After more than 4 yrs of owning a K40 laser I’m finally starting a different maker journey by adding a 3D printer to my tool kit. Knowing all the great 3D printing makers on this forum has given the confidence to take on this challenge.
My 3D printer of choice to start with is a Geeetech A10. The one I got was this one from Amazon, which I got a good deal on for Christmas. It’s listed as just an A10 but as best I can tell it’s the same one Geeetech is selling as the A10Pro which is the 3rd version on the A10.
(Edit: I now see that the A10pro is being sold with the GT2560 Ver 4.1b board. This board has A4988 drivers soldered to the board. While this is better for hear management, it does mean you will be stuck with the noiser A4988 drivers.)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F3YTT6W/
The control board is Geeetech’s GT2560 Ver 4.0 and it comes with A4988 Stepstick Stepper Motor Drivers, which I will be upgrading to TMC2208 Trinamic drivers for quieter operation.
Came nicely boxed with a full set of tools, lot’s of extra screws, 4GB micro sd card, and other items.
Since I’ve never set up a 3d printer, I found this video very useful for understanding things to check and adjust during setup.
He appears to have a Ver. 1 of the A10 and the things he identifies as being problematic are addressed in the later versions of the A10.
The printer comes partly assembled so setup was fairly easy. I checked make sure the bed rails were perpendicular with a machinist’s square and only had to adjust them a tiny bit.
Checked the wheels and found them a bit too tight and loosened them just a small amount to get a smooth travel with no looseness to the bed.
Getting all the wiring arranged so it stayed out of the way was a bit of a challenge but I got it done and used velcro ties instead of the plastic zip ties provided.
All set up
Just prior to getting the printer I had asked about filament recommendations in a different post and was told essentially told to stick to brand name PLA filament to start with But other good recommendations about filament storage are also found in the post.