Back in the day…
When I was a kid (back in the 80’s), I used to come home from school and watch
a great TV show about future technologies. I don’t remember the name of the
show, but it had some interesting ideas. One of those ideas was this notion of
having your own miniature manufacturing machine in your home that could make
anything with plastic. I had seen my first 3D printer, and I’ve wanted one
since then.
The printer
Geeetech i3
Pro B MK8 (Prusa Clone)
A few weeks ago, I received my first 3D printer in the mail. I ordered the
Geeetech i3 Pro B clear acrylic model from
eBay.
I decided to go with this printer based off of a few comments that were made
in this YouTube video from “Design. Prototype. Test.”:
Assembly
When it arrived, I got started putting it together. There was no assembly
instruction manual included with the printer, but there was a very thorough
parts list and a link to a PDF containing the assembly instructions. Within
the PDF, there were links to YouTube videos for many of the assembly steps, so
assembly was easy (to me).
This kit isn’t for the beginner. It requires a lot of thinking and problem
solving. If you want a printer that you can just take out of the box and start
printing after a few minor adjustments, you’ll want to spend a bit more money
and go with a Creality CR-10 or other such commercial printer. This kit was
less than $200, but you’ll spend the difference in the time it takes to get it
up and running effectively. It’s a trade off between time and money. I really
enjoy tricky and puzzling endeavors, so this was the perfect kit for me.
It took me about 5-6 hours to put it together as I went slowly to make sure I
didn’t overlook anything. There’s a lot of information about this printer on
the web, but you have to search Google and Facebook to find it. Once located,
there are many people who can help you with your assembly if you should run
into any problems. I ran into a few beginner issues that I quickly solved by
simply searching for the solution on YouTube or Google.
There were some mechanical issues that I ran into. One interesting problem
required the use of fire. One of the drive belt pulley housings was too tight
for the wheel to move freely, so I had to apply outward pressure on one side
while applying heat to the joint. When it cooled, the pulley would move freely
between the two edges. Here’s a picture of how I had to hold it with a pair of
pliers while applying the heat:
Engineering
at its finest
Assembling the printer was very rewarding. It was really neat to see it come
together as I progressed through the steps.
The printer
base with bed
Fan
assembly
Post-build learning
After I had the printer built, I started down the path of actually learning
how to use it. I had already watched quite a few videos about 3D printing, but
I wasn’t sure exactly how to get started.
One of the resources I used was the Geeetech i3
Wiki.
Here’s the basic workflow that I discovered:
- Find a 3D model to print – I decided to use a 20mm calibration cube as my first print because it was big enough to have some substance, but small enough to manage.
- Download the software – You’ll need at least two pieces of software in order to print your model: a Slicer and a printer host (unless you’re using the SD card approach – which I’m not). I downloaded the Repetier Host from Geeetech that is made specifically for this printer. This includes the other piece of software that you’ll need: a Slicer. However, I never could get the included slicer (Slic3r) to work, so I ended up downloading the latest version of Ultimaker Cura. Cura worked right away for me after an hour or so of failed prints using Slic3r.
The slicer software will convert the 3D model into G-Code, which is the code
used by the printer to know the x, y, z, and extruder coordinates to use when
printing an object. There are a lot of settings to work with to get your
prints working. Each printer is different and each printer/filament
combination will require adjustments to temperatures.
My filament was Inland 1.75mm black
filament
at $20.99 for a kilogram. It has a recommended temperature range of 205°-225°
Celsius. I’ve found that running it at 216° is what works best for my printer.
I keep my print bed heated to 60° (all future temperatures will be expressed
as Celsius).
Results
Here is the evolution of my first four prints.
Top left: My first attempt at using Slic3r. As you can see, I had no luck with
this. I didn’t really know what I was doing and the Slic3r is not inuitive.
I got a little better and had better results with the top right “cube”.
Bottom left: This was my first print using the Cura slicer. Still not good,
but at least I got a whole cube this time.
Bottom right: my second print with Cura (and fourth overall print). I had
better layer adhesion because I adjusted my extruder temp from 200° to 210° (I
had not yet experimented with the temperatures to find the target temp for
this filament). I got a good cube, but the top of it was rough because I was
not using a part cooling fan.
Expanding the printer
That leads me to the next topic: Expansion. I bought this printer because it
is a great candidate for upgrading. It’s easy to print replacement parts and
parts to improve the print performance of the printer. The first part I wanted
to print was a part cooling fan. This allows you to print longer bridges
(where the printer prints into “thin air” between two edges). It makes much
nicer edges, as well.
First fan
housing
After many failed attempts at a perfect part cooling fan housing, I was able
to find the perfect one by contributing to the “Design, Prototype, Test”
Patreon campaign. As a
contributor, he gives you access to designs that he’s personally created for
various 3D printers that he owns. He’s created a few parts for the Geeetech i3
Pro B as well as a custom firmware upgrade that adds support for a sensor that
allows for auto bed leveling.
Part cooling
makes a difference. The cube on the left was printed with the part cooling fan
attached. The one on the right had no part cooling. As you can see, the
bridges of the top did not print correctly and the plastic dropped down into
the cube on the right.
Here’s a fan cover that I printed:
Bed leveling
The print bed must be perfectly level before starting to print. That’s the
main issue I’ve had so far. By level, I don’t mean putting a level on the bed
and adjusting it. It must be level relative to the X and Y axes. Bed leveling
is an involved process and it’s hard to get it right. It’s probably my least
favorite task, but every printer owner has to do it.
Bed adhesion
Once the bed is level and the temperature is correct, the next thing to manage
is bed adhesion. This is the ability of your print to stay attached to the bed
while printing. The first layer is the most critical layer. I’ve had most of
my prints fail on the first layer. Many people use different surfaces to print
on, but I’ve had good luck just printing onto the glass surface of my printer
without the need for glue stick or hair spray. I have had to use a brim (a
single layer of plastic about 8mm wide that attaches to the item much like the
brim of a hat).
Z-Axis Banding
Perhaps the biggest problem after first layer adhesion has been z-axis
banding. That’s when there are visible bands along the z axis on the print. I
printed some specialized adapters that modify the printer to eliminate most of
the banding issues, but I still have a major issue where my prints are showing
major weakness at about 50mm high. It is visible below the white film on the
head of the Darth Buddha figure shown here (the white film is glue residue
from where I had to glue the head back on):
Justification
One of the main reasons I wanted to get a 3D printer was to print enclosures
for my electronics projects. I was able to find a great enclosure for my Mojo
FPGA. It printed out in two parts and used standard M3 screws and nuts.
I was still having temperature issues with my extruder when I printed this, so
the first few layers didn’t extrude properly, giving me some imperfections in
the top layers. However, I am pretty happy with how this turned out overall.
The Mojo now
has a home
Custom Items
Another exciting aspect of 3D printing is the idea that I can make my own
items. I needed a coat hook for my cubicle at work, so I measured out the
space. I came home and accessed Tinkercad to create
my first item for 3D printing. Version one of my coat hook was too big and a
bit on the ugly side. So, I remeasured using digital calipers. Version 2 was
much nicer looking and fits the space perfectly. It even holds my coat!
Coat Hook v1 (ugggly)
Coat Hook v2 – Perfect!
Conclusion
This has been an exciting journey for me. I’ve really enjoyed learning about
3D printing and assembling my own printer from just a big pile of parts. It’s
very satisfying to see it spitting out usable objects. While frustrating at
times, the hobby has been an overall joy. I highly recommend 3D printing to
anyone with a creative spirit that doesn’t mind a little bit of a challenge.
The rewards are there.
I leave you with “Darth Buddha”
An hour of live 3D printing of part of the Darth Buddha figure