So happy to hear you enjoyed the build 💙 Edit: For those wondering about the price. Yes, we know it's not accessible for everyone. The BOM for this is a lot. In the end, Positron makes about $25 per kit. Majority of the price is going into the custom machining, the cost for our custom heatblock alone is $40. We decided to use higher quality components over cheaper alternatives, like using a CM4 instead of a clone because we wanted to enable everyone to be able to customize and tinker without limitation. Since this kit is done in batches, and not as a full production line, it's going to be more expensive than printers with dedicated production lines like Bambu or Prusa. We're looking at creating a version that is cheaper, but please understand that it will be difficult, the LT alone which is meant to be a easy self-source option can range around $500. Positron is a team of about 12 volunteer team members who do this for fun. We're always looking for ways to make the kit more affordable, so if you have some ideas, we'd love to hear the feedback.
Thanks for the clarification on the pricing - I tried to make it apparent, and explicitly mentioned in the video, this isn't a printer for a first-time hobbyist getting into 3D printing (at least not most of us). And it's not something meant to be on the same plane as a Bambu A1 mini or Prusa mini... this is a totally different thing! I love that it can exist, it's a very cool printer.
Been following Kralyn's journey designing this for a few years, so clever to come up with it. So pleased for him finally bringing it to market, big props to LDO Jason for believing in it.
@@MelSavageKiller and thats worth stating everyone who worked on it should be mentioned but your comment specifically mentioned kralyn bringing it to market but kralyn didn't Nomad did he and his team have done 90% of the work to get it to where it is now so personally I think my point still stands
@@jakeengland1430I appreciate the comment - it brought a tear to my eye, but Kralyn was a critical member of the team. I still talk to him and keep him up to date, he just can't be as publicly involved as he used to be. But thank you so much for that 💙
@@nomadsgalaxy no worries bud you had our back at millennium and we'll always have yours hope it didn't come across too harsh I understand that kralyn is still part of the project in some way
As an Australian and someone who has been 3D printing for 13 years, I'm ashamed to admit I have been printing in the wrong orientation this whole time! No wonder I have bed adhesion problems, I'm trying to use a northern hemisphere printer in the southern hemisphere, duh 🤦
@rico13 you may be using the wrong extruder and filament. Remember: in the northern hemisphere the extrusion goes anti-clockwise. Make sure you are using both a clockwise extruder AND filament designed for clockwise extrusion. Yes it costs a bit more, but is well worth it!
"Is it perfect? No, but is it my favorite experience with a 3d printer in my life? YES!" - Welcome to custom building 3d printers. When you build it yourself and et it all to work, it is hard to not fall in love with it when it finally works. Congrats on the build Jeff!
So true, and then you know it inside and out. My first printer was basically a parts kit. It was a delta with just the base assembled so 90% of it had to be built and assembled.
It's exactly the reason why I opted to upgrade my Ender 3 (V1) to Klipper, SKR1.4T, Rpi3, linear rails, SO3, steel spring plates and dual-Z, instead of buying a Bambulabs 😅 Sure, it was most likely not very economical, but keeps me out of the Bambulab system. I love keeping my stuff open instead of closed 😂
15:52 This is clearly a printer for Arch Linux users. I use Arch, BTW. If I had a Positron, I would install Arch on the CM4 and put clipper on top of it.
Great video about the Positron. I had a similar experience with my build and you're right, it's the Miata of 3D printers. I saw the real time support from the community as you were building and want to point out that the community support is part of what makes this a great project.
I loved the Positron ever since I saw Kralyn's projects, it's kind of unfortunate that the cost of buying one is so high but if one has the money and wants to make stuff with it, it's extremely worth it.
The reprap 'LT' version is a bit cheaper (still expensive compared to other options though!), so I hope some people who might not want to stretch the budget too far can get into that build.
@@jmr We tried our best to reduce the cost while maintaining a high quality, but in truth it's very difficult. We decided to keep the printer more on the rugged side to be able to survive travel more, which upped the cost. We are planning on making a version that will be cheaper later on, but we wanted to come out swinging with the best quality we could produce.
@@nomadsgalaxy Good choice, obviously we want rugged for a portable printer. Lessons learned here could be valuable when we start sending printers into space where... uh.. "space matters". 😂
Thank you, and thank you especially for having the little booting animation have a perfectly-centered circle-I was expecting it to not rotate perfectly on the circle after seeing so many web loading spinners do that, and it was a pleasant surprise :D
Jeff, tip for the washers, use small amount of grease to hold them in place on the bottom of the pulley's as you install them, they will stick in place and wont fall into the machine, use Super-Lube grease.
i have solution for for that drooling issue: instead of pliers, use folded kitchen paper, with the lightest spritz of cooking spray. it's much easier to wipe the nozzle clean with that. and the wee bit of oil will polymerize, and build up to form a non-stick coating, much like seasoning iron cookware. seasoning nozzles is super old school, but it works! PS: a lazy way, that could get awfully messy over time, would be to print a generous skirt
Wouldn't retraction be better? I'm thinking about retracting the filament about a cm, or ~½inch, so the filament wouldn't get heated as much, and won't expand.
One of my "secret weapons" in 3d printing is bamboo-sticks. They are awesome for poking at filiment goop piled up on print heads, and I'd bet it would work great here in place of plyers. The wood of the bamboo will not burn because they are meant for use on the grill, but hot filiment sticks to it with a magnetic-like pull, so it works great to clean off a print-head safely mid-print while stuff is running... not that you should really do that... but I definitely do that.
welcome to Klipper. i learned a lot about it well i was waiting for my SV08. converted my ender3v2 and ender 5 over. you can fix the load filament issues by changing how much is loaded and have a purge area after you change filament. just need to make a change to the load filament macro.
I would absolutely love to visit Australia (and/or New Zealand!) someday. The flight kinda makes it rough without some bigger purpose, but we'll see. Someday.
Honestly this video really exemplifies why people LOVE vorons so much. They very much so are the in-between of the positron and an off the shelf bambu. You build it yourself, tinker with it yourself, but at the end of the day you get a really capable high quality printer that you know the ins and outs of and how to fix if stuff goes wrong. You don't don't get that with a bambu
For the nozzle ooze.. I use fast food napkins to quickly wipe the nozzle off. I am bias, being on the Positron3d Team, but I love and take mine everywhere. Printed all my parts in polycarbonate so I can leave it in my car on 120f days.
How about using a lot of priming skirts (or gcode macro with a long fat line to prime), and heat it while touching the bed? Then you clean it off after each print if needed and just let it prime without oozing at all on starting a new print, at least when not changing filament.
so how does PETG print and stick to the glass, I only print PETG and use a textured plate. I like the design and size, but what I can print is important
Great video! Glad you finished and it looks great. I’m still surprised by the number of first time printer builders, building a Positron. Exciting to watch and help on discord.
I think it's the looks - the Voron looks like a science experiment. The Positron looks like a mini hot rod :D I still love seeing people's Voron builds, but they just don't look as cool (IMO).
The idea of a "travel" 3D printer is neat. I have a ToyBox, and comparing the two, while the ToyBox is great as "Baby's First 3D printer," the software is closed source (and requires an internet connection), the print bed is teeny and it's also *incredibly* loud. I wish Positron all the best of luck, and I'll be watching to see if the v2 or v3 come down in price, because I can see this being incredible for, say, get-togethers at a mostly-remote company.
Having worked as a Field Technician, I remember being sent to remote sites to repair unknown faults. On those trips, I'd generally carry spares for "everything". Within limits, a portable device like this could cut down on the amount of hardware I'd travel with.
What a cool concept! For the price, I wouldn't be able to justify it, but seeing these sorts of projects rapidly improve through the collective efforts of an active community is so cool! Even my old Ender 3 has been constantly upgraded and modded to the point where the frame is just about the only original thing left on it (Printer of Theseus??), and I highly encourage other enthusiasts to do the same - like you said, you really learn *how* the printer is tuned to do what it does, and once you understand it you can change that behavior to suit your own needs.
Reminded me of the joy I had when I built my Prusa mk3 years ago and recently upgraded to mk3.9. It gives you the clear benefit of knowing the printer inside out.
""the Mazda Miata of 3D printers"" - best description I've heard. I can see this being used for a auxiliary printer if you need to make a few smaller parts while the primaries are churning away.
Welcome to the Club of DIY Kit Printer Builders. My first Printer was something similar: Teebot the Suitecase Printer. It's an 2014 Take on this Design and it is build into a hand luggage carrying case, which literally forms the Chassi of the Printer, it is a normal i3 Clone and the print Volume with 200x160x200 is on the smaller side. But having a Printer to go is great. You Open the Case, take out the filament holder, mount the Z Axis with 4 Screws. Putt in the Powercable and it is ready to go. Of Course an old Marlin printer but it is still kicking today. Even if i had to rebuild it 4 times now. Was my first 3D printer and a lot followed over the years. 3 Kits, 2 Preassembled and 1 Bambu X1E
I don’t want one but it’s great that new concepts are being developed 👍🏼 Once the main kinks have been worked out there might be something that this one does better than others. Thanks for sharing 👍🏼
They should make some sort of collapsible enclosure that doubles as a cheap & lightweight carrying case (or at least dust protection for long term storage)
I am so glad this is reaching this level, I am now hoping for a pre built kit , because I am so damn bad with my hands. But this is THE 3d printer I would buy as my first one
I’m stoked to see a new pocket of progress pushing the limits in 3D printing. Same deal with a Voron, it’s not for everyone, it’s not super cost effective. But when Voron got started it was the only way to get a machine that fast and that good at home. That proof and pressure had an obvious impact on the industry. And now Sovol is mass producing a Voron 2.4. Creality knocked off the coreXZ Voron switchwire, and I’m sure there’s more. I’m looking forward to the success of this project, future iterations, and even copycats.
I'm from Oz and have had a Prusa MK3 for a number years now (before they got rather expensive to import) and also upgraded it to the 'S' model. Built it as a kit and it was a fun experience. Regarding the Positron, I don't know if I could get used to the upside down printing, just seems a bit awkward and wrong somehow, lol.
As someone that adamantly started 3d printing with a "bare nuts and bolts" build as my first printer there is soon much one can learn doing it. But,there was alot that really needed a running printer or youtube to understand correctly..
It could perform the filament supply extrusion directly on the table, causing the nozzle to extrude material surrounding the glass plate itself, preventing the material from falling on top of the nozzle.
Next time try assembling a Prusa kit. The screws are bagged not by type, but by part, there are no heatset inserts (at least on the MINI+, MK3S+ and older kits, I don't know the MK4 and MK4S kits yet) and the build guides are really straightforward.
@@BeefIngot yeah, there is nothing novel about a bed slinger for sure, but grouping the hardware by the part it's for (as Prusa does it) instead of screw size is better. Tiny thing, but it does make a hell of a difference. Also, why does the user has to do QC? (by double checking all the parts) That's the job of the manufacturer.
I feel like the filament load should have an option to print a very slow thick purge line like how Prusa does in their startup sequence. Even if it doesn't stick well to the bed it should at least serve to keep the filament moving away from the nozzle while it purges.
If I recall correctly, there are plans to add beacon contact for nozzle based probing and making a usb power delivery powered board as higher wattage usb pd supplies become more common. Thats the one I think will make these truly portable. Just yank a power bank with a decent pd watrage and you can print everywhere. Add in the beacon, and no z offset or configiuration necessary. Of course most people would still be better off with an A1 mini, but USB PD and a Beacon probe wpuld make this very compelling indeed, at least for enthusiasts. This would be a tradeshow bagpack staple.
You just need a purge blob macro to clear the nozzle before starting a print. That's one of the main advantages of klipper though. All you need to do is add a few lines of text and you won't need to clean the nozzle before each print.
When I first saw the early video of this printer quite some time ago, I loved it. I'm really glad that there is room for such a printer in today's market flood with cheap "race-to-the-bottom printers". The only way 3D printing tech moves forward is by clever people doing something different. That said, I wish I had it in me to build one of these, but I would much rather spend the time and money, printing out my own creations with a printer that just works most of the time. It's great that there are many people out there that will be happy to put this together and help improve it over time. Undoubtedly some of those brilliant ideas will eventually make it into "ready-to-go" printers and I can benefit from those ideas at that time. I think we also owe a huge debt of gratitude to LDO for making kits available for novel ideas.
Man I've been in the game too long. My first printer, a PrintrBot Simple Metal was $750 for the kit, and at the time was considered one of the cheapest "ready to rock" kits. This would have been just as Prusa was releasing the Original i3 and before they even really got going. Seeing this quirky little boy at that price point doesn't seem too out of line tbh
10:35: That is called PA calibration, OrcaSlicer has both PA and flow calibration which are mandatory calibration to get decent printing quality. 11:08: I have Voron 3D Printers ( Klipper ) and have had BambuLab and Ender in the past. Never fully heat the nozzle, heat the nozzle up to 150c degree Celsius only, let the printer does its calibration and only then fully heat the nozzle when it is close to the bed about to start printing the purge line. It is mandatory to have a purge line so the nozzle have enough material within it before starting the print or you risk it printing air until enough filament gets pushed out. That is how you solve oozing problems. 14:32: See the corners?? That is called warping, Isopropryl alcohol is your friend, keep your bed clean, never touch the printing area with your fingers (oil) and make sure you have the right temperature. Depending on the PLA, you can go from 45-60c
9:32 Hmmm. If the cable had some slack, you could try putting a flexible loop on the print bed and route the cable through the loop so it stays up and out of the way. Though that solution (13:11) is probably better lol.
I've 0 experience with 3D printing, but am interested enough to have watched many YT reviews. The thing I like most about this upside down design is that it doesn't need supporting structures to be added to the part's design. Suggestions: * Place a small 'catch bib sheet' with a hole around the nozzle, while preheating it to avoid the mess. Just remove it prior to printing. * Suspend the spool on a horizontal axle, similar to how electricians utilize horizontal cabling spool racks. That will provide the necessary leverage to stop it from traveling across the work surface. * Perhaps the cable snagging could be solved by suspending it from above with a swinging wire or string?
Klipper is not OS btw, it is program on linux and firmware for 3D printer, you do not need to run specific distribution (I think it even works on windows, not sure tho)
For ABS prints, you can recycle the threaded inserts by heating them up, and then ripping them out with a long bolt. Let them cool, and then drop them in acetone. ABS melts in acetone so you'll be able to clean of the inserts and use them again! To keep the nozzle clean, there's probably a bunch of solutions, but a purge line or skirt might help to clean it first before the print starts. You can also retract the filament a little immediately post heat by 5mm. I know on Vorons, there's a Print_Start macro you can modify to do that.
I wish that prusa had sent xou the kit version, so that you can expirience their build up and manuals. It is defintately rewarding to build your own complex thing and see it work 🤗 A good use fornit would also be teaching about 3d printers and you nees to travel, doesnt get any more compact than this.
I do have a couple mods I'm thinking about that should improve cooling and maybe double the printing speed! Though don't need to overclock the RP2040 to hit those speeds :)
5:24 my first thought is running a screwdriver or other small shaft through the washer and into the standoff to line it up in a way you might hope to hold the washer down while pulling the shaft out to leave it in place
For the mess with loading filament. Tried getting a small piece of metal flashing. Drill a small hole that the tip of the nozzle can fit through and lay it on the nozzle. Load the filament and let all the oose Land on the piece of flashing and when it's done lift it off
Don't forget heat rises so the heat will keep the piece well heated after the line if print has been deposited keeping it fused longer than if printing normaly
Filament Ooze sucks. What I do on my printers is make the nozzle touch the bed, then start heating. Reach the temp target, draw a line, go print. It does not help with filament swap, but it surely does during the start print.
Crikey! haha I'm not Australian but I like saying that. I'm as American as they come. I recently got a Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, and I'm guessing I'm similar in age to you (40). I guess you can call it my "mid life crisis" too? IDK but I'd been wanting a 3D printer for a long time, so I went balls to the wall with the X1C and I've not looked back. As cool as the Positron v3.2 is I don't want it. I got the X1C because I didn't want to build something like any of the Ender family members. I wanted an out of box turn key solution. Before anyone says this, I'm aware that the later model Ender printers require less assembly, but even then it'd be too much for me, and the fact that the X1C is enclosed by default is a plus for me. Great video Jeff. Don't let Red Shirt Jeff anywhere near the Positron... He'll do stuff to it.... lol.
11.16 loading filament will always be an issues upside down. i suggest a silicone catch cup, that you place over the nozzle, is contoured to seal as close and tight To the nozzle as possible. Then you can just extrude into it, set it aside to cool, and clean it when cool, solid, and the print is well started. i love the small format printers, so this one is... interesting. however, i'm Really interested in the head swap systems for multi-nozzle and multi-material printing. upside down might have an advantage or two in retraction and automatically clearing material out of the hot end, but swapping will be tricky... unless you could simply run the print head off the exposed linear rail. there's possible features i Really like: you could add an accordion curtain to retain the print head heat. w tweaking, that might be able to maintain a better overall print temperature for layer bonding...
Probably the best way to keep the head clean is a ceramic coating like used in the automotive or cooking spaces. Also needs a more flat design so there's no nooks for things to fall into. Maybe high temp silicon caulk can fill the gap?
I was like what? 3D printers are banned or not available in Australia? Then I watched the intro... I see what you did there... Clever! Thanks for the laugh!
If not for the cost I would think this would be great for someone who wants a 3D printer, but doesn't expect to use it that often , so they could stash it on a shelf until needed.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade the resin printing yes, but the resin would be a massive headache to handle in freefall. Resin printers as-is will spread resin everywhere. They would need to use a larger resin bucket so the whole travel of the Z axis can be inside the resin bucket, and then you can seal it while it's printing. Then you would need some way of purging the resin after the print.
If it could be upgraded to support printing something like Nylon or even Polycarbonate, it could be a great option for drone operators and cinematographers, as most hobby filaments aren't suitable for outdoor usage.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the build 💙
Edit: For those wondering about the price. Yes, we know it's not accessible for everyone. The BOM for this is a lot. In the end, Positron makes about $25 per kit.
Majority of the price is going into the custom machining, the cost for our custom heatblock alone is $40. We decided to use higher quality components over cheaper alternatives, like using a CM4 instead of a clone because we wanted to enable everyone to be able to customize and tinker without limitation.
Since this kit is done in batches, and not as a full production line, it's going to be more expensive than printers with dedicated production lines like Bambu or Prusa.
We're looking at creating a version that is cheaper, but please understand that it will be difficult, the LT alone which is meant to be a easy self-source option can range around $500.
Positron is a team of about 12 volunteer team members who do this for fun. We're always looking for ways to make the kit more affordable, so if you have some ideas, we'd love to hear the feedback.
Thanks for the clarification on the pricing - I tried to make it apparent, and explicitly mentioned in the video, this isn't a printer for a first-time hobbyist getting into 3D printing (at least not most of us). And it's not something meant to be on the same plane as a Bambu A1 mini or Prusa mini... this is a totally different thing! I love that it can exist, it's a very cool printer.
Your team and LDO have done wonderfully to bring the kit to life.
You can now 3D print Australians? Amazing!
😂😂😂
Unfortunately it's just compatible with mate desktop
I'm one of those 3d printed people 🤷
@@philspam2087 🤣🤣
Of course, im 50% abs 🇦🇺
Been following Kralyn's journey designing this for a few years, so clever to come up with it. So pleased for him finally bringing it to market, big props to LDO Jason for believing in it.
Kralyn has barely been part of the project for a long time now the praise should really go to nomad and all the work he's done
@@jakeengland1430 Wouldn't even have even been a thing it hadn't been for Kralyn coming up with it in the first place.
@@MelSavageKiller and thats worth stating everyone who worked on it should be mentioned but your comment specifically mentioned kralyn bringing it to market but kralyn didn't Nomad did he and his team have done 90% of the work to get it to where it is now so personally I think my point still stands
@@jakeengland1430I appreciate the comment - it brought a tear to my eye, but Kralyn was a critical member of the team. I still talk to him and keep him up to date, he just can't be as publicly involved as he used to be. But thank you so much for that 💙
@@nomadsgalaxy no worries bud you had our back at millennium and we'll always have yours hope it didn't come across too harsh I understand that kralyn is still part of the project in some way
As an Australian and someone who has been 3D printing for 13 years, I'm ashamed to admit I have been printing in the wrong orientation this whole time! No wonder I have bed adhesion problems, I'm trying to use a northern hemisphere printer in the southern hemisphere, duh 🤦
@rico13 you may be using the wrong extruder and filament. Remember: in the northern hemisphere the extrusion goes anti-clockwise. Make sure you are using both a clockwise extruder AND filament designed for clockwise extrusion. Yes it costs a bit more, but is well worth it!
"Is it perfect? No, but is it my favorite experience with a 3d printer in my life? YES!" - Welcome to custom building 3d printers. When you build it yourself and et it all to work, it is hard to not fall in love with it when it finally works. Congrats on the build Jeff!
So true, and then you know it inside and out.
My first printer was basically a parts kit. It was a delta with just the base assembled so 90% of it had to be built and assembled.
It's like the ikea effect!
It's exactly the reason why I opted to upgrade my Ender 3 (V1) to Klipper, SKR1.4T, Rpi3, linear rails, SO3, steel spring plates and dual-Z, instead of buying a Bambulabs 😅 Sure, it was most likely not very economical, but keeps me out of the Bambulab system. I love keeping my stuff open instead of closed 😂
15:52 This is clearly a printer for Arch Linux users.
I use Arch, BTW. If I had a Positron, I would install Arch on the CM4 and put clipper on top of it.
nach voron is for arch people, this printer is for gentoo folks 😂
@@lukaszbusko Gentoo folks would prefer being given the plans to manufacture/print each part and then construct the whole thing.
How do you know someone uses Arch? Don't worry they'll tell you 😉
@@teeteetuu94 gentoo people like to do pointless work which leads to nowhere and gives no benefits. This printer is eminences of this approach.
@@JanPeterDeVriesWhen Nix came on the scene, all of us Arch users were suddenly like, "Yikes, is that what we've sounded like this whole time?!? 😬"
Great video about the Positron. I had a similar experience with my build and you're right, it's the Miata of 3D printers. I saw the real time support from the community as you were building and want to point out that the community support is part of what makes this a great project.
Awww, thank you friend 💙💙
3D printing community in 2024 is a wholesome vibe
Time to make the obligatory Crocodile Dundee reference:
“ That’s not a 3D printer; *this is a 3D printer!* ”
"this baby extrudes up to eight cubic meters of fibre re-enforced polymer concrete per hour!"
I loved the Positron ever since I saw Kralyn's projects, it's kind of unfortunate that the cost of buying one is so high but if one has the money and wants to make stuff with it, it's extremely worth it.
The reprap 'LT' version is a bit cheaper (still expensive compared to other options though!), so I hope some people who might not want to stretch the budget too far can get into that build.
@@konm08 I bet it could be made more cheaply mass produced but sadly it needs to be cheaper to get mass adoption. Kind of a catch 22.
@@jmr We tried our best to reduce the cost while maintaining a high quality, but in truth it's very difficult. We decided to keep the printer more on the rugged side to be able to survive travel more, which upped the cost.
We are planning on making a version that will be cheaper later on, but we wanted to come out swinging with the best quality we could produce.
@@nomadsgalaxy Good choice, obviously we want rugged for a portable printer. Lessons learned here could be valuable when we start sending printers into space where... uh.. "space matters". 😂
Then you will be very interested in the Lemontron. Costs $400 all in.
Thanks Jeff for great video about Positron, LDO will work hard to keep improving the future version.
Thank you, and thank you especially for having the little booting animation have a perfectly-centered circle-I was expecting it to not rotate perfectly on the circle after seeing so many web loading spinners do that, and it was a pleasant surprise :D
@@JeffGeerling We are trying to make everything perfect, but not a easy task; glad we make this animation be perfect.
I’m still trying to get him to build a Voron, Jason! 😁
@@Jared01 someday, when he say YES! 😎
@ldomotorsjason3488 Is that rumoured usb pd variant still in the pipe?
Australian here! 👏 This is actually the first 3D printer that prints right side up. Every other 3D printer prints upside down.
Can confirm!
Jeff, tip for the washers, use small amount of grease to hold them in place on the bottom of the pulley's as you install them, they will stick in place and wont fall into the machine, use Super-Lube grease.
Oh, that would make sense; even a drip of oil could hold it in place a moment
@@JeffGeerling Certainly will, same method works for non ferrous screws.
i have solution for for that drooling issue: instead of pliers, use folded kitchen paper, with the lightest spritz of cooking spray. it's much easier to wipe the nozzle clean with that. and the wee bit of oil will polymerize, and build up to form a non-stick coating, much like seasoning iron cookware. seasoning nozzles is super old school, but it works!
PS: a lazy way, that could get awfully messy over time, would be to print a generous skirt
Wouldn't retraction be better? I'm thinking about retracting the filament about a cm, or ~½inch, so the filament wouldn't get heated as much, and won't expand.
One of my "secret weapons" in 3d printing is bamboo-sticks. They are awesome for poking at filiment goop piled up on print heads, and I'd bet it would work great here in place of plyers. The wood of the bamboo will not burn because they are meant for use on the grill, but hot filiment sticks to it with a magnetic-like pull, so it works great to clean off a print-head safely mid-print while stuff is running... not that you should really do that... but I definitely do that.
absolutely love how detailed this video is, looks awesome for someone who likes to tinker and lives in a small place
As an Australian I finally found a youtube video I can watch the right way up
welcome to Klipper. i learned a lot about it well i was waiting for my SV08. converted my ender3v2 and ender 5 over.
you can fix the load filament issues by changing how much is loaded and have a purge area after you change filament. just need to make a change to the load filament macro.
I have set up the spare room for you Jeff, welcome anytime! Melbourne, Australia see you sometime soon :)
I would absolutely love to visit Australia (and/or New Zealand!) someday. The flight kinda makes it rough without some bigger purpose, but we'll see. Someday.
Is the spare room 3D printed?
Honestly this video really exemplifies why people LOVE vorons so much. They very much so are the in-between of the positron and an off the shelf bambu. You build it yourself, tinker with it yourself, but at the end of the day you get a really capable high quality printer that you know the ins and outs of and how to fix if stuff goes wrong. You don't don't get that with a bambu
10:35 Klipper’s pressure advance will clean those blobby corners right up!
Hemostats are an underrated tool with electronics. Holding washers, clipping onto connectors with tabs, aligning hard to reach nuts and bolts and etc.
don't forget they will work great for cleaning that nozzle too
As an Australian i feel like its my responsibility to build one of these and update everyone on it
Please let me know if it still prints clockwise down there.
Oh, I want this for my solar powered tent trailer.
I really want to test how large of a print you can undertake from a small solar battery bank.
I was planning on doing some testing with a portable backpack-fitting 45W solar panel, but Ecoflow still hasn't shipped it :(
@@JeffGeerling Well, if you do a follow up, I'll watch that.
For the nozzle ooze.. I use fast food napkins to quickly wipe the nozzle off. I am bias, being on the Positron3d Team, but I love and take mine everywhere. Printed all my parts in polycarbonate so I can leave it in my car on 120f days.
Ha, so dashboard-mount when?
@@JeffGeerling as my daily driver is a charger, there isn't enough room on the dashboard. I am getting ready to print while on a road trip though. :)
How about using a lot of priming skirts (or gcode macro with a long fat line to prime), and heat it while touching the bed? Then you clean it off after each print if needed and just let it prime without oozing at all on starting a new print, at least when not changing filament.
Just buy a box of kimtech wipes.
so how does PETG print and stick to the glass, I only print PETG and use a textured plate. I like the design and size, but what I can print is important
I'm so happy to finally see the Positron reaching commercial viability! I've enjoyed watching its development since the first video released :D
Great video! Glad you finished and it looks great. I’m still surprised by the number of first time printer builders, building a Positron. Exciting to watch and help on discord.
I think it's the looks - the Voron looks like a science experiment. The Positron looks like a mini hot rod :D
I still love seeing people's Voron builds, but they just don't look as cool (IMO).
The idea of a "travel" 3D printer is neat. I have a ToyBox, and comparing the two, while the ToyBox is great as "Baby's First 3D printer," the software is closed source (and requires an internet connection), the print bed is teeny and it's also *incredibly* loud. I wish Positron all the best of luck, and I'll be watching to see if the v2 or v3 come down in price, because I can see this being incredible for, say, get-togethers at a mostly-remote company.
Having worked as a Field Technician, I remember being sent to remote sites to repair unknown faults. On those trips, I'd generally carry spares for "everything".
Within limits, a portable device like this could cut down on the amount of hardware I'd travel with.
Lovely to see some father-son bonding time. And learning something along the way.
What a cool concept! For the price, I wouldn't be able to justify it, but seeing these sorts of projects rapidly improve through the collective efforts of an active community is so cool! Even my old Ender 3 has been constantly upgraded and modded to the point where the frame is just about the only original thing left on it (Printer of Theseus??), and I highly encourage other enthusiasts to do the same - like you said, you really learn *how* the printer is tuned to do what it does, and once you understand it you can change that behavior to suit your own needs.
Southern Hemisphere recognition! Let's goooo
This would be pretty sweet for people living in ultra small spaces, such as van life, tint apartments, or tiny homes
Great video! I love my Positron, but I didn't have to build it. Respect to you for doing the build!
Reminded me of the joy I had when I built my Prusa mk3 years ago and recently upgraded to mk3.9. It gives you the clear benefit of knowing the printer inside out.
""the Mazda Miata of 3D printers"" - best description I've heard. I can see this being used for a auxiliary printer if you need to make a few smaller parts while the primaries are churning away.
Welcome to the Club of DIY Kit Printer Builders. My first Printer was something similar: Teebot the Suitecase Printer. It's an 2014 Take on this Design and it is build into a hand luggage carrying case, which literally forms the Chassi of the Printer, it is a normal i3 Clone and the print Volume with 200x160x200 is on the smaller side. But having a Printer to go is great. You Open the Case, take out the filament holder, mount the Z Axis with 4 Screws. Putt in the Powercable and it is ready to go. Of Course an old Marlin printer but it is still kicking today. Even if i had to rebuild it 4 times now. Was my first 3D printer and a lot followed over the years. 3 Kits, 2 Preassembled and 1 Bambu X1E
Very nice video on the Positron and a great fit on the conclusion. Yup, Building hot rod printers is awesome!
The idler pull spacer, my tip is put it on an hex key and then put the key in the hole while holding the spacer up with your fingers
Imagine getting a completely unrestricted view of layer 0, that's insane, I love it.
I don’t want one but it’s great that new concepts are being developed 👍🏼 Once the main kinks have been worked out there might be something that this one does better than others. Thanks for sharing 👍🏼
They should make some sort of collapsible enclosure that doubles as a cheap & lightweight carrying case (or at least dust protection for long term storage)
Love your reviews Jeff, you are the best at noticing little things that will be day to day annoyances!
I am so glad this is reaching this level, I am now hoping for a pre built kit , because I am so damn bad with my hands.
But this is THE 3d printer I would buy as my first one
I’m stoked to see a new pocket of progress pushing the limits in 3D printing.
Same deal with a Voron, it’s not for everyone, it’s not super cost effective. But when Voron got started it was the only way to get a machine that fast and that good at home. That proof and pressure had an obvious impact on the industry. And now Sovol is mass producing a Voron 2.4. Creality knocked off the coreXZ Voron switchwire, and I’m sure there’s more.
I’m looking forward to the success of this project, future iterations, and even copycats.
Good review, Jeff. My tinkering/Dork inner self loves this ingenuity. This is absolutely not a first-time printer.
As a fellow STL computer and 3D printing nerd who happens to drive a Miata, that summary was hilarious and accurate! 😆
Haha
I'm from Oz and have had a Prusa MK3 for a number years now (before they got rather expensive to import) and also upgraded it to the 'S' model. Built it as a kit and it was a fun experience.
Regarding the Positron, I don't know if I could get used to the upside down printing, just seems a bit awkward and wrong somehow, lol.
Reminds me of my grandfather building two Heathkit TVs (first one was B&W), and he never graduated from high school.
I’m an Australian and this is what I’ve always needed.
As someone that adamantly started 3d printing with a "bare nuts and bolts" build as my first printer there is soon much one can learn doing it. But,there was alot that really needed a running printer or youtube to understand correctly..
It could perform the filament supply extrusion directly on the table, causing the nozzle to extrude material surrounding the glass plate itself, preventing the material from falling on top of the nozzle.
Next time try assembling a Prusa kit. The screws are bagged not by type, but by part, there are no heatset inserts (at least on the MINI+, MK3S+ and older kits, I don't know the MK4 and MK4S kits yet) and the build guides are really straightforward.
Nothing novel about the prusa kit though, and its not like youd learn anything either.
This has the novely factor, and is less money too.
@@BeefIngot yeah, there is nothing novel about a bed slinger for sure, but grouping the hardware by the part it's for (as Prusa does it) instead of screw size is better. Tiny thing, but it does make a hell of a difference.
Also, why does the user has to do QC? (by double checking all the parts) That's the job of the manufacturer.
I can't see a problem with it, it looks the right way up to me...love from Australia
I feel like the filament load should have an option to print a very slow thick purge line like how Prusa does in their startup sequence. Even if it doesn't stick well to the bed it should at least serve to keep the filament moving away from the nozzle while it purges.
If I recall correctly, there are plans to add beacon contact for nozzle based probing and making a usb power delivery powered board as higher wattage usb pd supplies become more common.
Thats the one I think will make these truly portable. Just yank a power bank with a decent pd watrage and you can print everywhere. Add in the beacon, and no z offset or configiuration necessary.
Of course most people would still be better off with an A1 mini, but USB PD and a Beacon probe wpuld make this very compelling indeed, at least for enthusiasts. This would be a tradeshow bagpack staple.
You just need a purge blob macro to clear the nozzle before starting a print. That's one of the main advantages of klipper though. All you need to do is add a few lines of text and you won't need to clean the nozzle before each print.
When I first saw the early video of this printer quite some time ago, I loved it. I'm really glad that there is room for such a printer in today's market flood with cheap "race-to-the-bottom printers". The only way 3D printing tech moves forward is by clever people doing something different. That said, I wish I had it in me to build one of these, but I would much rather spend the time and money, printing out my own creations with a printer that just works most of the time.
It's great that there are many people out there that will be happy to put this together and help improve it over time. Undoubtedly some of those brilliant ideas will eventually make it into "ready-to-go" printers and I can benefit from those ideas at that time.
I think we also owe a huge debt of gratitude to LDO for making kits available for novel ideas.
Man I've been in the game too long. My first printer, a PrintrBot Simple Metal was $750 for the kit, and at the time was considered one of the cheapest "ready to rock" kits. This would have been just as Prusa was releasing the Original i3 and before they even really got going.
Seeing this quirky little boy at that price point doesn't seem too out of line tbh
10:35: That is called PA calibration, OrcaSlicer has both PA and flow calibration which are mandatory calibration to get decent printing quality.
11:08: I have Voron 3D Printers ( Klipper ) and have had BambuLab and Ender in the past.
Never fully heat the nozzle, heat the nozzle up to 150c degree Celsius only, let the printer does its calibration and only then fully heat the nozzle when it is close to the bed about to start printing the purge line. It is mandatory to have a purge line so the nozzle have enough material within it before starting the print or you risk it printing air until enough filament gets pushed out.
That is how you solve oozing problems.
14:32: See the corners?? That is called warping,
Isopropryl alcohol is your friend, keep your bed clean, never touch the printing area with your fingers (oil) and make sure you have the right temperature. Depending on the PLA, you can go from 45-60c
9:32 Hmmm. If the cable had some slack, you could try putting a flexible loop on the print bed and route the cable through the loop so it stays up and out of the way. Though that solution (13:11) is probably better lol.
I've 0 experience with 3D printing, but am interested enough to have watched many YT reviews. The thing I like most about this upside down design is that it doesn't need supporting structures to be added to the part's design.
Suggestions:
* Place a small 'catch bib sheet' with a hole around the nozzle, while preheating it to avoid the mess. Just remove it prior to printing.
* Suspend the spool on a horizontal axle, similar to how electricians utilize horizontal cabling spool racks. That will provide the necessary leverage to stop it from traveling across the work surface.
* Perhaps the cable snagging could be solved by suspending it from above with a swinging wire or string?
soooo... next up voron 2.4r2?
Klipper is not OS btw, it is program on linux and firmware for 3D printer, you do not need to run specific distribution (I think it even works on windows, not sure tho)
Bah, semantics.
For ABS prints, you can recycle the threaded inserts by heating them up, and then ripping them out with a long bolt. Let them cool, and then drop them in acetone. ABS melts in acetone so you'll be able to clean of the inserts and use them again!
To keep the nozzle clean, there's probably a bunch of solutions, but a purge line or skirt might help to clean it first before the print starts. You can also retract the filament a little immediately post heat by 5mm. I know on Vorons, there's a Print_Start macro you can modify to do that.
I wish that prusa had sent xou the kit version, so that you can expirience their build up and manuals. It is defintately rewarding to build your own complex thing and see it work 🤗
A good use fornit would also be teaching about 3d printers and you nees to travel, doesnt get any more compact than this.
5:33 - it does look cool, like a manta ray
Are we going to get a video on you overclocking the 2040 chips? Ultimate 3D printing. Lol.
I do have a couple mods I'm thinking about that should improve cooling and maybe double the printing speed! Though don't need to overclock the RP2040 to hit those speeds :)
Now imagine the overhangs in there, they must be really good
Loved seeing this in action at SMMRF.
Tweezers are the underrated tools of 3D Printing
Always happy to see the Doctor Who Dalek in the background! T'is always fun to get casual metric data from a video! 100 degrees 4 U ☺
5:24 my first thought is running a screwdriver or other small shaft through the washer and into the standoff to line it up in a way you might hope to hold the washer down while pulling the shaft out to leave it in place
For the mess with loading filament. Tried getting a small piece of metal flashing. Drill a small hole that the tip of the nozzle can fit through and lay it on the nozzle. Load the filament and let all the oose Land on the piece of flashing and when it's done lift it off
Really gorgeous.
Useful? Well, maybe not, but very well finished!
Thanks for this video!
Don't forget heat rises so the heat will keep the piece well heated after the line if print has been deposited keeping it fused longer than if printing normaly
Ha! Didn't think about that, though it won't make a significant difference outside of a well-sealed enclosure.
I couldn't even comprehend what i was looking at for the first 10 seconds. Nice.
The hacksmith mini saber,nice
The core xy style... the linear rail z axis... the RepRap construction for easy upgrades... my God, it's even got Klipper by default...
It's funny that you mentioned the Mazda Miata because the video cued up in the next tab is about engine swaps for the Mazda Miata. 😆
Haha nice
Filament Ooze sucks. What I do on my printers is make the nozzle touch the bed, then start heating. Reach the temp target, draw a line, go print. It does not help with filament swap, but it surely does during the start print.
Crikey! haha I'm not Australian but I like saying that. I'm as American as they come. I recently got a Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, and I'm guessing I'm similar in age to you (40). I guess you can call it my "mid life crisis" too? IDK but I'd been wanting a 3D printer for a long time, so I went balls to the wall with the X1C and I've not looked back. As cool as the Positron v3.2 is I don't want it. I got the X1C because I didn't want to build something like any of the Ender family members. I wanted an out of box turn key solution. Before anyone says this, I'm aware that the later model Ender printers require less assembly, but even then it'd be too much for me, and the fact that the X1C is enclosed by default is a plus for me. Great video Jeff. Don't let Red Shirt Jeff anywhere near the Positron... He'll do stuff to it.... lol.
Ha pretty much the same with me buying a P1S this year...
The Klein pocket screwdriver! I don't leave my bedroom without it!
They are handy!
Oh Jeff, I’ve been on the fence and now youve sold me.
A mechanics Trick. Put a bit of vasiline on the spacers and place them. They wont Shift and this makes the assembly a lot easier.
Strewth, it's about time we had a bloody printer we could take to the beach!
11.16 loading filament will always be an issues upside down. i suggest a silicone catch cup, that you place over the nozzle, is contoured to seal as close and tight To the nozzle as possible.
Then you can just extrude into it, set it aside to cool, and clean it when cool, solid, and the print is well started.
i love the small format printers, so this one is... interesting. however, i'm Really interested in the head swap systems for multi-nozzle and multi-material printing. upside down might have an advantage or two in retraction and automatically clearing material out of the hot end, but swapping will be tricky... unless you could simply run the print head off the exposed linear rail.
there's possible features i Really like: you could add an accordion curtain to retain the print head heat. w tweaking, that might be able to maintain a better overall print temperature for layer bonding...
Probably the best way to keep the head clean is a ceramic coating like used in the automotive or cooking spaces. Also needs a more flat design so there's no nooks for things to fall into. Maybe high temp silicon caulk can fill the gap?
yay! a miata reference!
Funny Jeff, I said what you did there :) Howdy from down under ;)
I was like what? 3D printers are banned or not available in Australia? Then I watched the intro... I see what you did there... Clever! Thanks for the laugh!
YEAH BABY THATS WHAT IVE BEEN WAITING FOR
A brass brush cleans a printer nozzle extremely well, especially while it's hot! Much better than pliers
By the title I initially assumed 3d printing was illegal in Austrailia and this one found a way around their laws hahaha. Glad to see I was wrong.
If not for the cost I would think this would be great for someone who wants a 3D printer, but doesn't expect to use it that often , so they could stash it on a shelf until needed.
In space all printers work just as well. Gravity be damned!
They work even better. Overhangs? LOL!
@@madonius I'm fairly sure that resin printers won't work in space.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade the resin printing yes, but the resin would be a massive headache to handle in freefall. Resin printers as-is will spread resin everywhere. They would need to use a larger resin bucket so the whole travel of the Z axis can be inside the resin bucket, and then you can seal it while it's printing. Then you would need some way of purging the resin after the print.
indium-tin-oxide coating is also the coating used on the F-22 Raptor fighter jet to deflect radar.
I really want to see Angus mount one on his ceiling.
being upside down could also help keep bridging from sagging too much because each layer will push it back up instead of letting it droop and sag
8:14 I have to do this with my right-side-up printer lmao
If it could be upgraded to support printing something like Nylon or even Polycarbonate, it could be a great option for drone operators and cinematographers, as most hobby filaments aren't suitable for outdoor usage.