Things take time in the shed. Not least because I have the propensity to be bone idle at times, this is due in a large part to my mental health issues. During my down days it takes all the strength I can muster just to turn up for work. Now don't get me wrong at times I really enjoy what I do, and the company is aware and considerate of my illness. But some days it's just, well you know what I'm saying.
Anyhow back to The Shed. During lockdown I bought a 3D printer, I had built one of the RepRap type machines over 10 years ago, and although the process was at times 'Bang Your Head On A Wall' frustrating. I managed to get a few useful prints out of it, but at the time I felt with all the effort required, just to get a half decent usable, item at the end, just was not worth it. However the thought of spending 6 weeks with nothing to do was driving me insane, and I though after 10 years of development 3D printers must be totally user friendly by now. How wrong I was. Now I am not a financially wealthy man, so the range of machines available was fairly limited, plus I wanted the largest build area I could afford.
The machine I eventually settled on was the Tronxy X5SA, this monster has an available build area of 330 X 330 X 400mm, and that my friends is mahoosive.
The printer came as a box of parts as most of them do, some manufacturers have made assembly much easier by consolidating parts in to sub assemblies and leading to a greatly simplified assembly sequence. But not the Tronxy, this was a complete set of parts only the extruder head and the cable chain with it's assorted cabling were in any way together. It took the best part of a day to assemble the structure, and another to get it it working. These things test your patience to the max, so if your of a nervous disposition steer clear of the full kit builds.
Since I bought it I have upgraded the bearings, the bed and the extruder, and now mostly it is well behaved. I have added a 'Z' drive sync belt to keep the bed level and upgraded the control board for more flexibility. It is now a far more capable machine than when I first used it to make this model.
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