I could use some help with 3D printing

[Crafter1542]

So I am planning on getting the Tevo Tornado in a few days/weeks, and I am trying to calculate costs for things I’ll need besides the printer itself. I know that a 1 kg roll of pla is approximately $25-$30. The first of my questions is how long does that last, on average? Also, does anyone know of any cheaper rolls that are still reliable*? And my last question is what else might I need/want to have a good start in 3D Printing?

 

[spacebob]

Hi there.
I printed a shore trooper helmet with a 1kg roll of pla but I could have set it to print it with out with a higher infill that would have used prob another third again.
I just used cheap £11 pla from ebay and it works fine.

 

[Crafter1542]

Ok, thanks. What did you have for your infill settings? One of the projects I want to do is a fully printed iron man, so I figure that any 3D printed helmet is going to have similar settings

 

[laellee]

For filament, don't go cheap. My rule of thumb (besides checking 3d printer groups and forums) is to jump on Amazon and check reviews. While there are excellent relatively cheap filaments out there, poor quality filament at any price is going to cause a lot of problems, especially for someone new to printing. And I'm not just talking bad prints, it can cause clogging in your print nozzle, excessive wear, etc.... In other words stuff that will really mess up your first printing experiences.

As for how long a roll lasts, the better question is how much will it print. As an example (and printer settings such as infill affect everything), a 1k roll gets me through about 4 pistol-sized models with some left over. And you WILL have failed prints, everybody does even with the best machines. Don't get discouraged, once you get to know your machine and the processes of printing, it all gets easier. Good luck!

 

[Crafter1542]

Ok, thanks!

 

[Mad Monkey]

thats the printer i wanna buy when i have money!

id be interested in seeing how you get along!

 

[Crafter1542]

Sure, I’ll try to put updates when I get it, but as a warning, I am bad at recording/organization my projects

 

[Noeland]

Yeah, I've been using a tiny little monoprice mini for about a year. My first 3D printer, and I'm completely hooked. Love it. Planning to get one with a larger print bed in 2019.

My wife got me 3 rolls of PLA with the printer. I still have them all. I picked up a few colors of PLA later on, but I mostly use black and gray PLA. I like Hatchbox. The red Hatchbox is nice as well.

You'll also need a tool for getting the models off the print bed. The printers come with them too, and they are usually a thin flat dull chunk of metal. I have found that using the chisel attachment for an exacto knife works a lot better.

 

[Crafter1542]

Ok, got it. I might be able to make a scraper for myself that works better than the one with the printer

 

[Mad Monkey]

I've seen a cool scraper used on a few videos. Dunno how good it is..


BuildTak Spatula - BuildTak

 

[Crafter1542]

That’s cool, but I don’t think I’m going to spend 20 dollars on a scraper that could be found cheaper somewhere else. Especially since I’m haveing to deal with filament costs

 

[MangyDog]

The best scraper would be the builders one where you git it with Stanley razors.... Very sharp and dangerous but gets under well stuck on prints...

Alternatively get yourself a bargain scraper from any old tool shop or DIY store and sharpen it up a little... doesnt need to be a lot... just enough to squeeze under the plastic.

 

[Crafter1542]

Yeah, I was thinking I would sharpen an existing tool

 

[Mad Monkey]

Oh I'm all about the cheap game!

From what I've seen too a glass bed helps prints unstick by just pulling. No tools required

 

[Crafter1542]

Yeah, I think I saw somewhere that a glass tile from Home Depot works wonders

 

[Mad Monkey]

The 12x12.mirrors from. Walmart in a 6pack I heard are great.

The unlce Jessey YouTube channel is good

 

[Crafter1542]

Cool, I’ll check it out

 

[mattycsi]

When I used to print direct onto the glass bed I found just letting it cool was sufficient. You would actually hear it pop loose as it cooled.

 

[Crafter1542]

Huh, that’s cool

 

[MangyDog]

With glass you really want borosilicate glass it doesn't warp and is stronger than cheap glass, it won't shatter on the print bed when you heat it to 110c......

Plenty of places to get it cheap on eBay.

Also get a can of the cheapest hair spray you can get... Cheaper the better, and give your glass mitsy spray. It helps adhesion. But also normally helps stop petg prints pulling glass away from the rest of the plane.

For pla... Ignore the naysayers on cheap filament.... You can almost never go wrong with the cheap stuff. But if you want entry level cheap branded stuff, e-sun are great also do cheap abs which i use. Both their pla and abs is about 10-12 quid... Save buying expensive filament for the more exotic things like carbon fiber or poly carbonate.

Most important, if you want to print abs, and you would, sort yourself out with an enclosure for the printer... Not only for the smell but to trap the heat. Ideally when printing abs, the chambers wants to be over 30c... I let mine get to 45c... This way abs won't warp on the bed.... Don't even attempt to print abs without an enclosure, it will fail, unless you get really hot summers