Getting in to 3D Printing in the April 2020 Lockdown
Deliveries
I ordered my printer on Monday 27/4/20 late at night from Anycubic3dcom on ebay. Tuesday morning i got an email saying they were upgrading my sample resin pot to 500ml on top of the 3 litres I bought, but the resin would be arriving in a separate delivery. It’s Wednesday and this morning I got an email with tracking details. It’s currently saying it’s coming by Yodel and they have yet to collect the parcel.
The printer is currently in my living room having just been delivered by DHL. It has “This Way Up” on the side, but because the address was printed the other way around it arrived upside down. There is no resin in the box so I can’t start printing yet, but I’ve something. hopefully the Yodel box is the resin and will arrive soon. Not being able to print before the weekend is probably for the best so I can focus on finished off my final 30 Mythic Battles minis.
Everything in the box£240 approx for the machine and the damn thing wobbles! The feet are uneven. I’ve tried multiple surfaces and screwed the feet in tight and its still wobbling. Its also packed so tightly with foam inside I can’t get it out. i don’t want to tug too hard or cut it for fear I damage something.
I forgot, but mine came with that white foamy packaging and it really was stuffed inside. Personally I think this gave it better chance of arriving undamaged. I cut mine out in a couple of parts (if the resin vat isn’t already separate, be careful near the bottom!) To level the machine, I wound all the feet all the way in, then wound each one down, as necessary, to make contact with the tabletop. It’s now rock-solid. It’s not necessary to get the machine absolutely 100% perfectly level in all axes (it just means the resin won’t sit perfectly level… Read more »
The foam was made out of about 4 blocks glued together so I carefully pulled them apart along the joins and removed them piece by piece. It still fought back. I daren’t cut as I couldn’t see what they were protecting and didn’t want to damage any components or puncture a possible sample pot of resin. I also did that with the feet. Adjusted them like I would on a washing machine. Seems to have done the job. The current problem is that the resin appears to be coming in 2 other packages, one of which is on its way… Read more »
I’m sure you’ll be fine! Did your vat come with FEP attached? I haven’t yet had to change mine (that’s when a lot of people say they’ve had problems). Don’t bother with any of those “clever” alternative methods of bed levelling – just use a piece of notepaper or office printer paper (the cheap flimsy 80gsm stuff) and cut it slightly larger than your screen. Lower the print head down and try to pull the paper out. Lower by 0.1mm at a time until you feel the print head offer resistance on the paer. You know you’ve got it right… Read more »
I’m not 100% sure what I’m looking yet. All I’ve done so far is unpack it and screw on the handle. I’m waiting for the resin to arrive before I do any more. I expect to have to learn a fair bit in a short period then, and to make some basic mistakes, but hopefully have my second or third print resolve them all. I’m looking at short prints to begin with so hopefully I can figure it all out within a day or two. I am quite tempted to go prepping files. I’ve already grabbed a few STLs of… Read more »
If the FEP is the clear plastic film at the bottom of the bath, then its already in place. Good job I check the bath and the printer were full of little bits of fluff from the packaging foam. I’ve got out all I can now. Hopefully it won’t be a problem.