The EasyThreed K9’s hot end is actually pretty nifty. (Credit: [Thomas Sanladerer])Recently, [Thomas Sanladerer] bought an EasyThreed K9 on AliExpress for only €72 and got an FDM printer with a build volume of 10 x 10 x 10 cm. The build plate is unheated, with an optional upgrade, and there is no display to interact with the device: just a large multi-function play button and five smaller buttons that guide the printhead to preset positions above the build plate to enable leveling the building plate using the buttons on each corner. There is also a “Home” button on the back for referencing the print head, which largely completes the user interface. Since the printer comes in a rather small box, the first step is to assemble the parts into something that resembles a 3D printer.
What follows is a mixture of amazement and horror at the same time, because the quality of the plastic workmanship is anything but convincing, while at the same time the independence of each of the three axes of the cantilever design makes assembly very easy. The printhead features a convenient flip cover for easy access to the hot end, making optimal use of the powerless 24-watt power supply for the entire printer. A cooling fan with air duct even provides partial cooling, making this printhead a candidate for the “cheap but not bad” category. You can watch his full video review below.
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<p>” data-medium-file=”https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cheapest_fdm_printer_internals.jpg?w=400″ data-large-file=”https://hackaday.com/wp -content/uploads/2024/02/cheapest_fdm_printer_internals.jpg?w=545″ class=”size-medium wp-image-663415″ src=”https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ cheap_fdm_printer_internals.jpg?w=400″ alt=”The internal parts of the EasyThreed K9 control unit. (Source: Thomas Sanladerer)” width=”400″ height=”390″ srcset=”https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cheapest_fdm_printer_internals.jpg 545w, https://hackaday.com /wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cheapest_fdm_printer_internals.jpg?resize=250,244 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cheapest_fdm_printer_internals.jpg?resize=400,390 400w” size=” (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px”/>The interior of the control unit of the EasyThreed K9. (Source: Thomas Sanladerer)</p>
<p>[Thomas]Of course I had to look at the control board. It turns out it’s not a well-known controller, although some components are familiar and many expansion options are visible on the board, including possibly Wi-Fi.</p>
<p>The heart of the controller board is the ARERY AT32F403ARCT7 MCU, which [PeetHobby] In the comment notes it’s more or less an STM32 clone based on their experience with the chip. Running at 240MHz, with 1MB Flash and 256KB SRAM, this MCU has a feature set and register layout similar to STM32 parts.</p>
<p>After running a few prints on the printer, [Thomas] concludes that while it’s not a bad printer, the good parts are somewhat offset by the skew in the connections between the axes. There is also no easy way to use full spools of filament with the printer, only the smaller 250 gram spools. If you’re looking to get an out-of-the-box FDM printer, this isn’t a purchase, but the hacking potential here is pretty high, as evidenced by the many comments on it.</p>
<p>We remember when a cheap printer cost around $200. This isn’t the first Easy threed printer we’ve seen, but they seem to be getting better and better.</p>
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