Category: 3D Printing

3D Printer Monitoring With An ESP32 Smartwatch And Octoprint API | Voltlog #320

Welcome to a new Voltlog, in this video I’m gonna show you how I built this project where an ESP32 based smart wristband allows me to track the progress of my 3D printer in real time. So I thought about how I could solve this problem and I came up with a project where I’m using a LILYGO T-Wristband which is basically an ESP32 development platform built into this smart bracelet form factor. The bracelet connects via Wifi to the local network where Octoprint runs and manages the 3d printer.

Dual Gear Extruder Grinding Itself Problem | Voltlog #308

Welcome to another video about my 3d printing adventures, as you may have seen in a previous mailbag I got myself one of these dual gear extruders to upgrade the standard one that my CR10 came with. The original plastic extruder was working fine initially, but as time passed, the wear increased and it started slipping, the spring was not providing enough tension anymore so it was time for an upgrade.

The dual gear extruder was the obvious choice because it’s affordable and it’s dual gear system should ensure better grip on the filament. I’m not 100% sure but I believe the original design was done by Bondtech and I most certainly got a cheap clone of that from aliexpress. You would think that for such a simple mechanical device it shouldn’t matter if it’s a clone or not but as we’ll see in a moment it does matter as subtle changes can make it better or worse.

I installed my new dual gear extruder, I didn’t make any video about it, didn’t think it was interesting enough and I needed to install it without further delay because I was doing this while I was printing face shields and I needed to have the printer up and running ASAP. It was working great, I printed a bunch of face shields, it had a good grip on the filament but a few days later I accidentally noticed there is a bunch of residue gathered up on the mechanism.

Voltlog #288 – New BLTouch 3DTouch Plastic Pin Sensor Upgrade

Back in 2018 I installed a Bltouch sensor on my Creality CR10 3d printer and I showed the process in Voltlog #177, that video is one of the most popular videos on the channel and now after using the printer with the upgrade for a couple of years I can clearly say it’s probably one of the best upgrades you can do to your 3d printer and it’s pretty cheap. I won’t go into too much detail about what the sensor does and how to install it because that is discussed in Voltlog #177.

However I did experience a downside after this upgrade, some users are reporting the same problem while others don’t face this issue. It’s important to note I am using a BLtouch clone called 3D touch, purchased from Aliexpress. It’s the type that has a metal push rod through the middle. The issue I’m having is a vibration noise coming from that metal pin vibrating inside the sensor when the printer moves on the Y axis. This issue might or might not be present on a genuine sensor or just another unit which might have tighter tolerances.

Voltlog #239 – Upgrading The CR10 3D Printer With New Print Surface And Bed Insulation

Welcome to a new voltlog, it’s time for another upgrade on my Creality CR10 3D printer, and this time it’s about the print surface. By default this printer comes with a glass print surface which sits on top of the aluminium bed and that has worked fine for most prints and settings I’ve tried but occasionally I would get some adhesion problems and with glass you need to wait until the part has cooled down in order to remove it. Not such a big deal but there is this newer magnetic print surface, which has two parts, you get the bottom part with adhesive that you stick to the aluminium build plate of the printer and you get the top part which sticks magnetically to the other part.

This way, with the top surface I should get better adhesion and when the print is finished I can just remove the print surface from the printer to have it cool down faster or maybe for easier removal because I could just bend the surface to cause the part to unstick.

I’m also going to upgrade the bottom heater of the bed by installing one of these insulation sheets, this should help it reach working temperature faster and maybe it will use less power to keep it at working temperature.

Voltlog #181 – Installing Stepper Motor Vibration Dampers On The CR10

In this video you will see step-by-step how I installed a set of vibration dampers on my Creality CR10 3D printer. They feature two metallic parts and a compliant rubber part in the middle that connects the outer two. This will reduce vibrations coming from the motor, stopping them from passing through the frame.

Here are some links to places where you can get the parts shown in this video: