In reply to Indy - Guy :
Ooops on the part of the sales guy. Unless you specified a capability the One couldn't do - I don't think it can do the continuous carbon, for example. We decided that wasn't necessary for our use case.
In reply to Indy - Guy :
Ooops on the part of the sales guy. Unless you specified a capability the One couldn't do - I don't think it can do the continuous carbon, for example. We decided that wasn't necessary for our use case.
Keith Tanner said:In reply to Indy - Guy :
Ooops on the part of the sales guy. Unless you specified a capability the One couldn't do - I don't think it can do the continuous carbon, for example. We decided that wasn't necessary for our use case.
I was very specific that cost was the most important factor.
He must have assumed that I/we were a sure thing sale because I had used (with great satisfaction) one of the Markforged machines at a former employer and tried to slip in one of their most expensive desktop models.
Hey Tom, I was thinking, what about firing this thing up and making them out of a plastic bar. With the right setup you can probably get quite a few out of that table size.
I've thought about machining, but the raw material is actually more expensive than you'd think, and it turns a hands-off process (printer spits out parts) into a hands-on process that requires three setups per part.
Anybody have experience with Fusion3 printers?
In reply to Tom Suddard :
We had one at my last job, it was quick and put out good parts but was very strange in the way it needed to be calibrated. They also use a lot of proprietary parts and firmware that led to it being "quirky" machine. We only had one technician that could get good prints off of it consistently, he's now in charge of a small army of printers there.
Tom Suddard said:I've thought about machining, but the raw material is actually more expensive than you'd think, and it turns a hands-off process (printer spits out parts) into a hands-on process that requires three setups per part.
What about Urethane casting?
Whelp, I bought a printer....
I saw a used Fusion3 F410 on eBay, and submitted a lowball best offer ($600 under asking price). I figured the seller would say no, but instead they accepted and there's a pallet full of fancy printer headed my way next week! I'll post here if/when it arrives.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
Keep us updated on your thoughts on that machine!
Quick update! The printer arrived in mostly one piece, and after an hour or so of correcting some minor shipping damage I successfully fired it up and homed the axes. Then I found it a table and rearranged the shop to fit it in.
I'm waiting on some parts and software, but hopefully will complete its first print this week!
Including freight, it took me $2500 to get to this point.
Well, you found a use for your forklift!
In reply to triumph7 :
The plan is finally coming together!
Personally besides the printer I'm just drooling over the rolly table. Looking forward to what happens next!
Lobsterpennies said:Personally besides the printer I'm just drooling over the rolly table. Looking forward to what happens next!
They're about $200 on Amazon and shockingly well made. Tons of different sizes available. Here's the one I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PQN4X24?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Quick update:
Because I bought this used, it came with modified settings. One problem: To modify settings, you either have to connect to the printer's local website or put its internal memory card into your computer and edit the configuration file directly. Plugging in an ethernet cord didn't make anything appear on the network, so it was time to open this thing up:
After some poking around I found the internal SD card, opened the configuration file, and sure enough the printer was configured to use a static IP instead of DHCP. That would make sense given this was probably used in a professional network instead of at home.
After plugging the power back in, success! I can now visit the printer's website and modify settings without disassembling anything.
In reply to thomasking1983 :
Are you a spammer? If so, just let me know now so I can deactivate your account without hunting it down later.
Time for an update...
It works!
So far, so good: this thing seems to work as I hoped, which is "press button, spit out parts" It seems to make better parts faster, and doesn't even blink printing ABS. I could never get repeatable ABS results with my Ender 3. This printer is taking 1/3 the time to print.
I'm catching up on my order backlog now, after which I plan to take advantage of the new capabilities. In theory I can print carbon-infused nylon, and I have a 16" square build plate. That offers all sorts of opportunities to build race car parts.
Looking good. Where would you get that carbon-infused nylon? Is that readily available?
Also do you need to change nozzles to print carbon?
There are a few different suppliers; here's one popular one:
https://www.matterhackers.com/store/3d-printer-filament/nylonx-carbon-fiber-nylon-filament-1.75mm
It's a super abrasive filament, so you need a hardened steel nozzle to print it. This Fusion3 printer already has one.
Time to print some parts for the printer.
This thing has an exhaust port on the back, which currently vents contaminated air directly into my shop. That's annoying.
Fusion3 sells a filter, but at $50 I think it's expensive, and it takes tiny little cartridges that only Fusion3 seems to sell. 
So, I figured I could come up with a better idea. I already buy big HEPA/Carbon filter packs for a pair of indoor air purifiers, so why not modify the printer to use them, too.
A little CAD:
A little printing...
And 18 hours later I have my part. I really should have paid attention to my support settings here, as I forgot to support the flange and pointlessly supported air around the cone, but oh well. This printer is crazy fast: This part is 100% infill and nearly 200mm in diameter, and I'm shocked I was able to print it in less than a day.
Now let's see if it fits.
Dang, that's a big part.
Whats with all the ugly lines on the outside of the base?
What was the print time on that? Edit I'm dumb, 18 hours. Pretty solid.
In reply to ProDarwin :
The ugly lines are pointless supports to nowhere. I was in a hurry slicing and didn't catch it--must have added them accidentally while making sure it didn't completely fill the tube with support.
Success!
I've definitely reduced airflow, but the fan still pulls a vacuum in the machine so I think it will work fine. I can feel a nice breeze coming through the filter.
Technically flow through the HEPA filter is reversed, though I'm not even positive this thing is directional. I figured it would be fine. Anybody else have more info? It wouldn't be too hard to put it in backwards, but I like the handy pull tabs for installation/removal.
And because I don't like to guess, I just ordered a particulate/VOC sensor. When it gets here I'll run some tests to see if this filter is actually solving my problem.
My air quality monitor just arrived. I chose this one from Amazon, and it was $70.
Why not get a cheaper one? The reviews were terrible. Lots of people mentioned cheaper monitors were missing sensors and faking data from a simple CO monitor or similar, and I figured an Amazon-branded device would at least have the sensors it promised. Plus, this will keep a log so I can track change over time.
I'm interested in two sensors: VOCs and PM2.5 (particulates). These should be good yardsticks to measure the chemicals and particulates that printing ABS creates.
I plugged it in and let it warm up, then sprayed some Brakleen in front of it and VOCs immediately spiked. I think that means it's working.
Here's my baseline with the printer printing with a filter on the exhaust and the shop exhaust fan running. I just turned the exhaust fan off, so we'll see if these numbers change.
I have some initial data!
After printing ABS for 10 hours with no filter and no shop exhaust fan, the VOC index is 17. This is relative intensity on a scale of 1-100. Amazon says anything above 25 is "Moderate" and above 65 is "Poor."
My baseline VOC index is 1, but I don't have long term data on that yet.
Next, I'll put the filter in and see what happens when printing the same file.
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