Malyan M180 3D Printer Thread

[pete taylor]

You're welcome.

The only software you need to download is Cura (converts the STL file into G Code, a sliced model for printing the layers) which is available for Mac and windows, so I don't see any problems Colin.

The printer itself runs totally independently from the pc (another bonus with the M150) only needing the SD card with the G Code files.

[Colin Leighfield]

Thank you again Pete, I'll take a serious look.

[Ian Jones]

The M180 has dual extruders, there are a number if reasons why you may want these and perhaps why you might not.

First off though and I hope not being offensively elementary, what does having dual extruders mean? Well again keeping it simple, it's like have a choice of two pens to write on a piece of paper. Which one you use at any one time may be dictated by what colour the pen is. Ah, so there's one piece of clarity, dual extrusion does not mean squeezing out two beads of molten plastic out at once, nor does it speed up printing.

Why have dual extrusion then?

• As alluded to above, you can have two different coloured filaments loaded at once so if you wanted a two colour print you would not have change the filament one or more times during the print.
• You might possibly want to use two different materials to build a single object, a wheel with a tyre springs to mind.
• One extruder can be used to print support material, that is like scaffolding to hold up over hanging parts of the prints that would otherwise sag or fall down. Print support materials can be soluble, some even in water.

Why not have dual extrusion?

• Supports can be made from the same material being used for the actual object then cut or snapped off.
• No need for dual colours in the same print
• No need for dual materials in the same print
• Two extruders = more parts to go wrong
• More expensive to manufacture so more expensive to buy.

[Ian Jones]

Posted by pete taylor on 22/10/2016 19:27:25:

Posted by Ian Jones on 21/10/2016 21:38:05:

That's very inspiring Pete, I still have a lot learn but I can appreciate the fathomless extent of what can be achieved.

Are you using CURA (latest 2.n.n)? If so have you been able to get it to print x3g files?

I'm using whichever the latest Cura version is and haven't knowingly used any x3g files, but there are several converter programmes to download for free.

The process that I tend to use is to draw or download what I need into Tinkercad, save the final item to my PC before uploading the file into Cura for slicing and converting to G Code ready to print.

The printing is done from either a PC via USB or, my preferred option as it makes the printer stand-alone, via a micro SD card (the Malyan 150 allows this, not sure about others)

Yep me too, and I think that has answered my question because the X3G file format is the one used to save to the Micro SD. Must be something wrong with my Cura installation.

[Ian Jones]

Posted by oldgit on 18/12/2016 11:39:09:

cant seem to source any malyan 3D printers in UK

The M200 is very different from the M180, the "200" is not incremental model number.

The M200 looks good and sturdy and is as ingle extruder printer. I'm not familiar with it though so the only other thing I can offer from my point of view is that according to the specs the print bed has a max temp of 60C and that wouldn't be enough for my intended/hoped for uses.

Posted by oldgit on 18/12/2016 11:39:09:

cant seem to source any malyan 3D printers in UK

I have heard that the 3D FreeSculpt EX2 is an M180 clone but cannot confirm that is the case. I bought mine from HobbyKing but at the moment can't find a UK supplier of either of these. I don't know if HK have stopped them or if they just don't have any currently in stock.

[Colin Leighfield]

The HK web-site shows the 150 and 180 available with US and Australian plugs.

[Ian Jones]

I think a plug change would be simple enough Colin, not so sure I'd want to pay the P&P though.

[Colin Leighfield]

The price is £186, very reasonable I think. However it looks as if the shipping cost is in the region of $80/100 US dollars. I have to think hard about it.

[Colin Leighfield]

I'm getting good reports about the Wanhao Duplicator 13 V2, does anyone have opinions on that?

Edited By Colin Leighfield on 21/12/2016 19:17:50

[Ian Jones]

Posted by Colin Leighfield on 20/12/2016 22:26:45:

The price is £186, very reasonable I think. However it looks as if the shipping cost is in the region of $80/100 US dollars. I have to think hard about it.

What about the PSU? The standard in the United States is 120V and 60Hz AC electricity.

Sorry, don't know anything about Wanhao i3 Duplicator V2.1 3D.... you could start a thread for that printer and see what happens.

Edited By Ian Jones on 21/12/2016 22:45:00

[Colin Leighfield]

Thank you Ian. I might do what you suggest.

[rcaddict]

Hi

got a prusa i3 printer and its printing first test model as we speak, only issue is I had to set the hotbed to 0 deg before it would start printing, anyway SWMBO is impressed , fortunately for me I can use autocad (have to hone up on my 3d modelling though)

so far all good !!

now what do I need !!!!

[Colin Leighfield]

I've just placed an order with Technology Outlet for the Wanhao i3 Duplicator V2.

I'll start a new thread.

[Ian Jones]

Posted by oldgit on 22/12/2016 16:45:46:

Hi

got a prusa i3 printer and its printing first test model as we speak, only issue is I had to set the hotbed to 0 deg before it would start printing, anyway SWMBO is impressed , fortunately for me I can use autocad (have to hone up on my 3d modelling though)

so far all good !!

now what do I need !!!!

Great stuff, printing already too. Autocad, hmm think I used to have that years ago, don't recall ever using it enough to become familiar with it though.

The Prusa i3 is a popular machine and has spawned many similar models. Could be raise quite a lot of interest.

Might worth a "Prusa i3" thread like colin has done. We could end up with a veritable a valuable resource for all sorts of 3D printers. Whatever I'm sure that like me many will be keen to folow your progress.

[rcaddict]

what drawing software do you use?

the thread doesnt mention what drawing software is good !!

I have used autocad for 20 years - the devil you know !!!!

[Colin Leighfield]

I haven't got a clue how to use Autocad or anything else! I just hope that this interesting technology will kickstart me into learning how to use that kind of design software.

[Ian Jones]

I've been using, Google Sketchup, Microsoft 3D Builder, FreeCAD and Autodesk 123D. I can't say that I've settled on any one of them.

Moving from the 3D image/STL file creation I've pretty much settled on using Makerbot Desktop for slicing as it works well and can produce gcode (for USB connected printers) and X3G files (for saving to SD cards) independently of each other.

A complete package that does the whole job well would be nice, I think I heard of one but unfortunatly don't recall it's name or price.

 

Posted by oldgit on 23/12/2016 09:34:50:

 

what drawing software do you use?

the thread doesnt mention what drawing software is good !!

I have used autocad for 20 years - the devil you know !!!!

I think you have a head start on us!

Edited By Ian Jones on 30/12/2016 16:40:03

[rcaddict]

thanks for info ian, im getting on ok with autocad 3D & tinkercad, hoiwever my new filements arrived today and guess what I went and ordetred ABS instead of PLA !!!!

had a go with it but its a devil to get to stick to the bed !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ian Jones]

Hah, been there oldgit, think I have it sorted now, the two main contributions were using kapton tape on the heated print bed and 3DLAC spray.

As you will see from my next post I have also enclosed my printer.

Another positive not I think is that if you master ABS then you will be using a better material than PLA for many of our needs as it's stronger, more flexible and has a higher glass temperature (the temperature at which it can deform).

Edited By Ian Jones on 31/12/2016 00:20:40

[Ian Jones]

Modifications

One of the early problems I had was with with the glass printing plate moving during printing and during a casual root through Thingiverse I cama across files for some little clips to hold the glass in place. Clearly I'm not the first to have this problem and they are so easy to print it was a worth a try:

These worked but I was a bit concerned about a sponge layer under the heated plate that could be subject to wear, there was also a posibility that the print heads could collide with the clips, unlikely but I kept in mind that there could be a better solution. There was but I've mentioned teh above here because it may still be useful for some users.

The real problem, I later realised, was the fiddley size of the adjuster heads, it was just hard to tell when they were properly tightened. The solution then was to modify them in some way and thanfully I again came across the solution by accident when I was looking for something else:

These grips are printed and then the original heads gentlty tapped into the receiving holes for a friction fit, very effective:

 

Another early problem many have encountered is that not all reels of filament have the same size core holes and the cones supplied with my printer were too small, so some expanded cones were needed, once again it was just a case of downloading the files:

...and there we are, a nice neat fit:

Generally these solved my early problems except that I was till having trouble retaining the print on the print bed. So whilst I was experimenting and printing the above articles I found three solutions that helped, Kapton Tape, 3DLAC spray and also I leaned the hardboard packing sheets up against the open sides of the printer once the print had started. These didn't make the edges airtight but the prints I made stayed fastened to the glass printing plate. I've seen that some printers are fully enclosed so I decided to investigate on how I could achieve this.

Edited By Ian Jones on 31/12/2016 01:13:46

[Ian Jones]

Modifications Continued

I would have liked to have had removeable polycarbonate sheets fitted to the inside walls of the printer and this looks entirely possible but be aware that the right hand side has a stepper motor fitted very close to the frame and I found this didn't give me enough clearance. Pity, that would have been really tidy, so that left me knowing that the sheets would have to go on the inside. For accesibility they would also have to be easily removable.

Polycarbonate sheet can be very expensive but I found this stuff at a price I was prepared to pay:

I bought sveral sheets of A4 and A3 sizes nad though I have used it before and cut it like glass I wasn't keen on doing that again having had a few cuts run of the line I had made. In addition I needed to shape a cut-out around the printer's control panel. In the end then I decided to cut it with a jig-saw. This takes abit of practice because if you hang around in one spot for too long with the blade running then the poly sheet softens and starts to clog the teeth of the saw. Not a big problem, just makes it hard going, a nice steady accurate cut will get the job done.

So that's what the side panels would be but how to fix them. Well again I kept simple. I used Google Sketchup to draw a sort of "J" shape then just selected the top surface to extend upwards. I then decided it would best printed with the base of the "J" on the print bed so rotated the 3D image to that position. Once satisfied with size, shape and position of the this "J clip" I exported the image to an STL file.

The "J Clip" STL file was then loaded into Makerbot Desktop to create the X3G on an SD card for insertion in the printer. I'm pleased to say this first "J Clip" print went without a hitch so I went back to Makerbot Desktop and multiplied the number of clips to printed in one go and repeated the print process; So I ended up with this lot:

Each clip is printed on a raft that easily removable and perhaps also contributes to good adhesion on the printing plate.

The long edge of the clip is to give a large enough surface for fatening to the printer and I just used double sided tape for this. A little tip here, gently warm the tape first, it will stick much better. Fiited to the frame of the printer it looks like this:

Not airtight but good enough to slow down the heat loss. These clips allowed me to fit the three side panels so that they could just be simply slid upwards for removal:

Ah, but heat rises, what about the top cover. This is where the A3 polycarbonate sheets came in and although rather large and perhaps a bit unsightly I again kept it simple and cut the shhets so that I could make a box shape held in a jig whilst epoxy made the the joins secure. The final result then:

..and finally, to keep most of the dust etc out, (after all it is my workshop/garage) I'm using an old monitor cover to offer some protection:

Nothing particularly revolutionary but hopefully will keep me and my 3D printer working together for a good time to come.

Edited By Ian Jones on 31/12/2016 01:44:17

[Ian Jones]

Time to continue with some more testing.

Although there's a long way to go yet this next print was a test to see if I could accurately make a wing and rib combination that would fit closely enough to be suitable for making up a wing.

One accidental thing that happened that quite pleased me was that slot at the front of the wing, it shouldn't have been there, however the top of the slot printed without any support or sagging due to the absence of it.

[Ken Lighten]

Hi all,

does anyone know how to calibrate this to print circular items circular rather than the ovalish shape that I get?' happens with holes as well, seems to elongate at 45 degrees to the X and Y axis

Ken

[Ian Jones]

Hi Ken,

I think I've seen something about this somewhere, however it's worth checking that your slicer profile matches your printer. I had two problems at one time, one was that the printer was trying to exceed the range of the bed and the other was similar to yours in that succesful printes were not scaled properly on the X and Y axis.

For me the solutions came rather easily as I was still searching for a better slicer than ReplicatorG and tried using Makerbot Desktop, a free download. Before using for the first time I selected "Replicator(Dual)" as my printer device and all my problems went away. Nice thing is that this software will also produce gcode and X3G (for the SD card) files independantly of each other and it also allows a preview of the print so that you can examine the layers (slices).

Might be worth a try as it did also work for someone else (apolgies I forget who just at this moment), if it doesn't work, let me know and I'll hunt further re calibration.

Edited By Ian Jones on 30/01/2017 17:26:11

[Ken Lighten]

Hi Ian,

I think I may be that person!, I'm using Makerbot Desktop and have it set to Replicator(dual), it works fine for most things, just circular items seem to be a problem - really annoying!

Ken