5. 3D Scanning and printing

Group assignment

• Test the design rules for your 3D printer(s)
• Document your work on the group work page and reflect on your individual page what you learned about characteristics of your printers.

List of 3D Printers in the Laboratory

Our laboratory has the following 3D printers:

• Creality Ender 3 – a popular budget printer with an open frame and a print area of 220×220×250 mm. It supports PLA, PETG, TPU, and other materials.

• Creality Ender 3 Pro – an improved version of the Ender 3 with a more stable frame, an upgraded power supply, and a magnetic platform.

• Creality Ender 3 V2 – a modernized Ender 3 with silent stepper motor drivers, a convenient display, and a glass platform.

• Creality CR-30 (PrintMill) – a conveyor belt 3D printer with an infinite Z-axis, designed for serial production and printing long objects. Print area: 200×170×∞ mm.

• Elegoo Neptune 4 Max (2 units) – a large-format printer with a print volume of 420×420×480 mm, supporting high-speed printing and equipped with a direct filament feeding system.

• Anycubic Mega X – a mid-sized printer with a print area of 300×300×305 mm, featuring a sturdy metal frame and a glass platform.

• Qidi Q1 Pro – a professional 3D printer with a heated chamber, dual direct extruder, and automatic calibration. Print area: 245×245×245 mm.

Feature	Creality Ender 3	Creality Ender 3 Pro	Creality Ender 3 V2
Image
Mechanics & Frame Type	Cartesian, Open-frame	Cartesian, Open-frame	Cartesian, Open-frame
Print Volume (mm)	220×220×250	220×220×250	220×220×250
Extruder Type	Bowden	Bowden	Bowden
Heated Chamber	No	No	No
Max Nozzle Temp (°C)	255	255	255
Max Bed Temp (°C)	110	110	110
Auto-leveling	No	No	No
Firmware	Marlin	Marlin	Marlin

Feature	Creality CR-30	Elegoo Neptune 4 Max	Anycubic Mega X	Qidi Q1 Pro
Image
Mechanics & Frame Type	Belt Printer, Open-frame	Cartesian, Open-frame	Cartesian, Open-frame	CoreXY, Enclosed
Print Volume (mm)	200×170×∞	420×420×480	300×300×305	245×245×245
Extruder Type	Direct Drive	Direct Drive	Bowden	Dual drive Extruder
Heated Chamber	No	No	No	Yes (Max 60°C)
Max Nozzle Temp (°C)	240	300	260	350
Max Bed Temp (°C)	100	85	90	120
Auto-leveling	No	No	No	Yes
Firmware	Marlin	Klipper	Marlin	Klipper
Special Features	Infinite Z-axis printing	Large-format, high-speed	Large-format	High-speed, Heated chamber

Testing

As part of our group assignment for the 3D printing week, we decided to test the 3D printers available in our laboratory. The main goal of this testing was to study their capabilities, features, print parameters, and the quality of the produced objects. We wanted to understand how different printers work with various materials and identify their strengths and weaknesses.

We decided to test the Creality Ender 3 and Ender 3 V2 using PLA and PETG, two Elegoo Neptune 4 Max printers with the same materials, and the Qidi Q1 Pro with PLA. The tests included temperature stability, performance, tolerance, and surface quality at different speeds. These tests allowed us to assess the stability of the extruder and bed temperatures, evaluate print speed, determine the dimensional accuracy of printed parts, and analyze the surface quality of models at various print speeds. The goal was to obtain objective data on the capabilities of each printer and identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Slicer

For testing and calibrating the 3D printer in our project, we chose Orca Slicer. It is an advanced slicer that represents an improved version of programs like Bambu Studio and PrusaSlicer. We chose Orca Slicer because it provides convenient and fast tools for testing, as well as efficient calibration of printers, which significantly speeds up the setup and testing of models.

Unlike other slicers, Orca Slicer is particularly well-suited for simplified work with test prints, allows quick checking of print parameters, and precisely adjusting the process. This is important for us because efficiency and speed in testing play a crucial role in the project.

While Cura and PrusaSlicer are also great slicers, we found that Orca Slicer offers the best combination of performance and simplicity for our needs, especially in testing and calibrating printers.

Here’s what we were talking about. The slicer has a calibration tab at the top that has some test files with the ability to change the g-code.

Temperature Tower

Before starting the testing, we decided to divide the tasks among ourselves. Jirair tested the Ender 3 and Ender 3 V2, Derenik worked with the Elegoo Neptune 4 Max, and Mkhitar tested the Qidi Q1 Pro.

As I mentioned earlier, the slicer offers many useful tests, and one of them is the temperature tower. This test helps determine the optimal printing temperature for each type of filament.

When opening Temp Tower in the slicer, a window automatically appears where you can set the initial and final nozzle temperatures, as well as the temperature change step. This makes it easy to fine-tune the printing parameters for the best quality. s

Qidi Q1 Pro / PLA

This specific test was conducted by Mkhitar on the Qidi Q1 Pro printer using PLA filament.

As you may have noticed, when we change Line Type to Temperature in the slicer, it displays a multicolored tower, ranging from cool to warm colors. On the right side of the screen, you can see the temperature corresponding to each color.

Here is the result of the test.

It can be said that the Qidi handled PLA at all temperatures, but at higher temperatures, there were issues with bridges, starting from 215°C to 225°C. The best result, it seems, was achieved at temperatures between 185°C and 210°C.

Ender 3 / PLA

In the future, we will not be showing screenshots from the slicer, as everything was done in the same way.

This test was conducted on the Ender 3 using PLA. As you noticed, there were issues with the hotend on the Ender — waves appeared between printed objects, with some overhangs, but overall the print quality was quite good.

As for the bridges, the best result was achieved at temperatures up to 200°C. Overall, the tower printed fine in the range of 190°C to 220°C.

The test was conducted by Jirair.

Ender 3 V2 / PET-G

The next test was also conducted by Jirair on the Ender 3 using PET-G.

The PET-G test was much shorter, in the range of 230-240°C, as we already knew the approximate temperature for PET-G. This test shows typical PET-G retraction issues. However, it’s worth noting that the best print quality was achieved at 235°C.

Elegoo Neptune 4 Max / PLA

The next test was conducted by Derenik on the Elegoo Neptune 4 Max using PLA. The result was much better on this printer than on the Enders. We tested temperatures from 190°C to 230°C. The overhangs were excellent, and since there is dual-direction cooling, the bridges also printed well. However, the best result was achieved at temperatures between 190°C and 215°C.

Elegoo Neptune 4 Max / PET-G

For example, PET-G on the Neptune 4 Max was tested in the range of 230°C to 250°C, and the result was practically the same at all temperatures. Overall, PET-G is much easier to print than PLA. It can be said that on this printer, PET-G can be printed even at high temperatures like 250°C.

Conclusion

This test is more focused on specific materials and demonstrates how different printers handle printing at various temperatures. The test also serves as an indicator that will help us test each type of plastic separately in the future. This is an important step that will give a more comprehensive understanding of how various manufacturers and plastic compositions behave at different temperatures and how printers respond to it.

In the future, we will conduct tests to evaluate the behavior and compatibility of new plastics with different printers.

Maximum Volumetric Speed Test

The second test we conducted was the Maximum Volumetric Speed Test.

This test is essential for determining the maximum filament flow rate at which the extruder can operate stably without skipping steps or overheating. It helps establish the upper limits for high-speed printing to prevent under-extrusion, bubbles, or filament overheating.

Conducting this test allows us to:

Identify the highest possible print speed without quality loss. Optimize speed and temperature settings for different filament types. Improve layer adhesion and minimize defects caused by extruder overload. This test is especially important when working with high-speed printers, as it helps find the balance between speed and print quality.

For this test, we also used Orca Slicer.

This test disables the limitation on Volumetric Flow Rate (VFA) in the slicer, allowing us to check the actual maximum extrusion capacity of the printer’s extruder and hotend. Normally, slicers impose flow restrictions to prevent extrusion issues, but by removing this limitation, we can determine how fast the printer can feed filament without under-extrusion or overheating.

It is important to note that this test is related to a specific type of filament since different materials have different flow characteristics and require individual settings. In Orca Slicer, the VFA parameters are located in the settings of the specific filament, so this test should be conducted separately for each new material to properly adjust the printer to its properties.

Ender 3 V2 / PET-G

This specific test was conducted by Zhirair for the Ender 3 Pro using PETG.

On the right side of the top image, we changed the material type to Volumetric Flow Rate, and from this, it’s clear that we specifically tested this material from 5 to 20 mm³/s.

As seen in the image above, when we activate this test, the Volumetric Speed Limitation is set to 200 mm³/s, whereas initially, for generic PETG, it is limited to 10 mm³/s.

We printed with transparent red PETG, and here are the results.

For clarity, we created this image to show how much the printer has printed, and we made an equation to calculate how many mm³/s the printer printed acceptably.

The result is not very satisfying because, despite the fact that the filament settings specified 10 mm³/s, the actual result was 7 mm³/s.

Tolerance Test

Vertical Fine Artifacts

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Last update: February 22, 2025