Fixing Old Monoprice 3D Printer

Fellow KZbinr @ryanfrogz gave me his old 3D printer, which had a few issues. It's a Monoprice Maker Select V2, essentially a cheaper Prusa i3 clone (uses the same profile in Cura). I've actually used Monoprice products in the past, they're one of those import companies that's legit-ish enough that they don't randomize their name every month ;-)
After fixing a jammed print head, replacing the cooling fan, and doing a few other small repairs and adjustments, I was able to print a test file. It compares decently well to my other two used 3D printers, and is certainly quieter and less annoying than the NoiseMakerbot. I still like the antique Printerbot the best, but I need to print new gears for it!
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[@mastasolo]

For leveling, I'd start with the center of the bed by adjusting the Z axis limit switch down so the nozzle is a paper width away from the bed, then once the corners are set the bed should be perfectly flat. For staying level, you could try and install stronger springs between the adjustment knobs and the bottom of the bed, I'm sure theres a few options in that shed of yours lol, this is also a very common upgrade that makes its way into revisions of printers from the factory. To get stuff to stick better, I clean my build plate with iso alcohol and wipe with a paper towel, I also keep my bed temp at 65C for pla or pla+, and I let the part cool all the way down before removal. I haven't personally done it, but I see people use a gluestick on the bed before a print if they have issues. Brims are great as a sanity check that the pla is extruding and is at level with the bed before it actually prints your part Rafts are for unreliable print beds and throws down a layer of material so it kind of self-levels, but I'd rather just get my bed level imo. That printer looks like with some TLC it could produce some great quality stuff.

[@crankytank]

I don't know anything about 3D printers or even care about them at all and this was still fun to watch! 😜

[@engnerdan]

The bed always needing to be leveled, is most likely caused by the frame being twisted. I have a i3 Mega that is very similar in construction, and the sheetmetal housing is twisted. It only levels on opposite corners.

[@3atsleeprepeat]

please do the XYZ calibration cube, and the stringing table. The filament you showed was the transparent PLA that was out in the "open" for a while. It might need dehumidifying before it can print as you want. E-step calibration is something you need to. You can get this printer to do a lot of things too. And yes, the problem with the bed level going off easily is REAL, very real.

[@fullraph]

To me it look like your first layer is not "smooshed" enough. It should be looking flatter. Level your bed while it's fully heated up, you should be able to slip a piece of paper between it and the nozzle with a slight drag. Try setting your initial layer height at 0.1mm and your layer height at 0.2mm. Cleaning the bed with 99% isopropyl before each prints helps adhesion A LOT. Set your built plate adhesion to Skirt and set the skirt lines count at 3 to 5. One very important setting of Cura is "Combing mode" under the Travel menu. Set it to "Not in skin" It really helps with the overall quality of the print. Hope to see more of these videos hehe

[@ryanfrogz]

So glad my junk could be of use! Even if your luck runs out like mine did, you can always, err, save it for parts.

[@saveitforparts]

Thanks again! I've been messing with it off and on and it works somewhat reliably, although I do still get big blobs of filament occasionally.

[@csamcs]

did you upgrade to something else?

[@ryanfrogz]

@@csamcs Ender 3.

[@lemonblazer123]

It's always nice to wake up to a new SIFP video.

[@notsure1274]

Same Here, This channel is a hidden gem!

[@UReasonIt]

Nice gift! For beds that lose level easily, a little blue-tac between the knob and bed helps keep it from drifting as much. Also, some glue-stick can help it get a good first layer. I level my printers with a post-it note and like to have a little snap when I remove the paper from under the nozzle and bed. Do this for each corner for four passes on each in turn.

[@devinsullivan6160]

@Scott Beasley, Would non-permanent nylon thread locker be a helpful suggestion over blue-tac? I feel like a little of it in threads gives machine screws more friction while still allowing movement, but I've never leveled a printer bed before so don't want to suggest something non-helpful.

[@UReasonIt]

@@devinsullivan6160@ Devin Sullivan, That would work as well. I use blue-tac because it's handy.

[@Rebar77_real]

Cheers to Ryan for sending the unit! You could convert your worst printer into a cnc dremel engraver. Or you can even "make your own filament out of 2L bottles" with only a hotend and an extruder. 2L's are PETG and you can print that without cooling fans and save the weight on the print head(for faster printing/acceleration effects, eventually). Don't forget r/FixMyPrint exists after doing "TeachingTech's calibrations". Have a good one! Oh, and for wonky leveling just screw all the adjusters tighter and lower the switch for the z-stop. That way the springs are under resting tension and won't go out of whack if you fart near them. :p

[@saveitforparts]

Good info! I'm learning so many 3D printer tips from various people's suggestions!

[@Rebar77_real]

@@saveitforparts Yea there's a heck of a learning curve for troubleshooting them. So thankful for friendly gurus while I'm still learning too. Almost forgot, I had another idea for that DNA sequencers peristaltic pumps: Pancake Art! Remember those were viral for a while with the big flip over reveals at the end, lol. Another thought for the pot, have a good one!

[@csamcs]

I just found your channel about a week ago with your video about the dish network microwave scanner. I happened upon this same printer 2 weeks ago. interesting coincidence. appreciate your videos!

[@dfrostedwang5478]

I had this exact same printer, and had to print several upgrades for it. Those thumb screws are awful and you have to adjust them often, so print some more comfortable grips for them. There are also a lot of "frame" prints out there, for attaching threaded rod between the base and the tower for more stability. That's possibly why your print fell off, the whole thing wobbles at high speed without a brace. Put a whole kg of plastic on top and the wobble is even worse, so maybe print an external plastic holder... heck almost half of everything I ever made with the printer was *for* the printer now that I think of it.

[@gardenfork]

I have used a Dremel brand printer. When they work they are amazing. Eric

[@workshop94]

I recently also just bought a second hand 3D printer, but this one’s actually a Prusa. There’s absolutely an annoying learning curve but well worth it once dialed in. It looks like your Z axis is too high, I had the same issue. If that printer has a live adjust Z, recommend cranking that down until it sticks better. I also use a tiny bit of glue stick for parts that may come off. If you haven’t already, try the PrusaSlicer, plenty of print options and gives you the completion time. Currently babysitting a 4 hour print lol. Also, from everything I’ve seen filament should stay as dry as possible. My printer is set up in a small closet with an extension cord

[@gannas42]

I almost bought one of these years ago but ended up buying the monoprice mini v2 instead. You probably figured this out by now but that print time you showed is accumulated print time since the firmware was flashed. As usual, thanks for sharing! You now have as many 3D printers as I do. 😆

[@saveitforparts]

Yep, I eventually figured the timer out! The little progress bar and estimated time in Cura still seem to be all over the place though. I just have to set it and come back to check if it's still working or has pushed a glob of plastic into a corner :-P

[@gannas42]

@@saveitforparts Regarding the level funkyness - IIRC the mpsv2 uses rods and bearings for the bed... maybe the pillow blocks are loose? Or maybe the bed springs are trash. You could adjust the bed down a bit to preload the springs more, then adjust your Z endstop to match the new bed height and relevel. That might help keep things more true between prints. It seems strange the Cura slicer estimates are so far off. The firmware on MP printers, especially these early ones, really sucks. So definitely expect that the printer's estimate of how far along the print is to be off. Not sure if you've read about Thermal Runaway Detection yet. These old printers (and even some cheap new ones) don't detect when the hot end thermistor has come out of the hot end or has just failed. That will cause the hot end heater cartridge to run continuously and it has been know to melt the aluminum and burn down houses. This is the reason I stopped using my monoprice printer until I can get around to replacing the main board with one that has this feature.

[@csamcs]

@gannas42 thank you very much for the heads up!

[@BangBangBang.]

Get a Voxelab Aquila its an Ender 3 V2 knock off and cheaper plus comes with a glass bed. Out of 3 Enders (Ender 3 Max and 2 Ender 2 Pros), the Voxelab Aquila was the easiest to setup and use out of the box. The Ender 2 Pro was nice and small for small parts/projects but was quickly discontinued by Creality.

[@atticuscorbitt8199]

Look at the Neptune 3 pro or 4 pro. Has a ton of high end features like mesh bed leveling and a direct drive extruder for under $300 And at lest for the 3 pro is stupid quiet

[@FixTechStuff]

I've done a video on this subject. There is an STL file called bed level stripes, on my AnyCubic printer (which is similar to yours) I keep it on the USB drive. Every now and then I run it and just check how easily it scrapes off with your fingernails on each of the 4 corners and adjust as necessary. The other handy option is skirt which runs a ring around where you print (could also use brim), sometimes you can check it on the fly and give the adjustment screws a slight tweak. Can you use this printer with Ultimaker Cura software?

[@saveitforparts]

Yeah, I can output files from Cura, I'll have to look into the skirt ring deal. My old Printrbot did those rings and it was handy.

[@csamcs]

I meant to say in my other comment that I bought the same 3d printer for $40 off craigslist. I dont know anything about 3d printers yet but perhaps your bed leveling issue could be solved with some thread locker (e.g. loc-tite) on those screws?

[@mike97525]

😎😎

[@LeadDennis]

A raft is a way to cheat if your bed is not level.

[@saveitforparts]

I hate the stupid rafts, they never peel off and they just make a mess. My old Printerbot that's made from of scrap wood doesn't use rafts and it's the best printer I've used so far!