I bought one on a whim about 6 years ago. I printed my first print shortly after setting it up and… the print failed. Plastic spewed from the nozzle and made a tangled mess. I looked into it some more, continued to try to get it to work. Next the plastic doesn’t sit on the bed. Once more plastic spewing from the nozzle and a tangled mess.
I kept trying over the years, bed levelling, nozzle cleaning, third party software patching, purchasing a level measuring device, new spools, higher quality spools, new bed covers. Over and over the prints failed and I ended up, every time, the owner of a freshly produced, still warm plastic spider web. Once or twice I managed to get a print that looked at least somewhat like what I was trying to print. But it’d still be marked by poor layer distancing, bumps, fucked up layers where it didn’t adhere properly, and just generally a poor, unsatisfactory quality.
Please understand that I’ve owned a 3D printer for 6 years and don’t know the first thing about them. I must admit I didn’t realise how much learning I’d have to do when I purchased one and I’m not the brightest when it comes to this kind of thing. I also have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to pick new things up.
I merely assumed I’d be able to print small items I needed or wanted for various purposes and pick up a part time hobby along the way. But my experience has just been miserable. I don’t have the money to purchase a better printer, more up to date one, or to really fix any major issues that might plague my current one. And it’s made me want to give up the idea of 3D printing altogether.
The printer I have is a monoprice maker select. It uses PLA. I’m not able to check right now but I’m pretty sure the temps I use are ~200 / ~60. The bed is absolutely destroyed by failing to use glue as an adhesive and the bed level being so off that the printer drove it’s nozel into it and leaving a permanent dent deep into the bed.
It’s in a pretty poor condition but theres not a lot I can do about it unless the solution is extremely cheap or free. This is kind of a last ditch effort to figure out how to use the thing before I either give it away or throw it out. I’m pretty disappointed by the whole affair to be honest. I really liked the idea of 3D printing.
So, I’m here to ask, how do I even begin to make this thing work? Or should I just give up?
mechanismatic@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Unfortunately, with the factors you mentioned, you might want to cut your losses because I’m guessing you’ll just become more frustrated if you try to get more out of it. There is a learning curve for 3D printing, especially with older models like the one you have. The quality of printers has vastly improved for beginners in the last six years. Without the ability/funds to upgrade to a newer printer, what you have may be more trouble than it’s worth because it would likely take a lot of effort and learning to get it working decently. You might also need new filament since anything old is likely brittle after absorbing moisture over the years.
That said, I wouldn’t give up on 3D printing entirely. It can be a great experience. Maybe find a local makerspace that can help you or that has 3D printers of their own to learn on.
sweetgemberry@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Thank you for responding. I had a feeling that would be the case.
Can I ask what it is about the older models that make them so difficult for beginners compared to new models?
mechanismatic@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Bed adhesion is usually the biggest issue, often attributable to the z height being off, and a lot of older printers didn’t have z-axis sensors or the software to accommodate for the variances, so it involved the old paper test. Depending on the printer, it might shake itself out of its z height setting while printing. A lot of people ended up spending as much as the cost of their printer upgrading with after market parts to try to resolve some of these issues.
I haven’t used the Monoprice before, but my research says that Monoprice doesn’t make their own printers. They just rebrand someone else’s. So the Monoprice Maker Select appears to be a rebranded Wanhao Duplicator i3, which looks like it came out sometime in 2016. So while you might have bought it six years ago, the actual printer design is much older and missing out on possibly 9 years worth of innovations.
If you can eventually afford to replace it with something else, there are some sub-$400 printers out now that might give you a much nicer experience. I started with an Ender 3 v2, which was a pain, similar to what you experienced. I upgraded to a Sovol SV06, which was great (and recommended to me by a professional with a print farm and wide variety of printers). Now I’m on a Prusa CORE One, but I don’t recommend spending big until you know you’re really into 3D printing. If you do consider buying a newer printer at some point, I’d recommend seeing if you can see someone else’s in action so you can experience the difference. Makerspaces might be a good resource for this.