You only need an account if you want access their cloud storage and sharing management. You can get a tiny free account if you want. I signed up for the freebie since I sometimes work between 2 computers on the same project. But if you only use one computer, it’s not going to get you anything extra.
You can add Ondsel Lens to your regular install simply by installing it through the add-on manager if you want.
You think LM being “too old” is a problem for newbies? I’ve been running some distro or other since RedHat 5. I it took me 6 weeks of waiting for Fedora to sort out most of the issues, (and I STILL have some minor ghosting issues and I ain’t no gamer), and 4 tries to get Fedora 40 to successfully take the nVidia drivers for the GTX1650 chipset in my laptop.
You think a new wannbe convert is going to put up with that?
All of them.
I’ve never had and issue with the linear rails rusting in all the years I’ve been 3D printing. But I do live in a drier temperate climate also. But dust will eat the seals up very quickly as well. If rust is a worrisome issue, hard chromed linear rods are also easily available to prevent any worry about rust. And they would outlast the the non-chrome rails significantly. That’s what I use.
As always YMMV
It’s not so much about lubrication as it is about trying to prevent seal wear. When the wiper seal gets worn and can no longer keep the dust and grit out, the rolling elements have little time left.
If the bearing as lubricated correctly at installation time, it should never need re-lubrication. But it’s important to keep the rail surfaces clean. And it’s amazing just how dusty those rails can get and just how abrasive that dust is on the bearings.
I don’t lube the rails, it attracts too much dust. But I do wiper the rails periodically. I replaced the linear rod bearings and rods on my old and trusty Mk3s+ after almost 3500 hours of operation this last winter. Though I should have probably done it a bit sooner.
For PLA and PETG, I like MatterHacker, though I have been buying some Voxel PLA lately and that’s been pretty good stuff too. Voxel does run sales that get the price down to $15/$16US a kilo.
For ABS/ASA, I’m still using a the same kilo of Zyltech ABS I bought 5 or 6 years ago. And I still haven’t used 200g yet. I did dig it out this weekend to print a couple dozen custom cable clips for my boat with it though.
I don’t own one - yet. But I have spent a good amount of time reading about users experiences with the brand. They seem to be pretty decent. The company offers good support and works to solve product issues. And users seem to be genuinely positive in their overall comments.
Just from my own research, they seem to be kind of a hidden gem that no one notices. I think it wouldn’t be wasted time for you to take a closer look them. I just need to talk myself into believing the carbon fiber rods on the X-Smart3 are fine. As always: YMMV
Use metal fasteners. Plastic fasteners are too weak for your application. The shear and tensile strength of plastic is quite low.
I think I read a CNN blurb article that insinuated that they don’t want to really go after Trump’s real estate. But they will if necessary. Because it’s a lot of work and delays to do, due to other creditors having liens so they feel that the return on the effort won’t be good enough.
They want the cash and liquid assets they can more easily get and convert first. And if they get those assets, then Trump will probably need to sell a chunk of his real estate to cover his loans and all his creditors can then start fighting over the carcass.
The issue is Crealty makes price point products. Maybe you get a good one or an OK one, a kind of bad one, or a dumpster fire. And there is no way to know what you are going to get, to get the results any one user is expecting - even if you consult Tarot Cards…And add in the total lack of support it can be more than a little bit of a gamble to buy.
My personal opinion is, if money is that tight that’s the best you can afford, then you can’t really afford cheap - let alone the ongoing costs of 3D printing, (upgrades, repairs, and filament ain’t free). And since it’s very often new users looking to get into the hobby, (which is great), they have no idea just what the learning curve is like when things go wrong. And how fussy it can be to make those failures go away. That shiny new cheap printer that provided that quick dopamine hit when you first unboxed it, can quickly become a point of never ending frustration and a bit of a money sink for a new user.
Overall, buy what you like. I’m certainly not paying for it. But not a lot of people have ever regretted the “Buy once, cry one” approach.
And that can be a very valid reason to enjoy the hobby.
Those touch screens are all a part of the accessories. And I dislike them intensely also. I also find it very disheartening that in some new cars a software up date is needed to make the dock locks work. A friend had to take his mother’s Kia in to rematch the door locks to a new key. They needed to remove the door handles and plug them into a computer to do so.
The last new car I bought, (2015 Jeep Patriot), made me search EVERY car dealer in 2 states before I found one that had manual door locks and manual windows. I often haul dogs around with me and while they are quite good at locking doors and rolling up windows, they really, really suck at rolling them down or unlocking the doors. It took me a couple of months of weekly searching to finally find one for sale.
“Dumb car” is kind of relative. Computer engine controls have been around since the mid 1970’s. And while the first ones were not very good, they have become pretty darned reliable over the intervening years. And as someone who has owned cars and other heavy equipment with mechanical points and down draft and up draft carburetors, you won’t ever see me willingly own a car with any of that anymore.
If you really want to minimize the electronics as much as possible, look at 1990’s to no later than 2010 models.
Though to be fair, much of the problems with cars are caused by the accessories like power windows, door locks, air conditioning, and power seats. Those are far more problematic than the basic car itself.
As someone who has tried and used all of the popular commercial and free CAD software - Use what you like and works best for you.
I used OnShape to teach some rudimentary CAD skills to High school students just because it will run on the low powered school issued Chromebooks without problems and it fit the school budget - free. It was easy for me to pickup because I spent years using SolidWorks for a living as a toolmaker.
The most difficult part was getting the kids to use a mouse. Noticeable number are so used to touch pads and screens that they didn’t even understand HOW to the the mouse.
While I have always preferred PrusaSlicer, since I do own a Mk3s+, I used to use Cura also. But it just seemed to get worse with every new update/release until I just quite using it at all. Makes me sad because there were some good things things there I really liked.
I think it led to the infamous “FreeCAD way” attitude amongst devs and power users.
I’ve always felt that was more of a “It’s cooler to add a new feature like so we end up with 3 different assembly workbenches, (none of which are actually useable), rather than fix long term problems” thing. Which I suppose, can lead to “FreeCAD way or the highway” attitude.
In any case, FreeCAD now has a workable road map to the future. And things are going to get so much better for the end users. And I’m looking forward to it. I can already see the effects in the .22 Dev releases.
Now try that with a design that has hundreds of parts in the final assembly and try making 100 design changes as you go along. FreeCAD and it’s assembly workbenches do best with a very limited number of parts in the assembly and even fewer design changes.
Failing gracefully is what is pretty much the major difference between FreeCAD and and commercial CAD. All CAD programs will fail in use at sometime, you can certainly break any of them while working with them. I know I have if I create a complex enough design.
But a more graceful failure is less likely to cause the end user who might not be fully up on the software a major issue beyond a “Nope, ain’t doing that operation for you”. FreeCAD isn’t quite there yet and it will a while before they do. But there is hope with the new consortium now leading the way. There is a roadmap and the adults in the room are getting the Devs to eat their broccoli and fix long standing issues - looking at you topological naming issue…
I have an old Mk3s that’s been living in a Lack enclosure for almost 5 years now. Back in those days, all enclosures were DYI affairs and the Lack was cheap, easy to build and works.
I have always fed the filament down directly through the top of the enclosure through a “trumpet” that is inserted through the table top. No PTFE tube required or wanted. Something like this is what I use: https://www.printables.com/model/233868-lack-enclosure-filament-grommet Slot style inserts seem to be the rage these days, but I haven’t been tempted to switch.
So, unless the Nextruder isn’t as good as the old Mk3 extruders, I’m pretty sure you don’t need the PTFE tube. Just feed it directly to the top of the extruder as if the enclosure isn’t there.
No, you don’t need an account if you get Ondsel from their git https://github.com/Ondsel-Development/FreeCAD/releases
But, there is a free account that even gives you a bit of cloud storage if you want it. Or you don’t even need to sign into it if you don’t want. They do want to sell cloud storage for commercial use - Daddy’s got to make a living you know. But, the software is still open source and free to keep and use as you see fit.