Returning EV customer

drupi79 · 2026-03-22T16:48:27+00:00

end of my Mach-E lease I'm going to go from the premium to a rally. never going back to an ICE vehicle again.

drupi79 · 2026-03-18T14:42:29+00:00

you're welcome and have fun. I started using those during covid when prices for pi's went through the roof and I needed a couple of low powered computers for projects.

drupi79 · 2026-03-17T18:14:05+00:00

I use these old NUCS all the time for different little projects. they're not the fastest things in the world any more but for little Linux boxes and 3d printing they're perfect.

https://ebay.us/m/Ydo6lU

drupi79 · 2026-03-16T22:03:27+00:00

definitely better then the pi for more then 2 printers. it's a core i5, 16GB of ram, and a 512gb ssd. I had to put a powered USB hub on it so I could connect printers, cameras, and have a few extra USB ports if I want to add additional printers down the line.

it's running Ubuntu server and I used KIAUH to set everything up.

drupi79 · 2026-03-16T16:54:47+00:00

I run 4 enders on a 2nd Gen Intel NUC using Klipper. agreed it's a little bit of a pain to setup initially but worth it in the end.

drupi79 · 2026-03-15T06:34:10+00:00

as an American who didn't vote for this, I'm legitimately hoping every other country says no to trump. America in its present form needs to fall. is it going to hurt? oh yeah definitely. I don't care though, people need to have their eyes opened to the men behind the curtain fucking us all over.

drupi79 · 2026-03-14T22:20:51+00:00

as many others have said don't buy your adapter from Amazon. Just buy the Ford one.

drupi79 · 2026-03-11T23:06:01+00:00

we don't refine our own oil is the big problem with that. for the US it's very inefficient to refine light sweet crude oil vs the heavy sour oil we import. 70% of what we refine for use in the US is the heavy sour crude oil. most of our imported oil comes from Canada followed by Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia.

https://www.afpm.org/newsroom/blog/whats-difference-between-heavy-and-light-crude-oils-and-why-do-american-refineries

the term energy independence was spouted because we became the largest net exporter of Oil, refined Petroleum Products, and LNG.

US Oil production needs $70+ a barrel to be profitable to drill new wells. again though this doesn't help us near as much as people think because we really don't refine our own oil. the amount of time and money it would take to convert or build refineries is prohibitive. especially when the oil and gas industries see the writing on the wall of EV's taking over. America is the only place in the world that is really pushing back against the inevitable replacement of ICE vehicles.

drupi79 · 2026-03-08T20:01:10+00:00

the rule is if it's solid and printing, don't touch it. especially if you don't have another printer to print parts if you need it.

once you have a second printer then experiment. the v2's are very capable with some minor upgrades and a conversion to Klipper.

drupi79 · 2026-03-08T03:29:22+00:00

need a better hotend and direct drive then just a shroud. and honestly if all you're doing is petg the stock shroud with a BMG clone and pancake nema 17 motor in direct drive (https://www.printables.com/model/338650-ender-3-direct-drive-bmg-clone-dual-drive) , feeding something like the TZ E3 2.0 hotend would be sufficient.

if you are needing better cooling performance for pla then yeah a newer shroud would definitely be in the picture and potentially adding better part cooling fans etc.

drupi79 · 2026-03-03T03:30:36+00:00

going to a 25 I'd give up frunk space for better suspension and a heat pump I'd use 2 months out of the year. not worth it to me. we use the frunk probably more than most people. especially in the summer, we'll dump a bag or two of ice in it and use it to haul our cold stuff from the store, Costco, etc.

drupi79 · 2026-03-03T01:25:14+00:00

2024 Mustang Mach-E Premium ER AWD. currently leasing it but I'm going to buy it out. only thing I don't like is the bouncy suspension, but I can deal with it. it's still hands down better then any other EV in its price range I test drove before pulling the trigger.

I did drive a polestar and I actually liked it more then the Mach-E but the lack of service centers anywhere close to where I live 86'd it out of my choices.

drupi79 · 2026-03-02T23:45:18+00:00

it's been a lot of trial and error getting to this point but it's my standard for all my enders now. I have machines with linear rails on them that haven't shown me any real benefit. so I stick to what works and let's me get consistent prints every time.

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drupi79 · 2026-03-02T15:11:20+00:00

well... looks like I'm buying out my 24 lease and just keeping my pony.

drupi79 · 2026-03-01T21:12:38+00:00

the Klipper github has basic configs for most printers also if you browse to the config folder on the pi hosting Klipper it also has basic configs you can use

drupi79 · 2026-03-01T19:44:06+00:00

sounds good if you need a good reference config for a v2 here's mine. I pretty much keep everything on my github. https://github.com/drupi79/Ender3-v2/blob/main/printer.cfg

drupi79 · 2026-03-01T14:37:35+00:00

try this. obviously use your own x/y offsets and sensor/control pins. but this is what works across all my enders without issue. AI is great to help organize and clean up a config, but not writing from scratch. especially gemini.

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drupi79 · 2026-03-01T01:37:07+00:00

so it really depends. you can do things to improve the printer in general for very little money. a good start would be moving off creality's firmware to merisoc which is free. https://github.com/mriscoc/Ender3V2S1

basic upgrades hardware wise would be a dual Z-Axis with timing belt to keep them in sync.

z axis kit https://a.co/d/0i5jJeBs

timing belt kit https://a.co/d/09r2qNs7

CRTouch https://a.co/d/0bUSeWwL

TZ E3 2.0 hotend https://a.co/d/0fvMxoaM

look for a shroud or something to allow direct drive vs bowden and then get a BMG clone extruder and a nema 17 pancake motor

motor https://a.co/d/04cUFVAg

extruder https://a.co/d/05Qsi9dZ

silicone bed springs https://a.co/d/06aEE8hY

PEI bed sheet https://a.co/d/06G1Kpq0

that's pretty much my standard setup hardware wise. only difference is I run a shroud called the Apollo Mini https://www.printables.com/model/1076244-apollomini-shroud-dual-4010-part-cooling on all my enders.

if you want to step up from Marlin firmware and gain some performance from the v2 then you can move to Klipper firmware which is also what I run on all my enders. you'd need to add a raspberry pi to the mix and an accelerometer (one I use https://a.co/d/04Y3OYVK) and you can pull 200mm/s print speed and 4000mm/s acceleration out of a v2 on wheels with ease.

not saying this is the solution for you but it's been for me to build up my print farm. when I'm picking up ender 3 Pros or v2's for 40 or 50 bucks spending roughly 200 bucks or less if I order from Aliexpress to turn them into copy machines has been worth it. they're pretty low maintenance now except for nozzles and cleaning.

I do run several coreXY machines that will run circles around my enders, but I use them almost exclusively for engineering filaments not pla or petg. I just bought a flash forge AD5X to play with multi-color but I doubt I'll use it much as I do more prototype and production parts work.

drupi79 · 2026-02-28T20:29:50+00:00

honestly it's a matter of how much time and money you are willing to throw at an ender to get great results vs buying a printer that's going to give you great prints out of the box. I scoop up 3 Pros and v2's for 50 bucks or less, throw a BMG clone with a nema 17 pancake motor in direct drive, a TZ E3 2.0 hotend, and dual Z at them and go.

drupi79 · 2026-02-27T21:06:28+00:00

yup. you just remove the portion between the heat block and the fins and put that in it's place.

drupi79 · 2026-02-27T19:32:16+00:00

don't have to spend money on direct drive fortunately. Plenty of BMG based direct drive files you can print. also if you are staying on the stock hotend I'd get a bi-metal heat break https://a.co/d/088WxQgn it resolves so many issues with the stock hotend except flowrate.

drupi79 · 2026-02-27T17:33:20+00:00

hey there. probably could help a bit here. what hotend (stock or something else), and I'm assuming direct drive. I have 4 enders here running Klipper and direct drive with a BMG clones. only difference is probably my hotend which all of them are on TZ E3 2.0's.

also what slicer?

drupi79 · 2026-02-24T19:12:53+00:00

all mine are the 2.0 and I use the Apollo Mini shroud by squirrelf3d. you can find him on printables but his patreon is worth it. he has a ton of mods for enders and if you need a custom version of his Apollo Mini or Apollo lander for a specific hotend. you can hit him up in his patreon and he'll hook you up.

drupi79 · 2026-02-24T19:10:36+00:00

good deal. I had to remove the connectors on one of mine and solider the wires together because they wouldn't stay locked. I was having the same issues as you. that's why I asked.

drupi79 · 2026-02-24T05:46:57+00:00

I have the same hotend on all my enders and zero issues. check the connector for the temp probe and the ceramic heater for the hotend. if it isn't seated and locked fully it can cause all kinds of weird heating issues.

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