Robin2 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 I am using a piece of polycarbonate for my base and no bed heating and the PLA adheres to it very well. Also it comes off easily when the print is finished. The arrangement of the wires for the bed heater on my Anet 2 left a lot to be desired - I figured something was going to snag or break before long. Also I wanted to avoid the extra power consumption by the bed heater. By the way (and I think I mentioned this earlier) when I tried a piece of acrylic for the base the PLA stuck to it too well and I could not remove the finished piece without damage. ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 By the way (and I think I mentioned this earlier) when I tried a piece of acrylic for the base the PLA stuck to it too well and I could not remove the finished piece without damage. ...R So I could CNC mill acrylic parts, then carefully set the home position of the printer, to add printed detail . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium eldavo Posted November 30, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2017 Masking tape or Kapton tape are your friends. I never attempt to print directly on the glass of the build plate. You may need to very slightly up the extrusion rate in you print settings for the inspection platform though I suspect it will always be a challenge to print in one piece. Cheers Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegavs Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Whilst not printed on the ALDI printer but the Wanhao i3+ which is near identical this shows what the ALDI printer could do with a few simple modifications. A gauge 3 BR 08 body 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff mcghie Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Wow.... How many days did it take for that to print? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegavs Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Wow.... How many days did it take for that to print? 134 hours so far! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Masking tape or Kapton tape are your friends. I never attempt to print directly on the glass of the build plate. The build plate on my Anet A2 is just aluminium. I did get a sheet of glass for it but the PLA would not adhere to it. I suspect the glass would need to be heated but I never tried that for reasons already mentioned. ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper Aus Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 The build plate on my Anet A2 is just aluminium. I did get a sheet of glass for it but the PLA would not adhere to it. I suspect the glass would need to be heated but I never tried that for reasons already mentioned. ...R Cheap hairspray is what is recommended if you don't have a heated bed. Glue stick is another options used by many. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Cheap hairspray is what is recommended if you don't have a heated bed. Glue stick is another options used by many. I have not tried that. I presume it would make the bed messy and it would attract every speck of dust (which might be good for my environment, but not for my printer). Is it necessary to spray the bed before every print? Glass has the attraction that it is not easily scratched. ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Cheap hairspray is what is recommended if you don't have a heated bed. Glue stick is another options used by many. I hadn't seen any mention of using these only with unheated beds. Does that mean they don't work with heated beds, or is it yet another example of something that works for some people, but not for others? My (non Aldi) printer has a heated bed, or it will have when I've built it(!), and I was going to try hairspray or glue sticks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovex Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 If I ever get my mojo back I'm going to have to look into home 3D printing as most of the station buildings on the intended layout have been uploaded to Shapeways and even at their prices it will be very very expensive. By the way, how much does the printing medium cost to buy? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 By the way, how much does the printing medium cost to buy? PLA seems to be about £15 to £20 per kg ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdr Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 when i first had my 3d printer i used the yellow/orange tape to coat the bed that came with the printer, and it was pretty good but tore a few times. Recently i bought a stick on mat by Buildtak, and this grips the print pretty well. PS. i have a heated bed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 By the way, how much does the printing medium cost to buy? I've bought a reel of this. No idea if it's any good yet, and they charge delivery on top for most of their colours. They also sent two free small coils of different colours, and a packet of sweets, with it. They seem to be a new British business, making an effort, and appear friendly and helpful too, as we had a brief chat on their Facebook page. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdr Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 my local 3d guy said he wouldn't buy pla if it came unsealed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted December 1, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 1, 2017 The description says it’s sealed The only thing I can see with it is the bed temp is recommended to be 40-50 degrees or unheated where as my printer recommended 60 degrees for PLA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 The description says it’s sealed Sealed in a plastic bag, with a little packet of silica gel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdr Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 that's the way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon br blue Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Just setting up my printer. Is the SD card meant to have software on it to install on my PC? Mine appears to be empty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff mcghie Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Simon, The card should have the cura software, a copy of the manuals, quick start guide and leveling instructions along with 3 sample print files. All are available on the balco (www.balcolifestyle.com) website although there is a newer (v3) version of the Cura software available direct from ultimaker. Cheers Jeff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted December 3, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 3, 2017 As Jeff says it should be on the SD card but I downloaded the newer version of Cura from the net before I got the printer, the only thing with it is it doesn’t have the ‘balco’ listed as a printer option but I set mine to Prussia i3 which is the same Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon br blue Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 (edited) Thanks for the quick replies. I downloaded Cura and got the profile details from the Balco website and changed settings as required from the defaults. Decided to do a quick test print and chose to rescale a PHA self discharge hopper to 2mm. Pictures of the result below. I was very happy with the print as it was done to see how the printer worked. When I originally ordered the printer I was thinking it would be good enough to print 7mm hoppers and then hopefully a 4mm hopper but this print makes me think the that 2mm hoppers maybe possible/usable. First test print First print Balco printer by simon br blue, on Flickr First print as removed 2mm PHA hopper test by simon br blue, on Flickr 2mm hopper with support material partly removed 2mm PHA hopper test support material by simon br blue, on Flickr Cleaned up test print - zoomed in on camera phone making it look wavey 2mm PHA hopper test finished by simon br blue, on Flickr Edited December 3, 2017 by simon br blue 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 2ManySpams Posted December 4, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 4, 2017 Simon, Good to see printing results from the Aldi machine, thanks. I bought mine primarily to produce architectural details and building elements (windows, doors, chimneys, fancy lintels etc) in 7mm so it's reassuring to see what it can do in 2mm. What drawing software do you use? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyID Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 I have not tried that. I presume it would make the bed messy and it would attract every speck of dust (which might be good for my environment, but not for my printer). Is it necessary to spray the bed before every print? Glass has the attraction that it is not easily scratched. ...R The main thing with 3D printing is not to believe everything you read on the Internet :0 What works for one person might well not work too well for another. That said I've had quite good results with wide blue masking tape on an unheated glass bed. The surface of the tape should be sanded with fine wet-or-dry (dry) paper between each print, but don't blame me if it doesn't work for toffee. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 The main thing with 3D printing is not to believe everything you read on the Internet :0 I must be slow this morning. I don't see what that has got to do with my comments / questions that you quoted? ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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