3d Printers

Installation Notes – CR10 Mini – 2nd Z-Axis

There are two reasons I installed a second z-axis; one reason was to balance the weight of a direct drive extruder I planned to install. The other reason was to balance the weight of the x-axis in general. I noticed in December that the axis was lower on the right side of the machine by about 4 mm. Considering that my first 3D printer was about 13 inches wide with dual z-axes, I was always leery about having a printer with a wider width and one z-axis. I suppose this upgrade was inevitable.

Installation Notes – CR10 Mini – Direct Drive Extruder

CR10 Mini with upgrades desktop-am.computer

I installed a Micro Swiss Direct Drive Extruder a few days ago. Since I watched a video before buying the extruder, I knew the extruder motor would be stationed on the x-axis. I decided then that a second lead screw was needed and installed it the day before installing the extruder. There will be a post on that installation as well.

What’s Special About Ender 3?

Occasionally, when I am cruising through a Facebook 3D printing group to find answers to questions or wanting to help others looking for answers, I get the feeling that Creality Enders are all the rage. I see what seems to be endless announcements of new Ender 3 purchases. I own a different Creality printer and when I see the announcements I wonder if people know what they are in for. I have seen many complaints about the printer; especially a couple of years ago. It turns out that I am the one with the limited imagination. I failed to see the printer’s potential. Enders are open source, starter printers and if it had been around when I bought my first printer in 2016, I would never have sold it or given it away.

3DBenchy & Me

I have seen photographs of Benchys for years and I did not understand why so many people printed one. It was not until I found a benchmark tool created by Kickstarter and Autodesk last month that I bothered to find an answer. I did not realize that it is an actual bench-marking tool. After owning a 3D printer for four years, I downloaded a zip file from Thingiverse and printed my first Benchy.