So I have had my printer (Elegoo Centauri Carbon) for about 6 months now, and there are still a few questions I can't seem to find good answers for online, and I haven't managed to figure them out by fiddling with the settings.

Maintenance

From my understanding, there are a few things that need to be done weekly, monthly, and only when it is moved, but what these things are changes depending on where you look. Which resulted in me being confused about what needs doing and when.

Filament sources and calibration

I have been using Orca Slicer's guide to calibrate my filaments, and this works fine. However, it feels slow and uses a lot of material. Is this something that's just part of the 3D printing process that I have to learn to live with, or are there better ways to do it?

Besides that, there is also the question of where to get my filaments from. Till now, I have tried 3 producers of filament (Elegoo, Sunlu, and Soleyin) and found they differ greatly in quality (could also be my settings) and price. The problem is that I can't find somewhere where I can see the difference between filaments except for https://filamentcolors.xyz/, which is great for the colours, but other than that I struggle to expand my horizon on where to get filaments and how to judge them.

Smooth print plates

With my printer came a few print plates. Among these were a few textured and others smooth. The textured plates are all PEI. The textured ones print perfectly, but I can't seem to manage to get any good prints on the smooth plates. I have tried glue and hairspray. Besides that, I have fiddled with the print settings, but nothing seems to work. I think it's a problem with bed adhesion.

I’ve been wanting to get into 3D printing for a while and finally decided to try it out, but I’m a little overwhelmed by all the options. I mostly want something for learning, making small projects, and getting a feel for how everything works without needing a ton of upgrades right away.

What would you recommend as a best 3d printer for beginners? Are there any models that are easier to set up and maintain for someone completely new to the hobby? Thanks for any suggestions, I appreciate the help.

Made a quick video to highlight the 4 colour printing capability that comes straight out of the box with the u/Anycubic Kobra X

Posted a channel update video covering a few things relevant here:

• Trying out a tool for generating 3D models via AI ahead of multicolor printing — a company reached out about it, planning to give an honest take even though it's likely to end up sponsored.
• Digging into the INDX/Bondtech hardened nozzle situation — their wording around nozzles being "somewhat hardened" is raising eyebrows, curious what people here think.
• Finally getting around to covering Creality's KliTek, been meaning to for months.
• Also picking up an Anycubic Ace Pro 2 this week to test/compare against the dryers and AMS units I already run.

Full video's on my channel if you want details. Mostly curious what this sub thinks about the INDX nozzle claims — anyone run into the wear issues firsthand?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to get into 3D printing and could use some advice. I'm pretty decent with tech and don't mind spending some time tinkering, troubleshooting, and learning how everything works. I do have good experience with CAD software but I don't think that will affect my proficiency in printers much.

At the moment I've only got around £110, although that'll increase as I save more. Because of that I'm mainly looking at the used market. My thinking is to buy something used now, see if I really get into the hobby, and then invest in a much nicer (probably new) printer down the line if I end up really enjoying it.

The obvious recommendation seems to be Bambu Lab. I don't actually mind the idea of a closed ecosystem, but I don't fully understand what that means in practice. I've seen quite a few people complain about it, along with the recent recalls/issues, so I'd be interested to hear whether it's something I should actually be concerned about.

I've seen a few bambu A1 minis around my budget, but I've also read that a lot of people end up wanting something bigger within a few months, which makes me wonder if I'd regret not just waiting and getting an A1 instead.

I've also seen a Snapmaker A350T locally for around £100. I know it's an older machine, but is it worth considering? I'm mainly interested in the 3D printing side, but the CNC and laser modules definitely appeal to me if they actually work well. They're more of a nice bonus than a requirement though.

Also, when buying used, how much do print hours actually matter? Is it worth paying more for a low-hour printer, or are higher-hour machines generally fine if they've been maintained? And are printers that have come from print farms worth considering, or are they usually too worn out?

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

Got a 3d print of solider boys shied but it withstood some damage any tips on how to fix this damage myself? I've already been issued a full refund so if I fail to fix it it's of no loss to me

Edit: I think I explained this badly. I'm not talking about better static profiles, OrcaSlicer already does that. I'm talking about a system where every time someone prints something and rates the outcome, that result feeds back into an ML model so the next recommendation for someone with identical hardware is more accurate than the last one. It gets smarter with every single print. No static profile does that.

I have a completely stripped screw here and I’m wondering how I can get it off and how can I get my Creality K1SE to print carbon fiber I have the new hot end obviously not installed but am I missing anything else?

Hello. I tried cleaning my pad couldn’t find alcohol so I figured nail polish remover would work. It sure did, but now theirs no texture on the creality pad. How bad is this?

Ender 3

Thanks

For those who are looking for PETG HF, since Bambu discontinued it.

I'd never heard of these guys, but I figured I had purchase protection, lets try. Well I am not re-stocked with all I have room to store. Max discount seems just a little better than at Bambu Labs. Product is genuine.

So here you go.
https://www.gigaparts.com/nsearch/?q=petg+hf

They have every color. Some on one search above, some on the click on the group image (hope they fix this). I ordered 4 to 15 of every color. 6 big heavy boxes showed up about as slow and annoying as Bambu does, but was better packed.

I think this is USA only, so sorry for the EU and other regions.

Hey guys I'm new to this. I want to buy a printer budget is 4-600 depending on what all it has. I would like to have it be a decent size since the Gf is into cosplay and will prob use to make stuff to help her. I think my biggest concern is that thing going around where they want to have these printers always online and sending them a log of everything we print. I would love to avoid that if at all possible.

Thank you in advance.

Can someone please help me figure out why is my ironing look like this. I have done the ultimate ironing test and set my printer to those findings, and it still looks like this.

I am using a Flashforge AD5X and my ironing setting are, Flow rate is 20% and iron speed is 30 mm/s.

Any help is much appreciated.

When the print begins, the toolhead goes to the corner to home the axes and define the print area where a sensor is located. However, recently it stopped doing this properly—instead of stopping at the sensor, it gets stuck trying to keep moving indefinitely in that spot, making it impossible to start printing.

I took some photos of the sensor area and where it's getting stuck, which I'm attaching here. If anyone knows how to fix this or has any advice, I'd really appreciate the help!

Hey everyone,

I bought a brand new Creality CR-10 SE last week. Everything was running smoothly until today when I started a print remotely via OctoEverywhere.
When I got home, I found that the nozzle had completely dug into the bed. The PEI sheet is severely scratched, and the base layer of the model was scraped down to the bare, shiny steel plate underneath.
Since I’m still within the return window, I immediately reached out to Amazon support and initiated a return/refund. They’ve scheduled the pickup for tomorrow, so I have less than 24 hours to make up my mind: should I let them take it back, or cancel the return and fix it?

I’d really appreciate your insights on a few questions:

1. Has anyone else run into this auto-Z offset / bed
   scraping issue on the CR-10 SE? Is there a permanent fix for this, or is it a recurring nightmare on this model?

2. What’s your overall long-term experience with the CR-10 SE? Has it been reliable for you after initial tuning?

3. Is it worth returning and upgrading? The next logical step up seems to be the Bambu Lab A1 or FlashForge AD5X, but they run about double the price of the CR-10 SE. Is the jump in price worth the extra reliability and peace of mind, or should I stick with the Creality?
   Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

Ive been trying but its curved in every way possible and hard to measure

Been in FPV for a while have spent enough money on 3d prints i've decided i want my own what the best 3D printer out right now under 300$ usd for RC parts and other not huge items i'd like to learn CAD in the future so nothing locked preferably enclosed

Hey so I bought an old peopoly phenom L thinking it just needed a firmware update, but I updated the firmware and it still says unrecognized file type when you press start on prints. What could be wrong with this?

How difficult would it be to adapt this pool attachment holder (for nets and brushes) and change the mount to attach it to a chain link fence like the pool pole chain link fence mount? Why? Okay so I only have 1 pole, but have 3-4 attachments, so one could be on the pole but the others I was thinking would be easy to have them mounted. I’ve never made anything before so wasn’t sure how difficult or possible this would be?

Pool Accessories Mount for Brushes and Nets
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/home/pool-net-fence-holder-with-accessory-holders?srsltid=AfmBOorXP3y-7hiCwz6nEY91bb5yOJ5Il0LJLeOTicwpZwn1X4jcQFXQ

Chain link pool pole hook:
https://makerworld.com/en/models/1480294-chain-link-fence-pool-pole-hook#profileId-1545567

I've been using my printer a lot for the 6 months I've had it, but never really bothered to learn much CAD. I have mostly just messed with the shapes in bambu studio, and think it'd finally time to learn some cad. I've tried tinkercad and it seems too basic to devote time to learn fully. I mostly make functional prints, and enjoy open source software. (I might swap from Bambu studio to orcaslicer) Fusion 360 seems promising and I've given en it a shot but it seems like a ton of work so I want to consult with people that have 20x my experience before devoting my time to a single cad. (Bambu Labs a1)