The first A8 video I've watched where there were no bed issues, complaints about prints sticking, bad prints, etc. Good job! I can only surmise you took great care with assembly.
Pretty sure most people would do that if it was easy to make money off of what you love doing, but some people just aren't good enough at the things they love, or they can't make money off the things they love.
This video really helped me. I purchased the Anet A8 DIY kit to understand the technology behind 3D printers.I was on the verge of purchasing a heatbed stabilizer, then I found your straightforward video. I am good with the manual process for a while, thanks to you.
Got mine when they were $139...well plus about $50 shipping...so printer for less than $200, printed so much finally snapped the GT2 belt and had to order 5M of it...will be back up and printing soon... Definitely need a few aesthetic addons/mods to make the printer even better, the bed leveling screw thumb knobs, the x and y axis belt tensioner, maybe some filament guides, and I printed the z wobble shoes that go on the z screws. Recommend a drop or two of sewing machine oil on the rails and screws, it helps alot. P.S. Roger you need to loosen the set screws on the z rods, and pull them up till they are inside the vertical holes in the frame so they don't wobble, higher prints will end up failing due to z wobble
Thanks for making this video! It was very helpful as I was making the final preparations to my first print. I hope to see more videos from you in the future!
I just did my home all for the first time this morning on my A8. ;) I'm going to double check my leveling later this evening, and maybe run a test print.
Hi Roger I had the same problem as you with heater not working, while waiting for replacement I checked the heater and after removing insulation found a bad crimp on heater tail, soldered the wire to heater tail and it works and has done ever since. PQ
What a beautiful print say! I have done a bit longer with my self buld printer! Solve many problems. Then this printer is definitely worth its money! Very successful with ........ greetings from the Netherlands! Rob.
Hi Roger. I'm just about at this phase of my build which has taken longer than I expected, mainly because of conflicting family commitments but also because some of the parts needed a bit of work. I had problems with the extruder mount and had to chase the M3 holes with a tap. I also wasn't happy about using the provided countersink head screws on the X axis motor mount so I used some nice pan head screws instead. Apart from that, the build was fairly straight forward. I did a power on test and everything worked OK except it seemed to go rather deep on my Z axis, up to the top of the heater block. I didn't have much time last session but I'll have a closer look this coming weekend. It caused a minor crash but no damage as I caught it straight away. I can only currently work on this on the weekends as I'm doing the build at our local maker studio. Anyhow, any advice would be most welcome.
I love the Anet A8 but how they implemented the bed levelling is a right pain. I've done the conversion to leveling from underneath with a bed leveling knob. I have adjusted it to make it a bit more stable though.
Yah my heater cartridge had a wire beak about a month in of printing. Went through almost 2kg of filament in that time. I have a zip tie holding it tight so I can still manage some small prints while I wait for the 10 pack of replacement/backup cartridges comes from amazon.
I put together the Anet A8 and it got hot on a test then pressed cooldown came back later now the extruder and bed won't heat up. This is my first 3D printer.
I just bought a Anet A8...the one issue I have during a print is, extruder issues. It will print and the extruder starts to skip and the feed just stops. Ive adjusted the tension, yet it keeps happening. Other then temp and speed... what else would be an issue?
First i would say thank you for this video ,,, i just finish the build of my anet a8 printer same as yours but unfortunately i didn't succseed to get at least a decent adhesion to the bed, i am not sure right now if the problem came from cura setting or bed temp or nozzle temp or ......it could be anything finally my bed is set correctly with the nozzle but filament didn't stick to the masking tape and i have no idea why..... do you know if there are any way to get all of your setting i mean fan speed bed temp nozzle speed etc this would be nice to compare with mine thank you!
I am new to the Anet A8 and trying to get it to print. I can go to the menu and preheat the extruder and bed and I can read the temps in the LCD. But when I go to print I see the bed heating but the extruder shows a "0" for the set temp. If you are using Cura what is your start G code and end G code for the Anet A8 printer?
question about the heating element, I'm having a problem with the nozzle maintaining the required filament temperature, for example for pla the spool has a suggested temp of 190-230, I am able to set s preheat temperature however according to the lcd it actually never reaches that temp nor will it hold the preheat temp of 190, as that what you encountered prior to replacing your heating element?
i wholeheartedly recommend replacing the belts for better quality butyl+glass fiber ones. and adding an x belt tensioner, that rests against the guide rods, so you can tighten it properly, without puling the Z idler "blocks" together inwards, which flexes the z axis leadscrews and rods out of whack. (the stock belts are the worst, i ever layed my hands on - stiff, springy, and stretchy like od socks. upgrading noticably reduces "wobbles" at higher speeds, visible as slight waves/ripples in walls)
You really should secure the cables of the hotend/extruder to the extruder carraige, the anchor you used by the LCD is for this purpose. It prevents the wires snapping over time on the hotend.
Just set one of thes up myself. However, the extruder seems to be taking far far too long to heat up (about 0.1 degree every couple minutes). Is this normal?
Hi Roger i have a ender 3 pro and it has blue screen when i turn it on...Got a silent motherboard for it thinking it was the old motherboard and it worked for a day then next morning blue screen again....aNY TIPS FOR A FELLOW AUSSIE?
Now that you've had it for a couple months, What would you do differently for the initial setup if you got a new one again? Such as adjustments in the display / control settings, hot bed adjustment, etc... Like adjusting the speed, etc I bet you'd have a lot of views on a nice follow-up video of the Initial Setup, fine tuning video :) I have been looking for something like that for over an hour & just can not find anything... Your video is the best one so far, but its still a first setup one, so knowing what you know now, it would be a nice idea to do a "Initial setup & starting out" video guide for people from the perspective of someone who has already gotten past that 7 learned a few new things :) It would be nice to see what you have done, especially after your first few prints, to increase print quality, accuracy, etc... Anyways, thanks for the video :P
Hello Roger I purchased the same printer for Xmas for my kids. So far I have no complaints. I wanted to mention 2 affordable upgrades that I will be making to mine though. 1) I ordered the auto bed level sensor from Gearbest. 2) I purchased a heated bed power expansion board. which isolates the use of the power from mainboard for the heated bed. Basically a higher rated setof contacts. Not sure if either of these upgrades are totally necessary but for $20 and a half-hour of my time it seems worth it. Keep up the good work.
Hi Tim, can you post a link or vid or any details as to which type is good on those? I checked ebay & found a few different types & I would rather purchase 1 that someone has tried and liked :) Thanks!
Here's the type i bought. I couldn't dig up the listing from my purchase since it was over 60 days but this it the same one. I ordered 2 just to have a spare and in case I got another printer:) since they are cheap. VERY easy to install as well. You can also go to Thingiverse and find mounting brackets for it as well. www.ebay.com/itm/272587833343?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Hope this helps.
Roger, This is Steve from Clarendon Hills, IL USA. Congrats on your successful build and test of the 3D printer, I had the same results here! Cheers to you, keep up the great work! I am interested what you will be creating with the machine. I may suggest the cooling duct ring, the even distribution of air over the nozzle as compared to only blasting from one side has improved my print quality even more, I know you will agree! Thanks Again for your efforts!
Hi Roger. looking at to hotbed and i am wondering what kind of material are you using to cover the plate(hot) ?. Thanks for all the videos you have shared the us, Cheers
why set the X axis bearing blocks to 240mm ? couldnt you set it to 250mm and adjust your x axis end stop to some specific amount ? and thank you for your time.
Roger, How bad are the fumes? I haven't worked with any 3D printers so I have no reference. Did you need ventilation while you printed the sample robot? I enjoy your video.
PLA is no smell, ABS smells like acetone ( a fan will help distribute/dilute the smell, best is an enclosure to maintain even temperature of the print as ABS shrinks) and PETG has no smell It takes some tweaking to get the Anet A8 to be able to print ABS because the anemic heated bed, stock it will take forever to get close to ABS printing temperatures
My anth a8 does not work well! Setting of the extruder is probably not good, How do I fix this? I think too much plastic comes out of the nozzle. (Too much extruding) Also the nozzle rubs (too hard) against the workpiece. How can i change that? On the LCD screen do I think? Please inquire about it Or maybe you have a link to how I change it/that? friendly greetings from The Netherlands! Rob.
Hi Rob, 1- Level the bed as in my video. 2- In Cura check the layer height if 0.1mm change to 0.2mm. 3- In Cura check the print speed (mm/s) is 50 (mm/s). 4- In Cura check the filament (mm) is the correct diameter eg 1.75 mm. Pacific Tooling; Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb
Hello roger The steps you call I have Walk through in the beginning. Strange, the printer was Working good now!? I have now taken another Work piece. And now the printer did well!? (A bit confused,.... but happy!!!) So there was something wrong at first, but what? I do not know. Thank you so far for your answer/writing. Regards Rob.
Hi, you need to run the file in CURA software, Ultimaker Cura prepares your model for 3D printing. CURA software is free. Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb ultimaker.com/en/products/ultimaker-cura-software
I just turned mine on for the first time and its like it did not register the end switches so it basically crashed on all axis. Its 3am now and I am too tired to keep messing with it but hopefully I can figure it out tomorrow
Hi! I bought an Anet A8 printer It was printing normally, but the thermistor dropped and when I saw it was coming out smoke from the printer, so I unplugged the plug. The problem is that when I try to print something the filament is coming out thick (even gushed) even with the temperature of 200 degrees that I used to use before the smoke happened. Help me, pleaseeeeee
Its coming PLA with, aluminium, copper, brass and an interchangeable 3D printing head for our CNC routers by the end of 2017.Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb ;-)
When I finish with the printer... do I leave filament in the extruder - or pull it out while its still hot? There is very little "How to ..." information about this printer....any pointers -links that could help an idiot like me understand what to do??
Just assembled my anet a8 downloaded cura , need to learn how to get started so i can design and print . any videos on that or anyone willing to explain it to me?
The first A8 video I've watched where there were no bed issues, complaints about prints sticking, bad prints, etc. Good job!
I can only surmise you took great care with assembly.
We need more people like this in the world. People who are doing what they love and loving what they are doing
Pretty sure most people would do that if it was easy to make money off of what you love doing, but some people just aren't good enough at the things they love, or they can't make money off the things they love.
I just turned 13 and built it all by myself, nothing is wrong with it and my prints are as good as yours :D
This video really helped me. I purchased the Anet A8 DIY kit to understand the technology behind 3D printers.I was on the verge of purchasing a heatbed stabilizer, then I found your straightforward video. I am good with the manual process for a while, thanks to you.
Update: I bought a mini ignition feeler gauge tool to be more precise in measuring distance.
Well, I just finished assembling mine. I hope it goes as well for me as it did for Roger
I have the same printer. Great bit of kit for an exceptional price.
Just finished my build. Thanks very much for explaining the levelling.
Got mine when they were $139...well plus about $50 shipping...so printer for less than $200, printed so much finally snapped the GT2 belt and had to order 5M of it...will be back up and printing soon...
Definitely need a few aesthetic addons/mods to make the printer even better, the bed leveling screw thumb knobs, the x and y axis belt tensioner, maybe some filament guides, and I printed the z wobble shoes that go on the z screws.
Recommend a drop or two of sewing machine oil on the rails and screws, it helps alot.
P.S. Roger you need to loosen the set screws on the z rods, and pull them up till they are inside the vertical holes in the frame so they don't wobble, higher prints will end up failing due to z wobble
THANK YOU KIND SIR, I WAS HAVING SO MANY FAILED PRINTS, AND IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE HEATBEAD NOT BEING 1 MM FROM THE NOZEL!
This was the video I needed it got my mind off of other things and it was just so relaxed
Thanks for making this video! It was very helpful as I was making the final preparations to my first print. I hope to see more videos from you in the future!
I just did my home all for the first time this morning on my A8. ;) I'm going to double check my leveling later this evening, and maybe run a test print.
Hi Roger I had the same problem as you with heater not working, while waiting for replacement I checked the heater and after removing insulation found a bad crimp on heater tail, soldered the wire to heater tail and it works and has done ever since. PQ
What a beautiful print say!
I have done a bit longer with my self buld printer!
Solve many problems.
Then this printer is definitely worth its money!
Very successful with ........
greetings from the Netherlands!
Rob.
Thank you for you information, you help me to chose to buy this machine after looking for hours on internet. :))
Hi Roger. I'm just about at this phase of my build which has taken longer than I expected, mainly because of conflicting family commitments but also because some of the parts needed a bit of work. I had problems with the extruder mount and had to chase the M3 holes with a tap. I also wasn't happy about using the provided countersink head screws on the X axis motor mount so I used some nice pan head screws instead. Apart from that, the build was fairly straight forward.
I did a power on test and everything worked OK except it seemed to go rather deep on my Z axis, up to the top of the heater block. I didn't have much time last session but I'll have a closer look this coming weekend. It caused a minor crash but no damage as I caught it straight away. I can only currently work on this on the weekends as I'm doing the build at our local maker studio. Anyhow, any advice would be most welcome.
I love the Anet A8 but how they implemented the bed levelling is a right pain. I've done the conversion to leveling from underneath with a bed leveling knob. I have adjusted it to make it a bit more stable though.
Yah my heater cartridge had a wire beak about a month in of printing. Went through almost 2kg of filament in that time. I have a zip tie holding it tight so I can still manage some small prints while I wait for the 10 pack of replacement/backup cartridges comes from amazon.
Going to build this machine soon!!
Great video I hope you print all the upgraded part's and make a video of you installing them! keep up the good work
I put together the Anet A8 and it got hot on a test then pressed cooldown came back later now the extruder and bed won't heat up. This is my first 3D printer.
I just bought a Anet A8...the one issue I have during a print is, extruder issues. It will print and the extruder starts to skip and the feed just stops. Ive adjusted the tension, yet it keeps happening. Other then temp and speed... what else would be an issue?
First i would say thank you for this video ,,, i just finish the build of my anet a8 printer same as yours but unfortunately i didn't succseed to get at least a decent adhesion to the bed, i am not sure right now if the problem came from cura setting or bed temp or nozzle temp or ......it could be anything finally my bed is set correctly with the nozzle but filament didn't stick to the masking tape and i have no idea why..... do you know if there are any way to get all of your setting i mean fan speed bed temp nozzle speed etc this would be nice to compare with mine thank you!
I am new to the Anet A8 and trying to get it to print. I can go to the menu and preheat the extruder and bed and I can read the temps in the LCD. But when I go to print I see the bed heating but the extruder shows a "0" for the set temp. If you are using Cura what is your start G code and end G code for the Anet A8 printer?
You need to attach the wires to the x carriage also to prevent the wires from breaking at the heater-block and thermaster.
14:15 that Kerbal Space Program music though....
that is KSP music
question about the heating element, I'm having a problem with the nozzle maintaining the required filament temperature, for example for pla the spool has a suggested temp of 190-230, I am able to set s preheat temperature however according to the lcd it actually never reaches that temp nor will it hold the preheat temp of 190, as that what you encountered prior to replacing your heating element?
i wholeheartedly recommend replacing the belts for better quality butyl+glass fiber ones. and adding an x belt tensioner, that rests against the guide rods, so you can tighten it properly, without puling the Z idler "blocks" together inwards, which flexes the z axis leadscrews and rods out of whack.
(the stock belts are the worst, i ever layed my hands on - stiff, springy, and stretchy like od socks. upgrading noticably reduces "wobbles" at higher speeds, visible as slight waves/ripples in walls)
That is an excellent little printer. Congratulations, Roger.
What’s the settings you used great video only starting off 3d printing with my anet a8
You really should secure the cables of the hotend/extruder to the extruder carraige, the anchor you used by the LCD is for this purpose. It prevents the wires snapping over time on the hotend.
I wish you were my next door neighbor.
Just set one of thes up myself. However, the extruder seems to be taking far far too long to heat up (about 0.1 degree every couple minutes). Is this normal?
Hi Roger i have a ender 3 pro and it has blue screen when i turn it on...Got a silent motherboard for it thinking it was the old motherboard and it worked for a day then next morning blue screen again....aNY TIPS FOR A FELLOW AUSSIE?
Now that you've had it for a couple months, What would you do differently for the initial setup if you got a new one again?
Such as adjustments in the display / control settings, hot bed adjustment, etc...
Like adjusting the speed, etc
I bet you'd have a lot of views on a nice follow-up video of the Initial Setup, fine tuning video :)
I have been looking for something like that for over an hour & just can not find anything...
Your video is the best one so far, but its still a first setup one, so knowing what you know now, it would be a nice idea to do a "Initial setup & starting out" video guide for people from the perspective of someone who has already gotten past that 7 learned a few new things :)
It would be nice to see what you have done, especially after your first few prints, to increase print quality, accuracy, etc...
Anyways, thanks for the video :P
Hello Roger
I purchased the same printer for Xmas for my kids. So far I have no complaints. I wanted to mention 2 affordable upgrades that I will be making to mine though. 1) I ordered the auto bed level sensor from Gearbest. 2) I purchased a heated bed power expansion board. which isolates the use of the power from mainboard for the heated bed. Basically a higher rated setof contacts. Not sure if either of these upgrades are totally necessary but for $20 and a half-hour of my time it seems worth it.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you.
Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb ;-)
Tim Mc ......can you advise where I can get item 2 heated bed ect?
i ordered that from Ebay. Search for heater bed expansion module. I then printed a spport bracket for it from thingiverse.
Hi Tim, can you post a link or vid or any details as to which type is good on those?
I checked ebay & found a few different types & I would rather purchase 1 that someone has tried and liked :)
Thanks!
Here's the type i bought. I couldn't dig up the listing from my purchase since it was over 60 days but this it the same one. I ordered 2 just to have a spare and in case I got another printer:) since they are cheap. VERY easy to install as well. You can also go to Thingiverse and find mounting brackets for it as well.
www.ebay.com/itm/272587833343?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Hope this helps.
Roger, This is Steve from Clarendon Hills, IL USA. Congrats on your successful build and test of the 3D printer, I had the same results here! Cheers to you, keep up the great work! I am interested what you will be creating with the machine. I may suggest the cooling duct ring, the even distribution of air over the nozzle as compared to only blasting from one side has improved my print quality even more, I know you will agree!
Thanks Again for your efforts!
secure your extruder cables on to the actually extruder :)
Are you using Cura?
If so, what version?
if not, what slicer are you using
Hi Roger. looking at to hotbed and i am wondering what kind of material are you using to cover the plate(hot) ?. Thanks for all the videos you have shared the us, Cheers
Jan Nygaard masking tape
why set the X axis bearing blocks to 240mm ? couldnt you set it to 250mm and adjust your x axis end stop to some specific amount ? and thank you for your time.
just started watching your videos. great to watch!!
so all four corners appropriately are to be 1 mm from extruder tip ?
Roger, How bad are the fumes? I haven't worked with any 3D printers so I have no reference. Did you need ventilation while you printed the sample robot? I enjoy your video.
PLA is no smell, ABS smells like acetone ( a fan will help distribute/dilute the smell, best is an enclosure to maintain even temperature of the print as ABS shrinks) and PETG has no smell
It takes some tweaking to get the Anet A8 to be able to print ABS because the anemic heated bed, stock it will take forever to get close to ABS printing temperatures
My anth a8
does not work well!
Setting of the extruder is probably not good, How do I fix this?
I think too much plastic comes out of the nozzle. (Too much extruding)
Also the nozzle rubs (too hard) against the workpiece.
How can i change that? On the LCD screen do I think?
Please inquire about it
Or maybe you have a link to how I change it/that?
friendly greetings from The Netherlands!
Rob.
Hi Rob,
1- Level the bed as in my video.
2- In Cura check the layer height if 0.1mm change to 0.2mm.
3- In Cura check the print speed (mm/s) is 50 (mm/s).
4- In Cura check the filament (mm) is the correct diameter eg 1.75 mm.
Pacific Tooling; Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb
Hello roger
The steps you call I have Walk through in the beginning.
Strange, the printer was Working good now!?
I have now taken another Work piece.
And now the printer did well!? (A bit confused,.... but happy!!!)
So there was something wrong at first, but what? I do not know.
Thank you so far for your answer/writing.
Regards
Rob.
Did you moved the z limit switch?
I am ready for my first test print. I have to copy a file from thinigivers onto my sd card and then put the sd card into the printer, right?
Hi, you need to run the file in CURA software, Ultimaker Cura prepares your model for 3D printing.
CURA software is free.
Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb
ultimaker.com/en/products/ultimaker-cura-software
Can you design your own parts on it or are you stuck with downloaded files? What would you use to design your own parts?
Hi, have a look at video 159. I use ArtCAM.
Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb
I just turned mine on for the first time and its like it did not register the end switches so it basically crashed on all axis. Its 3am now and I am too tired to keep messing with it but hopefully I can figure it out tomorrow
How did you set up this printer on Cura?
Hi! I bought an Anet A8 printer It was printing normally, but the thermistor dropped and when I saw it was coming out smoke from the printer, so I unplugged the plug. The problem is that when I try to print something the filament is coming out thick (even gushed) even with the temperature of 200 degrees that I used to use before the smoke happened. Help me, pleaseeeeee
I also added a mosfet to help manage the angry Pixies flowing out of the power supply.
Roger, now you need to start thinking about CNC metal printing.
Its coming PLA with, aluminium, copper, brass and an interchangeable 3D printing head for our CNC routers by the end of 2017.Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb ;-)
how long does it take this printer to reach 190"?
About 3 Minutes
they are amazing machines I hope u enjoy the hobby
have just put together an anet a8.
Has put everything right, but when the machine starts to print, Z axis will not move up.
what can the problem be.
Thank you, for watching,
Please subscribe and forward the video on to a friend, Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb ;-)
Great video, thanks for sharing this 👍🏻
I need help when I put home all my hot plate will go foward but it gets stuck and wont move back any idea
Check the Y-axis home switch for operation.
Thank you for watching,
Please forward the video on to a friend, Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb ;-)
Veramente bellissimo !!
Bravo
How do I turn on the extruder? I go to extruder and try to turn it on but it won't turn on.
When I finish with the printer... do I leave filament in the extruder - or pull it out while its still hot? There is very little "How to ..." information about this printer....any pointers -links that could help an idiot like me understand what to do??
Where is the part where you adjust the Y stop? Seems like the MOST important first step.
Just assembled my anet a8 downloaded cura , need to learn how to get started so i can design and print . any videos on that or anyone willing to explain it to me?
Hi, see my videos, 291, 295 and 296
my printer forces the bed forwards when i home all, any tips?
a1media reverse the wires
Why didn't you show how to load the filement!!?
Thank you.
My printer axis goes too far and tries to ram off the end, any help?
join the Facebook group to learn more.
Oops I'm building one and I'm 12 almost 13
I built mine when I was 14, it was quite hard, but a good learning curve.
Thanks
Sir I hear background music only it suppressed your voice. when I make volume high the music only loud
nice. You skipped a couple of steps. You said load filament, but never showed how you loaded it?
Now you get buy a auto leveller for the unit now.
Thank you, for watching,
Please forward the video on to a friend, Australian Inventor Roger Clyde Webb ;-)
also, my y axis motor mounts facing the other way to yours
mine only came with a usb link no sd card port
check out manual mesh leveling
best men ;)
How the hell you get it to work i cant get mine too
Roger, the music is really distracting and detracts from the value of your video. Thanks anyway!
very nice video and cheers from germany :)
i totally got lost after the stepper motor
Witchcraft Roger......
I just got one and I’m 13
I can’t get mine to print for nothing 😭
level ur bed when its hot, not cold because of it expanding
There are only two more letters in the word "your". Go ahead, try it. Spell out the whole word, that way you won't look and sound like a two year old.
nope. unless you print everything else with a cold bed. even though pla doesn't need a heated bed its still better to turn it on.
Kinect sensor
mine was about $140 new
DukatiDoctor TARDIS mine was 125 apparently it wad a knock off I had to trim the wood frame a lot to make it work.
Clean up your room sir 😁
Thank you, for watching,
Please like, subscribe and forward the video on to a friend, Roger Clyde Webb ;
Just a suggestion. Turn off the background music. With your accent you are hard to understand.
Can not see what you are doing, to far away, need to be closer.