Wombot and ABS

lithgowlights

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Well as a few people in the chat will know, I purchased a Wombot 3D printer a month or so ago and have finally got it to print with ABS (which has apparently shocked a few people)

This low-cost printer is an open design, so is not ideal at printing ABS compared to say the Flashforge Dreamer (which I also own) or Creator Pro that Phil and a number of others have. Being basically an assembled kit, I will be up front and saying this is no dreamer or Creator Pro - it does need a bit more work in keeping it in tune and reliable, and does have a few teething issues, but overall it works as well as I expected and far better.

I bought it as a large scale PLA printer, as the build volume is 250*250*330mm, but after finally mastering PLA, I started working on ABS and have finally managed to get it to print reliably and consistently, and I'm starting to get it to print more LED covers for next year as I type this. Just 12 per bed for now, but that will ramp up to over 60 per print as I get more confidence and dial in speeds to get the most out of the printer.
 

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lizardking

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once again thanks for the time and effort you put in not only for yourself but the community also
 

lithgowlights

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My pleasure guys, but a true test of its ABS abilities will be in 6 months with a shed at -3c :)

In reality I'm likely to use a large sheet of opaque plastic I have here to partially enclose it to stop draughts from affecting the prints.
 

Fing

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hi,
I have to ask - what have you got taped to the fan hole on the side of your dreamer?
Cheers
Fing
 

lithgowlights

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Fing said:
hi,
I have to ask - what have you got taped to the fan hole on the side of your dreamer?
Cheers
Fing

Yep I gutted an old camera in which the LED board had failed, 3D printed a box which is hot-glued in place, and then connected it to the camera network. It allows me to remotely monitor the printer from inside, since the printer is in the shed. What you don't see is another camera pointed at the Wombot and in that one the IR LED's are still active, so it can be monitored with no lights on in the shed. Since the dreamer has internal illumination I did not need the LED's
 

lithgowlights

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A few mods later and the ABS items are stronger than the Flashforge Dreamer produces, but I'm trying to nail down extrusion widths and retraction with Hot ABS so still working away...

Mods so far include a few reprinted ABS rather than PLA parts, new mechanical Bed Sensor (now the standard), and a partial enclosure.
 

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damona

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Any thoughts on Wombat latest version. Is it a big issue not have it enclosed, or not have dual heads as some 3d printers have.


http://www.aurarum.com.au/3d-printers/411-wombot-exilis-xl-3d-printer-australian-made.html


- 10"x10"x13" (250x250x320) Build Envelope
- Auto bed levelling
- Trapezoidal lead screw (no inferior threaded rods here)
- Metal MK8 Extruder works up to 260C
- Starter sample of high quality PLA filament included
- RAMPS 1.4 Electronics
- Comes with Borosilicate glass
- Heat bed MK3 Aluminium Bed
- GT2 Pulley's and Belts
- 110/240 (12V 20A) Watt high quality under desk power supply
- True 50 micron (0.05mm) layer height - user can print even finer layers
- Full Graphical LCD Interface with SD (print without a PC)
- USB port for printing from PC
- Firmware controlled ducted fan for PLA precision printing
- 0.40mm Hot End Nozzle for 1.75mm Filament (replaceable - can use 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 or 0.5mm nozzles)
- Built in belt tensioning system
- Aluminium Extrusion 3030 Frame
- Delrin Wheels (much smoother running and quieter compared to smooth rods)
- Spool Holder
- Very quiet
- Print speed up to 100mm/s
- Can print ABS, PLA and other materials

So the footprint of the printer is 53cm width and 42cm depth. You need to allow for moving bed so total depth would be 55cm the height with the spool is 75cm
 

damona

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I asked aurarum.com.au about the pro's and con's for
http://www.aurarum.com.au/3d-printers/411-wombot-exilis-xl-3d-printer-australian-made.html
vs
http://www.aurarum.com.au/flashforge-3d-printers/61-flashforge-pro-3d-printer-dual-colour.html


Thanks for your enquiry. I own both printers and they each have their pro's and cons as they are different machines. An enclosed build space is not usually required for ABS unless you are talking about a very large object, so long as the ambient temperature is around the 20 degree mark. You can get around warpage issues by making sure your print is sliced correctly using brims and adequate support materials and the correct bed and nozzle temperatures.

The Dreamer is a plastic enclosure so it is prone to noisy operation, it uses smooth rods for motion with a flying head (the head moves in X and Y directions, and the Z (build plate) only moves up and down. This makes it subject to ringing and oscillations during printing where the Exilis has a moving bed in the Y direction, moving Z axis on linear bearings and moving Head on the X axis along rails which is generally a far more rigid, stable platform and offers much quieter operation.

Build Volume: The dreamer is quite a small build envelope, max size is 230 x 150 x 140 whereas the Exilis is 250 x 250 x 300 which is almost 4 times the volume.

Spare parts for the dreamer are expensive compared to the Exilis - Nozzles are $15 vs $6 and can be hard to get at times, whereas we stock all components for the Exilis, because we manufacture it here in Melbourne, Australia.

Resolution: the Dreamer has a claimed 100 micron minimum layer height, the Exilis can easily resolve twice that resolution with 50 micron layer heights. Positional accuracy of the Exilis is equal to or better than the Dreamer.

Price: The dreamer is $1,450 for a chinese manufactured machine with closed source hardware/firmware. The Exilis is an Australian Designed, Locally manufactured and supported machine with fully open source firmware and is easily modified. The retail price is $975 including GST (for the single head version).

Dual Head Printing: The dreamer comes out of the box with two heads for dual head printing, whereas the Exilis comes with 1. We make a dual head Exilis, but this adds $150 to the price, bringing it up to $1,125.

Speed: Overall the speed of each machine is comparable, however the Exilis will print a much better result at higher speeds due to the superior structural strength of the frame and heavier duty components.

I hope that helps to answer your questions, if you require any further information, please let me know.

Regards,
Customer service
 

fasteddy

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I cant help but feel that this is a bit of a sales pitch as it is their own product

It helps a lot with ABS to have an enclosed printer where PLA you want an open printer

But then it doesn't look to bad for a cheaper option, especially with the auto levelling and a decent sized build plate
 

damona

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Code:
It helps a lot with ABS to have an enclosed printer where PLA you want an open printer
That's interesting. I have seen images with people who have made a lightweight timber box for the Wombot.


Wombot guys seem to improve the design and then release 3D files to print new parts, especial in the early days. Or you can buy upgrade parts if they change them.


Seems easy to setup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuxvNqK1Tv8
 

lithgowlights

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I ended up enclosing the printer in a 600mm cube MDF box and it actually helped for both ABS and PLA. Although by shed, where the printers are located, is not breezy at all, I think there must be something blowing around the Wombot as the box made an immediate and definite improvement in quality.

Having said that I could print ABS OK on the wombot, but only thin items - anything more than about 20mm high suffered from poor layer bonding, but now 200mm high items are as good, or better than the Dreamer can print them.

Eddy, your comment "I cant help but feel that this is a bit of a sales pitch as it is their own product", is really no different to any business, including your own. You sell your product based on what you believe it can do based on your own experience, but that result is not always the same for everyone out there.
 

fasteddy

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lithgowlights said:
Eddy, your comment "I cant help but feel that this is a bit of a sales pitch as it is their own product", is really no different to any business, including your own. You sell your product based on what you believe it can do based on your own experience, but that result is not always the same for everyone out there.

If you want unbiased advice then never ask the vendor for their opinion on products compared to competitors products. Im no different because I believe in what I sell just like they do :D
 
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