MakerFarm Prusa i3

Flexo wrap is a good product. I don't use it on the Repraps but I do use it for large scale entertainment technology installations and a bit for race vehicle fabrication. When you cut it use a hot knife or some other method to stop the edges from fraying. I'd get larger than 1/8" diameter. The larger it is the easier it is to feed the cable through. Flexo has a product that wraps around the cable and attaches as a sleeve with Velco style hook and loop, Flexo F6. There is also an F6 that is stiffer and doesn't use Velcro.

Another less expensive and more easily source from a local hardware or auto parts store is convoluted tubing, or "split loom" as it is known in some trades. [www.cabletiesandmore.com]

We get it from Markertek [www.markertek.com] but they only sell by the roll.

Took 2 weeks for me to get mine...1 week for him to get it ready and 1 week for UPS ground to get it here. I see as of yesterday, though, he's quoting a 2 week lead time to ship on his web site...looks like his business has picked up a bit.

p40whk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How long did it take to get your kit? I know Colin
> is pretty backed up but I need to pick up a few
> parts and make a clean area in my house to start
> the build so it would be nice to know an
> approximate lead time.

Thanks Congaree,

I wanted to order his simple spool holder but he was out of stock. Colin said his laser cutter was so backed up with i3 orders that he didn't know when he'd have the spool holders in stock.

I'm happy to see that his business is taking off. He seems to have a good quality kit at a very competitive price point. I just hope he doesn't get too swamped and his quality/service suffers. That's a problem when many small businesses grow really fast, being able to keep up with demand without hurting customer relationships.

I'm not in a huge jury but just like any kid on Christmas, the wait always sucks!


congaree Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Took 2 weeks for me to get mine...1 week for him
> to get it ready and 1 week for UPS ground to get
> it here. I see as of yesterday, though, he's
> quoting a 2 week lead time to ship on his web
> site...looks like his business has picked up a
> bit.
>

Got the 8" Prusa i3 built and running. Took my time building it, since this is my first effort. Took about half a day of tinkering (mostly because I didn't have a clue how to make this contraption work) and am now getting perfect ABS prints. Just finished my backup Greg's extruder gears, which look as good or better than the ones that came with the kit.

I can't compare this kit to others out there, since this is the first and only I've built so far, but it *just works* with much less effort than I thought it would take.

And yes, Colin patiently answered every question I put to him via e-mail, usually within minutes. He's good.

I consider this kit a total win.

p40whk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>I wanted to order his simple spool holder but he
> was out of stock. Colin said his laser cutter was
> so backed up with i3 orders that he didn't know
> when he'd have the spool holders in stock.

I got one a while back. The width fits the filament roll width he sells but it's too narrow for Ultimaker 1 kg rolls. Other than that it works well. I haven't yet modded it for the wider rolls but it won't be too difficult. I'll likely attach an A frame to it so it can take a variety of roll widths.

My 8" Prusa is making its way from the United States to Sydney, Australia right now. I bought it because I was impressed by the quality of the laser cut parts that was implied from the video. I'm also impressed that all I have to purchase is a plate of glass. I already had a suitable power supply that I had used in a CNC machine.

My only complaint right now is that there is no user manual for the completed machine. How do I connect it to a computer to load a G-code file for printing?

Also, SCENECT is a 64bit program. I have a 32bit computer ready to use, and don't want to buy another one.

Is there a 32bit program that does the same as SCENECT?

Old Man Emu

Start here [reprap.org]

Tool chain overveiw is here [reprap.org]. . That will give you the names of the various software and firmware for your printer.

Scenect is Faro's scanning software. Unless you have one of their scanners it's of no use. Even if you do have one there is a non trivial learning curve to be able to get,quality prints.

Thanks, Vegaloki. I have downloaded Pronterface and slic3r.

Does the graphic LCD controller come ready to plug and play, or does it have to be flashed?

Old Man Emu

LCD Is ready to plug and play....


I bought one of Prusa i3 from MakerFarm (8"), good communication but printer itself is very poorly designed and quality is also very bad. I bought UM and still isn't perfect...

New Makerfarm Prusa i3 had serious flaws in design (like inaccurate Z end stop, too far Y end stop (bed can't hit it unless you print new part which will move it close to bed), very poorly printed parts (I know that they are using some cheap 3D printers so quality won't be close to what I getting from Ultimaker BUT parts are cracking in half where bolts are coming through, too much material has to be removed to put it together (if it is too thick they should model not print god knows how many and count that client will sit for day and will cut through badly printed parts)...


Don't get me wrong Prusa I3 may be very good and cheap printer (very cheap, as UM costs around 2200$ as a kit with LCD and postage to UK, to US probably more), but quality of MakerFarm Prusa i3 is a disaster, manual is a disasters (some parts of manual are referring to outdated and changed parts so you need to figure it out for yourself)...

In next few days I will be changing most of those poor parts (not mention that first package contained skewed parts (cut under angle what made almost impossible to put it together))....

I didn't sent it back only because of postage costs which would be around 30% of total cost... Not worth it, better is to use all parts for new printer


Any way buy own parts from ebay but do not pay MakerFarm Prusa i3 8" unless you have time and you have another 3D printer so you can modify it....


If you want to know more please PM me, I can make photos and send it to you...

Looking at the basic I3 design, it seems to me that you only need 60% of the kit parts. You can make the frame as wide as you want, for whichever heated bed you decide on. You can make the frame as tall as you want, and just order smooth and threaded rods to match your height. The thing can easily be scaled up and down, then it's just firmware calibration and entering limits into your slicing software.

mike1986 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> parts (I know that they are using some cheap 3D
> printers so quality won't be close to what I
> getting from Ultimaker

It's unfortunate you didn't have a good experience. However, the claim that inexpensive printers can't produce prints the quality of your machine is wide from the mark. People print high quality parts that equal and in many cases surpass the quality of what any like preassembled machine can provide. People are using older i2s with great success as well as i3s, Mendel90, and many other variants. The key is in the building and the calibration. A properly built Reprap is every bit as capable as your machine.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2013 06:21PM by vegasloki.

I have just put together my MakerFarm Prusa I3 8" and it was almost straight forward.

I liked the kit quality, I had just one problem with a piece not well cut but I could manage to fix it in minutes.. Colin offered to send me new pieces my I'm in Brazil so it is not worth..

The only flaw I see is the instruction could be better.. I prefer following written instruction than videos.. but.. that's ok... some videos refers to other model (Prusa 6") so sometimes it maybe confusion..

Anyways, I liked the kit very much.. 9 of 10... written instructions with pictures and no issue parts would render 10 of 10. But again, the issue parts was small issues, I could fix in minutes...

I'm just having another problem.. I have ordered the Magma Hotend and it is supposed to run with a fan full time.. and this same fan cools my bed and warp my ABS prints.. I don't have the "magic" hairspray you american guys have to fix the print in the bed.. so far kapton tape is helping me..

Thanks..

Alex.

@AlexBorro glad to hear it went well. I'll be ordering one soon and will be excited to put it together. Besides the warping you mentioned, how are your first few prints?

drej

I have also assembled the makerfarm prusa i3 8" and would say most of the feedback here is pretty accurate. YouTube videos are provided for most of the build, but as mentioned sometimes an older variation or 6" model is shown which could lead to a bit of confusion. Luckily Colin is quick to reply to any question.

I can't say im a fan of the wood, and would probably switch to aluminum frame sometime in the future.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a successful print out of it. I'm using PLA and the magma hot end. The first layer isn't sticking to the bed well, then extrusion kinda just stops. The filament ends up getting stuck in the upper portion of the extruder, and requires disassembly to be able to yank it out hard enough. This is with a 190* extruder temp and 60* bed. I haven't tried ABS yet... but does anyone have any suggestions?

@drej, so far so good, but I have no experience at all with 3D printing, but I guess the 2 hollow calibration cubes I printed was pretty fine.. the first one warped a little bit and the second one, printed on kapton, has almost no warping (actually the cube corners warped 0.2mm only)..

Since this is my first printer, I could say the assemble is pretty straight forward... Bear in mind the PDF instruction has priority over videos, so if the PDF says to cut the belt at 26" and the video to 23", stick with 26"!!!

Check attached picture of the second cube with 0.2mm layer height.

BTW, I'm using the back ABS from MakerFarm and it has no smell at all.. recommended.

@dankarofl are you using the fan to cool the cold end??? I've heard clogging happens when the cold end is too hot and then the filament melts before the right point... Could someone please confirm whether my assumption is correct or not??

Alex.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2013 01:41PM by AlexBorro.

Yes, there was a fan included in the kit which I have always on.

It seems like others are having the same issue with the magma hot end. Exactly how my story goes.

[groups.google.com]

Perhaps someone can chime in if they are able to print PLA with the magma reliably.

A question about connecting the power supply. I have an ATX power supply from an old computer. I have worked on it and it will give me 12V.

The build pictures show 2 x pairs of yellow & black wires from a power supply being connected to the RAMPS board.

My questions:

1. How many 12V yellow wires have to be connected to the RAMPS board?

2. Does the RAMPS board drop one 12V input to 5V?

(My 8" kit has arrived in Australia, and should be at my local post office today or tomorrow. Wheee!

Old Man Emu

1) The RAMPS 1.4 has 2 power inputs: One for the heated bed (fused at 11A) and other one for the remaining electronics (fused at 5A).
So you need to supply BOTH inputs... you can use 2 pairs of yellow-black wires or jump one input to the other.

If you are gonna use a ATX PS, go for 2 pairs of supply...

2) Actually is not the RAMPS, but the arduino board underneath it... RAMPS send the input power to Arduino (from 6V to 20V) and this supply RAMPS with logic 5V. The heaters and step drivers are supplied with both 12V (to motors) and 5V (logic).

Best Regards.

Alex.

dankarofl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a
> successful print out of it. I'm using PLA and the
> magma hot end. The first layer isn't sticking to
> the bed well, then extrusion kinda just stops. The
> filament ends up getting stuck in the upper
> portion of the extruder, and requires disassembly
> to be able to yank it out hard enough. This is
> with a 190* extruder temp and 60* bed. I haven't
> tried ABS yet... but does anyone have any
> suggestions?

Start with the tried and true J-Head to get your head around what is required to print. it's not the sexiest piece of gear but it gets the job done. PLA has been problematic with other all metal hot ends besides the Magma. JollyGrimReaper has a lined version that is designed to make printing PLA more reliable.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2013 12:08AM by vegasloki.

@vegasloki

Thank you very much for the reply. I would still need a fan blowing on the j-head correct?

The only experience I have with 3d printing is using/maintaining a makerbot rep2, which prints exclusively in PLA. The hot end design is silimar to the magma, but uses an aluminum block on the cold end... with a huge heat sink and 40mm fan blowing directly in. After messing with my own I can see why it's there.

I would really like to use PLA, because I will be printing indoors. I hear burning ABS is toxic, or something.

My 8" printer arrived today. I'll be busy over the weekend putting it together. However, I will have to wait until I can get some ABS to do some actual printing.

Old Man Emu

I'm having a hard time printing ABS with this Magma End. Its cooler blows too much air enough to cools the print and bed, then warpings show up.
To be honest, I have ordered a new hotend, I'm just waiting it knock my door so I can put this magma aside.

Best Regards.

Alex.

Update to all.. I eneded up getting PLA to work with the magma hot end, but not without some modification.

I replaced the stainless piece with a machined PEEK piece. Since I will only really be printing PLA I don't think the temperatures will be an issue. I can't say I have much testing done other than a basic print on it but I did accidently leave the printer at 185deg C for around 6 hours without printing and the printer resumed extrusion without any issues.

I'll keep you guys posted.

My MakerFarm Prusa i3 8" printing:

[www.youtube.com]

I've updated my printer with latest Marlin firmware and did some updates. Attached is the source code.

1) X axis direction corrected: Now the 0 position starts on left as usual.

2) PID enabled for Bed and Magma 0.4. During all the print, the extruder temp has a max deviation of 0.2ºC (for 230ºC, it keep in range of 229.8º and 230.2ºC).

3) The Extruder cooler runs only when hotend temperature is over 50ºC. This makes less noise and helps the bed warming (since the cooler cools the bed as well). The cooler speed was reduced to 50%... then it makes less noise, less bed cooling and still works fine to avoid magma clogging.

You will need to small hardware changes:

1) The X endstop is now connected to X_MAX instead of X_MIN, since this sensor becomes the max position sensor (X = 200)

2) The extruder fan is connected to D9 port (between bed and extruder heaters). This port is configured to send a 50% duty cycle PWM when hotend temp is over 50ºC

Check a HD video I'm printing a Spool Support at double regular speed:
[www.youtube.com]

Now I'm porting an Auto Bed Leveling feature to Marlin. This feature makes the printer capable of adapt itself to a not level bed.. I mean, you can rise on side of the bed 1mm and the software will compensate such issue and the print will be fine.

BTW, guys here in Brazil are using PVC pipe glue over the bed... it creates a vinyl film that sticks the ABS like a hell!! And the print just pop off when cooled. You don't even need a heated bed with this glue..

Nice print there, you should make more of those videos ^^
always inspirates what i should do/make next on my printer ^^

I also use that for my spool atm, works like a charm,

Back to topic, if you wanna have a good printer bang on buck, just get the makerfarm,
But i would suggest a Jhead since that can do ABS and PLA,
When the magma seems to struggle, on PLA i have heard.

Also full metal hotends all kinda have there bugs,
If you wanna make those plastics that need more heat, get the magma, if you want PLA i wouldnt take that one.
Or if you know someone who actualy got it working on it, I can only say what i've read ^^

Also i use atm the speeds in cura as: 60 mm/s print speed, 80 infill.
I would never been able to get these speeds without some anti vibirating feet for on the prusa,
Now it has a way to escape. so less noise and less vibiration.
Before i had these pads my max speed was like 30 printing and 40 infill.

, atm still experimenting if it can go faster.


Only issue i've got is that i almost have to redo my calibiration every day,

This includes the carriage and z endstop.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/2013 05:24PM by luigi.

btw quick question, do your motors also get very hot?
if not how did you fix it,
Due well it seems mine stay hot and its normal but just as confirm ^^

It is normal to run a little hot.. mine use to be at 80ºC~85ºC while printing.

also just a small question,

Do you guys also need to recalibirate this machine alot?
In the Z and the carriage.

and the Z screw is getting quiet loose, its not like in the start that it had alot of grip (Yet i never seen it move when you compare it from start to end of a print)
But for that there is normaly a Thingiverse solution so thats no big deal i guess.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2013 01:39PM by luigi.

I purchased my Makerfarm I3 a couple of weeks ago and took two days to assemble it. I calibrated it and adjusted square etc on everything just as I would any machine tool. I have about 30-40 hours of printing on it and no problems. It did take me several hours to get good quality prints but that was all about my learning curve and not the machine. At about ten hours I retightened everything as some screws had loosened. I started with pronterface and slic3r and was improving my prints with each one but still struggleing. A few days ago I switched to Cura from David at Ultimaker. Cura made a world of difference. I struggled initially learning all of the programs and their relationship to the machine but Cura "cured" all of my problems! One other thing I did was switch to ABS slurry to keep my prints attached to the bed. I had plenty of early "failed attempts" to make the slurry from. I had no luck with the hair spray. I have come up with a small product for a niche market that I have been perfecting over the last week and I may actually be ordering a second Makerfarm if my little product actually sells. It is an excellent machine if you take the time to learn how to use it. Build the machine square and attach it firmly and it will do great prints.

I forgot to add: I have the Magma end and it has worked flawlessly but I only print in ABS.

I have evidence (as in a UPS confirmed tracking number) that they are now shipping in one business day. Ordered it Sunday and it shipped out mid afternoon Monday. Only disappointment so far is that UPS is going to get it here in a week rather than 4 days. Would have liked it to be here to beat on over the weekend.