Cheap 3D printer with 3 linear rails - How the Cetus changed my mind

Cetus 3D Printer: shop.tiertime....
Cheaper alternative: www.banggood.c...
Electric Screwdriver www.banggood.c...
Pay my filament bills: / marcoreps
Until now I was a 3D printing sceptic. What good could come from cheap hardware trying to lay down layers of plastic strings? But as soon as I saw this machine I suddenly wanted to give it a try. A minimalistic, functional design, real linear rails on all 3 axes and a low price somehow resonated with my inner CNC aficionado. And I was not disappointed. I have found no problems at all and I suspect, that it will now become a regular on the show :)

[@urdnal]

The combination of your accent and no-nonsense tone of voice makes your silly humour work so well.

[@LoganDark4357]

Misspelled "humor"

[@ThexBorg]

@@LoganDark4357 Both versions are correct. Humor is typically American, the rest of us it's Humour. en.oxforddictionaries.com/spelling/british-and-spelling

[@TB-jl9fr]

I thought this was a synthetic voice :D

[@minkorrh]

I was going to say the same thing. I came for the printer, stayed for the dry humour in a German accent. It's the juxtaposition of serious tone with underlying joke. It's hilarious.

[@obe22099]

@@ThexBorg Please include another reference. The Oxford dictionary is irrelevant. Only winners write history. By winners i mean mostly by having big guns and big boats with big guns and Planes with big guns inside the boats with big guns. Even our small guns have big guns.

[@elitemachineworks1037]

I always enjoy your videos. Perfect balance of serious review with that dry German sense of humor that gets me every time.

[@boxsterman77]

If British humor is dry; this is absolutely parched. Hilarious. You almost don't realize that you've encountered a joke. Great stuff.

[@nxxxxzn]

yay watched the whole thing with a smile on my face

[@xela8384]

This is the first time I've seen one of your videos, and you've totally won a new subscriber. You give us a solid, useful review of a technical product - which alone would make it extraordinary. Add your deadpan delivery - as dry and understated as any I've ever seen. Remarkable work, and fun to watch. Bravo!

[@gusbisbal9803]

Dude... my car has been running on rotten fruits for years. I have no complaints

[@drjwilber]

its called fermentation - and you don't pay taxes on it in usa = always a bonus

[@flomojo2u]

Great review! I’ve been on the fence about the Cetus, primarily due to the small build volume, though without a standard heated bed it’s hard to justify getting one for your primary printer. If there’s a fairly straightforward way to add a heated bed I would leap at the chance to get one since it’s just so darn sexy compared to the plastic construction of most other entry-level printers. I did end up backing the maker’s Kickstarter for the newest design they’ve created since it’s a lot cleaner (And includes automatic bed leveling!), and looks far more professional than the cheap, no-name printer I started out with, which is always such a huge pain to use. The new design is your standard printer (i.e. no linear slides), but it integrates a lot of know-how and design experience to really optimize for a reliable, easy to use printer for a wide range of materials. Sorry, can’t remember the name of the new design!

[@DogsBAwesome]

Unlike cnc machines the print bearings don't come into great sideways force on a 3d printer so linear bearings are far less of a problem.

[@glennedward2201]

brian whittle Actually your only partially correct and they do play a significant role in accuracy. My printer is level and square to .0005 every direction and bed. How much different do you think my prints compare? My controller cost as much as the average printer. Using high quality components will produce high quality prints. The technology is moving towards linear rails and it is also moving towards closed loop servo driven printers with precisional accuracy that will soon print in a far higher resolution than anyone imagined.

[@M1008]

Do you have any aditional info about that controller? How do you achieve that precission?

[@MrRoomTemperature]

@@glennedward2201 .00005 what? km? :P

[@glennedward2201]

MrRoomTemperature ..,apologies that was a typo now corrected and it is five ten thou standard units and not half a hundredths as originally typo’d. It has needed monthly attention to maintain that tolerance and currently out of those specifications atm. Meaning that the four corners are usually within .0005 or less vertically, horizontally, or diagonally between the four corners and not necessarily in any particular order. Using a machinists level is how it is leveled. All of our equipment typically needs to be readjusted every 4 weeks to maintain similar tolerances. Floors shifting, weather changes, temperature expansion, etc... everything affects it. We did have a lathe at one point set to .00002 or 2-3 hundredth thou, although it changed daily and we could not maintain it consistently due to floor swelling and had to taper the machine left to right .0005 to get it to stop moving every day and keep our parts consistent back to back. To the other gentleman I would suggest to anyone now days to run nothing less than a 32 bit operating system on any 3D printer. We’re currently using a PC based CNC controller however that’s a different scenario altogether and probably not for the average persons needs or consideration. It’s complicated, a headache to setup, and requires a knowledgeable person to setup and operate it. I think in the next couple of years you will start seeing more and more using PC based systems as speeds and accuracy increase and hardware requirements become more demanding.

[@woutvandessel1823]

@@powertothebauer296 Small deviation per layer * amount of layers = noticeable difference especially as the amount of layers increases. So having a deviation of only a fraction of what lower quality hardware could give you is a big deal to people who want a print of any size to still be dimensionally accurate. A total deviation of less than a millimeter could still be the difference between two parts fitting together perfectly or either not having that perfect snug fit or having to sand it down, for example.

[@Vido89]

I love your sense of humor great machine by the way ...

[@broccolihart1]

Slobodan Vidovic i was going to say that also...hee hee.

[@LazerLord10]

Did you ever find the FT-5? It only has linear rails on x-y, though...

[@peteroleary9447]

Pipe organ builder? Now that IS cool. 18 years ago, I was doing pro audio and found myself in the lowest bowels of Uptown Chicago, beneath the moorish-styled Aragon Ballroom. My assistant and I thought it appropriate to explore the tunnels, reportedly a refuge of one of their more infamous denizens, Al Capone. Two levels beneath some gigantic leaf springs which suspended the dance floor, we stumbled upon several very large relatively thinwall pipes. From a dark passage a man emerged, startling us. He almost seemed like he was waiting for us. Very friendly, the man explained he was the resident electrician and He invited us into his warren. Quite homey, if you like museum-quality electrical equipment and pipe organ parts... I do. This man maintained Aragon's three manual, ten rank WurliTzer Opus 1897, from the factory rebuild of the two-manual, ten rank instrument from the Pelican Theatre, Klamath Falls, Oregon. For the life of me, I can't remember his name. He is likely sleeping with the angels, given his advanced years. He told us that his primary gig was rebuilding pipe organs, and the Aragon was a side job. Lovely, lovely man. He gave us the $.29 tour, then we bid him auf wiedersehen. I walked away feeling as though I'd completed a heretofore undiscovered bucket list, and I could now die. Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers never sounded so good as that night... partly because I strongarmed the bonehead mixing-board dude into not showing off our 150,000 watt sound system we configured and turning it down and let the most excellent acoustics of the Aragon do the heavy sonic lifting. Phase cancellation is a b**tch! Speaking of death, Aragon's mighty Wurlitzer exacted a fatal toll upon one Kyle Kirchoff (RIP) in 2015. Seems our tragic and probably un-sober subject found his way up to the catwalk around the domed plaster ceiling above the main floor. He crashed through the plaster, fell, and was impaled on the organ's pipes. Ouch. A lesson that one should consider: a bosun's chair is one's friend whilst engaging in such activity. Curiously, Chevelle, the Chicago band playing at the time didn't notice and continued playing, stopping only at the behest of Chicago's Finest. "Chevelle": a sometimes muscly, but mostly crappy contraption out of Detroit's glory years. Aptly named. Have seen Iggy Pop, Nirvana, Hüsker Dü, many others at the Aragon. Stopped going there because I'm old, tired, and found that urinals are not the walls. Did I digress? God forfend. Cheap linear rails, oh yeah! Stick-slip, plentiful, cetus3d, et robotdigg, all making our motion-control more controlled. Good times! Herr Marco Reps, there is a certain youngster in Chicago - J., who won't stop talking about his semi-famous KZbinr friend. Seems your rep is circulating around the NYLF/Envision STEM camp at Loyola University lately. These rugrats are adopting little, quiet, dry ways, and thinking this is funny. Hahaha. It is insidious and must be stopped. Someone will report you to the authorities and you will pay! However, we will visit you in your new "home" and bring you a nice raisin cake and maybe some tea. No beer allowed. At your release tribunal, your appreciation for Aminita designs will count to your favor. BTW, Kooky (film) may soon be featured at a regular film night we have at CTS Orthodox ch. in Chicago. Real love makes things real.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

Very sad when the likes of Resident Electrician pass on and take their amazing skills with them leaving snowflakes to fill in the gaps. Excellent story-thanks for sharing.

[@timmyelite2951]

I was one of the original Kickstarter backers, I got the first gen Cetus for $240 including shipping

[@the1stbuilder65]

Wow ! I was just thinking about cartesian printers with real linear rails yesterday, awesome video!

[@PAULBLUNTZER]

Your sense of humor is amazing! Loved the video, and got a good laugh ever so often from your presentation. Einen schönen Sonntag wünsche ich noch allen.

[@TradeWorks_Construction]

Putting the printer “out of the way” was hilarious on so many levels.

[@mdoering]

I love the monotone delivery of your one liners 😂😂😂 This looks like a fantastic machine. I was looking at building my own corexy style printer with linear slides, until I saw this... Now I may have to pick one of these up. Thanks!

[@Split10uk]

This looks worth investing in. Made me laugh when suddenly it appeared on that chimney stack :) You have a great sense of humour....love your videos.

[@BrandonsGarage]

What got me was the PCB etching.

[@arturoe6957]

Wow, astonishing quality for the amounts of views and subs, you got me, suscribed

[@hanswurstusbrachialus5213]

Bei so einem Winzling sind die Linearlager auch echt nötig. In dieser Qualität können die konkurrenten ohne jene Lager auch drucken. Dennoch Daumen hoch, dass er von Anfang an so gut eingestellt ist.

[@davidespano8674]

great video and great sense of humor

[@paulshuttleworth7793]

Funniest video on 3D printers and printing I've ever seen. I really like your sense of humour ;-)

[@LoganDark4357]

Misspelled "humor"

[@curator23]

@@LoganDark4357 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humour

[@LoganDark4357]

"also known as humor"

[@PhG1961]

Great video ! Well explained and documentated. With a nice sense of humor. I love your workshop.

[@tarlcabot8340]

I love your channel!!! I work vit Chermans effree day (Henkel) and your accent and humor is perfect!

[@gerokatseros]

I can watch your videos , even if i don't care about the items you describe!!!! Your presentations are among the best I have seen!!!!

[@msdesignru]

gerokatseros greatest subscriber ever ))

[@mxmxbearing8328]

We produce high temperature resistant all-metal linear guide blocks

[@obe22099]

I'm going to save this video just in case the internet breaks, this deserves to be seen by future generations.

[@mandelbro777]

I love dry German humor. Had a friend once with the exact sense of humor. Priceless, especially for Anglo's like myself.

[@krunty]

Nice printer, waiting was a wise choice. If you're adding a heated bed an AC powered silicone mat with an SSR works wonders, specially in a small form factor. ABS makes for pretty prints but that is about it, I've found CPE's to be a good compromise between usefulness and print quality.

[@rebelba42]

As I looked at your 3D printer setup and the hot glue gun, I laughed out so hard, because this was exactly the feeling I had with my first 3D printer years ago :) Thanks for sharing such great videos!

[@sircompo]

Excellent video. The highlight for me was learning about using back-emf as a virtual limit switch. Gonna see if I can get that working on my cheapo Banggood laser etcher.

[@reps]

If not, try Trinamic stepper driver ICs, they mostly have sensorless stall detection built in.

[@TheRealMrLaserCutter]

There is an argument to say linear bearing are a worse choice than the cheaper simple lightweight bearings here. I built a laser cutter from scratch once and used linear bearings like this. The added friction from the grease and ball bearings induced quick a lot of backlash from the added friction. If I had to do it again I would go for something cheaper and lighter.

[@overlycranked8674]

As usual, another great video. I just love the scripted humor being delivered through an awesome Germanglish. Thumbs up and subed. Going to the channel to find ( hopefully ) the video on adding " a " bed heater to Cetus

[@operator8014]

Loooved that ending.

[@valveman12]

Great video You had me laughing with the PCB agitator. And for that my friend, I subscribed.

[@brentdennard6722]

Chimney Rooftop CNC... I LOVE THIS MAN

[@MadTaff]

LOL i often find myself staring at the printer like i am begin hypnotized, watching it print when i meant to be doing something else.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

Showing the build volume with the cardboard mock-up is VERY effective. Excellent review: I have found the 3-D printer I will purchase! I would like to hear more about the heated build platform control since it appears to be a fixed temp per the mfr website. It is amazing so good for only $450!

[@JackZimmermann]

Very interesting and funny video! A Cetus 3D is now on my shopping list. Thanks for the info!

[@Mirandorl]

Nice solid construction. Makes me look askance at my prusa mk2's less-than-shiny-and-gradually-breaking 3d printed components and "I found these at the bottom of my parts bin" y-axis screws.

[@motherjoon]

You offer me engineering knowledge and a smile

[@msdesignru]

motherjoon same ))

[@chrisrodriguezenator]

Don't let KZbin get in the way of your, uh, important work.

[@VladOnEarth]

Nice finale. Thanks for a review. I was looking for info about using linear slides for all axis on my new large machine build.

[@joeybushagour2612]

This printer is pretty good, the only downsides are the .2mm nozzle clogging a lot and the need for rafts/a rough bottom of print. For 300$ though, it competes well with the wanhao duplicator

[@pissmilker2313]

Please cut more rubber prints in the future

[@goodgoat6019]

The linear rails combined with ball screws would be the ultimate for long term accuracy.

[@bitsurfer0101]

I like how they don't put too many plastic crappy parts on the machine.

[@juliatruchsess1019]

"I don't care, just give me the parts" Exactly my feelings about slicers, and one reason I like Tiertime products.

[@sandersassen]

Every time you said 'biggy' with a German accent it cracked me up, thanks for that! :D

[@JMPDev]

2:54 I love the barely audible “Jeeze…”

[@Homesteading_engineer]

I laughed a little bit when you said it would be easy for you to swap the processor out, "but you haven't had any problems with it yet"

[@timelschner8451]

super geil, mit der Klebepistole :D ....you made my day!

[@peterxyz3541]

First vid I saw from you, I like your sense of humour, I'm subbing.

[@CheckitOutYaw]

Who says Germans doesn't have any humor!? You sir, proved them wrong! Thnx for the great vid

[@PaulojnPereira]

A side of me was thinking... "This is exactly how Arnold Schwarzenegger would comment a 3D printer video." You should replace the: "See you soon!" at the end of your video for: "I will be back!"

[@ColinKlupiec]

Dein Video ist ja zum schießen. Voller nützliche Informationen, und auch witzig. Ich habe vor drei Tagen eins von diesem bestellt, und freue mich schon sehr über die Möglichkeiten. Ich finde auch das simple Design faszinierend. Mal sehen wie schnell das Ding von China nach Sydney, Australien ankommt.

[@dahoola]

as a cetus owner, I can only agree. great vid

[@rexxthunder]

I just ordered my second one of these. They're great!

[@MostlyPennyCat]

A thing I saw on the Marble Machine X channel was creating a stable chamber for it to work in. I suspect changes in temperature is the enemy of accuracy once you've got those fancy linear things.

[@Atteluxy]

Really love your Videos:D please continue your work!

[@VId_Kok]

They put IKO LWL12 B linear rails on this low cost printer. These rails are super expenisive. I wonder how they make any money on this printer.

[@taliakuznetsova7092]

kvid easy to build something when you have a country with no safety and labor laws(china)

[@glennedward2201]

They’re clone rails

[@binkysmith7496]

Thank you, an excellent video both in content and presentation.

[@kwaaaa]

I subscribed the moment I saw the 3D printer on that roof.

[@msdesignru]

kwa haha, that was really awesome

[@AnimeshMishraiitr]

I have already invested heavily in a DIY printer, but it struggles because i lack access to another printer, the parts are just crappy. Gonna buy the Cetus and re-purpose my existing printer. Great video man!

[@espenbgh2540]

God start and ending(with humor), and fine video in between.

[@goranjosic]

This printer have belt on Z axes, instead of threaded rod - how this could be good choice for CNC milling, no matter how small?!

[@erickelly7117]

There are a few that use belts and there is no issue. depends how thick you're going to be milling too.

[@valveman12]

I think he was joking. The spring ends would be a problem for a mill.

[@XantheFIN]

RIP 3D printer 0:35. It did disassemble itself before it had change finish building itself.

[@ElecDashTronDotOrg]

The hot glue fun taped to the machine...A+

[@RGCbaseace]

I took your vid to heart love my 3dprinter now any one out their that can do this go for it its worth it

[@Xploder270]

No heated bed and small build volume for 300$. Nah.

[@Jack_Slate]

@Abitamim Bharmal Anycubic linear delta for 300usd.

[@havocklp4337]

@Abitamim Bharmal Linear rails Cost in this only 40 US $ China Import. I think, this Guy cost completly only 100 US $ in the Production. But i know that will only 75 US $ cost. Soo 324 US $ was only Profit.

[@lisamith]

And a proprietary extruder.

[@Warhorse469]

@Abitamim Bharmal my Ender 3 pro has linear rails and it didn't cost me are fortune to upgrade.

[@lm6036]

@@havocklp4337 I do agree that this device costs too much. But not al linear rails are equal. The €30,- hiwin one drastically outperformed the €10 ,- Chinese import one I got.

[@Rubafix989]

Did you get those machine for free by Cetus? Because according to Maker's Muse, people reported lesser quality rails on the retail version after he poster his review.

[@Chris-hu5eq]

You really should try the Original Prusa i3 for 3D printing. It is the best consumer printer atm

[@erickelly7117]

meh, after a while with my own it has it's flaws. the mk3 might be better for consumer level. but some beds aren't entirely flat (straight edge on the pcb) due to it being PCB. limited/poor mesh leveling (if any actually) compared to other firmware. and the steppers are loud, i replaced mine with 42mm standard steppers and they're quiet.

[@KSCPMark6742]

I know I'm a few years late, if you still have this printer, I'd love to see how the stepper motor actually drives the rails, ie closeups of how the belt is run and connected to the moving bed. A follow up video would be great :-)

[@ChrisLX200]

If you're going to be printing with ABS then you _really_ want to enclose the whole printer inside a perpex (or other..) case which will maintain a nice stable temperature to (help) reduce warping. ABS prints will try to warp anyway, particularly box hollow sections, and you can use various tricks to reduce this. However using an open system just makes warping far worse.

[@ChrisLX200]

Oh, and if printing ABS indoors then install a vent system to outside otherwise the fumes will eventually get you :-)

[@nickhetzer2744]

ChrisLX200 the printer doesnt has a heated bed so no abs printing

[@bubbatom1530]

You can add a heated bed for $30 odd dollars extra...$36.. I think

[@flybywire5866]

Printing on an open platform with ABS gives a lot of warping. An enclosure is really advisable.

[@erickelly7117]

if the chamber is actively heated to 70c with convection, you don't need a heated bed. Stratasys does not use a heated bed. they print 100% abs, asa etc...

[@anthonycruz4435]

I like your style my man, keep it up! Subscribed!

[@alexsemine1]

Neat trick for leveling flex prints!!!!!!!! What material did you use? TPU?? I'll try it

[@halasimov1362]

Truly an inspirational man!

[@wyattcon11]

1:52 had my heart stop and look at my printer

[@frankv1195]

I work, assembled machines with the same structure, only they have, a tank between the rails. My problem has been aligning the rails on each side, to ensure parallelism and squareness. The rails are located at a distance of 3 meters from each other. Do you know any technical and effective alignment system. Well, I do it empirically with a tensioned steel wire.

[@malloott]

How about using linear gliders from a name brand like PCBLinear's MRC 12's they are cheap enough for consumer level printing but should have mutch better endurance and precision. Really would like to hear your opinion

[@ryangeddes7277]

As a fellow fussy engineer, I commend your drive for precision.

[@Psychlist1972]

You won't have great luck with ABS without the "fancy design" of an enclosure.

[@alextreseder6274]

I think you are severely underestimating the capabilities of the ball bushings on the prusa. I can understand being skeptical of the bronze bushings and the wheels tho.

[@FinlayDaG33k]

wait, you actually get the LEFTOVERS!? SWEET :D

[@rjc0234]

I can understand your aversion to leaner bearings or V slot especially with CNC machines and plotters ,but alser cutters and 3D printers undergo so little resistance, so are good enough. however i agree on the size thing. so many people are loosing there mind over the 500x500x500mm CR-10's, when most of the time i get all my printing done on my small 150x150x200 printer

[@xDevscom_EE]

Make me want to get a 3D printer... Must resist!

[@Mr.Unacceptable]

I'm thinking of getting one of the larger ones as my first printer. There are so many choices of printers. More important to me than options is the thing works consistently and reliably. Is it easy to find parts and add-ons for it later to print with different materials? Is there a Plexi case available for it? How is the warranty and tech support? Has anyone had to go through RMA or support? I'm saving for an X-Carve and wondering if I should get this printer first. I already have the router and rest of the tools for the X-Carve. I have actual products I want to produce with these tools.

[@GregTheNomad]

Great video and you got a sub the cetus is a very nice machine ive been wanting one for a wile

[@rebeltaz123]

Hi... Just wondering why the auto-generated closed captions are in German instead of English for this video?

[@andys3ddruck840]

I would be happy to have an ABO back.

[@funfordturbo]

"Then there can be endless opportunity for misusing the machine" lol

[@hlavaatch]

Don't use it for pcb etching agitation - it will corrode the printer rails! (guess how I know that)

[@tomcypher3864]

Cool, but springs in belt tension system lead to ghosting. I myself am currently getting rid of spring tensioners in my ultimaker clone.

[@joetylerdale]

I'd love for you to throw your humor into quantum anything, I'm laughing already!

[@davidbrianmoore3783]

Informative and entertaining as well

[@msdesignru]

David Brian Moore true!

[@sykskysyk]

Wow, Cetus looks pretty good, pricing is very palatable. That said, I was considering backing the Kappa 3D printer on Kickstarter (not for meme reasons Krappa). Do you have thoughts on their design?

[@JarkkoHautakorpi]

Try using sodium peroxodisulfate instead of ferric chloride to etch your PCB's. Much easier and no mess.

[@FischOderAal]

It is all a matter of "good enough". That's why not many are using linear rails, especially the commercial ones.

[@JeffDM]

People say that kind of rails are no big deal but then are surprised with what I get with my machine.

[@FischOderAal]

Well, I've been tought to never build anything as good as possible but only as good as necessary. I'm sure linear rails have their merits and that there are machines that wouldn't be possible without them, but when I take a look on the prints I get from a box standard Prusa i3 MK2S I'm still convinced they are not necessary for 99% of the things people print. If you need to print very small pieces FDM is wrong anyway.

[@andrewtaylor940]

FischOderAal exactly! The tolerances of the rails are the least of the problems with this printer. The differences in performance between linear rails and bearings is below the resolution at which a typical low cost FDM printer will print. This is an issue for a CNN milling machine where you are putting opposing stresses on the toolhead. But with an FDM Printer there is almost no stress on the toolhead beyond the minimal momentum of the head itself. Apparently that little printer over engineered its rails, but under engineered everything else. It will make a great converted mini CNC mill, but those rails aren't gaining you much of anything for its actual designed purpose of 3d printing for the costs.

[@JaakkoF]

The linear rails is what makes it possible to have such a skeleton structure and still end up with huge print volume. It is by far more easier to design and build than using multiple round linear rods or similar.

[@arrowstheorem1881]

Cool and Fun!

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

The only thing I don't like about the Ceetus is the custom hotend they use. You can't just order those nozzles from china on ebay or amazon.

[@EllTheBob]

anarchore so I’m going to melt plastic into a nozzle which will get hot enough to melt the same plastic? Seems legit

[@malakilab]

Well printing one is not a bad idea if you can use it to make a sand mould and cast one in aluminum.

[@glennedward2201]

The Cetus being linear is neat but it has far more drawbacks than just that. I’m not a fan of open air printers at all. That alone limits its capabilities. Someday the printer manufacturers will stop making toys and produce quality printers affordable to everyone.

[@ELECTRICMOTOCROSSMACHINE]

WONDERFUL JOB, LOVE THE CHANNEL!

[@VaultBoi101]

A 3d printer with all axes with rails instead of bearings and rods isn't hard to come any just about any 3d printed can be upgraded to use rails for example I bought the Tevo tarantula with dual extruder and bigger bed off of aliexpress one day when it had a flash sale I got it for $175usd and since the i added rails to all axes and I'm new to the whole tinkering thing this is litteraly my first tinkering project ever