Original 3D Printing Setup for Lunar Prototypes
I wanted to write about where I'm at from a 3D printing perspective when I'm starting this venture so I can look back upon it fondly one day and see if anything has changed. In this post I'm going to detail my current 3D printing setup, slicing software I use, and where I hope to go.
As I wrote this post, I was reminded of every single recipe article on the planet that has like six hours of narrative before you finally scroll to the recipe, so in an effort to break that trend, I'm going to BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) this.
BLUF Recommendations
This is my current recommendation for mods. Note, this will absolutely change as I learn and grow. But it's worked for me to this point.
Current Printer:
Ender 3v2
Current Mods:
- Ferrule Crimped Power Supply Leads
- PEI Print Bed
- Silicone Bed Springs
- Red Bed Leveling Wheels
- Briss Printer Duct
- Voron M4 Extruder
- Klipper running on a Raspberry Pi
- CR Touch
Tested Mods:
- Cable Chains
- Dual Gear Extruder
Current Slicing Software:
- SuperSlicer
Tested Slicing Software:
- Cura
- PrusaSlicer (Limited)
Current CAD Software:
- Fusion360
Tested CAD Software:
- Blender
Now for the narrative.
The Printer
After much research for cheap starter 3D printers, I eventually settled on the Ender 3v2. It was exactly as described. A cheap starter 3D printer. Not knocking it, but I certainly caught a lot of grief from my friends with fancy Prusa printers that, yknow, actually worked.
Then the power supply fan failed. After a week of happily printing random STLs from Thingiverse. A quick chat with Amazon customer service resulted in me getting the entire printer refunded, much to my surprise.
Initially I just asked for a $8 replacement fan that I'd install myself, but I guess they weren't prepared for that and just refunded me for the printer. Thus began my foray into the mods for my printer.
The Mods
Another set of Amazon purchases and some helpful YouTube videos later, I was back to printing the Rocktopus and Octoputin for friends, fixing my dishwasher with a part printed in PETG (which hasn't failed after two years of heavy use... but it's about to), and generally really enjoying the hobby.
Then things kind of escalated.
I was having trouble with bed adhesion, so that meant a PEI sheet. I had an issue with bridging, so that meant cooling, which meant a new hot end cooling duct, which meant new fans, which meant splicing wires. I decided cable chains were cool, so those were printed too.
I decided the extruder wasn't performing as well as I'd like, so I bought a dual gear extruder. I ended up with an extremely odd machine that continued to work pretty well. Right up until I heard about Voron Design. Immediately I wanted to build a Voron. This meant being able to print ABS. So, I got an enclosure and started printing ABS surprisingly successfully given that I had the stock hot end.
Current Setup:
Klipper and Mainsail
Pretty quickly I got tired of walking a USB stick over to my printer and searched for a better way. Initially I went with Octoprint and a Raspberry Pi. That worked well for a while, until I started digging into Voron and read about Klipper and Mainsail.
I found the Mainsail interface to be cleaner and more feature packed. Macros are a huge help, especially for filament changes and loading/unloading filaments. Configuring Klipper wasn't too bad either, I found a number of good guides online (probably on Reddit) and I'm familiar with Linux and the Raspberry Pi already, so that helped.
Tuning Klipper was an involved process, for sure, but once that was done the machine has operated pretty much flawlessly (barring user error) for over a year. Which, considering that the machine at its heart is an Ender 3v2, I take that as a win.
CAD Software
Trying to keep things as open source as possible, I initially set out to learn Blender. Following the tutorial videos from the donut guy really helped and got me to some basic manipulation. But my focus was more on the mechanical aspect of things rather than any sort of artistic, so eventually I went with Fusion360 as my choice.
I'm pretty comfortable with Fusion360 now. I've learned a lot in the last two years, and going back to my earlier designs is pretty rough. Parametric modeling was also a game changer for me. Being able to modify designs without digging into them really helps, plus it enabled me to integrate it with the website.
Slicing Software
Initially I used Cura. This was great for entering into the hobby as it wasn't super complicated. The more I dove into tuning the printer, the more I started to feel its limitations. Eventually I tried SuperSlicer for this very reason.
Despite the fact that SuperSlicer doesn't yet have tree supports, the calibration features of SuperSlicer really sold me. Detailed explanations, step by step guides, visuals, all of these really helped me tune in my prints. I know it's a fork off PrusaSlicer, and I've installed PrusaSlicer, but just haven't yet gotten around to configuring it.
Conclusion
So there you have it, the current state of printing at Lunar Prototypes. As you can see, I have much to learn still, and welcome feedback from anyone reading this. Also, I'd be happy to do a deep dive on any one of these many topics if there is interest.
Now you've got a glimpse into my 3D printing setup and the learning curve that came with it. What about you? Have any tips or experiences you want to share? Drop them in the comments—I’m always keen to learn more and see how others are navigating their 3D printing adventures.
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