New to 3D printing, my experience has been DISMAY to say the least. Bought the PowerSpec Ultra 3D from MicroCenter. Upon advice from their salesman I also bought the Simplify3D software. After 50 straight hours of work my dismal results are:
The FAILURE rate using the slicer included with the PowerSpec is 85% or better. First layers (PLA) almost never stick. It doesn’t matter if I run 200C tip and 60C bed, or 235C tip and 105C bed. No modification to the build plate surface (BuildTak, tape, glue, spray, etc.) shows improvement. The parts I was able to make have a super simple base geometry. The only mode it will print in is “Standard Definition”. It absolutely won’t print in high resolution, ever. I have leveled the bed repeatedly and between every attempt (a simple symptom to eliminate). Here’s some additional observations:
- First layer hardly ever sticks.
- Display will change to Chinese language after power cycle.
- Frequent USB connectivity issues, requires power cycle of machine and computer.
- Filament guide tubes become dislodged from head from print movement.
- Sparse instructions in the box, extra hardware and cables (the heck is the extra cable for?!)
- Metal handle not true and warps plastic door when screws tightened (loosen screws and touch with superglue to hold in place).
The FAILURE rate using Simplify3D is 100%. I have yet to achieve one print on this platform with over 50 attempts. The g-code generated slams and chatters my servos ignoring the stop limits. The z-axis build plate is literally inches from the nozzle and it prints in thin air. I have tried every single setup change and tweek that is available; short of re-writing the code. Everything looks correct in the GUI, but the actual print process is a heart breaking joke.
The entire experience is anger producing. Up until 3am every night since I bought this setup, I have yet to see a reliable result. There are actually several more bugs, mini fails, part flaws, etc. then I am writing about in this post. I have read every form, post, suggestion available. It appears that many people are printing successfully with S3D and with the PowerSpec (a FlashForge knockoff). In general many people are printing in 3D successfully. I am not one of them. I have 15 total days to return this equipment to MicroCenter, after day three I am pretty much ready to do that. I doubt I will be able to return S3D; the customer service is known to suck or be non-existent. End rant, thanks for reading.
Have you tryed cura i have that and really like it its free, i have an ultimaker2 and am building a ultimaker2 extended version their are alot of information online forums on how to get started printing ,i did buy Simplify3D but like cura better try matterhackers their is info for printing in what ever kind of filament you use abs PLA nylon
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It sounds like you didnt use the profile for your printer at setup it asks what kind of printer you are using and dimensions of the bed also the bed has to be level
Good comment::: I totally did select my specific printer at setup, I also wiped the profile after several fails and reinstalled it. No successful result was observed…
I have heard of the Cura slicer; many people have said great things about it. Problem is, with such a drastic overall fail rate I don’t want to throw good money after bad.
3D printing as I found out is not plug and play it has a huge learning curve I started with a prusa i3 printer then moved to ultimaker2. abs I found I needed to spray aqua net on buildplate to get it to stick on bed and max speed of 40mm but I been doing very good with abs which I prefer over pla I know the software has default profiles in it you can try using cura to see if you have luck with that then go back to simplified3d I bought it but tried it and perfed cura
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I forgot to say cura is totally free just download it from ultimaker.com software download
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I would slow the speed down the 1st layer prints really slow so it squeezes the filament on the printbed so it will stick
print from sd card if that printer lets you from what you explained about that printer I would return it if it goes back to Chinese
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I appreciate the feedback on this post. Very positive and supportive. 3D printing feels more like a community with this interaction. So I took some aggressive steps today.
Went down to MicroCenter Denver, spoke with the rep. He and another customer standing with us admitted that they have had total brain damage printing PLA on this specific printer (PowerSpec Ultra 3D). They both admitted to deferring to ABS when at all possible. Besides the thermal contraction issues (somewhat controllable) they have had success sticking the first layer(s). They also concurred with your statements (spray, glue, etc). I was really hitting the reliability subject hard with them. I know this is new and emerging (adolescent) technology but from a “sigma” approach to results, I can not ignore the fails and work arounds that myself, and everyone else is experiencing.
I returned the PowerSpec Ultra 3D. I purchased the Lulzbot Taz 5. I got it all back home and after a careful setup and calibration proceedure, as well as downloading the Cura platform, I have printed one sample part. The results are amazing and drastically different than the previous.
The Cura is a hearty and effective slicer. Everyone is totally correct about that. The Simplify3D has a few more bells and whistles but guess what; I’m not printing bells! I R&D one off prototypes for the R/C industry. I need parts that print and work properly within acceptable tolerance(s). I have to say as well, that the Lulzbot is an amazing machine as well (so far). It is noticeably higher quality and robust. The build volume of the Taz 5 is formidable. The Cura suite works seamlessly with the machine and I am exactly where I expected to be… 60 hours ago. Lol.
Thanks again for all the info and general support. I remember when digital cameras first came to market (I am 38 yrs old.). Look at that technology now. Let’s keep printing and pioneering. I can’t wait to see what is the future of this industry. Cheers to all.
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Simplify 3D is by far the best slicer and the easiest to customize and get quick previews you can use to double check if it works at any layer of the print. For the non sticking PLA to the bed, It sounds like your bed temp may not be accurate. Put a thermometer to it and make sure its in fact 60 degrees regardless what the display says. I also put my bed temp to 70-75 for PLA. I have a Rostock Max V2 with S3D and glass heated bed and zero issues with sticking. However I keep my bed at 75 to make sure it sticks the whole time. i have noticed the larger your nozzle the harder it is to stick. It was really hard for me to get my .8mm nozzle to stick and my .4mm sticks 97% of the time and my .25mm nozzle sticks 100%. Also if your nozzle height is off and too high that will cause non stick. Double check temp accuracy, bump up bed temp to 70-75, double check nozzle height. Make sure your print speeds in the settings are also slower for first layers and raft/supports to make sure it all sticks down. At 75 bed temp i can usually pick up my entire bed by the part and ot still doesnt separate until around 60 degrees. Good luck.
I have the same printer and software and my success rate is pretty high. Instead of using tape, I added a piece of 1/16" thick x 6" x 9" glass to the bed. YOU MUST ADD A SHIM TO THE TABLE UNDER THE LIMIT SWITCH THAT IS THE SAME THICKNESS AS THE GLASS SO THE HEADS WON’T RUN INTO THE BED. It’s hard to find 1/16" thick glass. Glass distributors will sell you something more like 3/32" thick and call it 1/16". Buy a cheap picture frame at Ben Franklin or Bed, Bath, and Beyond and cut it.
I then apply a thin layer of Elmer’s washable “Disappearing Purple” glue. You can buy these glue sticks lots of places. Don’t use too much. This should work nicely for you. Start with these suggestions and we can go from there.
Instructions are on the sd card.
Power spec ultra uses flashforge dreamer profile in simplify3d. I recommend under the gcode tab in the profile settings to adjust the z-axis in 0.1 mm intervals. Negative intervals will bring the bed closer to the nozzle. Positive intervals the opposite.
For PLA print using the left extruder at a 210 c. Bed temp 60c. Print ABS filaments in the right extrder with a bed temp of 80c -100c depending on the brand. Blue tape on the bed works for me but for larger pieces I put aquanet hairspray down on top of the blue tape or use a Elmers gluestick. In simplify3d, you can adjust the first layer speed under the layer tab in the profile. I have mine set to 50%. My speed is set to 60 mm/s.
I recommend saving the gcode to the sd card and print from the print instead of usb. I have occasional issues with the usb so I stopped using it.
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My dad is smarter than me extra cables are extra sensor cables for the sensors. You need to go to more options in My dad is smarter than me print menus to fine tune your printer so you don’t print failures
First off, the extra cables are spares for the sensors. The printer is not a knockoff of flashforge but a product of flashforge. PlA works fine with extruder 200c and bed 45c with kapton tape and purple elmers glue. The printer is closed source so simplified 3D won’t work. These are all just general and may not work for you but did for me. I will admit though, the USB is kinda a pain but works well with the right computer and I had to repair my printer because of failure to reboot after firmware update. Keep trying.
Please feel free to use any means nessesary to accomplish your goals in life!!!
I have an Ultra and have experienced some issues with parts sticking but using a borosilicate glass plate and hair spray solved that. The software provided is a direct port of the Flashforge Dreamer and it has 3 slicers to choose from. It sounds like you may have a later version of the Ultra because mine will not recognize any code created by any other software and mine is much more stable and reliable.
I just bought a Power Spec Ultra 3D, I had issues with not being able to print without a raft. Then i got glass from picture frame. Printing like a champ.
Robert, what borosilicate glass did you buy for your PowerSpec Ultra?
