Comment on Ender 3 V2 damage?
remotelove@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
I would say it was a combination of being too tight and the tensioner being made as cheap as possible. You don’t need the belts “rock solid” and I would check the bearings/bushings on the other end for damage too. Any kind of wobble is going to amplify enough to show on your prints, but if that matters is up to you.
Also yes. It’s more than possible to print a replacement and I wuld check if there are better designs on Printables. Ideally, you want a metal one unless you print one out of PC or another strong, high temperature plastic. Repetitive bending creates heat and heat will eventually deform PLA or PETG. You will get a lot of repetive motion on a tensioner. However, nothing really needs to be perfect, just temper any longevity expectations based on what you are willing to invest in time and materials.
beastlykings@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Thanks for the recommendations! PLA and PETG are all I’ve ever printed with.
Maybe I’ll look into buying a replacement one, I’d rather not worry about it 🤷♂️
KingRandomGuy@lemmy.world 1 week ago
PETG will almost certainly be fine. Just use lots of walls (6 walls, maybe 30% infill). PETG’s heat resistance is more than good enough for a non-enclosed printer. Prusa has used PETG for their printer parts for a very long time without issues.
Heat isn’t the issue to worry about IMO. The bigger issue is creep/cold flowing, which is permanent deformation that results even with relatively light loads. PLA has very poor creep resistance unless annealed, PETG is a quite a bit better. ABS/ASA would be even better but they’re much more of a headache to print.
bluewing@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Infills over 10 to 15 percent get you very little increase in strength. It’s not until you get to the sweet spot of 80-85 percent infill rates do you get a real boost in strength. Then above about 85% the gains again taper off dramatically all the way to 100% infill. Otherwise you are merely wasting filament and money to just feel good. If you need more strength, add more perimeters and tops and bottoms.
I would use a .60mm nozzle, PETG or PLA will work just fine, 4 perimeters, and 4 top and bottom layers. And either 10% cubic or gyroid infill. That should create a part that will last for years.
beastlykings@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Thanks!
KingRandomGuy@lemmy.world 1 week ago
In my experience doing a bit more than 10% can be helpful in the event of underextrusion, plus I’ve seen it add a bit more rigidity. But you’re right that there are diminishing returns till you start maxing out the infill.
4 perimeters at 0.6mm or 6 at 0.4 should be fine.
beastlykings@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
That’s good to know, maybe I’ll give it a go then 👌
remotelove@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
Totally. There is heat from repeated deformation, but I didn’t explain how little heat it was, so I clarified in a later comment. All motion creates heat, etc, etc. (TBH, I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Oh well. I let that cat out of the bag, so it’s too late.)
But also yes, I have experienced PLA “cold flowing” on some parts as a well so I can confirm that for sure.
KingRandomGuy@lemmy.world 1 week ago
All good, it’s still something to keep in mind (especially if OP thinks about enclosing their printer in the future). Thanks for your comment!
remotelove@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
Keep in mind that any heat created from stress on plastic will still be minimal and it will just take lots of time to create visible deformation. You can mitigate this mostly by printing critical parts at 100% infill.
I always over-engineer parts that are mechanical. That is just my preference. If you look at the original part, it is likely designed to be strong on only one axis. This saves money and time for bulk manufacturing. (Compensate home prints with better materials or bulkier parts is my own rule of thumb. Everything is a trade-off, is my point.)
beastlykings@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Maybe I’ll take a crack at it then, thanks!
remotelove@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
Please do! Success is awesome, but failure is important. Enders are pure hobby printers, after all. Half the fun is tearing them apart, rebuilding components and learning what works and what doesn’t for your own use cases.
KingRandomGuy@lemmy.world 1 week ago
IMO heat formed from stress will not be a big deal, especially considering that people frequently build machines out of PETG (Prusa’s i3 variants, custom CoreXYs like Vorons and E3NG). The bigger problem is creep, which suggests that you shouldn’t use PLA for this part.
morbidcactus@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
Petg inside the enclosed though can definitely have a short service life, the original x axis idler on my mk3s gave up the ghost after a month or so of pretty consistent printing of abs in the summer, had expected it so i the first thing I did in abs was a set of prusa spares which lasted until I did a bear mod last year.
There’s obviously variation in filament though so YMMV, petg is still a solid material to use if you don’t have an enclosure (though I’m always recommending then if only for gasses and fine particles while printing)