Hi there! I’ve had this printer about a year now. I used to use my buddies og Ender 3, and when the V2 was on sale I “upgraded” and got my own.

I realize now that for just a bit more money I could’ve had a much more performant machine, but, oh well. I’m gonna use this for a good long while. I only print as an occasional hobby, or to augment my other hobbies.

Anywho, it’s been on a shelf up and out of the way all winter, unused, in a climate controlled room.

I pulled it out the other day to do a few prints, it works great. Ran about 12 or 16 hours of prints through it. But today I noticed these cracks. This seems to be the belt tensioner for the bed? Did I have it too tight? Am I supposed to relax it while it’s being stored?

I can probably print a replacement. But I was just wondering what your thoughts were.

Thanks!

  • KingRandomGuy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    14 days ago

    PETG will almost certainly be fine. Just use lots of walls (6 walls, maybe 30% infill). PETG’s heat resistance is more than good enough for a non-enclosed printer. Prusa has used PETG for their printer parts for a very long time without issues.

    Heat isn’t the issue to worry about IMO. The bigger issue is creep/cold flowing, which is permanent deformation that results even from relatively light, sustained loads. PLA has very poor creep resistance unless annealed, but PETG is a quite a bit better. ABS/ASA would be even better but they’re much more of a headache to print.

    • bluewing@lemm.eeEnglish
      3·
      12 days ago

      Infills over 10 to 15 percent get you very little increase in strength. It’s not until you get to the sweet spot of 80-85 percent infill rates do you get a real boost in strength. Then above about 85% the gains again taper off dramatically all the way to 100% infill. Otherwise you are merely wasting filament and money to just feel good. If you need more strength, add more perimeters and tops and bottoms.

      I would use a .60mm nozzle, PETG or PLA will work just fine, 4 perimeters, and 4 top and bottom layers. And either 10% cubic or gyroid infill. That should create a part that will last for years.

      • KingRandomGuy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        12 days ago

        In my experience doing a bit more than 10% can be helpful in the event of underextrusion, plus I’ve seen it add a bit more rigidity. But you’re right that there are diminishing returns till you start maxing out the infill.

        4 perimeters at 0.6mm or 6 at 0.4 should be fine.

    • remotelove@lemmy.caEnglish
      3·
      14 days ago

      Totally. There is heat from repeated deformation, but I didn’t explain how little heat it was, so I clarified in a later comment. All motion creates heat, etc, etc. (TBH, I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Oh well. I let that cat out of the bag, so it’s too late.)

      But also yes, I have experienced PLA “cold flowing” on some parts as a well so I can confirm that for sure.

      • KingRandomGuy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        14 days ago

        All good, it’s still something to keep in mind (especially if OP thinks about enclosing their printer in the future). Thanks for your comment!