MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

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Extruder
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MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by Extruder » Sun Jun 18, 2017 1:50 am

I ordered my MakerGear M3-S3 on 4 May 2017 and MakerGear shipped it on 14 June. FEDEX claimed attempted delivery on 14 June while my house was occupied and did not leave a door tag. When the same thing happened again on 15 June, I immediately called FEDEX and they got the driver to deliver the package within 30 minutes.

The printer and other items were well packed. It did take some effort to carefully remove the foam shipping inserts particularly the ones inside the printer frame. Of particular note is that a nice black and orange coffee mug was included along with various other items (1 KG black PLA, owner's manual, tweezers, hex wrenches, sample print, etc.) in a very neatly packed inner box.

My recollection is that the Owner's Manual only mentions a wireless setup process. However, as I started the web-based setup process I did see that there is also the option to connect the printer via an Ethernet cable (so I did). The setup process was straight forward and the web-based wizard easy to use.

The printer appears to be very well constructed. Though I went through the steps for calibration, no adjustments were necessary. The first item I printed was a MakerGear key chain holder (as recommended during the setup process) and it appeared to come out fine.

The OctaPrint software has worked fine and error free and includes Cura as a slicer. However, I bought Simplify-3D from MakerGear and want to use it. I didn't see any instructions for Simplify-3D printer profiles included (and thus I've posted a question in the Software forum).

This is my first 3D printer. Thus, I'm interested in your thoughts, tips, and experiences.

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rpollack
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Re: MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by rpollack » Mon Jun 19, 2017 2:31 pm

@Extruder - thank you for posting your first impressions. A video for using S3D with an M3 will be posted later today. The link will be posted in this thread once the video is up.

Rick

Extruder
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Re: MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by Extruder » Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:12 pm

Rick,

Thank you for planning on releasing an M3 printer profile video for Simplify3D. I really appreciate it. In the mean time, MakerGear and bulletin board members have told me I can use the MakerGear M2 (24V V4 hotend) profile and I've found it works great.

I printed a number of items with my M3 and I'm getting really great and consistent results! Also, I have to say that the MakerGear team has been very professional, enthusiastic, and informative in providing support.

There is one little thing and that is that my forum posts keep getting delayed (for moderator review). I suppose that is for spam prevention which is important. However, it is delaying my ability to share info about the M3 with the MakerGear community and to get help from forum members. Perhaps you could auto approve new bulletin board users that have e-mail addresses that match those that have purchased MakerGear printers if appropriate. Maybe there are other solutions.

Extruder
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Re: MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by Extruder » Tue Jun 20, 2017 12:28 am

MakerGear has posted the electronic version of the user manual for the M3.

In case folks are wondering, the M3's onboard webserver running OctoPrint is running on a Raspberry Pi per the user manual. OctoPrint reports it is version 1.3.2.5 (master branch). I plugged an old Logitech web cam in to the Raspberry Pi and it works fine in OctoPrint for remotely monitoring print jobs and creating time lapse videos. When I'm watching the live video feed on the Control tab in OctoPrint the feed does sometimes seem to timeout after 20-30 minutes or so and I have to do a refresh to get it going again.

My posts are now posting immediately so perhaps just the first few posts are normally held for moderators to review.

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Tim
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Re: MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by Tim » Tue Jun 20, 2017 2:35 am

Extruder wrote:Of particular note is that a nice black and orange coffee mug was included along with various other items. . .
Hmm. All I got with the M2 was a chocolate (but it was a very high quality chocolate!). But these mugs. . . Hey, Rick, why aren't they for sale on the website (or did I just miss it somewhere)?

Josh
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Re: MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by Josh » Tue Jun 20, 2017 1:42 pm

We're working on getting all of our documentation in one place - the Zendesk Help Center which will tie-in nicely with existing support - and linked in the proper locations on the website. As the first video below says, we are working on getting the M3 S3D profile bundled with S3D, but our update schedules didn't quite line up so it will take a bit of time.

You can find a video on how to use Simplify3D with your M3 here:
https://makergear.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/ ... D-Workflow

You can also find more info about on-board slicing in OctoPrint in these 2 articles/videos:
https://makergear.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/ ... al-object-
https://makergear.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/ ... e-and-more

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rpollack
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Re: MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by rpollack » Tue Jun 20, 2017 2:54 pm

@Extruder - the first three posts are moderated.

@Tim - hadn't even thought about putting mugs on the site...will do!

owenwp
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Re: MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by owenwp » Tue Jun 20, 2017 6:52 pm

Can we plug a webcam into the printer for remote monitoring through the embedded Octoprint server out of the box?

Extruder
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Re: MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by Extruder » Wed Jun 21, 2017 6:53 pm

Rick, thank for the great M3 videos. I appreciate it.

Owenwp said...
Can we plug a webcam into the printer for remote monitoring through the embedded Octoprint server out of the box?
Yes, and I found the webcam will work for conducting remote monitoring and creating time lapse videos. You can do both at once.

An OctoPrint web cam list has been created at this link:
https://github.com/foosel/OctoPrint/wik ... wn-to-work

hybridprinter
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Re: MakerGear M3-SE First Impressions

Post by hybridprinter » Sat Jun 24, 2017 12:57 am

Is S3D even actively developed anymore? No updates in a while.

The Makergear mug is fantastic!

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