this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
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Upgraded my Voxelab Aquila today to a PEI bed (i.imgur.com)
submitted 1 year ago by Gorroth to c/3dprinting
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My Voxelab Aquila came with a standard glass printbed. So far I thought I had no issues. Recently I thought I will printing PETG a try. Result -> no chance to get that print from the bed without damaging one of both (of course I let I cool down first). But even before I had more and more adhesion problems. So after a few friends suggested I gave the magnetic PEI printbed a try and so far I have to say I am pretty happy with it. Prints stick good and come out great. Should have done that already a while ago. Oh and because I was already working on it I changed the bed leveling springs to rubber buffers. Seems a lot more sturdy now.

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[–] Gorroth 4 points 1 year ago

If someone’s interested, it’s this bed:

COMGROW PEI Sheet 235x235mm, Pei Druckplatte for Creality Ender 3 Pro/Ender 3 V2/Ender 3 S1/Ender 3 S1 Pro/Ender 3 Neo/Ender 3 V2 Neo/Voxelab Aquila 3D Drucker https://amzn.eu/d/7mdfWas

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What are the other mods you have installed on this printer?

[–] Gorroth 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Oh hmm… that are quite a few:

  • Satsana Fan Shroud (made by myself for 2x 4010 Noctua Fans)
  • new PowerSupply Cover for bigger Fan and better ventilation
  • riser feet (because the PSU fan needs more room and so air can better flow underneath)
  • Raspberry Pi running OctoPrint mounted in the free section in the printer
  • cablesupport against accidental breaking of the micro USB cable connecting printer and raspberry
  • arm for holding my webcam (also connected to Raspberry)
  • cablechain (had to remove the original cableguard due to the fan modifications)
  • the PEI printbed
  • side spool holder (originally on top. Bad angle for the standard Extruder as filament gets bend and damaged)
  • display tuck (plan on putting my printer into an enclosure and with this it gets a little thinner)
  • Z-Axis Guide on top, so that it’s a bit more sturdy
  • I also changed all fans to Noctua ones and got it running around 45db while printing. But to be fair it might be a bit louder since I added the fan guards to the fan shroud. I kept putting my fingers in there somehow…

I think that’s all.

Future modifications:

Today I ordered an full metal dual gear Extruder and direct drive mount. That comes with removing the spool holder from the side and attaching it on the top again to keep an optimized angle for filament flow. Also I will probably have to redesign my Satsana fan shroud in order to make the direct drive fit.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks

[–] Gorroth 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You’re welcome! If you are interested in specific parts I could possibly post a link to it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The fan shroud is particularly interesting, also, when I tried to set up octoprint to with my Aquila it had issues with producing balls of material all over the print - have you run into this issue at any point?

[–] Gorroth 1 points 1 year ago

Here you are:

https://www.printables.com/de/model/462590-dual-4010-fan-satsana-for-voxelab-aquila

And your problem with octoprint… did you still use Voxelmaker for slicing? How did you transfer the files and how did you start printing (via printers display or octoprints webinterface)? Also what Settings/Temps did you use? Could also be bad filament or moisture. I think best would be you post a picture in this community and describe it as exactly as possible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not to overhype this stuff, but I did this a few months ago, and was amazed at the improvement of bed adhesion. It was a game changer, and I was kicking myself for not having done it earlier.

Just incredible stuff. What's your experience been?

[–] Gorroth 2 points 1 year ago

My experience is nearly the same. It’s sticks perfectly during the print (no matter if PLA or PETG) and as soon as it’s ready I can simply take of the print without it leaving any residues. After every print I wipe it with a wet cloth and I am good to go. Should have done that already a year ago! But I have to say I think you can easily f*ck up your print bed if you’re not careful while applying the magnetic sticker to the metal bed. If there is something in between or you get a little kink in the sticker I could imagine you will go through bed leveling hell.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Does it just stick to the metal bed? That's pretty cool, I didn't know it was that easy.

[–] Gorroth 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not exactly. It comes with a magnetic sticker that you simply stick on the metal bed. And then you can magnetically attach the PEI Sheet. Was absolutely easy. You will obviously have to level the bed afterwards, as the PEI Sheet and magnetic sticker are smaller than the glass bed. But overall pretty easy to do.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Oh I see, still not too bad