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ALDI 3D Printer


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  • RMweb Gold

mine arrived this morning and after 10 mins putting it together and a similar time levelling the bed a couple of times its sat next to me printing off a mini me as i type

 

can confirm no usb connection but the supplied SD card is simple enough to transfer files from the computer to the machine and open them in the menu

 

watch this space........

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mine arrived this morning and after 10 mins putting it together and a similar time levelling the bed a couple of times its sat next to me printing off a mini me as i type

 

can confirm no usb connection but the supplied SD card is simple enough to transfer files from the computer to the machine and open them in the menu

 

watch this space........

10 minutes!!!! I've spent a good part of the morning checking I have everything on the parts list, and removing the protective paper on the parts of the acrylic frame, on my (non Aldi) printer! Now I've got hours of work assembling it. You've missing out on lots of fun by buying a RTP one ;).

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  • RMweb Gold

Here we go, first attempt

 

666A8F80-C009-4C38-BE90-722E059A8178.jpg

 

That’s about 3cm high, set to the 2nd finest setting, took about 35 mins to print, the original scan of myself was done using an Xbox Kinect as the scanner, really pleased with the result for a 1st go

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  • RMweb Gold

been playing about with the printer was varying results, after the initial sucess of the mini me bust ive had mixed results with other open source items from thingiverse

 

i tried to print off a few itmes in one go, a 1/2 sized container and a couple of figures for my lad from team fortress 2 computer game, the figures failed misirably as the legs started to flex as the "crotch area" began to print throwing the print out of skew and doing nothing above that level, however the container on the same print came out quite good 

 

FFC6B17D-AE5C-4ABE-810F-B2DAB27CE7D4.jpg

 

there is no roof as that has been omitted from the original designers gcode file

 

just a bit of a rough area towards the top end but that is where some of the non printed pla that should have been the character stuck to the side  

CC00986F-3454-4580-BB77-FB4B5EBA4ED6.jpg

 

its currently printing out an inspection platform with pretty fine legs and handrails so heres hoping it will complete that without major issue, there are a few dodgy bits looking at it but as it stands so far (68% complete) its not looking too bad

83D9A300-4EFC-438E-8F76-800C528371BF.jpg

 

ive had another look at the figure were trying to print and have rotated it so its lay on its back this time to get maximum hold, also added supports and base adhesion rings 

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been playing about with the printer was varying results,

Your printer does not seem to have a fan for cooling the plastic as it emerges from the nozzle. If you look at the link in Reply #66 you will see how it can have an effect.

 

I have put a fan on my printer and it has made a big improvement - especially for a small feature. I can now see all the way through a 1mm diameter hole. Without the fan the last few layers were very messy and overflowed across the hole.

 

And, as mentioned above I made the fan duct from card.

 

...R

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Jim,

 

Check that in the file for the printer in Cura that the heated bed is ticked. I couldn't find one on the SD card or the website so created one from scratch but initially forgot to tick heated bed and had some issues with adhesion.

 

 

Edit: just found the cura profiles for PLA and ABS on the Balco customer support webpage.

Cheers

Jeff.

Edited by jeff mcghie
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83D9A300-4EFC-438E-8F76-800C528371BF.jpg

 

 

From what I've been reading on "hot end" fans, they need to cool the print as quickly as possible, but not reduce the nozzle temperature. That fan seems to blow cool air everywhere, rather than directing it where needed. I've got no practical experience yet, as my printer parts are neatly laid out on my workbench ready to be assembled, but I think the air needs to be ducted to exactly the right place.

 

There's no fan supplied with my Geeetech Prusi i3 Pro B, but there are loads of designs for fitting them online. I've just bought this fan, that should direct the air well. I think this style of duct is probably good, but I'm not sure about the holes directing the air at the nozzle. This one looks better, as it directs the air down onto the work, and away from the nozzle.

 

You may find lots of designs for modifying your printer on Thingiverse, and other such places.

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Anyone who missed out check out amazon today, Black Friday deal on the wanhao i3, £270

 

Wanhao i3Plus Duplicator; 3D Printer https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LX8KNV3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZNcgAbWQTEYTW

Meant to thank you (I think). I kept hesitating on the Aldi printer until such time as it was sold out, then I was able to say to myself "I really was going to buy one, but now they are all gone, Ah well".

 

Then you had to find the Amazon deal.

 

It arrives this weekend.

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  • RMweb Gold

This is the platform, not fantastic but still useable, some of the fine bits have just not taken, possibly due to the fan issue mentioned above

 

Any idea what will have caused the platform to not fully render?

3DCEA9CF-CF54-4A2F-85D3-111295FBD09C.jpg

 

It appears the start of the print is not too bad but the end (ie the sides closest the camera) go a bit wonky around the legs

7C97726B-D9BF-4DC0-9797-61A505ECCCAC.jpg

 

The outer support for the platform didn’t take at all and was just a series of individual strands which I cut off, easily replaceable with plastistrip though

0EB600E4-781A-4685-913C-1A65840C9E65.jpg

 

As I say still useable after a tidy up I recon, good enough for inside the depot

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Referring to the platform in Reply #90.

 

The front legs don't seem to be connected to the platform. Are they meant to be? If so are you sure that the drawing was correct?

 

The spidery bits of plastic might be due to the wrong nozzle temperature - I wonder if it is a bit too high?

 

...R

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  • RMweb Gold

That’s what I was saying, the front bar holding the legs to the platform just came out as strands of pla, that bit was pretty much the final few layers that was printed

 

Regards the temp it was 200 degrees so I’m the next thing I attempted at printing I dropped the temp to 175 degrees which is what the busy printed at and it failed pretty much straight away on the first couple of layers

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Regards the temp it was 200 degrees so I’m the next thing I attempted at printing I dropped the temp to 175 degrees

I think a change of 5 degrees between tests would be plenty.

 

My printer (using PLA) seems to be working nicely at 195°C (down from 200) but I have no idea how close that number is to the actual temperature.

 

My thermocouple reads about 20°C lower and I can't be sure that it is in the right place for measuring properly. At lower temperatures (around 70°C) the thermocouple agrees closely with the printer.

 

...R

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That’s what I was saying, the front bar holding the legs to the platform just came out as strands of pla, that bit was pretty much the final few layers that was printed

 

 

Did it have support built into it as a freestanding bar with nothing underneath is a tall ask for a printer?

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  • RMweb Gold

Did it have support built into it as a freestanding bar with nothing underneath is a tall ask for a printer?

 

i didnt print any additional support off, i did wonder if it was just printing to thin air as it were

 

i printed off a cooling fan housing without issue and tried it out, had another go at the platform afterwards only to find i got to the same point in the print and the filament "plopped" out of the nozzle, not long after the fan kicked in, tried it a few times and got the same issue on every attempt (it was luckily on the first "raft" layer) , even after taking the custom cooler off and reverting back to normal i still got the same result at the same point in the print

 

B5CC2896-6BF9-4997-9D50-F6E5E7B609DE.jpg

 

70FCEE21-04C1-4405-96FE-03FC66255378.jpg

 

at that point i gave up for the night before i got too frustrated with it, the only thing i've set up different was the layer thickness which i'd changed from 0.1 to 0.15

Edited by big jim
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I do hope you get these issues sorted Jim, and I'm sure you will.

I had debit card in hand to buy one of these but dithered, and I'm kinda glad I did. I'm just not sure the technology is "there" yet and definitely not at this price level. I'll just continue to play the waiting game and take a longer look at SLA printers.

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  • RMweb Gold

I revisited the printer last night and tried printing something else with more success, not brilliant but it printed ok, the issue seems to be adhesion to the base plate, I fully didn’t expect to be an expert after a day with it and I feel that despite the setbacks I’ve done better than I thought I would after a couple of days

 

the first print got as far as this...

 

16258250-7A1E-48A5-A4A5-718DCAEB6F9C.jpg

 

Then the 2nd one successfully printed but I noticed about 1/3 of the way up the raft on one side had come away from the base, it was still printing ok though so I left it running but it’s an issue that needs looking at, my initial thought is maybe the base wasn’t completely level and as the extruder is travelling left to right it’s catching the print and pulling it off the base

999BC00A-57F4-48F6-93B1-7554B0FDDC9E.jpg

 

A5F63D58-7BE3-4FC1-9014-863B9FDEF445.jpg

 

46E78E6F-6DE6-4151-B30B-B12359498B8E.jpg

 

Anyhoo, I’ve started a thread about my printer save clogging up this one

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/128665-big-jim’s-adventures-in-3d-aldi-printer-and-xbox-kinect/

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This sort of stuff

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/262928351041?chn=ps&adgroupid=46622246639&rlsatarget=pla-380277463811&abcId=1128946&adtype=pla&merchantid=113268121&poi=&googleloc=1007440&device=c&campaignid=857250873&crdt=0

 

Kapton tape is another that's suggested.

 

I haven't even built my printer yet, and I'm discovering that 3D printing is a world of trial, error and conflicting advice! Trying to make sense of what adhesives to use for sticking PLA, and reading about things that work for one person, but are useless for another, I came across a comment that acetone works for some brands of PLA, but not others. Although I'd also read that it doesn't work with PLA at all, but is ideal for ABS! I think the same applies to just about everything to do with 3D printing. My brain is hurting already!

Edited by BG John
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