I updated this post on 9/13/2021 to represent a more nuanced point of view.
Folks, I have been working with my JG Maker Artist-D Pro for a while now, and while my experience has been good, the number of reports of people having extruder problems concerns me.
I continue to believe the Artist-D and Artist-D Pro have good bones. They have a solid foundation; however, the extruder issues are a challenge. From the MKS Robin Control board to the Maxwell Power supply in my Artist-D Pro, the construction and components are excellent, except for the extruder issues.
I have fully disassembled an extruder and agree the filament feed mechanism needs improvements. In addition, the architecture of the stepper gear and the idler is non-standard and seems to have more issues than other approaches. Therefore at this time, you should expect that depending on your printer, you will have to do some serious work on the extruder to get it to work properly.
An alternative would be to upgrade the extruder. However, upgrading the extruder on your own is complex because of ribbon cables and custom breakout boxes that connect the components. The ribbon cable provides for clean cable management but makes using third-party components difficult.
I gave a lot of thought to this comment before posting since I have previously indicated I recommend the printer for people who like to tinker. I still do, but before you buy, you need to recognize you may have to disassemble the extruder to fine-tune performance.
As I say at the close of my videos, Let’s Learn Something Together.
@Irv_Shapiro, check out my latest update: http://forum.makewithtech.com/forum…1457#post11457. I am beginning to believe the under extrusion issue can be addressed by changing Flow Rate rather than extruder steps/mm. It worked for me today (tomorrow is another day). I have set both my extruders to 100 steps/mm & adjusted Flow Rate to 144% for the left & 152$ for the right.
I’m also nearly convinced that the extruder design is actually very good overall. Who knows, maybe the under extrusion using steps/mm may be a firmware issue.
While I think Irv’s statements are justified and proper, I believe it might be possible to modify the extruder stepper assembly to achieve better results. I do not (yet) own an Artist D or Pro, so this is totally speculative but I think the slide with it’s idler could be modified without too much difficulty to more consistently force the filament against the stepper gear with adequate pressure. Also, I think a steel stepper gear with sharper teeth in place of the current brass one could help.
From what I discovered today, I don’t really think the extruder needs a redesign. And, from your tip, the issue with the nozzles is taken care of, so I think we’re ready to go. More & more I suspect a firmware issue is responsible for the extruder steps/mm weirdness. In any case, if Flow Rate taikes care of it, it’s not a massive issue.
I love this dialog and believe dialogs like these influence the quality of the devices in the consumer 3d printing community. This is exactly the type of dialog I had hoped to promote by sponsoring this forum. Thank you to everyone that is participating.
My opinions about the Artist-D seem to move around day by day. At a gut level, I really like the printer. At an intellectual level, I am concerned about publishing a positive review for a device that people are having trouble with.
I want to share that I now have an active dialog with the JG Maker “support team” and they are taking this issue very seriously. They are actively working on a range of upgrades to the Artist-D but I do not know if these will be compatible with existing devices. I do hope so.
The following post does a very good job of explaining a possible cause for the extruder inconsistencies on some but not all of these prints.
If the cause of the problem is the plate in the extruder not sliding properly, perhaps because it is slightly oversized, it would explain the inconsistent extrusion. It would also explain why temperature makes a difference since hotter filament might impact the expansion and contractions of the components involved. It would not explain why @Ender5r is able to correct the problem by increasing the flow rate.
The firmware in the JG Maker is very close to stock Marlin 2.0 using the built-in Marlin 2.0 IDEX support. So my impression is that the problem is more likely a design/manufacturing issue.
From an engineering point of view, if the tolerances of a component require a very precise manufacturing process it is probably not an optimal design.
Yes, if you are willing to follow the instructions in the link below and potentially clean up the extruder slide. Alternatively, I think it is likely in the next 3-6 months you may see an improved model from JG Maker.
I did something I think I should not have done. I broke down and went out on a limb and bought one of the pro models through Amazon. I joined the JG Maker Artist-D (pro) home page and checked out the price there and Amazon was cheaper. I got an email from Artist-D today giving me points towards future purchases. I do not know what that will afford me. What I have seen and read here, I am not sure I made a good decision on a 3d printer again. It will arrive between 9/30/21 and 10/5/21.
I have tried to go to the links from imgur.com and all I get is a blank black screen. I use Pale Moon a sub of Firefox that does not accept add ons. Just tried the link on Firefox and it works.
My JG Maker Artist-D pro came Wednesday, earlier than expected. It is still lying on the floor in the box with my cat using it as a bed. I have not decided on where to place it. Will have to move something our or around first. I did order some nozzles yesterday that @Ender5r referred to as having metal tubing. Used my points that I received for logging onto Artist-D web page. Got an email I have more points.
Question: When I set up the printer, should I do the extruder modification to help have an extruder stable flow rate, or has JG Maker started doing the upgrade to solve this problem?
Before disassembling the extruder(s) I would check the current extruder calibration. For me, the most important first thing would be to check for consistency. This seems to be an issue for many people; telling the printer to extrude 100mm multiple times, not changing any settings between extrusions, and getting different results every time. If you get consistency I see no reason to dissassemble.
I just want to add the Artist D Pro post. I’ve been working on getting the BL touch going on this printer. So far i have gotten the probe to home. Still trying to get the firmware right for auto-leveling. I’m having trouble getting a menu for z-offset and baby stepping on the TFT display that comes with the printer. This display has a ribbon cable connecting it to the mainboard so it has no ports of any kind on it. The older MKS TFT 35’s had a SD card and usb port on it, so you could flash the firmware from the display. Can’t do that on this one. I’ve downloaded the source code for the display and edited the mks config.txt file…but I can’t seem to figure out how to flash it to the display. If anyone has any ideas I would really appreciate the input. As far as the extruder issues are concerned…I had some slight under extrusion but I printed different filament holders with bearings and removed the filament runout detectors from the equation and it’s been printing really good. No under extrusion issues so far after doing those things. But I think I will do the imgur check on the extruders just for giggles. I wish you all the best. I’ll post again as soon as i figure this all out.
You think the friction from the spool holders is really affecting the extrusion that much? Interesting. Do you have a link to the ball bearing holder you used. I am having horrible extrusion issues with my Artist D Pro.
I see. Unfortunately, I don’t have a press-fit kit. I’m not anxious to get 1 either, since I won’t like use it again. But, maybe I can find or design something that will for press fit bearings.
UPDATE: I found this 1 on thingiverse: [U]https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3020026[/U]. Interestingly, nowhere does the creator say what they used as the axle for the bearings, at least not that I saw. I have some dowling I can use, so I’m not stuck, but you’d think they’d at least mention it.
This person, [U]https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3209211[/U] actually tried to print knobs on the ends of the roller to go into the bearings. Not a great idea IMHO –> easier to leave a hole down the middle of the roller and use a dowel.
Hi Ender5r
All you need is a soldering iron. Drill a hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the insert. They are very cheap on amazon or aliexpress. then heat it up with a soldering iron while gently pressing it in. Works like a charm. That’s all the tools you need a soldering iron and a drill. I used a 5mm x 8mm inserts and a 5M x 6mm screws. Also the bearing don’t press fit they just snap in to the sides of the base and the center rod stubs fit into the center opening of the bearing. Its really very simple. Two tools and the bearings which are 608-ZZX20. Cheap as well. I think its worth the investment myself. I wish you the best.
The first link is pretty much the same design. that center rod has nubs on it that fit into the center of the bearings and the bearing just slip into the sides of the base. I saw that one but I don’t want mine clipped onto the edge of a workbench.
I’ve made progress in removing drag from the Artist-D filament feed system. So far, I have printed a couple of brackets, plus 1 roller glide and 1 roller from [U]https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3020026[/U].
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“medium”,“data-attachmentid”:13136}[/ATTACH] Photo 1: this is 1 of the mounting brackets for the Artist D. Yep, it’s a bit of an ugly print, but it is strong. It required a raft and supports to print.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“medium”,“data-attachmentid”:13137}[/ATTACH] Photo 2: this is the roller guide that slots into the Photo 1. It required supports to print.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“medium”,“data-attachmentid”:13138}[/ATTACH] Here are the bracket and guide mounted to my Artist D.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“medium”,“data-attachmentid”:13135}[/ATTACH] This is the roller. Yes, it is at an angle (5 degrees). I took @Geit 's advice to print it this way instead of just straight up. He says he used the technique to make a part he printed stronger.
While the design from thingiverse works, I came to realize I could simplify the design and make it so it doesn’t require supports to print. Fortunately, HugoHuge (the creator of the model) followed the example of the creator whose model he remixed by providing STEP versions of the models. I opened the bracket and roller guide into Fusion 360 and combined them into this:
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“custom”,“height”:“242”,“width”:“429”,“data-attachmentid”:13139}[/ATTACH]
The 1st 1 is printing as I type this.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“custom”,“height”:“245”,“width”:“415”,“data-attachmentid”:13144}[/ATTACH]Overview of integrated bracket + roller guide. The roller, with 608 bearings, is installed (it just rests in the guide).
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“custom”,“height”:“285”,“width”:“375”,“data-attachmentid”:13143}[/ATTACH]This rear shot of the spool holder shows how the bracket fits around the top of the metal bracket, along with the bolt and nut.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“medium”,“data-attachmentid”:13145}[/ATTACH]Obviously a spool installed on the holder, primarily showing that the holder can handle the weight of a full spool.
