My Flashforge Printer Journey.

[FWLR]

A week before Christmas Anne had kindly given me permission to buy a printer and after Simon got his Flashforge and is impressed with it, I have gone ahead and decided to get one myself. I am not going to rush into printing and I will definitely be taking it very slowly with anything I do with it. Having read Rik's blog on how he did his Wagon, I have done pretty much the same with Tinkercad, after printing out all the blog he did on it...Phew it was a lot... But the first thing I have found is the filament is one of the important things that needs to be right.... ABS,PLA,PLA+,PLA + Silk.

Silk I think isn't used by 16millers much is it and can be a lot more in price. I have seen however on Amazon some Sunlu SPLA filament at a very reasonable price. Even Flashforge themselves do their own filament. Should I get Flashforge's own or get a third party one...Oh the decisions....

Anyway mine came this morning..

3E17ACE7-A043-4029-A207-F4BDAAC71F82.jpeg (2.19 MiB) Viewed 14432 times

It is the same has Simon's and I also believe Trevor's. Unfortunately though I have not been very well for the last 2 days, I am going into another day. Also my back with it's two arthritic discs has gone into lockdown as well as this pandemic thing....So I am not able to unpack it yet..

I have read though that PLA+ is the better filament because it is harder than the others. Maybe other members will enlighten me on that...
Still it will be a very slow process with any printing that I will do. The important thing is to get it setup, for which on reading on here and from others on buying it, it is not really that hard. It's the fine tuning maybe that will take sometime when I can get to do some printing.

[ge_rik]

Welcome to the Dark Side, Rod.

I hope you're soon fit enough to unpack the printer and get started. By the sound of it, you've made a wise choice. From what others have posted, this printer is relatively easy to set up and get running.

I'm glad you found my blog post useful. I'm sure we all look forward to seeing what your new printer produces.

All the best

Rik

[SimonWood]

Sorry about your back; hope things improve quickly.

Welcome to the Adventurer (3) Club!

I'm too much of a newbie to give advice, but interesting questions about filament. FWIW I'm currently printing with PLA+ and one thing I've noticed is it's very much harder to remove the rafts and supports than with ABS. I have tried printing a bit cooler than the default and it prints fine but the rafts still stick rather hard. I can't say I'm a fan of it from an ease of use point of view. Maybe I'll go cooler still.

[philipy]

Personally I wouldn't worry about getting superdooper filament. I've almost never used anything other than the cheapest bog standard PLA (and ABS) available on Amazon and never had any problems. You'll probably waste a large % of the first reel anyway, whilst you work out what to do and how to do it. For a short while I did experiment with an expensive supplier, who have since gone out of business but who were very keen on the quality of their filament. I never had any probs with it but it was literally twice what the cheap stuff costs and I didn't find any advantage in their quality.

[SimonWood]

You'll probably waste a large % of the first reel anyway, whilst you work out what to do and how to do it.

This!

I have read if you switch back and forth between back to PLA from ABS which is a higher temperature filament the result is in frequent blockages. If you do it once after just giving ABS a try you might have to unclog the nozzle. But if you want to be able to do it frequently I suggest investing in a second nozzle - I've had no blockages so far...

tempImageIz7gP5.gif (115.95 KiB) Viewed 14420 times

...and I can give you a copy of my crudely Tinkered nozzle holder!

[FWLR]

Thats guys for your replies. I hope to be able to unpack it soon. I do believe that there is a small reel already in the box, is that correct. Can I ask if it is better to get another small reel or get the bigger one. How long would a small reel last. I suppose it's the "How long is a piece of string" saying though hey...

The nozzle holder would be great Simon. I will be getting an extra nozzle at some point, just in case I do end up with a blocked nozzle.

[SimonWood]

Thats guys for your replies. I hope to be able to unpack it soon. I do believe that there is a small reel already in the box, is that correct. Can I ask if it is better to get another small reel or get the bigger one. How long would a small reel last. I suppose it's the "How long is a piece of string" saying though hey...

The nozzle holder would be great Simon. I will be getting an extra nozzle at some point, just in case I do end up with a blocked nozzle.

Yes, there's a small spool of PLA in the box, I believe it's 600g. Standard spool holds 1KG.. So small spool only lasts 60% as long!

I've replied to your PM.

[philipy]

Standard spool holds 1KG..

Don't want to be pedantic, but as far as I know ( unless flashforge is different) a standard reel weighs 1Kg, BUT the plastic reel itself weighs approx 250g, so their is only approx 750g of actual filament on the 1Kg reel.

[SimonWood]

Don't want to be pedantic, but as far as I know ( unless flashforge is different) a standard reel weighs 1Kg, BUT the plastic reel itself weighs approx 250g, so their is only approx 750g of actual filament on the 1Kg reel.

Oh, didn't realise this! I've just bought the regular stuff, so I guess that's 750g. If the Flashforge spool is 600g and the ratio the same then that's only 450g of filament?

That affects the costings I've been working out. I've thought of a model that weighs 50g as costing 75p in filament when actually it's more like £1.

[Trevor Thompson]

Welcome to the flashforge experience.

You will find it pretty forgiving!

It is what Simon and I have.

I have had a blocked jet - and it was associated with changing filament type.

I don't suppose it really matters what type of filament you go for. PLA is more forgiving - although the flash forge is particularly good with ABS.

My preference is ABS because I like being able to glue and unglue with Acetone. Easy, cheap and readily available. Everything on my thread is made on the flashforge.

Trevor

[metalmuncher]

Standard spool holds 1KG..

Don't want to be pedantic, but as far as I know ( unless flashforge is different) a standard reel weighs 1Kg, BUT the plastic reel itself weighs approx 250g, so their is only approx 750g of actual filament on the 1Kg reel.

I've never got less than 1kg of plastic on a spool listed as 1kg net weight, typically the fresh spool will weigh 1250-1400g. I'm usually printing PLA from 1kg spools, I wonder if manufacturers are a bit sneaky and put less weight on ABS spools, 850g of ABS is 810cm3, whereas 1kg of PLA is 800cm3, so you would get a similar volume of plastic.

[FWLR]

Thanks Guys..

Now with the help of Anne, we have managed to get my printer out of the box. After unwrapping the plastic protective covering and getting the plug to switch it on so I can get the cardboard packing out of the machine, what did I find...

This,

8D9F3FCF-CEDD-489F-AA81-243BC0EF6088.jpeg (1.8 MiB) Viewed 14352 times

Where the hack can I get an adapter for it please....

[FWLR]

Is this what I need...

546D073F-992B-4229-A66D-10FBCB3DF943.jpeg (93.07 KiB) Viewed 14351 times

[philipy]

Why not just cut that foreign plug off and simply fit a 'proper' UK 13a plug? Much less messing about than using an adapter.

[FWLR]

If I did that wouldn’t it affect the guarantee on the machine. If god forbid something did go wrong and I needed to get it sorted they could forfeit the guarantee hey.

[FWLR]

Bit disappointed not having any replies from the guys who have the same machine. Plus some members know I am not that well up on electrics of any kind, so trying to get some kind of answer would be nice, even the one from Phillip, which wasn't what I would have expected from someone who has a lot more experience than I, was helpful though.

Ah well, I will just have to wait a bit longer now until I can get the power supply sorted and then start on my journey when it is.

[SimonWood]

Bit disappointed not having any replies from the guys who have the same machine. Plus some members know I am not that well up on electrics of any kind, so trying to get some kind of answer would be nice, even the one from Phillip, which wasn't what I would have expected from someone who has a lot more experience than I, was helpful though.

Ah well, I will just have to wait a bit longer now until I can get the power supply sorted and then start on my journey when it is.

Sorry to disappoint you Rod.

I can't offer much here except: I think the adapter you identified is the correct one (the voltage is correct, the power rating sufficient, and in the absence of any actual description there's nothing to show it wouldn't be suitable). I'd forgotten that there wasn't a UK plug in the box, but I had a look and I have the same lead you have but still in its wrapping! I think what happened is I had a spare "kettle" lead with a UK plug on it so I used that. But I'd recommend you get the adaptor - I find it's aways useful to have one or two of these convertors around (especially if you have relatives who live in France!)

I've never got less than 1kg of plastic on a spool listed as 1kg net weight, typically the fresh spool will weigh 1250-1400g. I'm usually printing PLA from 1kg spools, I wonder if manufacturers are a bit sneaky and put less weight on ABS spools, 850g of ABS is 810cm3, whereas 1kg of PLA is 800cm3, so you would get a similar volume of plastic.

Intrigued by this mystery, I popped an opened spool of ABS on the kitchen scales, it weighted in at 1233g. That includes, of course, the shrink wrap and silica (which I'm not removing until needed for the reasons identified upthread!)

[philipy]

Intrigued by this mystery, I popped an opened spool of ABS on the kitchen scales, it weighted in at 1233g. That includes, of course, the shrink wrap and silica (which I'm not removing until needed for the reasons identified upthread!)

OK, so it looks as though I was wrong, my apologies. My info came from a supplier who is no longer in business and tbh I've never thought/needed to check it. Really it's irrelevant in the day to day world of making model trains rather than printing as a business.

[ge_rik]

Rod
I think people are reluctant to respond as they aren't quite sure what type of plug that is. There are quite a few variations on this type of mains plug across the world.

This might work (I say might as it depends on exactly which type of connector that is, I believe US sockets differ slightly from continental ones - but don't quote me on that)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111896235053

You can also sometimes get them in places like B&Q

The suggestion about using a similar kettle plug lead from something else in your house is good. Not knowing the printer, I didn't realise it had a standard kettle type plug on the other end.

But, personally, I'd be inclined to slice off that continental plug and put a UK13A plug on. I don't think that would void the warranty.

Rik

[ge_rik]

On the topic of filament, you'd be best following the advice of those with the same printer.

I use Amazon Basics PLA on my cheapo printer but it doesn't work on my more expensive Eryone printer - it won't stick to the build plate. I could probably play around with the slicer settings for the Eryone to make Amazon filament work, but I find Eryone's own brand works perfectly on it and it's the same price as Amazon Basics, so I've decided to stick with it.

I've not yet tried ABS. I'm considering it as it will probably be better in the long run for garden based models. However, it would mean experimenting with the slicer settings and, from the sound of it, require a change of nozzle, so I'm staying with PLA until the present two reels run out.

I've not had problems with deterioration of PLA filament (yet!). I have a heater on a thermostat in the workshop to keep the cold and damp at bay and I use the reels so quickly they don't tend to sit around out of their wrapping for long.


Rik