Ender 3 V2 damage?

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨beastlykings@sh.itjust.works⁩ to ⁨3dprinting@lemmy.world⁩

https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/254d97fd-6e27-480b-a477-1c4904390b34.jpeg

Hi there! I’ve had this printer about a year now. I used to use my buddies og Ender 3, and when the V2 was on sale I “upgraded” and got my own.

I realize now that for just a bit more money I could’ve had a much more performant machine, but, oh well. I’m gonna use this for a good long while. I only print as an occasional hobby, or to augment my other hobbies.

Anywho, it’s been on a shelf up and out of the way all winter, unused, in a climate controlled room.

I pulled it out the other day to do a few prints, it works great. Ran about 12 or 16 hours of prints through it. But today I noticed these cracks. This seems to be the belt tensioner for the bed? Did I have it too tight? Am I supposed to relax it while it’s being stored?

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I can probably print a replacement. But I was just wondering what your thoughts were.

Thanks!

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Comments

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kitnaht@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
I repair 3D printers for a living, this was dropped or slammed into something else. That connector on the v2 is NOT a flimsy plastic. But you’re right, you can just print another one. The belts don’t have to be so tight; at best “snug”.

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- beastlykings@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  Thanks!
  
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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.

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- 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 🤷‍♂️
  
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  - 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.
    
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  - 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.)
    
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How_do_I_computah@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
Yes you’re supposed to relax it while it’s being stored but this wouldn’t cause that.

This thing was dropped on its front.

Don’t know if you got it like this or if you got someone else in the house but that y axis tensioner sticks out pretty far in the front and it looks like it got knocked pretty good.

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- beastlykings@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  Hmmm, I don’t remember it being this way when I bought it. I suppose it’s possible someone dropped it, I’ve had people watch my house over vacation. But then again, I didn’t align anything or even level the bed before I used it after storing it, you’d think it’d be at least a little out of whack?
  
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