A New 3D Printer For Less Than $200

Yesterday I published a 3D Printer Buyer’s Guide that was targeted to first-time buyers. In short, I recommended the Creality Ender-3 V2 Neo. At approximately $250, it’s a great all-around 3D printer for beginners. This morning I received an announcement from Creality that they have released the Ender-3 V3 SE. More details are provided on this blog and product page. I knew that yesterday’s post would eventually become outdated, but not having actually used the Ender-3 V3 SE, I’d say that this would be an equally good if not better starting point for a first-time buyer.

The Ender-3 V3 SE is more or less the same as the Ender-3 V2 Neo, with a few differences. First, they’ve appeared to improve the display with a better user interface. Second, there is new automatic filament loading and unloading feature. Third, the flexible build plate is no longer provided with the Ender-3 V3 SE, but it can be purchased as an optional accessory. Finally, and perhaps the most compelling and welcome change for many buyers, the Ender-3 V3 SE is priced at $199 as of today. I believe that there is a competitive advantage to breaking the $200 barrier because psychologically it may be perceived to be within reach by many people who might have been sitting the fence. Of course when you add tax, filament, a flexible build plate, and other accessories, it will be more than $200. However, in my opinion the additional ease-of-use features and the competitive pricing are critically important in bringing 3D printers into more households and making this hobby more mainstream. Everybody wins!

3D Printing Tips for Beginners

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m a 3D printing newbie. It’s been a steep but fun learning curve, and I thought I’d share a few lessons learned so that other beginners can learn best practices and/or avoid mistakes that I’ve made.

Choose a Slicer. First some background… A 3D printer extrudes filament onto the print bed, and you can think of that as “the last mile” of 3D printing. Before the actual print job can begin, you need a slicer application that provides instructions to your 3D printer (via a G-Code file) that tells it precisely how to lay down the filament step by step to print your 3D object. The slicer needs to be configured to understand what 3D printer you’re using because 3D printers vary in their physical dimensions, number of extruders, and other parameters that affect the physical limits of what can be printed. After loading a 3D model into the slicer, a user must also specify nozzle temperature (which may need to be adjusted based on the material that is used for the print), bed temperature (to ensure proper adhesion), print quality (layer height), wall thickness, infill density, supports, and many other parameters that may need to be customized to the object that is being printed. Getting the settings wrong in the slicer may lead to a 3D print yielding a pile of spaghetti.

I have a Creality Ender-3 V2 Neo, and Creality provides free slicing software. While it may be advantageous to use the slicer that is provided by your 3D printer manufacturer (e.g., ensured compatibility with your 3D printer), there is also potential benefit to choosing a slicer that has wide community adoption and strong developer support so you get more frequent bug fixes and new features. For this reason, I chose Ultimaker Cura which is a free open-source slicer. Of course, there is no reason why you can’t use more than 1 slicer, but I find it easier as a beginner to learn the nuances of just 1 slicer application. A more in-depth comparison of Creality slicers vs. Cura is provided here. I’ve also heard good things about PrusaSlicer but have not used it. A more comprehensive comparison of slicer applications is available here.

Calibrate Z-Offset. In addition to getting all of your slicer settings correctly configured, you must also set the Z-axis offset (or just “Z-offset” for short) which determines the height (i.e., position of the nozzle on the vertical or Z axis) of the first layer of your print. If the Z-offset is too low, you could squish the bottom layers of your object and even damage your print bed. If the Z-offset is too high, you may get poor adhesion and a failed print job. Unfortunately I’ve committed both errors, so I understand the importance of getting the Z-offset setting just right. This article explains different ways to set the Z-offset, but you should also check with your 3D printer manufacturer for additional best practices on how to optimize that setting.

Remove Filament Tangles. Most filament-based 3D printers have an extruder that pushes and pulls filament through a hot nozzle where the filament is laid down to create your 3D object. Filament is typically packaged in spools where you thread the free end into the extruder of your 3D printer. Before you thread the filament into the extruder, it is a good idea to make sure that you’ve checked for tangles. If your filament happens to wrap over itself, the resultant tangle may require additional force to pull the filament from its spool, and that can result in under-extrusion or a complete stoppage of filament extrusion depending on the degree of entanglement. Obviously this can result in failed print jobs which is frustrating because your only recourse is to start over. Unfortunately this happened to me twice before I figured out why my print job kept failing.

If you are a beginner, I hope you learned a thing or two from this post. Also check out Failed 3D Prints, and How to Fix Them and 3D Printing Troubleshooting: All Problems & Solutions for more practical advice as well as 17 Epic 3D Printing Fails & Why They Failed for a more humorous (or not so humorous, depending on your point of view) look at epic 3D printing catastrophes that will likely make you feel better about your own 3D print failures.

Buyer’s Guide - 3D Printers for Beginners

TL;DR: If you’re a first-time buyer of a 3D printer, consider the Creality Ender-3 V2 Neo. If you want to evaluate other options, read on.

I recently purchased my first 3D printer, a Creality Ender-3 V2 Neo. I chose this 3D printer because it has received very favorable reviews and was reasonably priced ($300 when I bought it in May 2023 and currently on sale for $250). There are many features of this particular model that I find to be useful, and although this is not a comprehensive buyer’s guide, my intent is to give you a few things to think about when buying your first 3D printer. I am not an expert, so my viewpoints are mostly from the perspective of the owner of an Ender-3 V2 Neo.

Assembly. I read that some older Creality Ender-3 models required several hours of assembly time, and perhaps that may be true of some other models made by other manufacturers. The Ender-3 V2 Neo was advertised as “95% Pre-Installed” which was appealing to me since I wanted to minimize setup time and get straight to 3D printing. I spent about 45 minutes unboxing the printer and getting it fully assembled, despite being completely unfamiliar with 3D printer parts and terminology. One of the challenges with assembly of the Ender-3 V2 Neo was that although there was a paper instruction manual, the booklet and print size were so small that it was very difficult to read. Fortunately several people had commented on online forums that a PDF version of the manuals was also available online (a PDF version of the manuals also came with the micro SD card and USB to microSD adapter that accompanied the 3D printer), so it was possible to enlarge the instructions and diagrams on a computer monitor. You might want to check online forums for helpful assembly tips for your 3D printer.

Auto Bed Leveling. Prior to my purchase, I was aware of the importance of having a level print bed to ensure good adhesion of your print to the bed surface. I had even watched video tutorials of how to manually level the print bed, and it seemed like a lot of steps to me. Therefore, it was a huge selling point to have an automatic bed leveling feature in the Ender-3 V2 Neo. Before your first print, you may still need to adjust the knobs and springs below the corners of your print bed if macro adjustments are needed, but I was blissfully ignorant of that and went straight to auto bed leveling and haven’t experienced any issues. Auto bed leveling eliminates a lot of the hassle out of preparing for your print job.

Flexible Print Bed. Many 3D printers come with print beds made of varying kinds of glass, steel, or other materials. The Ender-3 V2 Neo comes with a powder-coated flexible magnetic spring steel build plate which offers good adhesion and makes it easy to remove prints from the bed surface. In my experience, simply removing the magnetic build plate from the printer and bending it a few times results in the print job easily popping off the plate. I find that skirts printed around the object are harder to remove but can be easily scraped off with a spatula as long as settings are configured properly. The only downside I’ve experienced from the flexible print bed is that on a couple of occasions I’ve set the Z offset (height of the first print layer) too low, and that resulted in my print job and skirt being difficult to remove (hint: isopropyl alcohol came in handy) as well as the filament leaving a permanent mark on the print bed. I’m not sure if something similar would have happened on glass or metal, but I suspect that it might be easier to damage a flexible print bed. That being said, a replacement flexible print bed is pretty inexpensive, and I really like this option.

Beyond these 3 factors, there were other considerations that did not weigh as heavily into my selection of a 3D printer, but you might want to compare these features across 3D printers anyway. For example, the composition of the extruder may make a difference. The Ender-3 V2 Neo features a full metal extruder which was an upgrade from the Ender-3 V2 which is made of plastic and more prone to breaking. What does the user interface look like? Is your printer make and model common enough so that there are default settings available in most slicer applications? What print dimensions do you require, and is it worth it to spend more on a larger printer? Finally, what is your total budget? Keep in mind that you will likely also spend money on buying filament and possibly other accessories (note that the Ender-3 V2 Neo came with extra print nozzles, spatula, filament cutting pliers, and other goodies).

All in all, I found the Creality Ender-3 V2 Neo to be a great balance between features and cost. If you’ve been thinking about tinkering with 3D printing, now is a great time to pick up a new hobby because prices have dropped to the point where 3D printing can become more mainstream. Regardless of the 3D printer that you buy, be patient and have fun!

Eleven Table Tennis Adapters

I’ve been playing Eleven Table Tennis (ETT) on the Meta Quest 2 for more than a year. I’ve previously written about ETT personality profiles, how the game addresses latency to produce near-real time gameplay and how to revert to an older version of ETT.

Although the Quest 2 adapters work quite well for me, many players have recommended that I use a table tennis adapter to more realistically simulate the holding of a real table tennis paddle. There are many adapters to choose from, and the first consideration seems to be whether you want to use a traditional shakehand grip (which looks roughly similar to how you might shake someone’s hand) or penhold grip (which is popular among Chinese players). I prefer the penhold grip and will share my experience with 2 different adapters.

The first adapter I bought was the AMVR adapter which has received good reviews. The Quest controller mounts securely, and I never worried about the controller flying off the adapter. There is an AMVR adapter setting that comes standard with ETT, so configuration is easy. However, after playing for a while, I felt that my forearm was getting sore due to the setup being top-heavy. After a week or so, I decided to return the AMVR adapter and try something different.

Many players have recommended the SolidSlime adapter, so I decided to give it a try. The Quest controller is mounted closer to the handle, so the weight distribution feels more natural than the AMVR adapter. For me, this is the major improvement over the AMVR adapter. The SolidSlime adapter comes with a couple of thumbscrews that are used to clamp the Quest controller in place. Despite fully tightening the screws, I still get a small amount of movement/shake in my controller, although I can’t say that it noticeably affects gameplay. There is also an in-game setting for this adapter, so configuration is quick and simple. This is the adapter that I plan to stick with for the time being.

I must admit that with both the AMVR and SolidSlime adapters, I have not played as well as compared with the Quest controllers alone. However, I have played with the Quest controller far longer than I have played with an adapter, so I plan to give it some more time and see if my game improves.

Finally, it appears to me that the SolidSlime adapter is 3D printed. If you have a 3D printer and want to experiment with some different adapters, you can find several Quest table tennis adapters on Thingiverse.

Online Tracking Technologies

In a previous “Hospital Websites and Meta Pixel” post, I discussed how the Meta Pixel tracker was found on many hospital websites, including appointment scheduling pages and password-protected patient portals. This could result in Meta (the parent company of Facebook) obtaining protected health information (PHI) which would violate the law, namely the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

A few days ago, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR, a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release to warn hospital systems that “the use of online tracking technologies that may be integrated into their websites or mobile apps that may be impermissibly disclosing consumers’ sensitive personal health data to third parties.”

It also links to a joint letter that was sent to approximately 130 hospital systems and telehealth providers whose intent was to emphasize potential risks around the use of online tracking technologies. The letter specifically names Meta/Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics as examples of online trackers that can “gather identifiable information about users as they interact with a website or mobile app, often in ways which are not avoidable by and largely unknown to users.”

Although no enforcement activity was mentioned, it concluded by recommending the following: “To the extent you are using the tracking technologies described in this letter on your website or app, we strongly encourage you to review the laws cited in this letter and take actions to protect the privacy and security of individuals’ health information.”

In December 2022, the OCR had issued guidance for the use of online tracking technologies and specifically mentioned that “Regulated entities are not permitted to use tracking technologies in a manner that would result in impermissible disclosures of PHI to tracking technology vendors or any other violations of the HIPAA Rules.”

It is clear that healthcare provider organizations have been put on notice about patient privacy and security requirements under HIPAA law. It will be interesting to see if there are any officially documented violations that result in enforcement action.

UPS Fail, Amazon Win

I recently purchased an item at Amazon and decided to return it. Like many other times in the past, I simply indicated that I wanted to return the item and then was sent a QR code which I took to a nearby UPS Store, along with the item. I suspected that something was wrong because unlike previous experiences with returns where I received a refund within hours or days, I had received no communication from Amazon after several days. I was able to obtain the UPS tracking number for my return and discovered that the package had not made it to its destination.

About 1.5 weeks after returning the item, I attempted to inquire about the delay through UPS, but after fumbling through its website and automated phone triaging system, I was unable to resolve my issue or find a way to speak to a human. The only remaining potentially viable option at UPS was to file a claim, but I was unable to find any criteria related to whether this was the proper approach for my situation. Also, given that the item needed to be received by the Amazon seller by a particular date to qualify for a return, I did not want to get lost in limbo with a UPS claim if it were to be unresolved by the return deadline.

Therefore, I decided to contact Amazon. Initially I struggled to find a way to speak to a live Amazon customer service agent. Like many other large companies, the Amazon website is designed to attempt to resolve a vast majority of customer inquiries. However, none of the standard automated options met my needs. Unable to find a way to speak to a live Amazon agent, I asked Google and was directed to this link which allows customers to request that a representative call them back:

https://www.amazon.com/go/contact-us/call

Although the website says that it is for Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery, and Amazon Fresh, I found that they were able to handle inquiries related to any Amazon business. I spoke to a nice lady who understood my story and tried to refund the money to me, but I was a couple days shy of the 2-week mark after which the agent is authorized to issue a refund. Therefore, she asked me to call back in a couple of days. My phone interaction with Amazon was followed up with an email acknowledging the details of our conversation, and this exceeded my expectations. Additionally, instead of having to request a call from an Amazon representative, I was provided with Amazon’s customer service phone numbers which are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

U.S. and Canada: 1-866-216-1072

International: 1-206-266-2992

I was also provided other options for contacting Amazon customer service:

Call: http://www.amazon.com/clicktocall

Chat: http://www.amazon.com/clicktochat

At the 2-week mark after I dropped off my package with UPS, I confirmed that the package was still in “Delay” status and had not reached its destination. Therefore, I dutifully called Amazon customer service and spoke to an agent. After a couple of brief holds, I was told that I should receive my refund within about 10 minutes, and within a few minutes I received both an email and text message confirming that the refund had been issued.

In summary, the root cause of the issues with the return were related to operations at UPS. Given my inability to resolve the issue through UPS in a timely manner, Amazon rose to the occasion and has kept me happy. This will definitely help Amazon retain me as a loyal customer.

COVID-19 Exposure Notifications Turned Off

Today marks the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The Department of Health and Human Services provides a fact sheet that describes what will change and what will remain the same. One thing I did not expect was that the California Department of Public Health would turn off exposure notifications.

An announcement on the California Department of Public Health website states, “As of May 11, 2023, the COVID-19 digital exposure notification systems across the U.S. are turned off. These systems were timed to shut down on the same date that the nation's COVID-19 State of Emergency ends.”