Using a crap 3d printer to build a better 3d printer

[Itchy]

Yonks ago somebody on BCF long gone bought a fairly cheap low end lathe.

He used this lathe to build himself a better lathe and used that lathe to build an even better lathe.


Does this work with 3d printers?
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[RhynoCZ]

I can't see how it could.

Honestly, what can a cheap 3d printer actually do? Small plastic bits of shabby quality. Now ask your self, how could that be helpful in a building better 3d printer? It's normally not the plastic bits, that define a good 3d printer.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[CaNsA]

Printers printing printers...

Yeah, cos that will work out just great.


I welcome our new dot matrix laser inkjet overlords.

[hellkat]

Shabby is such a good word in this context.

I truly dislike the modern expression "shabby-chic" (and its crusty by-products)

But when used correctly, it does offer the reader a wealth of understanding about the quality (or lack thereof) of almost anything.

hellkat
Vocab Monitor
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[Pjay]

People often print upgraded parts for printers.
The Prusa community have bundles of printable upgrades.

[Pete.]

[Nobby the Bastard]

[nowhere.elysium]

[Pete.]

[nowhere.elysium]

[sickpup]

[M.C]

So... has anyone 3D printed a gun, you know for educational purposes?

[Loui5D]

[M.C]

Yeah that's what I was referring to.

[nowhere.elysium]

[kramdra]

The correct tool for building a lathe is not a lathe.
www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSeIhPizwD2Psgd2fgeR-g/videos

Many bike parts are used.

[nowhere.elysium]

[Robby]

Having watched Gerry mess about with this sort of shit for years now, I think I can offer my opinion as an unbiased outsider.

Yes, you could use a crap 3D printer to print parts to make a better one. That said, it will cost you a lot of time and money to do so, including a large pile of failed parts, a new collection of measuring equipment to see if the parts you printed are the right size, and an unhealthy interest in hunting down and modifying parameters in the code that controls your printer.

The last bit in particular. It seems the code for controlling a 3D printer extends into 11 dimensions and is all interconnected, so the smallest change in nozzle temperature means you have to go and change everything else. Then test it through trial and error. Then find out that the problem was actually down to a nut vibrating loose somewhere and throwing the whole machine out of alignment, and you've just spent 3 days rewriting the code to compensate. And you didn't back it up first.

Cheaper to buy the decent printer in the first place, or just not get involved in the whole thing at all. Seriously, crystal meth is a safer hobby.

[nowhere.elysium]

All fair points, but consider the carnage I could have caused had I not been preoccupied with FDM printers
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[sickpup]

[Robby]