Electron 3D - Sixth Generation Prusa i3 Anyone?

Interesting follow up on this, just to show how disreputable 3dprintersonlinestore.com is, this is their response to my dispute.......


."--I have no record of any emails from Mr. Rogers for help or replacement parts for the printer kit. The upgrades are priced to cover materials and repackaging of kits - the auto-leveling upgrade is more than just a sensor - there is no mention of any additional heater size for the bed - it is an usable increase in the print bed area. Most of the claims seem to be an attempt to obtain the printer at a heavy discount in price. Apparently he is using the printer.--"


A dozen plus emails, accompanied with very clear, high resolution photos of the defective parts.

To anyone considering purchasing from this company, beware, there are better options and vendors who are actually reputable.

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FirstAvenger
To anyone considering purchasing from this company, beware, there are better options and vendors who are actually reputable.

EXACTLY, one place that I was going to order from was Robot Shop. They have been around a long time and I have purchased several things (robot stuff) from them. Good service and support. And the Afinibot is a better built machine, just check out the pictures at Afinibot A3. The only thing that made me go with 3dprintersonlinestore was price and you got a roll of filament for free, that's it. Would I have known that their reviews have been tampered with to show only the good ones and that their service and support was nonexistent, I would have paid the extra. Live and learn.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2015 09:35AM by dburas.

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D3

Thanks for the robot shop link, I'll check them out. Sounds like they have other interesting things I might be interested in.

As for the ordeal I went with at 3D Printers online, technically, the kit only cost me 115.00, plus what I have spent on replacement parts. Several of those parts I would have purchased as upgrades anyway, like the all aluminum extruder carriage, and the borosilicate print bed. I'm also contemplating getting optical stops to replace the mechanical stop switches, but everyone seems to be out of opticals at the moment.

300.00 of the cost of the printer kit came from me getting some people into a theme park on my personal pass, which really cost me nothing to do, so I'm not as steamed about the situation as I would be if I had been out 415.00. I guess that is the downside to internet shopping, you really need to check out vendors you don't know, and honestly, I should have been leery of buying sommething from China anyway.

So last night, I continued working towards my first attempt at a print with this, I found an awesome liquid leveling app on the Google Play store, which basically allowed me to level the bed with a single setting instead of measuring from different areas of the bed. placed phone in the middle of the bed, then adjusted the screws until all 4 corners were perfectly centered. I was getting readings that flucuated slightly between -0.1 degrees to 0.1 degrees, with the app flashing when it hit 0.0 which meant it was perfectly flat from all sides. so I'm happy about that, and it was pretty easy to have it dialed in in less than 3 minutes.

I'm going to try to flash the latest Marlin firmware that I downloaded, supposedly with large print area and autolevel parameters. Still not finding instructions on how to do that exactly, but i'll get it figured out hoepfully before I have to go to work tonight.


looking forward to printing my first cube

Hello, I m trying to find informations about these cheap sixth generation Prusas as I m willing to buy my first reprap.
For large printing areas here are the 3 cheapers :
[www.3dprintersonlinestore.com]
[www.3dprintersonlinestore.com]
[www.3dprintersonlinestore.com]

If I understand, you bought the first one with large build area expansion. Is it right ?
+200 $ crap-replacement items
It looks like you had a lots of problems for a "sixth" generation kit.. after 6 version they should be selling propper kits..


What about the MaxMicron versions ? aluminium kits ?

Thank you

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2015 12:48AM by allibgbg.

Quote
allibgbg
Hello, I m trying to find informations about these cheap sixth generation Prusas as I m willing to buy my first reprap.
For large printing areas here are the 3 cheapers :
[www.3dprintersonlinestore.com]
[www.3dprintersonlinestore.com]
[www.3dprintersonlinestore.com]

If I understand, you bought the first one with large build area expansion. Is it right ?
+200 $ crap-replacement items
It looks like you had a lots of problems for a "sixth" generation kit.. after 6 version they should be selling propper kits..


What about the MaxMicron versions ? aluminium kits ?

Thank you

I wouldn't buy any of them from 3dprintersonlinestore. You will notice not a lot of people on this and other websites are not happy with their purchases. The quality of the build is pretty good, support there is none, replacement parts good luck, being price gouged for upgrades that cost almost a penny on the dollar, give a bad review it gets deleted, and so on. There is plenty of different places selling out there.

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D3

definitely listen to dburas here......

I found a lot of people on forums with similar complaints to mine. I suspect they build these as needed, and if they rush, parts don't fit. And as people have said, if you have a problem, don't count on help. The minute I asked for replacement parts or refund of defective items, they stopped responding completely, then claim I never contacted them.

You can find these kits from reputable local dealers. Newegg.com has this kit for 300.00, standard version. Want the large print area? BUY THE PLATE YOURSELF!!!!! you'll save money and get a better platform. I got screwed 60.00 for a poorly drilled ill fitting aluminum plate that costs 5.00 at a metal shop.

newegg will actually refund or exchange items if there si a problem. They won't try to screw you and if you are in the USA, you only have to wait a few days.

Do your research... you'll be glad you did.

Yes I m already glad having found this topic

So, I dont understand..
larger printing area is just about making the bed bigger ?
What about the electronic config ? I mean, does the brain not need to know he now have a bigger space to moove the extruder into ?

btw I m from Europe, if you know a good website to shop for a under<330$ prusa.. I m looking for it

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allibgbg
Yes I m already glad having found this topic

So, I dont understand..
larger printing area is just about making the bed bigger ?
What about the electronic config ? I mean, does the brain not need to know he now have a bigger space to moove the extruder into ?

You configure it in the software. You suplly the dimensions of the print area, pretty simple.

What is the max size a simple prusa like yours can be boosted ?

Can it be "infinitely" extended this way ? like.. 700mm ?

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allibgbg
Can it be "infinitely" extended this way ? like.. 700mm ?

Technically you could make a 3d printer as big as you want but you would be limited to how much money you want to spend. You're talking about needing to heat that big pad. Bigger components and other things. You would also have to speed the system up depending upon how larger you make it.

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D3

225mm x 290mm would be pretty much the max with the kit, just based on the frame limitations. It would be physically impossible to go larger without doing a custom construction from the ground up.

Did you saw my attachment jpeg ?
It would be these 4 metal bars + double the bed and heating system + change to longer timing belt

Is this right ?

Did you saw my attachment jpeg ?
It would be these 4 metal bars + double the bed and heating system + change to longer timing belt

Is this right ?

More or less. Of course I'd assume youd want a wider unit as well, to make a larger area. This would only give you long thin print areas.

Something like the Lulzbot Taz 5, which has a 12"x12"x12" print area would be more practical I'd think.

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allibgbg
[attachment 65389 reprap-mendel-prusa-i3-kitcopy.jpg]Did you saw my attachment jpeg ?
It would be these 4 metal bars + double the bed and heating system + change to longer timing belt

Is this right ?

Like I said, your design would work. Your limited to how much you want to spend. The frame and additional components is what limits you. Install longer rods, belt, bigger build plate, heat pad, extend wires, and probably a cable chain since the wires will be a lot longer. Also, change the firmware to account for the new size.

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D3

Yeah only long is ok to me.

Thank you guys.
I m continuing the topic there [forums.reprap.org]
My question is : would I have to change power supply in order to add a second heating bed pcb on the geeetech prusa i3x, and is there a free connector for it.

Thanks again for your help, I just can t wait to have my brain fully loaded of infos and ready to aim and go.

So this has come to a bad end.

After completing everything, the printer didn't work. When I tried to set coordinates for home etc. for the printer, it appears not all the motors operated properly. z axis jammed everytime, causing the motor to stutter and I had to unplug it.

The rip off outfit I purchased it from denies I ever contacted them regarding issues, and has accussed me of mail fraud when I tried to do a charge back after they denied a request for refund. They said it had to be returned exactly as it had been delivered, but since I had redrilled holes for mounting the Power supply and the heat bed, they will not accept the return.

When I went to American Express they claim I am trying to commit mail fraud and claim I am using the printer and tryig to get it for free.

At this point I have zero recourse for a resolution. These scam artists refuse to support their product and will not make it right, and I can't get a refund through buyer protection, so i'm out over 400.00 on this.

A word of warning again, DO NOT BUY FROM 3DPRINTERSONLINESTORE.COM, these guys are crooks and con men. They took my 400.00+ dollars, didn't provide a working product, and refused to make good on the sale.

I really wish I had spent the extra money and bought from a reputable dealer here in the states where I could have gotten help.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2015 12:36PM by FirstAvenger.

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FirstAvenger
So this has come to a bad end.

After completing everything, the printer didn't work. When I tried to set coordinates for home etc. for the printer, it appears not all the motors operated properly. z axis jammed everytime, causing the motor to stutter and I had to unplug it.

The rip off outfit I purchased it from denies I ever contacted them regarding issues, and has accussed me of mail fraud when I tried to do a charge back after they denied a request for refund. They said it had to be returned exactly as it had been delivered, but since I had redrilled holes for mounting the Power supply and the heat bed, they will not accept the return.

When I went to American Express they claim I am trying to commit mail fraud and claim I am using the printer and tryig to get it for free.

At this point I have zero recourse for a resolution. These scam artists refuse to support their product and will not make it right, and I can't get a refund through buyer protection, so i'm out over 400.00 on this.

A word of warning again, DO NOT BUY FROM 3DPRINTERSONLINESTORE.COM, these guys are crooks and con men. They took my 400.00+ dollars, didn't provide a working product, and refused to make good on the sale.

I really wish I had spent the extra money and bought from a reputable dealer here in the states where I could have gotten help.

Well i have to say i feel your pain.... not knowing what i was getting into till it was too late, i wont be buying from 3DPRINTERSONLINESTORE.COM again.

what did it for me was them sending me a DHL tracking number and for a week it said "shipment info received" so i got hold of DHL to find out what the hold up is and they said they never revived the package for shipment... about to hit week 3 after i ordered and i cant get an email back on what the heck the deal is and why it hasn't actually been shipped yet

the flip side is i guess (if i ever get the printer) its a pretty good looking printer and everything can be changed out to something else if there issues, Im not even gonna bother trying to get help from them.... if something isnt right. and if i cant get it to work ill just buy a replacement from the usa and be done,
sucks being a first timer at this but, its the only way to learn sometimes

Quote
FirstAvenger
So this has come to a bad end.

After completing everything, the printer didn't work. When I tried to set coordinates for home etc. for the printer, it appears not all the motors operated properly. z axis jammed everytime, causing the motor to stutter and I had to unplug it.

This is where I am stuck also. I have tried to home it and level the bed but the endstops appear to be nonfunctional (they are plugged in correctly) and all axis (x, y, z) jam.

The downside is that in a hit and miss of swapping out parts, with the extra money spent, I could have gotten a working printer from a reliable vendor and not had to deal with the problems.

Saving a few dollars was not worth the troubles.

ANother tip for people....never buy the 60.00 self leveling and height detection add on. It's a 5.00 sensor they send you. The software is a free download from Marlin. I could have saved even more if I had known in advance.

The open source is not with auto leveling feature You can try it .

I downloaded the auto leveling version off the internet.

Ok, so I am back to working on this piece of junk after letting it sit for a couple months......

So I completed assembly, I was at testing stage. trying to Zero out the print head.

X-Axis was moving back and forth, but z-axis jammed. The Z-axis started to move, but then one side jammed, and the motor stuttered,
I mentioned this in a previous post.

Using the calipers I had used to make sure that both sides of the Z Axis screws were set equally before testing, I measured again,
and one side had moved, the other either had not moved at all, or enough slower than the other side for it to jam up on me.

Leads me to believe that one of the motors isn't working properly. Or the port on the motherboard doesn't work. No idea which
at the moment. At this point, I am assuming that my first course of action is to purchase 2 new motors for the Z-Axis so that I have matched
units, then try again, hoping that this moves me forward and I can use this rather pricey paperweight for what I bought it for.

Does this seem a logical conclusion? or does anyone have any other possible suggestions on this?

If that doesn't work it's new motherboard time.

Quote
FirstAvenger
Ok, so I am back to working on this piece of junk after letting it sit for a couple months......

So I completed assembly, I was at testing stage. trying to Zero out the print head.

X-Axis was moving back and forth, but z-axis jammed. The Z-axis started to move, but then one side jammed, and the motor stuttered,
I mentioned this in a previous post.

Using the calipers I had used to make sure that both sides of the Z Axis screws were set equally before testing, I measured again,
and one side had moved, the other either had not moved at all, or enough slower than the other side for it to jam up on me.

Leads me to believe that one of the motors isn't working properly. Or the port on the motherboard doesn't work. No idea which
at the moment. At this point, I am assuming that my first course of action is to purchase 2 new motors for the Z-Axis so that I have matched
units, then try again, hoping that this moves me forward and I can use this rather pricey paperweight for what I bought it for.

Does this seem a logical conclusion? or does anyone have any other possible suggestions on this?

There are potentiometers on the board. Assuming you have the 12v in at the top, try turning the Z axis one about a quarter turn towards you. It could be just the fact that the board isn't supplying enough voltage to the Stepper motors.
If that doesn't work it's new motherboard time.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2016 05:31PM by Ax.

UGH.....

Okay, did not see the potentiometers on the motherboard, I really didn't pay that close attention to it. So I'll give it a look next time I'm home. For that matter, I don't recall seeing anything on the motherboard that identifies who made it in case I need to replace it...... I guess I'll have to take it apart and do a detailed examination, I really just thought it was going to be a straight build.

A new motherboard would totally suck after all the hassle I've already had with this. But at this point I don't have a lot of choice. Clearly these clowns at 3dprintersonlinestore.com are very adept at scamming with the credit card companies. When I challenged this with American Express, besides claiming that I am trying to commit credit card/mail fraud, they told American Express that they would gladly take the printer back for a full refund in it's original condition.

However, I tinned the leads on the wires with solder for better connection when mounted to the blocks on the motherboard, and had to redrill the holes in the so called over sized print bed as the screws provided stuck up above the surface of the bed as the holes drilled were not counter sunk, and the position wasn't correct on one of the holes (it was off slightly) and they had already refused to accept the return for it claiming it was not in original condition when I tried to reverse the charge with Paypal. One thing I have learned from all of this is that these guys are very slick con artists.

Anyways, I found the printer here in the USA, there is a website called electron3dprinters.com and I tried to call them figuring I might at least get help debugging this thing and getting it running, but the number appears to be some guys cel phone, which they don't answer.

So no luck there........

I'm giving serious consideration to just picking up the 2200.00 Lulzbot Taz printer. Larger print area, and I can actually get support on it. And I can buy it local.

Just curious......

as I am looking at replacing parts etc. I found an MKS v1.3 motherboard for 38.00, the kit came originally with an MKS 1.2.

Has anyone here upgraded to the 1.3 board, and if so any comments on it?

hi I've only just stumbled upon this thread I ordered the same printer but I got mine through a guy in the states he had a GitHub page filled with info on this printer which I can see has been mentioned. anyway back to my printer I did away with the aluminium bed I found it took way to long to heat up. so I basically assembled it without it using the screws, springs and knurled nuts through the holes in the pcb then added glass with clips from eBay heating up still took a while but I'm in the UK its winter and my house in f*@king freezing an old book over it till it got to temperature helped.
this however still wasn't good enough for me so I've upgraded to 24v very simple as the mks base v1.3(forgot to mention that's what mine came with) takes 24v perfect all I had to do was change the hotend thermistor and re configure the bed wiring I just need to do something with the permanently on fan that's is still 12 volt so it goes absolutely mental fast. I can now set the temperature much higher and its holding pretty close to what I want it to. ive also built my own reel holder that sit on top of the printer and bolts to the frame.



and print quality



oh and I didn't bother with the auto leveling did it all by eye then printed a large square base and set it a little at a time until I got my first layer squished to the bed and true to each other.
hope fully ill be making more upgrades to it in the future ie better quality motors and a steel or aluminium frame amongst other things.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2016 04:38PM by wampablo.

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wampablo
hope fully ill be making more upgrades to it in the future ie better quality motors and a steel or aluminium frame amongst other things.

Any thoughts on motors?

I've been wondering about motor types. One of the suspects is that I have at least one bad motor, possibly other issues. When I tried to find the same motor, it had crap reviews on Amazon. 1 star. I might be looking at getting all 5 motors and just installing motors I'm not going to have to worry about and take those potential issues off the table.

Any suggestions on replacements? I need to replace at the very least the pair on the z-axis, as no matter what I tried, one side moved at a different rate than the other. FYI, as stated before, I had perfectly leveled both sides of the x-axis carriage, so the assembly should have moved up and down perfectly smoothly, so I know that wasn't the issue.

Looking at upgrading to the MKS 1.3 base, with separate stepper drivers. Mine did not have pots on it as someone had mentioned previously, so I couldn't do any adjustment to the power to see if that was potentially my motor issue, so there is a possibility still that I needed a motherboard also. I did find a 1.3 base board with separate stepper drivers for 45.00 and change.