3D Printing

I've been a "maker" since before being a "maker" was a thing and it's amazing to think that I just got into 3d printing in 2021 with my first printer,  a Creality Ender 5 plus. This printer has truly been my work horse.  From my strange leaning prints in the beginning to my nearly perfect controller main body parts, this printer has been my go to for all large/long prints.  It definitely took some head scratching and tweaking in order to get it to print straight vertically, but now it's dialed in.  Here's to many more prints with this machine.  

The next printer in the current line up is the step child of the Ender family, the Creality Ender 7.  I purchased this printed over the Ender 6 because at the time it was the latest and greatest and also because of it's overall size.  Since I already had the large format printer with the Ender 5 Plus, I wanted one that would fit better on my workbench.  This particular printer had problems from the "get go".  It was damaged from the store with it's mounting feet being bent.  Also, who ever designed it clearly has never used its since it has a horrible line of sight when trying to look at your current print.  Strangely, it doesn't save you Z height adjustments like the Ender 5 Plus.  Regardless, I've accepted it into the family and with a few modifications and have made it one of my own.

The newest member to the team is the QIDI CF-PRO.  Now I purchased this printer specifically for one thing, to print functional Nylon Carbon Fiber parts.  Although there are several options out there, I choose this one mainly due to price.  It comes in at a hefty $1700 -1800, but that is cheap compared to all domestic offerings.  Another benefit of getting this printer is that is uses a custom version of Ultimaker Cura.  Being that both Enders use Cura as well, this was a no brainer for me.  The biggest challenge so far with this printer is making sure that the PA 12-CF filament is properly dried.  Outside of that, this thing just works.