Since the cancer scare of 2024, a host of old projects are just itching to be scratched [off the list]. One of those projects was my old alarm system needing new hardware around the garage door (the wood it was made out of seems to disintegrate over time). So, it was time to break out my old Folgertech Prusa i3.
I couldn't get it upgraded to handle ABS, which is where I wanted to go for these parts. I ran through updates, I adjusted beds, I even bought an enclosure for my Prusa. ABS was no bueno.
So, I hit the local classifieds and bought an old Creality CR-10 for $75 with hopes of getting it to be my ABS-dedicated machine. It was extremely dirty, gross, and misaligned. Plus it was a CR-10s, not a CR-10 (note, not a CR-10 4S - that extra digit and the space make the "s" mean something totally different). This "s" means it's supposed to be "smart", and has a filament sensor on it which allows it to detect when filament is running out. There were a few broken parts on it, and a few customizations (e.g. the fan shroud was a dual 5015 fan that was a simple, but really elegant design).
- First, filament sensor housing had snapped and was loose. There was a spare piece of filament jammed into it to bypass this, which was okay to get this thing back online.
- Second, the extruder cooling fan shroud had cracked. The previous owner had glued it together using superglue glue, but this had failed under temperature.
The housings for both failed parts were after custom, and printed with PLA, which doesn't hold up to heat very well and considering sits around the extruder with high temperatures, is not an ideal material for a fan housing. But, I think I can deal with a fan that is slightly loose while I use the printer to replace some of it's own parts.
So, I cleaned it up, bought an enclosure, bought a new build surface (the gold PEI plates work best - the black one stuck a little too well and shredded after a few uses because I couldn't get the parts off), and leveled it out. I started playing with settings and ended up at 255°C on the nozzle and 95°C on the bed. That worked very well for the first few prints (I used real, usable and needed parts as my test prints, such as x-chain links for small parts).
I then backed down to 250°C on the nozzle and 90°C on the bed. I'm using a brim to keep things as glued to the PEI as possible (again, the gold magnetic PEI build plates seems to be the best as they release when the temperature cools enough, but don't hold onto it like a snake locking jaws in a bite).
I have successful prints. Now that I know it's ready to repair itself and it functions for what I need, I bought some 6mm extrusion cover in black, and changed this thing to start blacking this thing out.
I have a full x-axis cable support chain ready for a fan shroud housing. It's time to do the filament detector housing, as well as the fan shroud to connect the x-axis support chain up to.
Bugger. I can't find the original custom parts online. I was going to use those because I KNEW they worked.
So, I had to design and build my own. Out came the calipers, micrometers, and gauge pins to map out and chart the holes. This was a few weeks of printing and trial and error while I got everything mapped. First was the filament detector housing. I started with someone elses STL, loaded into FreeCAD, and converted it to a solid to start playing with it. I angled it up a bit to reduce tension on the filament inside the housing, and ended up with something I liked.
Since I stole someone else's design, I could re-use the same lid/cap they had designed. I printed it out, and... it warped. Another bugger! But, it was still usable enough to get that part online. So, onto the machine it went. And it was good.
Next, I designed the replacement fan shroud. I used the same tools (FreeCAD, calipers, micrometers, gauge pins) to map out the existing, known-to-have-been-working design, plus I wanted to add the x-axis chain cable support. I got to where I liked it.
I tried printing the fan shroud, and... it warped so bad it was unusable. [sigh].
So, I turned off the cooling fans, and reprinted.
There was MUCH less warping (but there was still warping around). I cleaned it up, and tried to get it installed....
Fantastic! The third time was the charm! To finish my x-axis chain, I just need to print the vertical bracket and install it! This printer is essentially better than when I got it. The broken parts have been repaired, and additional parts are being completed. The final fan shroud is available on thingiverse under the name of "Creality CR-10s Dual 5015 Fan with X-Chain Interface" :
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7006624
Now, about that filament sensor.... the next itch that needs scratching is the upcoming "hammo can". It's an insert for a .50 caliber ammo can that sets up a mobile HAM radio station. It doesn't fit on this Creality CR-10s with a brim, but the bottom plate is large enough that it shouldn't need one, and without the brim, it just barely fits. That's going to take 2 weeks to print on this server (and 2.5 roles of 1kg filament), but it's now doable.
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