3D Printer Setup... Finally - CloverTac Productions

Afters years of putting it off I ended up purchasing a 3D printer back in February of 2023. Sadly, up until this past Saturday, over a year later, it sit in a box on my workbench. That said, it is finally up and running. Moving forard I will be using the blog here on the Clovertac website to chronicle my 3D printing journey.

What did I initially buy?

It took me a few hourse to assemble the printer, with the help of a few YouTube videos. Once everything in the box was set up, I decided to start trying to print rather than installing any of the upgrades I had purchased. That is when I quickly realized that there is a lot more to 3D printing than just the printer. While it is true that you can simply download print files, the files I downloaded where not “sliced”. I was able to use the Creality software that for this printer to slice the files, copy them to the micro SD card and start trying to print. My first print was a Batman keychain.

I think this was a decent first print BUT I did notice that there were spots where you could see through it. Come to find out this was due to the “infill’ settings in the software I used to slice the original file. Once those were tweaked it was time to try something else. For the next project I chose a little bit driver tool that attaches to a keychain and OH BOY did the problems come with attempting to print that.

I tried for hours to get that print to work correctly with many screw ups. I had issues where the print would come loose from the bed about half way through. Turns out this was fixed by increasing the temperature of the bed as well as the extruder. It also helped by using the “adhesion” setting in the slicer software. This setting creates a goopy base of plastic under the print to help give a larger surface area for adhesion. It can be easily removed once the print is complete.

The print finally completed and that is when I realized I had screwed up. I ended up clicking the setting for “support” in the software. Now normally support is used to help print things that have over hang, because you can’t just print into thin air. Like the adhesion, the support can be removed after printing. But, in this case the support printed INSIDE the bit holder. There was not way to dig all that out, so even though I had a complete print, it was ultimately another failed attempt.

Lesson learned, I turned that setting off and tried again. This time the big holder tool thingy came out fine.

After all of these setbacks, I was feeling pretty confident about being ablet to print some decent stuff. So, decided I would attempt to print some accessories and upgrades for the printer itself.

I started with an adapter that would relocate the printer spool. In the stock location the filment was entering the feed at a very sharp angle. By printing and installing this part, the filament is almost perfectly aligned with the feeder system.

Second, I printed a tool holder. There are several tools that come with the Creality Ender 3 and having them in an easy to get to location is super handy. Plus it gave me something extra to print.

Next, I chose to print a fan cover. The electronic control unit under the bed has a fan which is exposed. It would be very easy to drop something, like scrap filament, into that fan. I chose a fan cover that was branded like the printer. That print, like the previous two went off without a hitch and was easy to install.

Fourth, I printed a small bin that attached to the top rail of the printer. This bin is just big enough to hold the USB micro SD card reader and my Streamlight Wedge XT flashlight clips on it perfectly as well.

Finally, I printed the largest and most time consuming print yet, a drawer that goes under the bed. I figured this would be handy for tools, extra parts and whatever. While this print also went smooth, it took about 8 hours. With printers the larger it is the longer it takes.

Overall I am super happy with this printer and my 3D printing journey. This is just the beginning. I am very much looking forward to learning more and printing more. So, be sure you keep tabs on the blog posts if you wanna keep up with everything I am doing!