fjabet

Hello here. I'm working in a start up that makes scientific outdoor systems and we do use 3D printing for a few production parts, the most important one being a box cover that embeds different sensor. And we a have a very specific design to integrate those sensor. So we are using ASA for the system is outdoor, needs to be very UV resistant as we have systems installed up to 3000m in tough (ice) environment. Up to now I was using a Zortrax M300Plus with their specific Z-ASA-Pro. The Zortrax is running fine, we can print thread that works (even small like 0.3mm) and the dimensional respect is great as we can put lens and filters in their socket just fine. But the Zortrax had after 3 years a failure (temp sensor kept burning due to a short...somewhere !), and I needed a backup solution quickly. I chose to take a S3. In the end we found the Zortrax issue, and it's running fine again. I chose the UM to have another supplier, because the company is well established, and I saw them quite often when visiting R&D labs. I also wanted a dual extruder for support, and a glass bed. The micro perforated bed of the M200 is great, I only had warping once doing Nylon, but removing large prints is a PITA not to mention it is somehow dangerous !! So I got this S3, and got some ApolloX ASA which have a profile from UM market place. So far, I'm not thrilled by the result. This printer has great stuff though : the print come out easily and that's great, the autolevelling works fine, it's bright and I bought a adaptable cover, the material load/unload is very easy and fast (the Zortrax is awfully slow here), accessibility is great. On the other hand, Cura is very very clunky (with MacOS BigSur, M1 and Intel), the Apollo profile is partially recognized in both Cura and the Printer and I'm not sure the parameters are fine, the PVA causes the print to pause quite often (no material) and I had to disable the flow sensor (PVA is in a dry box at 10% humidity). The ASA profile is maybe at fault here for the result is not clean (see picture), and I had to change all the dimensions for the lens and filters socket were way too tight. Also the threads aren't functional anymore, even at 100 micrometers. That is my first feedback, and I think that maybe the ApolloX profile is not very good. My2 cents.