriscoc firmware but luckily i had firmware from haqbany that brought it back to life. The BLtouch works now but the filament sensor does not as that was not enabled in the firmware and the tramming is all screwed up. I did print another filament sensor bracket as I did not like the other as it stuck out to far. At least I have the Neo to use while I work out the bugs. TFT still does not work in touch mode, it refuses to talk to the board even though it is enabled in the firmware. TFT was updated as well. As I learn about Platform Io I will adventually compile my own.
Although Haqbany is working on an updated version with the new 2.1.2.1 Marlin so that should be exciting. He calls it version 5.0 and it will have all the bells and whistles enabled for many boards. I think a good Idea would be source code hello!
Here is a shot of the new filament sensor bracket that clips on the frame n fits perfectly.
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on Jun 2, 2023 16:47:17 GMT -6
Received two new quiet 92mm fans to replace the power supply fans on the printers.. The 450 watt one sounded like a jet engine so now it is much more quiet. I also printed a 90 degree duct to direct the air backwards and to quiet it even more. The loudest fans are now the hot end fans so maybe in the future I will install larger ones that are more quiet. Bad news is the flashing of the firmware killed my BL Touch on the ender 3. This is the one with the SKR Mini E3V3 I just upgraded to. I verified it was fried by taking the Neo BL Touch and swapping it over and yep it is dead. I have had nothing but trouble with this new board and almost wished I had never bought it.
Edit, Shroud finished and installed.
I have the Ender 3 Pro shroud done and installed and am printing the shroud for the Neo as I speak. It will be done in three hours or so then I will install it. Like I said these fans made one hell of a difference.. I can even hear the fan for the board on the bottom of the printer more then these. Nice.
Oh!, and yes I did take the power supply covers off and cut the hole bigger to accommodate the larger fan. I also had to cut and solder the two pin on the three pin larger fans. I cut like 6 inches off the pigtail, soldered, shrink tubing then installed. WOW!. i can hear myself think now lol!
Regards, Marathonman
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Post by Marathonman on Jun 17, 2023 13:05:41 GMT -6
After a month of trying to get the TFT 35 From BTT to work I finally am disgusted and threw it in the trash. The company BTT and BIQU are frauds raping people which is no better then Creality. I have gotten the SKR mini E3V3 bugs worked out and am finally printing with the old display working just fine. I also with the help of two amazing people on Marlin Discord the other night I can now compile my own firmware. I am presently working on the 2.1.2.1 new Marlin that just came out which will have all the newest bells and whistles enabled which will be nice. When I am finished with the new firmware I will be able to print at 450C with a bed temp of 200C which can then print any such thing I need on this planet. Right now the printer will print 275C hot end and 150C bed temp. Nylon and other need 260C hot end and like 160C bed temp so I am excited to get there.
Regards, Marathonman
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