Creudy Casnewydd / Newport Makerspace Wiki

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===== 3D Printers =====

{{ :equipment:3dprinters.jpg?400 |}}

==== Overview ====

Newport Makerspace has 2 Creality Ender 3 v2 3D Printers, and one Elegoo Centauri Carbon. These are FDM type 3D printers (meaning they squirt molten plastic from a nozzle!) and are at the upper end of budget models. They have good print quality but need quite regular maintenance to perform well. 

FDM 3D printing creates a 3D model by squirting layer upon layer of melted plastic in lots of thin 2D layers. This is an inherently slow process as each layer will typically be 0.2mm, but is a low cost and relatively hands-free approach to producing 3D models. The 3D printers have a heated glass bed which work well if maintained and does not need the application of tape or glue for prints to adhere to the base. 

:!: The bed must be allowed to **fully** cool down before you attempt to remove a freshly printed model. Do not attempt to chisel or bash a model of the bed as this may damage the glass.

3D printers cannot defy gravity, so there are limitations in what they are able to produce. You cannot print onto thin air! There are ways to print supports for models that do need to have arches or cavities - but this is more advanced and requires a little practice and learning.

If you are having trouble with one of our 3D printers, or if you are not getting reliable / reproduceable results, please talk to a makerspace volunteer. The most common procedures required in maintaining the Ender 3 v2 printers are cleaning the glass bed and / or manually levelling the bed. We have found that using a clean cloth, hot water and washing up liquid is by far the best method to clean the glass bed!

**Software**

We recommend using [[https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura|Ultimaker Cura]] which is free software used to prepare 3D files (.stl) for printing. You can download Cura on a personal laptop. The Ender 3 v2 settings already included in the software, but you do need to manually select them (n.b. the bed size needs to be adjusted to 220*220*250mm).

Cura is not design software, use something like Autodesk Fusion 360 to create a new design.

**Materials and settings**

We recommend using PLA filament on the Ender 3 v2 printers, and we generally have stock of this at the makerspace. Please see the table below for settings:

^ Brand / Filament ^ Nozzle Temperature ^ Bed Temperature ^ Other settings ^ Notes ^
| eSun PLA+ - Black | 220C | 60C | Initial Bed Temp: 65C, Z-hop on, retraction speed: 50mm/s, retraction distance: 6mm  | Ensure you are using the eSun PLA+ profile in Cura. These settings need confirming, test prints have been run and these appear to be the optimal settings currently. |
| Multicomp PLA - White | 210C | 60C | Z-hop on, retraction speed: 50mm/s, retraction distance: 6mm |
| JAYO TPU Flexable Filament | 200C | 50C | retraction distance: 7mm | 190C provides a much smoother print, but bed adhesion makes it impractical for the first few layers |


[[https://manuals.plus/creality/creality-ender-3-3d-printer-manual|Find the online manual here]]
[[https://www.thingiverse.com/|Find a huge selection of user created 3D models at Thingiverse]]


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==== Safety & Induction ====

:!: Risk Score **Green**

:!: Risk Assessment: {{ :equipment:risk_assessments:nmcc_-_risk_assessment_-_3d_printer_-_2025.docx | Link}}

:!: Do I need an induction to use this machine? **No**

:!: Can I use this machine while lone working? **Yes**

^ PPE      ^ Required / Suggested / Banned      ^
|Eye protection|N/A|
|Hearing protection|N/A|
|Gloves|N/A|

=== Induction Information ===

  * Inductions are not required for this tool. The 3D printers are relatively safe and easy to use but if you are a new user, you should seek instruction from a member or volunteer who can help you get started. 

==== Maintenance History ====

Date next check is due: **01/04/2026**

^ Date     ^ Member ID      ^ Notes          ^
| 01/10/2025 | John O | PAT test completed |
| 01/08/2025 | James | Elegoo Centauri Carbon purchased for the makerspace to replace one of the ender printers |
| 01/07/2025 | Edward | Self levelling bed probes added to the two ender 3d printers |
| 29/11/2022 | Edward | All three printers had their extruders replaced with metal versions from Creality. Printer 1 is now producing good prints. 1 & 2 beds may need slight relevelling. Bed 3 appears good.|
| 08/10/2022 | Edward | Printer 1 hot end fan (front-facing) replaced. This resolved an issue with a noisy fan that was causing overheating of PLA ahead of the extruder. Cables snipped, spliced with solder and heatshrinked. Print quality is improved but still reduced from ideal. A new nozzle was ordered.|
| 25/10/2022 | Edward | Printers 1 & 3 beds releveled. Printer 3 Bed cleaned with IPA. Fan on Printer 1 is faulty, replacement orded.|
| 06/12/2021 | Steffan | Fix for printer 3 - extruder fan seemed to have a bad connection - reconnecting this seems to have solved the print failure issue |
| 29/11/2021 | Aidan | Thoroughly cleaned printer 2 bed and it is now printing as expected. Printer 3 has a skipping / jamming issue with the extruder. Quick-cleaned the nozzle of printer 3, this has not fixed the problem |
| pre-29/11/2021  | Aidan | Printer 1 fine, printer 2 and 3 have trouble with bed adhesion |