I am looking at diving into the 3d printing world. I have been looking at the Wanhao 3I plus printer. I also am looking at the Fushion 360 software and also Matter hackers program for the slicer. The question I have is that the only two programs I would need to design and then print a design? I went with the hackers program so I could see the program run while printing and hopefully help me get familiar with gcode. Is there others that are better/ easier to use? I will be making mostly demisional things for the rc hobby.
I don’t actually own the i3 Plus, but I own a i3 V2 and a i3 V2.1 as soon as it arrives and they’re quite similar. Overall, what you’re aiming for should suit your purposes just fine once you get a handle of the machine and software. I haven’t had a chance to try MatterControl yet, since I use Simplify3D, but that’s all you need (slicer, modeling program, and printer).
I bought my i3 V2.1 over the Plus because the i3 Plus is still mostly a first iteration of that variation and the V2/2.1 have a longer track record and unless you really need the extra features or the space saving that the plus provides, I think people are still leaning more toward V2.1 when it comes to the Wanhao i3’s. It’s been 3 weeks since I ordered my V2.1 and I’m not sure if the i3 Plus will have a similar wait time, so be aware of that. The Prusa i3 MK2 has an even longer wait time, at around an estimated 2 months the last time I checked. If you’re okay with the wait, those are the solid entry level machines. I’ve had my Wanhao i3 V2 running almost a whole year now, printing everyday and it’s still going, it just takes maintenance time to time.
I love my Wanhao Duplicator i3 Plus but there are some upgrades that I made. First was the print bed. The screws on the stock bed were not flush and the print head would bump into them when leveling the bed. I bought a RepRap Champion countersunk screw hole build plate that fixed that issue. It came with a 24v capable heater. It printed very well with just that upgrade. There is a minor ringing/ghosting issue that mine has on the prints that I have yet to be able to fix. I also upgraded to a Swiss Micro all metal hotend and Flexion extruder. With both combined I can print rough materials and flexible materials with no problem. As for software 123D Design and Fusion 360 are very good for creating parts very easily. Cura is great for slicing and many people use Simplify 3D but that one costs a lot of money. I have matter control installed but I haven’t used it yet. I mainly use Cura. Repetier-Host is another great slicer. I like Cura because of the nice looking and fast user interface. So far I’m very happy with my i3 Plus with the mods but I really wish I could figure out the ringing/ghosting issue. Everything I’ve tried hasn’t worked.
I have a similar fan upgrade on mine as well and it’s more or less a must. Same with the Swiss Micro all metal hot end. I’m curious what your upgrade is for your filament stepper. I haven’t seen that before. I used to have a lot of ringing and ghosting, but it’s almost all gone once I added Z braces and changed the x/y acceleration and jerk as needed along with removing the belt tensioners.
I’m using the Flexion extruder so that I get consistent force on the filament. I’ve changed the x/y acceleration and jerk, removed the belt tensioners, and done everything possible with the software. I’ve seen the Z braces but I don’t have the parts necessary for it yet. Hopefully that’ll fix it for me. The Micro Swiss combined with the Flexion extruder are a perfect combo for the i3 Plus and other similar printers
I will definitely look into that. I got my z braces from Ultimate 3D Printing shop I believe. They sell a kit, which is probably a bit overpriced for what it is, but it just made it an easy one item buy. Just had to buy the kit and print the parts out.
Hi I have been using the wanhao duplicator I3 V2 for about a year. There are some things to consider about the I3. First of all, I am happy with my printer, however I have spent countless hours upgrading/fixing it. Some things necessary, some things just because I could. This has been a great way to learn about 3D-printing but if you don’t plan on spending a few hours now and then on it, it might be better to buy a more expensive one. About the I3+, if you are planning on printing Abs (low weight, high strength but not super-rigid) an enclosure for the printer is recommended. Since the electronics are placed in the printer, an enclosure MAY cause the electronics to overheat. Not saying you can’t print abs without an enclosure but it helps a lot! Also if you plan on printing PETG or even polycarbonate you will need to buy an all metal hotend. This is just my thoughts based on my experience with the I3 v2. Don’t want to disencourage you. 3D-printing is really fun. There is a lot of info about the I3:s on the internet so if you run into a problem you should have no trouble finding a solution online. I am using Fusion 360 witch is very powerful but may be a little hard if you are new to CAD. I use CURA for slicing and love it. I am always printing via SD-card and have never felt the need to learn G-code. The I3 v2 is not intended to print via USB but it can be done with some effort (did it once when I damaged my SD-card) Don’t know about the I3plus. Hope this helps!
Have you checked if your idler pulleys are good? On my Y-axis, the bearing inside the pulley was loose and caused such issues. Also I have seen on forums that you may need to tighten the timing pulley that is screwed on the X and Y-axis steppers. But I still get some ringing when I go faster than 25mm/sec on outer walls.
If you choose to go with Wanhao, the first thing you want to do is make the proper repairs to the main board to cut down on the risk of fire. Wanhao has been cutting corners when it comes to the connectors used for the power connections on the board and it has resulted in many fires. There are instructions on what needs to be done in many places. It basically involves either changing out the connectors or soldering directly to the board. If you value life and property, I would address this issue before doing any of the other upgrades to this printer.
Has that been reported for the i3 Plus? It has an updated board from the i3 v2.1 Another fire warning deals with the springs that can scrape into the heater plate and cause shorts/fires. They sent out fiber washers for that issue.
Yes, I have checked the idler pulleys. It was also loose for my y-axis and I tightened it. The others are good though. I’ve reduced the ringing effects to mostly the y-axis. I’ll do the z-brace fix later on which should get the ringing/ghosting down to a minimum. For the price of the i3 Plus I can’t complain too much though. It works very well and modding it is pretty easy.
The latest boards that have went out are using screw terminals instead of the traditional connectors. No fires have been reported with the screw terminals yet. The only way to know for sure is to look at the main board and see if it has the new screw terminals.
As far as I know it includes all boards that have the plug in connectors. My understanding is that all new boards from Wanhao (including the Plus) have went to the screw terminal connections.
I have a Wanhao Duplicator I3 plus. The printer has been solid but is not the easiest printer to setup. You will need to make some mods to the printer and download and print some alignment tools for the z-axis to keep it running. I installed a glass bed on my printer. There are plenty of youtube videos on how to do this. I would recommend Simplify3D as your slicer. I would recommend using Octoprint as your printer interface. I am running the Octopi version on a raspberry pi with a logitech camera and it runs wonderfully including a web interface that shows the print progress and the g-code executing. The print quality of this printer is not nearly as good as my Makergear M2s that I use but it makes an acceptable print.
Thanks everyone for the responses. I have been playing with Fushion 360 and so far I like it. Is there a big difference between monoprice and Wanhao? From what I could find online they seem to be the exact same machine. Is it worth it to save the money and go with the Monoprice version? If I go with the I3 am I going to have to do the mosfet mod to keep it from catching on fire or has that been addressed? I don’t mind tinkering with things I just want to know what needs to be done for safety as apposed to fun.
Where would be a good place to purchase the Wanhao from? Wanhaousa? I see I can order mono from Amazon. I have prime so that would help. Decisions decision.
