Waiting for My First 3D Scanner - Funding via IndieGogo - Creality CR-scan Lizard

Nothing could go along better with a pair of Creality 3D printers than a Creality 3D scanner, right?

Well, it seems that the folks at Artec think that Creality are going to take over the 3D scanner market and have taken KickStarter to court. I have gotten tired of looking through emails to find the links to various aspects of the situation, so I am grouping some links here to simplify following-up with things as they proceed.

My First Desktop Resin 3D Printer Experience - Creality Halot-One Resin 3D Printer

I have used this printer for finer-details 3D models, specifically for model railroading. I can see its value for preparing casting molds.

Easter Monday EXCLUSIVE New Arrivals

My Second 3D Desktop Printer Experience - Creality Ender 5+ 3D FDM printer

This was the first operational 3D printer that I purchased. It's budget pricing was perfect. It arrived right at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, so I used it for learning to use it while 3D printing various items for mask bands, then followed by semi-facial respirator-style masks.

Fixing a Clogged Nozzle on an FDM 3D Printer

At one point, I experienced a recurring issue with the nozzle of my Ender 5+ getting jammed with melted filament, instead of flowing freely onto the build plate. After a bunch of online research and trying various nozzle height adjustments, I found one suggestion to recut the end of the Bowden tube more accurately square.

So, I placed my order on Amazon for a Bowden tube cutter. When it arrived, I performed the following steps and I was back in business again with 3D printing:

  • Heat up the hot end (nozzle)
  • Withdraw the filament into the Bowden tube several inches
  • Remove the retaining clip (blue in my case) and withdraw the Bowden tube from the hotend
  • Remove the nozzle and clean it up while it was still warm
  • Cut a short piece of ABS filamane, warm it will a small lighter until it was just about to drip and quickly stick the melted end into the hotend
  • After allowing it to cool, give a quick yank on the ABS filament and a blob of the residual PLA will come out, stuck to the end of the section of ABS filament
  • Using the tubing cutter tool, carefully cut a square end on the Bowden tube, sacrificing a short piece of the tube, about 3/4" or so
  • Reinstall the clean nozzle, snugly
  • Insert the Bowden tube into the hotend, firmly to ensure it seats into the top of the nozzle, and replace the retaining clip
  • Heat the hotend and once it reaches a normal operating temperature, tighten the nozzle firmly
  • Feed the filament back through the nozzle and enjoy some trouble-free 3D printing

The Crazy3DPrint filament printer was sent back to Amazon. In its place, I bought a Creality Ender 5+ filament printer. What a world of difference. It printed exactly as expected, right out of the box.

First Impression - CZ-300

2020-03-05 - I had a large enough time snippet to setup a sample 3D plot from the SD card provided with the printer. I leveled the bed twice, it came out seemingly great after the second round. I then loaded the filament and setup the warming up process. Once the bed and nozzle were up to temperature, per the readout on the controller, I loaded the sample and waited for it to start. It was a few more minutes as the nozzle was not quite up to temperature. Then, all Hell broke loose; the filament retracted back into the tube, then drove forcibly back into the tube, pushing the tube off the filament feeder, then it retracted the filament back again, pulling it right out of the nozzle and wrapping the reel end over the filament feed motor, jamming that up. While that was happening, the nozzle starts moving from its parked position and keeps trying to push down onto the heated glass bed making a deep scratch from the corner to the origin where it started to scratch the first layer of the model into the glass. I managed to find the stop print option on the controller before any further damage ensued.

This machine clearly had cross-wiring issues. My options were A) send it back to Amazon or B) disassemble it, voiding my warranty and see if I could resolve it myself. I decided to go with option A.

  • Bed does not reach operating temperature.
  • Nozzle barely gets above room temperature, it should achieve over 400 degrees F; doesn't melt filament.
  • Z-axis motor does not lift extruder, drags nozzle across glass bed.
  • Filament motor extends and retracts filament at an insane speed.
  • May be more problems with unit, but I cannot even get it to properly setup.

3D Printing and Patent and Copyright Law

I was thinking about the implications of the ease with which an individual could make one or more copies of a product, using a 3D printer. While I formulate my thought on the subject, following are some links on the subject.