This thing has been kicking out parts every day, printing 24 hours a day

All the hype about adding features makes it easy to get caught up in working on your printer and not printing parts. 

I upgraded to marlin 2  and this thing just keeps humming along. Of course i get clogged heads and have to adjust the bed level on occasion but these are just adjustments. 

I am going to do a 3d printer kit build on the tek website that will be designed around this ,machine.

Longer LK1  well worth it!  Simple and big

All good things need maintenance   For some reason the lk1 started to print off the table. I had been having issues with the feeder backing up, bumping and grinding just before. I did some research on jerk settings then the print off the table started.

1. Disassembled the head and cleaned, ran a drill bit doen the center with the head off. Ater i checked all the set screws on the servos I deleted the setup in cura

Cura sets up the lk1 as a alphawise u2o, I tried u30 which is 220 x220  and changed the table size to 330 x 330  just to confuse cura.  this solved the issue and I am back to printing

I thing i changed is the wall thickness to 4mm, this is the setting the designer recommends. My prevous prints were 1mm

the latest prints look great. using petg . i give the pinal parts a good stress check for strenget.

The last 2 prints failed but the new one is strong

Back in business

Started a print and left to the gym. Came back and the printer was printing air. Ok so quick inspection the filiment had trench marks and was broken

There have been several prints sense the last repair but it appears the weak link is the head or tube. The filiment would not retract this time from the tube. 

Preat the head removed the tip removed the tube and the filiment was melted in the tube.

I think I might have had the temp to high, printing at 240 with PTEG

Tip: Always have consumable replacements in spare.  on the tube one end will slide off but good luck getting the one off at the extruder, I just toss them, the one at the head is good for a couple reuses but then will lose grip and the tube will slide out

Replaced the parts and back to printing

Hopefully I get more prints from this repair, maybe I need to lower the temp

Here we go again. I had a run of 3-4 days and started getting incomplete prints again. 

My first thought of course was , change the head, then the material, the basics

Then I changed the teflon tube and still The machine starte bucking at the extruder. 

Because this is now a re-occuring event there has to be more to it. This is a very basic system, copied from a very successful build. The head very simple

So I exchanged the complete assembly, electronics included (20 bucks) and i got 1 good print then same issue. 

The next component in the list is the fan. Seems reasonable that if the fan is not cooling the hotend upper body there could be clogging. and of course the tube end has to be cut straight and inserted properly, all the basics.

The fan definitely dirty and after cleaning I made 2 good parts. Now comes the challenge of printing a 20hr part

This type if issue can really cause some headaches. Remember to go back to the basics, don't just replace the machine, give it a tune up and keep it in service

I am cautious because the fan was so dirty I think it might be worn out, will replace it next. 
It's important to understand this is a very inexpensive 3d printer and that is the goal. Make parts and save money
I am trying to prove you dont have to purchase the most expensive tools for decent results. No bed leveling, no extra parts printed for mods or different electronics. Still the 229 dollar purchase melting plastic for parts I use in production of other stuff

Just kicked these 3 motor mounts out using carbon fiver filament, they are dirty but will cleanup and be very usable

First thing I am not a professional 3d printer company, I am a person that loves technology and wants to understand how things work. 

The purpose of this post category is to detail an experience with a cheep 3d printer that anyone can get making parts.

Sense I purchased this printer, which it is my 3rd printer made commercially, The 3d printing concept has exploded. So many free models, software getting much better, reliability at it's best. There is no reason you should not explore printing in your own shop.

It takes making parts to get an understanding of what is going on, and it takes time.

But If you have followed this post you have seen issues and you have seen solutions. 

You didn't have to spent a fortune to start making parts and in the end your knowledge can lead you to better prints, stronger materials, lessons in cad and some great Hell Yeah moments 

This is my first attempted upgrade to the lk1. I printed it on my ender 5  which is having it's issues but this part is strong, just ugly. I hope to install it soon, I believe this will help the head cooling and add more air flow to the extruded filament    file