This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://maslowcommunitygarden.org/Maker-Made-Maker300-3D-Printer.html
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://maslowcommunitygarden.org/Maker-Made-Maker300-3D-Printer.html
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So I ordered this today, but there is surprisingly little info online about it other than a quick build video and a few project pics.
Does anyone know the finished dimensions of the machine? Iām trying to decide which table to set up for it and have several options.
Thanks in advance for the outside dimensions, and a link to any additional info would be great also.
Jason
If you mention them as @metalmaslow they may respond
Thanks for that @bar! I didnāt realize they made the 3D printer as well, as a newbie it is hard to tell who is who with all the different brandings.
contact maker made 
metal maslow does not sell 3d printers.
Sorry guys! My bad! 
I bought on black Friday and paid for the setup consultation. No instructions on how to reach anyone. Loose screws in the box. Set it up myself, no cura settings to be foundā¦ Fumbled around till that worked and now I have set screws backing out of the motor couplings, losing adhesion on the build mat, overall underwhelming performance and very buggycontrol panel that doesnāt read the memory cards or stick most of the time. Left a 2 star review that hasnāt been approved and therefore isnt able to be seen on the product page. Feeling pretty duped right now. Thought the videos looked pretty good and decided this printer was probably the ticket even with the higher price tag, but quality and far more importantly the service are failing me big time. Could have bought 2 ender 3 for this money and I can not tell that they are any different from one another.
I appreciate the feedback @Gilly24-7. That is the closest thing to a review I have seen and I find that strange being as it has been shipping for many months. I am new to 3D printing so I expect some tuning issues and will likely learn a few things the hard way. Iāve been doing a lot of study on 3D printing basics so I know what to watch for and what the cause might be. I do intend to document my experience so at least there is something out there for people to find. This is a DIY machine so I expect some trials, maybe I will start by checking the screws and maybe adding some Lock-Tite. Thanks again for the info.
Jason
So I had a much different experience with my Maker 300 3D Printer. Everything arrived in perfect shape, assembly took 40 minutes. I heated everything up, leveled the bed and loaded the filament last night. I started the Coin test print that was loaded on my USB stick this morning and it seems to be printing perfectly. I will upload pics when it is done. So far Iām very pleased, but I have a long way to go.
Jason
Here is the first print, would love any input. It looks a little odd on the finer details but that may go away with sanding/cleanup. I donāt really know what Iām looking for, so I donāt know if this print is awesome or junk.
Jason
This may not be the exact answer you are looking for but it will help you with your new ātime leachā.
Most of your answers are going to be found with Google. The MakerMade printer is very similar to other printers on the market and I am sure will respond to similar remedies to issues you will run into.
The first thing I would recommend buying is a good raspberry pi with camera and set up āocto-printā on it (well under $30 if you shop around and buy used). Then add āspaghetti detectiveā. When just learning your 3d printer, that team will save you a TON of time (and filament)!
Even with a popular printer brand like Creality, there is still some tweaking and adjusting needed to get it perfect.
There is a HUGE difference between slicing a 2D drawing for a router (ignoring engraving and tabs) and a 3D model for a FDM printer. What are you using for a slicer? There are a large number of variables that go into the g-code once you have a 3D design. You have to slice it with a slicer that you have tweaked to your particular printer. Something as simple as changing the color of filament (even if the brand is the same) can suddenly give you horrible results. Unfortunately there is not really a (affordable / consumer level) printer on the market that you can just plug a design into and out comes a flawless print on your first attempt without some adjusting and tweaking.
The best advice I can give for a universal quality improvement is to slow down. If you want a good print without getting every single slicer setting correct (layer height, nozzle temp, speed, acceleration, jerk, retraction distance, infill, wall count, skirt, etc.) then slow down your print speed!
If you are wanting speed and quality out of your printer, then you have to be willing to put in the time learn about the different slicer settings.
When in doubt, GOOGLE!
It will take you several test prints before you get comfortable with the various settings and what you need to change to achieve your desired results. Keep in mind that every time you change a variable (such as brand or even color of filament) you may need to adjust slightly.
From what I have seen with most printers, they run very slow on the included test prints. You should be able to have the same (or even better) quality at 3x-4x faster print speed. Your ability to increase speed is in optimizing your slicer settings. Most of the included files are EXTREMELY conservative so that you will be successful on that first print. If they included a faster print file and 50% of people had it fail, they would get hammered on their product reviews and quickly loose sales.
It will take a little time to get your printer fully dialed in and working great but it will be worth it once you do! It is an awesome feeling when you know that you can hit start and walk away and know that everything it is going to put down will be fast and beautiful. (or that spaghetti-detective has your back and will stop the print once it gets ugly!..lol)
Hope this helps someā¦
James
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I will take that answer, thanks James. I had been googling the Maker300 printer and finding little, I had already started trying to verbalize what Iām seeing and got better search results. Iām using CURA to do my slicing, and I got all the settings from a Maker 300 Facebook group. Iām pretty pleased with what Iām getting but my slicing is doing some weird things. My prints look good, but sometimes when it finishes a layer and moves to a new position on the part to start laying down the next layer, it leaves a track of PLA as it moves across. That extra line of plastic equates to a hump in the final piece that isnāt in the 3D file. Probably something minor, but if I could get it to stop that I would be pleased. It lays a perfect line of PLA so I believe the slicer is telling it to extrude, but it shouldnāt be.
Here is our logo (image traced from a JPG in CURA). It came out fine but you can probably see a few odd lines if you look hard enough (just above the word Favorite). I uploaded the logo too so you can see that it has a lot of details.
Thanks again, any feedback is good in my world!
Hi Jason.
The thing you are describing is called āstringingā. This happens because there is pressure in the extruder nozzle, and during a travel move, the pressure continues to force plastic out even though the extruder stops pushing. There is a setting called āretractionā that is supposed to back up the filament and drop the pressure during a travel move. You might try increasing the retraction speed, distance, or both until the stringing stops. These settings are going to need different numbers for each type of material, since they all behave differently. Turning up these numbers too high will cause underextrusion when it goes to print the next feature. There is often a setting to accommodate this in the slicers Iāve used.
Assuming the retraction is set right, you can also try turning down the nozzle temp a degree or two at a time until you find the sweet spot where the stringing stops but you are still getting good extrusion and bonding between layers.
Everything is a balance, so keep that in mind when tweaking things. Happy printing!
Thank you @Hentsch, that will speed me along as I hadnāt found the answer to that one yet. Here is the latest print, downloaded from Thingiverse and printed at highest resolution in Cura. After fixing the stringing I will move on to surface detail and try to minimize the hatching.
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Hey that looks pretty good.
For the really small strings, you can just quickly hit them with a heat gun.
If you want good surface finish, look into acetone vapor smoothing on ABS. Although, large parts like this tend to warp a lot with ABS, so maybe thatās not a great application for it.