1. Cheap filament comes at a cost - filament diameter varies and can affect the extruder. Erroring on the side of cheap is not always a good plan. I have now started to buy filament from Atomic, a company in Indiana.
2. Learning is essential for anyone who is creating in 3D - I was fortunate to have a friend who steered me to a Facebook group dedicated to the Prusa printer. It was through this group that I was able to learn about new prints as well as find resources when I couldn't solve challenges.
3. Our community is rich with help - When I couldn't get the printer online, I wrote a post on Facebook and another owner in the Fitchburg area, Mark Mayo, took hours of his life to help me fix the printer and understand how to use it more effectively.
4. Prusa has amazing customer support - Yesterday I reached out to Prusa again after Mark and I had spent several hours with the printer. Shane listened to what was happening and after explaining the situation, he offered to replace the printer under the year warranty (AMAZING!).
Filament Jams
Through the process of having multiple filament jams, I was able to understand the pieces that make up the extruder head. Mark explained all of the pieces and what they do. I feel like even though this wasn't a lesson I wanted to learn, I now have a much better understanding of the pieces and their functions. | |
Wrong Reassembly - Understanding Tension
Tension and not understanding how to reassemble something you take apart is an important lesson. Thank goodness I had a community built around the printer who would watch the videos and tell me what I was doing wrong. | | |