DIY kit recommendations?

I got a $154 DIY kit off of ebay and I am getting not great quality prints. I have researched and experimented with calibrations and optimizing the settings with some improvement. I'm wondering if I would get better results with a Geeetech or some other DIY kit around $300-$400?

This is the one I bought:

[www.ebay.com]

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2017 02:39PM by sylviatrilling.

No real difference between a $150 and $400 printer, They still take time to configure and need some modifications to get reliably good prints. You already have a basic printer so look at a few upgrades to get the quality you want.

Have a quick read through of the calibration guide [reprap.org] this will help you find optimal settings for your printer.

Looking at your old posts with printing the bear, it looks like the body was ok, just the small features that did not come out nice. Adding a part cooling fan will help to cool down the PLA so that the layer is hard before the next is printed on top.

Second I would look at getting a better hotend, one that has a heat sink (http://e3d-online.com/E3D-v6/Metal-Only/v6-1.75mm-Universal-Metal-Only). Doesn't have to be the E3d, Jheads and even the hexagon perform well. You dont need the most expensive hotend but try and stay away from cheap clones. I never really liked the hotends that came with your printer, without a heat sink you will get a clogs and jams and the temperature starts to rise through the throat and melts the plastic before the heatblock. You will see this happening more on longer prints.

Whatever you buy you will end up upgrading it.

Thanks. I'm game to do some upgrades, then. Here is the quality of print I am getting.
Retraction 1.5 (I get grinding if I go higher)
Retraction speed 25
Travel speed 150-190 all gives similar results

Nozzle temp 201

I did a physical extrusion calibration. Extruding 100mm actually extruded 98 so I have my flow set to 102 which seems right. The prints were coming out flatter than the designed models before I did that.

I tried z-hopping and minimum layer time but they made print quality worse.

Here is the printhead arrangement that came with the kit.
Is this a good hotend with heat sink?

[www.ebay.com]

As you can see in the pic of what I already have, there is a block above the bracket plate that the motor and extruder fan screw into. It looks like when I replace the hot end with the one with the heat sink there is no room for the block? How do I secure all the components?

Looking into a part fan as well. Do I print a bracket from Thingiverse to install it then?

The hotend you listed is one of the cheap ones, try and stay away from them. Ill give you a few hints on how to spot them;
- Most ebay listings are going to be clones, try and buy from from the manufacture or from a trusted on seller in your country
- E3d and J-head and styles / brands. they are not the same so if you see them both appear in the title, its going to be a clone
- A full metal hotend is just that, no PTFE liner so the hotend can be hotter without the risk of melting the liner, If it says its an all metal and you can see a PTFE liner in the throat, its a cheap clone.

There are also two types of extruder, bowden (remote drive sometimes) and direct drive, you have a direct drive, the hotend linked if for a bowden. You can just unscrew the quick connector on top but this leaves a bigger opening and room for the filament to flex and bend. Try and get one that is for direct drive.

To fit the extruder you are going to need some modifications, [www.thingiverse.com] [www.thingiverse.com] have a google of CTC upgrades and have a good read, see what worked for other people.

The fan is a quick mod that will show instant results [www.thingiverse.com] I recommend doing this one first, you will see the most improvements

As for the calabration guide I posted, I may have given you too much information. If you dont have a copy of the original firmware and dont feel like changing to marlin or another stock standard. Then just assume that the steps / mm are correct in the firmware and move on to the slicer settings section of the guide. Later on when you are more conformable with printing and really want to know how the printer works you can start looking into the firmware side of things.

I am a bit reluctant to change the firmware as it will void the seller's warranty.

I will get that parts cooling fan for sure and see how far it takes me.

I am looking at this mount for a parts cooling fan as it has a lot of detail on how to install. It is for a 50mm axial. Does this look like it will work for my printer?

[www.thingiverse.com]

I wouldn't worry about changing the firmware, in saying that its going to be a version of marlin anyway. Just start from the slicer section of the calibration guide to help with your settings.

And fan / mount will work as long as you have a way to connect it to the printer and you can adjust the height. I'm not to sure if the one you posted will mount easily, the wanhoa has a different x carriage to yours and looks to already have mounting holes for the fan.

The axial fans / blower fans are better for cooling as they are designed to push the air.

Took a while but I think I found the right mount for the fan.

[www.thingiverse.com]

The thing about part cooling fans is you want to cool the part and not the nozzle. The fan you linked will blow air over the nozzle and will give you more print issues, if you cool the nozzle the plastic can set in the nozzle and clog. Its a fine balance between keeping the nozzle hot and part cool.

The fan I posted is a good design [www.thingiverse.com] It also has comments from people who have tried and tested it. You nned to be careful with thingaverse, anyone can post designs that may or may not work. Always best to go with a design that has comments from other people who have tried it.

Thanks again, you have been enormously helpful.

Quote
sylviatrilling
I am a bit reluctant to change the firmware as it will void the seller's warranty.

but your printer is a dirt cheap model, and you started this thread talking about replacing it with a printer costing much, much more - so what do you have to lose flashing better firmware? very little.