Buying the M2: Help me start out right

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helifrek
Posts: 163
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2014 6:09 pm

Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by helifrek » Sat Dec 20, 2014 12:40 am

I am glad I could be of help to somebody! You are going to love the M2! I posted a bunch of pictures of my build over on rcgroups. The only snags I ran into were the screws for the spool holder are listed as M3 when they are really M4. And there weren't too many good pictures of the Z-stop switch installed but it was easy to figure out.
If you can afford it, get S3D as well. I always thought these guys were out of their minds paying $140 for a piece of software! After my first couple of prints, I have to agree that it is worth every penny!

Jeff, you won't be disappointed! The M2 doesn't have all these great ratings and reviews for nothing!

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Capt. John
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Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by Capt. John » Sat Dec 20, 2014 5:13 am

It's a big decision spending close 2k on a printer, completely understandable.

I was in a dilemma after purchasing a junky $700 machine that arrived broken
without the shipping box showing signs of harsh treatment. Sent this machine
back, it just looked cheap.

Reviews on Amazon pointed me to the M2. I didn't have a clue about 3D printing,
but knew this is the future and need to be involved.

M2 is super rock solid, S3D takes a little time and is highly doable.

Support from the members here has made what I spent, the biggest bargain I've
had in a longtime. Advice on this board is priceless, so don't get stuck in a corner.
There's several gifted artists and engineers here that will amaze you. At least,
they do me with what they've made.

Begin with PLA and the models on the SD card that comes with your machine.
Then, after that, it's just a matter of hands on printing.

Print out new extruder drives and the extruder motor bracket. You'll need these down the
road and having spares, means instant fixes. If your machine came with the v3b hotend,
learn how to rebuild this hotend with a new barrel and get extra tips.

Feeler gauges and a dial indicator holder, makes leveling the bed EZ.
Once the bed is level, it will stay that way for a long time.
Deal on keep the bed level is to snug the 3 allen screws, then back them off only
as needed. Those little springs that hold tension on the bed leveling screws will loosen
if there's not enough pre-load.

One thing that doesn't get mentioned as often as is should, M2 is made in the US.
It was the only printer on Amazon with 5 stars and a good warranty compared to some
of the other brands.
Capt. John
Manistee, Michigan
Reel Amateur at 3D printing
Fishing Tackle Manufacturer & Webmaster for:
http://www.michiganangler.com
http://www.michigansportsman.com

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Capt. John
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Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by Capt. John » Sat Dec 20, 2014 3:03 pm

Need to add anything that broke on my M2 was probably operator error,
in the case of the cracked extruder motor mount.

Did not pay close enough attention to the print area and the nozzle hit the clips
that hold the glass to the build bed.

There is no room for error, every square inch of the build bed is useable.
Makergear warranted this part with no questions asked.
Capt. John
Manistee, Michigan
Reel Amateur at 3D printing
Fishing Tackle Manufacturer & Webmaster for:
http://www.michiganangler.com
http://www.michigansportsman.com

jeffpowell101
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:22 am

Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by jeffpowell101 » Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:00 am

My M2 came in today. I also purchased the recommended software.

Other than what is in the instructions, any tips on me putting this thing together?

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sthone
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Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by sthone » Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:20 am

There is a few things that the manual leaves out but there's a thread about that all ready. There's also a lot that comes assembled now that the manual say you have to do which is nice. It's pretty straight forward and easy to do, if you run into any problems just ask here and someone will help you out. One last thing I put Loctite (blue/medium) on every screw I put in. Also once you get up and running and have played around a bit it's a good idea to print yourself extras of the printed parts on the M2 especially the extruder mount and drive.

Edit - Read the posts hear viewforum.php?f=12

This post has some helpful info in it too viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9&p=130&hilit=kapton+tape#p130

-Steve
____________________________________________________
See my projects at https://www.theneverendingprojectslist.com

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insta
Posts: 2007
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Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by insta » Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:39 am

jeffpowell101 wrote:My M2 came in today. I also purchased the recommended software.

Other than what is in the instructions, any tips on me putting this thing together?
Don't hammer.
Custom 3D printing for you or your business -- quote [at] pingring.org

benavery
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Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by benavery » Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:26 am

Worth mentioning that all the posts reminding you to print a motor mount are influenced by the older design that had a hole in the right side, that turned out to be a weak point. It seems that the hole has been removed, and the entire part reinforced with a rib that runs around it - so chances of it breaking may have significantly lowered. If you got a new printer chanced are you have the new motor mount already.

Of course, its worth still printing it for 3 reasons: a) It is an interesting part to print. b) It is nice to have spares, but most importantly c) You get to pick the color ABS you use, so you can Pimp Your Printer.
Mine is green, and looks totally sweet.

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RH3D
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Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by RH3D » Thu Jan 15, 2015 5:55 am

Hey guys thanks for this thread! I've been on the fence of what to buy for a while and I keep coming back to makergear m2. I'm looking for reliability, I want to print not tinker ;) , btw I can tinker I'm just very busy and would prefer not to.

My questions are related to the extruder. The only negatives I have read about the M2 have been related to the extruder. Mainly the printed parts breaking. Is this a valid concern?

The M2 uses the 1.75mm filament does it jam or slip often like 1 in 5 prints or more like 1 in 10 or even less. I recognize this is difficult to quantify but it's my 2nd biggest beef with other printers I have used aside from bed levelling which it looks like the M2 rocks at.

Thanks in advance!

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insta
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Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by insta » Thu Jan 15, 2015 4:52 pm

My M2 has just up-and-failed on me I think exactly twice -- and both times were related to 12v bed power. MG fixed the issues no questions asked, changed the entire design of that part of the printer, and it's never happened again to me or anybody else (as far as I know) since the redesign. The printed part breaking is the thingy that holds the motor, and having just printed a replacement last night I can vouch that the redesigned part is also rock solid, and it's what new printers are shipping with. It's still not a bad idea to have a spare one since it's pretty important, I just don't see it having the same issues the old one did.

My printer has failed prints several times after the bed power problem, but it's never been the printer's fault. It's always been me doing something stupid -- using my PLA profile with ABS (hello nozzle fan at 100%), or allowing the filament to tangle before it enters the printer, or using crappy filament to save a few bucks (seriously don't do this, never worth it), ignoring slic3r's warning the print won't fit on the bed and then wondering why the extruder carriage is bashing into things, etc. Every time something did go wrong it was an easy fix, with unclogging a nozzle being the relative hardest.

The bed is finicky to get levelled, but once its level it stays there. I put some green loctite on my levelling screws and it's been perfect for months. I print hundreds of hours a month on my M2 and once I stopped doing stupid things it's been completely solid.
Custom 3D printing for you or your business -- quote [at] pingring.org

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jimc
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Re: Buying the M2: Help me start out right

Post by jimc » Thu Jan 15, 2015 4:53 pm

The motor mount was the o ly thibg breaking over time but that has apparently been beefed up awhile back. All the parts are open source so when you get your printer its always a good idea to just print a set of parts and have them set aside. Youll probably never need them but its just a good thing to do. The makergear extruder imo is extremely reliable. Very rarely an issue but that is less a problem with the extruder and more with the filament you are using. You can easily print every day for months without an issue

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