Creatbot to Chrisbot Conversion Almost Done!!

The Creatbot to Chrisbot conversion is almost done! Here are some clips to show my journey to build a true high temp printer with NO MANUAL, NO GUIDANCE, completely off script. This isn't a voron, there's no company to call for direction, You just gotta figure it out, and that's how I like it, you learn so much more!

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

Almost there, made a lot of progress today and this past week. It’s almost done, motion system is working perfectly, finally got the Beacon working, it’s all coming together. Lotta work! More than I anticipated.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

So what you got the same printer? This printer is a good printer to start a build on if you can afford it I know a lot of people think I’m crazy because it’s like a $4000 printer and I’m ripping it apart brand new I did like three prints on it and ripped it apart, but, I knew what I wanted and I had just bought the INTAMSYS funmat ht, and I don’t know if you saw the video or not but my god what a disappointment. So I went for something a little less expensive, and I actually bought that and A RAISE 3D E2 for just about the same amount that I paid for that one printer that really sucked balls! Now I have a great IDEX industrial printer, and what was supposed to be a high temperature industrial printer, but I’m making it into a true high temperature industrial printer! Dude, this printer doesn’t have one original wire left in it the entire printer, not one single wire, the only things that are still there from when I bought it are the exhaust fan, the chamber heater, but I added four more, and the bed heater. Every single other electronic, wire, any type of component like that is gone! I have a pile of boards on my table in my workshop, my small workshop. I should probably put them online if anyone needs parts for this printer lol, but honestly, the parts didn’t add up to as much as you would think. I probably spent maybe 1200 1500 at the most on materials and that’s with four mosfets, a 600 W mean well power supply, which is triple the original, two of the MOSFETS are for 120 for the bed and the original chamber heater then the other two are 24 V for the four additional sources I added, all the insulation, and it was a substantial amount other than what I had already, which was Ductwork insulation, the extruder, the all metal BMG, I had that that was actually designed for the INTAMSYS, I redesigned it, and modified it to make it fit like this, then added liquid cooling, so that was like almost 400 bucks and I didn’t even use the stepper motor. I got all LDO high temperature Motors, the X and Y are the super speed. and they have 5106 drivers, the others are on the Z axis it’s a 0.9°, high temperature, and on the extruder it’s also a 0.9 high temperature because they will have more torque and don’t need to go fast. Every other stepper is on a 2209, the smaller extruder that came liquid cooled has a Nema 14 LDO high temperature, so every single motor is a high LDO, just different power, ratings and drivers, the belts are gates belts, the main board is an E3EZ with multiple different drivers, obviously but the easy drivers, and all high temperature wiring. I bought all different gauges of high temperature wiring, all Capricorn, high temperature tubing for liquid cooling, all the wires and tubing are shielded and extreme high temperature, wire, shielding, especially the main whip, because there is no PCB on the tool head, I ran everything all the way down. I did make a connection to swap out heater, elements and thermostats, but the wiring goes all the way to the main board. There’s no electronic boards in the chamber. The back of the screen will be, which is a new screen as well, but that’s going to be covered by a 3/16 sheet metal box , and I’m going to thoroughly insulate that. But the point is all of the electronics are out of that chamber, I even insulated the bottom of the printer in between the printer and the electronics again, and the bottom has more insulation than anywhere. I did that to protect the electronics because there’s so much more power down there than there ever was. And the liquid cooling I built the whole entire liquid cooling system and it’s so efficient. I had it at about 95C in the chamber when I was printing before I started taking it apart, and the coolant never got above 21.5 C. And that was for six and seven hour prints. So I have a feeling this printer is going to do more than fine, it’s actually getting quite a bit of attention already from friends of mine and they are people who for instance, one owns a machine shop and makes parts for NASA, so if I’ve got their attention obviously this is going to be the real deal. If you look around at high temperature printers, you can’t get a printer that will do 150 C in the chamber which I think it will actually do over 200, a 200 C bed, and 500 C nozzle for less than $100,000 I think, I haven’t seen those numbers on any reasonably priced printer like even 15 to 30 to 50,000 the 22 IDEX From Vision Miner. I really wanted but talk to myself out of it because I couldn’t justify the cost, and obviously I made the right decision because I got a really high temperature printer that will be even higher than that and a dual extrusion independent extruder printer for the same damn price as the one that was half the price, so I think I made out pretty good, I won’t even be at 8500 with everything done. But it took a lot of my time and effort and brain power and it’s been a little trying to get it done this quickly. But it’s also been fun and rewarding, if you need any help when you get into yours, if you’re going to go this far, you can shoot me an email I’ll tell you what parts I used and how well they worked, honestly I’m not 100% sure because I can’t be. I have not used them yet, but with the stepper motors and liquid cooling that I have in the extruders that I chose, and the temperatures I’m going to get in that chamber, and on the bed, and at the nozzles, I have no reason to think that this printer isn’t going to work flawlessly. And with the new belts and motors it’s going to be a very fast printer. I took a full pound off of the tool head. That’s crazy! And I still have two extruders. I’m probably going to take it down to one at some point, I just have to decide which one then it will be even lighter and even faster. Anyway, if I can help you in anyway when you start building yours, which I’m sure I will be able to, I wish there was somebody I could contact to help me throughout this process because there’s a lot of stuff that I did not know, but I like the challenge. that’s why I did it! And it most certainly fulfilled that, but I’m glad I did it nonetheless. Anyways, feel free to reach out whenever you need something.

[@mrcleanmn]

Definitely the hextruder for the win look up vz bot man the hextruder with the Goliath hotend no heatsink needed. It's the route I'm going with my custom f430.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

I decided against that because the hot end is so big I would lose over an inch of Z and with liquid cooling. I don’t think it’s going to be necessary. The liquid cooling has a tremendous amount of flow, and previously with the printer printing I never saw the coolant over 21.5 C.

[@mrcleanmn]

@@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining i was also worried about that i see they offer a shorter barrel. I got my printer used for a steal so im gonna go full boar on parts lol will keep ya posted.

[@mrcleanmn]

@@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining I got mine today i powered it on and the creatbot loading screen comes on and just stays there... lol i got a board ready i might have to buy a copy of your klipper config file from ya if u were willing.

[@naam92]

Hi Chris, excellent progress! The Beacon thing is rated for 115C max operation, so it looks weak if you plan on going in the 150C+ range in the chamber. Since you've made an excellent effort to keep everything capable of high temp (all the cable insulation work, etc), it would be the weak link in the chain. It also needs to be clarified what the licensing is on it, but it seems from their website that it is unsuitable for commercial use (under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED). The product is geared toward hobbyists more than industrial setups.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

I am well aware of the temperature constraints, I don’t plan on going over 115 C, even though I am 100% positive. This will be capable of 150 to 200 C, I’m probably going to keep it around 100 to 110, there isn’t any material that it’s necessary to go any higher. A consistent oh hundred C will be plenty hot to print PEEK, no other material needs to be that hot. I’ll probably just do the aneeling process post print, I think the only way to avoid that would be something like the apium printer that uses lights for heat directly on the artifact, as it’s printing crystallizing each layer as it prints. I thought about doing that, but this is much higher than any BL touch can handle, and a mechanical switch was the only other possibility, which is just too unreliable and slow. I wanted something that was going to be quick as well, I actually ordered another one for my QIIDI printer.

[@naam92]

@@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining Sounds good, just thought I'd point this out since you also mentioned wanting to print PEKK-CF which if we're talking about the one from 3DX-Tech recommend a chamber temp of "up to 160°C if possible with your printer". Hopefully it's happy at 110 or so!

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

So, if I have a reason to go up that high, I would just unplug the beacon, and take it out of the chamber after the bed was level really simple fix. Beyond that, if I were to have everything capable of going up to 160, which I know the heat sources are probably capable of 200 or more, I’ve added four heat sources, all of which output over 200 C, then there’s the original heat source on a larger Mosfet with triple the power, the bed is easily going to be 200 C or better, the chamber could be easily 150. I’m almost positive it will exceed 200 c if I push it, but that’s if possible, highlighted. Most industrial high temperature 3-D printers are not even capable of 100 C, yet they print these materials.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

And as I was starting to say, if I were to make it completely capable of 150 to 200 C, I would have to replace linear rails, i’ve already replaced the belts, so those would hold up, but the linear rails and linear rods and lead screws and solid structure of this printer is the reason that I was willing to put this much work into it, if I start having to replace those, I may as well have built the entire thing. I’m quite capable of building. All of this, I have CNC machines, a LATHE, a very large one, I could make just about every part for this and custom make my own entire 3-D printer, but I just do not want to go that far. For 3200 bucks I got a brand new printer with zero hours on it, but when printing with the original configuration, it was a total joke. The only reason I even bought the printer is because after my debacle with intamsys and seeing what a joke that Printer is for 7000, I knew I was going to have to build my own to get what I wanted. I have no doubt I will get it out of this printer. Between the liquid cooling, and direct extrusion I don’t expect any clogs, between the insulation and heat sources, I can control the temperature in whatever direction I like, with the Beacon, I can level the bed in minutes, like two minutes, and once it’s level and compensated, I can take the Beacon out if I want. But I don’t expect I’ll need more than 100 C as that intamsys only got up to 90 C, the Idexx 22 only gets up to 90 C, very few printers go over 120 C even very few go over 100, you’re in the 60+ thousand dollar price range on a printer and, frankly the fact that this is going to be doing more than $10-$30,000 printers is quite enough for me since I spent less than 5000 total. I’m pretty content with that, in fact, I bought an industrial IDEX printer, a RAISE, 3D, E2, and this printer, and all the parts to modify it for the same price as the INTAMSYS! And frankly, both of these two printers are better than that one! I don’t think I have much to complain about. Lol.

[@anthonyferguson1644]

Hello Chris, nice video I last heard you have been making moderators for air guns. Sounds like you have been busy doing all kind of things, at one point I would love to ask you a question concerning making a die for the press slug press. when you get a chance please let me know thanks.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

Hey Anthony, I have made parts and modified my press slug, but very minimal, I don’t have the right tooling for the type of design I would want to do, Diablo style, competition pellets, for example, so it depends on what you’re looking for, but I’d be happy to have a conversation and go over it with you

[@benjolaoso7161]

greatly appreciate your videos as you know your in a class of your own making vids for this unit. If you could , list all the stuff you bought for it. I'm new to this printing and have one that i got a gr8 deal on . Can you list everything you bought to upgrade ? I want to upgrade and protect my investment too.

[@benjolaoso7161]

trying to keep up but my head is spinning.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

Hey, thank you, the fact that people appreciate the videos is the only reason I do it, the list would be incredibly long! I must have ordered about 150 different things, and returned maybe 50 of them, I over ordered, knowing I was over ordering just because I wanted to make sure I had the right thing. Saved my butt a couple of times to do it. That way, I can list the main components, but the list would just be too long to list everything. It was so much, down to micro switches for limit, switches, heat, shielding, heat, tolerant, wire, different gauges of it, really, just so much. I can list the Motors, the board and stepper drivers, stuff like that the main components, the belts are just gates belts With steel internal, but that’s only because I’m doing extremely high temperature. Same with all the heat, shielding, and mosfets etc., most people won’t need everything I got, I’m making this printer capable of 200 C in the chamber, I’m not going to go up that high, but if I ever need to I’ll be able to

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

@@benjolaoso7161 mine, too! It’s a lot, I built my CNC machine, it was a premade machine, but kind of like a VORON, you have to put it all together and pour cement six bags of cement, but I’m a contractor I do this for a living, but leveling the concrete-plainarity to within 1000th of an inch, it was a very meticulous process, so I looked at this job like it was tiny, but it’s really really not. It’s a big job much bigger than I thought. I still got it done way faster than anyone believed I would, but I’m a very determined individual.

[@benjolaoso7161]

@@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining you got it! Bruh just keep talking as long as you can we can always pause and comeback to the vids. This vid I’ll be here several times.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

@@benjolaoso7161 You can always come back, and I'll go into a little more depth when I do the last videos on programming printer.cfg, and finished product. Also, feel free to reach out if you have any problems, if I know what to do, I'm always willing to help.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

Hey I got a comment from someone, don't want to mention names on here, but I haven't finished the printer.cfg file yet, but I'm happy to help you with yours if I can. I don't know if I'd "sell" it, but I'll tell you how I did it and help you free of charge.

[@mrcleanmn]

Ya I was just meant a copy of the config. file that tint machines sends u.

[@truthv7981]

Hey great videos. I've been following your 3d printer videos, and was wondering, if you had the time, if you could do a full review of the Qidi ( i think it's pronounced like Chee - dee), maybe a more long term review. Showing and comparing some of its prints to the Bambu. After setup do you need to keep tweaking it or does it hold configurations for a while other than maintenance? I've heard it has some quirks because it's not just stock clipper, some say it overwrites things or doesn't save settings. How did it print different filament types? Is there any ringing or other artifacting? I think you still had a bltouch, but they are now shipping with the inductive sensor and magnetic sheet. Have you tried any other beds with the Qidi? Did you always use that one bed adhesive or is the bed good enough? I have very old 200x200 I3 clone that I enclosed to print abs, that i moved to PETG for the fumes. I print mostly functional parts I design for myself/family, but would like to get into TPU and more high temp filaments for parts durability with a big bed. There aren't many reviews from people that paid for the printer. I would like a Bambu but I would really like a bigger build plate. I was also considering a creality k1 max, but it seems to have issues with 1st layer/bedwarping/bed leveling (that could be possibly helped by rooting and full klipper) and issues with ringing/artifacting(these seem to be a fault of the printer design). I saw on a nathanbuildsrobots video with creality, that they are possibly launching something big on their company anniversary April 9th, I think. Also Bambu is supposed to launch the new "flagship" printer in 2024, so I am probably going to wait a few months to make a final decision. Would also like to see a review of the Chrisbot compared to the QIdi and Bambu, when it's done.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

Hey, I read the beginning of your message. I didn’t get a chance to read the whole thing because I’m kind of swamped right now, but I always try to respond in a timely fashion, so at least I’m getting back to you, but as far as that printer, I made like four or five videos on it, the only other video I was possibly going to do is, I’m installing a beacon, the leveling sensor, like I am on the CreatBot, I thought I might do a video installing that because I’ve already printed the mount for it, but a full review I think over the course of all those videos I’m probably said all I have to say about it. Truth be told I don’t really print with it all that much because I got so used to it not working that I was using my bamboo printers. I have a Snapmaker and a RAISE 3D E2, and between those printers, and when the CreatBot is done, it’s one of the last ones I go to, i’m hoping to change that with the fast bed leveling. That’s kind of a game changer. It’s definitely printing well now but the bed leveling has always been an issue, on my third BL touch which I didn’t pay for any of them, they gave them all to me, the support has been amazing. My first experience was bad and then really they made that up.

[@mariomazzatheone]

Great videos Chris! I really like what you are doing with your Creatbot ! I too started my own mods to this same printer. My mind works in Corexy mode only so I decided to change mine to work that way also its going to be easier for me to setup klipper with it ! Here is a quick shot of my progress please let me know what you think kzbin.infoQFISV9BagmM - keep it up ! Can't wait for the first print ! Thank you

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

Nice! I just looked at yours. So, did you get rid of the linear rail/gantry? It’s JUST ABOUT DONE. I’ll have one last update then the printing. Came along really well. Gets waaaaaaay too hot for a voron head though. Had to do metal.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

So the printer.config file we are developing Currently, it Hass to be custom to each machine and each board and each everything else. Whatever you’re putting in it, it’s not gonna be the same for any two machines.

[@mrcleanmn]

yes i get how config files work i would have to change the hardware for what im using. Are you staying with the motion system that is in the f430 or changing it out for something different? I plan on going corexy for the gantry.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

I replaced everything, every single piece of electronics, every single wire, literally nothing is left. Original! Every board, every wire is gone, new heat, sources, new power supply, new main board, new drivers, new stepper, motors, new belts, new wiring, every single thing is new, both extruders liquid, calling on every single stepper both extruders, I even have a hot end that is liquid cooled

[@mrcleanmn]

@@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining same route i plan on goin. i am designing some parts in cad to keep the original mgn15 rails in there original place and use a corexy motion system. Do you have a CNC?

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

@@mrcleanmn yes, I made my NEMA 17 liquid cooling blocks for this. I'm almost done, I have it homing, and all of the heat and thermistors working, I just have a few more peripherals to connect. I have a 4' x 4' gantry mill CNC.

[@mrcleanmn]

@@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining cant wait to see the vid man!

[@coltje]

Hi, i stumbled on your "review" video on the qidi and now following your build really interesting and fun hear / watch. i'm not looking for a high temp printer but i have a bambu a1 now that i need to return because of a recall the wire can melt and catch fire. So now i'm looking for a new printer for now i'm concedering the qidi x-max 3 and bambu p1s. wich one would you advise the qidi has more pro's bigger build plate, more quite (i hear in a review and it is standing in my living room) higher temps (but not important for me atm) but the bambu seems to just work and be good and looks better (not that important). other question i have now that i'm following your build why do you need such a high temp printer?

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

Hello, so I don’t have any experience with the P1 S or the A1 or whatever the miniature one is called, I haven’t had any personal experience with those printers, but the X one carbon completely works perfectly out of the box. The reason I would actually recommend QIDI is because you will get a much bigger, build volume, much bigger, material selection because of temperature, and their support is really really good. In the beginning, I didn’t hear back from them for a good amount of time and had fixed the problem on my own but once I did hear back from them they were amazing, and on the next issue and the issue after that that I had, which I’ve all been since resolved, they were there 110% sent me every part that I need walked me through everything. I already knew how to do it but I’m just saying if you didn’t know how to do it, they are incredibly helpful. Bamboo is difficult to get a hold of, and it will take a long time for a reply. I found that with them, and frankly, when I have a problem, I fix it myself. So if that is important to you to have actual customer support, go with the QIDI! Multi material and multicolor printing is important to you go with the bamboo. The reason I’m making a high temperature printer is because I was going to buy an extremely high temperature printer to print in high-temperature thermoplastics such as peek, pekk, ultem, and these materials need a high temperature environment for successful prints. This type of printer with that type of insulation and temperature capabilities would normally cost between 20 and $100,000. This printer is supposedly capable of printing it when you buy it, but I didn’t try, nor do I believe it actually would be successfully, and the material is $350 for half of a kilogram, I would rather do the work first and get it right, and I did it for under $5000. There is no other printer with temperatures anywhere remotely close to the temperatures. I’m going to get on this printer for anywhere near that price.

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

Also, when they were helping me with other problems, they sent me parts that I didn’t even expect them to send or no they were sending until I received them, but they were updates that they made to the printer because of problems. Other customers had, and they sent them to me just because, they had improved on it. Makes a big statement. Great company.

[@coltje]

yeah i have the ams lite now but i dont use it for multi color prints because it takes almost 10times as long and there is a lot of waste material so i go with the qidi and i can order it on amazon so they also have good support. i have had good experience with the customer support of bambu because i had an a1 with problems before and i send it back free of charge and got my money back so i ordered a new one but now i have to return it because of the recall. but 2 bambu printers with issues is not that great, also this a1 makes some strange sounds so good that there is a recall. i'm on holliday now going looking foreward to watching your build. Thanks for your response :) @@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining

[@Cjsairgunscarsandmachining]

how much Q D I turned around after one interaction I wouldn’t judge on that alone. Honestly, I don’t really judge anyone on their first interaction with me but as a customer who just bought a $1500 printer, I expect at least the return well actually two $1500 printers, at least get back to me but it’s like a week before I get a returned email and by then I’ve already fixed the problem. But that doesn’t mean anything they might have been busy. Maybe it was a bad time, I don’t really know what was going on, and I own my own business, so I understand stuff, maybe it was a bad time for them. They had a lot going on I’m not sure, but I don’t judge them based off of that one interaction, just stating the truth. That one interaction was bad so that’s my experience with them. I don’t have any further experience to go off of, but honestly it’s because those printers have not had any problems I couldn’t handle. A clogged the Schruder or nozzle a couple of times, but I’m printing polycarbonate, and other high temperature carbon fiber filamentsmost of the time so it’s to be expected