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  • Author Author: ralphjy
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AnyCubic Mega-S - Prime Day

ralphjy

After a fair amount of frustration trying to fix the hotend/extruder on my Velleman K8200 3D printer I finally decided that I should just go ahead and buy a new printer.  I really like the K8200, it has a large build area (20 x 20 x 20 cm) and has worked reliably for 6 years.  But recently I've been having lots of problems with it.  I think it started with some bad filament.  I kept getting jams in the Delrin isolator in the extruder due to expanded filament.  I replaced the isolator but that only helped a little and then I ended up with a clogged nozzle that I couldn't manage to clear.  So, I bought a new nozzle assembly and when I tried to replace the old one I realized that filament had oozed out onto the heater and created quite a mess.  I debated whether or not to buy an upgraded extruder assembly and to fix my z-axis mechanism which was wearing out.  Decided that I should look for a new printer instead.

 

I was debating whether or not it was worth it to buy a fully enclosed unit with auto-leveling.  I found that units with an equivalent build area to the K8200 were quite expensive and some used proprietary filament and/or software.  Then along came Amazon Prime Day and I saw the AnyCubic Mega-S printer for under $300 with Prime delivery.   I was a little concerned about such a low cost Chinese printer but the reviews were generally good, so I went ahead and bought it.

 

Here's the new printer next to the K8200.  It actually has a slightly bigger build area (21 x 21 x 20.5 cm) but has a smaller footprint and is about 15 cm shorter.

image

 

 

The major complaint that I've seen about this printer is that it is very noisy.  It also has loud fans in the base for the electronics.  Here's a short clip showing how noisy it is.

 

 

Here's the test print of the owl pair.  I'm satisfied with the print quality.  One concern that I have is that I now have a new tool flow.  I used to use Repetier software with a Slic3r slicer.  The recommended tool for this printer is Cura which should be fine although I haven't used it so may have a learning curve.

image

 

One feature that I really like is the Ultrabase bed.  It has stippled glass with a special coating that improves print adhesion when it's hot and print release when it is cools down.  Seems to work really well.  The bed has a little warp (higher in the center), so I'm not sure how well it will do with maximum size prints.

image

 

I'm currently using the SD card interface to print.  I'll be testing the USB interface with my Mac Mini shortly.  I'd like to use a Raspberry Pi with Octoprint but I've seen some reports of problems on the forums.  I'll try it after verifying the USB interface is working reliably.

 

The good news and hopefully not the bad news is that this printer came with a lot of extra stuff.

  1. 1kg spool of white filament
  2. 5 x 10m of different color filament samples (red, blue, green, yellow, beige)
  3. Spare print head assembly with filament tube
  4. 5 spare nozzles (0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 mm)
  5. Spare limit switch
  6. Filament cutter
  7. Tweezers
  8. Toolkit (hex wrenches, open end wrenches, screwdriver)
  9. Nozzle cleaning rods
  10. SD card (with test print and software)
  11. USB SD card reader
  12. USB cable
  13. Print removal spatula
  14. Pair of latex gloves

 

Just hope it doesn't imply a lot of repair image

Parents

  • Hi Ralph

     

    Just catching up in my progress towards committing to a 3D printer!!!

     

    How has this performed since July 2019 ?

     

    Neil

  • in reply to neilk

    I agree with Ralph. I have had mine a couple of years now and it has been very reliable. I don’t level it often, haven’t added upgrades, etc.  I just use it.  It is probably capable of better prints than what I generate but it does the job for me without fuss.  I design in Fusion360 but am a bit of a hack using it. I use Cura and like it. I only use PLA.  I tend to use it a lot and then it may sit idle a month.  Prints often run 4 hour prints and sometimes up to 8 hours without problems. The only thing I have had problems with is old brittle PLA filament but it cleared easily.

  • in reply to fmilburn

    There has been a lot of theories that brittle PLA is due to moisture absorption but I have discovered the "brittle PLA" syndrome is due to the PLA being subjected to stress over long periods of time.

    When the PLA transitions from being wound on a spool to the printer feed system it must straighten out a bit and get bent in new directions. This is fine for short periods of time before it gets melted into a new shape but if cold stress persists, it eventually causes a problem.

    The part of the filament that is not in its natural spool curvature will tend to break after a day or two sitting at the new angle.

    I guess it would be an easy test to hold a piece of filament in a new bend shape, opposite to its natural bend and see how long it takes to snap.

    If the printer will be idle for more than a day, the filament should be removed so it can resume its natural, unstressed curl around the spool.

  • in reply to dougw


    That seems a good explanation of what happens. I will try your recommendation. Fortunately I have only had the problem with one or two spools.

    I should clarify my comments on bed leveling.  I think I have done it 3 times.  Once when it was new. A second time when I disassembled and reassembled it after moving.  And a third time when I decided I hadn’t done a very good job the second time.

     

    I actually bought my printer based on seeing what you were able to do with yours and your kind response to my questions so thanks for that.

  • in reply to dougw

      wrote:

     

    If the printer will be idle for more than a day, the filament should be removed so it can resume its natural, unstressed curl around the spool.

     

    I've noticed that exact thing here - if I forget to remove the spool after printing it usually breaks, sometimes snapping with the slightest touch.

    I wondered if it was the light, so I usually store the spool in a drawer; but your explanation makes more sense, as the rest of the spool is fine.

     

    To add info to Neil's question:

    Mine is the Creality Ender 3 Pro, and it's been easy to use too - I use the Creality slicer (in an old WinXP Virtual Machine on Mac). I mostly just print from STL files I find on Thingiverse, and I've made some modifications using Tinkercad, but that's about the level of 3D design I've gotten to so far.

     

    The only issue I've had is that the magnetic mat delaminated when I pulled it up to release an ABS print while it was still hot - lesson learned: wait for it to cool down first! (ABS uses hotter bed and nozzle settings).

    This left a small ridge in my mat, but it's off the main print area so it hasn't been a problem.

  • in reply to fmilburn

    Hi Frank, thank you for the update image Very helpful.

     

    Neil

  • in reply to ntewinkel

    Hi Nico,

     

    Thanks for that. The Creality Ender 3 Pro is on my wish list already. I need to try and do a serious comparison with the anycubic.

     

    At the moment, I can source an anycubic for a better price that the Ender, but that's in UK, where prices don't seem to relate to prices across the pond!!

     

    Neil

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